AA points for Tahiti Nui?

[ParrotTops]

I would like to use my American Airlines points for Tahiti Nui. Can anyone who has done this tell me how many points it is and how much it ended up costing total? My sister recently flew ATN through Princess and business ended up costing her and her husband almost 7000.00. Yikes! Thanks!

[cavalier2]

My husband and I have redeemed AA miles for tickets on Air Tahiti Nui. A business class ticket is 125,000 miles roundtrip. A first class ticket is 145,000 miles roundtrip. Be aware that Air Tahiti Nui only releases one ticket in each of business and first class for each flight. So, it is not possible for two people to sit in the same class of service with an AA ticket. I finally got someone at AA at the Platinum desk to admit that to me after repeatedly calling and being frustrated with seat availability. So, for our upcoming trip, one of us in in business class, and one of us is in first class. I would rather sit together, but am glad to have free tickets in business/first class. Also, since the released AA seats are so limited, you absolutely must book as soon as possible. My understanding is that the seats are released 330 days out. And you should call AA directly - the seats do not appear in the system online as far as I can tell. Good luck.

[RachelG]

Cavalier is exactly right on every point. You have to book 330 days out. What you do is book the LAX-PPT segment at 330 days out and have them hold that then call back to book the PPT-LAX return when that opens up.

My husband had 1st and I had business. We lucked out because on the way to Tahiti, there was a girl who was booked in first who wanted to sit by her fiancee in business, so she and I switched seats and I got to sit first.

On the way back, my husband switched with a lady so he could sit in business with me. I told him he was crazy--he should have just switched with me if he was being so generous.

[ParrotTops]

Thanks so much for your quick replies!! Please allow me to clarify to make sure I got this right: its not quite the same as when you buy a coach ticket to Europe and then upgrade to business for 75,000 points. In order to use your points, you cannot buy a ticket and then upgrade, you must just use straight points--is that correct?? Thanks again!

[wishIweretravelling]

That's correct. You'll find that is the case with most airlines when you're using one airline's miles on a mileage partner's carrier. Most definitely the case with AA and ATN.

[LovinDivin]

We were only able to get 4 coach seats with points for next May at 75,000 per ticket. There are 8 of us traveling; it sure beats paying for all of them! Last year, my husband and I were almost the last ones at the ATN counter in LA and we were able to upgrade to business for $600.00 one way.

[cavalier2]

ParrotTops - just to clarify, my understanding is that the only way to get a business class ticket involving points is to use all points for the ticket: 125,000 miles. The only cash out of pocket you will pay is the small processing fee charged by AA to issue the ticket. Alternatively, you could check into using points to buy a coach class ticket, and whether it is possible to then purchase the one way upgrade to business for $600, if available on the day of travel. My TA has told me that those upgrades tend to go quite quickly lately, so you cannot count on them being available. I have been told that it is not possible to purchase a coash class ticket for Tahiti, and then use points to upgrade. It doesn't work with how the partner arrangement is structured with Air Tahiti Nui. However, your best bet would be to call AA and confirm all of this to make sure you have the most accurate information. My personal feeling is that if you have the points, go ahead and use all points to lock in the business class ticket if you can find one.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've been told by my TA that the Business Class seats may not even be available for purchase through my cruiseline, that it depends on block bookings. They are that scarce. I'm going to have to wait until the 330 days out and then have my TA jump on it and see what she can do. We're trading a balcony for Business on ATN. I think this is a fair trade, since we've not sprung for a balcony in the past either. We've never had any luck getting a check-in upgrade.

[azgkrudi]

On that note...has anyone here tried to upgrade using actual Air Tahiti miles? Looks like it takes 25,000 one way? I'm hoping that the "only one award seat per class" rule applies only to a case where a passenger uses miles to secure an award ticket, not for an upgrade. We'll have enough for an upgrade on our return flight for our next trip...but I'm not holding my breath that any biz seats will be available. :(