I’ll start. I’ve never done this “free confirmed changes” thing on UA for 1Ks before. If I want to get on an earlier ORD-LAX flight, can I do that with OLCI or do I need to call reservations 24 hours in advance? My upgrades have already cleared but I want to switch to an earlier flight that has intl 767 config, if possible.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 am
Ashley said,
I have a question that’s been bothering me for a long time. I live in Chicago; consequently, I’m 1K @ UA, EXP @ AA. I travel a lot and have had status in these programs for a long time.
My question has to do with: upgrades! As an EXP @ AA, the airline will upgrade me on domestic flights almost 100% of the time without payment (certs, miles, or otherwise). On the other hand, with UA, even as 1K, they require “payment” in the form of the ecerts or miles.
Since most people seem to prefer status in order to secure upgrades, I don’t understand the economics supporting upgrades in United’s program. I understand that we get certs deposited in the account here and there based on mileage flown; but it still doesn’t seem to equal out so that one would have enough certs to fly up-front the same amount as they would be able to on AA (100% of the time, assuming domestic). Top it off with the fact that certs on United are more expensive than AA (I recall them being $50/ea vs AA where they were $30/ea…although I haven’t purchased any in a coons age).
Regards,
Ash
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:10 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — You would be best off calling reservations three hours before the flight you want to take to confirm yourself on it. Before that there’s really no benefit to checking in or calling reservations. Since you’re upgraded, it’s also worth noting that you’d be confirmed into coach and would once again have to get on the upgrade waitlist to get into business class. If it’s not a busy business travel day you shouldn’t have too much trouble, though.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:28 am
lucky said,
@ Ashley — Great question, and I don’t think there’s an easy answer, but I’ll try. For one, the only way to sponsor an upgrade for a traveling companions (or anyone else except yourself, for that matter) on American would be to burn miles, eVIP’s, or to buy stickers. At United, on the other hand, you can use confirmed regional upgrades or the 500′ers we get for free to sponsor companions, which I like. At the same time, unless you have a perfectly balanced flying schedule (about 50% longhaul international, 50% domestic), you’re right, you’ll probably end up in coach sometimes. The benefit to others with this is that the lower tier elites actually stand a chance at upgrades, since 1K’s aren’t always getting upgraded.
At the same time there are ways to get creative with upgrade instruments. United counts the distance from the origin to the destination (assuming the upgrade clears before check-in), so you can actually get more than 500 miles worth of flying upgraded with a 500 mile upgrade. Along the same lines, if you’re flying SFO-JFK-LAX-SFO for example, united.com will often upgrade SFO-JFK-LAX with one 500 miler, since that’s the distance between SFO and LAX.
So while it doesn’t get you up front every time, I’m almost always in first class thanks to upgrades, and if not there’s Economy Plus, which is basically ghetto first class. Actually, with the new “choice” menu it might just be better than first class.
Hmm. So if I have a confirmed F seat on the later flight maybe it makes more sense to just standby for C on the earlier flight? Because if I do a confirmed switch and am in Y and I don’t clear… then that would suck. I’d rather fly later on the 319 in F than earlier on the 767 in Y. See what I’m saying?
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — If your flight is showing NC space when you want to make the switch, I would make a confirmed same day change and get the upgrade confirmed. If there are still quite a few business class seats showing, I would just risk it and make the change, given that you’ll be up there on the upgrade waitlist and there will be misconnects and no shows.
OK and just to confirm, I can make the switch only on day of departure? Or 24 hours in advance? If the flight is at 8am in the morning, when should I call?
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — You can make the change three hours prior to departure of the flight you want to take. So if you want to take an 8AM flight, you could make the change at 5AM.
Hmmm interesting. This is actually the middle-leg of a three flight journey meaning I’ll be in the air on the first flight when the 3 hour window opens. And I’m guessing one can’t do this once one is already checked in, right?
Tricky!
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — No, unfortunately not. You never know, if you get a nice agent anything is possible, though.
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
sam said,
lucky? if you still have that power point file from the Ann Arbor DO, could you send it to me. Thanks
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — It has been sent.
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Vagabond Jim said,
Lucky & Ashley:
It’s worth pointing out re upgrading companions: if you are an EXP at AA you have earned 40 stickers to hit (500 mile upgrades) that level. Now, you may have used many on your way thru the ranks but you’ll probably have some in your account.
And buying that at 60% of the UA’s price ($30 v. $50) is a nice little benefit if you need to buy more.
I do wish AA did the point-to-point distance thing…
@ Lucky — Can I also obtain a copy of the PowerPoint presentation? Thanks!
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
lucky said,
@ Vagabond Jim — True, although you’re not even able to upgrade 20% of your flights with the stickers you earn up until you make Executive Platinum, so I doubt most new Executive Platinum members will have more than a couple of stickers left unless they’re buying them. You’re right though, the price is much more reasonable to buy them at American.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
lucky said,
@ yzzatcqq — The one with the MCO-FRA issue? If so, I didn’t, because plans ended up changing, so it was for the better. I called back about the flight about a day later and they still weren’t showing it, so I don’t know what’s up with it.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
lucky said,
@ Gene — I’ll send it right now.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
HunterSFO said,
I know I e-mail / ask a lot of questions. Out of curiosity, on average how many questions do people ask you in a day?
Will you answer just about anything? As long as both the question and the answer could be read in open company no matter the age?
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Gosh, that’s something you probably don’t want to know. On a slow weekday I’d say I get 50 emails/PM’s/comments/calls with airline related questions. On a busy weekday I get closer to 100. Sometimes I sit at my computer almost nonstop morning to night as my inbox never empties out. Add that to my nasty habit of responding almost immediately, and this is becoming a full time “job.”
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ yyzatcqq — Hmmm, try me, and then I’ll tell you.
@Scholar in Training – (sample personal ad for Lucky) “…enjoys long plane rides in international first class to fantastic exotic destinations…ISO dedicated mileage runner with elite status in many programs…non-smoker a plus” LOL!!!
August 4th, 2009 at 11:53 am
HunterSFO said,
@Lucky – can’t believe nobody’s snapped you up yet
August 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
jb831 said,
Hey Lucky,
Seems like you have considerable experience on various OneWorld carriers (in First).
Any experience on BA (F)?
(Just contemplating some award redemption options. You sure have made CX look awfully tempting!
August 4th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
lucky said,
@ jb831 — I actually haven’t flown BA yet, but without sounding like too much of an armchair CEO, I do have a few thoughts. The seat itself is quite bad (better than most European airlines, save Swiss), the food will be ok (not as good as Lufthansa or Swiss…. the British are known for many things, but gourmet food isn’t among them), and the service will typically be quite good. Again, without having tried them I’d rate them below Swiss for sure (which I’d argue is the best European airline), and probably on par with Lufthansa, although I think Lufthansa will again take the lead when they unveil their new seats.
the last time I flew BA F they still had the Hi-8 tape players in the arm rests. I would not give them a 2nd chance for premium travel unless they bring the Concorde back.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:50 am
jb831 said,
Thanks for the input regarding BA F, gentlemen!
I guess I’d only strongly consider a BA F redemption (over CX) if BA does another 50% off redemption promo this year.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Jamie said,
Here’s a question I’ slightly worried about lucky.
I remember reading somehwere about a similar situation but can’t find it now.
I’ve just booked an award with US Air all in F.
I’ve just looked at my reservation and even though the correct amount of miles have gone out of my account for F, the reservation says coach on every flight.
Am I missing something here or is it a bug on the website?
August 6th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — It’s certainly possible that there’s a glitch, but this is worth looking into. Are you viewing the reservation on usair.com or are you looking at the e-ticket they sent you? If you’re looking at the e-ticket, that might be a serious problem. If you’re looking at the website, it might just be a glitch. I would give US Airways a call and ask them about it to be on the safe side. Feel free to email me your record locator and last name and I could look into it as well, if you’d like.
I’ve certainly had mistakes happen to itineraries of mine in the past, and it sucks. Better to spot potential problems early than when you get to the airport.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Zac said,
Hey Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Asia – specifically India and I have ~300,000 membership reward points that I would like to redeem for most value. Which airline should I put my bets on???
Thanks,
Zac
August 6th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Zac — In order to help, I’d need some more info. Where are you starting from? Are you traveling alone? Are you looking for a premium cabin (first/business class) redemption, or looking to get the best value from a coach award?
August 6th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
ORDnHKG said,
You had travelled on so many F and C class on different airlines, do you just giveaway the amenity kits and PJ ? Or you sell it on ebay ?
Ok, let me come to the point, I am actually an amenity kit collector, curious if you have any amenty kit that you don’t want about to give it away or sell it, I would be very interested, especially pacific carriers. let me know, as maybe able to meet next sunday with you in chicago.
August 6th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
lucky said,
@ ORDnHKG — I typically wear the PJ’s I get and use the contents of the amenity kits. Shocker, I know, but in my case I don’t see much use in the contents getting old. I then use the kits as little travel cases to store power cords, etc. So I don’t really have any “unopened” amenity kits, sorry.
August 8th, 2009 at 11:30 am
David said,
Lucky,
I’m flying from MIA to FRA on LH in a week. I booked reward travel for FC through Air Canada (Aeroplan) using Amex points. FRA is my final destination, then I fly back FRA to MIA a week or so later. Do I have access to the FCT in FRA when I arrive? Or when I depart? I am flying F on a LH flight, but am confused as to the access rules to the FCT. Thanks.
August 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The First Class Terminal in Frankfurt is not an arrivals lounge, so you could not use it upon arrival. That being said, you can use it on the way back. They keep changing the access rules, but right now as long as you have a same day Lufthansa first class boarding pass (even if you’re arriving from somewhere in first class and continuing within Europe), you get access. Regardless, you’ll have access as a departing first class passenger originating in Frankfurt.
Enjoy the lounge!
August 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky- I have a SFO-LAX-JFK flight on Thanksgiving day all in F including the p.s. flight. Since I will already have my samde-day p.s. F boarding pass for the LAX-JFK leg when I get to SFO, will they let me use the IFL at SFO as well, or do I only get to use the one at LAX?
Also, if I go with my family to HNL with everyone on the same PNR, does my 1K status allow everyone to use the 1K check-in line and priority security line, or do I have to *wait* for everone else on the PNR to go through the non-status check-in and security? This will be a SAN-SFO-HNL-LAX-SAN itinerary…
Thanks!
August 9th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — You should be able to use both. The SFO IFL agents are among the least friendly out there, but lately they have gotten better. So I wouldn’t arrive too early to the airport just to use the IFL, but definitely check it out if you have time.
As far as your second question goes, everyone should be able to go through security with you, use priority check-in, and board via the red carpet. As long as it’s family or only a few friends, I’ve never seen them have an issue.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Patrick said,
Hi Lucky,
ANy information on an arrivals lounge at LAX? COming in on Asiana F and connecting up to SFO on UA. Never used an arrivals lounge so any information would be great. Will I be greeted upon arrival or is that soooo 1995?
August 9th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Patrick — Unfortunately there isn’t any arrivals lounge (as far as I know, at least) at LAX for Asiana passengers, and United doesn’t have one either. You’ll probably be able to use the United International First Class Lounge at LAX, though, which is quite nice.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
ooD said,
Just found out I’ll be traveling to Asia and Europe before the end of the year for business and looks like I’ll be just short of 1P on UA after these trips. You predict any DEQM type promotions before year’s end like earlier in the year? Maybe not exactly the same, but something to boots up my EQM. Hopefully I can get some small boots without resorting to mileage runs
August 10th, 2009 at 8:12 am
lucky said,
@ ooD — That’s a toughie. There is definitely going to be some kind of a promotion, given that it should be a pretty rough winter for the airlines. At the same time, I kind of expect some sort of promotion for RDM’s instead of EQM’s. A DEQM promotion is certainly possible, although I think it’s unlikely and if it happened I would expect it to be a promotion you have to pay for.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
ooD said,
What’s RDM?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
lucky said,
@ ooD — RDM=redeemable miles
August 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
crammer said,
Lucky,
I heard on the most recent upgrd podcast that you really like Hong Kong. Can you go into a few reasons why you enjoy HK so much? I have never been, and it’s on my list of places to go. (I even know a Cantonese speaker who might be convinced to come along…)
August 10th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
lucky said,
@ crammer — Great question. First of all, it was the first Asian city I ever visited, and at the time (when I was maybe 13) Asia was some far off place mystical place to me. So the fact that it’s the first place I visited has something to do with it.
Beyond that, though, it’s just such an amazing, dynamic city, with the most amazing landscape. The two sides of the city are separated by Victoria Harbor, so the views are truly incomparable. Every night they have the “Symphony of Lights” show, whereby most of the major buildings light up as part of a laser show.
There’s also so much to do and it’s a relatively easy city to navigate. What really makes Hong Kong great as an English speaker is that almost everything is written in English (thanks to the British influence), which makes it easy to get around. Most people speak English as well. Compare that to Japan, where getting around can be a real PITA as someone that doesn’t speak the language.
It’s hard to exactly point my finger to it, but there’s something magical about the city. Their slogan is “Live it. Love it.” and I guess that’s very true. You really have to experience Hong Kong to get a real sense of what makes it great.
August 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
jb831 said,
Hi Lucky,
When staying at IHG properties, do you ever book the “bonus point packages”? (ie: the rates where you pay slightly more than the Best Flexible Rate, to earn an additional 1,000 / 3,000 / 5,000 / etc. points?) Is it worth it, or should one just stick to Best Flexible Rates?
Many thanks!
August 11th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
lucky said,
@ jb831 — I never have, because it’s almost never worth it. InterContinental did recently have a separate promo where they offered 10,000 bonus points per stay at no additional cost, which I took advantage of. I value Priority Club points at about half a cent per point, and I haven’t seen them “beat” that ratio with the offer.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Alex said,
Here’s my question…
I live in a small town (CHO – Charlottesville, VA) and therefore my airline choices are fairly limited (largely US and DL through Atlanta and Delta, respectively) but I fly a pretty fair amount for work, 80-100 segments and just over 100k miles per year. This breaks down to about 35 segments on each of DL and US, giving me Silver status on both, and the other 1/3rd spread out among everyone else. Likewise, I end up with about 50k miles on US and DL per year and 50k spread elsewhere, including bonuses, etc.
Is there anything I can do to concentrate my earnings and get more out of them – assigning miles to another program for example? It’s impractical for me to fly only DL or US because of work requirements, and I’m already using SPG Amex and/or AMEX Platinum to purchase the tickets for those miles.
I welcome your thoughts – thanks.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Alex — That’s a tough one. This would be easy if they were in the same alliance, but given that DL and US are in different alliances, there’s not a whole lot I can think of. Is CO an option? Once they join Star Alliance you could hopefully credit US and CO flights to one FFP, helping you to concentrate your miles.
August 12th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
sam said,
hey lucky, my girlfriend and I are planning to stay at the IC Bali for a week, your review of the hotel was fantasic. I’d just like to know your opinion on a few things. I Don’t think i can make it to RA in time. I am a Amb right now, and we’re planning to book the Club room, so is it worth it for me to try aquire a RA referal? Are the differences between RA and Amb very big at this hotel? Also, I’ve got enough points to fly to Bali on Both Skyteam and *A in Bussiness class, which airline would you say is the best for the job. Thanks
August 12th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — I’m totally jealous of the trip, sounds like fun. At the InterContinental Bali the differences between Ambassador and Royal Ambassador aren’t big, especially when booking a club room. The minibar is pretty crappy, so you’re not losing out on much there. Either way you should get an upgrade to a duplex suite, which is VERY nice. As a Royal Ambassador you would probably have a better shot at a larger suite, although the duplex suite really is very nice. So I don’t think you’d be missing out on a whole lot.
As far as airlines, that’s a toughie. Maybe ANA connecting to SQ? If SQ had any transpacific award availability I’d go with them, but they don’t right now. Who knows, that might change soon, though.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
sam said,
Now you know how we felt when we saw your review, thanks for the advice on the Royal Ambassador, probably saved me a few SWUs. But do you still get the airport pickup and everything?
I can’t get anything on *A, There are some availabily on the ANA tool, but no dice when i try to book then.
I think i’m going to go with YYZ-EWR-PVG on CO and PVG-DPS on MU. and DPS-PVG on MU, PVG-DTW on DL and DTW-YXU on NW for the return. Never tried CO’s international services in bussiness class yet.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — Yes, the transfer and greeting service is available for all club guests, regardless of status. Skyteam sounds like a good option, especially with the longhaul CO flight. I’m actually looking forward to giving them a try when they join Star Alliance.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Iceman said,
Just looked at your trip report for ORD-NRT on NH last July. If given the choice of NH C versus UA C (on a 747) for that same flight, what would you choose?
August 13th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — Call me crazy, but assuming that this were in a few months when new business class is guaranteed, I’d go with United. The seat and entertainment are FAR superior. No matter how good the food and service are on ANA, it’s not going to make me any more comfortable or keep me any more entertained for 12 hours. Add that to the recent cutbacks in ANA premium cabins, and I’d go with United without thinking twice.
August 14th, 2009 at 12:45 am
LAXNRT said,
Lucky,
got a question about status match. I know you got a status match to BMI Gold before. I am a UA GS and would like to get a BMI Gold Card to for domestic red carpet club access. What is the best way to go about this? Is it even possible? I was thinking about status matching to NWA and from there to BMI if that is still possible. WOuld appreciate any advice.
Chris
August 14th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Iceman said,
@ Lucky: Thanks for the fast response. I think you’ve convinced me to go back to UA. :-O What did you think of the slanted lay flat on ANA and what were their premium cabins like before the cutbacks?
August 14th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Iceman said,
@ Lucky: Sorry for a second response, but I found a good thread on FT talking about the cutbacks in premium cabins. Do they still have a kitchen counter type set-up where you can get food at your leisure?
August 14th, 2009 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ LAXNRT — You got it, that would be the best way. Match to some other carrier (NWA sounds good to me), and then fax in or email the elite card to Diamond Club, and you should be status matched. Enjoy!
August 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Iceman — I haven’t flown ANA in business for about a year, so I don’t know the details of the cutbacks. I’m sure the service and food is still far superior to United. However, maybe I’ve just become too spoiled, but a slanted flat seat is a killer. And I find ANA’s slanted flat to be among the worst, since it always seems to me like it’s at a pretty high angle. As far as the kitchen counter, they never really had that. They had a counter with cookies and chips and chocolate, but the flight attendants were always there to provide meals at your leisure.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Iceman said,
Thanks for the info! Guess I’ll be making another call to UA today.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
ooD said,
Hey Lucky. I need some advice planning a trip.
I will be flying from SFO to MUC on UA, but plan to connect through ORD to be on the same flight as my friend, who will fly from ORD. I am 1P and she is 1K.
Is there a way for me to get on her itinerary so that if she gets a free bump along the trip (for being 1k), I will too since we are flying together? The only thing I can think of is buying 1 RT SFO-ORD myself and haver her book my RT ORD-MUC with her, which is going to be more expensive than me getting 1 RT SFO-ORD-MUC.
There has got to be a trick.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
lucky said,
@ ooD — Sadly to be on the same record you would both need to have the same exact itinerary and book it together. Frankly, I wouldn’t waste your time trying to get on the same itinerary for that reason alone, because a) if they’re op-upping 1K’s, there’s a decent chance they’re op-upping 1P’s too, b) if your friend would get upgraded and mentioned you were traveling together, there’s a decent chance you’d get upgraded as well, and c) there’s a chance they might just skip your friend on the list if there were two of you on the record and they only needed to move up one person.
Keep in mind that United doesn’t just do free upgrades. They will only upgrade to business if they need to do so for operational reasons.
August 19th, 2009 at 4:37 am
sam said,
Hey lucky, when are you leaving hongkong, I’ll be in hongkong next friday, staying at the IC hongkong, are you going to be around?
August 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am
lucky said,
@ sam — I’m only there for three days and will be leaving this Sunday. Guess I’ll miss you, unfortunately.
August 19th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
sam said,
I thought HongKong was your favourite city, why such a hurry to leave?
August 19th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
imm2b said,
@ Lucky – Do you have a FAQs page?
August 20th, 2009 at 3:52 am
lucky said,
@ sam — It is, but there’s something called the real world I have to get back to, unfortunately.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:53 am
lucky said,
@ imm2b — Interesting idea, but I don’t. There are so many different types of questions I get and similar questions dealing with different programs that it might be a real challenge. Feel free to ask away, though, if there’s anything I can help with.
August 25th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Rochester Rich said,
Ben, Welcome Back. Thanks for your help previusly on this itinerary. After 3.5 hours on the phone with a very helpful agent I got confirmed Business tickets for 4 to Europe but there are some issues. Of those 3.5 hours the flight selection process went quickly as I had done all the leg work. So 45 minutes for the flights and forever and a day for confirmation and fees. And they needed to make changes to get it to price correctly. Here’s the itinerary:
6/19 ROC-LGA (US turbo-prop on a flight to be discontinued shortly)
6/19 JFK-IST (TH on a 777 with the heringbone business class layout)
23 hour layover in IST
6/21 IST-ATH (TH in Y)
6/23 ATH-MUC (LH in C)
7/5 MUC-CLT (LH in C)
7/5 CLT-PHL (US in Y)
7/5 PHL-ROC (US — Y only commuter jet)
80K miles and $95 taxes and probably a fee to book that they’ve neglected to tell me about.
1. They refused to book us on a connecting US Shuttle flight (ROC-DCA-LGA) in F and no seats available in Y. So now we’re stuck on a turbo-prop that will soon be axed from the schedule with the slot exchange with Delta.
2. They refused to book the non-stop CLT-ROC even though F is available. When they book in F the cost in miles goes to 120K.
3. They gave me a hard time about the 23 hour layover calling it 2 stopovers but we worked through that issue.
Do I accept the coach flights — really only the short CLT-PHL flight?
Do I stick with the turbo-prop or request a UA connection through IAD that still leaves enough time to get to JFK?
Is the TH flight aboard a 777 a good choice and worth the hassle to get to JFK?
23 hours in IST?
August 25th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Rochester Rich — Holy cow, I hadn’t realized TK was flying their 77W’s to NY. That’s HUGE news, and a post about that will follow shortly. What you were told about first class domestically repricing the itin to a first class award price is BS. That sounds like a cast of “hang up and call again” to me. As far as changing to the UA flight goes, the issue is that you’ll be charged a fee if you try to make a change now, so I would leave it as is.
The 77W in business class is probably the best transatlantic business class option. Watch for my Turkish trip report in the next week or so. It’s a fantastic product, though.
23 hours in IST should be great. I just got back and really enjoyed the city. You should be able to see quite a bit in that amount of time. Stay tuned for the trip report on that too.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Dan said,
Dear Lucky,
Thanks for your great blog and your great generosity in sharing your wisdom. I am planning an award trip for my wife and myself SFO-CDG, LHR-SFO for September 2010. I have enough UA miles for two XF tix. I am considering trying for LH SFO-FRA-CDG (I know, Starnet blocking). Your review of the service and the FCT sounded great. For LHR-SFO I guess just old F on a UA 777- I do like the nonstop option.
Any comments or suggestions on my itinerary? Thanks for your help.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — If you value a nonstop, then LHR-SFO is fine. If it were me, I’d go with either LHR-FRA-SFO on LH, or LHR-ZRH-ORD-SFO (or LHR-ZRH-JFK-SFO) on LX. It all comes down to personal preference.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Dan said,
Thanks, Lucky.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Blankeeta said,
Lucky,
I recently flew business class on AA to/from GIG. I was excited to experience their 777 with lie flat seating but was dissapointed when trying out the seats. They lie flat but at an angle! I hated having all the blood in my body draining to my feet. Please tell me that other carriers provide business class passengers with true bed-like seating…
August 28th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
HunterSFO said,
@Blankeeta – UA has true 180 degree lie-flat on all int’l 767s and 747s. Upgrade of the 777s is postponed till next year though
August 28th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — Slanted lie flat seating is a common complaint. Some consider it more comfortable than a recliner for sleeping (because it is flat, although at an angle), while others consider it less comfortable for the reasons you mention. Fortunately most airlines installing “new generation” business class seats have flat beds in business class.
There are two general types — herringbone and normal seating configurations. Herringbone seats are what you’ll find on Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Virgin, etc., whereby the seats are facing sidewards and no one has a “formal” seatmate.
Then there are airlines like Swiss, United (as HunterSFO mentioned, only on the 767 and 747), Singapore, etc., that have flat beds in business class. It really does make a huge difference, and as of late I refuse to cross an ocean in anything but a truly flat bed.
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:18 am
BQ said,
How do you efficiently find award availability on Swiss? I have been experimenting with the ANA site to find availability for an upcoming award trip to Croatia/Turkey with United Miles, but Swiss availability isn’t shown there.
I am a BMI Gold (and UA 1K). Given what’s going on with BMI, I am becoming wary of posting my premium *A cabin miles to Diamond Club (mostly C-class on LH, UA or SQ). AC Aeroplan looks like an interesting alternative… otherwise, I can keep posting to BD. Other options? Advice?
September 7th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ BQ — There are two practical ways to find Swiss award availability. Either get a membership to ExpertFlyer, which will allow you to see their award availability, or get a Miles & More account and search using that. It’s worth noting that in order to search award availability with Miles & More you need some activity in your account, though, which often makes ExpertFlyer the easier option.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Robertol — Assuming you’re not trying to hoard miles for way in the future, I would keep earning with bmi. Yes, there’s a bit of uncertainty, but I think we’ll have a good amount of notice before anything major changes. The beautiful thing about bmi is that you’re usually getting 200% for business class, and there’s simply no other program that can match that. With Aeroplan you’d typically be getting 125%. So I would say keep going with bmi for the time being, not only because of their great earning opportunities, but equally because of their amazing award redemption rates.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Ross said,
I have a question about joining for frequent flyer programs.
I just started working for a job that requires me to travel 50% to 75% every month. Most of my business travels are located domestically in the Western half of the US, with San Francisco and Sacramento as home bases. However, there are times when I have to travel to financial centers such as New York, London, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
I thought about joining United’s Mileage Plus because of its San Francisco hub. But since United is a Star Alliance member, I could be stuck taking its alliance partners (Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa) over oneworld members (Cathay Pacific and British Airways, both my preferred airlines to Asia and Europe).
Is it worthwhile to join United’s Mileage Plus over American’s AAdvantage? I want to join in a program where the airlines can fly mostly nonstop between financial centers around the world.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:08 am
lucky said,
@ Ross — First of all, I would suggest signing up for a frequent flyer account with any airline you fly. They’re free and it certainly can’t harm to have an account. That being said, if you’re based out of San Francisco, United is the obvious choice. They have nonstop service to London, Chicago, New York, and Hong Kong, along with a good frequent flyer program. If your company will only pay for coach, you should be able to rack up a good number of upgrades if you travel enough. If your company is paying for business or first, I would suggest flying some Star Alliance partner airlines, like Singapore Airlines from San Francisco to Hong Kong, for example, since they offer a better product. You could still credit the miles for that flight to United, since both airlines are in the Star Alliance.
Hope that helps.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Ross said,
@ lucky
Thank you for your reply. I’ve been reading your entries about your flight experiences in CX and SQ. SQ has been a trendsetter in the industry, especially in ordering aircrafts. Too bad SQ decided to drop its aircraft titles (Megatop for 747, Jubilee for 777, LeaderShip for the Airbus 340-500, and so on). I want to see those names again.
1. If you’re being offered the chance to travel for pleasure to East Asia and Southeast Asia from the US, which would you choose: CX or SQ?
2. How about Asiana (OZ), which is also a member Star Alliance–do you have plans to take one of their flights in the near future?
September 13th, 2009 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ Ross — As far as your first question goes, what cabin are we talking about? Assuming it’s a premium cabin, you really can’t go wrong with either choice. I’d give slight preference to Cathay in first class (new product) and Singapore in business class (new product). As far as the second question goes, I’ve flown Asiana several times within Asia. They’re a solid airline, and I would definitely consider them assuming it was the new first or business class product. Their old product is rather ancient.
September 15th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
sam said,
hey lucky, i’m trying to book a award tic in biz to HKG. and none of the ORD-HKG flight in feb are showing XC availability at all. Do they usually release availability a little closer, or should i find another way there.
September 15th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — That’s a toughie. ORD-HKG has always been one of the tougher flights to get an upgrade on, and that was back when there were over 70 seats in business class. With just 50 seats I’d say the chance of any more seats opening up, at least predictably so, is pretty low. Maybe we’ll see a seat or two, and maybe we’ll see some seats way closer to departure, like a week out, but I wouldn’t count on it. I would find another way there….
September 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
sam said,
in that case, what do you think my chances are of getting an upgrade (or two) after buying W bucket tickets and using SWUs.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:38 am
sam said,
Also, i remember you mentioned SQ never releases any availability on trans-pacific flights in C or F. But do they ever release C or F seats on intra-Asia flights, say HKG-SIN? I apologize for all the questions, but being the undisputed expert on the subject comes with some responsibilities
September 16th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Blake said,
Question — Just made prem exec on UA and want to status match to gold on CO. UA is telling me 2-3 weeks to get the card (CO says they need a copy of the card). Any way to expedite this? I begged them to send me a digital copy, fedex, etc. — they weren’t helpful.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am
lucky said,
@ sam — Chances of getting an upgrade? Generally decent, assuming you travel on an off peak day. This far out I would shoot for a confirmable upgrade if at all possible. SQ does release some intra-Asia awards last I checked, but the availability is very, very limited.
@ Blake — Unfortunately there’s no way to expedite that, and Continental is one of the stricter airlines when it comes to the credentials they require to match. Sorry.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
FBKSan said,
Lucky,
I posted the following on FT, but it was buried at the end of a thread and I didn’t get a response. Any insight?
If I put a ticket on hold from one region to another (e.g., Europe to Africa), can I change the originating region–and obviously pay the additional miles–before the hold expires without losing the original segments? (I ask because I have enough miles for the EUR-AFR ticket now and will have the extra miles needed for USA-AFR in a few days). If United is going to have to cancel the EUR-AFR hold to setup USA-(EUR)-AFR then I won’t bother.
Related question: could I do the above but actually ticket EUR-AFR and then change the origin region at a later date without jeopardizing my existing seats?
FBKSan
September 16th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
lucky said,
@ FBKSan — That’s a good question, and I’m actually not positive. I believe that would require a redeposit, so they might just have to start from scratch. The same goes for later changing the award. It’s easy when you’re talking about the same region, but I’m pretty sure you’d be out of luck in this case.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
RDimperio said,
Ben, I’m about to break into the ranks of 1K thanks mostly to United’s Fall DBEQM promotion. Now I’m wondering about those 4 e-500 mile instruments that you get at each 10K once a premium member. The 10K is counted on paid United and United Express flights. What about those that post as Y class. Do I count these miles as 1.5 or 1.0 times the actual flight miles? Thanks.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — Congrats on making it to 1K (almost)! As a 1K you’re not actually earning any extra 500 mile upgrades compared to Premier or Premier Executive members. You do earn up to two confirmed regional upgrades per quarter along with a minimum of six systemwide upgrades a year, though. 500 milers are based on “butt-in-seat” miles, so double EQM’s, premium flights, etc., don’t help you to accrue more of them.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
David said,
Lucky,
I have a question about the Hyatt Faster Free Nights promo combined with the Fast Track. I signed up for the Fast Track promo and will secure Platinum status with a 5-night stay in Seattle that I was going to make for work anyway. I’m wondering if it’s worth going for Diamond locally doing a mattress run. I’ve never done a MR before and was wondering if 1) I actually have to stay at the hotel or if I can just check-in and pay and 2) how does the Faster Free Night promo work for me? I’ll be heading to Cologne, Germany next September and thought I could use the free nights to book my hotel, but alas the free nights have to be used by March. Is Gold Passport Diamond really worth the effort? Thanks.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
lucky said,
@ David — In general I’d say Hyatt Diamond is among the best top tier status levels, and that’s largely thanks to the recent changes they’ve made to the Gold Passport program. You’ll receive access to the club lounge, free internet (which is a Platinum perk as well), along with four electronic suite upgrades, which are especially nice. As far as whether or not it’s worth mattress running, that’s tough for me to answer without knowing your financial situation and your travel plans beyond Cologne. If you could conceivably maintain Diamond with your normal stays in the future, then I think it’s a great status level to maintain. It’s not necessarily worth always mattress running for, though, especially if you only have a few “real” stays.
As far as the actual process of mattress running, you do have to check-in at the hotel, although you don’t actually have to stay there. Might want to go to the room, make the sheet covers a bit messy, and then leave. Your Faster Free Nights stays have to be completed by March of next year, so that wouldn’t really help your trip to Cologne next September.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
David said,
Thanks, Lucky. Do the free nights count towards status? If I have ten more nights to go towards Diamond, can I check in for two separate one night stays at a Hyatt Place (~$80/night), then use a resulting free night as an additional stay? Or, do all stays toward status have to be paid?
And, how would you compare SPG to HGP? Would you aim to have all your stays at one or the other or mix them up?
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The free nights you redeem don’t count towards status. Only paid stays booked through hyatt.com qualify for points. Generally I think SPG over promises and under delivers, while Hyatt under promises and over delivers. At Hyatt properties you always know what you’re getting as a Diamond — free internet, free club lounge access (or breakfast), and if you requested it, a confirmed suite upgrade. As a Platinum with Starwood you get club lounge access (if they have a club, which often isn’t the case), and you might or might not get any sort of real upgrade. You might get a room with a view, or you might get a huge suite.
So in general I’d say Hyatt has a more consistent program. Also, I think it makes more sense to have top tier status with one program rather than mid tier status with two programs. The benefits are better, assuming one chain has hotels in all the places you need to travel to.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
I may try for a bump on a SFO-LAX flight in about a week that currently is showing F7Y5 (it’s a 320). If it does zero out, does united.com provide an option to volunteer during online check-in, or can that only be done at the airport the day of departure? Thanks.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:37 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — They might or might not offer to add you to the volunteer list when you check-in online, but it really doesn’t matter because you can be added at the gate or at check-in by an agent. The list is sorted much like the upgrade list, so it’s by status first. A quick note about the SFO-LAX flights — they’re an interesting bunch, since there’s basically a flight every hour. That translates to lots of people standing by for earlier flights. So in my experience they don’t tend to be oversold by too much under normal circumstances, but when a flight is cancelled (which is common), it can be bump heaven.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Seth said,
I know NWA/DL/Sky Team is not your primary area of expertise, but I’m hoping you can help me anyway. I’m Gold Elite in WorldPerks (for a few more days anyway). I’m trying to book an award ticket for a trip to London (from BOS) in December. My options are pretty limited due to availability and my mileage poverty. First of all, does it make sense to you that NWA is still offering award tickets on CO flights in December, even though CO won’t be in Sky Team by then? Is there risk in booking those? Should I be worried about not getting Sky Team Elite benefits? If not, would you recommend CO over NWA/KLM flights? I’m really only familiar with NWA/DL, but I’m curious about whether CO’s onboard amenities might be better for such a trip. Any advice you have would be much appreciated.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:31 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — I’ll certainly do my best to help. Yes, Continental is still offering SkyTeam awards as long as you book before they leave SkyTeam, even if it’s for a later travel date. Your booking will be safe, but keep in mind that if you want to make a change after they leave SkyTeam, flying Continental won’t be an option. You shouldn’t, however, get any elite benefits if you’re flying them when they’re in Star Alliance, so that’s a reason to avoid them.
As far as onboard amenities go, I assume we’re talking about a coach award? If so, I’d say just try your best to get on a plane that has personal televisions. This means it makes sense to avoid DL’s 767-300′s and KLM’s 747′s, along with any 757′s (if there even are any into London from the US). Other than that, you really can’t go wrong. As far as I know CO has PTV’s in their longhaul fleet, DL has them on their fleet except for the 767, NW has them, and KLM has them on their A330′s.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Seth said,
Thanks for the info. I will definitely be avoiding CO.
So is it only the 767-300s that don’t have PTV? I’m getting a return LHR-DTW on a DL-operated (strange?) 767-400ER.
Also, is it typical for award availability to constantly change, like from search to search within the span of a few minutes? I will do a search and 5 minutes later with the same search the availability is completely different. Can I attribute it to it being within a week of award searching via nwa.com going away?
September 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — Correct, only 767-300s don’t have PTV’s. The -400 series does. Delta and Northwest are shuffling planes between their routes, so it’s common to see 767s out of DTW and 330s out of ATL.
Award availability is fluid, although typically not to the point that it changes every few minutes. I doubt it has to do with the site going away. Probably just bad luck, or maybe good luck, depending on which way the availability is fluctuating.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Ann Simmons said,
Can you please tell me witch one of your braches are opened on SUNDAYS for buisness, in the Baltimore, Maryland or surrounding areas.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Blankeeta said,
Lucky, here’s a novice question. I’ve booked a OneWorld award ticket taking me to multiple Middle East Desitations. My initial routing is: RDU-LGA-YYZ (AA), YYZ-LHR (BA) all on the same day. What is the luggage situation? Do I have to pick up my checked AA bags in YYZ and then re-check with BA in YYZ? Also, do you think AA will charge me for my heavy checked bags that are going internationally on their OneWorld Partner?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — I believe you’ll have to pick up your luggage and re-check it in Toronto. At least I did when I flew DFW-YYZ and then YYZ-HKG earlier this year. American shouldn’t charge you for your heavier bag, assuming it’s within the weight limits of one of the partner airlines you’re flying. If they try to, simply show them your itinerary and explain the weight limits of the other airlines. Enjoy your trip!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Is it true that after October 1st, Lufthansa will not allow arriving F pax into any FCLs at FRA? I was planning a trip for next year either arriving FRA in F as destination or possibly connecting to CDG or ZRH. Are there no options for showers either UA or LH arriving in F?
Thanks so much.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — I just saw the 500+ post thread in the Lufthansa forum, although it seems to be much about nothing. As a first class passenger one could never use the FCL or FCT as an arrivals lounge. Lufthansa does have a new “arrivals lounge” you can use, though. If you’re connecting you should be able to use the FCL or FCT, at least as far as I can tell. Happy travels!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Dan said,
Thanks Lucky, although on the LH website under “first class at the airport” it does seem to say the FCLs were available to F pax “departing from Frankfurt, changing flights there or arriving” whereas the FCT was available only for departures.
October 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 am
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, did you get in on the BOM deal last night? BA across the ocean but then could link up with *A carriers to BOM.
I got in with Orbitz but they promptly canceled my reservation overnight.
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — I saw it but decided against booking. As much as I’d love to actually visit India, I couldn’t fit it in my schedule for the time being. From a mileage run perspective it just wasn’t good enough, in my opinion. I can get more miles than that more comfortably for less by other means. Besides, mistake fares can get pretty frustrating with the airlines trying to cancel reservations, as I guess you’re experiencing. Hope they honor it!
October 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Kevin said,
Lucky,
I know that you don’t check bags, but I am thinking you might have an answer. I am going to check because I have a multipurpose trip (business attire and outdoor gear) and I don’t feel like trying to make it work with Carry-Ons.
So here goes: I am flying IAD –> JFK on United 7768 and JFK –> ZRH on LX 15. Should I check through to ZRH (assuming I can) or should I check my bag to JFK and recheck with Swiss. I should have enough time for the latter option since the RJ flight has been on time for the most part.
What do you think?
Thanks
October 9th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — With a trip like that you should be able to check the bag all the way through to ZRH. At check-in simply show them your itinerary and they’ll tag the bag all the way. Actually, in many cases “short checking” (not checking your bag to the final destination) is against the rules. Happy travels!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Iceman said,
If traveling from USA-NRT with miles in C, what would be your preferred *A airline? Assume that you can leave from any point in North America, but needs to be non-stop to NRT from there.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — Assuming you can leave from any point in North America, I could go with Air Canada (777), followed by United (new configuration), followed by ANA. While ANA might have the best service, Air Canada and United’s seats and entertainment blow ANA out of the water.
October 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
RDimperio said,
I loved my Business Class on ANA earlier in the year but have little to compare it to at this point.
Ben, What to do in light of the recent changes? Upcoming trip to Hawaii in January for two. EWR-DEN-SFO-HNL on 319/320/767 returning HNL-SFO-EWR on 777(redeye)/319. Newly minted 1K. Just saw 2 CR-1s in my account. Have 13 e-500s.
Would like to upgrade westbound and am indifferent about the eastbound.
1. Use the CR1s on the westbound?
2. Hold the CR1s for a rainy day and use miles (no cash)?
3. Gamble with the e-500s westbound.
4. Try to confirm the westbound and gamble with the eastbound flights with e-500s.
Will I still acrue CR1s in 1Q2010?
Thanks for your help, Rich
October 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — ANA definitely has the best in-flight product, but the seats are slanted flat and the entertainment is somewhat limited. Other than that, ANA is fantastic. As far as the Hawaii trips, I’d use the two CR1′s for the westbound portion, unless you have a future use you’ll definitely need CR1′s for. Since you asked me, I don’t use miles to upgrade domestically, so if I really wanted to upgrade I would use CR1′s. I’m not quite sure whether or not we’ll continue to accrue CR1′s until this policy is fully in place (I haven’t been able to keep up with the 1,200+ post FlyerTalk thread, sadly), but I wouldn’t count on it.
I would then try upgrading the other direction with 500′ers, if it’s something you’d be interested in. Enjoy your trip!
October 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
ktpc2005 said,
Remember the Air New Zealand nothing to hide safety video. Southwest fan site on Facebook posted a video that Air New Zealand is challenging the Southwest crew to help make a body paint safety video musical.
Funny that it will never show on Southwest planes due to the face they have no video equipment.
@ ktpc2005 — Hah, very funny! Thanks for the heads up. Wonder how the Southwest people would get to New Zealand. :p
October 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Ron said,
Lucky, I’m wondering about the value of US elite status. I’m generally a Sky Team flier (accruing my miles on Northwest, now Delta), but I’ll be flying LAX–TLV and back on US over the holidays. The outbound falls within their fast track promotion, and since that one leg is over 7500 miles it would earn me silver status. I also have a mostly dormant United account with about 10,000 miles. So, do I go for silver on US, or build on my existing United miles?
My wife and kids are also flying with me; they’ve been accruing their Sky Team miles on Continental, so they should be able to add the US flights to that (current balances are 36K, 27K, 20K; not enough status miles this year to earn any status). Do they go for silver on US, or build up Continental?
I typically fly alone for business, and with the entire crew for pleasure. My wife seldom flies alone, my kids never. For me, silver on US could make some potential future flights more pleasant. As for the rest, is there even a remote possibility of getting 4 upgrades into a 12-seat front cabin?
October 17th, 2009 at 11:58 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — The value of status vs. the value of accruing more miles in a single account is always a tough question. As you know, status as such has zero value if you don’t take advantage of your status on that airline. Miles, on the other hand, can be earned continuously, and as long as there’s some activity every 18 months, they should eventually add up to a free ticket.
Now, first let’s quickly discuss US Silver status. There are definitely some nice benefits for future flights, like free checked bags, first class check-in, and a decent chance at upgrades if you’re not flying on peak routes or during peak times. Unfortunately I think international upgrades aren’t even worth considering.
So if you plan on taking at least a couple of trips with your US Silver status, I would say it’s worthwhile to credit to them. As far as your family goes, unless they plan on taking a couple of US trips next year, I would suggest they credit to Continental, since they already have decent balances.
As a general rule, I like to stick to one program in each alliance and credit to that airline, even if I could get slightly more benefits by crediting to another airline.
October 17th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Tom said,
Ben… I consider you an expert on Intercontinental. Have you been to the IC in Budapest? I am considering a stay there this Dec (especially attractive F&F rate) and am wondering what your impressions are if you’ve stayed there.
Wife & I want to travel from Ft. Lauderdale to London non-stop using MR points. We were thinking about Virgin but you had mentioned ANA was better for the money. ANA does not flight from Ft. lauderdale or Miami. You also mentioned transferring points to ANA and then flight on Virgin. How can I transfer points to ANA and then flight on Virgin while not been hit hard on those other surcharges you are referring to? Pls advise and thanks!
October 19th, 2009 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Simon — While there are no nonstop flights from Ft. Lauderdale to London, Virgin does fly from Miami. They are partners with ANA, so if you transfer miles to ANA and book an award through them (they typically have access to the same availability), you’ll only pay 68,000 miles and probably $200, vs. quite a bit a more through Virgin.
Next week I need to fly a route serviced by UA/US/CO, both with a connections. Options are US through LGA/DCA/PHL on regional jets. Done this version a thousand times. UA the connection times through ORD/IAD are not desirable. Final option is to give CO a try through CLE now that they are part of *A. This would be on regional jets as well.
So, should I stick with what I know (US) or give CO a try?
October 20th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Given the new relationship, I see no reason not to give CO a try. You might like them more, in which case you’ll fly them from now on. If not, you can go back to US. Of course if it were me I’d take UA regardless of the times OR whichever routing was worth the most miles.
The only consideration is the 100% RDM bonus on US. I’m sure the same will be coming from CO, but I’m not sure how soon that will be implemented.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
I had a ticket today SFO-LAX on the 12:44 and this morning saw the previous flight at 11:20 was cancelled. I expected there would be bumps, but they didn’t need anybody. I wonder what happened to those passengers who were cancelled?
October 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — Ah, the frequent cancellations of SFO-LAX/LAX-SFO flights have led to lots of bumps for me in the past, so sorry it wasn’t the same for you. Chances are United put some people on standby for later flights, and only confirmed passengers to the point that the flights wouldn’t be oversold in anticipation of this. Smart from their perspective but sucks for us.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I just read through some of your older trip reports and noticed that when actually offered PDB of choice you have a tendency to STILL order orange juice. I have to give you a hard time about this because my logic says that if people order OJ or water when given PDB of choice then it sends a message to UA that just offering OJ or water and nothing else is what passengers want. This is the kind of behavior that contributes to UA framing their announcements about “enhancements” with things like “due to customer feedback….”
Any way I can convince you to order ANYTHING except water or OJ when given a choice???
October 20th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Hah, the simple answer is NO!
I don’t usually drink alcohol, so that’s not an option. The last thing I need is more soda while on the ground. So unless it’s a morning flight, I really prefer still water. And I’m betting most people do, which is why those are the two “standard” options. Nonetheless airlines should at the very least accommodate special requests, and for the most part they do, in my experience.
October 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Oliver said,
@HunterSFO — on my first Int’l F flight recently I picked water. Guess I sent the wrong message, too.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
HunterSFO said,
Alright then, well I tried. But don’t go in to the RCC and request half eaten cookies from an 8 year old’s birthday party, okay?
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 am
Brad said,
Ben,
Quick question for you! I have an award ticket to HNL in December. My routing is ORD-SFO-HNL-ORD I have F from SFO-HNL and C on the 747 from HNL-ORD. My question is: there was no NC/NF space on the ORD-SFO segment….am I automatically put on the wait list since I have purchased a C/F award or do I have to do something to get on this wait list?
Thanks!
October 24th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Brad — You’d actually have to manually request to be waitlisted in order to get a premium seat when space opens up. Ideally there will be NC/NF space before departure so you can already clear into it, but otherwise you’d have high priority at the gate for getting any open premium seats. Just call up United and ask to be waitlisted.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Jamie said,
Lucky,
Been following your blog since it’s birth – awesome!! It’s a daily hit with me now.
Anyhow, I’ve booked a trip in F (thanks to the US Airways 100% bonus miles on purchase), LHR-ZRH-PVG-BKK-LHR.
My question is …..
Is it possible to skip the LHR-ZRH and just board in ZRH?
I’ve heard of problems on award tickets when people do this?
Also, when I land in PVG, can I go to BKK a day earlier if I want to?
Do I have tgo phone US Air to change the ticket? If so will there be a fee involved?
3rd … and a question to everyone … I’m looking to take my GF (who lives in Bangkok) somewhere in Asia for 10/11 days.
Hong Kong is first on the list, but where else?
It has to be within 2 or 3 hours flying time of HKG.
Any ideas? Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, etc etc?
October 25th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Many thanks for reading!
Unfortunately you won’t be able to stick the LHR-ZRH segment. If you did they would cancel the rest of your ticket, so it’s pretty risky. As far as going to BKK a day earlier, you would have to make that change with US Airways assuming there’s award availability. I don’t believe there’s a fee if you stick to the same route and airline.
As far as where in Asia to go, that’s a toughie. It all depends what you’re looking for. I’d say Hong Kong is pretty unbeatable as far as cities go. Bali is beautiful, although 10 days might be a bit long unless you enjoy spending a ton of time around the pool or at the beach. Otherwise there are parts of Thailand that might be fun to explore, like Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, etc., so that would probably be the most practical trip to take if you were looking at moving around a bit. Singapore is a bit on the sterile side, and definitely not worth 10-11 days, in my opinion.
Hope that helps!
October 30th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Despina said,
Hi Ben,
I’ve been enjoying your London trip posts and can’t wait to hear your detailed thoughts on the BA all-C class experience.
I have a question please. When calculating one’s EQM, can I include “Fare Bonus” and “Elite Bonus”?
Also, if I am un LH metal in C and I get a “Fare Bonus” will that “Fare Bonus” count towards my EQM?
Thanks very much.
Despina
October 30th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Jamie said,
@ Lucky
Thanks for your reply ….
One more thing… am I missing something here or not?
I can buy 50,000 US Miles for approx $1200.
I can then transfer 30,000 miles to my US account from various sources(PC, Amex etc).
With my 80,000 miles I can then book a C ticket to Japan/China with a stop-over in South Asia. All for the $1200 outlay? Plus taxes of course.
Routing is from Europe by the way.
Can I really do that?
October 31st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Yes, the elite fare bonus counts towards elite status. For premium fares you often get a fare bonus which counts towards elite qualifying miles (for business class on United, for example, it’s 50%) and a fare bonus which counts towards redeemable miles (on United 25%). The same applies for Lufthansa metal flights.
Hope that helps.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Sure, theoretically that’s possible. It was an even better deal when US was selling miles for close to a cent per mile. But you could still make a transfer for the other 30,000, most economically from Starwood. US isn’t a Membership Rewards partner, Priority Club won’t have a good conversion rate, etc.
It’s that simple, though.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Ron said,
Lucky, an update and a new question regarding my question from Oct 17 — remember, I’m flying LAX–TLV on US Airways in December, returning in January, and was debating whether to go for fast track silver on US, or add the miles to United, where I already have a small balance (which turns out to be closer to 12K).
First the update: I got a status match to gold on bmi. This lowers the value of US silver, because bmi gold already gives me many of the benefits (premium check-in, no baggage fees, 25% RDM bonus); pretty much the only advantage left for US silver is domestic upgrades. On the other hand, I now have the option of crediting to bmi, which has some nice features: 25% RDM bonus for the current flight, counting both outbound and return legs towards status for 2011 (since status is based on my anniversary rather than a calendar year), and lower requirements for maintaining status (the 15.5K of the current flight brings me almost up to silver for 2011). Basically my options are as follows.
Credit to US: 15.5K balance, silver for 2010, 7.5K towards 2011 status.
Credit to bmi: 19.5K balance, 15.5K towards 2011 status (with a gold starting point).
Credit to United: 27K balance, 7.5K towards 2011 status.
Still no obvious winner, right?
Now the question: bmi gold gives me lounge access on my upcoming flight, and the Envoy Lounge looks like a nice place to spend the 2-hour layover at PHL. I’m flying with my wife and 2 kids (under 6). Star and bmi rules say I’m allowed to bring 1 guest; US club rules say 2 guests or immediate family, and say nothing specific about Star gold using the US club. So, which rules apply? Do you think it matters whether bmi is also on my boarding pass?
November 4th, 2009 at 10:09 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — That’s a toughie. Let me keep it simple — assuming you can requalify for bmi Gold, that would be your best bet. bmi Gold status is the most valuable between the three options, especially with domestic lounge access. If you don’t think you can requalify, I would credit to US, probably.
Either way you can use your bmi Gold card for lounge access, even if it’s not the frequent flyer number on your boarding pass. As far as the rules go, technically you can only take in one guest. Whether or not they let in the four of you is up to the agent. Many agents would allow it, while others wouldn’t. The immediate family rule only applies to members, as you point out.
Good luck!
November 4th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Ron said,
Lucky — thanks for your advice! I’ll try to access all the lounges on my way, even if I can only enter with 1 child (can’t leave both kids to roam the terminal unattended, unfortunately). I’m fairly certain the 1-guest restriction will be enforced at TLV, where all non–El Al carriers share the same lounges (should be a deserted terminal on a Friday night, with no El Al flights and only 3 late night departures to North America). I’m hopeful for the US lounges — LAX Terminal 1 (incidentally, the only LAX terminal I haven’t been through yet), PHL Envoy Lounge on the way out, PHL on the way back.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Joe said,
Lucky – Any clue why when I check Economy Class seat availability on United.com for a confirmed flight, it shows a ton of open seats, but when I check in and/or ask the gate agent if my row is still open they say “gosh no, we are sold out today”? Are there that many people with unassigned seats that don’t show up on the seating picture on united.com? Thanks
November 4th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Joe — It’s all a function of the route. On flights where lots of people book codeshares, like IAD-JFK (because people are connecting to all kinds of international airlines), there are often lots of unassigned seats even though the flight is sold out. But often it’s BS on the part of the gate agent. I hear “we’re completely full” all the time, yet the flight is only 75% full. Keep in mind that there’s often also a long standby list, so those passengers would fill the empty seats.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:09 am
sam said,
hey lucky, following the advice given on upgrd a while back, i just got my BMI status match, and i was just checking out the program.
from my understanding of the program rules. F class on UA earns 300% miles, add that to the 25% bonus. So you have 325% RDM and 325% EQM for a domestic F ticket.
Plus since any EQMs after 55,000 are converted to RDMs, you’re effectively earning 750% on F tickets. Ive seen some $600 trancon in F, that’s 7000 miles would get you 52500 RDMs or 1.14 CPM.
So did i mess up my calculations somewhere, if not, the i don’t understand why everyone isn’t crediting to BMI.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
lucky said,
@ sam — I believe it’s actually 625% on F tickets after 55,000 miles (325% RDM’s and 300% EQM’s), but it might be 650%. Either way, it is a stunningly good deal. You’re not missing anything.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Jamie said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for your reply so quick.
Just as I was about to buy 50K US miles, they came out with the 100% promo again, so I jumped in quick!
I got LHR-FRA-PEK-BKK-LHR in F.
Hope I made a wise choice.
Anyhow, as I’ll be arriving into FRA at midday and the flight out is at 5pm, I’d love some advice on the First Class Terminal.
Maybe you could do a report on it or something. I presume you have been to it?
Or maybe we can get people to add to the report?
BY the way, if your in NYC on Nov 21st, let me know. I’m meeting up with a FT’er for dinner, come join in!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Mike said,
@ Jamie – I’m sure Lucky will give you a more detailed response, but check out the link below.
@ Jamie — Sounds like a fantastic award! I’m sure you’ll enjoy Lufthansa first class and Thai first class, especially the BKK lounge and spa (where you’re entitled to an hour long massage). Thanks to Mike for jumping in and providing the link. That’s the most recent review I have of the terminal. It really is quite nice, and five hours should pass in no time. Be sure not to eat too much in the lounge, as there’s plenty aboard as well! Enjoy your trip.
Wish I were in NY then, but sadly I already know I’ll be down in FL that weekend. Hopefully next time.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Iceman said,
Staying at an IC for the first time in a while and had a quick question about the room types. What’s the typical difference between a junior executive suite and a junior suite? Is it possible to be in a suite and not have club level access?
November 12th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — What hotel are you staying at? Each hotel categorizes their rooms differently, and at some hotels it might mean a big difference, while not so much at other hotels. In general I would assume an “executive junior suite” means that it’s slightly larger. It is possible to be in a suite without club access at IC’s. It all depends on the policy of the property. Some hotels automatically give club access to guests that book suites, while others don’t.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Jamie said,
Lucky … not many people have been able to answer this (partly because no one REALLY knows), so I want your take on it …
I want to buy 50K US miles while the 100% promo is still on, to travel to Japan in F (100K miles).
Now … I can only travel after 1st Jan 2011.
That means I won’t be able to book the award until at least February (due to awards only being released 330 days out).
By then of course, the US “customer enhancement to their award chart” becomes effective. Although there’s no specific mention of *A being it I’m wary!
So, I have 4 choices from what I can see ….
1. Buy miles now and HOPE *A awards don’t increase in value and book in Feb if they don’t.
2. Buy miles now. If they do increase the awards, transfer miles into it from somewhere.
3. Book miles now and book award travel now for late 2010. Wait a few months, pay $250 change fee and book on my confirmed dates in 2011.
4. Wait until Feb, and see what changes have been made. By then though I miss out on 100% bonus miles.
No 3 seems ideal to me at the moment, however, if I do this AND the award miles increase for *A, will I not have to “get” the extra miles, even though I’m changing the award booking, and not “booking” it?
Thanks for your time so much lucky.
I’m just so tempted to get the miles now, as I can F to Japan, with a stopover for approx £800, which IMO is a complete steal.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
RDimperio said,
@Jamie In this case USAirways gave two months notice of award chart changes. Maybe you gamble, buy the miles (x2) now and keep watch. I’d save the $250 now and see what happens.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
lucky said,
@ Jamie — I would go with option one. Rumor has it Star Alliance award prices aren’t changing, which would be fantastic news. Option three wouldn’t really help you, because your ticket is only valid for one year. If you book now for travel late next year, you wouldn’t be able to change the ticket to the following year. You would essentially be paying the change fee to redeposit and then rebook, paying whatever the current prices are.
Good luck, this is a steal….
November 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I just noticed this morning that 2 CR1′s just randomly showed up in my MP account today. Of course I’m not complaining, but I have NO IDEA why they put them in there. Any thoughts? While Hyatt has a tendency to do this kind of thing, UA typically doesn’t – usually UA tells you they are going to do stuff like that. Hyatt has stuck a free night and a free confirmed suite upgrade in my account that I still have no idea where they came from…
November 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Are you sure they weren’t your third or fourth quarter CR1′s? They were supposed to post today, as it’s the second Saturday of the month. Mine posted today as well, so I’m betting that’s it.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – another question. I just opened my business account and CO debit card at chase for another 25,000 miles and 20 mileathon points. The terms and conditions state that $500 must be deposited within the first (30?) days but I’m wondering if that’s IN ADDITION to the opening deposit (was over $500) or if the opening deposit counts. What did you do?
November 17th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a question on the current Hyatt promotion. You have the choice of either a free night after each 2nd stay or 3000 bonus points on each stay. Which option do you think makes more sense?
I’m assuming that the points don’t expire as long as the account is active, but I’d have to use the free nights by March 2010, and don’t have any specific plans. How does 6000 points compare to a free night? I have a fair amount of stays lined up in the next couple of weeks for business and would like to take the most advantage of the promo.
Thanks.
November 17th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — The opening deposit counts. I only deposited a total of $500 into the account when I opened it, and that got me all the miles. Enjoy!
November 18th, 2009 at 12:01 am
lucky said,
@ David — In this case, assuming you could find the time to go somewhere, I would definitely go with the free nights. Upper end Hyatt hotels typically go for 18,000 points a night, so you’re getting quite a bit more value out of that than 6,000 points. Of course that assumes you can use it for a Grand/Park Hyatt. So I would definitely try and find some time to take a quick vacation and earn the free nights.
Hope that helps.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:56 am
HunterSFO said,
@David – I’d recommend you really look at your travel patterns. With Hyatt I’ve noticed that category 1 hotels are not bad for mileage runs and business trips. Typically they are as nice as the Hilton Category 3 hotels I’ve stayed at. A Category 1 Hyatt property is only 6,000 points per night. Most of the Hyatts in the US that are not Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites fall in to Category 3 or 4 and are quite nice. there are very few Cateogry 5 Hyatts in the lower 48 states – Andaz WeHo, Park Hyatt DC and Chicago are the ones that come to mind. Also remember that you can redeem 6,000 points for a suite upgrade – so if you are the kind of person who will pay cash for the cheapest room and then want an upgrade to a “ballerfic suite” that might make the points option worth it. Also, points can be redeemed for suites or club rooms by paying a few more points, whereas the free nights only give you a standard room. Of course diamond members would get the free standard room upgraded to club in most cases and in some rare cases to a suite..,. I chose the points option simply because I have trips planned in april and june so the march expiration for the free nights would be a problem for me.
@Lucky – hope i didn’t step on toes, but I wanted to provide an opposing viewpoint that could apply to some people…
November 18th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
David said,
@Lucky and @HunterSFO
I appreciate the advice. My concern is the March expiration date. I tend to be very busy and not able to get away when I want to. The upgrade option is nice and I suppose Gold Passport points can be converted into air miles as well. If I was planning a trip to NYC or Europe, the free nights would make more sense as the rates are much, much higher than the Cat 1 CONUS hotels. Hmmm.
Well, my first run of stays is this Sunday, so I’ll have till then to think about it. Thanks again.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 am
Alex said,
Lucky -
Debating whether to push for Delta Gold status this year. I fly a lot, but live in a small town (CHO) and end up splitting travel up typically by whatever airline makes the most sense schedule/cost-wise.
This year I flew enough segments to make both Delta and US Silver on segments, plus a whole bunch of others, but with the Delta bonus MQMs I’m only 18k short of Gold on miles. I could probably push to get the rest (have a transcon flight to make in a week, could do it in 1st plus add the Reserve Card). Just wondering if it’s worth it?
Let me add that for me, Delta are the most valuable FF miles – I know that’s strange, but it’s how it works out for me with my leisure flight patterns. That’s also mostly because US redemption is TERRIBLE for domestic.
Anyway, the question remains is it worth it to push to Gold, and what’s the easiest way to pick up the 18k MQMs. Any thoughts appreciated.
/A
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
lucky said,
@ Alex — That’s a toughie. In general I’d say it’s worth it, but on the other hand 18K MQM’s is a lot, especially without a double elite qualifying miles promotion. Another factor playing in here is rollover miles. If your travel patterns for next year look decent, you can always start the year with some extra miles and then go back to Gold, but on the other hand you’d be losing out on the Gold mileage bonus.
This is a toughie. Given how late in the year it is, the fact that Delta doesn’t have a double EQM’s promotion, and rollover miles, I would probably just sit tight and wait till next year to get back to Gold.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:45 am
Halothane said,
Ben,
I need 10,700 EQMs to make it to 175K this year. Would you pull the trigger and book a $270 MR to get to the 175K to get the 25K RDMs from Elite Choice or would you just let it go?
December 1st, 2009 at 10:16 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Absolutely go for it. You’ll be earning over 35,000 redeemable miles for $270, which is less than 0.8 cents per mile. Do it, do it, do it!
December 1st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
shawn said,
Lucy, how do you get “sandwiches and snacks for free anyway.”
December 4th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Hey! Need some ideas from you. I know you’re much more creative than I am. I’m looking to take my parents to Europe in C over the week of Thanksgiving in 2010. I’m going to be using US Airways miles to avoid *net blocking of UA.
We will be going to LHR and then will probably do a stopover either in Switzerland or Germany…I’ve not decided yet. Do you have an creative ideas for routing options? I want to avoid UA if at all possible. I was thinking about AC YYZ-LHR and then possibly LH from FRA-ORD. I couldn’t come up with anything better.
What are your thoughts?
Halothane
December 5th, 2009 at 12:43 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Sounds like a fun trip! There are a couple of practical options. My number one choice would be Swiss, especially if you can get their new business class product, which is fantastic. The food, seat, service, and entertainment are among the best out there.
In general I think Air Canada is a great choice, although there’s one reason to avoid them — from YYZ the flight is just too short in my opinion. I’d rather route through ORD and get a half decent nap instead of having a flight that’s most likely under six hours.
As much as I love Lufthansa, I would avoid them on the eastbound flight. The seats just aren’t that comfortable for sleeping. For a redeye I’d actually take new United business over Lufthansa business.
One other option which will no doubt sound crazy. The new Envoy Suites on US Airways look really good, almost like international first class seats. While I doubt I’d continue to fly them in the long run, I’d love to try out the product just to have experienced it. The seats look great, so I’d take that for the eastbound flight, although I’m betting the food and to a large extent service leaves quite a bit to be desired.
Hope that helps!
December 5th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Ron said,
Lucky,
I’ll be inaugurating my bmi gold card (status match) on a flight LAX–BOS–LAX on United next week. What lounges should I settle into? At LAX I believe I should be able to access the RCC in terminal 7 and the Presidents Club in terminal 6, as all the other Star lounges are in distant terminals without connection behind security. I’m less familiar with Logan (last time I passed through was in 1982), but from what I can tell, is it true that there’s no connection between the terminals behind security? So this means no Senator Lounge?
Also, are there any arrival facilities at Logan? I’ll be stepping off a red-eye onto the T and straight to work, and would appreciate a chance to freshen up
December 5th, 2009 at 11:09 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Enjoy bmi Gold! You’re correct, at LAX you should be able to use the Presidents Club or the Red Carpet Club. I haven’t been to BOS for years so really couldn’t tell you, but I’d stick to the Red Carpet Club. Sadly there’s not an arrivals facility, but in theory you could use a departure lounge but only if you had an outbound boarding pass, which it doesn’t sound like you would. Besides, lounges in the US rarely allow a chance to freshen up, so you’re not really missing out.
Happy travels!
December 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky. No outbound boarding pass on arrival — I’ll be spending 2 nights in Boston. Oh well. At least I have a Starbuck’s gift certificate
December 7th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Ron said,
Hey Lucky, you should have told me that there are no bathrooms at the LAX Red Carpet Club! I had to make a u-turn out as soon as I got in. Also, it turns out their free local calls don’t include area code 562 (Long Beach), which is a bit lame. At this point a hard-core traveler would probably ditch the place and go to the Presidents Club, but I didn’t feel like trekking over to terminal 6 and back. Other than the above two shortcomings, the club was nice — I sat there for close to an hour, drinking decaf and munching on snacks right in front of my departing plane from gate 70A.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Halothane said,
Lucky, do you have any ideas for ex-Europe to BKK routings? I have been trying to get into TG F but UA seems to be utilizing *net blocking. I’m on an F award to Asia via Europe for 145,000 miles. I’ve got the following segments
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-FRA LH C
FRA-BKK LH C
I already have a TG F segment to HKG and on the return I have a LH F TATL and have a segment on TK F from HKG-IST. The only other thing I can think of is to try and get my FRA-BKK segment on LH F so that I can have access to the First Class Terminal in F.
Do you have any creative routing ideas for ex-Europe to BKK?
Thanks!
Halothane
December 10th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Ron said,
Lucky, I’m confused about the upgrade order on United. On the way back from Boston I was flying with a colleague who is Premier Exec, and who tried to upgrade using miles. She was number 10 on the upgrade list with 9 open seats, so she ended up in economy plus. Aren’t mileage upgrades supposed to be processed ahead of the free instruments? Does it make sense that 9 people on a ~70% full 757 from BOS to LAX would try to upgrade with miles?
December 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Wow, amazed you got that US to Asia via Europe for 145,000 miles in first class! Wasn’t aware that was allowed, or maybe it’s not and you just got a clueless agent. Looks great so far, though.
Unfortunately all flights out of Europe are consistently blocked on Thai, so you’re out of luck there. Though if you’re flying them from BKK-HKG, that’s all you really need to fly on them to get the full first class experience. It’s all about the ground service, so be sure to enjoy the massage, lounge, and being escorted all around.
As far as airlines and products go, you seem to have ‘em all covered! My first choice would probably be LX followed by TK followed by LH. Swiss just has the best in-flight product, in my opinion, so if you can fly them even more I’d go for it. As long as you’re not in a rush I think Turkish is great, although they’re always late and the service really isn’t fantastic (though I love the food and hard product). Lufthansa is always predictable, on-time, and all around good.
Other than that there aren’t really any options. OZ doesn’t have much Europe-Asia with three cabins, NH is nearly impossible in F, so that doesn’t leave very many options.
Good luck!
December 10th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — At the airport upgrades are sorted first by status, then by fare class, and then by time added to the waitlist, so the order she was processed in sounds right. Keep in mind that 500 milers aren’t really “free” upgrades. Some people purchase them. Along the same lines, some people use systemwide upgrades and confirmed regional upgrades. Before departure management the order is a bit different, as upgrades are sorted by the “priority A” and “priority B” waitlist.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky. I wasn’t aware of the “priority A” and “priority B” waitlists, but now that I’ve read about them I see that the order is the opposite of what I would expect — upgrade instruments are processed before mileage upgrade awards! I would have thought that miles would be treated on par with cash, just like award tickets are considered to be revenue tickets. But if I understand the A/B priorities then I guess my thinking was wrong, and United does not want to encourage people to burn their miles on upgrades. (??)
December 14th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
ET said,
Lucky – although i know you’re not omniscient, i wanted to pick your brain about RA upgrades at the IC SF MH if an RA were to book a 1 Bd suite. It looks like there are a lot of suites above that. Would it be okay to email ahead and try requesting a specific suite if available?
December 14th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
lucky said,
@ ET — Absolutely! Emailing the hotel in advance is always a great idea. Nothing wrong with mentioning what you plan on booking and asking what you would be upgraded to, or even doing a bit of old fashion negotiating. Also, if you’re celebrating something special with your stay it wouldn’t hurt to throw that in either. Hope you have a great stay!
December 17th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
PWMFlyer19 said,
Lucky (or anyone else) – I am flying BA from US to UK and therefore can not credit to AA. Do you have a recommendation on another oneworld carrier that might be best to credit to (Finnair, Mexicana, etc) ? I am thinking of just crediting to BA and maybe using the miles intra-Europe sometime when back in London (which is not infrequent).
Just want to make sure I am not missing some thing. I have SPG Amex, so I can always move miles somewhere to top off an account.
Thanks.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I’m currently trying to decide what my hotel strategy will be for 2010 as I am about to book my January business travel. I’ve heard you speak very highly of Intercontinental Royal Ambassador but I’d like to know more specifically why you chose that program over all the others. Here are some questions that dig into what I’m wondering about:
1. Do you mostly stay at IC branded properties (for your required 50-60 nights/year for requalification) since the benefits don’t apply to other PC properties? How much does doing that usually cost? I typically spend $50-$90 / night on my average mileage runs. Won’t that limit me to HIX and the like?
2. It seems like many of the benefits i’m interested in may not apply at all properties. I want to make sure I get club access or at least a hot breakfast on every stay – Hyatt guarantees that to me. What could I expect as a RA if staying at IC branded properties, and also would it be different at other PC properties as a PC platinum member?
3. Is internet free?
4. Upgrades seem to be very nebulous to me in the RA program. I guess ambassadors get “1 category” and as an “unwritten rule” RAs get “2 categories” but sometimes suites. What has your experience generally been with upgrades? I’ve been very happy with the upgrade aspect of Hyatt’s program – especially being able to confirm suite upgrades at time of booking either with points or diamond certificates. Also do you get upgrades on award stays? I also like being able to confirm a suite with points at time of booking on an award stay at Hyatt.
5. Early Check-in/late check-out has been the one HUGE weak point with Hyatt. Usually they are very stingy with late checkout sometimes only offering 1pm. 2pm seems to be the most common. Early check-in is even tougher for me at Hyatt. Given the mileage running I do, it would be really nice to have. How has that experience been for you as a RA?
6. how lucrative are the points promos? I hear that they are good but that doesn’t really give me a tangible idea. With 50-60 revenue nights/year and trying to take advantage of many promos in true flyertalk fashion, would I earn enough points to redeem for 5 nights at a property in the highest redemption category? More? Less?
7. Service at Hyatt has ranged from “decent, absolutely no complaints” to “outstanding”. Minus the SNAFU with my suite upgrade at GH NY. This includes my $43/night stays at category 1 “hyatt place” properties. I know service is generally fantastic at IC hotels (is that consistent though?) How would you say service has been with PC once you are staying at lower end properties like HIX and Crowne plaza? With Hilton I’ve had absolutely abysmal service at some properties – to the point where I got a refund.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
lucky said,
@ PWMFlyer19 — Great question, unfortunately without a great answer (at least not from me). US to UK on BA is definitely a tough spot to be in as far as crediting miles go. The only alternative I can think of would be crediting to Alaska Mileage Plan, although that only potentially makes sense if you’re on a full fare ticket. They’re partners with virtually every airline, so it’s great to dump “miscellaneous” miles there. Unfortunately they only provide 25% miles on non-full fare tickets, so it probably doesn’t make sense. British Airways isn’t *that* bad of a program to credit miles to given the circumstances. They’re also transfer partners with SPG, so if you keep building up miles with them you can always top off an account that way. I’d just go with that.
Sorry for not having a better answer.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Wow, what a loaded question! Not even sure where to begin on that one. For what it’s worth, I find InterContinental Royal Ambassador to be the best top tier status level due to the value of the benefits that are guaranteed. That being said, a major challenge with InterContinental is the huge gap between InterContinental hotels and other Priority Club properties, not to mention the inconsistency in terms of benefits received at those hotels.
At InterContinental hotels I’ve always found the service to be phenomenal. As a Royal Ambassador you usually get special check-in at the Ambassador desk, and always get a welcome gift, GUARANTEED 8AM check-in and 4PM late check-out (this is a huge benefit, in my opinion), free consumption of the drinks in the minibar, and a two level upgrade. Hotels are typically pretty consistent about the upgrades they give Royal Ambassadors, which is nice. I can email a hotel and they’ll tell me exactly what kind of upgrade I get. That doesn’t always translate to an upgrade to the club level or a suite, but it’s usually one or the other and often both. Because of this it’s easy to stick to the good properties and avoid the bad ones as far as treatment goes. Internet isn’t free at all InterContinental hotels, although is at a good number of them.
When staying at IC hotels, though, I’ve always felt like a bit of a Global Services compared to status with other hotel chains. Overall they do a great job, in my opinion. The points earning opportunities are also great. While they don’t have anything quite as rewarding as Hyatt Faster Free Nights, racking up points through the various promotions is a piece of cake. With 50 or 60 nights you should easily earn enough for five or more nights at a top tier hotel. Sometimes IC even has top hotels available through “PointBreaks,” whereby hotels cost 5,000 points instead of 30,000-40,000.
Now the problems — you won’t get the same consistent “basic” elite benefits you get at Hyatt hotels such as free internet and club access. If you value the consistency that comes with that, IC probably isn’t for you. Along the same lines, the locations are limited and at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza properties you’re just treated as a “Platinum,” which doesn’t guarantee you anything. You’ll sometimes get a suite upgrade, sometimes free breakfast, or sometimes nothing, but it does vary hotel to hotel. Many of my stays are at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels, although they’re typically only quick overnights so all I care about is a clean bed and earning lots of points. Sometimes they only recognize me as a Priority Club member, while other times they’ll roll out the red carpet. Otherwise I basically plan my travels around the locations of IC properties.
Another frustration with Royal Ambassador is that the qualification criteria aren’t published. So you could be at 50 nights for the year and not be invited, which is frustrating when you’ve been working towards it for so long.
Anyway, given that you just started with Hyatt I’d quite frankly stick with them for the time being. They have a great program and it’s a close second for me to InterContinental. Now that you have the status enjoy it, as working towards Royal Ambassador would be quite a bit of work. But it’s always something to keep in mind.
Anyway, hope that helps and let me know if you have any more qustions.
December 21st, 2009 at 7:56 am
Alex said,
Lucky -
You helped me book an award ticket (wonderfully, I might add) from IAD to HNL on DL through MSP in May ’10, to take advantage of the better configuration FC seats. I was wondering how you’d compare that flight/service to the new CLT-HNL non-stop service on US?
That flight is a much more convenient connection for us (no long drive to IAD), and I’m taking advantage of the big US shopping promotion, as well as a Buy Up (company-funded) to either *P or CP on US this year.
Curious if you think it’s a better option.
Thanks!
December 21st, 2009 at 10:33 am
Puck said,
Hi Lucky – as a still-learning mileage runner, I’ve got two questions:
First, a question about matching status. I’m currently 1P on UA, and pretty much think of it as my “primary” airline – I’d like to make a concentrated run at 1K in the next year or two. I’m also Gold on AA. I only occasionally fly AA (just enough to maintain Gold status, never enough to hit Platinum) and will be booking a big award ticket with them in the next year. I’d like to approach AA and ask for a status match, but I’m unsure of how to do this, how likely the chances are of success, and if there are any downsides to doing this. Getting a match to Platinum would be great, really might encourage me to fly them a little more, and would make the upcoming award travel a little more pleasant. Are there any downsides to status matching? Do I get penalized by UA in any way (I suspect not)? Is there an argument that this isn’t “worth it” and that I should just grab some extra AA flights next year to try and hop up to Platinum status? Should I wait until I reach 1K on United (likely another year or so) before trying for a status match? And, of course, what do I actually do/say/write to them to request such a thing? What do you typically get out of a successful “match”? Will AA even do this for UA status?
Second, I earn a lot of my UA and AA miles by flying internationally for work, in coach. I’ve got a lot of 500-mile upgrades bopping around that are useless for upgrading these trips (currently I just stockpile them for use on frankly-not-worth-it upgrades to and from HNL – why aren’t there more three-class planes on the HNL routes??). Again, I’m pretty new at this, so I’m unsure: how does one get/earn systemwide upgrades that can be used on international travel? Are these something I can ask for as compensation during a bump? Do I just wait and work to earn them after becoming a 1K or equivalent? Are there any tricks of the trade that I’ve missed somehow regarding these?
Thanks for the advice, and I love the blog!
December 21st, 2009 at 2:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Alex — Great question! Up front I should say that I haven’t tried either product, but I think I’ve read enough about them to give a reasonable answer. They’re both great options. The NW A333 will be in better shape than the US B767, both in terms of “freshness” of the cabin, entertainment, and seats. Nonetheless US does offer their international business class product, which is solid for Hawaii. The service other than that should be quite similar as far as I can tell. In your shoes I’d go with whichever connection is more convenient or whichever award is cheaper, because you’ll arrive well rested either way. And now that I look at it, award availability is surprisingly good for CLT-HNL up front. Enjoy the trip!
December 21st, 2009 at 2:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Puck — First let’s talk about status matching in general. It’s important to keep in mind that if an airline status matches, it’s “once in a lifetime,” so only do so if you have a good use for it. Typically you’ll want to write a letter to the airline stating how you want to shift some more business to the airline assuming you get status matched. You can give reasons such as a change in travel patterns, a new corporate policy, or being fed up with your old airline and having heard so many good things about the airline you’re matching to. There’s a thread in the “MilesBuzz!” forum on FlyerTalk which has all the addresses, fax numbers, etc., of airlines when it comes to status matching.
That being said, American doesn’t status match. They’re the only legacy that consistently doesn’t, actually. They offer “challenges,” whereby you can fly a certain amount in 90 days and be offered either Gold or Platinum status. In your case, you’d need 10,000 points in 90 days to get a Platinum match. These used to be free, but unfortunately they charge for them now. In your shoes I’d actually focus on United for now. I’m not sure what you see as the benefit of Platinum status when it comes to booking an award, unless you plan on booking an international coach award ticket and want lounge access or something like that. Getting to top tier on United would be much more valuable, in my opinion.
As far as international upgrades go, you earn six systemwide upgrades with United for making it to 1K, and then two more for every 50,000 elite qualifying miles beyond 1K. Other status levels don’t earn them. Through January you can upgrade all “H” class fares on United internationally with miles, but after that there will be co-pays in addition to miles, so it won’t be cheap to upgrade business trips. So for the time being focus on getting 1K so you can get systemwide upgrades and make your travels more comfortable.
Hope that helps!
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Sara said,
Hi Ben,
Just a quick “What Would Ben Do?” question. I made 1K last Friday when the final DEQM posted. I had a trip to STL on Sunday (AA) and returned Monday (UA). When I printed my boarding pass – it printed 1P. I thought we no longer had to call and have our new status reentered on upcoming itineraries??
I have an award booking leaving 12/27 and I want to make sure my new status is included. Would you call and check? I’m flying RNO-SFO on UA and SFO-FRA & FRA- MAN on LH — in case that matters.
Thanks for your help!
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Sara — Congrats on making 1K! Typically the status updates automatically. It might not have been quite enough given that there were only a few days between you making 1K and the trip, but I would assume it will print correctly for your trip next week. If it doesn’t when you check-in just have them re-enter the number, but it really should do so automatically.
December 24th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Sean said,
I have a question about taxes/fees for award redemption in premium cabins. All of my past award tickets have been in Y, for two reasons: (a) I didn’t have many miles to work with, and (b) I was always under the impression that C and F awards, in addition to requiring more miles, incurred substantially higher taxes/fees than Y awards. I’m about to start a new job that will require frequent travel and I’ve been reevaluating my earn and burn strategies. I read recently in an FT thread that for AA awards taxes/fees should be the same for all classes of awards, with flights to LHR as a notable exception. This causes me to question my assumption that premium travel redemption necessarily requires substantial supplemental taxes/fees (over and above what one for pay for a Y award). What’s the real story?
December 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Sean — I’m happy to report that for the most part, taxes and fees are the same for premium awards as they are for coach awards. Some places like the UK charge a “luxury tax,” but frankly even that is minimal compared to the added benefits of premium cabin awards. While a business class revenue ticket is often ten times the price of a coach ticket, it’s often less than double the miles. But for virtually every US frequent flier program you’re in luck, as you won’t pay a premium for a premium cabin award. Enjoy, as burning miles for travel up front is the way to go.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
HunterSFO said,
…so I was just about to get VDB’d on 12/24 SFO-LAX. Then at the last second this lady that had been paging shows up. In front of me they ask her if she will voluntarily re-route through DEN instead of LAX (without compensation) and she says yes. Then they tell me “sorry we don’t need your seat.” First of all the lady should have said “no – not without compensation” but she was stupid (seating area 4) and agreed to do it for free. Second I had higher status as a 1K so shouldn’t I have gotten priority? They already had re-routed like 6 other people NOT to go through LAX. It made me so mad! None of them were on the departure management list for VDB and none asked for any compensation to give up their seats.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — I’ve been in that situation once or twice before as well, and it can be frustrating. At the same time, I have to give the gate agents (and United) credit for doing this, as it’s a smart business decision. Why compensate someone that’s happy to reroute for free, especially when it might get them home earlier? It allows United to maximize revenue while not compensating passengers for something that genuinely doesn’t inconvenience them. While I hate it as a passenger looking for bumps, I think it does make sense. Since they’re not denying them boarding in exchange for compensation, you really wouldn’t get any priority as a 1K unless you wanted to reroute for free as well.
Of course we can sort of fight back. One way would be to inform the passengers being rerouted that they would get a free ticket if they didn’t accept the reroute for free, as the flight is oversold. Of course this might tick off the gate agent and result in us not getting the bump out of anger on their part.
Fortunately for us I haven’t seen this happen too often. At the end of the day getting bumped isn’t really a privilege, so it’s tough for me to get too angry about it….
December 27th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
HunterSFO said,
If you fly SFO-SYD-LAX then LAX-SFO and only stay in SYD for less than 12 hours, can you do SFO-SYD-LAX on only one SWU and then just use an e500 for LAX-SFO?
December 27th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Yes, no, maybe so. I’ve heard of it working for a similar itinerary, but then sometimes it doesn’t. Really is a crapshoot, not nearly as reliable as it is with domestic itineraries.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
HunterSFO said,
what is the world coming to if we can’t rely on .bomb to screw up???
December 28th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
HunterSFO said,
@Lucky – I should have clarified that once I knew I wouldn’t get VDB I tried to get them to re-route me on the flight she previously said I would be re-accomodated on to SD. I cancelled my drinks plans at LAX with a friend because the agent made it sound like I would get VDB’d. The non-stop to SAN would have gotten me in to SAN early enough to drive my disabled sister home (she was flying WN) rather than her having to wait in the wheelchair for a family member to come pick her up. The agent only wanted to re-route the other pax through DEN and NOT me non-stop to SAN.
I also understand that it’s a good business practice on UA’s part. I think it makes a lot of their customers happy and shows that the GAs are actually proactively solving problems. I just would rather get VDB’d, so I didn’t like it. Technically they were VDB’ing those folks though – its just that if the PAX will arrive within a short enough time of their original planned arrival time (or earlier than originally planned) they legally don’t have to be compensated. I do think they should have had to go by status though. But I get that I wasn’t “entitled” to be VDB’d or else I would have complained to UA after the fact. I do think they should have given me the option to go non-stop to SAN rather than re-route the other lady through DEN though. I’m guessing her DEN flight had more empty seats than my SAN flight though.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
JOSH said,
BEN,
HAPPY NEW YEARS TO YOU!
JOSH
December 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Mike M said,
Hey lucky Ben
Hi !
Do you consider the miles you earn from all that flying on United worth it?
I am contemplating a switch from another *A carrier, which does not do starnet block, and will pretty much book anything as long as there is inventory available.
However – United works for the places I need to go very nicely. Which is why I am considering the switch. I don’t want to switch and find myself with a lot of miles, that are worthless.
Also what do you consider most valuable from the 1K status? The 6 SWUs or the the perks that come with it?
December 28th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — In this case United wouldn’t even record those passengers as VDBs when it comes to their statistics. They would just record them as voluntary reroutes, much like someone being confirmed on a different routing by an agent. I agree they should have offered to put you on a different routing, though. I’m guessing since you were (rightfully) expecting compensation, they would have felt bad putting you on a different routing without doing anything else.
December 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
lucky said,
@ JOSH — Happy new year to you too…. is there a question there?
December 28th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike M — Great question. The lure of Mileage Plus used to be the amazing award chart back before Starnet blocking and the other recent “enhancements.” I remember back in the day I kept burning United miles because the deals were just too good. 90,000 miles for business class to Australia or Asia or 120,000 miles for first class to Australia or Asia was just incredible. Then they slowly inflated the award chart and added Starnet blocking, which makes it a somewhat unattractive program in that regard, at least compared to a few of the other options out there.
That being said, I love everything else about United, Mileage Plus, and elite recognition/treatment. United does a good job of taking care of their elites, both at the airport (in terms of treatment) and after the fact (via customer service should there be an issue). The systemwides are great, the confirmed regional upgrades rock, and with those two confirmable instruments in place I’m quite happy about the unlimited domestic upgrades that are coming.
Assuming you’re flying United metal I would definitely credit to Mileage Plus. If you’re flying a variety of Star Alliance airlines, I’d go with another program.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:16 am
magiciansampras said,
Hey Lucky, we need to fly to CAI from BOS in May and we’re flexible on the timing. We were thinking of maybe doing a stopover in Europe for a couple of nights before heading to the Middle East. We want to be able to upgrade on United (I’m a 1K) and therefore fly UA metal as much as possible but also keep the costs down if possible.
Any suggested routings we should look at? We thought about doing something like IAD-KWI-DXB-CAI but the IAD-Middle East routes are all on old config 777s. I think it would be better to transit through Europe on a new config, rest for a day or two, and then continue to CAI likely in coach.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Despina said,
Hi Lucky, any truth to the rumors of LH installing new F seats in 2010?
Hope to see you in SF.
December 29th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Jealous of the visit to CAI, I really want to go! I agree with your conclusion, I’d go with the new config. Ideally I would suggest going through FRA or ZRH. Lufthansa flies three cabin planes out of FRA for the connection to CAI, as does Swiss out of ZRH. While you’d be in coach, you have a better shot at an op-up, and ultimately larger planes are more comfortable and the product is more “full service.” Of course the mileage slut in me also suggests connecting through ORD if possible to maximize mileage.
Enjoy the trip!
December 29th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Lufthansa will be unveiling new first class seats on the A380 when it starts service. As far as the reconfiguration of other planes goes, I’m not entirely sure. I believe they have a project in the works for updating the A330/340 first class cabins, but I’m not entirely sure about the 747. It might be tough for them to do anything there, given that the upper deck limits the type of seats that can be installed without wasting too much space.
Their hard product definitely could use some improvement, though, so I’m anxiously waiting to see what they come up with. I’m a huge fan of Lufthansa, so they’d be in Singapore and Cathay’s league if they came out with something good, in my opinion.
December 29th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
JOSH said,
BEN,
Do you know if CO still match 1K status.
JOSH
January 4th, 2010 at 11:37 am
rktoledo said,
I have a seven day hotel reservation with Sheraton hotels that will occur in a couple weeks. I made the reservation back in July. I need to modify the reservation to shorten my stay by one day. Starwood’s website will only allow me to modify the reservation if I cancel the reservation first. If I do this, then I lose the discount rate that was available back in July. What are the ramifications of keeping the reservation and checking out one day early? Any penalty fees or other negatives to be aware of ?What is the best way to handle this? Thanks,
January 6th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Anna said,
Hey Lucky!
So I am new to the whole “travel miles” and “travel points” thing and I am trying to travel to Thailand (I used to live there) this summer on limited funds. I can apply, at most, to two credit cards, I would think (I’m only nineteen and I have had a credit card only used for emergencies, all payments made on time and in full) because of my age/minimal credit. How can I maximize my mile points in any way possible to cover the airplane ticket cost for this trip, which I cannot afford? Do you have specific articles you have written or anyone else that would help me? What do you suggest I do at this point?
According to someone I know at United, they are going to start reconfiguring the 777′s this month. I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but you are my best source of information so I am wondering when you think they will be done with the fleet. Just wondering as I need to decide whether to take LH or UA to FRA in August. UA 900/901 don’t work as well for us as UA926/927 and the LH flights to MUN.
Enjoy SF!
Despina
January 6th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
lucky said,
@ rktoledo — Great question I’ve been mulling over for a few days, but sadly I don’t have a great answer. If it’s a pre-paid stay I’d say you’re out of luck in terms of getting your money back for the last night. Otherwise, what’s the cancellation policy of the reservation? If you can cancel up until the day of you *should* be able to just cancel the last day when you’re at the hotel. In your shoes I would give SPG a call and see if they can contact the hotel on your behalf and take care of your modification. Otherwise contact the hotel directly. Unless it’s pre-paid I don’t see this being much of an issue, frankly. Good luck!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Anna — Sounds like a great trip! It should be possible to do this with a little bit of work and save quite a bit of money. In general I’d say American Citi cards are the way to go, but it would take slightly more than two new cards (which get you 60,000 miles) to get this to work, as it costs 70,000 miles in coach.
The way to go would probably be Continental, as an award to Thailand will be 65,000 miles. With a little bit of work you should be able to earn those miles. First open a business and personal checking account, which will get you 50,000 miles for about $100 in fees. You can read all about that here: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2009/08/04/just-earned-25000-onepass-miles/
That should be enough to get you to Thailand with considerable savings. Hope it works out and let me know if you need any more information.
January 6th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — I’m a realist and not a PR guy, so I’m going to say it’s rather unlikely. I would expect the project to take at *least* 18 months (I would guess longer), so not even a third of the 777 fleet will be reconfigured by then. Now Lufthansa business class isn’t exactly fantastic either in terms of seat comfort, so it *might* be worth a gamble.
Good luck and sorry I’ll miss you this weekend!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
UAPremierGuy said,
Lucky, I am coming to TPA for the first time ever (for 6 hours) (twice) on a MR this Monday! I should theoretically be getting in around midnight from IAD on Monday night/Tuesday AM, and leaving to sea for a quick one-day turn at 700am via ORD the next AM, Then, I come back that night, on the same IAD flight, and head off to DEN via ORD again the next morning at 0700 hours. Questions would be: should I (or even theoretically can I) spend the night/s in the airport, or are there any cheap, quality hotels near TPA that you’d reccomend? With theoretically 6.5 hours total lay-over time each night, I think an airport hotel would be worth it. What are your thoughts? Thanks!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:30 am
lucky said,
@ UAPremierGuy — If there’s an airport that’s tolerable for sleeping overnight, I’d say TPA is it. We have free wifi and you should be able to stay airside, I believe. The nice thing is that there’s a kids playing area right by the United gates which features long, cushioned benches, almost like a bed. Bring a pillow and blanket and you might actually find yourself getting a few hours of solid sleep.
Personally I’d go for a hotel, though, to get some real sleep. Don’t have much experience with local hotels, but you should be able to priceline something for cheap. Published rates don’t seem to be all that low, unfortunately. I’ve had a similar length layover at many airports and the few hours of deep sleep kept me somewhat sane.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:53 am
UAPremierGuy said,
Great, thanks so much for the quick reply. I think I’ll Priceline it day of and see what I can get, if I can’t get anything, I’ll be taking you up on the long, cushioned benches idea! Oh, the joys of MRing…
January 7th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
rktoledo said,
Lucky,
I took your advice and called SPG to modify my hotel reservation (not pre-paid). After some initial drama (the service rep made a mistake and locked me into a rate $100 more a night than I was paying), Starwood called the Hotel. The Hotel allowed SPG to modify my reservation to the dates I requested under the same rate and terms as the original. So a phone call to SPG was the solution. Thanks for your time on this.
January 10th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Puck said,
Hi Lucky -
Another 1P n00b question. I took a VDB a while back on United and got a free ticket voucher. I just used that ticket voucher for a domestic rt ticket over the holidays. It looks like I didn’t get any mileage credit for that itinerary. I was under the impression that one DID earn miles for voucher tickets – am I crazy? The booking class was V (later upgraded to NF) and S for the tickets, not one of the “no credit” booking classes.
Should I contact United and ask them to credit me those miles, or are they right for not giving them to me?
~Puck
January 10th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Puck — While the free tickets do book into revenue fare classes in theory, they aren’t eligible for mileage accrual. You’re not supposed to be able to upgrade either, so you got lucky. This is the reason I usually ask for travel credits instead of the “free ticket” when I bump — the travel credits can be used towards revenue tickets which are eligible for mileage accrual.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Puck said,
Thanks! I was going to ask what I should go for instead of the “free” ticket – travel credits certainly do sound like a much better idea, so I’ll definitely be going with those from now on…
I have a client going on Russian river cruise from Moscow. There are two non-stop flights from Dulles, one on Aeroflot 767-300 to Moscow-Sheremetyevo or one on United 767-300 to Moscow Domodedovo. I have flown United internationally, but not Aeroflot. The client is leaning toward Aeroflot because it leaves later at night.
Any recommendations?
January 14th, 2010 at 1:06 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin — Sadly I don’t have anything good to go off of here other than my perception of the airlines, but I’d go with United. In this case it’s simply an evil I know vs. an evil I don’t know.
Wish I had better advice, sorry!
January 14th, 2010 at 1:20 am
Hamurabi said,
Hi Lucky,
I enjoy reading your blog and listening to UPGRD (which led me to this site).
I think you also sit on a bunch of Accor vouchers from the 40 EUR/60 USD promotion.
Here is a nice way to combine it with Gold status with Accor (giving free Club access in Sofitel and upgrade upon availability plus late checkout)
Unfortunately someone contacted Accor about the promo code (!) and the accounts might be closed. However, it might still be worthwhile to setup a gold account under a secondary address and see what happens. I usually don’t stay w Accor so I will try to use the vouchers plus the Gold status (and spend a few extra bucks to generate incremental revenues for Accor). Maybe their properties convince me to stay there later again. No matter if my account w Gold status still exists…
Thanks for the help. Your answer is pretty much what I have got from most people. I am pushing United, but we’ll see what happens.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:30 am
sam said,
You mentioned you just got a status match to Asiana, can i ask how you did it, was it through the HK residence promo, or was it something else.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Vivek Sawhney said,
I have a Blue Card from Amex. It has 107,000 pints. I wanted to transfer to Virgin Atlantic for buying award tickets from NY to London, which they are giving out on promotion @ 29,500 miles + taxes per ticket. They are also giving 20% bonus miles on transfer. Delta is requiring 90,000 miles per ticket for the same dates. So, Virgin offer looks very good. However, Amex is telling me that since I have a Blue Card, which is free, I cannot transfer my points to Virgin miles. Any solution or comparable alternatives?
January 20th, 2010 at 10:55 am
BTA said,
Hi Ben,
I was just clearing security at the Premier line at ORD. Who did I see walking from the IFC/GS checking, but our good pal Glen Tilton. I so much with I had one of your famous shirts with me….oh well.
Ok, here’s my burning question. Despite being a college student, how are you able to miss so much class (I assume you do)?
Next, what year of college are you in and have you figured out what you will do when you graduate? Are you concerned that you won’t be able to fly as much?
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:54 pm
lucky said,
@ BTA — I’m surprised he didn’t do OLCI so that he could avoid the common folk (aka employees and customers). Great stuff!
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Great questions. Believe it or not, I almost never miss class. Actually, next Thursday will be the first time I’ll miss a class in almost a year. I’m just pretty good at scheduling my classes. For the past several semesters I’ve had Tuesday/Thursday classes, meaning I can be on the go Fridays through Mondays. I’m hoping I can keep that up, as Monday through Friday classes would really put a damper on my travels, although might cause me a bit less hair loss in the long run (since my Tuesdays and Thursdays are hellish right now).
I’m just finishing up my junior year so should graduate in Spring of 2011. What do I want to do? No shocker here, hopefully something involving airlines, hospitality, or travel. I used to have more specific plans, but not anymore. I’m just waiting to see where life takes me. I’m hoping I’ll still be able to fly as much. Ideally I’d have a job that requires a fair bit of travel, but otherwise I’d be happy to continue spending my weekends crossing the country for miles and hopefully having enough off time to visit some exciting destinations (although that could potentially be an issue).
Gotta lock in million miler before I graduate!
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Oliver said,
Good luck finding a job that let’s you work Tuesdays and/through Thursdays, though.
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Scott said,
You’re only taking classes two days a week right now?? Are you loading those days up with tons of classes or are you just procrastinating graduation? Also, what are you majoring in?
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Scott — Loading those days up. Have classes from morning till night. I’m majoring in marketing.
January 24th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I just signed up for priority rewards and want to focus all my hotel stays at the IHG places. Do you think I should slowly work towards gold status or buy the Ambassador membership and have the gold status automatically? I will not be staying that much at Intercontinental for now, but might possibly in the future. I will most likely stay at the Holiday Inns and the express locations. Any hints on booking the cheapest hotel prices and still earning points and nights towards qualification? Thanks!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, Got 4 hours at LAS midday on an upcoming Saturday run. Flying US so looks like getting to the President’s Club is out of the question. Any must sees/dos?
January 27th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Is it your understanding or experience that XF pax starting with a domestic connection to TATL F no longer have access to IFL at original departure airport? My wife and I have award tix SFO-SEA connecting to SEA-FRA on LH F (first leg currently in Y, no XF availability.) Although I was told by a CSR two months ago I should be able to use the SFO IFL with a same-day TATL F ticket, yesterday at SFO an agent told me it only applies to the airport one is departing in international F from. This seems to jibe with the Star Alliance rules on their website. Has there been a change? Some flyertalk threads also seem to confirm this, but I like to check with a real expert!
Thanks.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — Great question! In general Gold status won’t get you a lot at most Priority Club hotels. So I would say Ambassador isn’t worth it at such for the upgrades at hotels, but I think Ambassador *is* worth it even if you have just one InterContinental stay planned over a weekend. For example, you get the buy one get one free weekend night certificate which more than pays for the price of membership. It’s also worth noting that Gold is really easy to get, and can be achieved in as few as two or three stays. Be sure to check out the master promotion thread on FlyerTalk and enter all those promotion codes. You’ll be amazed by how many points you’ll rack up. You can find the link here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/1031891-ic-master-promo-thread-2010-a.html
January 27th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — Truth be told I’ve only been to LAS a couple of times, so don’t have great advice. I’d say that’s probably not enough time to go into the city (it probably is, actually, but between the cab fare roundtrip and the limited time, I wouldn’t), but the airport itself can be quite an adventure. If you like gambling the slot machines should keep you entertained for a while, or I do recall there being some decent dining options. If you really wanted to use the Presidents Club you could always book a refundable ticket on Continental and then cancel, although that’s morally objectionable (maybe).
January 27th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — Wow, I’m flattered to be called a “real expert!”
Unfortunately the agent was *technically* right. The rules were recently changed to only apply to the gateway airport for lounge access. If your international first class segment were on United you would have still gotten access, as United’s rules haven’t changed, but the Star Alliance ones have. It’s also worth noting that many IFLs probably wouldn’t enforce this. I doubt the LAX or ORD ones do, for example. The SFO one will just always rule against the customer whenever possible. Sorry about that!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
You should do a PRIZE DRAWING once a month or a year, like giving free 25k miles or something…
You should HOST a meeting together for our onemileatatime readers/fans!
@Kevin: I flew IAD-DME-IAD in United Business last weekend and have also flown Aeroflot in longhau Business Class. I found the food and service to be superior on Aeroflot (8 course meal), but the lie-flat seat and IFE are superior on UA. I must admit, I enjoyed my Aeroflot flight much more than my United flights, but if your client wants a good night’s rest, the UA lie-flat seats are much better than the angled lie-flat seats in SU’s Presidents Class.
January 30th, 2010 at 2:16 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
I think the airlines should have a Mileage run only flight, flying to nowhere and back.
JOSH
January 30th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
Should I burn $35-45k (from parent trust fund) and buy UA expensive fare and get GLOBAL status? Please advise and help me making decision.
[...] is my preferred medium for dealing with travel questions, but copying the idea from One Mile at a Time, I’m also happy for questions to be made on [...]
February 13th, 2010 at 12:15 am
Seth said,
I’ve been really procrastinating on this, but…Did you have a blog post at some point asking about the best compensation offers people had experienced on bumps? I searched pretty far back for that post but couldn’t find it. Did I see it on here, another blog, or FT?
February 15th, 2010 at 12:23 am
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I’ve just flown in to TPA twice in the past two days and I noticed some really big UA birds in a hangar at the airport. There was a 747 and a 777 there – do they ferry those in empty or do they schedule them as revenue flights to get them here?
February 16th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Mike said,
LH or LX?
The boyfriend and I just returned from DPS (we flew SQ). He is an EXP and was just blown away.
We are looking to repeat this premium travel experience, our next trip will probably be Europe / Middle east. I am torn between LH or LX. Do you have an opinion?
This will be in business, sadly I don’t think i have enough miles in F for the both of us.
Thanks Lucky Ben.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:40 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — I’ve had several posts about bump opportunities and compensation, and many times people comment with their experiences. The only specific post I’ve made about the compensation other people received is my post about hobo13′s bump luck at EZE, which you can read about here: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2010/01/08/theres-a-new-bump-king-in-town/
If you have a story about bumps, I’d love to hear it!
February 16th, 2010 at 11:41 am
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Amazingly enough, despite flying in/out of TPA every week, I still haven’t seen ‘em, although I’ve heard about them. My understanding is that they ferry them in empty, though. Sad, isn’t it?
February 16th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — In first class it would be a close call, but in business class I’d say Swiss is substantially better. If at all possible. The seat is substantially more comfortable and I find the food and service to be better as well in business on Swiss. If at all possible get on one of their A330-300s, as they feature lie flat beds in business class. That’s a *really* nice ride.
Happy travels!
February 18th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
HunterSFO said,
Lucky – the big UA birds are visible from the CO gates…
February 20th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Seth said,
@lucky – I was coming back from LHR in December on NW781 to DTW. Air traffic throughout Europe, including LHR, was in rough shape because of the recent bad weather and Eurostar shutdown. The flight was oversold by 18. They were offering £500 (at the time almost 1,000 USD) in cash on the spot, in addition of course to lodging and food vouchers until they could get you on a flight. It doesn’t compare to the consecutive bump total of that guy coming back from Buenos Aires, but I thought it was quite generous.
For a variety of reasons I didn’t jump on the offer, probably the best of which was that shortly after that announcement I was paged and got op(ed)-up to BE. It was a 767 with lie-flats so I was quite happy. It was an especially nice surprise since I was on an award ticket.
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:46 pm
David said,
Lucky, what is your take on CR-1s, and when to use them in light of “free” upgrades on UA domestic flights?
Should I use them on any trans-con, especially 3-class flights?
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, awhile ago you were researching Egypt and Nile cruises. I’m doing the same now. Did you end up going on a cruise? What did you choose? Did you like it? General thoughts on the whole endeavor? Thanks!
March 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Rick said,
Lucky, how do you know the real # of air seats available in each class of service? What software do you use, and how can I get it? Is there a cost? Thanks.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I’ll probably make a blog post about this once UDU kicks in, but for now I’d say that (in general) CR1′s are best off being used for 319/320 transcons, 757 transcons to/from SFO and BOS, PS flights, and on peak days for upgrades to business class on the 767. Of course depending on the day of the week it varies, but I’d say overall you have a good shot at the upgrade on three cabin planes, although the 767 can be tough at times because there aren’t all that many seats. And of course the upgrade is really, really worth it on that plane. Furthermore, I find that they release a bit too much “NC” space on the 767 before upgrade windows, so lots of times there are hardly any seats left by the time we’re within the upgrade window.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — That was actually a trip for my brother and mom. They did end up taking a Nile cruise for five days (if I recall correctly) and they really enjoyed what they saw. They felt like there was no better way to get in all the sites, especially since there are usually guides on the boats that apparently do a great job. I’ll ask them for some more details and will do my best to share them here.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Rick — There’s no “real” way to know unless you work for the airline and have access to the loads. You can, however, use websites like seatcounter.com, expertflyer.com, etc., to see how much inventory is left. In coach it often doesn’t reflect the number of seats available, as they often oversell, but in first class it’s usually a better reflection. For many airlines the maximum availability that shows in any “bucket” is 9, so if it’s less than that, chances are there aren’t many seats left. So for example, if a flight is “F3,” it’s relatively safe to assume that there are three seats remaining, and so on. Hope that makes sense.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Despina said,
Ben, glad to hear that you are enjoying your trip thus far. Don’t laugh, but what do you think the odds of are the following scenarios/groups getting an upgrade on a Saturday outbound, Wednesday inbound SFO-KOA itinerary?
1P member with a GM on his PNR.
2P member travelling alone.
3P member traveling alone.
Thanks!
Despina
March 9th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — I wish I had a good answer, but with UDU not having started yet, it’s really, really tough to get an idea of how hard upgrades will be. I could give you a much better answer in a couple of weeks when there are firsthand reports of upgrades. In general I’d say the Premier Executive and companion have a good chance (let’s say 60%+), the Premier has a decent chance (40%+), and the Premier Associate isn’t eligible to be upgraded since that’s not a benefit.
Hopefully UDU works out for all….
March 9th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
crammer said,
Lucky,
Something I’ve always wondered about: How do you (personally) retain Royal Ambassador status from year to year?
I had sort of assumed that when you did mileage runs, you overnighted at a HI or CP for one night somewhere along the way and paid a cheap Sat. night rate (or something like that), but it seems that you also involve a lot of redeyes on your mileage runs, thereby precluding the need for a hotel room at all. But since you need approx 50 nights at PC properties to requalify for RA, where do you get these nights? Do you just book cheap rooms near where you live/work and never actually stay there? Thanks for indulging my curiosity…
March 23rd, 2010 at 4:03 am
sam said,
Ben,
I noticed in recent posts about Hyatts you said you value hyatt points at 2cents a piece, can i ask how you came up with that?
Do you also mind giving us a list of what you value other miles and points, i’ve always used acruw.com, for estimates, but they value DL miles more then UA (which is clearly wrong) I (and possible other who read your blog) would really like to know how you value your points and miles.
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
michael said,
I am booking a flight for my in-laws from BOS (Boston MA) to AGP (Malaga Spain) with a transfer in LHR and My wife and I will be doing the same trip a few days later. I am using my BA card to pay for the flights. My wife has a BA card as well, our executive club is not linked yet but I don’t think that matters unless we redeem miles. Should we pay on my wife’s card since she has a lot more miles? Are there any tricks to getting upgrades or cheaper flights? We have no tier points. My in-laws don’t want a BA credit card.
March 28th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Barbados using the remaining leg on my OneWorld around the world ticket. I’d like to stay at the Barbados Hilton, but have reviewed Hilton related Flyertalk threads and have been so dissapointed (in comparison to Priority Club and SPG). My question to you is…why does Hilton suck so bad? Additionaly, why do people like Hilton? It doesn’t seem like their loyalty program is worth a damn. This Cat 7 property will cost me 50k a night…
March 29th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
David said,
Lucky,
Just got off the phone with US DM, attempting to book some reward travel from FLL/MIA to FRA in late Sept in F for my wife and I. No F available on the LH non-stop from MIA to FRA, either way. There was business available on the return, but then my wife would miss the FCT experience.
Did find a FLL-EWR-FRA, with the domestic segment on CO in business and transatlantic on LH in F. Figure that will be fine.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t seem to find any connections back to FLL at any reasonable hour non-stop from any USA arrival point. The agent checked EWR, JFK, IAD, PHL, CTL, HOU, ORD and BOS. So, we could get from FRA back to the US, but not back to FLL until midnight at best.
So, what would you think of just going from FRA to JFK on LH, arriving 1:10PM and taking a 3:15PM flight on JetBlue to FLL? And paying the $100 per ticket extra to get home in more comfort?
Are we insane for switching airlines/terminals at JFK with 2 hours for customs, transportation and bag recheck?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:29 am
lucky said,
@ sam — I’m working on a post right now about what I find points in various programs to be worth, which I’ll keep “active” as programs devalue, make changes, etc. Stay tuned.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:31 am
lucky said,
@ michael — It really doesn’t matter which card you use given that you can create a household account and combine your miles, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. As far as upgrades go, can you give me some info about what fare class they’re booked in? Could provide more help then….
March 30th, 2010 at 11:33 am
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — LMAO, love the comment. Hilton sucks, totally agree. They don’t value their loyal customers and their hotels aren’t that great. So why are people loyal to them? Well, they have a LOT of hotels, unlike Hyatt (one of my favorites), so lots of people find the Hampton Inns in smaller cities to meet their needs. Their redemption costs and elite benefits really are a few years behind the times, in my opinion. So you should be switching your business to a different chain, and maybe eventually they’ll catch on!
March 30th, 2010 at 11:35 am
lucky said,
@ David — I’ve done exactly that before, and it makes a lot of sense. It’s worth it for the FCT and the better in-flight experience, in my opinion. That being said, two hours is a bit on the tight side, especially if you need to re-check bags. If your flight is on-time you’ll probably be alright, but if you’re delayed even a little bit, you’re looking at a potential misconnect. If there’s a later flight, I’d go with it for peace of mind.
March 31st, 2010 at 9:56 am
David said,
Thanks for the advice, Lucky!
There looks to be a flight from JFK to FLL 45 minutes later, so we’ll probably go ahead and book that.
Any comments on lounges in EWR?
Thanks again.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky, I am so dissapointed! I was hoping to take my little brother on an exciting tour of asia using a OneWorld award. I have enough AA miles for my business class ticket (150k AA miles). Now I am trying to top of my BA account to pay for his ticket, but when I checked out the BA site, my heart broke to find out that although the economy reward cost the same as AA (120k), the coparable business class ticket cost 90k more!!! Please tell me that i misunderstood?
AA
Distance Zone 7
Total Trip Miles = 20,001 – 25,000
Miles Required
Economy Class 120,000
Business Class 150,000
First Class 230,000
BA
Miles in your journey BA Miles needed for economy flight
Total Trip Miles = 20,001 – 25,000
economy 120,000
Business Class Awards x 2
First Class Awards x 3
April 11th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The lounges at EWR for first class passengers on Lufthansa suck. There are two options (although they’re both inside the same entrance) — the Lufthansa Senator lounge and SAS lounge. The Senator lounge is TINY, and while you’ll be directed there, probably isn’t worth spending time in. The adjacent SAS lounge isn’t great either, though a bit more spacious and probably a bit less crowded. It should be quite easy to visit both. Save your appetite for the flight for sure!
April 11th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — Unfortunately your understanding is correct. I find that US airlines charge a ridiculously small premium in terms of mileage for premium cabins despite the massive price difference, while foreign airlines do a better job (from their perspective) of charging an appropriate premium. Certainly quite frustrating when you’re trying to combine miles from various programs as there’s no way to circumvent the difference in premiums.
April 16th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
oscar said,
Hi, so Im right now A Frequent Traveller with lufthansa which gives me certain benefits. But the thing is that I live in Mexico, right now in Switzerland but in some months no. It was kind of hard for me to get the 35,000 miles status and what I heard is for 30 k you can get the Star Alliance gold status with Air Canada. What should I do, because there is 20% that I get Senator.
Another question if my father is name exactly the same and actually I never put my name and Jr. it’s possible to win miles with his ticket when flying the same flight?? (just asking)
Thanks,
April 20th, 2010 at 11:36 am
ybjfk said,
First off, Happy Birthday! The story about the hotel clerk saying they celebrate your birthday every year was priceless. Second, is it just me or is CO’s mileage chart just substandard compared to US and UA. Thanks.
April 20th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
lucky said,
@ oscar — That’s a toughie. In general I’d say you should enjoy status once you worked hard to earn it. There’s not much value in switching around frequently. Yes, with Air Canada you could get “Elite” status with 35,000 miles, but ultimately your benefits are probably better on Lufthansa if you have status with them. Assuming you always fly Lufthansa (or a Lufthansa family airline), I would stick to them. If you’re mixing travel between various Star Alliance airlines, by all means go for Air Canada. Be sure to look at the number of miles you earn in the fare classes you usually fly with a different program, though, as the totals can differ substantially.
As far as the other question goes, it all depends on the airline. It was much, much easier before Secure Flight, since most airlines didn’t have a date of birth on file. Assuming there’s a date of birth in your profile that you can’t easily change, you’re in trouble. If your travel were mostly in the US you’d have a much easier time with that.
April 20th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
lucky said,
@ ybjfk — Thanks! As far as Continental’s mileage chart goes, it’s actually VERY similar to United’s. Actually, it’s virtually identical. The benefits with Continental are that they don’t block partner award inventory (like United does through their Starnet blocking) and they allow a stopover AND an open jaw on longhaul awards (unlike United, which allows one or the other). US has a more generous award chart for sure, so in terms of the program itself, it’s very attractive. The $250 change fee on longhaul awards frustrates me, though.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Marcus said,
Have you ever done the UA SWU on LH dance with the printing out of the SWU and going standby for the upgrade at the gate? Any suggestions on how to best handle it? We’re flying IAD-FRA (UA) – CAI (LH). Do I try to get on the waitlist at IAD or do I have to wait until I show up at the gate in FRA to get on the list?
May 2nd, 2010 at 1:06 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
DOES BMI STILL FLY INTO THE US?
JOSH
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:11 am
lucky said,
@ Marcus — Typically they’ll just clear upgrades at the airport you’re departing from for the segment you’re trying to upgrade. When you get to FRA just see a Lufthansa representative anywhere and they’ll be able to add you to the list. Sometimes they’ll clear it immediately (depends how full it is, if they have the authority to do it, etc.), or sometimes they’ll wait till departure time comes at the gate. Good luck!
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:12 am
lucky said,
@ JOSH — NO!
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
buschoi said,
Hi Lucky, thanks in advance for your help!
I am looking into trading some Marriott Rewards Points into Hilton points on FT’s CC. What would you recommend to be a fair trade? I don’t know if it matters, but I want the Hilton points and will trade away the MR points.
Thanks!
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:09 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
Breaking news on UA and CO merger!
Do you think they will change the rule on bump VDB when CO takeover UA? Because CO are not as generous when it come to BUMP. Which mean UA will not be so generous with $VDB when the merger complete and I think they will be no int’l F (only C and Y)……
I don’t think we will be seeing much of the customer relation E-CERT anymore. Please fill me on this.
JOSH
May 4th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Lyndon said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m curious for you to put up a post about the new United/Continental merger. On many fronts it’s interesting (to say the least), although I do not like the loss of the United logo and famous tulip.
More importantly, I’m anxious to know about what’s going to happen with CR1 upgrades and SWU in the future. I love the ability to sponsor other people right now, and it’s helped me out in the past too. Any thoughts on the future of all these perks MP members enjoy currently, once the two come together?
thanks!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:28 am
JOSH said,
I can answer you a fact that the new logo looks better.
JOSH
May 7th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for a great blog. I booked an award trip using Continental miles for a friend. The itinerary is OKC-ORD on United continuing ORD-ZRH on Swiss. The return is Swiss ZRH-CDG (stopover) and finally ZRH-CDG. Is there anything to be aware of in case of irrops or other problems regarding this itinerary since the trip is booked on CO miles (and not her own), but the metal flown is UA and LX? Should she just deal with the airline she’s booked on in case of any problem? Hopefully everything will be smooth, knock on wood, but I thought if anyone knew how to prepare for eventualities, it would be you. Thanks.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Dan said,
I meant ZRH-OKC-OKC on UA for the return, sorry.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Dan said,
Wow, I keep messing up, CDG-ORD-OKC on UA.
Whew.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
lucky said,
@ buschoi — That’s a toughie. I’d say Marriott points are more valuable than Hilton points, but not by all that much. I’d say 1.25-1.5 Hilton points is worth 1 Marriott points, but that’s a very rough estimation.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
lucky said,
@ JOSH — Frankly, United hasn’t been overselling a whole lot lately, in my experience. I’ve been on probably a dozen zeroed out flights this year, but only got one bump. Even when zeroed out the actual loads just aren’t as high as they used to be. United’s getting a bit too conservative (inventory management wise) for my liking).
May 13th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Lyndon — I’ve been meaning to write a post about the merger for a while now, but keep getting sidetracked. This is a toughie. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some realigning of elite levels and that top tier elites retain SWUs and CR1s. I can’t imagine they’d change that, especially since there was just a fight over CR1s when unlimited domestic upgrades started. But whether that’s going to be at the 100K tier, or maybe a new 125K or 150K tier, is a different story. Hoping for the best!
May 13th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — That’s always a toughie. My best advice with awards is to always plan long enough layovers to avoid irrops. You’re not totally screwed in the case of irrops, but when something goes wrong it’s not all that fun and turns into a blame game. In theory the operating airline should help accommodate you, but at the same time the airline that issued the ticket will often have to reissue the ticket. Beyond that, some agents may require that there’s award availability for you to be rebooked, while others won’t.
So I’d say the best bet is to just keep asking if there’s an issue. One agent might refuse to help, while another is happy to. Case in point, my brother was flying JFK-FRA-LHR last year, but due to irrops that didn’t pan out. One agent said there was no award availability so he was out of luck, another offered to rebooked him via Munich (where that was a seat available but not an award seat, technically), and one offered to rebook him nonstop on British Airways, which isn’t even a partner.
May 15th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Dan said,
Thanks for the post, Lucky. Well as it turned out my friend did have irrops.
The first leg of the trip, OKC-ORD was cancelled by UA for wx, and they told her to call CO because CO booked the ticket. CO said she couldn’t leave until the next award availability, which was five days later. So now she’s starting her trip, completely rebooked, 5 days late.
Can this be right? Did UA or CO drop the ball?
Oh, and on top of everything, the CO agent, after assuring us no extra miles would be deducted from my account to rebook, apparently did so and pulled 22,500 extra miles to change the return. After talking to two supervisors at CO, they say to send an e-mail to corporate customer support.
Am I doing something wrong here? Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Eric P said,
Lucky,
I am joining my friend on a same-day mileage run *to* Tampa. Do you have any suggestions on what to do for almost two hours in the Tampa airport? My friend has a membership to the RCC, but it looks like the “reciprocal” agreement with the US Airways Club only applies when flying on their metal.
If you are interested, our route is SFO-ORD-TPA-IAD-SFO. SFO-ORD is a 747 (yay) but IAD-SFO is a 319 (ug). It will be interesting to see what our upgrade luck is a pair of 1Ks.
This trip was an impulse run triggered by an expiring coupon from the “Fly More, Save More” promotion.
Lucky…this is a bit outside your airlines of expertise, but perhaps you know. I am planning to book a flight on CO to Manila, but was hoping to go there via Guam->Yap->Palau->Manila. Do you know if they would allow this as a legal booking, and if so whether they would allow Palau as a stopover? Technically, it is the “port of entry” for South Asia on the reward chart!
Thanks!
May 16th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Feran said,
I need to go from New York to Vegas on United but the P.S. service JFK-SFO/LAX is very expensive. Any other recommended routing? Are there any of the new config 767s or 777s running domestic routes? Perhaps LGA-IAD-LAX-LAS or something along those lines could work!
May 16th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky, why is the Travelocity low fare alert function such garbage? I’ve had some success in the past finding good fares to random locations from RDU using Travelocity low fare alert lists. It is similar to the Flyertalk fares tool, but just another vehicle to find random deals. Unfortunately, as of late, every fantastic fare I come across travelocity is not able to deliver…like the current $104 roundtrip fare from RDU to bermuda??? I can’t seem to find this fare in ITA…what gives?
Do you have any advice on how to make it work? I’ve flown decent fares from travelocity before, including a $350 RDU-FRA R/T last november. UGH!
May 17th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Kevin T said,
Did you see your buddy’s ( ) Chris Elliott’s new piece, what a piece of work. Calls frequent flyer programs immoral and says that we should not be loyal to one program because sometimes it is not always the best price.
Hey Lucky-
I’ve had consistently excellent service on my last 12 UA flights. Have I just been really fortunate or is this a trend you are seeing too? All 12 flights had PDB of choice – even the SFO-LAX ones. Some flights even had the folding cart setup and brought down the aisle for PDB.
NONE of thse crews hid in the galley after meal service and they kept our drinks full the whole time – even up till the “FAs prepare for landing” announcement.
I have been consistently addressed by name throughout the flight, not just while taking meal orders – sometimes even while deplaning.
The crews have been smiling a lot.
as a comparison, none of these things happened 12 times last year out of the 98 segments I flew.
Have you experienced an uptick in service too? I can hardly believe its the same airline! Its even been quite a bit better than CO this year. Im wondering if maybe morale has gone up due to the merger announcement or something.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Daniel said,
Hey Lucky
United or Cathay?
I’ve been with United for the past 4 years, usually flying enough to get premier, but not enough to get 1P. My airport is SFO and I usually rack up miles through trips to Asia (TPE/PEK) rather than through domestic flights or flights to Europe.
After reading your glowing reviews about Cathay, I’ve been thinking about migrating to their program from United. It means I’d have to start over, but I’m not loose that much. I’m not a 1K or anything. Cathay seem to offer a better product if your need is flying to and within Asia. Their ticket prices are also often less expensive.
Member Ross asked you about this back in Sept 2009 on this “Ask Lucky” forum and you said being based in SFO, United is the obvious choice. I feel that because of all the recent cost cutting, United is just not an obvious choice anymore. What is your opinion?
My only concerns about moving to Cathay is their Marco Polo program costs $50. I thought frequent flier programs are typically free? Also, I’m not familiar with Cathay since I’ve always flown exclusively United whereas I know United’s website, policies, lounge access, etc pretty well (partly thanks to you).
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Ouch, sorry to hear about your experience. No, they should have definitely done a better job handling the situation. The issue is that neither Continental or United dropped the ball, per se. They simply found it easier to blame each other. They want to make it seem as if an alliance equates to a seamless travel experience, but as you experienced it’s anything but. Technically there should be award availability when rebooking, but in cases of issues once at the airport I’ve found agents to usually be willing to book passengers in any available revenue seats. As I mentioned, sometimes you’ll even be offered a seat on a non-alliance carrier, as crazy expensive as it might be for the airline. In your friend’s case I would have gone to the airport and pushed it there.
Hope everything works out!
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:46 am
lucky said,
@ Eric P — Enjoy the 747! TPA isn’t all that exciting. While there is a US Airways Club, it is in a different terminal, so there’s no way to access it either way. Fortunately TPA has free wifi and the waiting area is generally tolerable, so I would suggest just surfing the web. Not a whole lot else to be done in two hours. If it were a longer layover I’d suggest going to the International Mall, which is right next door, but two hours would be cutting it tight.
If you get completely bored and all else fails, you can always go through the security checkpoint over and over and see how often you get picked for the full body scanner.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:47 am
lucky said,
@ kevincure — What airline are you looking to book with? Generally I’m going to guess that wouldn’t be possible, but it’s a function of the airline/program you’re trying to book through.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:49 am
lucky said,
@ Feran — Generally there are different fares out of LGA and EWR, so if you can fly out of those, I’d search those separately. If you’re willing to go a bit of a distance, HPN often has MUCH lower fares. There are some new config planes flying domestically. Between ORD and SFO there are actually both 767s and 747s running at the moment, which is a nice treat. Otherwise there’s the three cabin 777 running between IAD and LAX which will likely be old configuration, but it’s better than a two cabin plane, in my opinion. There are also several running between ORD and DEN, so it really shouldn’t be too tough to stick to three cabin planes most of the way.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — Wish I had some brilliant advice, but I don’t use Travelocity. Sorry! I’ve gotten so used to knowing which routings do/don’t work and what the fares out of my home airport that I haven’t had a use for it. Even in the past I never relied on low fare alerts of any sort. Sometimes you’ve just gotta search the same routes over and over to look for fare drops, sadly.
Sorry I can’t be of more help…
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin T —
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:54 am
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Interesting observation, because I’ve noticed the same thing overall, though I have to attribute it to luck of the draw. There’s no doubt that the merger is improving morale somewhat, but at the end of the day it’s the same employees flying the same airline, so I can’t imagine their attitude changes that frequently. I am thinking that the general level of job satisfaction will increase slightly with the merger anticipation (perhaps a “grass is greener” syndrome of sorts), and that might be reflected a bit. But at the end of the day the same amazing employees have been out there for decades and the same bad apples are still flying the “friendly” skies.
Let’s hope it’s an actual change with the company as opposed to just luck of the draw, though!
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:58 am
lucky said,
@ Daniel — That’s a real toughie. If you’re looking for the best in-flight experience the answer is obvious — go with Cathay. For everything else, stick with United. Keep in mind you get Economy Plus on United, though unless you’re really tall that doesn’t make up for the substantially worse food, service, entertainment, and general cabin condition. But at the same time with United you’ll be earning 100% miles on all fare classes. You’ll be earning miles that you can redeem at a reasonable rate for award tickets.
Some foreign carriers do charge to join frequent flier programs, and the Marco Polo program is one of them. Frankly in your shoes I’d shoot for Premier Executive — I know it doesn’t directly answer your question, but I’d mileage run for it. Then the answer will become more obvious. You’ll start earning a 100% mileage bonus, lounge access, and exit row seating, all of which is incredibly valuable, in my opinion. But if that’s not an option I’d still stick with United for the superior mileage program. But then again, I’m obsessed with miles and points.
May 24th, 2010 at 7:30 am
utdana said,
Hi Lucky,
What a great site! I am a frequent traveler, but have points in many places. I am trying to book a 1-2 week trip with a +1 sometime in June/July.
I can fly from IAH or SFO easily. For points, I have: 73,000 AMEX, 72K SPG, 83K Marriott, 16,5K Continental OnePass, 23K United Mileage.
Is there a smart way to use these toward at least one of the roundtrip flights to South America (Argentina) or New Zealand? (would also consider Europe if that made more sense). Reading your past blogs, seems like I should transfer my AMEX points to one airline?
thanks so much for your advice!
May 24th, 2010 at 7:49 am
utdana said,
oops! Ii forgot to mention that I also have about 50K Delta Skymiles.
I’m not sure what would be the best transfer for my AMEX.
thank you again!
May 24th, 2010 at 9:01 am
RDimperio said,
Tried to fly United PS again. Last year I opted out with a bump and got home 2 hours earlier. This time my CR upgrade to C on the ps flight was changed — first to a non-ps 757and then to a 767 3 class cabin. Ended up in a C rear-facing seat with an operating video. I suppose this is actually a better option than the ps flight but I’m kind of disappointed to miss out again. Now 0 for 2 on ps service. Is ps worth the extra trouble?
Also snagged a CR C seat on a 747 from ORD to SFO. Figured I’d watch the one or two movies I missed the previous week flying to/from Bangkok. But no operating video — most of the upper deck was without the video/audio options though I did see a few folks watching movies towards the end of the flight. Got a card apologizing for the inconvenience though I haven’t had a chance to see what United has in mind for compensation.
Champagne/sparkling wine is not available in C on domestic flights. Odd, I thought it would be.
May 24th, 2010 at 9:30 am
UA-NYC said,
Assuming you got the p.s. meals and everything else – you got a solid net upgrade going from the p.s. 757 to the int’l 767. Consider yourself lucky. I’d take any new config C seat, even rear-facing, over my beloved p.s. row 9!
May 24th, 2010 at 10:35 am
RDimperio said,
Yes, I love the new configuration C Seats. I didn’t have a problem with the rear-facing seat as well. It was tough to watch the approach. With the big runway closed we landed on 22R and taxied pretty quickly to the gate. I think I’ll find it hard to ride in International coach again or the old C seats.
Also had an odd approach to LGA — north over the Hudson followed by a left hand 450 degree turn that put us on runway 13. Very cool for those on the rigth side of the plane. The left side of the plane got a nice view of Newark and the Meadowlands.
May 27th, 2010 at 11:56 am
magiciansampras said,
Assume I have around 200k IC/Priority Club points and I want to use them on a nice beach somewhere internationally. Where would you go? Timeframe is June/July of next year. Need to start planning!
June 1st, 2010 at 8:55 am
Blankeeta said,
Lucky, what’s going on with the upgrd podcast? I haven’t seen a new episode on the website in sometime…
June 1st, 2010 at 5:33 pm
lucky said,
@ utdana — If you transferred both your Amex points and SPG points to Aeroplan, you’d have enough for two business class tickets to South America (they cost 75,000 miles each). Sounds like that’s the best path for you to take.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — You definitely got the better deal if you got the new hard product with PS service. The plane as such is nothing special, though it does feel awfully spacious for a 757. Is PS worth the trouble? Not anymore, at least for me. When I could use 500 mile upgrades for PS I thought it was worth it all the time, but not anymore since I need to burn CR1s on PS. The food service is definitely pretty good, but you didn’t miss out at all with the aircraft. And on the 747 I’m gonna go ahead and guess you lucked out. $200-250 is better than some crap movie (I hope)!
June 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Toughie. Not much of a beach dweller. In terms of maximizing the value of the points, I’d say Tahiti/Bora Bora is the obvious answer. Getting there is a bit of a pain, though, at least when trying to use miles/points or trying to stick to alliances. There’s no doubt that would be the best experience. Otherwise I’d really consider Bali, though the rates there are so low that using points doesn’t really make sense. Otherwise Mauritius or Fiji are probably worth considering. I’d try to combine the best hotel experience with the best flight experience, so I guess that’s all a function of where your miles can take you. And it’s also worth seeing which properties will best honor your status even on award stays.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — We’re recording another one tomorrow. Seems like we took a couple of weeks off.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:57 am
MKG said,
Hi Lucky,
I stumbled on your fascinating posts just by accident but was incredibly intrigued by all the impressive deal-searching and point travel you so excel in. Incredibly simple question, I know, but do you have an info source or article or post that you can point to as a good ‘starting point’ for someone interested in becoming more a more sophisticated mile award user? I have accounts with ANA, Virgin America, AA, and US Airways and a simple AA Mastercard, but I can’t escape the feeling that I’ve been stocking up miles far too piecemeal on these individual airlines and credit cards rather than pooling them all into the kind of amazing ANA-Virgin Atlantic-Singapore-etc. superdeals I read about you doing. Do you have a good primer or source for how to brush up? Thanks for the fun reads.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Harry said,
Lucky,
I got a large number of AA miles and want to redeem them for F award travel on CX next year. I enjoyed your last trip report on CX to Bali. Any tips for me on scoring an F seat? I will be flying DFW-LAX-HKG-LAX-DFW Thanks!
June 4th, 2010 at 9:10 am
RDimperio said,
If you aren’t using CR1s for PS flights where are you using them? Unless upgrades clear in advance are you better to pull the CR1 and hope for the UDU?
June 4th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Keith said,
Lucky,
I’m an AA Plat out of ORD, but am considering switching to UA. Does it make sense to status match into CO, and credit flights to CO until the merger? I wouldn’t be flying much CO (mostly UA), so I guess I wouldn’t get any status benefits other than the mileage bonus until then.
On a related note, when is the merger actually supposed to go through?
June 11th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
My family of four is traveling to Europe next year, SFO-ZRH, VCE-SFO. I have enough miles for C for all of us but they’re from 3 different programs: UA., CO and US. Since LH often has good availability SFO-FRA in C, I’m hoping for that flight, or another gateway to FRA.
Besides Starnet blocking on UA, how much of a potential problem is it to book award tix for the same itinerary using different programs? In case of irrops, am I setting myself up for trouble? (I’ve had that problem when CO miles were used for a cancelled UA flight.)
As always, thanks for your experience and help.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Big Z said,
Lucky–longtime reader; quick q re hyatt and the dreaded phantom nights–let’s say I find myself in the IAD area this weekend and check in to four different hyatts, all on the same night–will I get four stay credits? I could think of a reason some more prolific individuals might need four rooms at four different hyatts and yet *stay* in each of them…
thx
June 17th, 2010 at 4:44 am
lucky said,
@ MKG — Thanks for reading! I don’t think I have a single post that’s a good starting point. I think the best way to learn is to read FlyerTalk.com and follow along for a while on some miles and points blogs. I try to post as many deals as possible, so after a while you can hopefully decide which would be best for you and which you’re better off skipping on. I like the idea of a simple “starting” post, though, so will try to work on that in the coming weeks.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:46 am
lucky said,
@ Harry — Finding availability on Cathay Pacific shouldn’t actually be that tough, believe it or not. I would suggest using all tools available to you to look for availability first, like the British Airways tool. For what it’s worth, SFO to HKG typically has much more award availability than LAX to HKG, so I’d consider that when the time comes to book. Enjoy your trip in Cathay first, it’s one of my favorite products!
June 17th, 2010 at 4:47 am
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — I’ve actually been pooling them for a while now. All my UDUs have cleared so far (out of 40+ flights), so I plan on using them for family and friends. I’ve only used two since UDUs started, and they were on friends traveling with me but on separate records.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:48 am
lucky said,
@ Keith — Interesting idea, though I’m not sure what the benefit would be. As you say, you’d get the mileage bonus but not Economy Plus or upgrades. United offers a challenge, whereby they’ll match you to Premier Executive for 90 days and require you to fly 15,000 miles in that period to maintain the status. Have you considered that?
June 17th, 2010 at 4:49 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Shouldn’t be an issue at all. In the case of irregular operations it might be a pain if you have to call each airline to rebook individually, but beyond that I don’t see it being much of an issue. I would do it in a heartbeat.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:51 am
lucky said,
@ Big Z — ROFL at the reason for using four hotel rooms in a night. Ouch! Actually I don’t think that will work, unfortunately. Hyatt’s T&Cs state you can only earn points for one room in a night, so that wouldn’t be allowed. The thought has crossed my mind before as well, though.
June 22nd, 2010 at 11:53 am
Bianca B said,
Lucky, I am planning an oneworld award around the world fare to Asia. My Asian journey ends in NRT. I am based in RDU, and would like to fly from NRT to the east coast for ease of getting home. What Oneworld Business class product do you recommend from NRT to the east coast?
June 28th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Bianca — Assuming you can’t connect in HKG and fly Cathay Pacific, which I doubt would be possible, your only options are American or JAL. I’d say between those two it’s a no brainer — the service on JAL is going to be far superior, so I’d go with them.
July 1st, 2010 at 11:10 am
Arun said,
Hey Lucky
Got a couple of questions…
Are there any good frequent flyer programs that do not charge taxes for booking award tickets?
I stay in Singapore. Prefer to travel Singapore Airlines/Cathay, but directly booking award flights using Krisflyer costs quite a bit in taxes. Is there any way I can book SQ flights thru a Star Alliance partner for flights originating in Singapore, and yet cut down on the taxes I pay per award ticket?
Thanks in advance
July 1st, 2010 at 12:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — Virtually all frequent flier programs charge taxes, and the taxes are fairly consistent. I think what you’re referring to are the outrageous fuel surcharges that some airlines get away with charging. Most North American loyalty programs, including American, Continental, United, US Airways, and even Air Canada’s Aeroplan, don’t charge fuel surcharges on partner awards.
Then again, you won’t have the same access to Singapore seats that you’ll have when booking directly through them. Assuming the fare classes you fly qualify for 100% mileage credit on partner airlines, you could credit some miles to other programs, but if you fly enough to earn elite status you won’t be getting the same benefits as a “native” elite of that loyalty program. So it’s a toughie…
As a 1K, I am flying ORD-TPA (UA 786 A320 Fare Code: L) and TPA-DEN (UA 465 A 320 Fare Code T) later this month on a Thursday. Given that you know these routes well, what would you say my odds are for an upgrade?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
lucky said,
@ robertol — Hardly an insane question! If anything, this is where I can help. What’s your upgrade chance? I’d say virtually 100%. I’ve never seen a 1K not get an upgrade out of TPA, and I do 100+ segments to/from TPA every year. If you don’t clear, please do let me know.
I have two big questions. The first one is that in two weeks Im going to Miami with Mexicana. They have this option of buying an upgrade if there are seats available you can buy it for 150 usd.
The flight is about 3 hours, a bit more, and it departs at 7 am so should I buy the upgrade? Also Im travelling with two kids.
The airplane is an A320 or an B737 and there is only business class seats. Buy it or not?
The other, I know that is not about flights or hotels but you might answer this one: you probably know that Dollar and Thrifty are owned by the same company and they offer the same location,cars and price . I found the best price with both of them in Miami but I dont know in which one to rent? Thrifry or Dollars? Help?
Oh last, have you stayed at the Hyatt grand cypress in Orlando? Any comments?
July 11th, 2010 at 5:03 am
George said,
Lucky,
Been posting here and there but thanks for the great website once again.
Just a few questions for someone wanting to get somewhere, but lives in Australia!
1. Anything you could recommend for getting elite statuses being based in Australia?
2. Up to now I’ve just been buying US Airways miles and redeeming them for first class inventory, which is a great idea. But I’d love to try some One world first class, and my aa miles are not piling up with cheap c/mile. Suggestions?
3. You fly it seems nearly every weekend (!) How do you find time to study, work and fly too! Any tips? =P
Thanks!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Danny M said,
What’s the best airline to fly from LA to Tampa, in first. and the best airport to layover.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Your first question is a toughie. That rate comes out to $50 per hour for an upgrade, which is right on the border of being worth it, in my opinion. I’d say it’s the “standard” price for an upgrade. So it’s tough to answer without knowing your financial situation. If you’re doing well, sure, you’re getting a good deal on the upgrade at that rate. If you’re on a budget, I’d say it’s not an astonishingly good deal.
As far as Dollar vs. Thrifty, well, I never rent cars, but I have a more favorable attitude towards Dollar. Take it with a grain of salt, though.
I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. I really like the hotel, though it’s starting to show its age. Still a very, very nice hotel, in my opinion.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny M — That’s a toughie. Assuming you’re not on much of a budget, I think it’s hard to beat three cabin first class from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles, and then first class down to Tampa on a two cabin aircraft. Of course that’s quite expensive. Otherwise I’d say Continental is pretty tough to beat, especially if you can find a way to get onto one of their 757s configured with international business class seats. Lastly, and this again assumes that cost isn’t an issue, it’s tough to beat American Flagship Service from Los Angeles to New York, and then New York to Tampa on American. And you could use the Flagship Lounge, which is pretty darn nice.
As far as the best airport for a layover, that’s a toughie. The airports with the best amenities are generally also the worst when it comes to delays. In general I’d say DEN is a pretty good airport to connect in, especially in summer. It’s a nice enough terminal and my flights out of there are very rarely delayed during the summer.
Hope that helps.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
lucky said,
@ George — That’s a real toughie. The miles and points game isn’t even nearly as lucrative as it is here in the States when it comes to maximizing. The frequent flyer programs can’t compare, and you don’t quite have as many generous credit card sign-up offers. Assuming you’re just trying to maximize the amount of international premium cabin travel you can do, I’d say stick to United. Assuming you’d be flying to the States anyway, they are likely your best option. If you fly enough you can get 1K status, which will get you lots of upgrades to the States, and the miles are worth quite a bit more than programs like Qantas, where you’re looking at several hundred thousand miles for an international premium cabin award.
Buying US Airways miles is by far the best deal out there for getting premium cabin travel. It’s much tougher with OneWorld. American recently had that promotion for transfers from Starwood, but accumulating that many Starwood points can be tough too. But generally there aren’t all that many options for cheap OneWorld award travel. And even in Star, US Airways is the only airline that really has such cheap offers for miles.
How do I find the time to study, work, and fly? I just don’t sleep and don’t have a waking minute of “free time.” But I love it, so I just look at it as a way to stay busy. I try to stay VERY focused during the week with school work, so I can dedicate the rest of my time to other work and flying.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
viv said,
Hi, Lucky,
Your blog is awesome! I have just finished reading your blog entries on Grand Hyatt Seattle and Hyatt @ Olive 8. I am wondering which one of those would you recommend for a kind of a romantic getaway trip with 4 couples? Please advise! Thanks
July 14th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
lucky said,
@ viv — That’s a toughie. Do any of the couples have status with Hyatt? If so, I’d say the Grand Hyatt is a better option, given that they usually upgrade Diamond members to suites, even without using a suite upgrade. Also, the views from the hotel are phenomenal, especially on the higher floor, assuming you’re facing the direction of the bay. So I’d say it’s a better option in general.
At the same time, the Olive 8 has a much more “chic” interior design, so you wouldn’t go wrong with that option either…
Thanks for answering. And well although I still travelled about 6 times to Europe roundtrip in the last “year” I couldn’t make all my trips on business class. So I could pay the upgrade the only thing is that I have two kids, so what Im going to do is to ask the day before and check the options.
Thanks for the rental car question and the hotel question. BTW when did you stayed I heard the Hyatt grand Cypress Orlando was renovated.
July 14th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
viv said,
Hi! thanks for the reply, Lucky! No, none of us have status with Hyatt, so we will be staying at just the standard room to save some money. I know it is a tough decision, especially after reading your opinions on them, both of them seem so great! One is more classic, one if more chic… so hard to decide!! By the way, I had the chances to stay at Park Hyatt Seoul twice with my girlfriends. I totally agree with everything you mentioned. It is absolutely one of my favorite hotels of all time! Love the contemporary design, and their customer service was also excellent! Your wonderful blog took me back to Seoul and those good memories! Thank you!
July 15th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Ann said,
Love your blog, Lucky. Is busienss class that much better than 1st?
I have 120K US miles and was hoping to fly to Singapore next year, with maybe a stopover in Berlin. So I was eyeing SQ JFK-FRA-SIN and just get an internal flight or train in Germany. I have about just enough SPG points to get 160K US miles (thanks cc bonus!) for this trip. I was planning on transferring those to AA for some as yet undetermined trip, but could use them to make this trip in 1st rather than business.
I don’t travel that much and don’t really play the miles and points game that much and think that US-Europe in Y is good enough for me. But if SQ in first is really significantly better than business, I might slurge. Do you have an opinion? I know you’re usually at the nose, though.
I’m also not sure of my routing, so if you could comment on LX or LH or maybe even TK that’d be good too!
July 15th, 2010 at 11:21 am
lucky said,
@ viv — Happy to hear you had a great experience as well. Love the hotel as such, but even more so, they have customer service down, and that’s key for me.
July 15th, 2010 at 11:26 am
lucky said,
@ Ann — Ultimately there’s a bigger difference between coach and business than business in first class. The way I look at it, business class is a way to arrive at a destination feeling relatively well rested. The biggest difference for me between coach and business is the added space. Flying first class, on the other hand, you arrive feeling taken care of and relaxed, and with some airlines, even pampered. The meals are far superior, there’s much more personal space, but most importantly, there’s a level of personalized service that doesn’t exist in business class.
As far as your redemption goes, I’d get Singapore Airlines out of your mind. Unfortunately they still don’t release any first class award space on SQ25/26, with is the flight you’re looking at. They never do, not even a few days out.
But either way, if you have the miles for it, by all means splurge for first class, in my opinion. It’s worth it! Lots of other airlines are amazing in first class. Consider Swiss on one of their newly reconfigured A330-300s, which fly between JFK and ZRH and JFK and GVA. They have an amazing hard product and great service to boot. Or Lufthansa through FRA is amazing, since you’d have access to the First Class Terminal, where you’ll be driven to the plane in either a Porsche or Mercedes S500.
Or Thai out of BKK is pretty amazing. As a first class passenger you get an hour-long full body massage and get escorted every step of the way, from check-in to boarding.
Or Turkish is worth considering as well, if you can get on their 777-300ER in first class. They fly that plane on JFK-IST and often IST-HKG. If you stopover in IST, as a first class passenger you get a free transfer into the city in a BMW or Mercedes, so that’s quite a deal too.
There are lots of options, you really can’t go wrong. Feel free to email me for some more thoughts or help.
July 16th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
MrT said,
Hi Lucky,
Which Star Alliance program provides the most value when come to redemption for award flight? I’m on Krisflyer program and find that the redemption on SIA is ridiculously expensive. I primarily fly with SIA and Thai Air. I fly at least 50000 miles annually between Australia and countries in Asia.
Should I switch to another FFP? Perhaps UA Milage Plus or Thai Royal Orchid?
Please Advise! Thanks.
MrT
July 17th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
lucky said,
@ MrT — Solely in terms of low redemption levels, I’d say Air Canada is the best. They have very reasonable redemption levels, especially to/from Australia and Asia, and you can even get their “Elite” middle tier status for 35,000 elite qualifying miles, which gets you Star Alliance Gold status. The thing to keep in mind is that not all fare classes accrue full mileage, so you’ll want to check if the fare classes you usually fly would earn full mileage through Air Canada’s Aeroplan.
If you’d like to stick to a US frequent flyer program, I would recommend Continental over United, since they have mostly the same redemption levels, but Continental doesn’t block any partner award inventory, which United does.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Danny said,
Great Blog. Thanks For the info so far.
Do the United 757′s domestics (not PS) have foot rests in first class?
July 17th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — They don’t. None of United’s domestic first class seats have foot rests.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Danny said,
Well that being said do Delta 767 domestic as well?
July 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — I don’t believe they have foot rests either.
July 19th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the info so far. I will be flying into TPA next Thursday, for a conference at the Grand Hyatt.
My first question is I arrive before everyone else the conference does not start until Friday night. Can you recommend somewhere decent for lunch on Friday, I don’t wanna travel to for from the hotel.
Second: Any info on the Grand Hyatt
Last: On the day out, I am leaving a lot later than everyone else, and my flight does not leave until 630, Where would be a good place to kill a few hours near the airport,
Thanks
July 20th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Ruby said,
Hey Lucky!
I’m trying to get onto my first premium status on ANA (I use them a lot) and I need your advice on mileage run routes and/or any tips! From what I read NYC-NRT is the best and most cost efficient from NYC- but I was wondering if you know of any other route within US or to Europe.
Thanks!
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:45 pm
ellyse said,
Hi Lucky! I’ve been following your blog for a couple of months now, and I’d like to give a big thumbs-up, I really enjoy reading your posts!
I have an assortment of FFP cards on various airlines, with Gold status on SQ and AF. I wonder if I could email you for some assistance about which ones to keep/trash, etc? My miles are literally all over the place now!
In addition, I wonder if I’d have a chance to meet up with you IRL someday? I’d really love to meet someone who’s as fanatical about flying as you! I guess I’m “new to the club” but in only a few months I’ve flown a lot and grown to love what I’m doing.
July 24th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Any advice on this award routing regarding other routings/products I should look into?
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-BKK TG F
BKK-HKG TG F
HKG-IST TK F
IST-MUC TK C
MUC-FRA LH C
FRA-ORD LH F
ORD-MEM UA F
Any ideas would be fantastic.
July 25th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Sorry, I might be a bit late here, but I’ll answer nonetheless. As far as places to grab lunch around the GH, that’s a toughie. If you want something more authentic (Cuban), head over to Ybor City, though that’s a bit of a hike. Otherwise the Westshore area has tons of decent chain restaurants, though not much more “authentic” than that.
The Grand Hyatt in Tampa is fine. I stay there all the time. There’s nothing “grand” about it, but it’s a decent hotel nonetheless. Just don’t have high expectations or expect the same quality of some other GH properties, and you’ll be satisfied.
The last day, I’d suggest killing a few hours at the International Plaza. It’s a very nice mall with all kinds of cool shops and restaurants. And it has great airport views no less!
July 25th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Ruby — That’s a toughie. Can you provide some more details. How many miles do you need? Any time/destination constraints?
July 25th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
lucky said,
@ ellyse — Thanks for reading! Absolutely, feel free to email me any time. I’ll do my best to help out, time permitting. I’ve met up with hundreds of readers all around the world, so there are plenty of opportunities. I attend/host FlyerTalk dinners all over the place, and usually even post here when I’m “hosting” a dinner. So when paths cross, I’m all for meeting as many readers as possible. Sounds like you’re on the right track with your new hobby!
July 25th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Halothane — That looks like a fantastic itinerary to me. In your shoes I’d probably try to fit Asiana first class in between FRA and ICN. You could do something ORD-FRA-ICN-HKG-BKK-FRA-ZRH-ORD, or the other way around. There’s a lot to play with there, but Asiana is an airline that really shouldn’t be missed. Or actually, on second thought, you really should do Asiana on the return, so you can experience the FCT twice, though you can experience it either way with an outbound Swiss flight. Have fun!
July 26th, 2010 at 1:02 am
George said,
Hey Halothane, Just putting in 2c for your itinerary. You could try to do(depending on your dates the IST-LHR 77W might be gone):
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-CDG LX C
CDG-BKK TG F 77W
BKK-HKG TG F
HKG-IST TK F
IST-LHR TK F 77W
LHR-FRA LH C
FRA-ORD LH F
ORD-MEM UA F
I put in the CDG-BKK on TG 77w suites, as well as changing the IST-MUC to a IST-LHR segment which has F in it instead. There have been varying reviews on TK so I would do OZ myself. You’ll get to see the 77w suite on TG too.
Something else to keep in mind if you fly LX ZRH-HKG you get to go to The Wing lounge at HKIA =)
Sorry to steal your panel Lucky!
July 27th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Ruby said,
Hi Lucky thanks for the reply! I need about 10,000 at least…don’t have much time or destination constraints though. It just seems that I only get 70% on partner airlines…I’m curious to know how you manage so many different airlines at the same time. I would love to know how you got it started!
July 28th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I flew PEK-SFO-DFW on July 26th and only one of my bags made it to DFW. I received the other one today (2 days later). Can get some type of compensation for this? I do not have elite status with United but I did upgrade with miles for the PEK-SFO leg to C. Any idea on how to get some compensation for the inconvenience? Thanks!
July 28th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Ruby — The key for me is to stick to airlines that have affordable mileage run options and offer 100% miles on all the fare classes I usually fly. US airlines are much better about this than foreign carriers. In your case, assuming you live in the US and are just short of status with ANA, I’d suggest doing a few domestic mileage runs. You’ll get a better CPM (cent per mile ratio), but just make sure the fare classes you book qualify for full (or near full) mileage. Good luck!
July 28th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — I would suggest contacting United through the “customer service” link on united.com. It will prompt you to enter flight information, dates, etc., and just leave a short note. Explain you were flying business class and disappointed that your bag arrived two days late, and it inconvenienced you greatly. They should send some miles or an electronic certificate your way.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Harry said,
Thanks lucky! I emailed them and the auto generated response told me that it would take 10 days to get back a response. I’ll have to wait and see…
July 31st, 2010 at 7:47 am
Ruby said,
Thanks Lucky!
August 1st, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Sarah said,
Hey Lucky,
I have 2 questions… first. I need to go to ORD to visit a friend. I bought a OW ticket from my home town to ORD-MKE since it was cheaper ($100) since they compete with Midwest in that market. If I don’t check bags, can I leave in ORD? I probably won’t get flight credit for the ORD-MKE portion.
Also, I am CO Plat, any benefits for flying UA? I read about complimentary upgrades (after 1K, and 1P)… do you have any more details about how it works? I know that I have complimentary access to E+, but does my travel companion get it as well? They charged me $78 for it as additional charges but I believe that it is a mistake. Thanks!
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:37 am
Miley C said,
@sarah, to answer your first question, yes, as long as it’s a OW ticket you can leave at ORD with no problem. However, if it was a RT, the return segments would be canceled if you missed one of the outbound legs. As for the flight credit you won’t get the credit for ord-mke (unless United’s IT system royally goofs up).
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Sarah — @Miley C is totally right about point one. As of now the benefits for flying United has a Continental Plat are limited. You don’t even get Economy Plus for free just yet. But hopefully within the next few months there will be companion upgrades, etc. As of now you get priority boarding, security, and check-in, the same as any other Star Gold, but that’s about it.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Angik Sarkar said,
Hey Lucky,
Reading your blog, I have been inspired to try my luck at bumping. I have two questions
1. For getting bumped, it is better to inform the gate agent beforehand that I can take the next flight. Or should I wait until they call for volunteers.
2. I am traveling on an award ticket with United. Will I get bump benefit, if I offer my seat?
I’m currently Delta Plat and Hyatt Diamond and pretty much stick to those. I have flown a lot on UA in the past but have had bad experiences, and I worked at the airport in Nashville and although they were DGS employees, the way they are trained and how little they know about operation scares me. Anyway, I spent a good couple hours reading your recent award trip to Asia and having just come back yesterday from one myself on all DL operated flights, I realized its time to hire you to plan my next one. Problem….Delta has few international partners that serve the destinations I want to go, which are primarily Asia/Pacific Islands/Australia and then of course I always like a quick trip to Europe. I am going to stick with DL for domestics for now, but I want to get a new CC to earn miles primarily for awards. I have thought about your fave the SPG, but I am considering the AAdvantage card because although I typically charge 100k annually, I like the idea of getting the 75k miles right off the bat from AA now, and my understanding is that the dollars spent count toward EQM, which would be nice on the few AA flights that I do fly. I guess I’m wondering for my travel desires, spending habits, and future plans to have you plan a fantastic award trip for me (i’m thinking Qantas and Cathay would be nice), which card would you go with?
Thanks!
August 8th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Angik Sarkar — If it looks like the flight might be oversold, get yourself added to the list as soon as possible. This can be done at check-in, the customer service counter, the Red Carpet Club, or the gate. The sooner you’re on the list, the better. And if you add yourself to the list before you get to the gate, be sure to mention to the gate agent that you’re on the list as soon as you get to the gate. Don’t be pushy at that point, but just say “in case you need me, I’ll be sitting over there, so call me whenever.”
If you’re on an award ticket and bump you’d receive the same benefits as on a revenue ticket. There’s actually one huge advantage to being on an award ticket. They’re not allowed to involuntarily deny you boarding. So if you don’t want to be bumped, being on an award ticket is the best way to go. But usually they’ll still let you bump, if you want to.
Hope that helps!
August 8th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Chad — Thanks for the question. The AA sign up offer sure is lucrative, though I don’t believe you earn EQMs for spend on American. Instead, I believe you earn two miles per dollar there when using the card. In your shoes I would sign up for both the AA card and the SPG card, assuming your credit score allows it (generally signing up for two cards at once doesn’t have much of a negative impact on your score).
Then I’d use the AA card to get the initial sign up bonus of 75,000 miles and for all AA purchases, where you’ll earn two miles per dollar. Otherwise I would use the SPG card, where you’ll be earning one SPG point per dollar. Keep in mind that for every 20,000 SPG points you transfer, you receive a 5,000 point bonus. So you’d earn 25,000 AA miles for 20,000 SPG points, or essentially 1.25 miles per dollar. Then you could get a very nice award in CX F.
Hope to be able to assist!
August 8th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
minda said,
Lucky, Thanks for the blog. I read your entry today re: waitlisting for award seats and searched on flyertalk for similar threads but i’m still a little confused. is this right?
i want to fly C domestically on UA on a saver award (only have the fifty thousand miles). i can’t find the day i want, or at least some of the segments don’t have it, so i book an award trip in economy for the day i want, then call and ask to be waitlisted for C? and if it becomes available, will i pay in miles or cash? and it will still be only a saver award (fifty k rt)?
Finally, it looks like when i view online at UA that if there is only first and economy and i want business, they put me in economy. is that right? (from clicking on ‘flight details’ there is the option of flying US airways but from what i’ve read their business product isn’t great.
thanks for any help
August 9th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
lucky said,
@ minda — For the most part you have it right. You need to be confirmed in business class for at least one segment in order for them to charge you the business class price, or else it doesn’t work. Either way, regardless of whether the waitlist clears or not, you pay the business class award rate. So it is somewhat risky, but you do have a very high priority. And yes, this is for saver awards.
You are correct on your last point. On a business class award, if only coach or three cabin first class is available, you get confirmed in economy. You can be confirmed in domestic, two cabin first class on a business class award, though, as it’s basically the same level.
Hi Lucky. I put this on another post, but I think it got buried since the original post is over a month old. Sorry for the double post. How do you value Asiana and Virgin Atlantic miles? When I ask about VS, I mean VS itself, not transferring MR points to ANA. The reason I ask about these two airlines is their respective Bank of America credit cards. Thanks, I love the blog.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — I think Asiana miles are substantially more valuable. First of all, using their credit card, you earn two miles per dollar, as opposed to one with most other cards. Asiana is great for travel to Europe, since the award chart is distance based and they allow several stopovers per itinerary.
Frankly, I find Virgin miles to be limiting. They have high fuel surcharges and their partners are limited. You have lots more options when sticking to Star.
August 13th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Brian said,
Thanks for the response, Lucky. 2 more quick questions.
1: In your knowledge/experience, how difficult is it to redeem miles on each of the two carriers? For OZ, I’d be redeeming on partners (probably United), for VS I’d most likely be redeeming on VS itself.
2: Does the 5 year expiration rule affect your opinion on the value of OZ miles? I get most of my miles from credit card spending, and it looks like I’d be able to acquire enough miles for biz/1st to Europe within the 5 year limit, but it’d be close.
Thanks.
August 13th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — Redeeming Asiana miles is very easy. You have access to all Star Alliance carriers, which gives you a lot to work with. United availability isn’t great, though I’d avoid them in general anyway. As far as the expiration policy goes, it’s not something I factor in. I can accrue enough miles to be able to redeem within five years, though if you think it’s going to be close, it might not be worth the risk. Toughie.
Lucky: Right now I had travelled a lot from Mexico to Europe with LH mostly in coach, right now Im just a Frequent Traveller (Star Silver) and still need 40 k miles to bet to the Senator Status. What Im really angry is that I just joined them because I travelled with them but now that I think with 50 k miles that I have fly this years I could already be Star Alliance Gold members even with UA or CO
So next year I want to join a Star Alliance member Frequent Flyer Progam but which one? My top are United, Air Canada or Aegean that has the lowest criteria.
United is the one that flies the more to MX and Air Canada just to two destinations.
So in which airline should I become member???
August 14th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — In your case I’d probably go with United, if you’d fly them most between the US and Mexico. In general I’d say Continental miles are more valuable, but soon enough they’ll all be the same. So for the time being I’d go with United then, in your shoes.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Oscar said,
Thanks, and yes Ill go with United.
BTW have you heard the story of our biggest airline, Mexicana? Well is disappearing and is a very valuable member of OW so what do you think more airlines will come to MX maybe UA will add more flights and also AC. I hope TAM also comes. Did you know although Mexico is a hub for Ow and ST there are more airlines from Star Alliance?
August 20th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Mike said,
Hi Lucky,
Which credit card program do you think is better, redemption wise – Membership rewards amex or Starwood amex?
Thanks
August 20th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Yeah, looks like things aren’t going too well in Mexico, eh? Makes sense that there are more Star Alliance airlines, though I’m guessing there’s quite a few more OW and ST flights.
August 20th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — I used to value an SPG points and Membership Rewards point about the same. While you have more options with SPG and earn 25% more miles, Membership Rewards points mostly transfer instantly, while SPG points don’t. But lately there have been so many transfer bonuses that make me value SPG points much more. Like the 35% American bonus or 50% US Airways bonus. With those kinds of earning rates you’re looking at close to two miles per dollar.
August 21st, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I am trying to use US Airways miles for F award from DFW to PEK via FRA on the outbound and then ICN/SFO on the way back. DFW to FRA in F is available, but F on A380 from FRA to PEK is not. Is LH pretty stingy with F availability on the A380 routes? Also, is SQ or OZ F ICN-SFO availability pretty stingy as well? Thanks!
August 21st, 2010 at 1:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — Lufthansa doesn’t release any F award space on the A380. And Singapore doesn’t release any award space on their new first class product, which is what they fly on ICN-SFO. Asiana flies a two cabin product to SFO as well, so no first class. Sorry!
August 26th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Max said,
Hi Lucky,
I’ve a a VCE-IST and IST-JFK leg in F on October, I’d like to know who to call for the transportation car at IST airport.
You didn’t mention in your trip review and I tried TK Us Office and Italian Office too but no answers on the phone.
Thanks in advance
Max
August 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
lucky said,
@ Max — I just called the Turkish number in the US, and they were able to arrange it for me. It took some time as they didn’t know what I was talking about, but it worked in the end.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Sarah said,
Hello Lucky,
I got status matched to 1P yesterday from AA EXP… I know that *G have access to US lounges (excluding UA RCC / CO PC/ US Club. Is there a list someone where of the *G lounges I can access when traveling only on a domestic UA/US/CO ticket? I know there’s a few LH & SQ lounges in the US we can access. It was mention on a UPGRD podcast once. Thanks!
I have a biz trip coming up soon… SIN-AMS on SQ biz class. SIN-AMS part of the itinerary cannot be changed with as I need to be in a meeting on the morning of landing in AMS (land at 7:00 and meeting at 10:00) and there is only 1 non-stop SIN-AMS flight everyday.
But for the AMS-SIN trip, any possibilities of creative routing to increase the # of miles for around the same cost? fyi, Amex travel services handles the booking for my firm, and the round trip cost comes to around 6.2k SGD for biz class.
Would be great if you could point to some software/websites that I could play with to “optimise a trip for miles”. Have tried ITA Matrix etc… but couldnt get it to spit out what I want
Thanks
August 31st, 2010 at 9:09 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — Not sure there’s a formal list anywhere. Off the top of my head, though, I can think of the Senator lounges at DTW and IAD, the Singapore lounge at SFO, and the Swiss lounge at JFK. Don’t think there are any others that are easily accessible.
August 31st, 2010 at 9:10 am
lucky said,
@ Arun — Unfortunately the websites you reference are the only ones I can think of for trying to extend the routing. Generally non-US airlines are going to have less generous routing rules than US airlines, at least when booking a roundtrip as opposed to a RTW or special regional fare.
September 9th, 2010 at 6:09 am
Roland said,
Hi lucky,
I sent you an email about this a while ago but you probably didn’t receive it or something. My question was re Australia to US fares, there is a sudden jump from about $1100rt to around $2800rt in mid-June, for all four carriers. Is this normal?
Thanks
September 9th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Ron said,
Hey Lucky,
Just booked LAX–NRT r/t on united.com, and got to fill out an online survey. In answer to “how can we improve the web site” I put down the following.
In order to login and use my profile I need to use my MileagePlus number. However, I prefer to associate the reservation with my BMI DiamondClub number, where I am Star Gold. It would be good to allow a person to be associated with multiple frequent flier accounts on the web site, so I could use my online profile at the same time as enjoying Star Gold benefits and crediting the flight to BMI.
Any thoughts? Did I somehow miss functionality that already exists? I know that I am entitled to Star Gold benefits even without crediting to BMI, but I want to credit to them anyway (and it’s more convenient to have Star Gold status inside the reservation already). Ideally I’d like to be able to use my MileagePlus profile, be recognized as DiamondClub Gold, and possibly credit my flight to a third partner, all on united.com. I realize United is trying to push MileagePlus (and the web site is VERY pushy), but the flip side of this is making life more painful to other Star elites.
Other question: Lounge recommendations for LAX/NRT? This will be my first time at NRT.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:57 am
lucky said,
@ Roland — Those kinds of crazy fluctuations are somewhat normal. It’s like a roller coaster. Expect it to come back down, assuming you’re a bit flexible.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:59 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Unfortunately United’s not the only airline that doesn’t have the functionality for that. Since United is eons behind when it comes to web stuff, I wouldn’t expect them to make that possible anytime soon, unfortunately. They won’t see a whole lot of ROI there. Assuming you’re flying United, the RCC is the most practical option at LAX. In NRT, definitely use the ANA lounge, which is much nicer and you’re entitled to use.
September 18th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Roland said,
Hi lucky,
For some reason you’re always not getting my emails- check your spam filter but my question was can you maintain status on one carrier while crediting your RDMs to another or is that not possible?
Thanks
September 21st, 2010 at 6:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Roland — No, sorry, it’s not.
September 27th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Ron said,
Lucky, thanks for the recommendation about the ANA lounge (I’m writing from there right now). Free wi-fi + real food are indeed appreciated. I had no problems entering with my United boarding pass and BMI gold card. At LAX it was a different story — even though my United boarding pass said “Star G” and I had a valid BMI gold card, they weren’t able to check me into the RCC and ended up just waving me in. I feel the biggest benefit at LAX is the premium check-in at terminal 6 (I cleared security 30 minutes before colleagues who finished their non-premium check-in ahead of me), though the check-in process was a bit unprofessional — very nice and friendly, but they forgot to make sure I was carrying my Green Card
Ben – Are United regional upgrades useful for anything??? I am 1k so the UDU request is made at the time of any booking and I cannot even request the Regional upgrade to be applied if I am near the flight time and the UDU has not cleared. I cannot see any use for these. If there is one please let me know! It would be GREAT if UA would allow us to use these in OTHER regions that NA – I would love to use those to upgrade a SIN to NRT or BKK to NRT flight!
Thanks! Jon
September 27th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — It definitely does depend on your travel patters, though I do find them useful for three reasons. First of all, there are no UDUs on PS flights, so this is the best way to get an upgrade on those flights. Second, if booking far out, they’re great for securing first class upgrades on flights that are usually almost impossible upgrades (even as a 1K), like A319 hub-to-hub midcons and transcons. And lastly, keep in mind they can be used on family members and friends, even when they’re not traveling with you. That’s a huge benefit, in my opinion.
But rarely do I use them for flights where I’d possibly be eligible for a UDU.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, are you aware of any hotel loyalty programs that limit the length of award stays, ie award stays can’t exceed X nights?
Thanks,
Brian
September 28th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — Hmm, how long term are we talking here? I mean, in theory all stays are limited in length to how far out the calendar allows one to book. I believe a few programs have a 30 or 60 day maximum stay policy. I’m intrigued, though. An award stay for that long? You’re going to make me lose sleep!
September 28th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Brian said,
Thanks for the answer Lucky. I’ve never stayed anywhere longer than a week and a half, and I thought that was a really long time (it was fun, though!).
My thinking was a program might limit the length of an award stay and try to get you to buy additional nights. Say you wanted to stay somewhere for 7 or 8 nights, and the program limited you to 5 nights in an attempt to get you to buy the extra few nights to get more money out of you. I suppose I could be a little cynical, but for some reason that thought popped into my head.
Brian
September 30th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m about to buy a ticket on an Alaska-operated flight that also carries a Delta code. The price is the same on both codes. I’m Delta Gold. Does it matter which carrier I buy it from? I’ve heard that operational problems may get resolved more easily when the ticketing and operating carrier are the same; then again, if I have problems with the mileage credit I may get better treatment from Delta (I plan on crediting to Delta either way). As far as I can tell, elite benefits are the same either way (100% bonus miles, no free bags, unclear on priority check-in, security etc.) — but then again I haven’t read the literature too carefully. Am I missing something? Does it matter who I buy from?
Thanks, -Ron.
September 30th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Here I am answering my own question: I went to book the tickets and found out there’s a difference in change fees — $75 when booked on Alaska, $150 when booked on Delta. I don’t foresee needing to change this trip, and I generally follow a policy of ignoring change fees, on the theory that paying the occasional high fee is better in the long run than consistently paying higher fares. Still, if that’s the only difference, why not take the lower change fee just in case? So I booked on Alaska.
There’s actually a promotion going on of 100% bonus miles for combining Delta and Alaska flights on a single ticket, and I could have done that and earned an extra 7000 skypesos by replacing a non-stop Alaska leg with a 3-segment routing on Delta metal, at the cost of an extra $20 in taxes and fees. But this routing is sufficiently inconvenient that I decided to give up the extra miles Besides, the promotion language talks about combining a Delta marketed and operated segment with an Alaska marketed and operated segment; while general consensus on Flyertalk is that they probably just mean Delta-operated and Alaska-operated, nobody knows for sure (conveniently, bonus miles don’t post until after the promotion has ended), so that 7000-mile bonus needs to be discounted by a certain risk factor that it might not post.
Anyway, while I’ve booked the ticket already, I’d still appreciate your thoughts in case I missed something. I can cancel without penalty for 24 hours…
Thanks, -Ron.
October 1st, 2010 at 7:59 am
twokudu said,
Hi–
Long time reader, lots of good tips! two questions
1: I’m about to take an expat assignment (3 years) in Australia, covering AU, NZ, South Africa and SEA (Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.). I currently live in a Delta hub, with about 225K this year. No doubt on my 3-4 trips back to US I will keep my Diamond status with the rollover. The question is who should be pledge loyalty over my expat time? My plan right now is mostly Quantas and Singapore for all SEA. Anything I am not thinking about?
2: Hotel rec for Tokyo? Nice hotel, well located…
Thanks!
October 7th, 2010 at 10:30 am
magiciansampras said,
Hey lucky, am I right in understanding that there is no way a 1K can upgrade a CO trans-atlantic flight? I’ve heard CO is giving some 1Ks upgrades for domestic legs, but I assume not on international?
October 7th, 2010 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ twokudu — I think it depends entirely on how often you’re flying and what you value most, and especially what class of service your company is paying for. You’re not going to get nearly as many benefits with a Singapore of Qantas frequent flyer account as you could with others. I would almost suggest crediting to a different program, but that’s only if you’re flying paid business class. Give me some more details and I can give you more ideas.
As far as Tokyo goes, it’s tough to beat the Park Hyatt. Tokyo’s very spread out, though, so I don’t think there’s really a “central” hotel. Depends entirely on where you want to be. I also like the Conrad and InterContinentals (both ANA and Strings).
October 7th, 2010 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Aside from Star Alliance upgrades, which requires purchasing a full fare ticket, you’re correct.
Lucky – what do you recommend for Hotels in San Francisco right now? I will be staying for 2 nights. I am looking at the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental (which i have heard from you is a fantastic hotel) but the Hilton or Marriott Marquis are also options in my price range. Is anyone currently offering a frequent stay/free nights promo that I should consider?
Thanks!
Jon
October 11th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
Is Lufthansa Miles and More a frequent flier program getting into. When I searched up a 20 hr flight for yyz to del in first, I was only able to get 46 miles while a child seat in coach is around 60 for the same flight. Is it worth the hassle? Is there any other ff programs that I should look into? Must have LH, 9W, AC, AIC, SIA and if possible KFR (not a must).
Thanks
Justin
October 11th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
lance said,
If you buy today’s groupon at cafe press you get 50$ for only 25$… Use it to buy a Chicago DO shirt or other paraphernalia
Can’t wait to meet everyone out at the seminar! I live in Chicago, but will be staying at the hotel Saturday night!
This groupon will essentially negate the next day shipping charges, so anyone who wants to order still can do so at a cheaper price than even economy shipping….
October 14th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Angik said,
Hey Lucky,
I always wonder, how do you get yourself on the volunteer list even before the gate attendant arrives? I normally go to the GA only after he/she asks for volunteers.
October 14th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
As always, thanks for your help. I have SFO-LAX-OKC coming up. If SFO-LAX is delayed so that I miss LAX-OKC which is the last flight of the day (I’ve been monitoring and seeing this happen) how is it processed? Is it a VDB or something else? Assuming I can rebook at SFO if I see I’ll miss my connection will I get compensated?
Thanks.
October 18th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Any ideas on decent routings that will take me DPS on *A in F for two people? I currently have ORD-FRA-ICN-SIN-DPS but it takes forever to get there. Is there anything better that you can think of (even if across the pacific?)
Thanks!
October 18th, 2010 at 3:58 am
George said,
Halothane, you could do ORD-FRA-SIN-DPS, to make it shorter; I would personally do ORD-ZRH-BKK-DPS, flying LX and TG to DPS. Or the other way, you could do ORD-LAX-ICN-SIN(or BKK)-DPS, but the only sector in F would be LAX-ICN. If you look to travel in March/April 2011, you could do ORD-NRT-BKK-SIN-DPS, using availability on ORD-NRT on NH F, and flying NRT-BKK in TG’s 77W F suites. Hope that helps!
October 18th, 2010 at 10:49 am
lucky said,
@ Jon — If you’re at all a Priority Club person, Priority Club currently has a “Sweet Dilemma” promotion offering either double base points or one free night after every two stays, and that’s in addition to the “Crack the Case” promotion, which is quite lucrative, if you’ve received that. I’d definitely go with the InterContinental in this case.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:51 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Assuming you’re flying mostly in paid premium cabins, bmi has one of the best frequent flyer programs, offering double miles for business class and triple miles for paid first class. Soon enough they’ll be merged into Lufthansa, though, so they won’t be around much longer. But even so, you have nothing to lose by signing up for a frequent flyer program. In the case of Lufthansa, they should actually offer some nice premium class bonuses as well for flying more expensive fares.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:52 am
lucky said,
@ Angik — You can add yourself to the list either at check-in, at the Red Carpet Club, with a different gate agent at a different gate, etc. Almost anyone can add you to the volunteer list.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:53 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Definitely not processed as a VDB, unfortunately. If it’s due to weather you’re due nothing (not even hotel), and if it’s a mechanical issue or within the airline’s control, you’ll likely get a free hotel and meal voucher. They won’t proactively offer you any compensation, but you can probably get a voucher worth something by emailing customer relations.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:55 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — @George stole the words right out of my mouth. Besides, since when is a long routing a bad thing?
October 19th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Avi said,
Lucky,
I am an avid points and miles collector (AA Plat, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, etc.) but I am coming up short in one key area. I fly United regularly from ORD to short haul destinations for work (think single class RJ routes like OMA, LNK, CAK, MCI and other fun cities) along with some other occasional trips like LGA or PHL. These are good yields for UA (sometime .50/mile) and I have accumulated 30+ segments, but less than 30K status miles as a lowly Premier. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get to Premier Exec this year, either. I am considering leveraging a Pass Plus purchase to try and get Premier Exec or 1K. Short of that, can you suggest any ways I can help myself?Can it be done through credit card spend (I charge a good amount for business) ? Would status match with AA help, or would I lose it by not flying enough within a trial period? Or am I just a casualty of the elite tiering and segments? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
October 19th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Avi — You can only earn 5,000 elite qualifying miles per year through United’s credit card, so there’s no way to really get ahead on the status front through credit cards. It seems you’re already an American Platinum, so I’m not exactly sure how you’d have a status trial on them. You could always do a challenge on United for Premier Executive, though that requires 15,000 elite qualifying miles within 90 days to maintain the status. The only real suggestion I can make is to try and pad segments whenever possible. If your fares are that high, you should be able to add segments on at least some of your itineraries, assuming you have the time. Sadly you’re a victim of US elite FFPs, which are more concerned about miles than revenue. Wish I had better ideas, sorry…
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:24 am
EE said,
Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Frankfurt from the East Coast. Company policy dictates I fly United or Lufthansa if at all possible. Since I do not have status on either it comes down to which Business Class product is better. I believe both companies have been rolling out an improved Business Class offering. For Lufthansa I believe it is available on the 747-400 and A330 but not on the A340-600. United will likely be on a 777 and I am not sure how far the new product has been rolled out. Which would you recommend?
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 am
lucky said,
@ EE –Since it’s going to be an overnight flight in one direction, I’d say United is a better option if and only if you can get onto a 767. All of the 767s have been converted, and feature fully flat beds. The entertainment and seat are much better on United than Lufthansa, but typically the food and service will be substantially better on Lufthansa.
All the Lufthansa planes actually feature the same slanted flat beds in business class. But if it’s a United 777 vs. Lufthansa, I’d take Lufthansa, since on the 777 you could end up in a cradle seat or a flat bed.
October 24th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
tima1212 said,
Lucky,
My wife and I attended your presentation at the Chicago DO; we greatly appreciated your talk. We are not frequent flyers, but flying United on the way home my headphone jack was busted. As you suggested, I emailed United and just received a $100 e-cert
My question for you — if I have 2 or more e-certs, can they be stacked on the same reservation? Please let me know — THANKS!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
lucky said,
@ tima1212 — Unfortunately only one e-cert per passenger per itinerary. Sorry!
October 24th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
DiscoPapa said,
Ok Lucky, with the impending introduction of one-way *A awards on UA miles, I’m getting ready to blow all 75k in one big swoop. Basically, it looks like it gets me first class most anywhere from the US. Based on your travels, what would you recommend? The Swiss first product looks great… I remember your Turkish flight looked awesome… Lufthansa’s FCT looks nice, but probably not worth blowing my miles just to visit it. I’ve always though SQ would be the pinnacle…?
With keeping Starnet blocking in mind, what would be your pick of airline and route? This is my one time going big on Star Alliance in Int’l first…. it’s gotta be worth it! It doesn’t matter where, I’ll non-rev back.
Thanks!
October 24th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
oleg said,
@tima Technically Lucky is correct; however, in practice web support can do it. Granted worthwhile to consider the hassle of dealing with web support versus benefit. (Just recently booked a family trip – 4 on same PNR with 4 ecerts. E- was almost full, so purpose was both E+ for everyone as well adjacent seats. My entire phone call to web support lasted around 2 hours. Granted I was on hold for 90% of it. So if you want to, it can be done – just make sure you have a decent speakerphone and don’t mind the music.)
October 24th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
oleg said,
(Assuming talking one ecert per passenger. You can’t stack multiple ecerts for the same passenger)
October 25th, 2010 at 12:19 am
lucky said,
@ DiscoPapa — I’d still say the best redemption out there is SQ F from LAX to SIN via NRT in first class. They typically only open up award space four days before departure, but they do so reliably. If you really want to maximize value, tag on a flight from JFK to LAX on PS.
Other than that, TK F from JFK to IST is pretty unbeatable. I’d say if you haven’t experienced the FCT, LH F isn’t a bad option either, or LX if you can find the space with a stop in FRA, so you can experience the FCT.
But in your shoes I’d still go with SQ F, and if you really want to spice it up, do SQ from LAX to NRT and TG from NRT to BKK on their leased 77W from Jet Airways.
October 25th, 2010 at 7:42 am
George said,
Hey Lucky,
Would like some advice on an award booking I have! My partner and I are flying Australia – BKK-DEL – Europe in F. It seems that our BKK-DEL segment has been changed from TG F to TG C. I only realised this as I randomly went to airlineroute.net and saw the plane change. What would you do in my situation? Is it TG’s responsibility to contact me? If so, if I just turn up to the airport, since they probably won’t contact me, should they compensate me?
Thanks so much!
October 25th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Ybjfk said,
Lucky:
The wife and I are planning a little bit of a Holiday. Now, I know it is your brother that enjoys the bubbly on the flights. My question is what non-Asian star alliance carrier has the good stuff (Dom, Krug, Le Dame, Chris, etc.) in F? Or do I have to fly Ana, or Sin to get the good stuff? Thanks!
October 26th, 2010 at 1:09 am
Boraxo said,
Lucky-
I have a choice of flying TPAC business class on Cathay (connecting in HKG) or United (via SYD). Normally an easy choice, but here’s the rub: if I fly Cathay I will drop from PremEx to Premier on UA (though I’d earn AA Gold). Oh, and I’d also lose about 15k bonus miles on UA. What would you do? Is Cathay that good that it’s worth giving up 1P? To be honest I’m not sure how much I’ll miss the perks as I don’t fly UA domestic much and when I do it’s usually with kids which disqualifies me from exit rows and UDU.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
lucky said,
@ George — While Thai should contact you, I wouldn’t count on it. What kind of an aircraft was the flight downgraded to? What airline did you book the ticket through, and is it an award ticket?
October 26th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — That’s a great question. Let me ask my brother and see if he has any insight on the situation.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Boraxo — Believe it or not, I’d go with United. Cathay business class is good, but not that great. First class is exceptional, but business class isn’t that special compared to the competition. I actually think United’s hard product is just about as good. Food is a bit better on Cathay, but not much (again, talking about business class here). Service, of course, is much better, but that’s not worth 15,000 miles, in my opinion.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
George said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the reply. It’s an award flight, from US DM. It is being downgraded from a 747-400 (albeit old style) to a 777-300. I’m not so fussed about the first class on board, but more about the lounge access on the ground!
October 26th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ George — And you’re certain it’s not the three cabin 777 that Thai is leasing from Jet Airways, right? Because that would be a huge upgrade. Anyway, compensation is very much dependent upon whether you booked a paid ticket, award ticket, or upgraded.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
George said,
Yeah I’m sure it isn’t, since they’ve changed the availability of classes to only C and Y for that plane now. If they did, that would be a wonder surprise. It wouldn’t make sense either to place a 77W onto that route though…
It’s an award ticket… so I’m not sure how much compensation they will give… will it hurt to ask at BKK airport? Do you think they’ll grant me F lounge access with my original itinerary which states I’m meant to be in F?
Thanks again!
October 27th, 2010 at 8:30 am
xan said,
Hey Lucky – You recently helped me with a trip – can’t wait – and I have a new issue with US Airways.
They are running a promotion where you get a 100% match on miles purchased. I joined their dividend program, waited the 12 days the site requires, held a trip to Italy with reservations and then went to make my miles purchase – that’s when disaster struck.
The website says 50,000 +50,000 bonus, but when I go to pay, it says 50,000 +10,000 bonus. I have been on the phone with them about 4 times. They agree there is a problem, but they keep shuttling me around the company!
They said they would extend the hold on my reservation, bu I don’t believe them at this point. My traveling companion is having the same problem. We don’t know what to do!
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Xan
October 27th, 2010 at 9:13 am
lucky said,
@ George — Ouch, just the standard 777 is pretty painful for a flight of that length. Unfortunately since the EU isn’t involved here, chances are that the most compensation you’ll get is a percentage of your miles back (the difference between first class and business class) for the distance you were downgraded (proportionally, based on the length of your entire award).
Have they reticketed your reservation (in other words, does your fare code now show “I” (business) instead of “O” (first)? If not, in your shoes I’d just wait till you get to the airport and raise a stink then, as that will be the best chance you have at actually having access to the first class lounge. Otherwise, the only other thing you can probably get out of this is a free reroute, if there were an alternative with first class, though I can’t think of any other three cabin products to Delhi off the top of my head from Asia that would work.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:15 am
lucky said,
@ xan — Sorry to hear about that. Very strange, sounds more like an IT issue than anything else. I’ve never heard of such a problem before. While they can easily hold the ticket if you’re flying on US, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to extend the hold if you’re flying on a partner airline, so I wouldn’t count on what they’re saying to be correct. Unfortunately, though, when dealing with a company like US Airways, you’re kind of at their mercy. Not a whole lot that can be done other than to wait and hope the space is ultimately still there. And maybe request a bit of compensation for the inconvenience.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:59 am
George said,
Lucky,
Sorry I’m taking up three posts!
ON the reservation it now shows ‘I’ instead of ‘O’, but the one I printed off still has ‘O’…
Since I booked with US Dividend miles, I doubt they can refund miles… and if they reroute me, the only option would be BKK-SIN-DEL, and I doubt they will do that in SQ F for me!
I will cause a stink at the airport anyway, and I’ll let you know how it goes? Any tips for causing a stink? =)
October 27th, 2010 at 10:18 am
lucky said,
@ George — Let me know! I would say just be polite but firm and persistent. That seems to work best all over the world, especially in Asia.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:29 am
John said,
Lucky I am using United miles to go 1st class to India. I have a choice of going on a United flt from ORD to FRA (777-200) or a Lufthansa flt from Houston to FRA (747-400). Which one should I choose?
Also, if I am going from one Lufthansa flt (both long haul intercont. 1st class flts) to another in FRA with a long layover will they pick me up from the 1st flt and drop me off at the first class terminal in FRA?
Thanks
October 28th, 2010 at 9:07 am
lucky said,
@ John — I would definitely go with Lufthansa. United will likely be the old configuration, which just isn’t a great experience. Unfortunately Lufthansa doesn’t do pick-ups unless you have a fight connection, so if you want to go to the First Class Terminal you’ll have to leave security and immigration and walk along the outside of the airport to the entrance of the terminal. They do basically anything they can to avoid connecting passengers from using it, unfortunately!
October 29th, 2010 at 8:28 am
John said,
Thanks Lucky, I’ll use Lufthansa. Regarding the pickup from the plane to the FCT you gave conflicting info. I would take the Lufthansa flt from Houston in 1st class and then have a 3 hr 40 min layover in FRA before my next flt to India in 1st class on another Lufthansa flt. In this case would they pick me up from the 1st flt and drop me off at the first class terminal in FRA?
Thanks
October 29th, 2010 at 10:02 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sorry, I had a typo in my last post which caused the confusion. I meant to say “tight,” not “fight.” So they won’t pick you up.
October 29th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
David said,
What’s up with using System Upgrades and Regional Upgrades on United. Have booked four trips recently trying to use regional and system upgrades both internationally and domestically. In all cases, I have been immediately put on a wait list when all seats have been booked. Is this what is coming with the merger with Continental? No more confirmed at booking seat available?
October 29th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The space definitely isn’t there as it used to be, but it has nothing to do with Continental. I’ve actually found that domestically, confirmable upgrade space is pretty decent. Internationally, not so much. Keep in mind that there has been a huge reduction in the number of premium seats thanks to the new business and first class seats, which are in large part to blame for the lack of upgrade space. The 747 has a third fewer business class seats than before, for example. No doubt it will get even worse with Continental, though.
October 31st, 2010 at 10:17 am
Ybjfk said,
Lucky:
My question is when are you going to do it REAL BIG and fly Emirates in F Class? You have done Cathay, ANA, LH, Swiss, SQ, Turk, but never Emirates? I think a trip to Dubai is in order…and I expect another one of your awesome trip reports!
Cheers!
October 31st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — Really funny timing, actually. It’s in the works. Stay tuned for details very soon.
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 pm
DiscoPapa said,
Hey Ben, thanks for the advice. Currently, I’m thinking of burning my miles on LX ZRH-NRT… would like to have fly DL on the way over, and then DL NRT-xxx and make it a RTW. Anyways, I’m about 6k short on my UA miles. What’s the easiest way to earn 6k in the UA program? Upcoming IC hotel stays are already tied up with their current promo… UA would charge me $200+ to buy the 6k. Any thoughts?
Also, if I had LX first starting out of FRA, I’d be able to access the FCT? So I could be on LX from FRA-ZRH-NRT, or does it have to be LH out of FRA?
Thanks!
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:08 pm
lucky said,
@ DiscoPapa — Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I’m not sure how soon you want to book the award, but I’d consider a UA credit card, signing up for Netflix through United, maybe take advantage of the 1,000 miles for your first qualifying dine through Mileage Plus dining, maybe something through the shopping mall, etc. Can’t think of anything other than that.
You could indeed access the FCT either way, through to be on the safe side I would book Lufthansa on the first segment.
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Derek said,
Lucky – What is feasibility of getting 4 tix to LHR/LGW on Star Alliance either from PWM / MHT / BOS using US miles ? I am looking for family trip in June 2012 (before the olympics) and wondering whether this is even realistic. Since it would be with kids, would want fewest number of stops and would want to be in same cabin, though a split of 2/2 would be fine I guess.
Just wondering if getting four seats even has a shot on LH or say UA. Was thinking of of routings like BOS-FRA-LHR or PWM-IAD-LHR. Is Y or C better for tix availability in this situation ?
Thanks.
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Derek — Actually shouldn’t be too tough with a bit of flexibility. Coach would be a bit easier, but getting four business class tickets on Lufthansa through Frankfurt isn’t unusual at all. That would still take two stops, though. Chances are you won’t find four award seats on Continental, United, or US Airways nonstop to London, though. Shoot me an email if you need help planning.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Derek said,
@Lucky – Thanks for the reply. Why two stops, are the BOS-FRA nonstop flights difficult to get tix on (2 flights a day) or are other gateways easier ?
Trust me, if I have to drive from PWM to BOS to get 1 less flight with kids, I will do it .
Thanks.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Derek — Sorry, totally missed BOS. Those flights usually aren’t too tough to get, so you could do it with one stop.
November 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Sarah said,
Hey Lucky,
I am flying on a LH F award with this routing: DFW-FRA-ICN. I really want to visit the famous Lufthansa First Class Terminal during my transit. My layover is about 8 hours in FRA so time will not be an issue. I know that I will not get picked up with the car service when I land. Do I need to clear customs and immigration first? And then walk to the FCT or is the option with going to F check-in and ask for a car to the FCT still available? I know that you did that a few years ago with your brother on a trip from TPA-ORD-EWR-FRA-MLA. Any tips on maximizing the FCT and LH F experience? I probably don’t have to worry about luggage since it will be checked all the way to ICN right? Thanks!
November 4th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Sarah — Sounds like a fantastic trip! Unfortunately there are no pick ups anymore for getting to the First Class Terminal — you have to walk there. You have to clear customs and immigration and then turn left and walk along the outside roadway until you see the First Class Terminal. It’s not too hard to enjoy the FCT. Be sure to have a nice meal there, but not right before your flight so that you ruin your hunger. Also be sure to grab a rubber ducky from one of the baths.
By the way, as a first class passenger you are entitled to a free day-room at the Hotel Kempinski, with free transfers both ways, if you’d prefer. It’s something to consider given how long your layover is.
November 5th, 2010 at 3:24 am
sarah said,
@Lucky
Thanks for the insight. What is the day-room at the Hotel Kempinski and free transfer? Just a place to sleep? I am looking forward to the trip in LH First on 2 legs. I will be transiting thru Frankfurt and get visit the FCT on my birthday as well.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:22 am
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, I’m confused about how multi-pax PNR upgrades work and I’m looking for a good strategy. Currently I have a JFK-SFO leg where my wife (2P) and I (1K) are on the same PNR. I’ve applied two CR1s to the reservation and we’re both waitlisted. Is my understanding correct that the best chance we have to both be upgraded is to split the PNR in hopes that they clear one seat at a time? Or, alternately, is it best to keep us together so that when I clear she will too (assuming 2 seats open). I’m confused. Suggestions?
I know when we get to the airport it is every man for himself.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ sarah — Yes, it would be a hotel room where you can sleep for a few hours. It’s a fairly nice hotel, so not a bad place to kill four hours, if you wanted a change of scenery.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:34 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — If you want to ensure that you either both get upgraded or neither of you get upgraded, you’re best off staying on the same record. But if you want the best shot of both of you clearing, you’re ultimately best off on separate records. If United only opens up one “NC” (confirmable business class upgrade seat), you and your wife would be skipped over on the list, and they’d go to the next person. Then again, they typically release upgrade space in chunks, so hopefully that won’t be an issue either way. You should have a slightly better chance at the upgrade if splitting the record, but it might not be worth the headache/worry associated with it.
November 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am
magiciansampras said,
Word, that confirmed what I thought. It seems like we might have a slightly better shot splitting up, but it’s probably a minimal difference and not worth the worry. Thanks, lucky!
November 8th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Quasiconvexity said,
Lucky,
My wife and I are currently booked (on an LH F award booked using UA miles) on DTW-FRA in LH F and FRA-MAA in LH C. Currently, there is only one F award seat available but the UA 1K agent I spoke to told me she would not be able to split the record (and getting the 1 confirmed F seat) without canceling the entire booking. Is she right or should I try calling UA again to check? Do these waitlists usually turn out okay?
Thanks much.
November 8th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Quasiconvexity — Unfortunately the agent was correct. While you can split records that are entirely on United, you can’t usually split records on Star Alliance partners. There’s no way to waitlist on a Star Alliance partner, though Lufthansa is usually pretty good about opening up first class award space, so I wouldn’t necessarily be worried.
November 9th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
quasiconvexity said,
Thanks Lucky. F space opened up today on LH exactly two weeks before departure. We have a one hour connection in FRA (arrive and depart LH F) – given how far apart the gates are, do you think LH will have us picked up in a van/car when we land and transported to the other terminal?
November 9th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
lucky said,
@ quasiconvexity — Frankly, I doubt it. If you’re running late they might, but otherwise not, more than likely.
November 13th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Gabe said,
The new PC points break list is out. Too bad I cant find any use for them this time around.
November 15th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Gabe — This one seemed to be particularly lame, if it was even a full update. Seems like there weren’t any InterCon properties on the list…
November 20th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
John said,
Ben, what Hong Kong hotels would you recommend? Also, have you taken that UA flt (747-400) from Chicago to Hong Kong in 1st? If so, how would you rate that flt?
Thanks
November 21st, 2010 at 12:05 am
lucky said,
@ John — Depends on your budget and if you have any hotel allegiance, but I think it’s pretty tough to beat the InterContinental or the Conrad, if you’re looking for a really nice hotel. As far as UA895, the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong goes, I love the views and it’s United’s longest flight, so I have always loved it. Hard product and entertainment is fine, food is mediocre, and service is hit or miss (I’ve had both extremes). Should be able to get a good bit of sleep, though!
November 21st, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I’m doing a decent amount of traveling for interviews and have decided to stick to priority club hotels for my stays. I fly United and use Mileage Plus exclusively, do you think it would be better to credit my PC stays to MP or accumulate PC points?
November 21st, 2010 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Definitely credit to Priority Club, in my opinion. The conversion rate to United miles for hotel stays with Priority Club isn’t good at all, in my opinion.
November 21st, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Okay, cool. Do you consider redeeming PC points for non-point break stays to be a great value though?
November 21st, 2010 at 3:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — I think some of the really high end hotels are a good deal at 40,000 points, and frankly, it’s quite easy to earn Priority Club points, so I definitely consider it to be a good value.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
UltraSnow said,
Lucky, Can I use US Airways miles@110k (according to US Airways Star Alliance award chart) Round trip in F from SIN to FRA via NRT and LAX?
So it look something like this: SIN>NRT>LAX>FRA and then FRA>SIN
Thanks Lucky.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
UltraSnow said,
Lucky, I am planning trip like this so I can have a stop over in LAX atleast for a day or two. Thanks Lucky.
November 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ UltraSnow — Sorry, it’s not legal to go from Asia to Europe via the US. That would be two separate awards…
December 4th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Fern Goodman said,
Lucky,
My husband and I have 120,000 AM EX gold card miles. We would like to use the miles for an upgrade to business class to fly to Paris. We live in New Mexico.
Do we have enough miles,and if so what do we need to do. Thank you
FJG
December 5th, 2010 at 11:17 am
lucky said,
@ Fern Goodman — Rather than trying to upgrade, I would suggest going for an outright award ticket. Through Aeroplan, an American Express Membership Rewards partner, business class award tickets are 80,000 miles each. So for 160,000 miles you have two business class seats. The remaining 40,000 Membership Rewards points would cost you $1,000 to buy directly from American Express, which would be much, much cheaper than booking a revenue ticket and upgrading, not to mention much less risky. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com.
December 5th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, I’ve got 2 quick questions.
1. Does the recent difficulties with getting F awards on LH affect the value of US Dividend Miles in your view? Going to Europe in first class on Star, the only options from Washington DC are LH and UA. Business class isn’t anything to sneeze at, but if my goal is first class award tickets, do you think I’d be better off crediting my miles to another program? I’m not that heavily invested into DM (yet).
2. In a somewhat related note, I’ve seen people knock UA’s first class. I’ve also seen the same thing regarding AF’s business class. Are UA first and AF business truly bad, or are they just not as good as similar offerings from other airlines? The only premium cabin I’ve ever flown in is Club World on BA, if that helps with comparison.
Thanks,
Brian
December 5th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian —
1. Tough to say. As of now it’s still quite easy to get a “manual sell” out of US Airways. Since I’ve been able to get around it in every instance up until now, I can’t say that I consider the miles to be any less valuable… as of now. Long term it’s tough to say. Is their blocking just a temporary thing to see how it changes their award cost structure, or is it permanent? It’s tough to say, but it’s definitely not good news. I’d say US Airways is still a great program for buying miles for cheap, but the fact that they give away so many miles for cheap really makes me worried about the value of the miles for those that are earning them “the hard way.” So in general I’d avoid crediting stuff to them, unless it’s much more lucrative than the alternative.
2. Great question. It’s all relative, but both products are still quite good. For United, the hard product and entertainment is quite excellent on their new product, the food is awful by international first class standards (though acceptable by “normal” standards), and the service is hit or miss, from awful to awesome. Some of my best flights have been in United international first class, along with some of my worst. Air France doesn’t have particularly comfortable seats, and the food is French (in my opinion, it doesn’t translate very well in the air). The service is French too… ’nuff said about that!
December 6th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Damon Risucci said,
Hi Lucky,
Love your site! I have 450K Amex Reward Points and I”m looking for 4 first class tickets from NYC area to Madrid with a return leg of Nice to NYC. We are driving from Madrid to Nice. Any ideas if this could work?
Thanks,
Damon
December 6th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Damon Risucci — That should be possible with a bit of flexibility (generally four award seats on a single flight is tough, which is why flexibility is the key). But by transferring the points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, you have a good chance at getting first class space on Lufthansa through Frankfurt. If you need help planning the award, keep in mind I offer an award travel consulting service — pointspros.com.
December 10th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
hannafree said,
I just made gold status in 10 months, and am traveling weekly for my organization-sometimes with 1-day turnarounds. I can tell this much travel is taking a toll on my health. For the life of me I can’t find a policy statement from any organization or company that has tackled how much their employees should fly, and how many weekend/holiday they can miss, or anything other than reimbursement and frequent flyer HR statements. I’d love back up from someone else to help me with my conversation. ??? Help!
December 10th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
lucky said,
@ hannafree — I don’t think any companies really address that. If you feel you’re traveling too much, I would suggest seeing if you can transfer to a more “stationary” position or find a new job.
December 12th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Dave said,
Lucky,
I really enjoy your site. Tell me, whats the secret to getting 2 CX F awards on the same flight? Should I try to book 331 days out or wait until the last minute. Is this even possible from LAX? Would your booking service be able to do this?
December 12th, 2010 at 9:04 am
George said,
Lucky,
Just a follow up to my question before. I turned up to BKK with my BKK-DEL in C, downgraded from F, connecting to DEL-ZRH in LX F. Feigned upset, conversed with the Royal First ladies for around an hour, and they wouldn’t budge, saying that it was the ticketing carrier’s fault, not theirs. I pushed for quite a while and in the end I was able to get FCL access, the 1 hour massage, but no compensation. The FCL was what I wanted anyway! Turned out ok! Thanks for the pointers.
Wondering if you could help with something else. My family are looking at a celebration trip for 4 people, in F, from South Pacific to Canada. What routes can you recommend which are likely to have F4 available? I’ve found MUC-YUL, but I’d love them to try the FRA FCL, although I’ve never been to the MUC FCL myself. I’d imagine LX ZRH-YUL would never have 4 F seats!
Thanks so much again
December 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
spanky said,
Haha, very nice writeup on your saturday afternoon with the suntrust debit cards, i loved it. One quick question though. you had 2 business accounts, with 5 authorized users each to make 10 debit cards? Correct? Did you have to provide the ssn and birthdate of the additional users? Did you really use 10 people from your family? (i.e. brothers, sisters, mom, dad, grandma, dodg?)or did you just use various spelling of your own name?
December 14th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — Cathay Pacific first class isn’t too tough to get at all. Instead of flying out of LAX, consider departing SFO or YYZ. There’s much better first class award availability out of those airports. And absolutely, this is where my award consulting service could be of some help, though frankly, even without a lot of advance notice, Cathay Pacific first class award space isn’t too tough to find.
December 14th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
lucky said,
@ George — Thanks for the follow up. Sorry you didn’t get any comp, though at least you got F lounge access. Anything on a Lufthansa 747 would give you the best shot of four first class seats on a single flight, though with Lufthansa reducing the size of their premium cabins, even that is proving difficult.
December 14th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
lucky said,
@ spanky — That’s correct. And yes, I provided legitimate names and SSNs for the authorized users.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Emil said,
Hello Ben,
I’ve been an avid reader of the blog for about a year now and, between it and flyertalk, I’ve learned a lot about frequent flier programs and award flights. However, I know next to nothing about hotel rewards programs–not even the most basic things. In fact, I don’t have an account with any of the major hotel groups.
You’ve been mentioning these rewards more and more lately, but I find this piecemeal introduction a bit confusing. Is there a good summary or guide for newbies to hotel rewards somewhere on the web? I figure there must be, and I just haven’t found it yet.
Thanks!
December 16th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
You overnight frequently at LAX, right? Are you familiar with the following cluster of hotels in Culver City: Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Westside, Courtyard Los Angeles Westside, Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside? At least the Radisson brands itself as an airport hotel (with a free shuttle).
I’m looking at a 4-night stay (not for myself), basic room, and these three are the most convenient geographically. Points/miles/status don’t matter, price is not a major factor (they’re all in the same range, wifi included), nor are external amenities such as parking and shuttles. It’s the inside that matters to me — rooms, dining, gym/pool, and overall which would offer the most pleasant stay. If you have knowledge or experience with these hotels, I’d appreciate your thoughts.
I’d be happy to make a “newbie” guide, though I guess it all comes down to whether travel is for business or leisure, how much you’d usually stay otherwise, etc. Give me some more info about your travel patterns, and I’d be happy to provide you with some general ideas. I think the key is just understanding the promotions that are out there and being willing to “mattress run” when it makes sense.
December 16th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — Wish I had some ideas, though unfortunately I haven’t stayed at any of those. I do stay near LAX a lot, though have always done the Westin or the Priority Club properties. Sorry!
December 16th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
While the term “Sky Pesos” when referring to Delta miles is pretty funny, it isn’t so amusing when trying to redeem them for premium flights! What do you think is the best use of Delta miles? Which SkyTeam premium cabins are best among the alliance?
Is their a tool (compliant with Mac) to check for availability, so when you call Delta, you have already done your homework?
December 16th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Heh, well said. A few good contenders for award tickets using Delta miles, in my opinion:
1) Delta flies their new business class product to London, and availability is very good off season. So if London is of interest, that’s a great use of miles.
2) Delta partners with V Australia. They have an excellent business class product with surprisingly great award availability, so at 150,000 miles that’s a great deal.
3) Korean Air is pretty good about award availability between the States and Asia.
4) Air France has excellent award availability on the A380, even out of IAD next summer (which is their new A380 destination).
Delta and AIr France availability can be searched on delta.com, airfrance.com, and expertflyer.com. For Korean Air availability you’ll need to call. Checking V Australia availability requires signing up for a Velocity Rewards account and searching directly on their website.
I know that you don’t actually stay on Marriotts but you might help me.
I’m going to take a flight from El Paso, so I will be staying there one night before my flight.
My flight leaves ELP at 6:35 a.m. and I’ll be arriving the day before at about 5:00 p.m. Right now I have points with Marriott and their 3 main properties ask for the same points. I could stay at the Marriott, 3 minutes from ELP, Courtyard 5 minutes from ELP or Residence Inn, 7 minutes from ELP. Marriott and Courtyard both offer me shuttle to the airport. The courtyard has 2 queen beds and the Marriott has 2 double beds, but their rooms are a bit small.
The Residence Inn has the largest room but it only has one queen bed and one sofa-bed. BTW we are 2 adults and 2 kids. I can say that the plus of the Marriott is that they have room-service.
Please tell me in which one should i stay.
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:28 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I do my best to add value where I can, though not having stayed at any of those hotels or even being familiar with them, I don’t think I’d be qualified to suggest a hotel! I’d certainly say that with four people, two queen beds might be important, so I might make my decision based on that. But I think you analyzed the options pretty well, so decide which aspect of the stay is most important to you (big beds, close to airport, room service, etc.), and go with that option.
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
I’d love to get inside your head to see the anatomy of your reservation hunt from inception to confirmation code.
We know where you like to stay and what airlines you like to fly, but what is the best way to book?
For hotel stays, how do you make the majority of your reservations? Through the hotels website? Do you search a third party site like Expedia, or do you call up the hotel or the reservation line to try and broker a deal?
For airlines, do you call up to see if they’ll over you a lower booking class that reservations can see but United’s .bomb cannot? Do you search to see if an affiliate airline (like US Airways) is selling the same flight for a lower price on a codeshare? Or do you check Travelosity for good measure.
What are your secrets to all these $99 4 1/2 star stays?!
Any tricks to use, such as AAA or discount clubs (do they actually ask to see a AAA card at check in?) And how can you get those rates to appear?
Thanks,
Justin
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Kassie said,
Hi Lucky,
Well, I don’t have near as much experience nor miles as everyone else, lol. I was wondering if you could suggest (maybe sans acronyms) a good card for me to invest in. I live in San Fran, and my boyfriend lives in the UK (near London). I have about 12K miles now, and I keep getting Virgin Atl. card offers in the mail. The latest one is for 45K miles. Eventually, I’ll be moving over there (but still traveling to the States and around Europe), but until then I’ll be racking up miles. I keep hearing about AMEX and that V.A. isn’t as good. What do you think for someone in my position (ie. little experience -but learning – with little miles, and looking to get more quickly!)
Love your site. I’m reading the rest of your articles all day today! (hurray xmas vacation!)
Thanks,
Kassie
PS. anyone else can answer as well if they have solid advice, too.
December 24th, 2010 at 6:26 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — I’ll probably make a longer post about this sometime soon, though my booking process is surprisingly simple. For hotels, I typically look at the Hyatt and Priority Club options directly on their website to see which hotels are in my consideration set. Then I’ll typically go to TripAdvisor to look at pictures and FlyerTalk to read reviews. I never use third party sites (and don’t even use BigCrumbs or the like, which I should), so then go back to the website and compare rates. I just select “AAA” from the menu, and then compare that to the normal rate, since those are the only ones I’m eligible for (I’ve never actually been asked for proof of AAA membership at check-in, though I do have a membership). Sometimes I’ll look at the “Friends & Family” rate, if I’m not desperate for points. The only other thing I look at for Priority Club is the bonus points package. If they offer points for less than half a cent each, I sometimes bite, depending on my mood.
On the airline front my booking process is really simple. I almost never *have* to go anywhere, so I book entirely based on whether United has a reasonable fare or not. I’ll typically do “dummy” award bookings while logged into expert mode on united.com to see if the fare classes on the individual segments pan out, or if I could get a more favorable routing that way. I then just either book as a one way, roundtrip, or multi-city if the flights I want don’t come up.
That’s it! Let me know if you have any other questions, please.
December 24th, 2010 at 6:30 am
lucky said,
@ Kassie — Generally I’m not a fan at all of anything Virgin Atlantic when it comes to award bookings, because their fuel surcharges and taxes are outrageous. An “award” ticket on them won’t feel like any sort of reward, trust me. In your shoes, I would try and maximize a few credit card bonuses right now. American is offering a 75,000 mile sign-up bonus on their Citi AAdvantage Visa and American Express credit cards, which is more than enough for a roundtrip to the UK in coach, or a one way in first or business class with miles to spare.
But long term, assuming you’ll be in the UK, you’ll want a card without a foreign transaction fee. That leaves the British Airways Visa, which offers a 50,000 mile sign-up bonus right now. Otherwise you’re going to get hit with a 2-3% foreign transaction fee, which basically wipes out the reward, assuming you want to keep the card for the long run.
All around, for US purchases, the American Express Starwood credit card is the best, since it’s by far the most flexible, allowing transfers to dozens of programs.
Hope that helps!
December 24th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Kassie said,
Thank you so much! It’s a place to start, which is exactly what I needed. Great website, too. I have it bookmarked and I’ll be returning frequently.
Cheers!
December 25th, 2010 at 4:26 am
Justin said,
Lucky,
We’ve all experienced a company’s failure to deliver their promise. Judging by your detailed TR’s, you speak up and voice your complaints. As a top tiered traveler I’m sure your service recovery rate is higher than that of someone status-less, but how far will you take it? What’s the most you’ve been compensated, (gratis service, points or monetarily) when you’ve complained? What advice would you lend if you’re faced with a stalemate?
Thanks,
Justin
December 25th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — That’s a good topic for a post sometime. Generally speaking, though, I make two types of complaints. One type is pointing out a basic service failure that inconveniences me. The other type is complaining about an employee, which I only do when I have a really, really bad experience. The point there isn’t to get compensated, but rather to have action taken against said employee. So without going into too much detail, I fortunately usually have pretty easy access to people that are in a position to take action. Sounds vague, I know, though “action” has certainly been taken against an employee as a result of my complaint, even though I didn’t get any compensation (which I specifically requested).
As far as general advice, I would say when writing a complain, stick to the core issue as much as possible. Anything else is just a distraction. Follow up quickly, and if it’s a serious issue, and someone else witnessed it, get their contact information. If the problem is serious enough, the complaint will usually escalate quickly enough.
December 26th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Richard said,
I don’t travel much but have built up about 55,000 United Miles and 170,000 points from American Express through my business accounts. I want to plan a trip for my wife and son to visit some relatives in Italy in mid to late June. What is the best way for me to use these miles for airfare? United miles I understand how to use. Amex points I don’t exactly. How do I go about using them to get the best deal on a flight? I realize that the points will likely not be enough to cover the trip. Thanks so much.
December 26th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Justin said,
Hey Lucky,
I stumbled across something pretty interesting. To follow up on the discussion of reclining as a “right” or “privilege”, What are your thoughts on this device? Are they permissible, and what would you do if you encountered one on your seat back?
@ Richard — With the number of miles you have, you could almost get three business class tickets to Europe; at the very least, you have enough miles for two business class roundtrips and one coach roundtrip. If you transfer the Membership Rewards points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, it would be 80,000 miles per person in business class, and you could fly any Star Alliance airline. If you need help with the actual booking process, you might find my award travel consulting service useful: pointspros.com. You can shoot me an email at onemileatatime@hotmail.com for more details or if you have any more questions.
December 26th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — I’ve seen that before. Have never run across one, though if someone tried it on me (which they wouldn’t, since I don’t recline in coach on daytime flights) I would call the flight attendant and have them deal with the situation. Definitely not acceptable behavior, in my opinion.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Oleg said,
Discovered last week that ANA won’t ticket an award less than 24 hours before flight (ua miles, was about to snag the last f seat 22hours prior to dep, no dice unfortunately).
Do you know if this is UA specific? Other airlines that won’t ticket last minute? Would be useful to know the future. Thanks.
January 4th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
SPG said,
Hi Lucky,
I did use UA $350 E-cert to pay for my SFO-BOS, the base fare was $298 and the E-cert cover the whole thing except I had to pay $21 for taxes.
Booked in T fare and confirmed in NF (5 days out as 1K). Flight credit never posted to my account so I did call MP and was told that I was not eligible for any flight credit because it’s a free ticket and the base fare is $0. Please help.
SPG
January 4th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Oleg — Many airlines have a policy of requiring awards to be ticketed several days in advance (bmi, for example, requires awards to be booked five business days before departure, and for Gold members it’s three working days before departure). United isn’t one of those, as far as I know. This seems to be a legitimate operating carrier restriction. I have booked awards on some of United’s other partners day of departure, so I assume it’s ANA specific. I believe the requirement is usually something like 2-4 hours before departure, though I might be wrong.
January 4th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
lucky said,
@ SPG — The agent was completely wrong. Like the old phrase goes, “hang up and call again.” If you try a couple more times and still have problems, send me an email and I’d be happy to look into it for you.
January 5th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, how much are fuel surcharges and taxes on VS Upper Class awards, and how do they compare to the cost of a paid ticket? Are we talking about a few hundred dollars, or around a thousand, or more? I tried a few internet searches and couldn’t find anything.
Thanks,
Brian
January 5th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — If you’re talking about booking directly through Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program, they’re pretty steep, typically $400-600 for a transatlantic award. You can tell for sure by signing up for a Flying Blue account and doing a “dummy” award booking. If going through a different program, though, like Continental or ANA, the total will be much less.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
This morning I went on tour of the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City (one of the perks/duties of arranging accommodations for a large group of visitors). You may be interested to know that this is the crew hotel for Aeroflot, and at the front desk they have a model Aeroflot 767 (with one engine missing…).
Anyway, on the tour we were shown a suite, which surprised me because suites are absent from the web site — they’re not there among the room descriptions nor are they available for booking. I asked the Group Sales Manager and he said that suites are mostly used for SPG elite upgrades and for special events; they are available by special request, but since they’re very expensive (more than double the price of a typical room) they don’t show up on ordinary booking channels.
I understand that a hotel might give suites a very high price point in order to keep them exclusive, and as a consequence not sell many of them directly. But I don’t see how it makes sense to hide the very existence of suites. Have you encountered this practice before?
-Ron.
January 7th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — LMAO at the Aeroflot comment! Doubt it’s a coincidence that one engine was missing! To answer your question, that’s unheard of (and completely illogical) to me. There’s nothing wrong with having an expensive suite on the website, since one can always book a cheaper room. If anything, I would say it makes the property more exclusive — psychologically, I would feel like the hotel is nicer if the most expensive room is $599 as opposed to $129.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Corey said,
If you were to spend a weekend in San Francisco using Big Dilemma nights at either the Mark Hopkins or the new Intercontinental SF, which would you choose? I’m PC Platinum, but not Royal Ambassador, so I’d be looking at a basic room with no club access.
Also, does RA get you anything over and above PC Platinum at non-IC hotels?
January 7th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — I would go with the newer InterContinental. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but it’s a modern hotel, compared to the Mark Hopkins, which is shabby chic at best. I also find the service at the IC to be excellent. You may very well get an upgrade.
Technically RAs aren’t supposed to get additional benefits at non-IC hotels, though strangely enough at times my RA status is recognized at Holiday Inn hotels and I’m sometimes given a slightly better upgrade because of it.
January 7th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Rich said,
Have you had any experience with Diners Club points? Any suggestions as to their best use? Occasionally they have some bonuses on the transfers, currently the bonus is an extra 35% on transfers to Delta. I haven’t heard much good about their program.
I have around 150K points on Diners. At some time in the near future I’d like to transfer them and cancel the card. Is my best bet to wait and hope for a bonus offer on transfers to AA or Air Canada? If it matters I’m CP on US Airways. I don’t have any miles with AA or Air Canada.
Thanks.
January 7th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — Really don’t know all that much about Diners Club, though I would say in general 1 AA or 1 Aeroplan mile > 1.35 Delta miles. So while I haven’t followed their transfer bonuses, I don’t think the 35% Delta transfer bonus is particularly compelling, unless you have a particular award in mind.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Ryan said,
I’m in the process of booking an award ticket one-way on BA from LHR to DFW, and the availability for my particular day that I HAVE to leave on is not very good, involving connecting flights and what not that I don’t really want to deal with. Forgive me if this has already been addressed, but my question is should one usually either book far in advance (in which case I’m too late) or a few days before the flight in order to get the best availability? I can book today, but part of me is wondering if I wait I might be able to get a non-stop…
Thanks.
-Ryan
January 10th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Seats are typically released either way in advance or very close to departure, once the airlines realize they won’t sell the seats. So typically it’s not a bad idea to wait until close to departure to book an award, though it you *need* to travel on a specific date, that’s pretty risky. I would book whatever you can find for now, and if the nonstop opens up close to departure, switch to that.
January 10th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Alice said,
Hi Lucky – I attended the Chicago do where you presented on bumps and compensation. We usually travel United and have found much of your advice very useful. This past weekend we flew Air Canada and missed our connecting flight on the way back from Paris due to misplaced luggage (it was in the building, but they didn’t know where). The handling of the whole situation was awful, and when asking for ibd compensation we were looked at like it was unheard of. We ended up talking to a manager who was useless as well. Do you have any advice on the best way to approach contacting Air Canada for compensation possibilities? I appreciate your thoughts.
January 10th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Alice — IDB compensation is only issued if you’re denied boarding, which you weren’t, as far as I can tell. Instead, you misconnected. Therefore, even though it was within the airline’s control (it seems), you’re really at the mercy of the airline. I would suggest contacting Air Canada through their website to express your problems.
January 11th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Eric said,
hi
I am new to the frequent flyer programs and have been reading the last 5 days on flyertalk about everything (statusmiles,awards,ticketpricing,..)
And reading the trick it,negotiate it thread on ft, I cane across fuel dumping trick. well lets say i made it to page 42 of the 500 pages and counting
after a short google : fuel dump : I came on this blog and others , saying the trick has been discovered and airline fixed the loop.
Could you explain how the fuel dump trick then did work in the past? or a link to an explanation ?
many thx and congratulations with your blog !
January 11th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Eric — The fuel dump is, for the most part, dead. I’m no expert on it, though the premise was that adding certain segments to an itinerary would somehow eliminate the fuel surcharge, which was often a big chunk of the ticket price. Then a big article was published about it, and the next day it was fixed…
What are the best F seats on the Jet Airways 777-300ER leased to Turkish for 2 people traveling together? Window and aisle or two center aisles?
Award availability was surprisingly open for 1 seat, then it just took checking the ANA tool twice a day for a month and a half to get the other.
January 13th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Assuming the other person is a spouse/partner/wife/significant other, I would most definitely go with the center two seats. When you close the doors you can either life the barrier between the two seats or not, so ultimately you can still talk to the other passenger, even when the doors are closed. The ottoman is also quite uncomfortable for sitting, so it’s the most practical way to dine together as well. Enjoy your flight!
January 16th, 2011 at 12:12 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
I took my first bump on united not to long ago, I thought the $400 criedt was worth a 2 hour wait. I try to use it last week to book a flight only to find it can not be used online! I have to make the reservation over the phone, then send in the vouchers, or go to the airport and make it there. I ended up going to the airport and doing it. (I live in santa barbara, ca not sure if you ever been though there, but it is a really small muni airport, so it was easier then being on the phone) but what gives with the whole thing. Are all the vouchers that way, or is there an easier way to do it\?
January 16th, 2011 at 12:20 am
lucky said,
@ Danny — All of United’s denied boarding compensation comes in paper form. I’d say it’s quite intentional, since a lot less people will go through the hassle of redeeming the vouchers if they have to either go to the airport or mail them in, as opposed to just being able to do it online. Probably saves them quite a bit of money. Frustrating, no doubt, but if that keeps the redemption rate low enough so that they keep issuing fairly generous denied boarding compensation, I’m all for it!
January 16th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Dave said,
Just booked 2 CX F LAX-DPS Award tickets. Visa on arrival at DPS, should I hire a VIP VIsa company or is it not worth the money?
January 16th, 2011 at 9:50 am
lucky said,
@ Dave — Not worth the money, in my opinion. The process is fairly painless either way.
January 17th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
Can you explain about the different types of upgrades offered to elites on United, and with there regards when it comes to 2 class, and 3 class aircraft. IE. UDU, Regional, System Wide. Going from coach to business or coach to first? etc etc.
What’s the baggage allowance for a non-TG *G flying SGN-BKK on TG?
*A.com says Extra Baggage Allowance – an additional 20kg (44 pounds) or one additional piece of luggage which means you can check in three bags instead of two.
My TG ticket with my *G number on it says baggage allowance 20k
Does that mean my ticket had 0 baggage allowance and being *G got me 20kg? Or do I really get 2 pieces/40kg total?
January 17th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Tor said,
Lucky,
I love your blog – although I should comment more…..
I had a weird experience just now. I just made premier exec on united and had a flight tonight. I didn’t get upgraded, but I had booked a seat in the second exit row by the window. When I boarded (I used the mobile boarding pass), I discovered that my seat had been changed to row 19, in regular economy. Beyond the fact that I was disappointed that I had not been moved to economy plus, at least (and I paid the annual fee for that before I had status) I noticed that one of the FAs was talking to the couple who were sitting in the seat I previously had. She spent the whole flight talking with the couple, and gave the man a big hug and kiss when they got off. Because I was sitting right behind them, I could see them taking the whole flight – at one point, for 90 minutes straight.
It seems likely that the FA had them moved to the exit row, bumping me back three rows. I know seats get changed, but it seems unlikely that random chance would result in the close friend of a FA bumping me out of one of the best seats on the plane.
Have you ever heard of anything like this? If I’m right, is there any kind of compensation I can ask for? I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but this was seriously annoying. Thanks for any advice!
Tor
January 17th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Well, to start, you can always only upgrade one cabin of service (so either from coach to business on a three cabin plane, business to first on a three cabin plane, or coach to first on a two cabin plane). You can use miles to upgrade on virtually all fares, though there is often a co-pay. See united.com for details on the co-pay for each fare class in each region.
Then elites get unlimited domestic upgrades valid within region one which clear on a space available basis within their respective upgrade windows.
Then 1Ks earn confirmed regional upgrades, which can be used to confirm an upgrade at the time of booking (or anytime after departure), assuming there is confirmable upgrade space.
Then there are systemwide upgrades, which can be applied to any fare domestically, or a fare of at least “W” outside of region one. These can also be applied at the time of ticketing, assuming there is confirmable upgrade space. Otherwise they are waitlisted.
January 17th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — I believe you should get two bags for free weighing 20kg each. The standard coach allowance is one 20kg bag, so you get an additional bag.
January 17th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Tor — That’s very strange, though I doubt the flight attendant had any influence there (trust me, they don’t have that much power, though that’s not to say there wasn’t some sort of funny business). I’m a bit confused, though. You say you used a mobile boarding pass, so which seat did the mobile boarding pass reflect? At what point did you realize your seat had changed?
January 17th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Have you ever stayed or do you plan to stay at the IC Willard in DC? You frequently rave about a number of ICs, but from what I’ve read, the Willard is one of the top in the U.S. and I haven’t seen any thoughts from you on the hotel or DC itself.
January 18th, 2011 at 10:37 am
Tor said,
Thanks Lucky.
I didn’t look at the seat when I downloaded it, and I don’t know seats well enough yet that I would have noticed even if I had. I do know that when I checked a few days prior to the flight, I was in 16D, and when I was on the jetway, I looked and saw it was 19D. Obviously, I will be paying much closer attention in the future, but since I was #2 on the upgrade list, I was more focussed on that.
I think I’m also more likely to get an upgrade out of BWI in the future, rather than driving all the was to IAD, which I used to do because there were more direct flights. Since I fly for work, I try and avoid missed connections, but flying out of BWI may get me more upgrades as well as increasing the milage of my flights. Thanks!
Tor
January 18th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
John said,
Hey Lucky!
First, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge via your blog. I’ve found it to be extremely helpful. For the past couple of years, I’ve tried to get more and more travel savvy. My spouse and I recently participated in the SunTrust/Delta promotion and received 265k Skypasos total. I used these to book a trip to Paris in June for four people. I was fortunate to get the seats for 60k.
Here’s my question: Due to the frustration of Delta’s site crashing and calling multiple times to get the itinerary I wanted, I neglected to see if I could get the International leg of my outbound flight in business class. (the international flight is on AirFrance out of IAD on the A380) The tickets are already paid for. Am I pretty much SOL at this point in getting biz class?
Thanks!
John
January 18th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — I’m sure I will eventually, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m not a fan of DC, which is why I haven’t stayed at the Willard.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Tor — It seems like the swap occurred long before the flight was under the gate agent’s control. In your shoes I would learn from the experience and pay closer attention next time to your seat assignment. Smart idea regarding BWI vs. IAD, upgrades should be quite a bit easier out of there.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Without paying a change fee, you’re out of luck. Beyond that, the business class price is 100K, so it sounds like you’re a bit short for four people to be traveling in business. Congrats on the new mileage obsession!
January 18th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have you ever used Aeroplan? I notice that their rewards seem less expensive than others. For example from the US to Europe1 (they split Europe into several categories) first class is only 100K miles compared to USAirways where it takes 125K miles. Also I believe business is 80K vs. 100K on US Airways.
Are you aware of any extra fees Aeroplan charges or difficulties in redeeming award tickets for their star alliance partners (i.e., blocking of seats) ?
I don’t currently have an account with them but I notice a couple of my credit card accounts can transfer to them on a 1-1 basis. Just pondering the best use of points/miles. I’m trying to cancel one credit card but I need to transfer the points first.
Thanks.
January 18th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Yes, I redeem Aeroplan miles on a near daily basis for my clients. It’s one of the best mileage programs out there. No catches at all — no Starnet blocking, no fuel surcharges on Star Alliance awards (though there are fuel surcharges for travel on Air Canada), and two stopovers are allowed on awards between regions. It’s an unbeatable program.
January 18th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Danny said,
Lucky,
I have read somewhere about united doing a qualifying miles challenge for elite status. Is that still and option? If so what are the details, and is then anything special I need to do?
January 18th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Only to those looking to status match, that can prove status with another airline. Not to others, sadly.
Which is the better business lounge in HKG, SQ or TG?
January 19th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — TG, hands down.
January 23rd, 2011 at 1:36 am
Jonathan said,
I have been looking at the BA award chart for BA plus partner. Can you really redeem a BA + LAN award from NA to SA via Europe in business for only 50,000 one way?
This seems like unbeatable value if possible.
January 24th, 2011 at 1:47 am
lucky said,
@ Jonathan — No, you can’t go via Europe, that would be two awards. It’s 40,000 miles one way in business class when you stick to just one airline, which is an amazing value, though you can’t route via Europe. The most BA metal you’re going to get on an award including British Airways and one partner would be flying BA between Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.
That fifth freedom flight appears to be the answer.
January 25th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Just a suggestion. I’m not sure how much, if any, control you have over the formatting of this page, but it might be better to place the newest message at the top of the page instead of the bottom. While some of the older ones can be informative I’m not sure how often people want to read items from 2009.
January 25th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Good point, thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into it and see if I can reverse the order. Sounds like it should be doable.
Are there any showers in LAX for a passenger arriving UA tpac NC departing CO domestic?
Can’t get to the *A lounge in TBIT or the NZ lounge in T2.
January 26th, 2011 at 8:03 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — Unfortunately there’s nowhere I can think of to get a shower.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Curious George said,
Lucky,
I’m a long time reader, first time “caller”!
I’m flying ORD-LHR in late May on BA F, I’ve traveled BA J many times, however this will be my first trip in F, for the return I was planning on trying a a different airline.
My first thought was VS J, so I can experience their Drive Through Check In and the Clubhouse, however the flight departs at 11am so I won’t be able to spend that many hours in the clubhouse and VS doesn’t introduce their new J product on the LHR-ORD route till July.
Now I’m thinking of doing LHR-xxx-ORD, after all I’m not travelling with my Wife and kids so I don’ t mind connecting somewhere else.
I don’t often get opportunities to sample different J products (mostly BA, I did travel TK and MS last year) so I am looking forward to trying something like LX, LH or maybe even UA or LOT. If you had this choice, whom would you try?
January 26th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Emil said,
Lucky,
What is your opinion on the recent 80% bonus for MR-to-Delta points transfers?
I normally transfer MR points to Aeroplan and am quite happy with Aeroplan’s redemption rates and their stopover/open jaw policy. That said, 80% seems like a really nice bonus, so I am tempted to get some Skypesos. How do you think 90k skypesos compare to 50k Aeroplan points?
Thanks! Advice is appreciated.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Curious George — If Swiss is operating the A330-300 on the route when you’re scheduled to fly, I’d consider going with them. They have a phenomenal business class product. Frankly, though, I would make every effort to try Virgin, though that’s just me. I haven’t flown with them before, and would really like to experience the Clubhouse. In your shoes I would just take the direct flight to Chicago, and get to the airport really early. Alternatively, maybe fly through JFK, IAD, or another airport operated by a 747 or A346? But I would say either Swiss or Virgin are the way to go.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Blog post coming on the subject shortly!
January 28th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Lance said,
Lucky,
Would like to ask you a Tampa question. I am planning a trip down to Tampa and Naples for Dec. We will have our 3 year old and 2 year old with us. So we are thinking of visiting Busch Garden. What would you recommend we stay in Tampa? We have points with PC and Hilton. So I am thinking of either Intercontinental or Hilton Clearwater. But neither is ideal in terms of location – IC not providing a true Tampa/FL experience and Clearwater being far away although it does have good reviews.
As of Naples, I’m thinking about Edgewater. Any comments there? Any comments or recommendations in general?
TIA
January 29th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Craig said,
Hi Ben,
On the Loyalty Traveler Blog today, Ric posted info about a Cathy Pacific 80 Days of Unlimited Travel Contest. However, prize is limited to economy class.
I was wondering. We all know you love to fly, but we also know you only like to fly in premium cabins, preferably first.
What would you do if a prize like this landed in your lap — free unlimited travel on a great airline with many longhaul routes, but travel is restricted to coach — something which you hate.
What would you do??? Let’s assume that you can’t upgrade or earn miles from this.
January 29th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — I suppose if you have kids Busch Gardens might be fun, but other than that I don’t think Tampa is really worth visiting. In your shoes I would probably go with the InterContinental, though it’s a bit of a waste of points. The revenue AAA rate is often $70, so I would pay for the stay. If your goal is beach time, I’d say Clearwater or St. Petersburg is a better location. The Hilton isn’t particularly nice, though. The only really nice chain hotel in Clearwater is the new Hyatt Regency, though that probably doesn’t help you. Have only been to Naples once, though found it quite interesting. Think that might be more fun for a family.
January 29th, 2011 at 8:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig — While it seems like a cool enough contest, the retail value of $35,000USD+ is enough to turn me off of it. Can’t imagine taking advantage of it just because of that. If there weren’t any taxes associated with the ticket, I would probably take advantage of it if I won, but even then, I’m not sure to what extent. I’ve been to most of the destinations that Cathay Pacific serves, and returning to them in coach just doesn’t sound like all that much fun when I have the miles to go in business or first class. But the ARV is a killer there, in my opinion…
January 30th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
Arun said,
Hi Lucky
Does Aeroplan allow you to book a premium class award ticket from Asia to US? If so, is it the same cost (in miles) as a US-Asia award?
Thanks
January 30th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
renee said,
I see that you wrote a report about Swiss first class, however, i was wondering your opinion on business class. I have reserved 6 award business seats for my family on the new lie flat seats on A330-300 ( because it was the only *A airline after a few days of searching that i could find award space for everyone on the same flight) to Europe this summer and was wondering if you had any insight on new business class in Swiss. Thanks
January 30th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — They do, and yes.
January 30th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
lucky said,
@ renee — While I haven’t flown Swiss business class, I will say that it looks absolutely top notch. The hard product is great, and Swiss food and service is always great. You made a good decision, especially having found space for six, which is a near miracle.
January 30th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
renee said,
thanks….yes it was not easy finding award space for 6!
January 31st, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Scholar in Training said,
Lucky, I have a question for you.
For an upcoming trip the only booking agent I can find that will piece together the itinerary I want is vayama. I think that’s because the trip starts on CO metal and has a Cape Air and AA segment thrown in the middle. The trip ends on UA.
Now, my concern is what happens should something go wrong? If the first leg is on CO will the whole ticket be CO stock, meaning I should call them? Or would I have to call Vayama? Would UA be able to help me since the trip ends with them? (I’m a 1K on UA).
To be more specific this is my proposed itin: EWR-SJU-STX-SJU-IAD-EWR. The problem is that STX-SJU is on AA and leave a very short time to make my SJU-IAD (UA) connection. If I were to miss that SJU-IAD flight, who would be responsible for me at that point? UA?
Thanks lucky!
January 31st, 2011 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Frankly, what is technically correct is far from what’s practically correct in instances like this. Who’s at fault doesn’t matter, because they’ll play the blame game all day long, it’s about who’s willing to accept responsibility. That being said, you should generally go through your travel agent. That might not be so practical if you miss your flight and the next alternative flight is in 30 minutes, though. Generally the airline which cause you to misconnect should help you out, though at times the operating airline of the flight you missed is happy to help out as well. Just be ready for them to play the blame game.
February 1st, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Emil said,
Hello,
So I’ve read occasional reports about how generous Aeroplan is with US-Asia awards–in particular, that they allow you to fly across the Atlantic one way and across the Pacific the other way, and also that they allow two stopovers/an open jaw.
Looking at their online award software, it seems the first part is correct. What about the second part? Will they allow both 2 stopovers and an open jaw, or a single stopover and an open jaw?
And does one have to book such itineraries over the phone? Their online system keeps giving me error messages when I try to include 2 stopovers.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Ryan said,
Hello Lucky – long time fan here:
I mentioned a few days ago on your SFO Lufthansa A380 post that I snagged a couple F awards for me and the future mrs. flyinryan back when that flight was operated by the 744.
I’m wondering what our ground experience at FRA will be like – we are continuing on from FRA to CDG with about a 3 hour layover, and then the second part of the open-jaw is a return flight from FCO-FRA-LAX-SFO with the longhaul in 744 F.
When we land at FRA from both SFO and FCO, will we get the whole shebang – met by a BMW, driven from the plane to the First Class Terminal, spoiled, pampered, etc? I am really looking forward to this trip, not only because it’s our honeymoon, but I really want to fly the A380, and to do it in LH F – wow. That’s a trip to remember
lucky, I read your blog all the time, and I can’t thank you enough for all the great finds and discussions. You are a total pro and a good friend.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — You’re allowed an open jaw and a stopover or two open jaws. For the more complex routings you need to call Aeroplan to book.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Congrats on the honeymoon and A380! Unfortunately Lufthansa’s ground services don’t include picking you up. You get driven to the plane, but they don’t usually pick you up at the plane. Getting to the FCT is actually a real PITA, as you need to exit the terminal and walk along the outside roadway of the airport to get there. Quite a pain, though worth the trek if you have a long enough layover. Enjoy!
February 3rd, 2011 at 11:12 am
rich (arizona) said,
I’ll second the PITA comment regarding the walk to the FCT. We departed on Dec 14 2010 and the walk was worse since it had snowed several inches the previous night so the walk was slippery and cold. We also weren’t sure where we were going.
We started outside on one level and there was construction going on blocking the walk. So we went back inside. Then another employee suggested going upstairs and walking from there. That was better but we both thought “This is the way they treat first class customers?”
Obviously once inside the terminal they pamper you and it is great but getting there from the main terminal is a HUGE annoyance/disappointment (we crashed at the Sheraton the night before the flight).
One employee suggested to take a cab and Lufthansa would reimburse you but I would have felt embarrassed taking a cab for 1/4 mile or less. If they can afford to drive you to the plane in a luxury car they sure could afford some kind of golf cart or car to take you to the terminal.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Kahty said,
Anybody know how I can earn frequent flier miles on my daughter’s college tuition payments? School doesn’t take debit or debiit cards, but I’m thinkin’ there has to be a way?
February 4th, 2011 at 9:08 am
Scholar in Training said,
@Kahty: There is a website that lets you pay rent with your credit card – try searching Flyertalk. Maybe you could just cut the check through them to the school instead of a landlord? I know they charge administrative fees, though.
—-
Lucky,
Any way for a 1K to upgrade on a transatlantic AC flight? Thanks!
February 6th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Kahty — While there might be a way to pay with a credit card, they’ll charge at least a 2-3% fee, which negates the value of any rewards.
February 7th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Josh said,
lucky, can I ask anything? You are so cute. are you gay or straight?
February 8th, 2011 at 2:44 am
continental flyer said,
Hello Lucky,
I’ve been looking for an answer all over Continental’s website and your past posts here, but I haven’t found one yet, so I’m hoping you can help me.
Does Continental allow US-Asia awards via the Atlantic? I’m hoping to book ORD-stopover in Europe-Seoul-ORD. (with the return possibly also via Europe, if they don’t allow mini ’round the world’ awards like Aeroplan)
Thanks! Help is much appreciated.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ continental flyer — Absolutely, you can go both ways via the Atlantic on a Continental award.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Without paying full fare? No…
February 9th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
kim said,
Hey Lucky –
I was saving up US Air miles for an off peak business class ticket from PHL to somewhere in Italy or France this past Jan/Feb, but missed out and didn’t get to go… Rather than waiting for Jan/Feb of 2012, we would still like to go in spring or summer – what’s our best redemption using USair miles via either usair themselves or someone on the star alliance?
February 10th, 2011 at 12:20 am
lucky said,
@ kim — US Airways’ new Envoy product is actually quite good, if you can find availability on a route that is operated by it (it’s the A330-200). Right now to Europe it’s serving London, Paris, and Munich. Other than that Lufthansa is generally a pretty good option, and they do have a first class cabin out of Philadelphia, should you want to use miles for that. I also find Air Canada to have an excellent business class product, and they have pretty good availability out of Toronto (with easy connections out of Philadelphia).
February 11th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
mitch said,
Hello Lucky,
I was wondering if you think it is worth carrying another Amex card in addition to their platinum card, either a Starwood or Hilton Surpass?
February 13th, 2011 at 4:58 am
LHF said,
Do you think US Airways will offer buy miles get double miles promo again?
February 13th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Jon said,
Lucky,
I am currently an RCC member and renew every year using miles. I am also 1k and get a UDU about 95+% of the time. Can a non-RCC member access the club using a First Class boarding pass earned off a UDU? If so maybe I wont be renewing this year! Thanks!
February 13th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
lucky said,
@ mitch — I think it all comes down to how much money you spend and what you want to redeem your points for. I find Membership Rewards points to be very valuable, and to cover most bases pretty well. I love the fact that they transfer instantly, unlike Starwood, and often have transfer bonuses. So assuming you’re looking for international premium cabin awards, I don’t think you’re missing out if you just have the American Express Platinum card. If you’re more interested in hotel rewards or rewards with other airlines, then the SPG card (or Hilton card on the hotel front) might be worth considering.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ LHF — It’s tough to say. I don’t think we’ll see it as frequently as in the past, though I do think we’ll see it return at least once in a while, or at least some similar offer.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — Domestic first class upgrades don’t entitle you to Red Carpet Club access. If you get an upgrade on a flight to Canada, Mexico, or another international destination, you do get access, though.
February 13th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
Any advice on noise canceling headphones? My wife and I fly 80-100K miles a year, mix of long haul J or F and short haul. Hesitent to go with the Bose as I need 2 pair. Worthwhile investment or any others you would recommend?
February 13th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — That’s a toughie. If you’re traveling mostly in international business and first class, you may already frequently be getting decent headphones aboard. The thing about Bose headphones (or any over-ear headphones, for that matter) is that it’s really tough to comfortably sleep with them on. You can’t really place your head sideways against a pillow (the ear cup will prevent that), so in that sense they’re not great. That being said, the noise cancellation is truly phenomenal. If you find yourself watching a lot of movies or listening to music, I would go with Bose headphones. If you’re mostly sleeping and get decent headphones aboard, I might consider a moderately priced pair of in-ear headphones. Lately I’ve actually found myself using my Bose in-ear phones more than the pair of QC15s I have. They’re much better for sleeping, have decent sound quality, and run about $100.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Amy said,
Lucky – I hear (see) you talk about your “weekly massage” at TPA and was wondering if that’s because the AIT is primary (or I think you also mentioned at one point that the TSOs have it out for you)? I flew in yesterday but forgot to observe before leaving the secure area at which point you can’t really hang around inconspicuously. I’ll be leaving through Airside A on Thursday and am trying to find out if I can self-select for a WTMD or if I need to start preparing my opt out response.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ Amy — While the AIT isn’t primary, you don’t have a choice. They have a metal detector set up next to the AIT, and they “randomly” choose people to go through it. Can’t guarantee that’s the case at airside A, but it is the case at the other concourses that I frequently fly out of. I think they just have it out for me, which is why I frequently get selected. If you want to avoid the AIT or pat down, just observe when they pull someone in the AIT and hurry up then, as they rarely have people “line up” for it. There are two lines that feed into the same checkpoint, so it’s not too hard to avoid. Good luck!
February 16th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
LHF said,
Lucky,
Is it hard to find 3 F award seats? (Between Europe/Asia)
To my knowledge it is merely impossible to redeem 3 seats together at once.
Many thanks in advance.
February 16th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ LHF — It depends on the airline. With British Airways it can be quite easy. With most other airlines, yes, it’s very difficult.
February 17th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
When you say a flight is ‘all 9s’, i.e. they are willing to sell at least 9 more seats, where do you find that information?
February 17th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — I use ExpertFlyer, or often the airline’s website.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:06 am
Amy said,
Lucky – thanks! Just to report back, I managed to get myself selected and had to opt out, oh well. They were going to have me wait for the person already in the scanner (maybe they were almost done). A thread at FlyerTalk says only A and E have it – is that accurate? If C doesn’t, I can always try my luck flying Southwest.
February 20th, 2011 at 8:51 am
JYA said,
Dear Lucky:
I’m an avid reader of your blog. You do a great job of posting interesting bits!
I’m trying to book a round trip flight from SIN to LAX, got two questions hope you can help:
1. Will I get Star Alliance miles if I book Air India? The flights are operated by SQ.
2. How to book cheaper flights? I’m using major travel search engines, e.g. expedia, orbitz. Most of the flights are over 1500 USD. My trip will take place within a week, so I’m aware of the disadvantage. You’re a frequent traveler, is 1500+ from SIN to LAX normal?
Thank you!
JYA
February 20th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Helixcardinal said,
What do you set as your criteria for a worthy mileage run? I’m mulling an itinerary where I can get 6700+ EQM, 13400+ RDM for $190, about 2.8 cpm EQM and 1.4 cpm RDM. Worth booking?
February 20th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
lucky said,
@ JYA — As far as whether you earn miles or not, it all depends on the airline you’re looking to credit to. Some airlines likely will, while others won’t. As far as the second question goes, I doubt you’ll do much better than that on short notice. That’s not a bad fare with a lot of advance notice, let alone in a week.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Generally I’d say the threshold is 1.76 cents per RDM/3.5 cents per EQM. But there really are a lot of factors that go into determining when a mileage run is worthwhile, in my case. That being said, 2.8 cents per EQM is VERY good.
February 20th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
JYA said,
Lucky: It’s United miles. Do you think flying Air India via SQ operated flights will give me United miles? Thank you very much.
JYA
February 20th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I decided to book that MR and have a follow-up question. I know you’re tremendously successful at getting bumped on your MRs, and I’m hoping to the same on mine. However, in order to maximize my mileage, I have two connections each way, and I had to book the roundtrip as two one-ways. If I take a bump and get rerouted, have you had any issues getting original routing credit and how do I do that? Second, would I be able to reschedule my return one-way if I wanted to take a bump that would cause me to miss my return flights?
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:29 am
AJ said,
Hi Lucky
I am trying to compare USAir DM and BMI Diamond club…
If I were to redeem miles from both programs for identical itinerries which are serviced fully by their partners, would the surcharges be the around same for both programs?
Eg: (SIN-NRT on SQ/NRT-EWR on ANA/EWR-FRA on LH/FRA-EWR/EWR-HKG/HKG-SIN)
I am talking about surcharges, and not airport taxes.
I understand that USAir/UA etc do not charge surcharges on award tickets, but not sure if that is the case for redemption on partners.
Also does surcharge include the fuel-YQ included by alot of carriers, or is that considered tax?
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:30 am
AJ said,
Lucky
Also, for USAir DM, if i am currently at 22k status miles, and I earn 10k qualifying miles from a new flight, I will reach Silver (25k) and have a total of 32k status miles.
For US, there is 25% bonus for USAir and LH metal for silver preferred. Do I get 25% of (32k-25k)? Or is the bonus only applicable for the next flight onwards?
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:53 am
lucky said,
@ JYA — I believe you wouldn’t earn miles. Furthermore, if the booking class is Q, V, G, N, T, or R, keep in mind you don’t earn miles for travel on Singapore through United anyway.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:55 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — As far as original routing credit goes, you’re not supposed to get it, though often Mileage Plus will give it to you anyway. As far as getting rebooked goes, it all comes down to the gate agent and how desperate they are. Could they rebook your other ticket? Sure. Will they want to? Probably not, unless there’s no one else willing to volunteer. Assuming you would arrive within three hours, I would just claim “flat tire rule” on the original ticket, and try to standby for the return. That assumes those flights aren’t all oversold.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:58 am
lucky said,
@ AJ — British Midland charges fuel surcharges for their Star Alliance partners (which is considered a surcharge/fee), while US Airways does not, so there would be a big difference in the taxes. As far as the elite bonus goes, you only start earning it for the first segment after which you reach the new elite tier. The bonus only applies to travel on US Airways, Continental, and Lufthansa.
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Sam said,
Hey Lucky. I want to take a trip to South America on OneWorld this summer using my AA miles and was wondering how one goes about checking for award availability on LAN. Is there anything I can do aside from calling AA?
February 24th, 2011 at 5:07 am
AJ said,
Lucky –
I am planning to redeem some UA DM on *A partners.
Are the following routings valid? Not sure if I give my stops and destination correctly whether it will be considered as shooting thru MPM
HKG-EWR/JFK(stop)-CDG return.
SIN-HKG-EWR/JFK(stop)-CDG return
HKG to Europe is 80k miles and SIN-EUR is 90k if you know what I mean
February 24th, 2011 at 9:23 am
lucky said,
@ AJ — That’s not a legal routing. You can do most of Asia to North America via Europe, but not Asia to Europe via North America.
February 24th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Emil said,
Hi Lucky,
I just booked a sort of mini RTW award on CO (ORD-FRA-ICN ICN-SFO-ORD). I thought flying over the Atlantic and the Pacific wasn’t possible on CO for the regular amount of miles. I’m just curious, is this a recent change in rules?
Best,
February 24th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Frankly all the awards I’ve booked with Continental of that nature have been via Europe both ways, though I don’t believe what you did is necessarily prohibited. Certainly it shouldn’t be too tough to find an agent willing to do that, at the very least. Enjoy your trip!
Any luck with this trip?
MEX-LAX with United arriving at LAX at 7:50 a.m.
LAX – LAS with SouthWest departing at 9:30 a.m.
1hr 40 minutes to do all the changes? Migration, Bags, Change Terminal and then Check in. Do you find any possibility of doing the trip?
February 27th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Should be fine if there’s not a delay, though I think it’s risky since you’re switching carriers. If you misconnect you may very well be hosed.
Just wanted to point out something that I noticed lately. I just got back from a vacation where I haven’t read emails or blog postings for the last 4 days. Since your blog is set up in my RSS feed, I’m able to just scroll through and catch all of your new blog posts since I last checked, which in the case of today is nine posts.
This might sound odd, but your use of the word “insane” and “insanely” is distractingly overused. Do a word search on your blog for those two words so you can see how often you use them. It is quite distracting, and actually disingenuous, to see this term being used with such frequency.
Just an fyi.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:24 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I wouldn’t do it. If you miss your connection between airlines it’ll be tough. And between customs, changing terminals, and rechecking bags, that’s likely.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:25 am
lucky said,
@ scott — Thanks for the feedback, will use “insanely” less.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
rich (arizona) said,
I guess I should first ask, “Do you have Hyatt’s credit card?”. If so is it easy to redeem the two free nights? I’m heading of to London in May and if I can get two free nights there it will save some $$$.
Thanks.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — I don’t yet, simply because of Chase’s “one card every six month” rule. It’s very easy to redeem the free nights, though. As long as a standard room is available, you can use your free night for the stay.
March 2nd, 2011 at 1:34 pm
mike said,
If I get the Delta AMEX card you wrote about and I fly on another airline in a different terminal, will they let me in the Delta terminal in order to use the lounge that day?
Any chance you have a current discount code for the Heathrow Express, the one you listed appears to be dead. Thanks (crzn)
March 5th, 2011 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ mike — The card I was talking about is the American Express Platinum card, which is not associated with Delta. To use a SkyClub, you would actually have to be flying Delta.
March 5th, 2011 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ John — Unfortunately I don’t know of any other codes. Sorry!
March 7th, 2011 at 1:12 am
Ken 747-400 Denver said,
Does UA charge a $7 fee to book online, using a discount certificate on a domestic reservation? I noticed that if you compare making a reserv. online vs. using a disc. cert. making that reserv., there’s a difference in “taxes & fees” around $7. They don’t admit to this, but is it built in? Have you noticed this before? I know they still charge a $25 fee for int’l. reserv.s (using mileage), when assisted with a res. agent.
March 7th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
oleg said,
United reservations question…. have a united star award, with a confirmed O (award first) in LH and NY on UA domestic segment. The agent also placed me on the XF waitlist for the UA segment. Technically waitlisting on Star awards is against UA rules – I have no doubt it makes no difference to UA, but any risk from LH about it?
@ Ken 747-400 Denver — I’ve never noticed that. Sometimes the website has glitches, so maybe that’s what it is. If you call web support, they can likely fix it.
March 7th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
lucky said,
@ oleg — I’ve never heard of that, and don’t believe it to be true.
March 8th, 2011 at 2:25 am
Ken 747-400 Denver said,
Thanks. I did try web support; it took 1 hr. for them to understand my point in India. Try searching SAN to SEA online for reg. reserv. & taxes/fees will come up as $42. As soon as you change it with a disc. cert., taxes/fees goes up to $49. Forgot, to mention that on orbitz.com, taxes/fees on same identical reserv. were only $39. Amazing. Wish there was some way of getting web support agent in Manila when calling them.
Lucky, both of my frequent flyer accounts (AS & US) have my full name (First Middle Last) attached. I was considering signing up for an SPG AmEx card with the aim of transferring the points to miles in either program. However, when I look at the signup page for the SPG program, they only have a space for a middle initial. On the SPG site, it says that names have to be identical for transfers to go through. Is there a way to the program will allow me to input my middle name, or should I change my frequent flyer accounts to my middle initial? The TSA’s Secure Flight section of their web page says middle names/initials shouldn’t cause a problem at acreening, but I’m skeptical & don’t know if I should risk changing my frequent flyer accounts. Would it work if I put my first & middle names in the field for my first name in SPG?
Thanks.
March 10th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Rich said,
Lucky,
How are you using the Internet while in Doha? Free access from the hotel? Somewhere else? Also have you noticed anything being blocked?
March 10th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — I haven’t found SPG to be that strict. I think as long as the name is just about the same, you’re fine. For example, on my Starwood account I have the name “Benjamin,” but on a frequent flyer account that I recently transferred points to I have “Ben,” and it still went through fine. I would say just make the transfer, you’ll be fine.
March 10th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — While the internet is *really* slow, I have been using the free wifi in the hotel (as a Royal Ambassador). I haven’t noticed anything being blocked.
March 16th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Puck said,
I recently got the AMEX platinum card with 51000 bonus points. Should I take advantage of BA 40% transfer bonus or just keep them as mileage reward points for now, Have no trips planned currently. I guess my real question is how often do these bonus tranfer promotions come along? Thanks for your insight and/or opinion.
March 18th, 2011 at 7:26 am
lucky said,
@ Puck — That’s a toughie. Membership Rewards points are incredibly valuable, though a 40% transfer bonus is very lucrative. BA has had transfer bonuses in the past, but more to the tune of 30%. In your shoes, since you don’t have any specific travel plans, I probably wouldn’t make the transfer. You would be losing the flexibility of the points and totally be at the mercy of British Airways and what they choose to do with their award chart.
March 18th, 2011 at 10:45 am
Arun said,
Hi Lucky
Got a question on redeeming *A awards (Asia to US for travel in May) using US dividend miles.
When I use the ANA tool I can see award availability in business class on Turkish and LH. Are all these available seats actually bookable thru the USAirways? Or is it that out of these available award seats shown by the ANA tool, only the “business saver”seats are bookable using miles? If so, any way for finding out how many saver award seats are available?
Thanks in advance
March 18th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — Typically if business class award space shows up on the ANA tool, it should also be bookable through US Airways (at the price published on their Star Alliance award chart)
March 19th, 2011 at 11:46 am
canadian flyer said,
Hi Lucky. Doesn’t seem to be any mention of the 1MM lifetime status program on the AC or Aeroplan sites. Where can I learn more?
March 19th, 2011 at 11:51 am
lucky said,
@ canadian flyer — As far as I can tell, it’s an unpublished benefit and you need to call Air Canada for more details.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:58 am
OG said,
Lucky-
This may of been answered in a post above; ive tried to skim through as much as possible but could not find what i was looking for.
I am planning on using some MP miles this summer for an award trip that leaves out of dulles with a stop over in cdg for 4-5 days then off to Athens and then a return back to dulles. To book an award with a stopover, can it only be done via the MP 800 number? or can it be done online?
Thanks
March 19th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
lucky said,
@ OG — It needs to be done by phone as of now.
March 19th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
U said,
Hi Lucky,
I am trying to go NYC –> San Francisco –> Shanghai –> Taipei –> NYC, and trying to spend time in all places. I guess Shanghai would be my destination since I will be spending the large majority of the time there. My company is purchasing the tickets for me and my family. My questions are (1) Has anyone made a compilation of stopover/open jaw rules for all of the major airlines? and (2) What do you think my chances are of upgrading my family from discounted coach (my company is going to be looking for the best deal) to premium class with my own points? My understanding is that that is very difficult to do – usually you need full fare coach to be upgradable.
Thanks so much and I am an avid reader of your blog!
March 19th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
lucky said,
@ U — Generally it is tough to upgrade with miles off of discounted tickets, at least without some serious co-pays. Would only be able to provide any useful information if you let me know what carrier you were flying and what programs your miles are with.
March 19th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
U said,
We have not booked the tickets yet, so they could be with any combination of carriers, but the majority of my miles are American and SPG. But if all three of us are going to upgrade, we would only have enough miles on AA to get it done. Thanks again.
March 19th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
lucky said,
@ U — The only way to use American miles would be if you flew American metal, and at that point it’s probably not a great deal since you have to pay some hefty fuel surcharges. So I’d say rough it out in coach and save your miles for a future award ticket in a premium cabin, which is usually a much better value.
March 21st, 2011 at 12:56 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Any suggestions as to web sites or tips on getting good hotel rates in London?
I don’t have enough points to use Starwood pts and they didn’t have any hotels convenient to use thePoints and Cash option.
I’ll probably use two free Hyatt nights but still will be in town for another 5 nights. The 8th night I will stay at a hotel close to LGW since my flight is in the morning.
I don’t think I want to try out priceline since I’d rather know my hotel ahead of time, especially for a 5 night stay.
Thanks.
March 21st, 2011 at 2:21 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — The only suggestion I would have is Priceline, which you seem to be opposed to. Given that most hotels have a best rate guarantee nowadays, it’s tough to “game” the system and get a better deal than the hotels are offering directly. Without knowing what time of year you’re traveling, you might be best off making a flexible reservation now and waiting to see if something better opens up closer to departure, as there are often some lucrative sales in the off season, but they’re typically directly through the hotel or chain of hotels.
March 21st, 2011 at 4:52 pm
luvflying11 said,
Lucky,
Do you recommend getting the “Penfed Premium Travel Rewards Amex credit card”? I haven’t seen lot of discussion on it being a good value but I might be wrong. Can you please give me your opinion in which scneario it is good. Currently they are giving 20K bonus after spending $650.
March 21st, 2011 at 5:01 pm
lucky said,
@ luvflying11 — While I’m not overly familiar with the card, based on looking at it, I don’t find it especially interesting. As far as I can tell there’s no way to convert the points directly to miles, but instead you can use it to pay for travel/merchandise. If you want lots of points for travel, I suggest the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card, which gives you three points per dollar spent, that can be converted to dozens of partners, often with a transfer bonus.
March 22nd, 2011 at 9:25 am
Elliot said,
Hey Lucky – Hope all is well.
I know United has recently changed their routing rules and some of the old sites that were great for finding good mileage run opportunities seem to no longer work. How do you today go about looking for good mileage opportunities? For instance, I am traveling DEN-ORD-DEN next month and would love to work in some extra mileage but ua.com won’t let me do multi-city itineraries with same day travel (e.g. ORD-SEA-LAX-DEN same day). What is your go-to site for building and ultimately booking these?
I know you have covered this in the past and so if your answer has not changed, my apology in advance for a duplicate question.
Thanks.
March 22nd, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Elliot — Unfortunately most fares no longer allow connections, especially between hubs. So I think the only way to add segments would be to click ‘search by price’ and see if any reasonable prices comes back under the ‘one stop’ or ‘two stop’ column.
March 24th, 2011 at 10:29 am
U said,
Hey Lucky,
I wanted to know your thoughts on the Asiana AMEX from Bank of America. 2 points for every dollar all the time seems pretty good! What do you think?
March 24th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ U — There’s no doubt it’s a great card, though personally, it’s a bit “specialized” for my liking. There’s little flexibility with the miles, unlike SPG, Membership Rewards, etc. So while the opportunities are good and the earning value is excellent, the fuel surcharges make it somewhat unattractive for me, given the other good cards that are out there.
March 25th, 2011 at 12:03 am
jiangatang said,
Hey Lucky,
Love your blog!
Need your advice on something…
i’m based in LA and I’m planning an award trip to China in late August. Right now I’ve enough miles with UA and AA for round trip tickets in F. My goal is to try out ANA/Asiana and Cathay in F so I am leaning towards splitting my award into 2 one way awards. The problem is availability. At the moment I cant find any ANA/Asiana award space but have found round trip availability on Cathay. However, there is UA F space available. Should I just book the UA F space and hope for the ANA space to pop up later or should I book both legs with Cathay. From your experience, does ANA/Asiana space appear closer to the travel date even during the high summer season? I am a 1k so no change fees.
Thaks for your help!
March 27th, 2011 at 11:59 am
lucky said,
@ jiangatang — In your case I would go with the sure thing, which is Cathay Pacific first class in both directions. ANA and Asiana do release some award space closer to departure, though it’s not nearly as predictable as on other airlines. And I wouldn’t risk flying United first when you could be flying Cathay Pacific first class.
March 27th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
I have a queetion about US Airways buy miles get double miles promo. Do I have to download the toolbar and have to buy an item from them too?
Is it easy process?
Thanks.
March 28th, 2011 at 12:32 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — For the extra 25% bonus you just have to install the toolbar and do three searches. No need to buy anything. It’s quite easy.
March 29th, 2011 at 9:36 am
mone said,
Hi lucky,
I want to take my kids to Asia, 2 adults and 2 children (10 and 5yo) during the holidays 2011.
I’ve been in Thai (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pucket and Ko Phi Phi), Singapore and Japan.
Haven’t decided where to go with them. Was thinking about Ho Chi Min, cruise to Saigon and Bangkok. Any suggestions?
Have enough miles for business tkts(800K+) (half CO and half AMEX).
EWR is the starting point. I thought about flying SQ but they require 270K each Business ticket (!!), while in another company 135k will do it. Which airline would you recommend …. comfortable seats and better mileage rate exchange ?
Thanks,
mone
March 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
lucky said,
@ mone — I would consider visiting Hong Kong, maybe. As far as which airline to go with, it really depends on availability. Generally speaking, Aeroplan is the best value, charging only 100,000 miles roundtrip in business class for awards to Asia “zone one.”
March 30th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Emil said,
Hello Lucky,
I have a trip to Korea with a return ICN-SFO-ORD with Continental, and I already have a stopover in my itinerary. I have been trying to add an overnight stay at SFO of less than 24 hours.
I’ve looked all over CO’s website for a clarification on whether this is considered a stopover and I have not found one. I have spoken with 2 different agents so far and they both seemed to think that an overnight stop of less than 24 hours would still be considered a stopover. Is this true in your experience? Should I keep calling until someone acquiesces?
Thanks!
March 31st, 2011 at 11:51 am
A. S. said,
Hello, Lucky,
You seem to know Aeroplan pretty well, so here goes:
I’m looking to diversify — having nice chunks of miles across a plethora of programs — and Aeroplan keeps popping up on blogs like yours. Before pulling the trigger, though:
1) Do you know if they occasionally offer signup bonuses? If so, I can wait, because I’m in no rush. Despite the fact that such bonuses are usually tiny, bmi has been known to sweeten the pot, so that’s really the sort of deal I’m asking about.
2) I maintain two residences, US and abroad. Do you know of any advantages for using one over the other?
3) Any general tips for an Aeroplan newbie (who is otherwise a frequent flyer expert) are much appreciated…
Thanks, Lucky!
– A. S.
PS: If you need any AA EXP tips, fire away…been there for many years running now — awesome perks and treatment; I think you’ll like it. The airline itself (i.e., hard/soft product)…not so much.
March 31st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Hang up and call again. Since it’s an international itinerary, you can have another stopover of less than 24 hours.
March 31st, 2011 at 4:06 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — I’ve never seen them offer a sign up bonus and don’t know of any location specific benefits, so I’ll say that it doesn’t matter. Not so familiar with Aeroplan from an earning standpoint, though from a redemption standpoint they’re fantastic. You can’t beat US to Asia via Europe for only 120,000 miles, with two stopovers.
March 31st, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Mantini said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m sitting on ~80K UA miles, and I’d like to use them for a trip to Europe this fall (late Oct/early Nov). I’ll be spending about 4 days in London and 4 days in Amsterdam.
I’d love to book LH business SEA-FRA-LHR, and return LH economy AMS-FRA-SEA, which I know is doable with my miles if I’m flexible on dates and call United.
My question – is there a way to include the LON-AMS segment without bumping up the mileage needed? Star Alliance doesn’t fly the route, so it’d mean a time-wasting connection somewhere, which I realize probably isn’t worth it since I could get a direct LON-AMS for pretty cheap. I’m just curious if it would even possible using creative stopovers (I’m unclear on UA’s policy in that regard). Thanks.
