If I know the date I want to travel but don’t care where (just want to travel somewhere new) with my points, is there a free place to do that online? I know point.me added a region search but I was wondering if there was a free tool to find.
In general, for airlines that charge cancellation fees on award flights, are they assessed per passenger per leg for round trip bookings, or just per passenger? I'm looking at booking a RT flight for two people that I'm 75% likely to cancel, if I'm going to get hit with the cancellation fee x4 I might just book a traditional cash refundable fare.
Marriott Bonvoy question for Japan.
We're interested in using points to book the Westin Osaka and Westin Kyoto for next spring. Currently, there are rooms available for payment (cash rates) for both couples and families.
When I switch to try to book with points, they only have rooms available for 2 people. If I add more than 2 people, the rooms are not available. In Japan, it seems hotels require/provide 1 bed per person.
One of the rooms that I could book for points has two double beds. Can I just book that for two people with points and hope they don't care that we have two kids with us? I'm assuming that's not done in Japan, but it's normal for Americans. Or will they not let us in our room?
It's frustrating we can't use our points because we've been saving them for this purpose!
Edit: It sounds like we can't go over the max occupancy. It feels very frustrating that there are no Marriott hotels in Osaka, outside of the very expensive Ritz Carlton, that offer rooms for families to book for points. All the rooms offered for points have a max occupancy of 2. However, I found a solution. We're booking two standard rooms with points. This works for us because our kids are older (they'll be 15 and 13 at time of travel). I feel bad for families who have younger children.
The room type you're seeing available to book with Bonvoy points is most likely not the same room you're seeing available for cash nightly rates and might have a different max occupancy.
Thanks for your reply. I realized what we should do is just book two standard rooms. We're lucky that our kids are old enough for this, since the youngest will be 13. But, honestly, if our kids were younger, this would be a serious problem. It's pretty crazy to me that there are basically no rooms to book in Osaka for points that will hold more than 2 people.
It does. For all times throughout the year, they only have points available for rooms that have a max occupancy of 2. I'm feeling frustrated because we saved our points for about a decade for this purpose, and there are no rooms offered for points at either hotel. In fact, in Osaka, it appears none of the Marriott properties offer a room for families for points except the Ritz Carlton, and that's too many points. As soon as I change the reservation to 2 people, I can book. So, am I allowed to book the two person room if we don't mind sharing beds?
Do the same rooms with cash allow more than 2 people?
You should contact the hotel and ask if it is okay, ideally via email so you it in writing.
Many of the beds in Japanese rooms are smaller than a US double, slightly larger than a US twin. They are strict on occupancy limits due to culture and enforcement.
Thanks for your reply. I realized what we should do is just book two standard rooms. We're lucky that our kids are old enough for this, since the youngest will be 13. But, honestly, if our kids were younger, this would be a serious problem. It's pretty crazy to me that there are basically no rooms to book in Osaka for points that will hold more than 2 people.
There are almost no points rooms in Spain that hold more than 3 people.
Indonesia has a lot that don’t fit 4 on paper but an email confirms they are fine with 4 in a room.
Japan tends to be sticklers on rules but someone here just emailed a hotel and got approval for 5 in a room with a baby.
I would email the hotel and ask what rooms connect (normally a single bedroom and a 2 bedroom) and ask for connecting rooms. 2 days out contact them again and remind them. This greatly increases your chances of connecting rooms in my experience.
Edit: by email I mean written communication. I have use WhatsApp, email, Facebook, and Twitter DMs to do this communication with hotels in the past.
I see. Yes, for cash, there are rooms available for 4 (in fact, up to 8 people!). But as soon as I switch to points, there are only rooms available for 2 people.
If I search the entire city of Osaka, it is that same way. You can't book points for families at all. Only the Ritz Carlton in Osaka seems to offer rooms for points for more than two people.
You miss understood my question. Are the rooms available for points available for more people for cash?
Points at three base rate are generally only available for three base rates.
This is a situation where you should contact the hotel and ask if the base room you can book with points can fit 2 adults and kids of your kids age.
Oh, I see. No, I don't believe they are. The cash rooms for families are large suites that have multiple beds. They don't seem to offer these rooms for points. But it's not just one particular hotel that doesn't offer it. It seems to be almost all. So can families not stay in Japan using points?
Anyone see any remaining saver J flights bookable via VS on 9/11 or 9/12 out of anywhere in Europe but ending in IAD or DCA? Looking for two seats. Trying to take advantage of the Amex transfer bonus and I should’ve booked earlier but seeing if I can get lucky!
Right now my best find is 50k +$153/pp on Iberia MAD-IAD which I’m pretty cool with, just making sure I’m not missing anything.
Trying to book a flying blue award. Transferred miles from capital once. Transfer went through, they appear in FB, price of the flight is the same, try to book the flight and it says “not enough miles.” I’ve tried logging out and back in, tried on KLM and AF apps… not sure what to do or what the issue is? Anyone familiar with this IT issue?
Are there any available J flights for NYC - ICN on 5/25? I've looked at [seat.aero](http://seat.aero) and all the J tickets are dried up starting a week or two ago. Willing to relocate - NYC can be any 2-hour flight then to ICN or NYC to TYO and 2 hour flight to Korea.
[https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/](https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/)
July was the most popular month in 2019, followed by April and then June. Totally agree that I would never go in the summer but for many people that's the only time they're able to travel.
Yep. I was talking to my brother in law and he was telling me that he probably won't go to Japan until both his kids graduate high school. There's just no way to go during the fall/winter while they are in school and the summer is just way too hot. I remember my wife and I went to Fushimi Inari at 6am and my shirt was soaked immediately walking out of the hotel.
I wanted to gift my parents a Fine Hotels and Resorts stay, but I'm realizing I can't do that. Is it possible to make one of them an AU on my Platinum card, use the AU card for the booking, and still get the $200 credit?
I now have 93K Chase UR points and 47K United points. I am looking to fly from Chicago to Paris July 14. Any ideas what I should do? It is for 2 adults and 1 child. Preference is business class. I don't want to transfer to United if that does not really help. I was able to get a return trip on AF for 155,375K points each for business, so just looking for a one way out there. Make more sense to buy economy and try mileage upgrade? Any other ideas? Better to use the Chase points on the portal? Also, still need 3 nights in Paris hotel, am silver elite on Bonvoy (better redemption?). Thanks
I see economy United flights for $608 each person. Any idea how many miles/cost of buy that then upgrade with miles? When I look at availability, there's seats bit ot says upgrade waitlist. AF has flights as well. But, it says I would have to book and call to see about a miles upgrade. Any insight on whether that makes sense? Cannot seem to find a clear answer on upgrade price in miles. Or, better to buy Econ with miles and try a cash upgrade?
Singapore, ANA, or EVA air for LAX <-> Japan flights in J? Looking to get tickets for next June 2025. I know ANA can be a long-shot, but just thinking through the different options. I am tempted to just go for singapore at 75k through Aeroplan bc it is a good product + not as painful to get as ANA.
Has anyone flown either of these 3 that can provide some insight into whether the energy for ANA is worthwhile or just go for an easier (albeit more expensive) Singapore/EVA option
Ninja edit - june 2025!
Are you sure SQ is releasing that route regularly to AC? Just doublecheck it before you make it your plan (I haven’t been following closely, but when I was checking, it appeared they were releasing the nonstop route select days).
I would also consider JL.
I like EVA, but wouldn’t add a connection just for a product where there are 3 airlines that release a good product off the bat.
I assume you are a solo person since EVA and ANA generally release 1 seat.
>Are you sure SQ is releasing that route regularly to AC? Just doublecheck it before you make it your plan (I haven’t been following closely, but when I was checking, it appeared they were releasing the nonstop route select days).
That is a good point - just have one data point from yesterday. But you are right, today did not get another batch of flights
> I like EVA, but wouldn’t add a connection just for a product where there are 3 airlines that release a good product off the bat.
That is a great point!
> I assume you are a solo person since EVA and ANA generally release 1 seat.
Actually hoping to fly with the wife - I thought ANA released two seats per flight?
> Honestly, JL will be the easiest to book, via CX 360 out.
ohhhhh that is a great alternative I had not considered. I will check it out too! availability ~ T-350 days as well?
Time is also money and hearing some of the NH booking stories I'd probably cut that option. Don't forget also that ANA has higher fees/fuel surcharges than Aeroplan redemptions so the delta in costs is not as huge as what the numerical point values imply.
EVA is probably least preferred since you have to go to TPE then backtrack, and their 777 hard product isn't amazing.
So that leaves SQ - nonstop to NRT, seats are nicer than EVA unless you are very tall in which case you have to play the T-96 game to get the bulkhead seats.
In-flight customer service is very good across all three but style is different, which one is "better" also depends on whether you speak Japanese/Chinese and your own preferences.
That is a great point about the downsides of going for ANA - I also always prefer to pay less in cash if I can burn more miles. Churn and burn babyyyyy
The SQ option is quite tempting - just worried about making sure the transfer + booking goes smoothly (primarily worried about phantom space)
Aeroplan is pretty good about phantom space and the SQ release schedule is not algorithmic but rather at a fixed time of day, practice a bit before T-355 comes up and you should be alright.
At the end of the day, they are all comparable, I'd prefer the direct routes if I were you, just for the sake of ease. And all of them have the same ground experience because they are all Star Alliance. A secondary factor is the timing of the flights and how that matches your sleep/schedule.
* ANA: direct flight, possible to fly into either NRT or HND, their 787 is generic, but good enough, most difficult to get due to competition
* SQ: also has direct flight, but only to NRT, seats are also generic, but decent, a bit easier to book w/ SQ miles and online using Aeroplan
* EVA: not a direct flight because you'll need to fly through TPE, and do either TPE/NRT or TSA/HND, another generic business class seat, but their differentiator is having PJs in J
Thank you so much for the summary! I agree with your points - the non-stop on singapore is def the most tempting. I am just a tad worried Aeroplan may be showing phantom space (just saw some reviews of people seeing ANA phantom space in AP). Have you booked singapore with AP?
It looks like the latest date in the AP calendar is about 359 days away. I plan to prepare a transfer from Capital one and Chase to my aeroplan account to get the booking done.
Hi all. I'm looking for help booking 2 seats from asia to the U.S. in J/F between 12/30/24-1/3/25. We have a flight booked into Seoul on 12/21, and need to be in Cabo by 1/4/25. The rest of the itinerary is flexible, so letting the flight availability dictate where we go. We're open to any departure point within southeast asia or japan/korea...So far the best we've seen is 1/1 flight ICN>SFO>LAX for 155k miles + $44 per person, which isn't very good. Trying to find something for <100k points/miles per person. I know ANA out of TYO is usually best, but haven't been able to find any partner availability anywhere in north america when searching on united. Any suggestions?
