American Airlines

[disny_luvr]

I usually fly Southwest but opted for AA for our weekend trip in May. I got 3 round trip tickets for $411 total ($137.xx per person) and I couldn’t pass that up

That's a great price!

 

[disny_luvr]

I fly AA almost exclusively for business travel, as well as Disney. No complaints. SW a couple times, never a problem, but I rack up miles with AA for work, so that's that.

As far as parking, I've tried a few. Eventually they all seem to burn you at one point, miss a pick up point, have a full van, so it takes 10 minutes for the driver to drop each person at the lot, or something like that. Smart Park, Wallypark, etc.

Colonial is a small lot, but works well with a reservation.

I've been using JetStream lately and it's one of the more reasonable rates. I also like that their parking lot isn't huge, so there aren't many drop offs to sit through - can also mean not as many vans operating, but that only hurt me one time. I make a reservation and there's always been a van waiting when I arrive. I park and am at the airport in 10 minutes. Lately, the drivers aren't as motivated to help with luggage. Fine by me. I rarely bring more than carryon, so I save a tip, though I actually did tip the driver last time anyway. Had the van to myself and figure he could use a tip.

There is rarely anyone in the checkin, checkout booth, so if you struggle with scanning payment codes, etc. they might not be for you.

Jet Stream also has a "truck" area toward the back fence, with slightly wider spaces.

Thank you for all the information on parking. It's very helpful.

 

[disny_luvr]

What about spirit, BWI to MCO? For me, the risk/reward ratio is pretty good.

I know you mentioned Spirit, but we had a really, really bad experience with Frontier a few years ago and now we shy away from booking any low-cost carrier. I'm glad flying Spirit works well for you.

 

[DebbieB]

How far? We are booking for April.

I have a reservation for September for D23, totally expect it to change.

April may still change, especially if travel goes down.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Any recommendations for offsite parking or are they all pretty much the same?

We used PreFlight for years but they shut down permanently during the pandemic. For our recent November cruise, I read reviews of so many other places, some really terrible ones too, but finally we finally decided on The Parking Spot. They are really expensive but service was good and the lot is secure. No reports of any stolen catalytic converters in any reviews. They have a rewards program and offer AAA discount. Also you can book through ebates/rakuten for additional cash back.
We'll be using them again in March. We'll get one day free for using points earned during our November trip.

PHL's own Economy Lot is still closed. It makes no sense why they don't at least open a few sections as needed.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Not to hijack the thread but can someone with an AA credit card explain how one gets to check bags for free with AA? We flew them in December and they handed out an app for their cc. I just dug it up on my desk and wondering if it's worth getting. We'll be flying AA one way in March. Lately, their flight times out of PHL are just so much better than SW and offer more non-stop flights to wherever we're going.
The AA seats are already purchased. If I apply now, how will their system know we shouldn't be charged for bags?
Thanks!

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Not to hijack the thread but can someone with an AA credit card explain how one gets to check bags for free with AA? We flew them in December and they handed out an app for their cc. I just dug it up on my desk and wondering if it's worth getting. We'll be flying AA one way in March. Lately, their flight times out of PHL are just so much better than SW and offer more non-stop flights to wherever we're going.
The AA seats are already purchased. If I apply now, how will their system know we shouldn't be charged for bags?
Thanks!

You just don't pay for the bag. No tricks, nothing hoops. Just walk up, give them a bag. Some airports you use a kiosk, get a tag, weight the bag and give it to the checkers.

 

[gharter]

Now we pay for the tickets with the AA credit card. Otherwise when you check your bags, just show them the card and there is no charge for luggage. Our last trip, there were 4 of us and 4 checked bags. All free, both directions.

 

[MrKnight]

Now we pay for the tickets with the AA credit card. Otherwise when you check your bags, just show them the card and there is no charge for luggage. Our last trip, there were 4 of us and 4 checked bags. All free, both directions.

Agreed, I do the same, the AA credit card is worth it, in addition to free checked bags, you also get free priority boarding (group 4 boarding which is immediately after first class/elite/etc.)

 

[SwiftyMorgan]

Not to hijack the thread but can someone with an AA credit card explain how one gets to check bags for free with AA? We flew them in December and they handed out an app for their cc. I just dug it up on my desk and wondering if it's worth getting. We'll be flying AA one way in March. Lately, their flight times out of PHL are just so much better than SW and offer more non-stop flights to wherever we're going.
The AA seats are already purchased. If I apply now, how will their system know we shouldn't be charged for bags?
Thanks!

