You can now book American Airlines Web Specials by phone — great news for families
The unfortunate trend that we've seen from airlines around the globe in recent years is a shift away from fixed award charts and towards a variable or "dynamic" pricing scheme. Delta was the first of the three legacy U.S. carriers to adopt this policy several years back, and United followed suit late last year.
American Airlines, meanwhile, has taken a slightly different approach. Instead of an all-out shift to dynamic pricing, AA has increased the cost of its more expensive AAnytime awards while expanding the use of its discount Web Special awards to effectively create dynamic pricing. There have been some truly incredible Web Specials deals in the year and a half these awards have been around, including domestic AA flights for as little as 5,000 miles each way.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Book AA Web Specials over the phone
Based on the name — "Web Specials" — you would assume that these awards can only be booked online. In fact that's been true for quite a long time, with AA phone agents not being physically able to see or ticket flights at the Web Specials prices. However, venerable twitter user @JonNYC reported that as of April 1, you can book some Web Specials awards over the phone as well.
Here's what American Airlines had to say about the improvement:
"We’re making it easier for customers to book Web Special Awards. Previously available only on aa.com, customers can now call American Airlines Reservations for support booking domestic Web Special Awards and those to Canada and U.S. Virgin Islands. This update creates a more seamless experience across booking platforms and enables customers with infants or unaccompanied minors to book these awards through Reservations.”
This change isn't significant for many customers, as booking online and skipping the long hold times is always a preferable option. There are two groups of travelers who will really benefit here, as AA notes. Since unaccompanied minors and passengers traveling with a lap infant have to call in to book, they previously weren't able to take advantage of Web Special award pricing. With this new change, they'll be able to score the same great deals over the phone that they see online, but note this is currently limited to flights in the U.S. and to Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Related: Redeeming American Airlines AAdvantage miles for maximum value
Bottom line
Dynamic pricing has not gotten a warm welcome from award travelers, but everyone like a good discounted award sale which is exactly what AA Web Specials offer. It's nice to see AA expanding access to the program, and specifically making it possible for children traveling as unaccompanied minors or lap infants to take advantage of these deals.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets |
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels |
| 1X | Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Citi Premier’s 3 points per dollar spent across a wide range of popular categories is one of the more lucrative offerings in the world of points and miles. The Citi Premier comes with a $95 annual fee and is currently offering a solid sign up bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. It also has some valuable transfer partners to make the most of your rewards. Add in access to Citi Entertainment plus a $100 hotel credit for any single-stay hotel booking that exceeds $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through the Citi travel website, there are few reasons why the Citi Premier should not be in every traveler’s wallet.Pros
- Earns 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.
- $100 annual hotel savings benefit (on single hotel stay bookings of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through thankyou.com)
- Points transfer to 16 airline programs, from JetBlue to Virgin Atlantic.
- World Elite Mastercard benefits, extended warranty, damage and theft protection.
Cons
- $95 annual fee
- Lacks travel protections that other travel rewards cards come with
- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
- 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Rewards Rate
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets |
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels |
| 1X | Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
Intro Offer
For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account openingEarn 80,000 ThankYou® points60,000 pointsAnnual Fee
$95Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.670-850Excellent, Good
Why We Chose It
The Citi Premier’s 3 points per dollar spent across a wide range of popular categories is one of the more lucrative offerings in the world of points and miles. The Citi Premier comes with a $95 annual fee and is currently offering a solid sign up bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. It also has some valuable transfer partners to make the most of your rewards. Add in access to Citi Entertainment plus a $100 hotel credit for any single-stay hotel booking that exceeds $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through the Citi travel website, there are few reasons why the Citi Premier should not be in every traveler’s wallet.Pros
- Earns 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.
- $100 annual hotel savings benefit (on single hotel stay bookings of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through thankyou.com)
- Points transfer to 16 airline programs, from JetBlue to Virgin Atlantic.
- World Elite Mastercard benefits, extended warranty, damage and theft protection.
Cons
- $95 annual fee
- Lacks travel protections that other travel rewards cards come with
- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
- 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases