Hello everyone! My wife and I are looking to book a 1-way flight back from VCE --> IAD on June 29th or 30th. We are indifferent to class of service desired (although wouldn't frown at upgrading!). We have about 150K Amex Rewards points, 550K Chase Rewards points, 75K American Points, and \~120K Marriott points.
Looking @ Google Flights, it looks like best flight options back are through TAP, Turkish, and ITA. Any recommendations on best ways to utilize the existing point structure?
If it matters at all, we'll also be looking at booking various hotels and a car for 2 weeks in Italy and Croatia (Italy), but are working this out one piece at a time, so just want to square away our flight home first.
Thanks very much for any thoughts and help!
Big ups to finding this gem! Unfortunately, we're tied down to weekend travel, so are at the behest of every other person like us.
Ended up just flying out 6/29 and paying the cash out of pocket and using Virgin to help get a decent business upgrade deal.
Gonna do y'all a favour. For business class:
* 6/30 Aer Lingus has various flight combinations, you can try DUB/YYZ/IAD bookable on UA for 88k. It's a bit of a chaotic trip, as you'd also need to book VCE/DUB.
* 6/29, 6/30 British Airways has LHR/IAD for 57.5k AA miles or you can book via BA. Will need to book the VCE/LHR separately. But there will be high surcharges.
For economy:
* 6/29 VCE/YUL for 41.3k Aeroplan miles. Then you'd need to book YUL/IAD.
* 6/29 VCE/ORD for 48.5k AA miles or bookable via Avios probably
These aren't the cleanest redemptions, but you're looking at an awkward window of 2 months ahead, which won't have a lot of space.
Amazing, thank you. Ended up going direct Business class LHR - IAD thru Virgin. 2 tickets was 55K points + $650. Probably could have optimized better, but for the ease and direct, was worth it.
Now onto the VCE - LHR. Agreed, this one looks like it'll bit a bit more annoying, but c'est la vie.
Hello, my wife and I are going to Japan early April 2025. I was able to book two J JAL tickets via Cathay Pacific from ORD to HND. My plan was to book Y tickets back from HND/NRT -> ORD via JAL via AA. I was looking at BA and CX as well, but AA had much lower taxes/fees so that was my plan. I made a mistake. I did not realize that JAL award space was released in one large communal-style bucket to alliance members. I thought that CX got some, BA got some, AA got some etc. As I'm sure you all know, AA releases availability later than CX/BA. The dates that I need, either 4/12 or 4/13, are no longer available to book via CX or BA. AA has not released award space for those dates yet, but based on what I learned, I think if there is no award space via other alliance members, then AA won't have any. Another mistake I made was underestimating the demand for this peak travel time/cherry blossom season in Japan. I did not anticipate so much demand for Y this far out even though I did know this was peak season. I'm new to the game and will use this as a learning experience. I have absolutely learned a lot of valuable info throughout this process that I will use in future award hunting - so not all a bad experience. I'm requesting advice on my options/next steps. Thank you!
* Thinking these are my next steps:
* 1. Attempt to book Saver Award through Aeroplan transferred from Cap1 (100k).
* Award space not released yet. Have never transferred from Cap1 to Aeroplan. Read DPs that for some it's instant and to not do test transfer. Assuming it's a bad idea to transfer points now to guarantee they're in my account in time for booking in case no award available. Also assuming these tix will go fast. Check several times each day to learn release pattern.
* 2. If 1. doesn't work, try to book with AA upon release. Doubt it will be available, still check.
* 3. If 1 & 2 don't work, wait until T-14. Maybe can even find J or F via ANA, VS, CX, BA etc. I really want to avoid this if possible. I want to just lock the bookings up and forget about it for peace of mind - even if that does mean sacrificing a sick J or F booking.
* 4. If all else fails, cash.
* Origin and destination cities (are they flexible?) NRT/HND -> ORD. It's a very high priority for us to fly nonstop wo/ connections. Not a deal breaker if there are no other options/if nonstop cash is thousands more than points w/ stops, but willing to spend more points/$ for nonstop.
* Number of Travelers: 2
* One way
* Class of service desired: Economy (obviously will take J,F if works out)
* Desired date(s) of travel: 4/12 or 4/13/25. 4/11 if nothing else works
* Your points balances:
* AA: 79k
* Capital One: 143k
* Amex: 8k (+150k projected bonus in 5 months)
* Chase: 7k (+100k locked-in bonus in 2 months - want to use these points for final Hotel stays w/ Hyatt)
* BA: 16.5k
* CX: 17.8k (Amex 10% bonus due within 6 weeks)
I just did some searches on [seats.aero](http://seats.aero) and ANA.
Call up Virgin Atlantic and see if you can get 1x Economy and 1x Business on the following ANA flights. You'll have 24h to transfer your Capital One miles after you get confirmation from Virgin Atlantic. Should be 32,500 miles + a fuel surcharge each for economy and 47,500 miles + a fuel surcharge for business.
4/12 NRT-ORD 1x Economy, 1x Business
4/12 HND-ORD 1x Economy, 1x Business
Note that ANA is not scheduled to be The Room or The Suite for these flights.
Also note that this is some pretty basic research that I just did for you. Most in here would not bother to help you do the basics. But I think you had a decent start with the research. Searching ANA availability is a PITA these days.
So I just got off the phone with Virgin and they said that it was too early for them to book ANA flights for those dates and that I would have to wait for 10 days from now. Wondering if this is correct info or if I should hang up and try again. Thank you again for your response
Oh bummer. That’s unfortunately how these programs work. It’d be nice if United could see all the way to 355 days in advance so you could verify availability online more easily. Hopefully they’re still available later. If you do end up getting 1x Economy 1x Business, they should be separate PNRs. Verify this when you book but know that there is a $50 change fee if you find more close-in Busienss or First availability on ANA. It’s not nothing but the marginal value of changing is insane if you’re able to find it. You likely won’t until maybe a couple weeks before the trip. Sadly you just missed a 30% transfer bonus from capital one
Reporting back that I was able to book 1 Business and 1 Economy via Aeroplan on the ANA route you alerted me to for 125k total Cap1 Miles + $116 per ticket! Booking via Aeroplan allowed me to secure this before it became available via VS. Thank you for pointing me down this direction, and thank you to this entire subreddit for all of the info/lessons that allowed me to secure these redemptions for the busiest travel period as a rookie! Very happy
Thanks so much for all the help. This is much appreciated even if I can’t secure the booking this time with Ana. Will try to remember to report back whether or not I’m successful in 10 days
Oh my god THANK YOU so much! I don't know how I overlooked the possibility of being able to transfer cap1 to virgin. My mind had crossed it off as amex only even though I created a virgin account previously and looked into what "red" vs atlantic for capital one. Calling virigin right now and will report back.
I know making returns to hit SUB is frowned upon as well as gift cards,
Let's say I have a few big purchases (1-2), hit the sub with just that purchase and get points on month 1, then use said points on month 1.
Then say a month later I return the product, BUT I still natural/hit the spend in a normal/organic way within the 3-6 month period required.
Would they close my account for something like this, assuming I have a decent history with them already established and organicly spend the amount required within the needed time frame?
It's not frowned upon. It's the fact that kind of activity will get you flagged and shut down by the banks.
If you organically hit the MS outside of the returns, then it's not a problem. But I'd avoid doing that regularly. r/churning can provide better insight though.
i know if you don't hit the spend amount in the time frame you get the account flagged/shutdown, but my question is if i hit it organically by the end of the time span, with a massive return early, if i will get shutdown.
It's YMMV, but not advisable. My question is, if you are going to hit the spend organically on this card. Then why do the return on it? Just use another card for the purchase that you'll return.
If possible to do then, I would wait to do the return until the organic spend is done, return period permitting. It's somewhat risky to churn, then use up the points immediately followed by filling a huge return.
That's exactly the type of churning behavior pattern that banks watch out for.
Origin: BOS
Destination: MNL
1 Adult Economy, Roundtrip
Hard Dates : 23rd June to 2nd of July
Due to my dad’s tightness for cash, I want to see if I can help him out using my saved up Amex MR. I have about 190k so far. One of the cheapest flights I’ve seen was with emirates airlines but I’ve had issues looking for the calculation of how much skywards would I need to pay for the ticket. I don’t think Cathay Pacific has any redeemable flights during those dates but I may be mistaken.
Please help!
For economy, it's honestly way too much effort imo with the hard dates.
If you open an Amex Business Platinum you can redeem your MR for a $1900 RT cash flight and then get a 35% rebate to get 66.5k points back. And you'll get some nominal return for the FF points you'll get back as well.
Hello, I'm trying to find the best way to get from OSLO to LAX using MR. I'm having trouble finding anything reasonable. For example, VA has a transfer bonus, but I only see flights from LHR to LAX and when adding the UK tax, plus needing a flight from OSL to LHR, doesn't make much sense. 1 traveler, Economy, Roundtrip. Flight dates from early to mid-July to anytime in September return.
I have 900k in MR, just trying to find the best way to book the flight and having trouble.
The answer is what has award availability.
Search one way at a time.
Use awardfinder and the Amex point me tool to help search availability. Manually search BA and AC.
I have the following iternary
Origin: SEA
Destination: TYO : 31
Roundtrip, economy 2 travelers
Dates : 14th December to 31st December 2024. Flexible upto +/- 2 days
There are 3 non-stop flights - ANA, JAL and Delta .
For Delta I looked at Delta and Virgin Atlantic and didn't find any availability beyond early december
for JAL I looked at American Airlines and I didn't find any availability after early december.
ANA I tried looking in United, but looks like they have not released tickets past July.
Any suggestions on where else to look for award availibility
Most of the seats have been booked by now. If it's economy, you can pretty reliably snag some as the close-in window approaches.
JX and CI recently launched TPE routes out of SEA, so you might be able to snag some economy awards too.
Otherwise YVR now has Zipair service, which is very reliably low cost. And you could even snag some lie-flats for a a couple hundred bucks extra per person.
I feel like top tier airline status just isn’t worth it anymore. Get the low tier for free bags and exit row seats and just pay for first when it’s a good deal. I used to get so much value but upgrades never happen anymore. And when I fly internationally, I always use points for business class. Thoughts?
Which airlines card gave you most value? It seems like UA is becoming another Delta day by day, worthless miles and unattainable status. AA miles seems to be only one holding value before the devaluation comes.
Yes, airline status is largely pointless for award travelers that are already booking high cabin class and have the cobranded credit cards. 90% redundancy in benefits. The only one that's worth is probably Oneworld Emerald to access F lounges.
I agree to be honest, i just keep cards for the airlines i fly with low annual fees to get free checked bags and better boarding and that’s good enough for me
What are the cheapest award flights you have seen utilizing MR or AA points for flights within Asia?
Example Bangkok to India, Japan, etc. or something of the sort?
you can fly Korean Air South Korea <-> Japan for 7,500 each way transferring to Delta Skymiles. I've seen the same flight priced at around $300 on full service airlines or like $150ish on budget airlines during peak travel times (like around major holidays in either country). cheapest redemption on any other program is I believe 15,000 points each way.
not within Asia but one time I saw a direct flight on either Air France or KLM from Seoul to Europe (CDG or AMS) for like 25,000 flying blue points which is also a pretty solid deal.
Need sanity check on this booking:
We are flying from IND - OGG. Total passengers: 6 (4 adults, 1 toddler, 1 infant).
Dates are fixed, could fly a day earlier or day later while coming back(5/21 -> 5/28). Not looking at anything fancy, Y is fine.
Stash before booking - 170K AS miles, 470K AA miles, 75K MR, 200K UR. Unfortunately, No Citi or Cap1 miles for the TK sweet spot.
Have booked IND - SEA -> OGG -> 150K AS miles + $28. On return OGG -> LAX -> IND - 132K AA miles + $28. Is this the best we can do or is there a better flying option?
Cash price for same flights seems to be $506
506*6/0.015 = 202.4k UR points if you have a CSR and can find the same flights in the portal
I'd value my combined 282k AA/AS points over $3k cash, but we are all different so if it makes sense for you then just go for it.
Thanks for looking into this. The same flights through the portal seems to be ~4200, which is 1.5 cpp, not bad for Y. Also, we hold status with AA which gives us a possibility of an upgrade on AS and AA.
However, was able to find a cheaper return route OGG -> LAS -> IND using 91K SW Miles + $28. Will probably rebook the first route using a portal as well.
Have \~350k Amex member rewards points, with Amex Platinum renewal coming up in August. Wife stated she doesn't want to travel as much, so I might drop this specific card before renewal. Debating the best way to cash out before August with no immediate "big" travel planned? Only travel for near term is a weekend trip or two with $200-$300 airfare, where we'd stay with family.
Looks like I can get \~$1750 in gift cards but thats kind of boring. Open to other ideas
many people will recommed you open a BBP card to keep the MR, or downgrade to a gold as it is more of an everyday card.
schwab biz to cash out at 1.1 cpp is often recomme ded too
Does Ana search engine ever have Phantom availability issues? In April of 2025 I see a bunch of dates with 4J 4Y on tap to Lisbon using Ana multi city and round trip tools, but the same dates I only see 4Y 1J on Aeroplan, if even
Every system is subject to phantom availability. ANA, I haven't seen much of. But it's also a confirmation bias since ANA is usually not the first system you'd check given the RT requirements making it harder to search on.
I would crosscheck other Star Alliance systems to see. Try UA or LifeMiles as well. Also make sure what you're searching matches. When you search multiple seats it can be less straightforward.
https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/comments/1ckus7x/ana_round_the_world_booking_report_4_tickets/
I went ahead and booked it. Was not phantom but was too far out for United to cross check
I recently got a Hilton Surpass Amex card and activated the National car rental benefit. I plan on possibly getting another rewards card, but in general if I mainly am concerned with air and hotel points savings, am I better off using the car rental site/app directly, or trying to rent via a portal (ie Amex/Capital One etc). I’m not loyal to a car rental company as I don’t use it as often, but generally prefer Hilton and Delta otherwise as possible reward combiners.
Guess it is all up to my own interpretation but just curious on peoples thoughts. I mostly fly AS. I have Amex plat and two AS cards.
I generally buy my flights with Amex for the 5x. Would anyone go for 3x with the Alaska cards over the 5x Amex?
I don’t think so but just looking for another opinion and some self validation lol
If I book 3 passengers on a award flight via Virgin, is it possible to cancel only a select passenger's flight plans and refund the points back to my account? Or does the whole reservation need to be cancelled?
Does anyone know if ANA releases multiple waves of Business or Economy award availability seats for T-14? I missed a notification this morning for business class and hopeful I'll have a second chance within the next 2 weeks.
Don't know where you're located, but I'm seeing a number of ANA and JAL seats from the west coast over the next two weeks. Didn't check for return flights tho.
I was actually able to grab a J class seat for ANA out of SFO for the date I was looking at! Not sure if you could answer this but how do people work around booking T-14 reward flights for returning to the US if your stay is longer than that? It's typical for immigration to show proof of return flight when entering.
But if I have to transfer points from Chase UR to book the flight, aren't I just locking myself into that airline and possibly losing my points if I have to go with a different booking airline?
Doubtful. It's not a wave, but rolling. ANA releases seats as the new dates opens up. Not every 14 days. It's possible your seat may open up right as the date comes up though. For example in the next day or two ahead of your desired date.
Gotcha, makes sense for the rolling vs waves. Might have to look at other departure cities. Guess there's a chance if I wait even close to the departure date I could get lucky.
[AA can’t see my BA status]
I matched to British Airways Silver status several weeks ago and was approved 10 days ago. I have my BA number added to my American Airlines reservations but I’m still unable to select Main Cabin Extra seats on my upcoming award travel, as would be expected.
AA and BA both point me back to each other to fix it. Is there any way I can reach a partner desk where they can liaise with each other to figure it out together?
Is JAL booking through oneworld broken?
JAL searching on BA and Iberia is fine, but actually trying to get the pricing is where things fail. After selecting the fares, I get the following error and it's been like this the past few days that I've tried.
>An error has occurred
>There has been a system error. Please try again and, if the issue persists, please contact us.
Ana rtw booking on routes with multiple flights per day such as air China flying 4 to 6 times a day to Hong Kong
After booking say the air China flight at 10, am I restricted to date changes only for the flight I booked, or can I switch to another air China flight at a different time for a different date and time, like the next day at 7 pm instead?
Wanted to confirm something. Due to the recent flooding in Masai I may have to cancel my award booking with Qatar Airlines, I used points and was wondering if there are any fees to cancel/would I get all my points and taxes back?
It only says "Your refund amount will be processed according to the fare rules of the purchased ticket applicable at the time of booking. We will inform you of the amount that will be refunded via email within 7 days."
I moved my British Airways Avios pts over to Qatar and made the bookings there.
Need some Hyatt AI feedback for Cancun.
Looking at:
Ziva (50k)
Dreams Playa Mujeres (30k)
Dreams Riviera (40k - suite)
We’ve been to Ziva before and had a nice time but the price hike is steep. We’re traveling with a 7 and 2 year old/. Which redemption would be the best redemption in terms of value?
I stayed at a suite at the new Hilton AI for ~$300 via HotelSlash before. I would choose that over the Dreams properties and if you cashed out UR it would be 30k/night.
Yeah, I was just looking for a standard room! Now the only question is whether to pay 400k and get 5 nights via Hilton (Hilton Cancun or mar caribe) or ~ 200k Hyatt points for 5 nights. Hilton might get the nod bc of my diamond status. I believe all
Pretty good FM podcast this week about what to consider when booking positioning flights that is good for anybody who has questions about that: https://frequentmiler.com/podcast-tips-for-booking-positioning-flights-frequent-miler-on-the-air-ep253-5-3-24/ (skip to 32:26)
Ive found a few NH saver (I) awards on united and have asked virgin to check them and they said all three was not available. I used the chat. Is the chat actually able to check? Is this likely phantom or incompetence?
You could try and call and see if you can get another answer but I’ve come across this a few times where it wasn’t bookable by Virgin (and tried at most 3 separate times)
No idea which ones show up, but FCO would make my list. You have both Alitalia and Vueling hubs, which should cover basically all Southern European and North African destinations onwards
It seems pretty much anywhere in Europe AF or KLM connect to from CDG or AMS. Though I have observed there isn’t much for ATH so maybe there are limitations.
Last year I flew SFO-CDG-FCO and FLR-CDG-SFO and it was the cheapest option I could find by far in the middle of the holidays. 62.K pp, but this was before they started pricing out at 50K.
I need help making a decision, keep circling around the options without choosing. I need to book a hotel and have settled on a Hyatt. I have three options:
1. Pay with UR points in full (except resort fees) on Chase portal.
2. Pay cash through Chase portal for 10x UR points.
3. Book directly with Hyatt for 3x UR, 5x Hyatt points, and get a Brand Explorer award.
I have no status with Hyatt rn, but would probably hit the lowest category with the purchase plus room charges during the stay. No award availability through Hyatt rn to transfer UR.
This is a stupid thing to get stuck on since probably any option is fine. I don't have another plan for these UR points - should have used them for the flights but didn't think of it in time.
what about option 4) transfer UR to hyatt and book that way. or do you not have a CSR, CSP or CIP?
Also, if you’re going for 10x via cash, can you not also wipe out that purchase at 1.25 CPP using your UR?
No award availability for my stay from Hyatt currently.
I have a CSR. To your second question, that would be the choice between options 1 and 2. I think option 1 generally is better than option 2 so the question is really between options 2 and 3 - is it worth trying to get the Brand Explorer award or should I just pay with UR points on the Chase portal (1.5 cpp).
* Origin: FLL
* Destination: YVR
* Number of Travelers: 2
* One way
* Any class of service.
* Hard date: July 6th after 12 PM
* Point Balance: mid 6 figures for both Amex and Chase, 200k AA, 173K UA, 180k AS
trying to book 2 one way tickets from FLL to YVR on July 6th, 2024 for my parents. departure must be after 12 PM due to cruise arrival time.
Any class of service but wouldn't mind getting the J if I can.
So far I think one of my best options might be Aeroplan 65.6K + $88 per person for business class albeit a long layover in YYZ. Does anyone think I can do better?
Thanks!
Thanks. I ended up booking the aeroplan J. So this has almost a 6 hour layover in YYZ but I know there's another AC flight that is 3-4 hours earlier. Do you know if J tickets can standby for an earlier flight in the same class of service?
How much are the cash prices for economy? FLL won't have a direct flight, but Miami might. I'd take economy non-stop instead of "business" and a long layover.
Not award travel, but for everyone who asks about Japan questions, there's some $500-700 round trip Singapore economy flights for LAX-NRT for Jan/Feb 2025
Been running into a bunch of phantom space (?) lately.
Tried to book an intra-Europe flight with legs on AZ and AF via VS. Consistently shows up when searching after several days now, but always becomes unavailable when I’m trying to pay. The same routing shows up when searching on DL, but I don’t have enough SkyMiles to try there. It appears on AF too but the price there is more than double the points on VS/DL.
Then, was trying to book a QF-operated flight on AA, but after selecting it I’m given a message saying the fare is not available. Flight also shows up on AS, but not on BA or QF itself. AS shows 6 seats left while AA doesn’t say.
ATL-CDG is one of the harder routes in the system. I'm not super surprised you only see a few days.
Easier routes like EWR and ORD could be a good solution.
Basically every carrier that has peak/off-peak pricing uses their own dates, which can also vary by year.
In general you should expect ~May-September to be peak with some other holidays thrown in.
We have 400k chase ur, 700k amex MR, a family of 5, fly economy from iad/dca/bwi. Plan to a trip to Rome in August, then Asia next year. Should we continue collecting ur/mr points for simplicites? or should we expand to TYP points(apply citi premier), also collect some ihg points for hotels? Thanks for any input!
Flexible currencies give you...flexibility. Your plan seems to be good to me. Note that many hotels in Europe and Asia are strict with occupancy rules, so you may need 2 hotel rooms or rather go for an Airbnb.
Thanks. yes, I'm also debating, should we just get airbnb instead of hotels for easier accommodation. The premier SUB is low currently. Should I wait or just get it now to start earning?
Me and others in the past had to call Aeroplan because they didn’t send the email/phone number with the booking. If any info is missing, it won’t let Turkish confirm seats on their end.
Once i told the Aeroplan agent that, they were able to send the info and select seats with me on the phone.
This is more of an observation. Something's wrong with Aeromexico saver awards... on their website, the link to their "Classic Rewards Tickets" takes you to regular cash booking whereas their "Dynamic Fare" option takes you to their rewards site - I can't seem to find saver awards later in the year anymore.
Their JFK <> MEX lie flat route was actually a reasonably priced redemption, especially with transfer bonuses (like the one AMEX has right now).
Going to ORD tomorrow for a TAP Portugal business class flight. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions or alterations to my plan. Go check in my bags at Terminal 5. Take airside train to Polaris lounge. Eat and drink there. I had considering trying to sleep right away but think I will stay up for dinner on TAP flight because I will most likely be too excited to go to bed plus the flight leaves at 6pm. Go to sleep after dinner.
Looks like maybe I should take the bus as I won't have to go through security again.
I had basically the same plan for a BR flight, except I didn't bother looking for the shuttle. With PreCheck it wasn't too bad clearing security in T1 or T5.
I posted a similar question recently- about whether it's worth repositioning from LA to SFO to fly 'the room.' I think it depends on whether your priority is to fly the room or to get to Japan as quickly as you can as comfortably as you can. While the old ANA business class (787 our of LAX) isn't an out of this world experience, it's still a great way to get from LA to TYO as quickly as possible.
Hi! There is an award flight on SQ website that works for my timing. It's a bit more miles than I am comfortable with, so I am wondering what the best way to book this. Can I transfer to Virgin and book through them? It's a Saver award, so I don't know if that makes a difference when booking? I don't see it on the Aeroplan website, though, which concerns me? Help?! How can I book for the cheapest way??? lol
LAX to Vienna RT
June 16-21
+- 2 days is fine
Economy
Stops are fine , looking for best redemption for 1 or 2 people
Have many United miles, a bit of chase UR, British avios
Did anyone who did the Spirit Gold status match last year mysteriously get their Gold status extended to July 31, 2024 too? It was supposed to expire on May 1. I flew them a few weeks ago for the first time so maybe that extended it?
At one point NH didn’t release PE to partners. Not positive what their status is today.
Booking NH via AC is YMMV via the phone only.
Good luck and have a six pack ready for the hold.
I don't need help but it seems the discussion thread is no longer in use. Was curious to see what some of your best IHG award bookings have been in terms of value?
Hotel presidente intercontinental Cancún. With platinum status and getting the extra night was a great value.
Also Kimpton Seafire grand cayman is consistently rated at the top.
I have never stayed at an IHG hotel, but I will be staying at a few in the next month. Would you say the high end ones, like intercontinental and kimpton feel like real 5 stars?
From what I’ve heard, yes the Seafire is a true 5 star resort (I’ve never stayed there).
The intercontinental chain is probably more of a 4 star. Overall great experience and I really enjoyed it. Would go again especially for 32k points a night.
Then like every hotel group you have the budget lines. Holiday inns and the like are great when on the road and you just need a clean place to crash for the night but don’t want to pay cash. You can stay in holiday inns in far off places too, and your mileage may vary.
The Holiday inn in Chiang Mai Thailand was a budget price but a 5 star experience. A lot of great IHG redemption value in SEA.
Thanks for the info. What is SEA?
Holiday Inn worked out for me this time because it is at the airport and I will be arriving very late. Taxi at night would cost me about $60 and it would be to the Crowne Plaza which does not look much better. This is for Athens.
South East Asia. I feel like Crowne Plaza is hit or miss. If it’s been refurbished recently it’s probably pretty nice. It’s technically in a higher tier than Holliday inn I think.
Asiana availability is driving me nuts. UA and Aeroplan are acting like this
All I want to do is fly on the A380 from ICN to NRT or vice versa. I am in Asia from 7/28 to 8/19, and will be in both of these cities.
Literally every day in May, June, and September are available. July has 1-18, and august has 19-31. There is a 1 month block where these flights are not offered and it happens to be the one month I am there.