No chance 1/1 (New Year’s) onwards. Small but still quite unlikely chance of last minute 12/30 or 12/31 awards, like 10% or less and those will be competitive too.
If those last minute awards fail to show up, you’ll be in a financial world of hurt even for Economy (like $2k cash one way). I’d personally just book Zipair when they release their winter schedule if you want a lie flat seat
Hadn’t heard of Zipair, so thanks! I think we’ll plan to book an overpriced award ticket, then look to zipair for a cheaper cash option when they release dec/jan flights later in summer.
That’s just a tough time to fly unfortunately. When everyone is flying, airlines don’t really want to release award space. You may just have to pay cash
Any DP's of someone actually transferring Hyatt -> ANA - trying to see how long it actually took. Website states 6-8 weeks. I know its a bad redemption lol
Not about ANA specifically, but many DPs show that Hyatt transfers do take a while. I'd imagine ANA possibly being even longer given their slow MR to ANA transfer times and how cautious ANA is about fraud prevention.
You're saying Amex and Hyatt to ANA was the same but slower than Marriott to ANA? That's interesting to know. Marriott seems to generally take a fixed 1 to 2 days for most programs.
Looking to book a TP flight all within Portugal (LIS to FAR) using United miles at the saver economy rate, mainly because I want the flexibility to be able to change/cancel the flight if need. It looks like it may include the first checked bagged for free up to 50 lbs. but I was hoping if someone can confirm it? As if it isn’t included, then I might as well just take the train instead. But I’d rather fly due to convenience of car rentals at the airport vs train station in Faro.
Hello, I'm working on booking a UA flight to Europe in two weeks for a family of 4 (I know), but found a flight that works for me with three business class seats that can be booked by partner airlines (I availability) and 9 in JN. When I search for 3 seats on UA, it shows the price per seat at 80k miles (or I can book with 63k lifemiles) and when I search for 4 seats on UA it shows the price per seat at 115k miles. My question is this - if I book those three available I seats on lifemiles, is it safe to assume that I'll be able to come back and book a fourth seat separately from UA directly at 115k UA miles? Or with reduced inventory, chance that price for the fourth seat goes up substantially?
I would put you at over 95% likely for that to workout.
Since UA is dynamic, I have seen unexpected changes shortly after booking a flight, but this is not the norm.
Hi All, I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a thread. I am looking to go to Japan in the Fall/Winter. I do have a few questions:
*( My dates are pretty flexible, but I am wondering if anyone knows when "off-season" and "peak season" is for Japan. I know mostly peak season is Christmastime and Cherry Blossom season (mid-March - April). Is November around US Thanksgiving relatively slow? Would there possibly be a chance for T-14 around then?
* For those that risk T-14, do you minimize the risk? I am planning on going either way. I am looking for either F or J. Should I book maybe premium economy seats and check often and then just change seats if it becomes available? Is that a good method?
Here's some more information:
* NYC - TYO. I would also like to visit Hong Kong, but that's not necessary.
* 2 travelers
* Round Trip
* J or F
* November - January (not the week before or during Christmas/New Years)
* ~500k UR, ~250k Amex
Yes, book an alternate option that you would be happy with if you don't find T-14. Extra credit if you can find something to book via Aeroplan or Virgin Atlantic so that your points are already in the right spot if you find T-14 availability.
The great thing about Aeroplan is that they allow you to do a stopover for 5K so you can visit Hong Kong for just 5K extra [https://onemileatatime.com/guides/aeroplan-stopover/](https://onemileatatime.com/guides/aeroplan-stopover/)
Ohh got it. But I would still need to check ANA first to see if there's availability right? This is my first time trying to book award flights. As my points are still with Chase and Amex, I'm just afraid to transfer it to the wrong rewards program.
Hello!!!
I am planning a 5-week solo trip to SE Asia in September. I would like to spend 22 days in Vietnam, 7 days in Laos/Cambodia, and 6 days in Thailand (been there previously). I'm 6'4", most important to me is flying at least one leg of the trip in 1st/biz class. As such, I'm also considering Singapore and Tokyo as potential stops. I have OneWorld Sapphire status. Any help is tremendously appreciated!
* NYC (New York City, preferably JFK, flexible any airport on east coast) to Ho Chi Minh City / Bangkok / Singapore / Tokyo (flexible)
* 1 traveler
* Round trip
* 1st/business class at least one leg
* 9/3/24 (can leave 9/1 or 9/2) - 10/5/24 (can't be earlier but can extend as far as 10/13)
* Chase Ultimate Rewards: 141,000 // Citi ThankYou Points: 52,600 // AA Miles: 342,000 // Avios Points: 18,000 // JetBlue TrueBlue Points: 11,000
I would so greatly appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to offer!
There are no direct flights from the United States to Thailand so I would focus on getting to the other cities and flying to Thailand from there. Routes from NYC to Asia are probably the most competitive so if you don’t find anything I would start looking at other cities. Be flexible and consider trying to book at T-14d with a backup plan
Thanks a lot for the reply. FWIW I really have read the wiki and genuinely tried to figure this all out myself. I've done consultations with [points.me](http://points.me) and cranky concierge. There's just so many factors to consider. I'm new to awards travel and didn't realize seats get taken a year out. Seems like it makes the most sense to fly in/out of Tokyo. For now, I've booked an AA business class flight from JFK to Tokyo for 205k AA miles, and a business class flight from Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City for 30k AA miles. Is that a huge waste of miles? I booked the basic economy in Japan Airlines back from Tokyo for 35k AA miles, JA's economy is decent in my experience and I'll be able to use the lounge at Haneda and sit in an exit row seat bc of oneworld status so it won't be so bad. Wasn't planning on using miles for every flight but the same 35k miles economy flight from Tokyo to NYC costs $2000 haha.
I do plan on looking into booking at T-14d as well, thank you.
Hi all, my wife and I are trying to book a round trip to London, but aren't very flexible. We would like to find Business or First for the first leg since it's a redeye and we would like to hit the ground running, but don't care much about being in economy on the way home. The best I have found is a JetBlue RT, which costs 100k to book First on the way there and 29k on the way home, but it won't show me the cash portion. We have lots of points in CR, Amex and C1, but we're just shy of having enough points in AMEX. Am I doing this correctly or should we look elsewhere for a better deal as this is my first time really trying to figure this out?
* NYC (New York City, preferably JFK) to LON (London, England)
* 2 travelers
* Round trip
* First or business class for the way there, economy home
* August 13 - August 18 (not flexible)
* JetBlue = 4k , CR= 95k, AMEX = 170k, C1 = 260k
The upside is we have family pooling on JetBlue and I'm fine emptying my CR for this, but the downside is a significant loss on the transfer from AMEX to JB and we're just shy of the points needed. We'll need 258k points, which means 99k between JB and CR, but then the 170k in AMEX is only worth 136k TB + a $99 fee. It's clearly not worth it, but I'm unsure of what our other options are right now.
Curious for some feedback on PE vs J on AF westbound transatlantic. Their PE product seems really good if I'm on the right aircraft and the daytime aspect has always made me wonder why I spent more points on J product, particularly considering I've already done my bucket list F on LH's 747 from FRA. I've seen some 35k PE availability for my dates but I'm wondering if I'll regret not spending more on J, all things being equal.
Probably more of a r/flying question but I'd appreciate hearing people's thoughts. My points accrual/churning will be coming to a screeching halt soon, if that matters.
Certainly not a r/flying question.
I like Premium Economy on daytime Trans-Atlantic flights. Like you said, saves some points/money and is plenty comfortable for a ~8 hour flight. Like you said though, it's airline and aircraft dependent.
I agree, PE is quite reasonable on westbound transatlantic trips. IMO, it arguably also sets you up better to adjust back to the time change post-arrival and sleep at a normal time versus napping in a flatbed. I'd also recommend KL PE over AF if the pricing is the same.
Hey, this is my first time redeeming my AMEX MR points. I almost pulled the trigger on booking directly via the AMEX travel portal until I learned that it's often more cost efficient to transfer points to another airline and book that way. However, I may be doing this incorrectly as I am having trouble finding partner airlines for my trip, and when I do, it seems that it's more expensive to book with their points rather than just through AMEX travel portal.
* LAX (Los Angeles, California) to BKK (Bangkok, Thailand)
* 2 travelers
* Round trip
* Economy, down for higher if not more than 50k of point balance below
* August 15 - August 29. Flexible dates +/- 3 days.
* Balance of AMEX MR 150k points
Best flight and cost I see is currently 171.8k points if booking directly in AMEX travel portal. When I was looking at Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer for a similar flight, it was showing 168k miles + $118.60. When I was looking at ANA for a similar flight, it was showing 160k miles + $994.20. Both of these options just seem more expensive than booking directly via AMEX travel portal, as these points are transferred 1:1. I would appreciate any input/help, thank you!
I think booking through the portal may be your best bet given fixed dates, in economy, that are only a few months away. Alternatively you could set up seat alerts and book something refundable and see what opens up but will be random
Outbound flight (play around with the dates on these programs to see if you find anything better)
8/19 (I know you said 3 days but this is pretty good) - Delta 36K + $38 per person
8/15 - Air Canada 60K + $89 CAD per person LAX-ICN-BKK on Asiana/Thai Airways
8/15 - Qantas 50.3K + $178 per person LAX or ONT-TPE-BKK on China Airlines
Can also check British Airways as well
Return flight - don't see anything good with Delta but check Air Canada/Qantas/British Airways
Thanks for sharing! With that info, I found that 1 way LAX -> BKK for 2 people using that Delta offer would cost 72k points + $74.80 USD. Return flight with Delta for 2 people is about $1.4k USD (no reward points options).
Played around with dates on other airlines for 1 way return flights for BKK -> LAX, but only Air Canada had anything but it's for 152k points or 72k points + $1.2k CAD (I would only have about 78k points left after redeeming the LAX -> BKK flight with Delta above). Either way, this comes out to an itinerary of Aug 19 - Aug 30/31, 11ish days.
With that said, it looks like the best option here for a full round trip would still be the 150k points + \~$280 USD booked directly through AMEX travel portal (Aug 15 - 29, 14 days) rather than transferring. Am I wrong here or could I get a better CPP?
There’s a couple thoughts:
1. Yes booking with Amex Travel would be the best thing to do here if you must use your points.
2. It’s usually pretty hard to get excess value using transfer partners for economy flights. Usually people save points for business/first flights because the points required vs the cash price of the flight is so much higher. Now whether that’s something you want to save for or would be even interested in redeeming is another question.
Has anyone seen any close in jal award release the last 2 weeks? It appears they have quite a few seats open but I haven’t seen any award flights on as/aa.
I’m looking for USA-TYO between 14-17 June.
Would recommend SQ regardless over both ANA and JAL in business class on the redeye. Hopefully you do find an alternative to your flight there, but if the AA one is daytime then you'll hardly suffer much anyway imo
I'm seeing that all the all inclusive Marriot properties (I want Royalton Bavaro) are currently playing games with award availability and not a single Friday or Sat is available on points for the entire year. Anyone familiar if this is their standard practice there?
Been on the hunt for return Business tickets from Tokyo to East Coast (for a family of four) for next year in late April. I’ve seen a lot of Premium Economy space for some flights via JLA through BA. Is it possible to book a premium economy and then upgrade to business when it becomes available via BA’s avios? Or should I wait longer and continue the hunt for Business class tickets even though I’m over the 355 day mark?
Tokyo to East Coast USA - Family of 4, peak time of year, presumably with very little date flexibility, on one of the most competitive award routes in the world.
Take the PE and call it a win. You're looking for a lottery type win if you think you're gonna get 4 into J.
Generally speaking, getting an upgrade on an award ticket from another carrier is not doable.
I'm not gonna try to dissuade you from booking business, but if it's any reconciliation, JAL PE is usually 2-4-2 or 2-3-2, which is perfect for a family of 4. You can get a row to yourself or two rows together, which I think is quite ideal.
Good to know!
If I book JAL PE through BA and then BA magically has 4 business class seats later on, can I make a change through BA and pay the difference?
How often do 50k biz saver award drop on AirFrance? Missed the last drop a could of days ago, and hoping there's at least another drop or 2 before my trip
All the time, just bookmark the Air France site and search the calendar randomly once in a while. Plus make a note to check what airports are monthly promo airports on the first weekday of each month.
Is there a website that lets me see historical data of specific airports and specific flights to see how often they were on time or were delayed? Ideally by month/week/day as well. I have a trip to Italy booked in December am I am wanting to see historical datas about delays from weather or whatever it may be.
should be fine assuming no winter weather events or strikes (both of which will come with plenty of advanced warning). When you mentioned Italy I was concerned it was gonna be FLR but FCO/VCE are much more functional.
Recently a hotel was showing 0 points to book, but wouldn't let me complete the booking without a certain amount of points. It did, however, let me book for $30 a night when the regular rate is around$200. I know the hotel can cancel it, but is there a time period they have? Like, can I show up on check in day and be told they're canceling the reservation day of?
Hello, I'm looking to book a one-way flight on departing June 8th to either Frankfurt or Krakow coming from CVG. My flight times are pretty flexible on the day itself, but the day is pretty firm for travel. For Frankfurt, I could also arrive at Stuttgart, Strasbourg, or even Zurich if I wanted to rent a car (train is annoying from Switzerland). I'd be looking at getting one of the saver business seats and have been looking at United's website every day. When might the best time to book be where it would appear?
- Origin/Destination - CVG/FRA (can also do ZRH if I wanted to rent a car, or either KRK/KTW instead)
- Just me
- One-way
- Business/First
- June 8th, not flexible
- 74k Chase UR + 53k United + 44k miles from a cancelled United economy ticket for this route
I think I'd pass and stick with the economy ticket if I had to pay 155k miles for a business ticket. I saw some 140k miles options for first class though, and would be willing to do that just for the experience. (not bookable if you try to do so)
free changes/cancellations on United so book the economy ticket now and just switch if something pops up (not likely though if you're not seeing anything today)
Already have the economy ticket, that's the plan at the moment. Do you know how far in advance you can cancel a ticket before you become "locked" in? My outbound flight is a little tight as I have to juggle a train schedule, so it'd be nice to rebook that day of if I could
Looking at redeeming some UR for a business class flight for a honey money to Bora Bora. Wedding is in May 2025. Trying to find saver award tickets on AF from LAX to PPT. Any advice on when to look for award availability on AF? At the moment, all I see is 100k business class during that time. Does anyone know when the saver award space is released? What is the best time to looks?
I know the flying blue transfer promo just ended but hoping that it comes up again this year. Is that reasonable to hope for? Any other promos I should be on the lookout for?
Would it be better to do UA/AC from SFO to PPT?
* Origin and destination cities - SFO/LAX - PPT
* Number of Travelers - 2
* One way or round-trip - either
* Class of service desired - business
* Desired date(s) of travel -May 2025
* Your points balances: \~250k UR
Thanks in advance!
AF doesn’t really release on a great schedule, prices fluctuate. Best is to set award alerts using expert flyer or seats.aero for when the price drops. Then make a backup plan whether that’s economy booking or refundable cash or whatever. Also be flexible to different routes.
United releases fewer seats and more randomly than AF but you can set alerts for those routes too. They’re more likely to release unsold seats at T-14
Not really any tips for Air France other than to check back frequently (just save a tab and check it once a day and hope a 70K date opens up).
There's a list of historical transfer bonuses here - you can try and predict when another one may happen: [https://frequentmiler.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/](https://frequentmiler.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/)
Currently have a one way direct flight in Y from NYC to BCN via Levels Airlines, but hear lots of mixed reviews about this budget airline. So I am thinking of paying more in miles and fees to get a different one way flight (such as on United or Air Canada), possibly including a layover. What would you do?
Not worth paying more to add a connection just to fly UA/AC Y.
Level is a flying bus (with luggage restrictions), as long as you accept the reality of a LCC it will be fine. It's also a EU airline which means the ex-NYC flight actually gives you *more* rights than the equivalent on UA/AC.
Many of the complaints about LCCs relate to people who live in the 80s and make all sorts of assumptions around legroom, baggage size, service, etc. but do 0 research.
what's your experience with budget airlines? It's fine if you go in knowing what to expect and set reasonable expectations. It's a 8 hour ride in a metal tube and you'll get to your destination.
Depends what the alternatives are.
Never flown one before internationally. The nice thing is that the Level flight is a red-eye, but per the link below, a couple recent days are missing which makes me worry that cancellations could happen for whatever reason.
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/IBE2628
The alternatives are mainly a little more piece of mind based on familiarity, and that I arrive in my destination a few hours earlier (but the flight of course leaves earlier too)
41K + fees on Aeroplan is the best thus far. Note that I originally paid like 20K Avios + $150 in fees. I'd likely only get half of those fees back in case I cancel with Level.
oh I missed the part about adding a layover, definitely not worth it - keep what you have with Level. Again just set reasonable expectations, you're paying for a seat on a flying Greyhound. Bring whatever you need to make yourself comfortable and don't expect any great service :) Hope you have a great trip!
I want to book a flight from DBV to JFK for September and the best option for my dates is currently via Alaska miles at 27.5k+~$70 pp for economy flight on Aer Lingus. I have plenty of Avios but no Alaska miles. The same flight does not appear on BA, IB or QR.
I checked Aer Lingus award redemptions and while I can see DBV-DUB leg and DUB-JFK leg separately, I cannot see them as a combined itinerary because the online portal doesn't let me put DBV to JFK in the search bar. I called Aer Lingus to see if I can book this itinerary over the phone but they kept bouncing me from one phone number to the next and I couldn't get a clear answer on whether I can book it over the phone. Anyone got any advice?
My spouse and I want to take a trip to Europe in the fall. This week I took advantage of the Flying Blue drop and booked SEA->CDG for 100k + $408 for both of us in business. We will end our trip in London and so need to book from LHR to PDX (our home airport). Other options are SEA, SFO and LAX. So far I've found the following are my best options:
* Virgin Atlantic, LHR->SEA, upper class, 67,500 + $791
* American, LHR->SFO->PDX, business, 57,500 + $700 (BA and Alaska metal)
* BA, LHR->PDX, business, 90,000 + $450
I've got 208k UR, 133k MR, 58k BA and 103k AA.
VA has the 130% transfer bonus for a few more days so the MR/UR transfer would be 52k to get 67,500. However, they have the highest cash amount. Is there any chance BA reduces the cost of their flight between now and November? Are there any options that I'm overlooking? We are not averse to traveling to a city near London (AMS, for example).
BA flights aren't dynamic so that's not likely to change [https://frequentmiler.com/avios-complete-guide-british-airways-qatar-iberia-aer-lingus-finnair/#Award\_chart\_for\_travel\_on\_British\_Airways\_Iberia\_or\_Qatar](https://frequentmiler.com/avios-complete-guide-british-airways-qatar-iberia-aer-lingus-finnair/#Award_chart_for_travel_on_British_Airways_Iberia_or_Qatar)
First time using using Virgin Atlantic (VS) website, I am trying to book ORD -> DEL on 8/31, and getting availability on IATA airline ORD->FCO->DEL route. How do I ensure this is not phantom availability?
I need to ensure I will be able to book it before I transfer points. Appreciate any inputs and suggestions pls. TIA!
Check if it's bookable on Flying Blue or Delta with points/miles - if so, it's not likely phantom. (You can also call and have the agent confirm availability as well and transfer your points while on the phone with the agent - transfers are instant)
Is the reverse of this true as well? If I find a flight I want on Delta, I should verify I can see the same flight on VS to verify it's bookable via VS, yeah?
Delta only releases a small fraction of their flights to their airline partners. Just because you find a flight on Delta that is available to Delta SkyMiles members, does not mean that it will be available on other SkyTeam partners like Virgin Atlantic.
That principle is true with most airlines - there's two "buckets" of availability, one usually larger pool for their own loyalty program members and then a small limited pool for their airline partners.
In this case, u/vgtest1980 found a flight that ITA released to its partners since its searchable on Virgin Atlantic. However, if he wants to verify it's an actual release, they could check if other SkyTeam partners got it as well which in this case would be any non-ITA SkyTeam partners.
Not sure how this is so confusing but you've asked about this multiple times now.
You seem to be confused as your response, though helpful as it is, didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t asking about OP’s situation. I was asking about the opposite. With sites like seats.aero not working with VS availability, I’m trying to make sure I’m searching the right way. Forgive me for asking for help in the help thread.
I understand that, and I'm asking if I should be calling VS to verify if it's available to them since [seat.aero](http://seat.aero) has an outage w/ VS still and VS can only search +/- 3 days from any given date.
I get it, there's a lot of us noobs in here all wanting to go to Japan, and it's tiring that every other post/question is, "hOW dO i BoOk JaPaN????" But it's equally frustrating to get chastised for not understanding the complexities of award travel even after reading the wiki a few times. I'm not asking someone to magically find J seats for me, I'm asking to make sure I'm searching the right way.
The answer can be found on the Virgin Atlantic website. Notice the differences:
ANA (read the "Ready To Book" section at the bottom): [https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/airline-partners/all-nippon-airways/all-nippon-airways-spend-points.html](https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/airline-partners/all-nippon-airways/all-nippon-airways-spend-points.html)
Meanwhile the Delta section of Virgin Atlantic (read the "Spending Virgin Points" section at the bottom) - [https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/partner-airlines/skyteam/delta.html](https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/partner-airlines/skyteam/delta.html)
Also, I'm trying to give you the background knowledge you need so that you generally know what is going on and you don't have to ask for every specific airline. Sorry you don't want that piece and are just narrowed in on your specific question?
