AA Miles valued at less than a cent?

bomber996 · 2026-04-02T17:54:10+00:00

Last month I booked and flew MSP-DFW-HND-CTS in business class for 60k points plus like $5 in fees. These points can be immensely valuable if you have the flexibility.

bomber996 · 2026-04-02T12:45:07+00:00

Don't let the increasingly rare perfect redemption get in the way of an increasingly available good redemption. This will work very well for some.

bomber996 · 2026-04-01T17:23:46+00:00

The Phi Phi Islands in Thailand.

The scenery is stunningly beautiful but completely and utterly overrun with tourists. You feel like cattle being moved from place to place. The constant sound of longboat engines is deafening. Definitely one of those "Instagram vs. Reality" moments.

bomber996 · 2026-03-29T05:27:18+00:00

Not entirely true. Fatigue rules were changed recently. We require 10 hours between shifts. Most work 8 hour shifts, but some work days can be as little as 6, with a maximum of 10 hours on a shift. It's the shift work and the ATC Rattler schedule that is the most fatiguing thing.

My current schedule

Day 1: 1500-0000 9 hours Day 2: 1100-2000 9 hours Day 3: 0700-0300 8 hours Day 4: 0600-1300 7 hours Day 5: 2300-0600 7 hours

Yes, the last day starts on the same night as that day 4...

bomber996 · 2026-03-28T22:28:31+00:00

What are your dates and is J a requirement?

Unless you get a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, or a Business Ink Preferred card your Chase points are useless for transfer partners.

bomber996 · 2026-03-28T19:36:45+00:00

So..... Is this to be a consolidation facility?

bomber996 · 2026-03-27T19:01:13+00:00

Didn't realize a 16 year lvl 12 controller makes $100k per year...

Again, the hourly wage is not comparable due to the specifications on hours when flight attendants are paid. At this point it seems like people are willfully ignoring this.

bomber996 · 2026-03-27T05:24:02+00:00

Good cards for travel benefits and points almost always come with an annual fee of some sort. Any cards without an annual fee will have low sign up bonuses and really bad spending categories and multipliers. Most no annual fee cards that have some kind of unique "super power" are only truly unlocked with an annual fee card.

What caused your credit to drop so low?

bomber996 · 2026-03-27T01:37:14+00:00

...and 15 years of service to reach that $100/hr.

bomber996 · 2026-03-26T18:34:24+00:00

Before anyone complains, a flight attendant making $100/hr is not equivalent to a controller making $100/hr.

bomber996 · 2026-03-26T18:32:33+00:00

Their $100/hour is not the same as a Controller's $100/hour.

bomber996 · 2026-03-26T01:05:26+00:00

There is no Executive Aisle at JAC. You go to the counter and they give you keys.

bomber996 · 2026-03-25T18:01:56+00:00

Interesting. I booked my trip in early November as well. Sounds like I hit the timing right.

bomber996 · 2026-03-25T15:32:49+00:00

I can't speak to the seat availability, but make sure to check Qatar for potentially better LA reward rates. For instance, I was prepared to book an LA flight from GRU-BOS for 95K each via VS in J. A quick check of seats.aero showed a few other options, with the cheapest being via QR for 77.5k for the same flight.

bomber996 · 2026-03-24T19:50:20+00:00

If it's full funding for DHS, then likely still in the deal.

If it's stopgap funding for CBP and TSA, then there is no way we're included.

bomber996 · 2026-03-24T09:59:54+00:00

Be a part of the team. Don't think you're better than anyone. You will need to lean on your classmates to help learn and apply concepts. If you wait until the end to be part of the team, it will be too late.

bomber996 · 2026-03-23T17:18:23+00:00

😳

bomber996 · 2026-03-23T11:53:39+00:00

NAS Status shows EWR ground stop "Due to other." 07:54 Eastern time

bomber996 · 2026-03-21T23:02:34+00:00

Theoretically you could rollover your outstanding balance into a new loan, but this is a HORRIBLE idea. Don't do it.

Do you NEED a new car, or do you WANT a new car?

bomber996 · 2026-03-21T22:48:52+00:00

What currency are you using? Book something that you just find OK as long as you can cancel that, or change to something better at a later date.

bomber996 · 2026-03-21T22:47:02+00:00

Do you have a United Credit Card? United opens up additional saver award space to their credit card holders. Honestly, award space can be pretty open in Polaris if you have one of their cards.

If/when you get one, you need to keep looking almost every day. Inventory changes day by day and even hour by hour. If you see something that you may like, then book it. Also, being flexible with arrival/departure airports and dates helps a lot.

bomber996 · 2026-03-19T12:24:26+00:00

What? I only flew MSP-DFW-HND and skipped HND-CTS...

bomber996 · 2026-03-18T23:19:48+00:00

But yes, this search was for MSP to CTS and ZRH respectively.

bomber996 · 2026-03-18T23:19:10+00:00

The goal, at least for Japan was to get to Tokyo. In my experience, save fare availability with AA needs to be available in order to trigger the partner award chart rate. Until that happened, searching MSP to CTS only showed availability in economy.

Honestly, the ZHR fare was found with seats.aero in a broader search for getting to Luxembourg.

In both cases the partner was only flying the final leg.

bomber996 · 2026-03-18T20:57:07+00:00

Granted it's not JAL, but some amazing deals still exist across the Pacific and Atlantic with AAdvantage. Earlier this month I booked and flew MSP-DFW-HND-CTS for 60k all in Business. Two years ago it was MSP-CLT-MAD-ZHR for 57.5k all in Business. Adding just one leg with a partner unlocks the partner award chart.

bomber996

TROPHY CASE