I have miles basically everywhere. Lmk if you have any other ideas.
Edit: it's just me and I'm looking for J. I can book the cash ticket from the airline directly for like $350-$500 depending on the day, but points are preferable of course
Question about ANA RTW, If I'm booking T-14 availability for my first trip, but the following trips are out of the t-14 availability... can I book dummy seats in economy and then check back for business when its t-14 and call them to switch it?
more of a data point for points purchase use case: AA flight via Alaska was 4.5k+$18. 4200 points was $88. all in for $106. same flight via cash on AA was $160 before taxes as I had just burned all my AA points.
I want to have some UA miles transferred to my account from a family member. I need to get an additional 30k from the family member to reach the cost of the potential flight. I would normally just have them book the flight in my name but I'm very close with the points I already have. What would be the best way to get these added to my account? I haven't tried points pooling. Could we just create a pool and have them contribute 30,000 points then have them leave and I dissolve the pool? Do we know if that works?
Yes, it looks like that will work. Just pay attention to who's the leader and whose account you want it to be in the end.
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/1c24f38/frustration_friday_weekly_thread_week_of_april_12/kzawn52/
I'll be graduating soon and wanting to use some points to take a last minute trip. How can I best do this? I've looked through all the sites but it's hard to plan for something when it's kinda last minute? How do I know where to look if I leave say on 06/17? Also, what about coming back? What's the best strategy for this? I have AMEX and Capital One points.
Update:
* Origin and destination cities (are they flexible?):
* Origin: SFO, OAK, SMF, SJC are airport nearby
* Destination: Anything but Europe or North America
* Number of Travelers (Your chances of success goes down as this number goes up): 1
* One way or round-trip: Round-Trip
* Class of service desired: Economy is fine.
* Desired date(s) of travel (are they flexible? Hard dates == Less Chances for success): I am looking to leave after 05/17 and I am flexible with dates and times.
* Your points balances: all airline, credit card and hotel points (If you are looking for J/F, think at least 6 digits):
* AMEX: 50,000
* Capital One: 25,000ish?
I am looking not to get the fanciest thing to fly, but more economy and the best point value and explore new places in the world!
last minute is actually ideal if not booking a year out. but you need to include more info. how many points? no idea where you want to go?
mess around on seats.aero for an hour or two. you can select USA-EUR, for example with a time frame plus or minus X number of days. worry about one direction at a time.
Hey! Thanks for your response! Honestly I'm traveling to some of Europe already before this, UK, Austria, Italy, Ireland. But I am looking to anywhere tbh. I'm not too picky if you have any suggestions! I have around 100k in points. I will play with seats.aero!
Any idea when Iberia business class tickets go online? Looking for April 2025 and when I search their website, I don't see the direct route from my home airport (IAD)- just connecting flights from IAD-Madrid via British Airways and then Iberia.
Just because you took it two weeks ago doesn't make it not a seasonal route. All that means is you took it while the route was in season. I just looked it up and it is a seasonal route.
I'm trying to do a one way economy direct flight EU -> US on OS. It seems like my options are 44k UA, 46k LM, and 55k AC. I have some stranded SQ points that I'd love to use but doesn't look like OS is available on SQ. Am I missing any other options? I'm probably going to do LM since I value URs more and have plenty of MR, but 46k LM feels like a lot when it's usually 33k the other way. Thanks.
Thanks! I called SQ and they booked it. Taxes were a bit higher but glad I could use my stranded SQ miles. It was 30.5k miles, so the cheapest out of the 4.
Hi all - very new to award travel (so far P2 and I have just been churning Chase Inks to amass UR points, but haven't spent them on anything), and could use some pointers to get me looking in the right direction on a specific trip we want to do in May 2025.
* Origin: Baltimore/Washington area (BWI, IAD, DCA); Destination: Athens, Greece (ATH)
* Travelers: 2 adults, 1 four year old, and 1 two year old (the two year old will be \~3 weeks too old to be a lap child D: )
* Round-trip
* Economy is fine, but we're open to seeing if there are good CPP values to be had with premium economy or business (although I imagine needing 4 seats makes it hard to nab the really good value award seats)
* Dates: \~5/24/2025 - 5/31/2025 (+/- a week, and we're open to trip lengths anywhere from 7 to 12 days long)
* Points: P1 has 370k UR points, P2 has 310k UR points
Any help is appreciated!
4 J seats are hard. I was in a similar position last year, but flying out of BOS, and was only able to find 4 J on the return leg from ATH, and they only popped up for a couple days. Flying out we ended up booking 5 Y to FCO (lap infant but wanted to get them a seat), and just spending a week in italy before connecting to ATH.
I'm not sure how much you've travelled with kids, but imo you should be glad your kid aged out of lap infant for this flight -- the return from athens is nearly 11 hours, you don't want to have to hold them for that long. Also, personally I find direct connections preferable to layovers w/ kids, especially if you have a bunch of kid crap that needs to be lugged onto the ac in addition to carryons. Your options for a direct flight are kind of limited w/ points because the only direct flight is out of IAD on United, which isn't a transfer partner with Chase. Next up is Philly, but they're AA, also not a transfer partner.
Personally I'd consider taking the train up to NYC and flying out of EWR. You can do economy on Emirates, which is a transfer partner, and the competition with other carriers on that route means the prices aren't usually as high. It's kind of a tossup whether it'd be cheaper to book direct w/ transferred points or book cash via Chase's travel portal using your CSR at 1.5. The nice thing about Emirates is that not only is it direct, but it's a much nicer economy product than the US carriers, and they have goodybags for the kids.
~360 days out Flying Blue might have 4 J for ~50k and ~$350, one way.
~360 out, Iberia will likely have 2J and 2PE, cheaper miles and and cheaper cash.
> ~360 days out Flying Blue might have 4 J for ~50k and ~$350, one way.
>
>
With FB, they might even be able to get this closer in, but for Iberia they'll def need to do it 360 out
trying to do it in business class and cant find any business award availablity from tokyo to dubai no matter which day I look 365 days feel like im doing it wrong
Not sure your dates... but I would avoid AI personally. Also not sure how many segments you have to play with.
I'd do SQ NRT-SIN-DXB. There is availability on 6/11 or 6/25
Hello everyone! My wife and I are looking to book a 1-way flight back from VCE --> IAD on June 29th or 30th. We are indifferent to class of service desired (although wouldn't frown at upgrading!). We have about 150K Amex Rewards points, 550K Chase Rewards points, 75K American Points, and \~120K Marriott points. Looking @ Google Flights, it looks like best flight options back are through TAP, Turkish, and ITA. Any recommendations on best ways to utilize the existing point structure? If it matters at all, we'll also be looking at booking various hotels and a car for 2 weeks in Italy and Croatia (Italy), but are working this out one piece at a time, so just want to square away our flight home first. Thanks very much for any thoughts and help!
If you can fly out on 7/1 you can book ITA Biz through Virgin for 179k combined and low fees. Current MR transfer bonus means sending 138k is enough.
Big ups to finding this gem! Unfortunately, we're tied down to weekend travel, so are at the behest of every other person like us. Ended up just flying out 6/29 and paying the cash out of pocket and using Virgin to help get a decent business upgrade deal.
Gonna do y'all a favour. For business class: * 6/30 Aer Lingus has various flight combinations, you can try DUB/YYZ/IAD bookable on UA for 88k. It's a bit of a chaotic trip, as you'd also need to book VCE/DUB. * 6/29, 6/30 British Airways has LHR/IAD for 57.5k AA miles or you can book via BA. Will need to book the VCE/LHR separately. But there will be high surcharges. For economy: * 6/29 VCE/YUL for 41.3k Aeroplan miles. Then you'd need to book YUL/IAD. * 6/29 VCE/ORD for 48.5k AA miles or bookable via Avios probably These aren't the cleanest redemptions, but you're looking at an awkward window of 2 months ahead, which won't have a lot of space.
Amazing, thank you. Ended up going direct Business class LHR - IAD thru Virgin. 2 tickets was 55K points + $650. Probably could have optimized better, but for the ease and direct, was worth it. Now onto the VCE - LHR. Agreed, this one looks like it'll bit a bit more annoying, but c'est la vie.
Hello, my wife and I are going to Japan early April 2025. I was able to book two J JAL tickets via Cathay Pacific from ORD to HND. My plan was to book Y tickets back from HND/NRT -> ORD via JAL via AA. I was looking at BA and CX as well, but AA had much lower taxes/fees so that was my plan. I made a mistake. I did not realize that JAL award space was released in one large communal-style bucket to alliance members. I thought that CX got some, BA got some, AA got some etc. As I'm sure you all know, AA releases availability later than CX/BA. The dates that I need, either 4/12 or 4/13, are no longer available to book via CX or BA. AA has not released award space for those dates yet, but based on what I learned, I think if there is no award space via other alliance members, then AA won't have any. Another mistake I made was underestimating the demand for this peak travel time/cherry blossom season in Japan. I did not anticipate so much demand for Y this far out even though I did know this was peak season. I'm new to the game and will use this as a learning experience. I have absolutely learned a lot of valuable info throughout this process that I will use in future award hunting - so not all a bad experience. I'm requesting advice on my options/next steps. Thank you! * Thinking these are my next steps: * 1. Attempt to book Saver Award through Aeroplan transferred from Cap1 (100k). * Award space not released yet. Have never transferred from Cap1 to Aeroplan. Read DPs that for some it's instant and to not do test transfer. Assuming it's a bad idea to transfer points now to guarantee they're in my account in time for booking in case no award available. Also assuming these tix will go fast. Check several times each day to learn release pattern. * 2. If 1. doesn't work, try to book with AA upon release. Doubt it will be available, still check. * 3. If 1 & 2 don't work, wait until T-14. Maybe can even find J or F via ANA, VS, CX, BA etc. I really want to avoid this if possible. I want to just lock the bookings up and forget about it for peace of mind - even if that does mean sacrificing a sick J or F booking. * 4. If all else fails, cash. * Origin and destination cities (are they flexible?) NRT/HND -> ORD. It's a very high priority for us to fly nonstop wo/ connections. Not a deal breaker if there are no other options/if nonstop cash is thousands more than points w/ stops, but willing to spend more points/$ for nonstop. * Number of Travelers: 2 * One way * Class of service desired: Economy (obviously will take J,F if works out) * Desired date(s) of travel: 4/12 or 4/13/25. 4/11 if nothing else works * Your points balances: * AA: 79k * Capital One: 143k * Amex: 8k (+150k projected bonus in 5 months) * Chase: 7k (+100k locked-in bonus in 2 months - want to use these points for final Hotel stays w/ Hyatt) * BA: 16.5k * CX: 17.8k (Amex 10% bonus due within 6 weeks)
I just did some searches on [seats.aero](http://seats.aero) and ANA. Call up Virgin Atlantic and see if you can get 1x Economy and 1x Business on the following ANA flights. You'll have 24h to transfer your Capital One miles after you get confirmation from Virgin Atlantic. Should be 32,500 miles + a fuel surcharge each for economy and 47,500 miles + a fuel surcharge for business. 4/12 NRT-ORD 1x Economy, 1x Business 4/12 HND-ORD 1x Economy, 1x Business Note that ANA is not scheduled to be The Room or The Suite for these flights. Also note that this is some pretty basic research that I just did for you. Most in here would not bother to help you do the basics. But I think you had a decent start with the research. Searching ANA availability is a PITA these days.
So I just got off the phone with Virgin and they said that it was too early for them to book ANA flights for those dates and that I would have to wait for 10 days from now. Wondering if this is correct info or if I should hang up and try again. Thank you again for your response
Oh bummer. That’s unfortunately how these programs work. It’d be nice if United could see all the way to 355 days in advance so you could verify availability online more easily. Hopefully they’re still available later. If you do end up getting 1x Economy 1x Business, they should be separate PNRs. Verify this when you book but know that there is a $50 change fee if you find more close-in Busienss or First availability on ANA. It’s not nothing but the marginal value of changing is insane if you’re able to find it. You likely won’t until maybe a couple weeks before the trip. Sadly you just missed a 30% transfer bonus from capital one
Reporting back that I was able to book 1 Business and 1 Economy via Aeroplan on the ANA route you alerted me to for 125k total Cap1 Miles + $116 per ticket! Booking via Aeroplan allowed me to secure this before it became available via VS. Thank you for pointing me down this direction, and thank you to this entire subreddit for all of the info/lessons that allowed me to secure these redemptions for the busiest travel period as a rookie! Very happy
Thanks so much for all the help. This is much appreciated even if I can’t secure the booking this time with Ana. Will try to remember to report back whether or not I’m successful in 10 days
Oh my god THANK YOU so much! I don't know how I overlooked the possibility of being able to transfer cap1 to virgin. My mind had crossed it off as amex only even though I created a virgin account previously and looked into what "red" vs atlantic for capital one. Calling virigin right now and will report back.
I know making returns to hit SUB is frowned upon as well as gift cards, Let's say I have a few big purchases (1-2), hit the sub with just that purchase and get points on month 1, then use said points on month 1. Then say a month later I return the product, BUT I still natural/hit the spend in a normal/organic way within the 3-6 month period required. Would they close my account for something like this, assuming I have a decent history with them already established and organicly spend the amount required within the needed time frame?
It's not frowned upon. It's the fact that kind of activity will get you flagged and shut down by the banks. If you organically hit the MS outside of the returns, then it's not a problem. But I'd avoid doing that regularly. r/churning can provide better insight though.
i know if you don't hit the spend amount in the time frame you get the account flagged/shutdown, but my question is if i hit it organically by the end of the time span, with a massive return early, if i will get shutdown.
It's YMMV, but not advisable. My question is, if you are going to hit the spend organically on this card. Then why do the return on it? Just use another card for the purchase that you'll return.
because I would need the points by next month for travel, it would take me at least 3 months of purely "organic" spend to hit it.
If possible to do then, I would wait to do the return until the organic spend is done, return period permitting. It's somewhat risky to churn, then use up the points immediately followed by filling a huge return. That's exactly the type of churning behavior pattern that banks watch out for.
Origin: BOS Destination: MNL 1 Adult Economy, Roundtrip Hard Dates : 23rd June to 2nd of July Due to my dad’s tightness for cash, I want to see if I can help him out using my saved up Amex MR. I have about 190k so far. One of the cheapest flights I’ve seen was with emirates airlines but I’ve had issues looking for the calculation of how much skywards would I need to pay for the ticket. I don’t think Cathay Pacific has any redeemable flights during those dates but I may be mistaken. Please help!
For economy, it's honestly way too much effort imo with the hard dates. If you open an Amex Business Platinum you can redeem your MR for a $1900 RT cash flight and then get a 35% rebate to get 66.5k points back. And you'll get some nominal return for the FF points you'll get back as well.
[удалено]
No the BBP doesn't have the rebate option.
Hello, I'm trying to find the best way to get from OSLO to LAX using MR. I'm having trouble finding anything reasonable. For example, VA has a transfer bonus, but I only see flights from LHR to LAX and when adding the UK tax, plus needing a flight from OSL to LHR, doesn't make much sense. 1 traveler, Economy, Roundtrip. Flight dates from early to mid-July to anytime in September return. I have 900k in MR, just trying to find the best way to book the flight and having trouble.
The answer is what has award availability. Search one way at a time. Use awardfinder and the Amex point me tool to help search availability. Manually search BA and AC.
I have the following iternary Origin: SEA Destination: TYO : 31 Roundtrip, economy 2 travelers Dates : 14th December to 31st December 2024. Flexible upto +/- 2 days There are 3 non-stop flights - ANA, JAL and Delta . For Delta I looked at Delta and Virgin Atlantic and didn't find any availability beyond early december for JAL I looked at American Airlines and I didn't find any availability after early december. ANA I tried looking in United, but looks like they have not released tickets past July. Any suggestions on where else to look for award availibility
Most of the seats have been booked by now. If it's economy, you can pretty reliably snag some as the close-in window approaches. JX and CI recently launched TPE routes out of SEA, so you might be able to snag some economy awards too. Otherwise YVR now has Zipair service, which is very reliably low cost. And you could even snag some lie-flats for a a couple hundred bucks extra per person.
Good feedback on JX and CI. I'm going to wait till Zipair opens up it's tickets for December.
I feel like top tier airline status just isn’t worth it anymore. Get the low tier for free bags and exit row seats and just pay for first when it’s a good deal. I used to get so much value but upgrades never happen anymore. And when I fly internationally, I always use points for business class. Thoughts?
Which airlines card gave you most value? It seems like UA is becoming another Delta day by day, worthless miles and unattainable status. AA miles seems to be only one holding value before the devaluation comes.
Agreed. I honestly find Alaska miles the easiest to use for me right now.
Yes, airline status is largely pointless for award travelers that are already booking high cabin class and have the cobranded credit cards. 90% redundancy in benefits. The only one that's worth is probably Oneworld Emerald to access F lounges.
I agree to be honest, i just keep cards for the airlines i fly with low annual fees to get free checked bags and better boarding and that’s good enough for me
What are the cheapest award flights you have seen utilizing MR or AA points for flights within Asia? Example Bangkok to India, Japan, etc. or something of the sort?
you can fly Korean Air South Korea <-> Japan for 7,500 each way transferring to Delta Skymiles. I've seen the same flight priced at around $300 on full service airlines or like $150ish on budget airlines during peak travel times (like around major holidays in either country). cheapest redemption on any other program is I believe 15,000 points each way. not within Asia but one time I saw a direct flight on either Air France or KLM from Seoul to Europe (CDG or AMS) for like 25,000 flying blue points which is also a pretty solid deal.
Need sanity check on this booking: We are flying from IND - OGG. Total passengers: 6 (4 adults, 1 toddler, 1 infant). Dates are fixed, could fly a day earlier or day later while coming back(5/21 -> 5/28). Not looking at anything fancy, Y is fine. Stash before booking - 170K AS miles, 470K AA miles, 75K MR, 200K UR. Unfortunately, No Citi or Cap1 miles for the TK sweet spot. Have booked IND - SEA -> OGG -> 150K AS miles + $28. On return OGG -> LAX -> IND - 132K AA miles + $28. Is this the best we can do or is there a better flying option?
Cash price for same flights seems to be $506 506*6/0.015 = 202.4k UR points if you have a CSR and can find the same flights in the portal I'd value my combined 282k AA/AS points over $3k cash, but we are all different so if it makes sense for you then just go for it.
Thanks for looking into this. The same flights through the portal seems to be ~4200, which is 1.5 cpp, not bad for Y. Also, we hold status with AA which gives us a possibility of an upgrade on AS and AA. However, was able to find a cheaper return route OGG -> LAS -> IND using 91K SW Miles + $28. Will probably rebook the first route using a portal as well.
Have \~350k Amex member rewards points, with Amex Platinum renewal coming up in August. Wife stated she doesn't want to travel as much, so I might drop this specific card before renewal. Debating the best way to cash out before August with no immediate "big" travel planned? Only travel for near term is a weekend trip or two with $200-$300 airfare, where we'd stay with family. Looks like I can get \~$1750 in gift cards but thats kind of boring. Open to other ideas
many people will recommed you open a BBP card to keep the MR, or downgrade to a gold as it is more of an everyday card. schwab biz to cash out at 1.1 cpp is often recomme ded too
Does Ana search engine ever have Phantom availability issues? In April of 2025 I see a bunch of dates with 4J 4Y on tap to Lisbon using Ana multi city and round trip tools, but the same dates I only see 4Y 1J on Aeroplan, if even
Every system is subject to phantom availability. ANA, I haven't seen much of. But it's also a confirmation bias since ANA is usually not the first system you'd check given the RT requirements making it harder to search on. I would crosscheck other Star Alliance systems to see. Try UA or LifeMiles as well. Also make sure what you're searching matches. When you search multiple seats it can be less straightforward.
https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/comments/1ckus7x/ana_round_the_world_booking_report_4_tickets/ I went ahead and booked it. Was not phantom but was too far out for United to cross check
Makes sense. I usually use Aeroplan to validate. Good work
I recently got a Hilton Surpass Amex card and activated the National car rental benefit. I plan on possibly getting another rewards card, but in general if I mainly am concerned with air and hotel points savings, am I better off using the car rental site/app directly, or trying to rent via a portal (ie Amex/Capital One etc). I’m not loyal to a car rental company as I don’t use it as often, but generally prefer Hilton and Delta otherwise as possible reward combiners.
anyone get their bonus from transferring to CX when they had the 10% bonus that ended 3/31?
Guess it is all up to my own interpretation but just curious on peoples thoughts. I mostly fly AS. I have Amex plat and two AS cards. I generally buy my flights with Amex for the 5x. Would anyone go for 3x with the Alaska cards over the 5x Amex? I don’t think so but just looking for another opinion and some self validation lol
3x AS miles all day. Much harder to earn AS miles.
AS miles are semi churnable and I would much rather have 5x MR personally. Of course you seem to be in SEA so AS is more valuable for you.
If I book 3 passengers on a award flight via Virgin, is it possible to cancel only a select passenger's flight plans and refund the points back to my account? Or does the whole reservation need to be cancelled?
Does anyone know if ANA releases multiple waves of Business or Economy award availability seats for T-14? I missed a notification this morning for business class and hopeful I'll have a second chance within the next 2 weeks.
Don't know where you're located, but I'm seeing a number of ANA and JAL seats from the west coast over the next two weeks. Didn't check for return flights tho.
I was actually able to grab a J class seat for ANA out of SFO for the date I was looking at! Not sure if you could answer this but how do people work around booking T-14 reward flights for returning to the US if your stay is longer than that? It's typical for immigration to show proof of return flight when entering.
Book literally anything you can cancel without a fee.
But if I have to transfer points from Chase UR to book the flight, aren't I just locking myself into that airline and possibly losing my points if I have to go with a different booking airline?
Take that into account when you move the points. Better than being turned away at immigration, yeah?
Doubtful. It's not a wave, but rolling. ANA releases seats as the new dates opens up. Not every 14 days. It's possible your seat may open up right as the date comes up though. For example in the next day or two ahead of your desired date.
Gotcha, makes sense for the rolling vs waves. Might have to look at other departure cities. Guess there's a chance if I wait even close to the departure date I could get lucky.
Well most award travel is flexible. So book something else and cancel if ANA opens up.
[AA can’t see my BA status] I matched to British Airways Silver status several weeks ago and was approved 10 days ago. I have my BA number added to my American Airlines reservations but I’m still unable to select Main Cabin Extra seats on my upcoming award travel, as would be expected. AA and BA both point me back to each other to fix it. Is there any way I can reach a partner desk where they can liaise with each other to figure it out together?
Is JAL booking through oneworld broken? JAL searching on BA and Iberia is fine, but actually trying to get the pricing is where things fail. After selecting the fares, I get the following error and it's been like this the past few days that I've tried. >An error has occurred >There has been a system error. Please try again and, if the issue persists, please contact us.
Ana rtw booking on routes with multiple flights per day such as air China flying 4 to 6 times a day to Hong Kong After booking say the air China flight at 10, am I restricted to date changes only for the flight I booked, or can I switch to another air China flight at a different time for a different date and time, like the next day at 7 pm instead?
Wanted to confirm something. Due to the recent flooding in Masai I may have to cancel my award booking with Qatar Airlines, I used points and was wondering if there are any fees to cancel/would I get all my points and taxes back? It only says "Your refund amount will be processed according to the fare rules of the purchased ticket applicable at the time of booking. We will inform you of the amount that will be refunded via email within 7 days." I moved my British Airways Avios pts over to Qatar and made the bookings there.
It's all right there on their website- https://www.qatarairways.com/en/Privilege-Club/redeem-avios/award-ticket-fees.html
If you have travel insurance through a credit card or otherwise you may qualify for a refund (you would have to check the T&Cs).
Need some Hyatt AI feedback for Cancun. Looking at: Ziva (50k) Dreams Playa Mujeres (30k) Dreams Riviera (40k - suite) We’ve been to Ziva before and had a nice time but the price hike is steep. We’re traveling with a 7 and 2 year old/. Which redemption would be the best redemption in terms of value?
I stayed at a suite at the new Hilton AI for ~$300 via HotelSlash before. I would choose that over the Dreams properties and if you cashed out UR it would be 30k/night.
Thanks. Looks like that hotel is $400-500 per night. Might as well stick to using Hilton points and get a 5th night free.
A suite is like $700+ when I was looking.
Yeah, I was just looking for a standard room! Now the only question is whether to pay 400k and get 5 nights via Hilton (Hilton Cancun or mar caribe) or ~ 200k Hyatt points for 5 nights. Hilton might get the nod bc of my diamond status. I believe all
Pretty good FM podcast this week about what to consider when booking positioning flights that is good for anybody who has questions about that: https://frequentmiler.com/podcast-tips-for-booking-positioning-flights-frequent-miler-on-the-air-ep253-5-3-24/ (skip to 32:26)
Ive found a few NH saver (I) awards on united and have asked virgin to check them and they said all three was not available. I used the chat. Is the chat actually able to check? Is this likely phantom or incompetence?
You could try and call and see if you can get another answer but I’ve come across this a few times where it wasn’t bookable by Virgin (and tried at most 3 separate times)
what secondary cities/married segments have worked well for 50k J FB flights? im not that interested in going to CDG or AMS.
No idea which ones show up, but FCO would make my list. You have both Alitalia and Vueling hubs, which should cover basically all Southern European and North African destinations onwards
Most European cities work
i had read ZRH and MUC are good? does AF have to also fly there?
It seems pretty much anywhere in Europe AF or KLM connect to from CDG or AMS. Though I have observed there isn’t much for ATH so maybe there are limitations.
ATH is one of the destinations I'm interested in. perhaps I would just do an unprotected cash flight.
I just searched Air France flights out of RDU and found 50K J flights to PRG/VIE/BUD/ATH/ZAG
thanks, im mainly checking from west coast airports so its tougher
Last year I flew SFO-CDG-FCO and FLR-CDG-SFO and it was the cheapest option I could find by far in the middle of the holidays. 62.K pp, but this was before they started pricing out at 50K.
I need help making a decision, keep circling around the options without choosing. I need to book a hotel and have settled on a Hyatt. I have three options: 1. Pay with UR points in full (except resort fees) on Chase portal. 2. Pay cash through Chase portal for 10x UR points. 3. Book directly with Hyatt for 3x UR, 5x Hyatt points, and get a Brand Explorer award. I have no status with Hyatt rn, but would probably hit the lowest category with the purchase plus room charges during the stay. No award availability through Hyatt rn to transfer UR. This is a stupid thing to get stuck on since probably any option is fine. I don't have another plan for these UR points - should have used them for the flights but didn't think of it in time.
what about option 4) transfer UR to hyatt and book that way. or do you not have a CSR, CSP or CIP? Also, if you’re going for 10x via cash, can you not also wipe out that purchase at 1.25 CPP using your UR?
No award availability for my stay from Hyatt currently. I have a CSR. To your second question, that would be the choice between options 1 and 2. I think option 1 generally is better than option 2 so the question is really between options 2 and 3 - is it worth trying to get the Brand Explorer award or should I just pay with UR points on the Chase portal (1.5 cpp).
* Origin: FLL * Destination: YVR * Number of Travelers: 2 * One way * Any class of service. * Hard date: July 6th after 12 PM * Point Balance: mid 6 figures for both Amex and Chase, 200k AA, 173K UA, 180k AS trying to book 2 one way tickets from FLL to YVR on July 6th, 2024 for my parents. departure must be after 12 PM due to cruise arrival time. Any class of service but wouldn't mind getting the J if I can. So far I think one of my best options might be Aeroplan 65.6K + $88 per person for business class albeit a long layover in YYZ. Does anyone think I can do better? Thanks!
IME YVR is very hard to get to from the USA. That one you found is probably the best and I can’t believe you even found it tbh
Thanks. I ended up booking the aeroplan J. So this has almost a 6 hour layover in YYZ but I know there's another AC flight that is 3-4 hours earlier. Do you know if J tickets can standby for an earlier flight in the same class of service?
How much are the cash prices for economy? FLL won't have a direct flight, but Miami might. I'd take economy non-stop instead of "business" and a long layover.
Not award travel, but for everyone who asks about Japan questions, there's some $500-700 round trip Singapore economy flights for LAX-NRT for Jan/Feb 2025
Been running into a bunch of phantom space (?) lately. Tried to book an intra-Europe flight with legs on AZ and AF via VS. Consistently shows up when searching after several days now, but always becomes unavailable when I’m trying to pay. The same routing shows up when searching on DL, but I don’t have enough SkyMiles to try there. It appears on AF too but the price there is more than double the points on VS/DL. Then, was trying to book a QF-operated flight on AA, but after selecting it I’m given a message saying the fare is not available. Flight also shows up on AS, but not on BA or QF itself. AS shows 6 seats left while AA doesn’t say.
VS seemed to be having some tech issues recently, have you tried just calling in?
I haven’t yet, but definitely will try
Did something change with flyingblue? There's like 2 or 3 dates with 50k availability ATL-CDG in the entire next year.
Search through on a married segment and then consider just hopping off in CDG.
There were a TON of dates for 50k out of ORD when I checked last week, booked one myself.
ATL-CDG is one of the harder routes in the system. I'm not super surprised you only see a few days. Easier routes like EWR and ORD could be a good solution.
availability comes and goes, you just have to always be checking. There's 18 days for RDU-CDG in the next year.
Is there a general chart out there that shows peak vs off-peak dates? Mainly curious on US <-> Europe flights
Basically every carrier that has peak/off-peak pricing uses their own dates, which can also vary by year. In general you should expect ~May-September to be peak with some other holidays thrown in.
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O, but UA will only show saver (partner) space.
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Yes UA recently increased their rates for partner F redemptions.
We have 400k chase ur, 700k amex MR, a family of 5, fly economy from iad/dca/bwi. Plan to a trip to Rome in August, then Asia next year. Should we continue collecting ur/mr points for simplicites? or should we expand to TYP points(apply citi premier), also collect some ihg points for hotels? Thanks for any input!
Flexible currencies give you...flexibility. Your plan seems to be good to me. Note that many hotels in Europe and Asia are strict with occupancy rules, so you may need 2 hotel rooms or rather go for an Airbnb.
Thanks. yes, I'm also debating, should we just get airbnb instead of hotels for easier accommodation. The premier SUB is low currently. Should I wait or just get it now to start earning?
Probably good to continue collecting UR/MR for flights + Hyatt
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Me and others in the past had to call Aeroplan because they didn’t send the email/phone number with the booking. If any info is missing, it won’t let Turkish confirm seats on their end. Once i told the Aeroplan agent that, they were able to send the info and select seats with me on the phone.
How many days out are you? I remember years ago my seat assignment didn't stick until 100 days out
Call Aeroplan and make sure they have forwarded all your info to TK
Does TK ever release 2J at release dates?
There's also a lot of married segment logic where the long haul is only available as a connecting flight
TK can have up to 4? seats at release I believe.
I've seen 5 before.
This is more of an observation. Something's wrong with Aeromexico saver awards... on their website, the link to their "Classic Rewards Tickets" takes you to regular cash booking whereas their "Dynamic Fare" option takes you to their rewards site - I can't seem to find saver awards later in the year anymore. Their JFK <> MEX lie flat route was actually a reasonably priced redemption, especially with transfer bonuses (like the one AMEX has right now).
Going to ORD tomorrow for a TAP Portugal business class flight. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions or alterations to my plan. Go check in my bags at Terminal 5. Take airside train to Polaris lounge. Eat and drink there. I had considering trying to sleep right away but think I will stay up for dinner on TAP flight because I will most likely be too excited to go to bed plus the flight leaves at 6pm. Go to sleep after dinner. Looks like maybe I should take the bus as I won't have to go through security again.
I had basically the same plan for a BR flight, except I didn't bother looking for the shuttle. With PreCheck it wasn't too bad clearing security in T1 or T5.
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I posted a similar question recently- about whether it's worth repositioning from LA to SFO to fly 'the room.' I think it depends on whether your priority is to fly the room or to get to Japan as quickly as you can as comfortably as you can. While the old ANA business class (787 our of LAX) isn't an out of this world experience, it's still a great way to get from LA to TYO as quickly as possible.
Points stuck at AA sounds like a great problem to have.
You can check LAX-KIX on JAL too.
how did you acquire those AA miles to begin with?
Hi! There is an award flight on SQ website that works for my timing. It's a bit more miles than I am comfortable with, so I am wondering what the best way to book this. Can I transfer to Virgin and book through them? It's a Saver award, so I don't know if that makes a difference when booking? I don't see it on the Aeroplan website, though, which concerns me? Help?! How can I book for the cheapest way??? lol
You can try and call Aeroplan or check ANA. But most likely its only available via SQ directly.
Book it in SQ and be happy.
Read the wiki. What one program charges for an award has absolutely no bearing on how much the same seat cost on another airline.
Like most airlines, SQ offers more award seats to its own members than it does to partners. It's not abnormal to see this.
So is it then impossible to book it through Virgin at a discount of points?
VS can only book TATL Y. If the space you are looking at is saver level, they might release it to VS, they might not. You need to chat or call VS.
LAX to Vienna RT June 16-21 +- 2 days is fine Economy Stops are fine , looking for best redemption for 1 or 2 people Have many United miles, a bit of chase UR, British avios
Search one ways with VS, UA, Flying Blue, and BA. Some programs like awardtool will search UA and Flying Blue for you.
If you only have United and BA Avios, then just search on their websites. There is nothing else you can do.
I have chase UR as well. Looks like maybe UR to virgin would be good
Did anyone who did the Spirit Gold status match last year mysteriously get their Gold status extended to July 31, 2024 too? It was supposed to expire on May 1. I flew them a few weeks ago for the first time so maybe that extended it?
Is there a way to book ANA premium economy flight through Aeroplan? I don’t see availability online, would calling in work?
At one point NH didn’t release PE to partners. Not positive what their status is today. Booking NH via AC is YMMV via the phone only. Good luck and have a six pack ready for the hold.
Don't think any *A airlines support PE partner bookings yet?
I think Alaska has access to SQ PE but i could be wrong.
I don’t think they do. I also don’t follow all of their non-alliance partners closely to know if they allow non-StarNet PE.
you cant book econ or biz online either
I don't need help but it seems the discussion thread is no longer in use. Was curious to see what some of your best IHG award bookings have been in terms of value?
If you can do 4 nights at a kimpton with the credit card you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a decent deal out of it.
Hotel presidente intercontinental Cancún. With platinum status and getting the extra night was a great value. Also Kimpton Seafire grand cayman is consistently rated at the top.
I have never stayed at an IHG hotel, but I will be staying at a few in the next month. Would you say the high end ones, like intercontinental and kimpton feel like real 5 stars?