If I understand you, you paid for the tickets, prior to getting the AA card, correct? If so, you need to contact AA and have them apply your AA# to the trip. I'm not certain that will do it, but if you booked through AA, they should be able to cancel any prepaid fee and/or update so you don't have to pay for the bags

 

[MrKnight]

Not to hijack the thread but can someone with an AA credit card explain how one gets to check bags for free with AA? We flew them in December and they handed out an app for their cc. I just dug it up on my desk and wondering if it's worth getting. We'll be flying AA one way in March. Lately, their flight times out of PHL are just so much better than SW and offer more non-stop flights to wherever we're going.
The AA seats are already purchased. If I apply now, how will their system know we shouldn't be charged for bags?
Thanks!

It's very easy, if you get an AA credit card (note that most AA cards have an annual fee so it really depends on how frequently you fly) you qualify for both free checked bags and free priority boarding, you have to link your card to your AAdvantage account (AA loyalty miles program), book your flight while logged into your AAdvantage account, and pay for your flight with your AA credit card.. Fast forward, when you check-in for your flight and select a checked bag the bag fee automatically populates as "$0" and you just print your tags, free of charge.. You are also automatically assigned "group 4" on your boarding pass which is priority boarding (after first class/elite/military/etc.)..

Now, if you ALREADY booked your flights and get an AA credit card AFTER the fact, you will have to call AA and ask them to link both your AA credit card and AAdvantage number to your reservation so you can receive the benefits..

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If I understand you, you paid for the tickets, prior to getting the AA card, correct? If so, you need to contact AA and have them apply your AA# to the trip. I'm not certain that will do it, but if you booked through AA, they should be able to cancel any prepaid fee and/or update so you don't have to pay for the bags

Yes. I didn’t apply for the AA card but still have the application from our last flight. I hadn’t planned to apply but now after reading about getting free bags and knowing we have a March flight I am considering it. We have AA account numbers since they merged with USAirways.
We typically fly SW but since the pandemic, SW has had lousy flight times and very few non stop flights to places we like to visit. So lately we are finding that AA is filling our travel needs.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If I understand you, you paid for the tickets, prior to getting the AA card, correct? If so, you need to contact AA and have them apply your AA# to the trip. I'm not certain that will do it, but if you booked through AA, they should be able to cancel any prepaid fee and/or update so you don't have to pay for the bags

Actually I booked it using Chase Ultimate Rewards. Our AA account numbers are in the reservation. To me, it is reward travel but AA doesn't view it that way because it wasn't booked with AA miles. Chase acts as the TA.

 

[Cheburashka]

Good morning!

I am looking to book a quick three night trip in April for my DH and I to see our sons perform with their marching band. Since this trip is happening the week before Easter, flight prices are through the roof. We usually always fly Southwest out of BWI, but I can’t get anything with times that work for us for less than $750. I found a flight on AA out of Philly for right around $500. We really hate the Philly airport, but if it’s cheaper, we aren’t opposed to it either.

I feel like a lot of people on here fly SW, but does anyone have experience with AA? I like the flexibility and free bags that SW offers, but I can’t see beyond the price.

My other question is, would it be a bad idea to take the last flight of the day on AA out of Philly? Both my DH and I have to work the day we’d be flying out, and we live about 90 minutes from the airport, so we can’t fly any earlier in the day. We could take the first flight out the following morning - and it’s cheaper, too - but we’d only land at 9:22am, baring everything goes smoothly, but that’s our Epcot day and I’d really like to be there at park opening.

Thoughts? Advice?
TIA!

ETA:
Should I wait to see if prices drop on SW? Our dates are 4/11-4/15 or 4/12-4/15 if we fly out the next morning.

I fly American all the time and much prefer them over SWA. You get to choose your seat in advance, which is important to me. They're also often cheaper than SWA these days. Just don't book "basic economy", because that takes away a lot of the perks of flying with a legacy carrier, for only a very small price reduction. You'd also be among the group of passengers most likely to get bumped off the flight, if it came to that. Book regular economy, not basic.

 

[disny_luvr]

We used PreFlight for years but they shut down permanently during the pandemic. For our recent November cruise, I read reviews of so many other places, some really terrible ones too, but finally we finally decided on The Parking Spot. They are really expensive but service was good and the lot is secure. No reports of any stolen catalytic converters in any reviews. They have a rewards program and offer AAA discount. Also you can book through ebates/rakuten for additional cash back.
We'll be using them again in March. We'll get one day free for using points earned during our November trip.

PHL's own Economy Lot is still closed. It makes no sense why they don't at least open a few sections as needed.

Thank you for the recommendation for The Parking Spot. I booked with them this morning. They are expensive, but we are AAA members and we got a 10% discount since this was our first time booking with them. Every little bit helps.