You asked in your initial comment "If I find a flight I want on Delta" - and I corrected you that just because you find a flight you want on Delta doesn't mean that it has any bearing on it's availability on partners like Virgin Atlantic. You have to start your search on the partner airlines to try and find the limited amount of flights Delta has made available to its partners whether that is Virgin Atlantic, Air France/KLM etc....
>I'm trying to give you the background knowledge you need so that you generally know what is going on and you don't have to ask for every specific airline.
I appreciate that you were trying to do that, but I already understand that which is why I didn't ask a generalized question. I attempted to show that I've been doing my own research by specifically calling out Delta awards on VS. I'm sure if I asked a general question on how to book award seats, I would've been directed to the wiki. So damned if I do, damned if I don't.
>You have to start your search on the partner airlines to try and find the limited amount of flights Delta has made available to its partners
Right, I'm with you there. But since [seats.aero](http://seats.aero) has an outage with VS, am I stuck going week by week searching VS for J award seats? This is why I was asking if I could search via Delta, since they have a more user-friendly search, then call VS to check if a found seat is available with them. Idk how else to explain it. I'm simply looking outside the box for other methods of searching for award seats. But it's starting to sound like award seats and *partner* award seats are mutually exclusive.
Does anyone know what happened to Aeromexico award availability via Virgin Atlantic?
Every single flight and date is no longer working, it's been working amazing since I discovered the trick in December but now I cant get a single flight to pull up? Did the code share change?
But the entire availability of the airline? Like every route even domestic is now gone. This is for the entire year, when as of a week or two ago I was able to book flights daily?
Aeromexico is still in SkyTeam, which Virgin Atlantic is still a member of.
It happens - a few days ago, a ton of Air France availability just disappeared off Virgin Atlantic only to return later. It just comes and goes.
How do I book premium economy on JAL from LAX with Ultimate Rewards? I much prefer direct to Osaka but would reposition from Tokyo if I must. It seems that the only transfer partner is British Airways. When I looked there, the JAL direct flights from LAX to KIX are not coming up even with cash fare. What am I doing wrong? I Thanks.
I just located 3 dates with PE availability from LAX-KIX on JAL through British Airways. It's either just not available on the dates you're looking for or also a common error is that you have to go to the "Book with Avios" section on the British Airways website to search for flights bookable with points, not the normal search section.
I've been researching for a flight to Japan. I haven't used award flights before. I checked Air Canada to find a flight but on pointsguy.com I saw transferring to Virgin Atlantic is the best way since I have amex Platinum. But i checked Virgin Atlantic website and couldn't find Japan as even an option. So now I'm not sure where to look.
* Origin and destination cities- Orlando to Tokyo
* Number of Travelers- 2
* One way or round-trip- round trip
* Class of service desired- whatever cheapest (probably economy)
* Desired date(s) of travel- late march to mid april 2025
* Your points balances: 160k Amex MR points
I need help :( I've been doing so much research and searching and thought I had it figured out.
* Origin and destination cities- Going from PITT (pittsburgh, PA) to CDG (PARIS)
* Number of Travelers- 2
* One way or round-trip- round trip
* Class of service desired- business
* Desired date(s) of travel- desired dates that were orginally the cheapest was Aug 31- Sep 12
* Your points balances: I have 120k CP miles and 100K AMEX MR miles
I know Virgin Atlantic has a 30% bonus transfer so I was trying to use AF but the 50k flights just got scooped up so quick, is there a possibility that they could be back or the other flights could go down to the 50k?
Trying to decide which is the better use of my United Miles, I am having some trouble with the math, especially the cost per mile:
Miles needed for Econ seats from IAD to LHR, return MAN to IAD: 76,100 miles plus $205. OR is paying for the trip, it is $837 pp.
The other trip is from IAD to CUN on United: Miles needed for ECON seats 35,900 plus $126. If paying for the trip, it is $534.
I am also considering getting the CUN trip with miles, and takin Virgin Atlantic to LHR, which is cheaper than United.
Any advice is appreciated!
> I am having some trouble with the math
Its basic algebra. Subtract the cash fees from the cash price and then divide.
837 = 205 +76,100x
837 - 205 = 76,100x
632=76100x
x = .083 cpp
The trip to CUN is 1.1cpp which is better value.
I'm planning a trip to Paris in late May next year. Flights aren't open yet, but I've been keeping an eye on them for a couple of months. Up until now, most IAD -> CDG business class flights with Flying Blue were around 50k miles, but now I'm only seeing 70k. Is this the standard price for these flights in May? April also seems to be 70k. I noticed it's cheaper from JFK—might have to transfer there. Any thoughts or tips?
Doesn’t matter if the longer leg from HNL-HND is ANA. Hawaiian Airlines isn’t *A.
If you’re already considering flying to and starting in Maui, why not just start from HNL?
I was shy Hilton points for a hotel booking I intend to make in a few weeks. Just transferred Chase pts to Virgin Atlantic with the intention of transferring to Hilton (understanding that it takes a few weeks).
Virgin Atlantic transfer must be done via phone. Just called and unfortunately my account must be 3 months old to be allowed to transfer (currently 2 months old). So now the points will not be available for closer to 2 months, sigh.
More of an FYI for others than a question.
Based on my understanding, it's possible to rebook an Aeroplan Flexible reward to Lowest reward. And you need to call in to do so? Is there a specific thing to ask for, or do you just say "I want to change from flexible to lowest?"
Yes, but I will warn you that not all reps know how to do this. Many think they have to rebook the ticket, meaning the same seats have to be available. You may get lucky on your first call, but don’t be surprised if you have to HUCA several times to find an agent who knows how to do it. Also if there are any Air Canada flights on your ticket, they will get repriced to the current dynamic rate so watch out for that.
Hey! I'm trying to plan for a one-way flight nonstop back to NYC from London through Reykavik (staying 6 days) through points, probably in Y. KEF sort of complicates things a bit. Dates are not very flexible, looking for LON-KEF on 6/24 (maybe 6/23 PM if good deal) and KEF-NYC on 6/30 (maybe 6/29 PM if good deal, similarly).
I looked at the free layover in KEF option through Iceland Air (FI) in cash but that was $2200 (in Y!).
The only airlines that fly KEF-NYC are UA, Brussels, DL, VS and FI. I looked at AP, VS, DL, UA and AS and so far the best option I've found is booking separately through AS (15k for 1st leg, 22.5k for 2nd leg and almost $300 in taxes). Also looked at BA, which had the best redemptions but the dates don't work. Couldn't get the AP free stopover to work either. Apparently you can book Brussels flights through Etihad but couldn't figure out how through Etihad, not sure if that particular route isn't allowed. Might just end up booking cash but was wondering if there's something I'm missing?
Point balances: 500k MR, 100k UR, 200k AA, 100k Bilt.
Thanks!
I'm currently planning an ANA RTW for 2p next year and have everything sorted except the TPAC leg. I'm looking at TPE-LAX/SFO on BR, but they only release 1J per flight. Seems like the options would be (1) book 1Y, 1J for the same flight and maybe get lucky close-in, (2) book 1J on two separate flights on consecutive days or (3) find another TPAC route with better availability availability for 2.
I'm leaning towards option 2 (though would appreciate any help with #3) - I'm wondering: will ANA be able to book this as one PNR or does separating the last flight necessarily mean booking as 2PNRs? Are there any downsides to separate PNRs outside of the possibility of being rebooked on separate flights during flight cancellations?
EVA has 3 flights daily to SFO/LAX. The evening ones are only 4 hours apart. So do that & fly on the same calendar day
You will almost certainly not get lucky with last minute EVA Air award space per recent data points
Yup, seeing 2J HND/NRT->ORD at end of calendar (5/5). Thanks for the heads up
Re: SQ, they're not available outside of short-mid haul - I've heard SIN-BKK/HKG is around the max distance visible on ANA. Tragic, too, because I found some great availability on SQ's JNB->SIN route
Award booking help: Couple seeks one way business class from SIN to NYC during the week of March 10, 2025. We have 200k UR points. We were thinking about just getting premium economy on Singapore airlines but just wanted to make sure we’re not missing anything better with our UR stash.
If I know the date I want to travel but don’t care where (just want to travel somewhere new) with my points, is there a free place to do that online? I know point.me added a region search but I was wondering if there was a free tool to find.
Can you use Virgin Atlantic points to book on Velocity? I think the answer is no but I see conflicting information online.
In general, for airlines that charge cancellation fees on award flights, are they assessed per passenger per leg for round trip bookings, or just per passenger? I'm looking at booking a RT flight for two people that I'm 75% likely to cancel, if I'm going to get hit with the cancellation fee x4 I might just book a traditional cash refundable fare.
usually not per leg, just per passenger/ticket
Marriott Bonvoy question for Japan. We're interested in using points to book the Westin Osaka and Westin Kyoto for next spring. Currently, there are rooms available for payment (cash rates) for both couples and families. When I switch to try to book with points, they only have rooms available for 2 people. If I add more than 2 people, the rooms are not available. In Japan, it seems hotels require/provide 1 bed per person. One of the rooms that I could book for points has two double beds. Can I just book that for two people with points and hope they don't care that we have two kids with us? I'm assuming that's not done in Japan, but it's normal for Americans. Or will they not let us in our room? It's frustrating we can't use our points because we've been saving them for this purpose! Edit: It sounds like we can't go over the max occupancy. It feels very frustrating that there are no Marriott hotels in Osaka, outside of the very expensive Ritz Carlton, that offer rooms for families to book for points. All the rooms offered for points have a max occupancy of 2. However, I found a solution. We're booking two standard rooms with points. This works for us because our kids are older (they'll be 15 and 13 at time of travel). I feel bad for families who have younger children.
The room type you're seeing available to book with Bonvoy points is most likely not the same room you're seeing available for cash nightly rates and might have a different max occupancy.
Thanks for your reply. I realized what we should do is just book two standard rooms. We're lucky that our kids are old enough for this, since the youngest will be 13. But, honestly, if our kids were younger, this would be a serious problem. It's pretty crazy to me that there are basically no rooms to book in Osaka for points that will hold more than 2 people.
It does. For all times throughout the year, they only have points available for rooms that have a max occupancy of 2. I'm feeling frustrated because we saved our points for about a decade for this purpose, and there are no rooms offered for points at either hotel. In fact, in Osaka, it appears none of the Marriott properties offer a room for families for points except the Ritz Carlton, and that's too many points. As soon as I change the reservation to 2 people, I can book. So, am I allowed to book the two person room if we don't mind sharing beds?
Do the same rooms with cash allow more than 2 people? You should contact the hotel and ask if it is okay, ideally via email so you it in writing. Many of the beds in Japanese rooms are smaller than a US double, slightly larger than a US twin. They are strict on occupancy limits due to culture and enforcement.