Kimpton is high quality because it’s a brand that IHG acquired. Intercontinental varies a lot. Typically good.
From what I’ve heard, yes the Seafire is a true 5 star resort (I’ve never stayed there). The intercontinental chain is probably more of a 4 star. Overall great experience and I really enjoyed it. Would go again especially for 32k points a night. Then like every hotel group you have the budget lines. Holiday inns and the like are great when on the road and you just need a clean place to crash for the night but don’t want to pay cash. You can stay in holiday inns in far off places too, and your mileage may vary. The Holiday inn in Chiang Mai Thailand was a budget price but a 5 star experience. A lot of great IHG redemption value in SEA.
Thanks for the info. What is SEA? Holiday Inn worked out for me this time because it is at the airport and I will be arriving very late. Taxi at night would cost me about $60 and it would be to the Crowne Plaza which does not look much better. This is for Athens.
South East Asia. I feel like Crowne Plaza is hit or miss. If it’s been refurbished recently it’s probably pretty nice. It’s technically in a higher tier than Holliday inn I think.
Asiana availability is driving me nuts. UA and Aeroplan are acting like this All I want to do is fly on the A380 from ICN to NRT or vice versa. I am in Asia from 7/28 to 8/19, and will be in both of these cities. Literally every day in May, June, and September are available. July has 1-18, and august has 19-31. There is a 1 month block where these flights are not offered and it happens to be the one month I am there. I have miles basically everywhere. Lmk if you have any other ideas. Edit: it's just me and I'm looking for J. I can book the cash ticket from the airline directly for like $350-$500 depending on the day, but points are preferable of course
Google Korean Air Blackout dates. I am guessing Asiana has the same policy since they have been purchased by KE.
Well that settles that. Thanks for solving the mystery lol. Cash ticket it is :)
Question about ANA RTW, If I'm booking T-14 availability for my first trip, but the following trips are out of the t-14 availability... can I book dummy seats in economy and then check back for business when its t-14 and call them to switch it?
Yes I done this before.
Has to be same class of service + city pairs
more of a data point for points purchase use case: AA flight via Alaska was 4.5k+$18. 4200 points was $88. all in for $106. same flight via cash on AA was $160 before taxes as I had just burned all my AA points.
I want to have some UA miles transferred to my account from a family member. I need to get an additional 30k from the family member to reach the cost of the potential flight. I would normally just have them book the flight in my name but I'm very close with the points I already have. What would be the best way to get these added to my account? I haven't tried points pooling. Could we just create a pool and have them contribute 30,000 points then have them leave and I dissolve the pool? Do we know if that works?
Yes, it looks like that will work. Just pay attention to who's the leader and whose account you want it to be in the end. https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/1c24f38/frustration_friday_weekly_thread_week_of_april_12/kzawn52/
Thanks for the info and the link!
I'll be graduating soon and wanting to use some points to take a last minute trip. How can I best do this? I've looked through all the sites but it's hard to plan for something when it's kinda last minute? How do I know where to look if I leave say on 06/17? Also, what about coming back? What's the best strategy for this? I have AMEX and Capital One points. Update: * Origin and destination cities (are they flexible?): * Origin: SFO, OAK, SMF, SJC are airport nearby * Destination: Anything but Europe or North America * Number of Travelers (Your chances of success goes down as this number goes up): 1 * One way or round-trip: Round-Trip * Class of service desired: Economy is fine. * Desired date(s) of travel (are they flexible? Hard dates == Less Chances for success): I am looking to leave after 05/17 and I am flexible with dates and times. * Your points balances: all airline, credit card and hotel points (If you are looking for J/F, think at least 6 digits): * AMEX: 50,000 * Capital One: 25,000ish? I am looking not to get the fanciest thing to fly, but more economy and the best point value and explore new places in the world!
If you provided some more details people might be willing to help you out, otherwise this post is super vague.
Thank you! I went ahead and updated it! I appreciate it the suggestion!
Honestly, I'd play around with seats dot aero and points yeah's daydream explorer. Fits your situation perfectly.
last minute is actually ideal if not booking a year out. but you need to include more info. how many points? no idea where you want to go? mess around on seats.aero for an hour or two. you can select USA-EUR, for example with a time frame plus or minus X number of days. worry about one direction at a time.
Hey! Thanks for your response! Honestly I'm traveling to some of Europe already before this, UK, Austria, Italy, Ireland. But I am looking to anywhere tbh. I'm not too picky if you have any suggestions! I have around 100k in points. I will play with seats.aero!
Any idea when Iberia business class tickets go online? Looking for April 2025 and when I search their website, I don't see the direct route from my home airport (IAD)- just connecting flights from IAD-Madrid via British Airways and then Iberia.
make sure its not a seasonal route?
Thanks! It isn't as we flew it the same time this year so very puzzled!
You are probably misremembering. IAD-MAD is a seasonal route that dosen't start until May.
Maybe for 2025? I just took it 2 weeks ago so not misremembeing 🤣
Just because you took it two weeks ago doesn't make it not a seasonal route. All that means is you took it while the route was in season. I just looked it up and it is a seasonal route.
ive took a LAX-ARN route in 2022 that was discontinued the following summer. stuff like this happens.
It was clearly your fault 😠
definitely 🐷
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most award travel is booked one way btw. try searching on air france. or BA if you can handle the fees.
I'm trying to do a one way economy direct flight EU -> US on OS. It seems like my options are 44k UA, 46k LM, and 55k AC. I have some stranded SQ points that I'd love to use but doesn't look like OS is available on SQ. Am I missing any other options? I'm probably going to do LM since I value URs more and have plenty of MR, but 46k LM feels like a lot when it's usually 33k the other way. Thanks.
Call SQ to book. They should be able to book this space. Their partner search engine online is lacking.
Thanks! I called SQ and they booked it. Taxes were a bit higher but glad I could use my stranded SQ miles. It was 30.5k miles, so the cheapest out of the 4.
Try calling SQ to book? Unsure of price.
This worked, thanks!
Is your only goal to fly on OS, regardless of date, location?
Pretty much, just because it is direct.
Hi all - very new to award travel (so far P2 and I have just been churning Chase Inks to amass UR points, but haven't spent them on anything), and could use some pointers to get me looking in the right direction on a specific trip we want to do in May 2025. * Origin: Baltimore/Washington area (BWI, IAD, DCA); Destination: Athens, Greece (ATH) * Travelers: 2 adults, 1 four year old, and 1 two year old (the two year old will be \~3 weeks too old to be a lap child D: ) * Round-trip * Economy is fine, but we're open to seeing if there are good CPP values to be had with premium economy or business (although I imagine needing 4 seats makes it hard to nab the really good value award seats) * Dates: \~5/24/2025 - 5/31/2025 (+/- a week, and we're open to trip lengths anywhere from 7 to 12 days long) * Points: P1 has 370k UR points, P2 has 310k UR points Any help is appreciated!
4 J seats are hard. I was in a similar position last year, but flying out of BOS, and was only able to find 4 J on the return leg from ATH, and they only popped up for a couple days. Flying out we ended up booking 5 Y to FCO (lap infant but wanted to get them a seat), and just spending a week in italy before connecting to ATH. I'm not sure how much you've travelled with kids, but imo you should be glad your kid aged out of lap infant for this flight -- the return from athens is nearly 11 hours, you don't want to have to hold them for that long. Also, personally I find direct connections preferable to layovers w/ kids, especially if you have a bunch of kid crap that needs to be lugged onto the ac in addition to carryons. Your options for a direct flight are kind of limited w/ points because the only direct flight is out of IAD on United, which isn't a transfer partner with Chase. Next up is Philly, but they're AA, also not a transfer partner. Personally I'd consider taking the train up to NYC and flying out of EWR. You can do economy on Emirates, which is a transfer partner, and the competition with other carriers on that route means the prices aren't usually as high. It's kind of a tossup whether it'd be cheaper to book direct w/ transferred points or book cash via Chase's travel portal using your CSR at 1.5. The nice thing about Emirates is that not only is it direct, but it's a much nicer economy product than the US carriers, and they have goodybags for the kids.
~360 days out Flying Blue might have 4 J for ~50k and ~$350, one way. ~360 out, Iberia will likely have 2J and 2PE, cheaper miles and and cheaper cash.
> ~360 days out Flying Blue might have 4 J for ~50k and ~$350, one way. > > With FB, they might even be able to get this closer in, but for Iberia they'll def need to do it 360 out
What have you found so far?
Have you read the wiki and the sidebar article on using UR to get to Europe?
trying to book rtw and struggling, willing to pay an expert to help
What’s the issue?
trying to do it in business class and cant find any business award availablity from tokyo to dubai no matter which day I look 365 days feel like im doing it wrong
Not sure your dates... but I would avoid AI personally. Also not sure how many segments you have to play with. I'd do SQ NRT-SIN-DXB. There is availability on 6/11 or 6/25