One of my first redemption was booking a flight from SAN-MNL for my mom. She had been shopping for flights and even called a travel agent to help her find the cheapest flights. Soo antiquated. The agent quoted her around $750. She was ready to book with the agent but she asked to use my credit card for it. I know she doesn’t have money to blow and I wasn’t about to let her use my credit card. “I’ll only use it for gas”, remember?
I had opened up Citi Biz and Barclay Biz Aadvantage cards months prior to this event. So I had money points to blow. I told her I can get the tickets for “free”. I booked the flights and what I found were horrendous! The only flight available SAN-PEK-KUL-MNL. But I didn’t know better, I thought that was only option. So I booked the trip as roundtrip. Total cost of the flight 75,000 AAdvantage miles + $65.03 in taxes and fees.
I wish I could say it the trip went well for my mom, but Malaysia Air lost her bags. It took a week to resolve and they discovered the bags never left PEK. My mom was understandably heated and I was extra annoyed for her. Here is were a true redemption story…
Using points for travel means you can use those points to book flights on partner airlines. I knew British Air was a partner so I searched from their site and saw a Japan Air flight going MNL-HND-SAN. I decided to shoot my shot and call AA to see if I can change the return flight. The agent was really helpful and answered all the questions I had- it was possible to change, no fees charged, no more two multi-hour layovers for my mom. The call took less than 15 minutes. The return trip went uneventful, which tends to be good news. Oh and the new itinerary was slightly cheaper than the first, so I was refunded $4.70..woohoo!
TOTAL COST
Cash Price- ~$750, I don’t remember the fare price so the CPP will is in
Total Points- 75k AAdvantage
CPP- at least 1 CPP
Kicking Twigs 
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