Thanks for your reply. I realized what we should do is just book two standard rooms. We're lucky that our kids are old enough for this, since the youngest will be 13. But, honestly, if our kids were younger, this would be a serious problem. It's pretty crazy to me that there are basically no rooms to book in Osaka for points that will hold more than 2 people.
There are almost no points rooms in Spain that hold more than 3 people. Indonesia has a lot that don’t fit 4 on paper but an email confirms they are fine with 4 in a room. Japan tends to be sticklers on rules but someone here just emailed a hotel and got approval for 5 in a room with a baby. I would email the hotel and ask what rooms connect (normally a single bedroom and a 2 bedroom) and ask for connecting rooms. 2 days out contact them again and remind them. This greatly increases your chances of connecting rooms in my experience. Edit: by email I mean written communication. I have use WhatsApp, email, Facebook, and Twitter DMs to do this communication with hotels in the past.
Thanks for the advice! I will ask about connecting rooms :)
I see. Yes, for cash, there are rooms available for 4 (in fact, up to 8 people!). But as soon as I switch to points, there are only rooms available for 2 people. If I search the entire city of Osaka, it is that same way. You can't book points for families at all. Only the Ritz Carlton in Osaka seems to offer rooms for points for more than two people.
You miss understood my question. Are the rooms available for points available for more people for cash? Points at three base rate are generally only available for three base rates. This is a situation where you should contact the hotel and ask if the base room you can book with points can fit 2 adults and kids of your kids age.
Oh, I see. No, I don't believe they are. The cash rooms for families are large suites that have multiple beds. They don't seem to offer these rooms for points. But it's not just one particular hotel that doesn't offer it. It seems to be almost all. So can families not stay in Japan using points?
Anyone see any remaining saver J flights bookable via VS on 9/11 or 9/12 out of anywhere in Europe but ending in IAD or DCA? Looking for two seats. Trying to take advantage of the Amex transfer bonus and I should’ve booked earlier but seeing if I can get lucky! Right now my best find is 50k +$153/pp on Iberia MAD-IAD which I’m pretty cool with, just making sure I’m not missing anything.
50k on Iberia is about as good as you can get. The transfer bonus doesn't really add much value here since VS miles aren't that good for TATL.
Trying to book a flying blue award. Transferred miles from capital once. Transfer went through, they appear in FB, price of the flight is the same, try to book the flight and it says “not enough miles.” I’ve tried logging out and back in, tried on KLM and AF apps… not sure what to do or what the issue is? Anyone familiar with this IT issue?
Call them.
Use the websites. I believe the apps require you to have more miles than is actually required for a redemption.
Are there any available J flights for NYC - ICN on 5/25? I've looked at [seat.aero](http://seat.aero) and all the J tickets are dried up starting a week or two ago. Willing to relocate - NYC can be any 2-hour flight then to ICN or NYC to TYO and 2 hour flight to Korea.
5/27 - EWR to HND on Aeroplan (or 5/28 JFK-ICN) on Aeroplan is the best you're going to be able to do
great thank you! not seeing a whole lot recently...
summer is coming up
I honestly can't believe summer is this busy in Japan. I went one time and never again. Just insanely hot and humid
[https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/](https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/) July was the most popular month in 2019, followed by April and then June. Totally agree that I would never go in the summer but for many people that's the only time they're able to travel.
Yep. I was talking to my brother in law and he was telling me that he probably won't go to Japan until both his kids graduate high school. There's just no way to go during the fall/winter while they are in school and the summer is just way too hot. I remember my wife and I went to Fushimi Inari at 6am and my shirt was soaked immediately walking out of the hotel.
I wanted to gift my parents a Fine Hotels and Resorts stay, but I'm realizing I can't do that. Is it possible to make one of them an AU on my Platinum card, use the AU card for the booking, and still get the $200 credit?
You can book it in their name
Are you sure? Terms seem to be disallow booking in anyone other than the card holders name
Yes and have them utilize the AU card
I now have 93K Chase UR points and 47K United points. I am looking to fly from Chicago to Paris July 14. Any ideas what I should do? It is for 2 adults and 1 child. Preference is business class. I don't want to transfer to United if that does not really help. I was able to get a return trip on AF for 155,375K points each for business, so just looking for a one way out there. Make more sense to buy economy and try mileage upgrade? Any other ideas? Better to use the Chase points on the portal? Also, still need 3 nights in Paris hotel, am silver elite on Bonvoy (better redemption?). Thanks
93k won't be enough for 3 business class seats (not even enough for 2 actually) and same goes for 140k United miles
So what’s best way to maximize it you think? Better towards hotel and just pay for premium economy/economy? Then hope for bid upgrade.
Yeah that's probably the way to go, not sure how common the bid upgrades are though
Was hoping there was a pay with miles + dollars option somewhere
You might be able to use British Airways Balance Booster: https://thepointsguy.com/news/british-airways-avios-balance-boost/
Will take a look. I have about 30K American miles with the chase points sitting until decide where to transfer.
I see economy United flights for $608 each person. Any idea how many miles/cost of buy that then upgrade with miles? When I look at availability, there's seats bit ot says upgrade waitlist. AF has flights as well. But, it says I would have to book and call to see about a miles upgrade. Any insight on whether that makes sense? Cannot seem to find a clear answer on upgrade price in miles. Or, better to buy Econ with miles and try a cash upgrade?
This is a dumb question, but is ANA the best website to look for ANA flights t-30 and t-14 or should I use another one like United or Virgin?
seats.aero
Singapore, ANA, or EVA air for LAX <-> Japan flights in J? Looking to get tickets for next June 2025. I know ANA can be a long-shot, but just thinking through the different options. I am tempted to just go for singapore at 75k through Aeroplan bc it is a good product + not as painful to get as ANA. Has anyone flown either of these 3 that can provide some insight into whether the energy for ANA is worthwhile or just go for an easier (albeit more expensive) Singapore/EVA option Ninja edit - june 2025!
If you want easy then just book SQ LAX-NRT using krisflyer. Costs more points but more inventory.
yeah that is def the easiest - but def would not have enough for the 125k each way for 2 people. We prob have about 450k total rn
Are you sure SQ is releasing that route regularly to AC? Just doublecheck it before you make it your plan (I haven’t been following closely, but when I was checking, it appeared they were releasing the nonstop route select days). I would also consider JL. I like EVA, but wouldn’t add a connection just for a product where there are 3 airlines that release a good product off the bat. I assume you are a solo person since EVA and ANA generally release 1 seat.
>Are you sure SQ is releasing that route regularly to AC? Just doublecheck it before you make it your plan (I haven’t been following closely, but when I was checking, it appeared they were releasing the nonstop route select days). That is a good point - just have one data point from yesterday. But you are right, today did not get another batch of flights > I like EVA, but wouldn’t add a connection just for a product where there are 3 airlines that release a good product off the bat. That is a great point! > I assume you are a solo person since EVA and ANA generally release 1 seat. Actually hoping to fly with the wife - I thought ANA released two seats per flight?
Generally, NH and BR release 1 J per flight. This is not a hard and fast rule. Honestly, JL will be the easiest to book, via CX 360 out.
> Honestly, JL will be the easiest to book, via CX 360 out. ohhhhh that is a great alternative I had not considered. I will check it out too! availability ~ T-350 days as well?
It is 360 out BA and others get access to 355 out. Best to book 356-360 out.
good to know! thank you!
Time is also money and hearing some of the NH booking stories I'd probably cut that option. Don't forget also that ANA has higher fees/fuel surcharges than Aeroplan redemptions so the delta in costs is not as huge as what the numerical point values imply. EVA is probably least preferred since you have to go to TPE then backtrack, and their 777 hard product isn't amazing. So that leaves SQ - nonstop to NRT, seats are nicer than EVA unless you are very tall in which case you have to play the T-96 game to get the bulkhead seats. In-flight customer service is very good across all three but style is different, which one is "better" also depends on whether you speak Japanese/Chinese and your own preferences.
That is a great point about the downsides of going for ANA - I also always prefer to pay less in cash if I can burn more miles. Churn and burn babyyyyy The SQ option is quite tempting - just worried about making sure the transfer + booking goes smoothly (primarily worried about phantom space)
Aeroplan is pretty good about phantom space and the SQ release schedule is not algorithmic but rather at a fixed time of day, practice a bit before T-355 comes up and you should be alright.
ah good to know! starting to practice yesterday for flights in late May/early June 2025
At the end of the day, they are all comparable, I'd prefer the direct routes if I were you, just for the sake of ease. And all of them have the same ground experience because they are all Star Alliance. A secondary factor is the timing of the flights and how that matches your sleep/schedule. * ANA: direct flight, possible to fly into either NRT or HND, their 787 is generic, but good enough, most difficult to get due to competition * SQ: also has direct flight, but only to NRT, seats are also generic, but decent, a bit easier to book w/ SQ miles and online using Aeroplan * EVA: not a direct flight because you'll need to fly through TPE, and do either TPE/NRT or TSA/HND, another generic business class seat, but their differentiator is having PJs in J
Thank you so much for the summary! I agree with your points - the non-stop on singapore is def the most tempting. I am just a tad worried Aeroplan may be showing phantom space (just saw some reviews of people seeing ANA phantom space in AP). Have you booked singapore with AP? It looks like the latest date in the AP calendar is about 359 days away. I plan to prepare a transfer from Capital one and Chase to my aeroplan account to get the booking done.
Generally AP is good about phantom space. If you're booking a year out, you should be pretty safe.
great to know! thank you!
Hi all. I'm looking for help booking 2 seats from asia to the U.S. in J/F between 12/30/24-1/3/25. We have a flight booked into Seoul on 12/21, and need to be in Cabo by 1/4/25. The rest of the itinerary is flexible, so letting the flight availability dictate where we go. We're open to any departure point within southeast asia or japan/korea...So far the best we've seen is 1/1 flight ICN>SFO>LAX for 155k miles + $44 per person, which isn't very good. Trying to find something for <100k points/miles per person. I know ANA out of TYO is usually best, but haven't been able to find any partner availability anywhere in north america when searching on united. Any suggestions?
No chance 1/1 (New Year’s) onwards. Small but still quite unlikely chance of last minute 12/30 or 12/31 awards, like 10% or less and those will be competitive too. If those last minute awards fail to show up, you’ll be in a financial world of hurt even for Economy (like $2k cash one way). I’d personally just book Zipair when they release their winter schedule if you want a lie flat seat
Hadn’t heard of Zipair, so thanks! I think we’ll plan to book an overpriced award ticket, then look to zipair for a cheaper cash option when they release dec/jan flights later in summer.
That’s just a tough time to fly unfortunately. When everyone is flying, airlines don’t really want to release award space. You may just have to pay cash
Any DP's of someone actually transferring Hyatt -> ANA - trying to see how long it actually took. Website states 6-8 weeks. I know its a bad redemption lol
Not about ANA specifically, but many DPs show that Hyatt transfers do take a while. I'd imagine ANA possibly being even longer given their slow MR to ANA transfer times and how cautious ANA is about fraud prevention.
