If you notice on the AA reduced mileage page in the “how to redeem” section, # 2 says that you must choose your destination from the month of travel on the list in order to redeem for a lower mileage.
Well in my experience, that’s really not the case. I have booked roundtrip and one way awards where just the origin was on the list but I still received the reduced mileage rate as long as I found saver availability and was flying only AA metal.
For example, I booked a one way trip originating from CRP (on the list for Aug) to FLL (not on the list for Aug). I called the agent, fed them the flights that I wanted, gave them the award code that starts with a T and it priced out at a reduced mileage rate of 8,750 miles instead of 12,500 miles and it was successfully ticketed.
I’ve noticed that IAH (my home airport) is always on the list so in theory I can go anywhere in the 48 states. (That means no Alaska or Hawaii), What I did try was a roundtrip from IAH to LAS. Vegas is never listed on the chart since it is such a popular destination, but when I called and fed the information to the agent, they priced it out at the lower rate of 17,500 miles instead of 25,000 miles. Score! Now I haven’t actually ticketed this itinerary but in my experience it should work.
Another tip is that some agents will say that they will charge you $25 for booking this ticket since you are calling in but if you explain that there is no way to book online then they will usually waive the fee. If they don’t then hang up and call again for a different agent.
If you live in a city that is always on the list, then you should be able to go anywhere in the US that you want as long as it’s AA metal and it’s a mileage saver award. If you live in a listed city like I do, does this change your whole perspective of where you can go? If you have not had any luck, please let me know.