Only 30k AA miles from JFK to MDE (American Airlines)

RUV says on Mar 18, 2008, 19:52:

I have a lots of miles but with the price war going on it seems better to save my miles and pay for tickets. Then use the miles when the prices go up. Spirt, Avainca, and AA have deals running.

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 18, 2008, 20:35:

My brother has several hundred thousand miles on AA so I often buy my ticket from him. I give him $500-600 and he buys the ticket with AA miles from Houston to Bogota. The 30,000 mile cost is normal, but sometimes those seats are not available and they charge 35,000 miles.

One nice thing about AA miles tickets is that you can change your flight dates without any hassles or charges. A few trips ago in December, I decided to stay a few extra days to get some dental work, so I just called them up and they switched me to a flight 5 days later over the phone for free.

RUV says on Mar 18, 2008, 22:02:

Are you sure about no charge. I have been hit everytime I tried it. I think the charge is 100 bucks. I tried doing it several days in advance as well.

Medellin Traveler says on Mar 19, 2008, 03:21:

From my experience, you are able to change your flight schedule one time without penalities when booking with frequent flyer miles.

Everything from Chicago is 35k so far, at least for the dates I'm punching in... will continue my search.

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 19, 2008, 08:41:

I did it back in December and they just told me what flights were available for miles tickets that next week. I picked the one I wanted and they said OK sir, done. I called the AA toll free line in Colombia which I have saved in my cell phone contacts. It is 01-800-522555. I called and spoke in Spanish, but I suppose that would not make a difference.

I think Continental may have a change fee as I've never tried changing a miles ticket with them. They charge 35,000 miles as a minimum for a ticket to South America.

BillBigD says on Mar 19, 2008, 14:11:

No charge as Cgringo states. Lots of 30K days available in April and May when I looked last week from Dallas.

tomtom33 says on Mar 19, 2008, 14:44:

I just booked MDE-MSN for 30K. It was such a pleasure not being put on hold interminably like Avianca does. And they charged my credit card for the taxes. Fucking Avianca required that I physically go to their office. Then they didn't tell me that they had to have a copy of my cedula. So I had to find a copy shop. Pricks.

Medellin Traveler says on Mar 19, 2008, 16:11:

AA notice on the homepage today, $589 flight to MDE.

Also, found great dates when booking with 30k frequent flyer miles for April and May.

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

MitchAlvarez says on Mar 19, 2008, 16:36:

AA sucks!! and the layover in miami is not worth the cheaper prices.

Tengale miedo a una huelga de mujeres o a una escasez de aguardiente. :)

Medellin Traveler says on Mar 19, 2008, 16:53:

It's worth it to me because I can use frequent flyer miles + my last trip to MDE was free with AA voucher :O)

Miami International airport SUCKS!

All, what's the earliest flight arriving into Medellin on AA from your hometown?

Chicago - Miami - Medellin arriving at 7:30pm.

What airline has the earliest arrival into Medellin from the US?

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

MitchAlvarez says on Mar 19, 2008, 16:57:

mt hows everything hermano? i saw your page with the j balvin stuff. good stuff bro.....j balvin is pretty good. when you going back to mi pueblito?

Tengale miedo a una huelga de mujeres o a una escasez de aguardiente. :)

RUV says on Mar 19, 2008, 21:01:

With gas prices rising, this will be the cheapest way. The only thing that sucks is paying taxes on the high ticket prices and the security fees.

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 19, 2008, 21:03:

I paid $55 in taxes on the AA miles ticket for a Houston - Bogota trip in November. That being the case, I was surprised when I found out that the ticket included my Bogota exit taxes.

Using air miles is the way to go. In addition to buying from my brother, I also get one or two free tickets to Colombia a year on Continental from a combination of flight miles, Chase debit card miles and the loads of Onepass offers around Houston.

tomtom33 says on Mar 20, 2008, 06:20:

I paid $60.50 in taxes MDE-MSN, and I believe that includes exit tax.

Not only do I like AA, I like MIA as well. Yup, I know I'm strange. I booked a room at the Sofitel in Miami for the overnight for $145(close to $300 in peak season). It really pays to fly off-season. I have stayed at that Sofitel 4 times now.

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 20, 2008, 08:26:

Actually, I have found that AA has greatly improved in regards to their Colombia service over the last several years. I never really have problems with them as of late. The whole airline "feels cheap" to me, but they don't ever cause me hassles. Their employees at MIA seem to be pretty friendly as of late, but then again, I am a pretty outgoing person and am good at getting on people's good side. On several occasions, being nice to counter and gate agents has gotten me everything from free upgrades to a thousand bucks worth of travel vouchers.

MitchAlvarez says on Mar 20, 2008, 10:24:

i finally signed up for avianca plus today!!!!!!!!! jaja but they gave me credit for two trips to colombia yayyyyyyyy jaja

Tengale miedo a una huelga de mujeres o a una escasez de aguardiente. :)

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 20, 2008, 10:26:

Avianca will let you ask for air miles credit for flights up to six months later.

El Piloto says on Apr 4, 2008, 16:44:

Should point out that BOG is on the list this quarter (1Apr08-30Jun08) as a reduced mileage award for AA AAdvantage members that also have the Citi AAdvantage credit card. Reduced mileage awards offer travel for 7,500 miles less than the usual rate. It should work from any U.S. destination to BOG although of course the inventory has to actually be available so it could be tough finding T class depending on where you're originating, what day, etc.

adrienne79 says on Apr 4, 2008, 19:43:

Is this 30k mile thing plus taxes a normal thing or just some promotion? I'll be honest, I know very little about cashing in miles but I do have about 32k with AA. Could I do it from DFW or even ABQ?

tomtom33 says on Apr 5, 2008, 05:03:

It is normal. However, in the past I have paid 35K miles for the exact same trip that I just booked for 30K miles. They may have liberalized the requirements, off peak, for the 30K seats.

El Piloto says on Apr 7, 2008, 08:01:

The normal rate for coach awards from North America to Colombia is 30K miles "off-peak" and 35K miles "peak." From AA's website the off-peak dates are currently: Jan.16-Jun.14 and Sep.7-Nov.14.

The 30K/35K would be available from any U.S. city, not just Miami, so yes you could originate in DFW or ABQ. The tricky part is always finding inventory since these awards are capacity controlled.

The special 7,500 mile discount I mentioned a few posts upthread is a special promotion for Citi AAdvantage credit card holders and that is in effect for travel between April 1-June 30, 2008. That would make the price for any US city to BOG just 22,500 or 27,500 miles.

tomtom33 says on Apr 7, 2008, 09:01:

Thanks, I could never figure out the difference between peak and off-peak.