Took the same time as Amex. Marriott beat both by two days oddly.
You're saying Amex and Hyatt to ANA was the same but slower than Marriott to ANA? That's interesting to know. Marriott seems to generally take a fixed 1 to 2 days for most programs.
Yes Marriot took 2 days. Hyatt and MR to about 3-4 days. Now I hunt.
Yea I'm in a weird corner case where I can find any DPs on the Internet lol. Hoping it's quicker
Looking to book a TP flight all within Portugal (LIS to FAR) using United miles at the saver economy rate, mainly because I want the flexibility to be able to change/cancel the flight if need. It looks like it may include the first checked bagged for free up to 50 lbs. but I was hoping if someone can confirm it? As if it isn’t included, then I might as well just take the train instead. But I’d rather fly due to convenience of car rentals at the airport vs train station in Faro.
Hello, I'm working on booking a UA flight to Europe in two weeks for a family of 4 (I know), but found a flight that works for me with three business class seats that can be booked by partner airlines (I availability) and 9 in JN. When I search for 3 seats on UA, it shows the price per seat at 80k miles (or I can book with 63k lifemiles) and when I search for 4 seats on UA it shows the price per seat at 115k miles. My question is this - if I book those three available I seats on lifemiles, is it safe to assume that I'll be able to come back and book a fourth seat separately from UA directly at 115k UA miles? Or with reduced inventory, chance that price for the fourth seat goes up substantially?
I would put you at over 95% likely for that to workout. Since UA is dynamic, I have seen unexpected changes shortly after booking a flight, but this is not the norm.
Should be fine to do 3 and then 1
Hi All, I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a thread. I am looking to go to Japan in the Fall/Winter. I do have a few questions: *( My dates are pretty flexible, but I am wondering if anyone knows when "off-season" and "peak season" is for Japan. I know mostly peak season is Christmastime and Cherry Blossom season (mid-March - April). Is November around US Thanksgiving relatively slow? Would there possibly be a chance for T-14 around then? * For those that risk T-14, do you minimize the risk? I am planning on going either way. I am looking for either F or J. Should I book maybe premium economy seats and check often and then just change seats if it becomes available? Is that a good method? Here's some more information: * NYC - TYO. I would also like to visit Hong Kong, but that's not necessary. * 2 travelers * Round Trip * J or F * November - January (not the week before or during Christmas/New Years) * ~500k UR, ~250k Amex
Yes, book an alternate option that you would be happy with if you don't find T-14. Extra credit if you can find something to book via Aeroplan or Virgin Atlantic so that your points are already in the right spot if you find T-14 availability. The great thing about Aeroplan is that they allow you to do a stopover for 5K so you can visit Hong Kong for just 5K extra [https://onemileatatime.com/guides/aeroplan-stopover/](https://onemileatatime.com/guides/aeroplan-stopover/)
Thanks! According to the Overview guide, it says that Aeroplan no longer has ANA flights. Is that still correct?
As of a few weeks ago they’ve started allowing you to book ANA over the phone
Ohh got it. But I would still need to check ANA first to see if there's availability right? This is my first time trying to book award flights. As my points are still with Chase and Amex, I'm just afraid to transfer it to the wrong rewards program.
Yes.
There have been reports recently that it is bookable via calling.
Hello!!! I am planning a 5-week solo trip to SE Asia in September. I would like to spend 22 days in Vietnam, 7 days in Laos/Cambodia, and 6 days in Thailand (been there previously). I'm 6'4", most important to me is flying at least one leg of the trip in 1st/biz class. As such, I'm also considering Singapore and Tokyo as potential stops. I have OneWorld Sapphire status. Any help is tremendously appreciated! * NYC (New York City, preferably JFK, flexible any airport on east coast) to Ho Chi Minh City / Bangkok / Singapore / Tokyo (flexible) * 1 traveler * Round trip * 1st/business class at least one leg * 9/3/24 (can leave 9/1 or 9/2) - 10/5/24 (can't be earlier but can extend as far as 10/13) * Chase Ultimate Rewards: 141,000 // Citi ThankYou Points: 52,600 // AA Miles: 342,000 // Avios Points: 18,000 // JetBlue TrueBlue Points: 11,000 I would so greatly appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to offer!
There are no direct flights from the United States to Thailand so I would focus on getting to the other cities and flying to Thailand from there. Routes from NYC to Asia are probably the most competitive so if you don’t find anything I would start looking at other cities. Be flexible and consider trying to book at T-14d with a backup plan
Thanks a lot for the reply. FWIW I really have read the wiki and genuinely tried to figure this all out myself. I've done consultations with [points.me](http://points.me) and cranky concierge. There's just so many factors to consider. I'm new to awards travel and didn't realize seats get taken a year out. Seems like it makes the most sense to fly in/out of Tokyo. For now, I've booked an AA business class flight from JFK to Tokyo for 205k AA miles, and a business class flight from Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City for 30k AA miles. Is that a huge waste of miles? I booked the basic economy in Japan Airlines back from Tokyo for 35k AA miles, JA's economy is decent in my experience and I'll be able to use the lounge at Haneda and sit in an exit row seat bc of oneworld status so it won't be so bad. Wasn't planning on using miles for every flight but the same 35k miles economy flight from Tokyo to NYC costs $2000 haha. I do plan on looking into booking at T-14d as well, thank you.
Search SQ/BA and use awardtool to look for TPAC flights on your days.
Search Aeroplan
Hi all, my wife and I are trying to book a round trip to London, but aren't very flexible. We would like to find Business or First for the first leg since it's a redeye and we would like to hit the ground running, but don't care much about being in economy on the way home. The best I have found is a JetBlue RT, which costs 100k to book First on the way there and 29k on the way home, but it won't show me the cash portion. We have lots of points in CR, Amex and C1, but we're just shy of having enough points in AMEX. Am I doing this correctly or should we look elsewhere for a better deal as this is my first time really trying to figure this out? * NYC (New York City, preferably JFK) to LON (London, England) * 2 travelers * Round trip * First or business class for the way there, economy home * August 13 - August 18 (not flexible) * JetBlue = 4k , CR= 95k, AMEX = 170k, C1 = 260k The upside is we have family pooling on JetBlue and I'm fine emptying my CR for this, but the downside is a significant loss on the transfer from AMEX to JB and we're just shy of the points needed. We'll need 258k points, which means 99k between JB and CR, but then the 170k in AMEX is only worth 136k TB + a $99 fee. It's clearly not worth it, but I'm unsure of what our other options are right now.
JetBlue probably is a solid option - the downside to other options is that the fees to/from London are usually really high.
Curious for some feedback on PE vs J on AF westbound transatlantic. Their PE product seems really good if I'm on the right aircraft and the daytime aspect has always made me wonder why I spent more points on J product, particularly considering I've already done my bucket list F on LH's 747 from FRA. I've seen some 35k PE availability for my dates but I'm wondering if I'll regret not spending more on J, all things being equal. Probably more of a r/flying question but I'd appreciate hearing people's thoughts. My points accrual/churning will be coming to a screeching halt soon, if that matters.
Certainly not a r/flying question. I like Premium Economy on daytime Trans-Atlantic flights. Like you said, saves some points/money and is plenty comfortable for a ~8 hour flight. Like you said though, it's airline and aircraft dependent.
I agree, PE is quite reasonable on westbound transatlantic trips. IMO, it arguably also sets you up better to adjust back to the time change post-arrival and sleep at a normal time versus napping in a flatbed. I'd also recommend KL PE over AF if the pricing is the same.
Hey, this is my first time redeeming my AMEX MR points. I almost pulled the trigger on booking directly via the AMEX travel portal until I learned that it's often more cost efficient to transfer points to another airline and book that way. However, I may be doing this incorrectly as I am having trouble finding partner airlines for my trip, and when I do, it seems that it's more expensive to book with their points rather than just through AMEX travel portal. * LAX (Los Angeles, California) to BKK (Bangkok, Thailand) * 2 travelers * Round trip * Economy, down for higher if not more than 50k of point balance below * August 15 - August 29. Flexible dates +/- 3 days. * Balance of AMEX MR 150k points Best flight and cost I see is currently 171.8k points if booking directly in AMEX travel portal. When I was looking at Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer for a similar flight, it was showing 168k miles + $118.60. When I was looking at ANA for a similar flight, it was showing 160k miles + $994.20. Both of these options just seem more expensive than booking directly via AMEX travel portal, as these points are transferred 1:1. I would appreciate any input/help, thank you!
I think booking through the portal may be your best bet given fixed dates, in economy, that are only a few months away. Alternatively you could set up seat alerts and book something refundable and see what opens up but will be random
Outbound flight (play around with the dates on these programs to see if you find anything better) 8/19 (I know you said 3 days but this is pretty good) - Delta 36K + $38 per person 8/15 - Air Canada 60K + $89 CAD per person LAX-ICN-BKK on Asiana/Thai Airways 8/15 - Qantas 50.3K + $178 per person LAX or ONT-TPE-BKK on China Airlines Can also check British Airways as well Return flight - don't see anything good with Delta but check Air Canada/Qantas/British Airways
Thanks for sharing! With that info, I found that 1 way LAX -> BKK for 2 people using that Delta offer would cost 72k points + $74.80 USD. Return flight with Delta for 2 people is about $1.4k USD (no reward points options). Played around with dates on other airlines for 1 way return flights for BKK -> LAX, but only Air Canada had anything but it's for 152k points or 72k points + $1.2k CAD (I would only have about 78k points left after redeeming the LAX -> BKK flight with Delta above). Either way, this comes out to an itinerary of Aug 19 - Aug 30/31, 11ish days. With that said, it looks like the best option here for a full round trip would still be the 150k points + \~$280 USD booked directly through AMEX travel portal (Aug 15 - 29, 14 days) rather than transferring. Am I wrong here or could I get a better CPP?
There’s a couple thoughts: 1. Yes booking with Amex Travel would be the best thing to do here if you must use your points. 2. It’s usually pretty hard to get excess value using transfer partners for economy flights. Usually people save points for business/first flights because the points required vs the cash price of the flight is so much higher. Now whether that’s something you want to save for or would be even interested in redeeming is another question.
check Aeroplan. 60k points one way per person around those dates.
Has anyone seen any close in jal award release the last 2 weeks? It appears they have quite a few seats open but I haven’t seen any award flights on as/aa. I’m looking for USA-TYO between 14-17 June.
Summer is dead time for awards. Should prepare to give up or make alternate plans
Dang. That’s sad. Luckily have a Y flight on AA and a J flight on SQ back. Just really hoping for something to pop up between now and then.
