American Airlines First Class Heathrow to Los Angeles seats wide open in April and May

This is one of the rare ‘middle of the day’ posts that I run when something very interesting crops up.

Later this week, I will be writing about the new American Airlines service between Heathrow and Los Angeles which launches on March 28th, increasing the frequency to twice daily.

Via One Mile At A Time, AA has opened up pretty much EVERY First Class seat for redemption for the first two months. 

If you are looking to fly to the US West Coast between 28th March and 31st May, this is your solution.  Want 7 First Class seats?  No problem.  You will also get the brand new American Airlines First Class product on a Boeing 777.

The downside of redeeming on American, of course, is that you cannot use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.  If that is not a problem for you, this is a great opportunity to get seats on the exact dates you want.

It is not clear if this is an error by American or if they just don’t expect to sell many seats as the flight beds in.  If you book, your seat is guaranteed even if it is an error under US aviation rules.

Via ba.com, you are looking at 150,000 Avios and £584 per person, return.  If you have American Airlines miles and book via AA, the taxes figure will be substantially lower.  You can cancel for the usual £35 per person.

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How to earn American Airlines miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

American Airlines no longer has its own UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn American Airlines miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to American Airlines miles at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 American Airlines miles per £1 spent on the card.

You can apply here.