Warning, this post is about to get quite nerdy. If you don’t care about airplanes and what not, well I don’t know why you’re on this blog, but since you are, you should probably find a post that better fits your interests. Ok, with that out of the way I wanted to quickly share a very cool trip that I just booked. It’s cool for a few reasons which I’ll explain as I go.
The inception of this trip began when my girlfriend and I started planning a trip to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. As neither of us tend to plan trips too far in advance we of course waited until the last-minute to book anything. With each passing day the out-of-pocket cost of the trip kept rising. When I looked at flights earlier today, the cost of the trip was now well over $550! As I didn’t want to spend $550 on a domestic flight I began looking at other options.
Booking A Flight To San Francisco With AAdvantage Miles
As I have quite a few AAdvantage miles I decided to search for award flights over Labor Day weekend. When I began the search I expected to see economy flights for well over 25,000 miles in each direction. Surprisingly, for the outbound leg I found several available flights for just 12,500 AAdvantage miles. Considering the same flights currently cost around $300 I think that is a very decent value.
When I looked through the surprisingly long list of available sAAver level award flights one itinerary specifically caught my eye.
Yes, that flight, the one that departs from Chicago O’Hare at 5:15AM. Factoring in American’s D0 policy and security, I’ll have to get to the airport by 4:30AM! Yes, that is incredibly early, but it’s worth it, right?
Flying American’s Dreamliner Across The Country
I say it’s worth it because the entire journey is on American’s 787-800 Dreamliner! That’s right, I would get to fly to San Francisco on an aircraft that is primarily used for long-haul international travel. Even better, as there appear to be a few business class seats available, I might even get a lie-flat seat the whole way.
If my upgrades don’t clear I am at very least sitting in the Main Cabin Extra section of the aircraft. In Main Cabin Extra I’ll have extra legroom, seat back entertainment, a power outlet, complimentary alcohol, and a free snack because I currently have Executive Platinum elite status. As far as economy goes there are much worse planes in American’s fleet to fly on.
Another cool part about this trip (which is voided as I’m stopping in Dallas) is that the trips between city pairings are actually quicker. Take for example the Chicago to Dallas leg. That trip on an Airbus A321 takes about 2hr and 30min. On the 787-8 that same trip generally takes just over 2 hours! That’s pretty neat if you ask me.
Another thing I love about the 787 is the awesome dimming windows which lack window shades. It’s always a treat to watch the windows darken with the touch of a button.
I Booked This For Added Flexibility
Another reason that I booked this flight is because of the added flexibility I get from booking with points. Because I maintain American Airlines Executive Platinum status I can cancel or chance award bookings for free. So in the coming days I will set up alerts for price drops on this route to see if I can find a better cash value. If so, I will cancel the award flight and book using cash.
I’ve set up several Google Flights price alerts to notify me if the price of a nonstop roundtrip flight to San Fransisco drops before my departure. It’s common to see airlines dump inventory as we get closer to a departure date as the airline does not want to send a plane across the country with empty seats.
Final Thoughts
While I absolutely dread waking up early most days, I love waking up for a flight that I’m excited about. Given that the flight is so early in the morning from Chicago to Dallas I don’t think I’ll have an issue scoring an upgrade to business class. However, the flight from Dallas to San Francisco departs at a much more reasonable 9:40 in the morning which means I might not have as good of luck. Either way I always enjoy traveling on American’s 787 Dreamliner and can’t wait for my trip.