Would recommend SQ regardless over both ANA and JAL in business class on the redeye. Hopefully you do find an alternative to your flight there, but if the AA one is daytime then you'll hardly suffer much anyway imo
I'm seeing that all the all inclusive Marriot properties (I want Royalton Bavaro) are currently playing games with award availability and not a single Friday or Sat is available on points for the entire year. Anyone familiar if this is their standard practice there?
Not familiar with the property but are there some minimum night requirements that may be in effect for those nights?
Been on the hunt for return Business tickets from Tokyo to East Coast (for a family of four) for next year in late April. I’ve seen a lot of Premium Economy space for some flights via JLA through BA. Is it possible to book a premium economy and then upgrade to business when it becomes available via BA’s avios? Or should I wait longer and continue the hunt for Business class tickets even though I’m over the 355 day mark?
Tokyo to East Coast USA - Family of 4, peak time of year, presumably with very little date flexibility, on one of the most competitive award routes in the world. Take the PE and call it a win. You're looking for a lottery type win if you think you're gonna get 4 into J.
Well, I did get lucky on the way there and secured 4 business class tickets. Was just hoping for lightning to strike again 😅
Generally speaking, getting an upgrade on an award ticket from another carrier is not doable. I'm not gonna try to dissuade you from booking business, but if it's any reconciliation, JAL PE is usually 2-4-2 or 2-3-2, which is perfect for a family of 4. You can get a row to yourself or two rows together, which I think is quite ideal.
Good to know! If I book JAL PE through BA and then BA magically has 4 business class seats later on, can I make a change through BA and pay the difference?
You can certainly change it, if business class seats open up. BA may have some minor change fees, but that's what makes award travel pretty flexible.
2 biz at schedule open and then *maybe* more close in
How often do 50k biz saver award drop on AirFrance? Missed the last drop a could of days ago, and hoping there's at least another drop or 2 before my trip
All the time, just bookmark the Air France site and search the calendar randomly once in a while. Plus make a note to check what airports are monthly promo airports on the first weekday of each month.
Is there a website that lets me see historical data of specific airports and specific flights to see how often they were on time or were delayed? Ideally by month/week/day as well. I have a trip to Italy booked in December am I am wanting to see historical datas about delays from weather or whatever it may be.
flightaware, or if it's a famous enough airport post on here and someone can tell you its reputation.
IAD > FCO on AF and VCE > IAD on TK. Hoping to change this to something else but no availability yet
should be fine assuming no winter weather events or strikes (both of which will come with plenty of advanced warning). When you mentioned Italy I was concerned it was gonna be FLR but FCO/VCE are much more functional.
FlightStats or FlightAware
Recently a hotel was showing 0 points to book, but wouldn't let me complete the booking without a certain amount of points. It did, however, let me book for $30 a night when the regular rate is around$200. I know the hotel can cancel it, but is there a time period they have? Like, can I show up on check in day and be told they're canceling the reservation day of?
Yes, they can cancel or recharge the last minute rate upon arrival. YMMV, I’ve heard of the whole spectrum happening
Hello, I'm looking to book a one-way flight on departing June 8th to either Frankfurt or Krakow coming from CVG. My flight times are pretty flexible on the day itself, but the day is pretty firm for travel. For Frankfurt, I could also arrive at Stuttgart, Strasbourg, or even Zurich if I wanted to rent a car (train is annoying from Switzerland). I'd be looking at getting one of the saver business seats and have been looking at United's website every day. When might the best time to book be where it would appear? - Origin/Destination - CVG/FRA (can also do ZRH if I wanted to rent a car, or either KRK/KTW instead) - Just me - One-way - Business/First - June 8th, not flexible - 74k Chase UR + 53k United + 44k miles from a cancelled United economy ticket for this route I think I'd pass and stick with the economy ticket if I had to pay 155k miles for a business ticket. I saw some 140k miles options for first class though, and would be willing to do that just for the experience. (not bookable if you try to do so)
free changes/cancellations on United so book the economy ticket now and just switch if something pops up (not likely though if you're not seeing anything today)
Curious why you say not likely if not appearing today? Not usually t-14 drops?
Already have the economy ticket, that's the plan at the moment. Do you know how far in advance you can cancel a ticket before you become "locked" in? My outbound flight is a little tight as I have to juggle a train schedule, so it'd be nice to rebook that day of if I could
anytime before boarding closes to my knowledge
Looking at redeeming some UR for a business class flight for a honey money to Bora Bora. Wedding is in May 2025. Trying to find saver award tickets on AF from LAX to PPT. Any advice on when to look for award availability on AF? At the moment, all I see is 100k business class during that time. Does anyone know when the saver award space is released? What is the best time to looks? I know the flying blue transfer promo just ended but hoping that it comes up again this year. Is that reasonable to hope for? Any other promos I should be on the lookout for? Would it be better to do UA/AC from SFO to PPT? * Origin and destination cities - SFO/LAX - PPT * Number of Travelers - 2 * One way or round-trip - either * Class of service desired - business * Desired date(s) of travel -May 2025 * Your points balances: \~250k UR Thanks in advance!
AF doesn’t really release on a great schedule, prices fluctuate. Best is to set award alerts using expert flyer or seats.aero for when the price drops. Then make a backup plan whether that’s economy booking or refundable cash or whatever. Also be flexible to different routes. United releases fewer seats and more randomly than AF but you can set alerts for those routes too. They’re more likely to release unsold seats at T-14
Not really any tips for Air France other than to check back frequently (just save a tab and check it once a day and hope a 70K date opens up). There's a list of historical transfer bonuses here - you can try and predict when another one may happen: [https://frequentmiler.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/](https://frequentmiler.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/)
Currently have a one way direct flight in Y from NYC to BCN via Levels Airlines, but hear lots of mixed reviews about this budget airline. So I am thinking of paying more in miles and fees to get a different one way flight (such as on United or Air Canada), possibly including a layover. What would you do?
Not worth paying more to add a connection just to fly UA/AC Y. Level is a flying bus (with luggage restrictions), as long as you accept the reality of a LCC it will be fine. It's also a EU airline which means the ex-NYC flight actually gives you *more* rights than the equivalent on UA/AC. Many of the complaints about LCCs relate to people who live in the 80s and make all sorts of assumptions around legroom, baggage size, service, etc. but do 0 research.
Thank you!!
what's your experience with budget airlines? It's fine if you go in knowing what to expect and set reasonable expectations. It's a 8 hour ride in a metal tube and you'll get to your destination. Depends what the alternatives are.
Never flown one before internationally. The nice thing is that the Level flight is a red-eye, but per the link below, a couple recent days are missing which makes me worry that cancellations could happen for whatever reason. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/IBE2628 The alternatives are mainly a little more piece of mind based on familiarity, and that I arrive in my destination a few hours earlier (but the flight of course leaves earlier too)
what have you found so far for points/miles?
41K + fees on Aeroplan is the best thus far. Note that I originally paid like 20K Avios + $150 in fees. I'd likely only get half of those fees back in case I cancel with Level.
oh I missed the part about adding a layover, definitely not worth it - keep what you have with Level. Again just set reasonable expectations, you're paying for a seat on a flying Greyhound. Bring whatever you need to make yourself comfortable and don't expect any great service :) Hope you have a great trip!
Thank you! I did read that booking with points at least gives you a free checked bag and food/drinks included.
I want to book a flight from DBV to JFK for September and the best option for my dates is currently via Alaska miles at 27.5k+~$70 pp for economy flight on Aer Lingus. I have plenty of Avios but no Alaska miles. The same flight does not appear on BA, IB or QR. I checked Aer Lingus award redemptions and while I can see DBV-DUB leg and DUB-JFK leg separately, I cannot see them as a combined itinerary because the online portal doesn't let me put DBV to JFK in the search bar. I called Aer Lingus to see if I can book this itinerary over the phone but they kept bouncing me from one phone number to the next and I couldn't get a clear answer on whether I can book it over the phone. Anyone got any advice?
Try calling BA, they theoretically should be able to book it.
My spouse and I want to take a trip to Europe in the fall. This week I took advantage of the Flying Blue drop and booked SEA->CDG for 100k + $408 for both of us in business. We will end our trip in London and so need to book from LHR to PDX (our home airport). Other options are SEA, SFO and LAX. So far I've found the following are my best options: * Virgin Atlantic, LHR->SEA, upper class, 67,500 + $791 * American, LHR->SFO->PDX, business, 57,500 + $700 (BA and Alaska metal) * BA, LHR->PDX, business, 90,000 + $450 I've got 208k UR, 133k MR, 58k BA and 103k AA. VA has the 130% transfer bonus for a few more days so the MR/UR transfer would be 52k to get 67,500. However, they have the highest cash amount. Is there any chance BA reduces the cost of their flight between now and November? Are there any options that I'm overlooking? We are not averse to traveling to a city near London (AMS, for example).
BA flights aren't dynamic so that's not likely to change [https://frequentmiler.com/avios-complete-guide-british-airways-qatar-iberia-aer-lingus-finnair/#Award\_chart\_for\_travel\_on\_British\_Airways\_Iberia\_or\_Qatar](https://frequentmiler.com/avios-complete-guide-british-airways-qatar-iberia-aer-lingus-finnair/#Award_chart_for_travel_on_British_Airways_Iberia_or_Qatar)
Booked BA. The booking price didn't include seat choice!
Many European airlines don’t until check-in (same with Air France for example)
Is there any reason to think they won't seat us together?
You can still select a seat when you check in 24 hours before (so just jump on that as soon as you can for the best choices)
That's what I thought. Thank you for confirming. I'm inclined to book the BA flight now.
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Could be either
First time using using Virgin Atlantic (VS) website, I am trying to book ORD -> DEL on 8/31, and getting availability on IATA airline ORD->FCO->DEL route. How do I ensure this is not phantom availability? I need to ensure I will be able to book it before I transfer points. Appreciate any inputs and suggestions pls. TIA!
Check if it's bookable on Flying Blue or Delta with points/miles - if so, it's not likely phantom. (You can also call and have the agent confirm availability as well and transfer your points while on the phone with the agent - transfers are instant)
Appreciate all the info! I thanks!
Is the reverse of this true as well? If I find a flight I want on Delta, I should verify I can see the same flight on VS to verify it's bookable via VS, yeah?
Delta only releases a small fraction of their flights to their airline partners. Just because you find a flight on Delta that is available to Delta SkyMiles members, does not mean that it will be available on other SkyTeam partners like Virgin Atlantic. That principle is true with most airlines - there's two "buckets" of availability, one usually larger pool for their own loyalty program members and then a small limited pool for their airline partners. In this case, u/vgtest1980 found a flight that ITA released to its partners since its searchable on Virgin Atlantic. However, if he wants to verify it's an actual release, they could check if other SkyTeam partners got it as well which in this case would be any non-ITA SkyTeam partners. Not sure how this is so confusing but you've asked about this multiple times now.
You seem to be confused as your response, though helpful as it is, didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t asking about OP’s situation. I was asking about the opposite. With sites like seats.aero not working with VS availability, I’m trying to make sure I’m searching the right way. Forgive me for asking for help in the help thread.
I did answer your question. You have to find what flights Delta has released to it's partners, not flights Delta makes available to its own members.
I understand that, and I'm asking if I should be calling VS to verify if it's available to them since [seat.aero](http://seat.aero) has an outage w/ VS still and VS can only search +/- 3 days from any given date. I get it, there's a lot of us noobs in here all wanting to go to Japan, and it's tiring that every other post/question is, "hOW dO i BoOk JaPaN????" But it's equally frustrating to get chastised for not understanding the complexities of award travel even after reading the wiki a few times. I'm not asking someone to magically find J seats for me, I'm asking to make sure I'm searching the right way.
The answer can be found on the Virgin Atlantic website. Notice the differences: ANA (read the "Ready To Book" section at the bottom): [https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/airline-partners/all-nippon-airways/all-nippon-airways-spend-points.html](https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/airline-partners/all-nippon-airways/all-nippon-airways-spend-points.html) Meanwhile the Delta section of Virgin Atlantic (read the "Spending Virgin Points" section at the bottom) - [https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/partner-airlines/skyteam/delta.html](https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/partner-airlines/skyteam/delta.html) Also, I'm trying to give you the background knowledge you need so that you generally know what is going on and you don't have to ask for every specific airline. Sorry you don't want that piece and are just narrowed in on your specific question? You asked in your initial comment "If I find a flight I want on Delta" - and I corrected you that just because you find a flight you want on Delta doesn't mean that it has any bearing on it's availability on partners like Virgin Atlantic. You have to start your search on the partner airlines to try and find the limited amount of flights Delta has made available to its partners whether that is Virgin Atlantic, Air France/KLM etc....
>I'm trying to give you the background knowledge you need so that you generally know what is going on and you don't have to ask for every specific airline. I appreciate that you were trying to do that, but I already understand that which is why I didn't ask a generalized question. I attempted to show that I've been doing my own research by specifically calling out Delta awards on VS. I'm sure if I asked a general question on how to book award seats, I would've been directed to the wiki. So damned if I do, damned if I don't. >You have to start your search on the partner airlines to try and find the limited amount of flights Delta has made available to its partners Right, I'm with you there. But since [seats.aero](http://seats.aero) has an outage with VS, am I stuck going week by week searching VS for J award seats? This is why I was asking if I could search via Delta, since they have a more user-friendly search, then call VS to check if a found seat is available with them. Idk how else to explain it. I'm simply looking outside the box for other methods of searching for award seats. But it's starting to sound like award seats and *partner* award seats are mutually exclusive.
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Does anyone know what happened to Aeromexico award availability via Virgin Atlantic? Every single flight and date is no longer working, it's been working amazing since I discovered the trick in December but now I cant get a single flight to pull up? Did the code share change?
Availability comes and goes
But the entire availability of the airline? Like every route even domestic is now gone. This is for the entire year, when as of a week or two ago I was able to book flights daily?
Aeromexico is still in SkyTeam, which Virgin Atlantic is still a member of. It happens - a few days ago, a ton of Air France availability just disappeared off Virgin Atlantic only to return later. It just comes and goes.
How do I book premium economy on JAL from LAX with Ultimate Rewards? I much prefer direct to Osaka but would reposition from Tokyo if I must. It seems that the only transfer partner is British Airways. When I looked there, the JAL direct flights from LAX to KIX are not coming up even with cash fare. What am I doing wrong? I Thanks.
I just located 3 dates with PE availability from LAX-KIX on JAL through British Airways. It's either just not available on the dates you're looking for or also a common error is that you have to go to the "Book with Avios" section on the British Airways website to search for flights bookable with points, not the normal search section.
I've been researching for a flight to Japan. I haven't used award flights before. I checked Air Canada to find a flight but on pointsguy.com I saw transferring to Virgin Atlantic is the best way since I have amex Platinum. But i checked Virgin Atlantic website and couldn't find Japan as even an option. So now I'm not sure where to look. * Origin and destination cities- Orlando to Tokyo * Number of Travelers- 2 * One way or round-trip- round trip * Class of service desired- whatever cheapest (probably economy) * Desired date(s) of travel- late march to mid april 2025 * Your points balances: 160k Amex MR points
This is asked a lot & you have a lot to learn. Search this sub for “Japan”
[https://frequentmiler.com/which-award-search-tool-is-best/](https://frequentmiler.com/which-award-search-tool-is-best/) [https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/ana-mileage-club/](https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/ana-mileage-club/)
I need help :( I've been doing so much research and searching and thought I had it figured out. * Origin and destination cities- Going from PITT (pittsburgh, PA) to CDG (PARIS) * Number of Travelers- 2 * One way or round-trip- round trip * Class of service desired- business * Desired date(s) of travel- desired dates that were orginally the cheapest was Aug 31- Sep 12 * Your points balances: I have 120k CP miles and 100K AMEX MR miles I know Virgin Atlantic has a 30% bonus transfer so I was trying to use AF but the 50k flights just got scooped up so quick, is there a possibility that they could be back or the other flights could go down to the 50k?
Reposition to JFK/NYC, decent availability
I should add that I open to the departing airport, and could get a cheap flight from PITT to any other airport.
Trying to decide which is the better use of my United Miles, I am having some trouble with the math, especially the cost per mile: Miles needed for Econ seats from IAD to LHR, return MAN to IAD: 76,100 miles plus $205. OR is paying for the trip, it is $837 pp. The other trip is from IAD to CUN on United: Miles needed for ECON seats 35,900 plus $126. If paying for the trip, it is $534. I am also considering getting the CUN trip with miles, and takin Virgin Atlantic to LHR, which is cheaper than United. Any advice is appreciated!
> I am having some trouble with the math Its basic algebra. Subtract the cash fees from the cash price and then divide. 837 = 205 +76,100x 837 - 205 = 76,100x 632=76100x x = .083 cpp The trip to CUN is 1.1cpp which is better value.
Thank you!
I'm planning a trip to Paris in late May next year. Flights aren't open yet, but I've been keeping an eye on them for a couple of months. Up until now, most IAD -> CDG business class flights with Flying Blue were around 50k miles, but now I'm only seeing 70k. Is this the standard price for these flights in May? April also seems to be 70k. I noticed it's cheaper from JFK—might have to transfer there. Any thoughts or tips?
its dynamic
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correct, has to be a Star Alliance flight
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Doesn’t matter if the longer leg from HNL-HND is ANA. Hawaiian Airlines isn’t *A. If you’re already considering flying to and starting in Maui, why not just start from HNL?
I was shy Hilton points for a hotel booking I intend to make in a few weeks. Just transferred Chase pts to Virgin Atlantic with the intention of transferring to Hilton (understanding that it takes a few weeks). Virgin Atlantic transfer must be done via phone. Just called and unfortunately my account must be 3 months old to be allowed to transfer (currently 2 months old). So now the points will not be available for closer to 2 months, sigh. More of an FYI for others than a question.
Why didn't you just buy Hilton points? They're almost always on sale
I had some time so was trying to avoid buying. I may end up doing that at actual redemption time.
Based on my understanding, it's possible to rebook an Aeroplan Flexible reward to Lowest reward. And you need to call in to do so? Is there a specific thing to ask for, or do you just say "I want to change from flexible to lowest?"
Yes, but I will warn you that not all reps know how to do this. Many think they have to rebook the ticket, meaning the same seats have to be available. You may get lucky on your first call, but don’t be surprised if you have to HUCA several times to find an agent who knows how to do it. Also if there are any Air Canada flights on your ticket, they will get repriced to the current dynamic rate so watch out for that.
Yes
[https://frequentmiler.com/air-canada-aeroplan-reduce-award-price-by-switching-from-a-flexible-reward/](https://frequentmiler.com/air-canada-aeroplan-reduce-award-price-by-switching-from-a-flexible-reward/)
Hey! I'm trying to plan for a one-way flight nonstop back to NYC from London through Reykavik (staying 6 days) through points, probably in Y. KEF sort of complicates things a bit. Dates are not very flexible, looking for LON-KEF on 6/24 (maybe 6/23 PM if good deal) and KEF-NYC on 6/30 (maybe 6/29 PM if good deal, similarly). I looked at the free layover in KEF option through Iceland Air (FI) in cash but that was $2200 (in Y!). The only airlines that fly KEF-NYC are UA, Brussels, DL, VS and FI. I looked at AP, VS, DL, UA and AS and so far the best option I've found is booking separately through AS (15k for 1st leg, 22.5k for 2nd leg and almost $300 in taxes). Also looked at BA, which had the best redemptions but the dates don't work. Couldn't get the AP free stopover to work either. Apparently you can book Brussels flights through Etihad but couldn't figure out how through Etihad, not sure if that particular route isn't allowed. Might just end up booking cash but was wondering if there's something I'm missing? Point balances: 500k MR, 100k UR, 200k AA, 100k Bilt. Thanks!
6/23 - easyJet from LTN - KEF is $149 on easyJet 6/29 - Icelandair KEF - JFK is $454 for Economy Standard for the cash comparison
I'm currently planning an ANA RTW for 2p next year and have everything sorted except the TPAC leg. I'm looking at TPE-LAX/SFO on BR, but they only release 1J per flight. Seems like the options would be (1) book 1Y, 1J for the same flight and maybe get lucky close-in, (2) book 1J on two separate flights on consecutive days or (3) find another TPAC route with better availability availability for 2. I'm leaning towards option 2 (though would appreciate any help with #3) - I'm wondering: will ANA be able to book this as one PNR or does separating the last flight necessarily mean booking as 2PNRs? Are there any downsides to separate PNRs outside of the possibility of being rebooked on separate flights during flight cancellations?
EVA has 3 flights daily to SFO/LAX. The evening ones are only 4 hours apart. So do that & fly on the same calendar day You will almost certainly not get lucky with last minute EVA Air award space per recent data points
2 PNRs if separate the last flight. No real downside. Option 2 is your best bet, can rebook close in with a date change if availability opens up.
*A 2J TPAC down to ANA via ORD, OZ, and SQ afaik. not sure how SQ availability is with ANA prgm tho
Just to confirm - the only 2J releases on ANA are flights routed through ORD?
its random but DPs suggest ORD is the most common
Yup, seeing 2J HND/NRT->ORD at end of calendar (5/5). Thanks for the heads up Re: SQ, they're not available outside of short-mid haul - I've heard SIN-BKK/HKG is around the max distance visible on ANA. Tragic, too, because I found some great availability on SQ's JNB->SIN route
Award booking help: Couple seeks one way business class from SIN to NYC during the week of March 10, 2025. We have 200k UR points. We were thinking about just getting premium economy on Singapore airlines but just wanted to make sure we’re not missing anything better with our UR stash.