March 31st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Emil said,
Thanks for the advice, Lucky!
In case anyone else is interested in the same question: I called again and a very helpful agent explained that the formal rule is that it won’t count as a stopover if it is less than 4 hours or if there is no outbound flight on that day. But then he added that the CO system will usually price any itinerary where the stopover is shorter than 24 hours, so that’s a loophole that can be exploited.
March 31st, 2011 at 6:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Mantini — If you book economy one way and business class the other way, the award will essentially be two one way awards, at least as far as I know. That means the award would not allow a stopover. If it were booked as a roundtrip you could add it though, assuming it’s within the MPM, even if there’s a connection. Hope that helps.
April 4th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
JRL said,
When will UA’s VDB compensation certificates be accepted for use on Continental flights. Have you heard anything?
JRL
April 4th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They haven’t announced it yet, though I would expect this to be possible by June or so. Just my guess…
April 6th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Since you seem to do a lot of complicated award trips I’m wondering how hard it is to coordinate two award tickets from different FF Accounts.
Specifically I’m wondering about British Air and AA. If I have 100K+ on both but not enough in either account for two tickets, how difficult is it to get two award tickets on the same flights (assuming the itinerary is reasonably straightforward)?
(Obviously I’m asking about this because of the 100K BA CC offer that is now available.)
Thanks.
April 6th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
gkeller said,
you said: “Every time I book a ticket, in the back of my mind is which flight has the best chance of being bumped,”
Do you recommend other business travelers try this?
Is your work that inconsequential that it doesn’t matter when you arrive?
April 6th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — It’s quite easy. The award inventory for both airlines comes out of the same award bucket, and American allows holds, so you can always find a flight that has two award seats, hold the ticket through American, book the other ticket through British, and then ticket the reservation the first reservation through American.
April 6th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
lucky said,
@ gkeller — Travel IS my “work.” If you’re traveling for business you probably won’t want to do it if you have an important meeting, though if you’re arriving way early, you can always go for it.
April 6th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Hope all is well.
I have booked HKG/BKK TG-F. Would I be able to use the UA int’l F lounge@HKG,do I have o show my *G card as well?
Thanks.
April 6th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Yes you can, and no need for the card.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
steve10011 said,
Lucky –
I anticipate that a lot of people will be jumping on BA’s current Visa offering, me included. I’m planning on visiting NZ at the end of the year, and was wondering how feasible it was to use these BA miles on Air New Zealand (maybe even biz class). Am I counting my chickens, or is this doable?
Thanks!
April 7th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
lucky said,
@ steve10011 — That’s a very, very tough award, especially when not booking 11 months out. The only economical option would be to use the British Airways miles for Qantas, and unfortunately they don’t have very much availability left for the end of the year.
April 7th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
John said,
How do I check award availability on Cathay online? Can’t seem to do it on AA site. Cathay website won’t let you do it without joining their ff program and logging on.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
lucky said,
@ John — I suggest signing up for a British Airways account and searching through their tool.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Carlos said,
Hey Ben,
I have a q. about the 100k offer from Chase you blogged about. I read that to redeem a U.S.A. – MAD flight on AA, using the British Airway miles from the offer, there would be a tax/fuel fee of over $400… I just redeemed using AA miles to MAD for this Summer, and will be paying around $60 in total fees with AA.
Is there going to be a higher fee for redeeming the British Airway miles for the same route?
April 7th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Carlos — I haven’t noticed British Airways imposing fuel surcharges for travel on American, though I might be wrong. While it likely will be a bit more expensive (they’re creative with the taxes they pass on), I don’t believe there will be fuel surcharges.
April 7th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Sco said,
Hi Lucky!
I have 42k miles with bmi that I’m looking to burn before they switch to the LH program. I’ve never redeemed with BD before, so I’m trying to make sure I get the most out of them.
From my understanding, these are some of the details of the BD policy:
- one-way awards are allowed for half the round-trip miles
- one free stopover is permitted on each one-way ticket (so, two stopovers on a round trip)
- they charge the YQs from other airlines on their award tickets
Do I have that right? Is there anything else that is helpful to know?
I think US doesn’t have YQs…are there any other *A members with no or very small YQs?
Thanks!
April 7th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Sco — You’re right on all counts. They also allow cash and points awards, should you be interested in a roundtrip business class award ticket to Europe. One other thing to keep in mind is that fuel surcharges on Air New Zealand between Los Angeles and London are often low, assuming you continue on another Star Alliance flight within Europe.
April 8th, 2011 at 12:06 am
luvflying11 said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a BA companion certificate. It has to be used with the BA metal. I don’t want to go through London since the fees are so high specially going through London.
What are your recommendation using the Companion Certificate w/o going through London. Is there any possibility to goto other Continents using the certificate?
April 8th, 2011 at 11:53 am
oleg said,
@luvflying BA’s hubs are LHR and LGW – so you would find a very hard time finding routes without transiting UK (AFAIK GRU-EZE is the only route that doesn’t terminate in one of the hubs). Moreover, bulk ofthe extra fees are YQ, which you’d pay no matter which BA route you took.
Hi, if I book an award flight for example with Aeromexico for 10:00 p.m. but I’ll like to take the earlier flight… they will just change me or do I need to pay? I saw in your TR that they just offered you the earlier flight.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
lucky said,
@ luvflying11 — As @oleg mentioned, there’s no way to avoid London using a companion certificate. Keep in mind, however, that the premium departure tax for London, which is about $200 per person for longhaul flights, only applies if you’re spending more than 24 hours in London. If you’re not, you don’t pay that, and you’re just stuck with the high fuel surcharges.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Typically your ticket would need to be reissued, so no, you couldn’t just make the change. Then again, agents at the airport have a lot of discretion if you’re nice enough and they’re nice enough.
April 8th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
DB said,
Lucky, I have a question about airline credit cards. Are you ever concerned that collecting too many simply for the perks might adversely affect your credit score? I’m right now on the fence about applying for two (each has a 50,000 mileage bonus – one, immediately, the other, after you spend $250). Do you think that applying for one right after the other will harm my credit score? Thanks in advance!
April 8th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
lucky said,
@ DB — I’m no credit expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt. To answer your question, though, no, I’m not really worried. When you apply for a credit card your credit score takes a hit of (literally) a couple of points for the inquiry, but that’s about it. I apply for a lot of cards but still have excellent credit. Make your payments on time and don’t overdue it, and you’ll be fine.
April 8th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
oleg said,
Lucky,
A question to draw on your award booking experience. I’m finding LX availability but only M&M. Do you know when they typically release that to starnet? (e.g. perhaps some general x days/weeks before departure if they haven’t been taken, or something else semi-predictable)
Thanks!
April 8th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
lucky said,
@ oleg — I don’t find there to be much of a correlation. In my experience, often some space is released to everyone, while other space is only released to Lufthansa/Swiss, and it stays that way. So frankly I find it kind of pointless to check Lufthansa availability, as there’s not much of a correlation between their space and the space they actually open up to partners.
April 9th, 2011 at 2:01 am
AA said,
Lucky
Got a valuation question for you.
How would you value Krisflyer miles against SPG points and HHonors points. I am looking for a trade later in FT (know it is against the rules, but I have few hotel points).
April 9th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Oscar said,
Hi I know this is asking for too much but because I don’t have an ExpertFlyer account I was wondering if you could check the flight and how many seats are left for 4 flights April 19th AM 481, April 27th Am 481 and 491
April 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am
lucky said,
@ AA — That’s a toughie, I’m no expert on KrisFlyer miles. I would say that SPG points are worth about 50% more than KrisFlyer miles, while KrisFlyer miles are worth double as much as Hilton points. Just my non-expert opinion, though.
April 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — There’s no way to tell based on ExpertFlyer how many seats are left, unfortunately.
April 9th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Oscar said,
WaIt. But there is a program hat tells u how many seats are available…
April 9th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Laurie said,
Hi Lucky – fellow Gator! I’ve recently started a small business, and I’m importing from bali and Thailand, as well as having some designs made there. Still on a shoestring. Here’s my question: I need another buying trip, but would also like to stop and see my son in Fiji. What would be your best advice in terms of maximizing a mileage award so that I can include a stop in Fiji and do Bali and BKK. I’ve gone into and out of BKK, and used a cheapie Air Asia connect BKK-Bali-BKK, and know I can also do a cheap rt connector thru Kuala Lampur. (Currently have more than enough for Bus Cl on DL or partner) (and returning on DL gives me a huge boost in baggage allowance to save on shipping). Where would you look and how would you start? Or am I simply dreaming here? Thanks -
April 9th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Laurie — Unfortunately there’s not really a way to add a stopover in Fiji on your way to Bangkok and Bali. For one, most airlines allow just a single stopover, though there are some exceptions. Most importantly, though, there’s not really an airline in an alliance that flies to Fiji and could then get you to Bali and Bangkok. Assuming you’re trying to use Delta miles, they don’t allow you to mix non-alliance and alliance airlines, so that makes it even tougher. So unfortunately in this case, there’s not really a way to do that. Sorry!
April 11th, 2011 at 11:33 am
A. S. said,
Lucky,
Do you know if UA allows one-way redemptions on EK? I could have sworn that I read somewhere that somebody successfully did this, but the UA agent told me “no” earlier today. I want to know if it’s a case of “hang up and call back” or not.
– A. S.
April 11th, 2011 at 11:34 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — They do not. Roundtrip awards only.
April 11th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
glu800 said,
Hi Lucky,
What do you think of the new Lufthansa Miles & More Premier World Mastercard with 50K bonus? I believe its 20K after your first purchase and 30K more after spending $2500 within 3 months. Are the miles worth the $79 annual fee (not waived) plus surcharges that LH tacks on to award flights? Do they add the surcharge for partner flights on UA/CO/SQ/OZ/TG/etc… and are they steep?
Thanks,
- glu800
April 11th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, I know you can request miles for an original itinerary in case of operational changes and voluntary bumps but can you get original itinerary miles when you choose to go stand-by on a non-stop flight rather than the connecting flight?
April 11th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
lucky said,
@ glu800 — They do charge fuel surcharges. So while redeeming miles with them isn’t cheap, 50,000 miles for a sign-up bonus isn’t bad either. If you’ve taken advantage of most of the other “good” credit card deals out there, I’d say go for this one.
April 11th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — You’re not supposed to. That’s not to say you can’t request it, because you certainly can, and I’m sure some agents would still credit the original miles. I suppose it’s all a function of how you phrase it.
April 11th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
Have you had any experience booking travel to Cuba? Will any US based FF programs issue awards down there traveling via Canada or Mexico? I understand the legalities for US Citizens, but how could an airline know what flavor passport(s) its members hold?
JRL
*, ST and OW fly there from outside our border.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:39 am
Jess said,
I just discovered this whole world thanks to the NYT article and I’m fascinated. I qualified for Silver Elite on Continental last year by the skin of my teeth, basically by doing a MR on the domestic part of a trip to London to see my BF on US Air (uuuugh) going LGA-BOS-CLT-LGW-CLT-DCA-LGA instead of a direct NYC-LON that was priced about the same in order to get miles. I didn’t know what a mileage run was but it made sense to me to try to lock in the status. I then did a EWR-CLT-TPA-CLT-EWR run at the very end of the year, with the excuse to visit my grandparents, to make up the 500 miles I was lacking.
Anyway, I’m addicted and I’m trying to figure out how to maximize mileage on future NYC-LON trips, as well as NYC-SAN/LAX and NYC-TPA/SRQ trips. I’d definitely like to maintain status on Continental and possibly try to get to Gold if I can swing it. I’m willing to fly whatever Star Alliance carrier that gets me the most miles, although avoiding US Air would be nice, and I have only flown first once, domestically, after a bump so I’ve not yet been jaded/spoiled by premium cabins (although I’d love to find out what’s that like!) The only routing I can find for extra miles that doesn’t cost significantly more is flying around the east coast first on US Air before flying the transatlantic out of Charlotte or flying Lufthansa/Continental to Germany and then doubling back to London. Any ideas how to find better, more creative routings for more miles?
April 12th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — Unfortunately I have no experience with travel to Cuba. I don’t know for sure one way or another and can’t find a link right now, but I remember reading that US frequent flyer programs won’t allow you to use their miles to travel between the US and Cuba. I might be wrong, though.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — Welcome! Generally speaking the airlines have clamped down on routing rules quite a bit over the past few years. In the past it was easy to backtrack via Washington and then Chicago on the way to Europe, though unfortunately that’s not possible anymore. So you’re probably best off taking extra trips. That being said, if you’re as serious about the hobby as you seem to be, I suggest taking a bit of a big picture approach. If you apply for credit cards just for the sign up bonuses you can earn several hundred thousand redeemable miles per year. While that doesn’t help you earn status generally, it’s a great way to make this hobby truly rewarding, and probably in turn cause you to do more revenue flying.
April 12th, 2011 at 11:42 am
JRL said,
In your recent Travelsort blog you wrote, Re: Delta non-partner redemptions:
-Other than Delta, may only use 1 non-alliance partner for an award
-Cheaper redemptions for Jet Airways flights to Europe (Brussels) although need to call Delta, can’t book online
I am confused by your wording and have two questions.
1. Are you saying, other than Delta you cannot incorporate an alliance and a non-alliance in an award, or that you cannot incorporate two non-alliance partners for an award?
For example JFK-BRU on Jet Airways continuing on from BRU-CDG on Air France? (If not, what if it’s a “Delta codeshare”?)
2. What do you mean by “cheaper redemptions”? Better than the almost impossible to find “low” levels on DL @ 100,000 miles?
April 12th, 2011 at 11:52 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — Sadly you can’t combine any partners with a Jet award, be they SkyTeam partners or other airline partners. So in that scenario you couldn’t combine a segment to Paris. By cheaper redemptions I just mean it would actually be a “low” level redemption, which as you know is near impossible for a DL metal award.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Despina said,
Is it true that United allows you to make changes to award tickets once travel has commenced? I have read stuff that indicates it is true, but only on blogs or FT. I can’t find anything at UAL.com that supports that statement and I’m certainly not going to take a CSR’s word for it.
For instance, outbound on LH took place on April 1 and return is scheduled on LH on May 1st. UA miles were used. Can I change my return to June 1st? Are there any restrictions? Do flight numbers have to stay the same? Does routing or carriers need to stay the same or could I switch return to let’s say UA and Aegean?
Thanks!
April 12th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
rich (arizona) said,
FYI,
You might want to consider using a more obvious link to your consulting/award service. I was looking to bookmark it in case I need it in the future and it took longer than it should to find it.
Maybe a link above the poll area or possible next to the title of blog. Somewhere that anyone who reads any of your posts can easily find and click on it. A marketing major should know this
April 12th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Funny you should mention that, because there’s an update to the blog format coming in the next few hours, largely for that exact reason. So very funny timing, but I appreciate the feedback.
April 12th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — United hasn’t been doing a very good job keeping the website updated regarding recent changes in award rules. My understanding (or at least experience) is that if you have a simple roundtrip award (or at least an award NOT involving a stopover), you can make any sort of a change after departure. Unlike at American, not all awards at United are actually ticketed as one way awards, though you should be able to find an agent willing to do that if you have a simple roundtrip on one record.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Nikki said,
Hi Ben -
In your post on for the ANA and Virgin partner you said:
For example, they charge 68,000 miles for awards under 9,000 miles roundtrip, so recently when traveling to London on Virgin Atlantic I flew from San Francisco to London to New York, which is 8,819 miles, just under 200 miles short of the maximum of 9,000 miles for an award of that price.
This is 160k for upper class. Am I wrong, or do you have another way?
Also, with SPG I can transfer up to 95k in miles to ANA, anyways to transfer more miles to ANA?
April 13th, 2011 at 4:26 am
lucky said,
@ Nikki — I’m not quite sure where you’re getting that number from. The chart is based on the roundtrip distance, so when you look at the 7,001-9,000 mile category, you’ll see 68,000 miles as the business class number (which is what Upper Class is). While there’s a daily transfer limit for SPG to ANA conversions, there’s no actual maximum, so over a few days you should be able to transfer more points than that.
I’m trying to decide whether to go for elite status on Delta or United. I’m going to be doing SFO-JFK about once a month. I’m based in SFO. Thoughts?
April 13th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Dale — That’s a toughie. I think it really depends on what status level you can achieve. Being based in SFO the obvious answer in theory is United, though in practice not necessarily if you’re flying to New York. United’s Premium Service flights are excluded from unlimited domestic upgrades, so you would have to use miles or upgrade instruments to upgrade those. For a regular flyer, that might not be the best option. on Delta you are eligible for unlimited domestic upgrades, and you would probably clear with some regularity if you’re at least a Platinum member. At the very least you could secure an exit row and have wifi and TV aboard.
I think it’s also worth considering American, actually. They offer a product competitive with United’s, though have the advantage of offering unlimited domestic upgrades, even on that route, to their top tier flyers. So I think it depends if you have any other travel planned beyond the trips to New York, that would help get you to top tier.
April 15th, 2011 at 12:43 am
Tony said,
Hey Lucky-
I have a similar question to Dale. I am a 1P and 75% of my flying is SFO-JFK (based in SFO). With Delta I would be at the Gold level although with rollover MQMs I might hit Platinum. I’ve been seriously thinking about switching to Delta for the following reasons:
1) Chance at upgrades – while I’m sure it’s competitive on trans-cons, at least my chance will be higher than zero.
2) Upgrades on award tickets (I usually redeem my miles for last-minute domestic travel)
3) Free standby and SDC. Removing free standby on United was a big negative for me personally.
Thoughts? I’ve held onto United because I find their miles to be particularly valuable for last-minute domestic redemptions, even during busy periods (at the saver level). With my travel patterns I need to be able to fly domestically last-minute with miles. I know Skymiles is horrible for intl travel, but haven’t heard much about their domestic availability. That’s the one thing keeping me from switching at the moment.
Thanks in advance. Big big fan of the blog!
April 15th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Justin said,
Since you are making this your “day – job” you should consider buying a template and use it, or create your own “professional looking” website. The new layout just doesn’t look that great. You don’t have to respond to this. Just sayin (e.g. http://bit.ly/TD10u)
April 15th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Steven Goldfarb said,
Hi Ben, I’m the father of someone who works with your brother and have a question he said you might have an answer for. I need to get miles into my daughters American Airlines account, but all I have are American Express miles, any ideas?
April 16th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Tony — That’s a real toughie. You’re basically looking at trading off a reasonable shot at saver award tickets for a reasonable shot at upgrades. Yes, it sucks to fly United and not be able to upgrade on PS flights, but frankly, I think you’ll be sorely disappointed at Delta’s last minute “low” level saver award space. So I guess you really have to ask yourself which you value more. If I were in your shoes I would probably stick with United but connect in Chicago or Denver and hope for an upgrade.
April 16th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the feedback. I’m still working on tweaking a few things with the current layout to make it a bit better, though sadly I’m not much of a tech guy. Appreciate the feedback and will definitely consider it when all is said and done. That being said, hopefully the blog is more about content than a snazzy design.
April 16th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — Thanks for the question! There’s no direct way to transfer American Express points to American Airlines, though I think the biggest question is, what are you trying to accomplish? There might be a roundabout way of accomplishing it, so the more details you can give me, the more likely I’ll be able to help.
April 16th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
rich (arizona) said,
I think you really need to add back the date/time stamp on the messages. Without the date it is hard to tell how recent and useful the messages are.
April 16th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — I hadn’t noticed that was missing; you’re absolutely right. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll ask them to add it back.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Sand Chez said,
Lucky – I’m flying round trip on AA, ORD-MIA-POS in First/Business class cabin on all segments. I’m trying to understand why AA doesn’t grant Admirals Club access to premium ticket holders for travel from USA to POS? (Their stated policy is “International is defined as Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Mexico City. Destinations in Canada and other destinations in Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean are not considered International for the purposes of lounge access.”) Travel to POS from MIA is a longer flight (miles and duration) than from MIA to any AA destinations in Central America and Venezuela. Do you have any thoughts on why AA maintains this policy? thnks
April 16th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Sand Chez — Have you confirmed with American that you wouldn’t be entitled to lounge access? Are you sure that for the purposes of lounge access, POS isn’t considered South America?
April 17th, 2011 at 8:35 am
Sand Chez said,
Earlier I sent an email to AA to see what they have to say — waiting on reply. I’ve also spent a little fruitless time searching online discussions to see what others have had to say about this. My trip is still several weeks away — maybe AA DOES consider POS remote enough that travelers enjoy the normal perks. Thanks for considering my question. (I really appreciate the info you offer on your site.)
April 17th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
As always, thanks for your generous help.
I’m trying to book a mini-rtw in F before the rates go up. I’m basically looking for SFO-GVA-NRT-SFO. But for MPM purposes (and Thai F lounge!) I think I need BKK in there.
What confuses me is the difference in MPM between TPAC, TATL and routings. I’ve read your posts about using published LH fares for North America to Asia via Europe, I think you wrote LAX to HKG could be over 14000 miles.
My question is can my itinerary work basing MPM on published routing miles + 5% for any routing, or only the published routing? And
can total trip be based on 2x that mileage?
If I can’t figure this out myself, I may need to hire you and help you along your new post-college career!
Thanks very much.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
AA said,
Hey Lucky
Any free/paid tools that will email me alerts when F/C award seats open up on LH? I have a C seat booked, but want to see if an F seat will open up on the same flight.
April 17th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — The Atlantic MPM between San Francisco and Tokyo is 14,882 miles. Aeroplan lets you go 5% over that, so you’re allowed 15,626 miles in each direction. When you crunch the numbers, you can probably see that this lets you easily include Geneva, Bangkok, and Tokyo on the same award. Just as an example, San Francisco to Chicago to Munich to Geneva to Frankfurt to Bangkok to Tokyo is 15,453 miles, just within the MPM plus 5%. So you have a lot to work with there!
April 17th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ AA — Unfortunately I can’t think of a tool that will automatically monitor LH award space for you. Sorry!
April 18th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Dan said,
Thanks Lucky you’re a great help.
Good luck on your endeavours.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
Need your proffesional opinion. We are on CX F HKG to SFO connecting to AA in June. AA just changed the schedule, leaving us with a 45 min connection. We will not be checking bags. Options are leave it as is and hope the flight gets in early. Or confirm us on a much later flight, going through DFW that would get us in 6+ hours later. They already tried routing us through LAX or YVR with no luck. What would you do? Will they automatically change this as the connection is not legal?
April 19th, 2011 at 8:08 am
Allison said,
Hi, I am a rookie and applied for 4 credit cards last Fri/Sat — Delta Gold Amex, Citi AA mastercard, Continental OnePlus, and United Chase. I got approved for both delta and citi AA mastercard, but I am still waiting for the 2 chase cards. I’ve read in some forums that you should apply for the cards on/about same day…but is there an exception for chase cards? I really want the continental oneplus! I haven’t received anything yet and I called this morning to check on my application status and they transferred me to the fraud prevention dept?? Please help!
April 19th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Adam said,
Mr. Lucky,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and I have a burning question.
How do you afford to travel so much? Is it mostly by credit card churning, promotions, mile runs, etc?
Or do you also spend quite a bit of money to be able to travel a lot?
Also what about hotels, do you find ways to stay frugally, or do you usually just pay for your stays?
Thanks!
April 19th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — You’re going to want to change that. If you misconnect chances are there won’t be any premium cabin award seats left on the later flight, let alone seats in the award “bucket.” I would be surprised if they don’t pester you and constantly call you till departure if you don’t make the change, though.
April 19th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Allison — Chase used to have a “one card every six months” rule, though that doesn’t seem to be strictly enforced anymore. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn you down for the second card, just because it’s two cards in a day. It’s no biggie if you get turned down, we all get approved for some and denied for others, it’s the way the game works.
April 19th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — It’s a combination of everything. I take advantage of all the promotions out there and also pay for a ton of travel, though when I pay it’s usually only if I can get a “deal.” Rarely do I pay full price for a luxury travel product, though I still get to enjoy them by taking advantage of every promotion out there.
April 19th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
BJ said,
Hi Lucky,
When booking hotel rooms through the Amex Platinum FHR website, can we still earn hotel points?
And do we have to use the Amex platinum card for payment during the check-out or can we use a different card? (e.g., SPG card to get more starpoints at Starwood properties)
Thank you in advance!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
lucky said,
@ BJ — It depends on the brand, but usually you do. The only requirement is that you pay with an American Express card. It doesn’t have to be the Platinum card, though.
April 20th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Kim said,
Lucky,
A friend who works for Delta has offered me two friends and family vouchers good for FC seats (based on availability)anywhere DL flies. She can look at booking numbers and guide me to best bets. Cost to me is 10% of highest coach fare and taxes. I want to use the vouchers to fly my dad to Scotland. Maybe BOS to LHR and then take the train to Edinburgh. Not sure I can use code share flights. My dad is 90, in good health but I want to keep this easy. Any suggestions?
April 21st, 2011 at 2:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — The challenge with a “buddy pass” is that it’s always on a standby basis, meaning it can be the best thing ever (where you get on the exact flight you want in business class), or not so great, when you never get on the flight you want. Delta flights to Scotland, and I’d guess that he actually has a better chance at getting on a Delta flight directly to Scotland as opposed to a flight to London. I don’t believe you can use those on codeshare flights.
Either way, given your father’s age, I’m not sure I would do it unless the flight looked wide open. It’s always a huge gamble as to whether or not there’s space on a flight.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Oscar said,
I have 2 options to take to Vegas:
1. With Ua fly to LAX at 6:00 am be in LA for 5 hours and then go to LAS arriving at 1:50 pm. The return flight leaves at 2:45 pm And I’ll have one hour to connect in LAX.
2. With US fly to PHX at 7:15 am, the connection is 1 hr 45 min and then go to LAs arriving at 11:40 am. The return flight leaves at 4:40 pm and will have 1hr 15 min in PHX, but same plane.
Option 2 is better but it costs 90 usd more and we are 2. Should I save 180, and if I did what could I do in LAX for 5 hours
April 21st, 2011 at 9:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I really don’t think I’m qualified to make that call. I think whether or not you should save the $180 or a few hours of your time is your call, depending on what you value your time at. I would go with United, but that’s because I would be working in the Red Carpet Club during my layover, so it really wouldn’t “cost” me anything. If you have a long layover at LAX you could always take The Parking Spot shuttle and do so plane spotting from In-N-Out, if that floats your boat.
April 25th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky,
You often mention how Tampa is a particularly good origin for MRing. What makes it good? What general qualities make a good MR home base?
My home base is SBA, which is nice because I always get an easy 500 UAL EQM each way flying 87 miles to LAX (or slightly farther to SFO). Hit me up if you’re ever in town, I’ll be happy to show you around.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — A good airport for mileage runs would be one first and foremost on a coast, allowing easy connections up and down the coast to accrue extra miles. In that category SBA is perfect. However, the even bigger requirement is that there’s lots of competition, especially among low cost carriers. That’s where Tampa rocks, since we have just about every low cost carrier. The other key is that it’s a primarily leisure destination, which helps keep the fares down, even between big cities.
April 25th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Liz said,
Hi, I’ve got a question for you about Continental’s upgrade policy. Their website says, “OnePass Elite members purchasing certain full-fare tickets on eligible Continental flights can get an instant upgrade at the time of booking and will be shown on the “Customers Upgraded” list. For all other types of tickets, Continental has an Elite Upgrade Automation (EUA) system that will automatically upgrade Platinum, Gold and Silver Elite members in advance up to three hours before departure (depending on availability).”
Do you know what fare class you need to be in? And, does this ever apply to international flights?
I was also wondering, if you request to upgrade when you get to the airport, or even at the gate if first class isn’t full, does it ever cost less and/or fewer miles, especially if coach is extremely full? (Hope springs eternal, lol.)
Thanks for the help!
April 25th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
JRL said,
I have a question about the use of United’s VDB Travel Exchange Coupons which must either be mailed in or processed in person at the airport.
If you tell the agent that you’re mailing the coupons United puts the reservation on hold for 10 days. If you tell the agent that you’re going to exchange the coupons at the airport United puts the reservation on hold for 3 days.
Here is my question: Will I be able to ticket a reservation that has been on hold for 10 days in person at the airport?
April 25th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Liz — You would need to purchase a Y or B fare if you’re a Gold or Silver, or a Y, B, or M fare if you’re a Platinum. Continental will often offer buy ups to first class ahead of upgrades, though the price doesn’t typically get any cheaper, both in terms of money and miles.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Technically you’re not supposed to be allowed to, though in practice I’ve found most agents willing to do it. So it’s very much a case of “your mileage may vary.”
April 26th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
mitch said,
Lucky, where would your preference be between American’s offer of 30 miles per dollar spent on flowers or delta’s 40 miles per dollar. If i will be spending the money on flowers anyway, where is the bigger bang for the buck?
April 26th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
lucky said,
@ mitch — In my opinion, 30 AA miles >> 40 DL miles.
April 27th, 2011 at 12:38 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
Mazel tov on your recent match to AA EXP! As a Chairman Preferred member for several years I’m sincerely considering abandoning US Airways all together after a recent prickly cactus experience.
My question is about matching to UA 1K through their challenge (perhaps from DL Plat). I’ve read lots of conflicting information online about the process, results and requirements. Some are reporting a $999 fee?!
Is the instant 90 day status probationary in it’s offerings (upgrades, bonuses, instruments) or is it “instant hot”
I know it would make sense to wait until after June 1st so that an earned challenged status will be valid through 2/13. Any advice or strategy you’d like to share?
April 27th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Andy Bluebear said,
Does anybody know what lounges MEA passengers have access to in LHR? MEA signed a partnership agreement with Sky Team a few months ago, but I’m not sure what lounge it’s members would have access to at Heathrow.
April 27th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Kim said,
Does anybody have access to travel net to check loads on DL? I’m rolling the dice using S4 passes and my DL friend does not have much exp assessing options. Any DL folks out there?
April 27th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I believe the “free” version of the United challenge requires you to have either American Executive Platinum or Delta Diamond status. If you have one of those, I believe United will give you instant 1K status including unlimited domestic upgrades, though no confirmed regional upgrades or systemwide upgrades. So unfortunately in your case I don’t think there would be any way to make that match.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:41 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Do you think US Airways will offer buy and double miles promo again?
Thanksfor the help!
April 28th, 2011 at 10:24 am
Bill said,
Lucky,
If I’m starting from scratch, what is the best program to go with if I have the goal of a US-Frankfurt First Class ticket on Lufthansa. Also, considering any current promotions/credit card bonuses. I’m based in DFW.
Thanks!
April 28th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — I have no clue, sorry.
April 28th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Bill — It’s very much a function of how you plan on accruing miles on that program — through flying, buying miles directly from them, credit card sign up bonuses, mileage offers through their shopping mall, etc?
April 28th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Bill said,
I would probably collect most of them through non-flying measures as I fly about 25,000 miles per year. I was thinking along the lines of who has the best redemption charts. My guess is I should be looking at US Airways or maybe SPG card.
April 29th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Bob M said,
I’m just a year in to this hobby, but have learned an incredible amount in a short period from you, Lucky, and others like the Frugal Travel Guy. I’m still looking for an expert’s opinion on which single airline program I should favor for each of the three major alliances.
Overall, I almost always try to stick with Star Alliance right now for my Cont Onepass, as I try to build that mileage total up high enough to get a free int’l biz class ticket between Brazil and the US (I live in Sao Paulo). Once I can use deplete that Onepass account, it seems I should definitely switch my Star Alliance focus to Air Canada’s Aeroplan, right?
I don’t really fly Skyteam airlines much because I try to stay away from Delta and it’s unpopular “skypesos.” Not sure which mileage program in skyteam is the friendliest.
And with Oneworld, I have an AAdvantage account now with very few miles. Should this be my favored program for Oneworld, or is there another that offers better value?
Like most, I figure the “value” I’m looking for in a mileage program is its award availability for alliance carriers, low or no fees on award tickets, and preferably a no-expiration policy for miles, or policy that allows you to keep miles alive with semi-regular activity.
Any advice you can offer is much appreciated.
April 30th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
I just booked a flight LAX-TLV-LAX non-stop on El-Al for myself, spouse, 2 kids and a baby. The main consideration was convenience, but now I’m trying to figure out what I can do to get the most earning value out of it. We’re based in the U.S. (Los Angeles area).
El-Al’s Matmid is probably not the best. It costs $25 to join, and we only get 130 points for the round trip (I think our fare class is T, not 100% sure). There’s not much you can do with that, and it’s unclear whether we’ll fly El-Al again any time soon.
AAdvantage is an obvious candidate, but you only get 50% of the miles — that would be about 7500.
Qantas Frequent Flyer and SAA Voyager earn 100% points/miles, but are they useful for people based in the U.S.? I assume to get something out of these programs we’d need to earn more than just this flight. That’s unlikely for SAA, since we all have substantial balances in other Star Alliance programs.
Aeromexico is the last partner, but I can’t find information on earning with them (their web site is down).
None of the choices looks great (earning miles was not a consideration in making the booking). Any thoughts?
Thanks, -Ron.
May 1st, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Allison said,
Hi Lucky, I was wondering if you can help me with several questions:
1. What is the importance of stopovers? Is it to rack up more miles during a trip?
2. Given the current offer of the SPG card — 25k, do you think it’s worth to take up the offer now or wait till a better offer? Have you seen a better offer with the spg before?
3. What is the time lapse for applying AMEX cards? I just got the Delta AMEX 2 weeks ago and now I am itching for the AMEX Premier rewards gold for the 75k offer.
4. I am also interested in the Citi AA Visa/AMEX cards…but unfortunately got the Citi AA MC two weeks ago before I found out. When do you think I should apply for these offers? I’m still trying to hit my spending requirements for both Delta AMEX and Citi AA MC so I can wait for a bit. I just hope the Citi AA offers are still available by the time I can apply…
5. I’ve recently done a lot of shopping online via the airline shopping portals. Specifically on Delta and AA skymall. My miles for purchases via Delta posted relatively quickly but my purchases via AA still hasn’t shown up as pending yet. Is this the norm?
Thank you in advance!!
May 2nd, 2011 at 9:19 am
oliver said,
Hi Lucky,
I am travelling with my wife and infant child from Heatrow to San Francisco in Business next WE. I found out on the web-site that there are 2 different kind of configuration on the 747 used for that route. As our child has a medical issue ( reason of the travel ) we want him to be as comfortable as possible and I am trying to figure out in which seat are the bassinettes available.
Thanks for your help,
Oliver
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:53 am
lucky said,
@ Bill — US Airways has some of the best redemption charts, and has the most ways to earn miles. If nothing else you could buy miles directly from them, often at a rate of about 1.5 cents per mile. So I think they’re your best bet.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:56 am
lucky said,
@ Bob M — For OneWorld stick to American and SkyTeam stick to Delta. There simply aren’t any good alternatives. As far as the Star Alliance goes, I say stick with Continental. Aeroplan is in the process of devaluing their award chart and doesn’t offer nearly as many ways to earn miles as Continental and United does. It generally makes sense to take part in the frequent flyer program of the airline you also at least fly once in a while, so you get some benefits on them.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — While it’s not a spectacular option, I would go with AAdvantage. Yes, it’s only 50% miles, but they’re miles you can actually use and accounts you can keep building miles in, in my opinion.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:59 am
lucky said,
@ Allison –
1) Stopovers are actual stops of more than 4-24 hours, typically on award tickets. They let you see more than one destination at no extra cost. If you’re referring to layovers, those are to add up more miles in my case.
2) I’ve never seen a higher point sign up bonus for SPG.
3) There’s no official rule.
4) I would wait two months.
5) I’ve had the same experience, it takes a while for miles to even show as pending in the AA shopping mall.
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:00 am
lucky said,
@ oliver — What airline are you flying? Generally when traveling with an infant you’re best off calling the airline and they can assign you a seat with a bassinet.
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:54 am
U said,
Hi Lucky,
What do you think about the current hotel points to US Airways transfer promo? I have 93,000 SPG points and am not a US Airways elite, and don’t plan on paying $200 for temporary elite status, so the max bonus I could get on top of the 5,000 SPG transfer bonus would be 50%, making 20,000 SPG points –> 37,500 US Airways points. I don’t have anywhere to fly right now but am considering it because their reward chart looks pretty good and I don’t see 50% transfer bonuses often. What do you think? Thanks.
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky — Yes, I guess 50% AAdvantage miles is the best option. As the one person in the group who already has an El-Al account from way back when (currently zero balance), I could use points from the outbound to get an approximately $20 discount on home check-in for the return leg. But I value 7500 AAdvantage miles at more than that, so that’s where we’ll take our miles.
Incidentally, Aeromexico also gives 100% kilometers on El-Al flights, but the LAX–TLV flight is ineligible. On the other hand, MIA–TLV is eligible, even though this flight ceased operations 3 or 4 years ago… go figure.
May 4th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
David said,
FYI. Last year there was an SPG offer for 30K points on 1K spend for both Personal and Business cards. Much better than the current offer, which requires $15K spend in 6 months (difficult for most people.)
May 4th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
Considering the new Aeroplan award chart, should I still start to use the FIA AMEX card, which earns 2 Aeroplan pts/$?
I just got the FIA card, and recently completed spend for the AX Gold Bus for 50K MR points, so I need a new primary AX card: SPG, AX Gold, or FIA.
What do you think…should I forget about accumulating Aeroplan points?
What’s your expereience been with how ANA handles First Class Awards. I am currently waitlisted for an award ticket FRA-NRT-FRA in June. There are seats. The request is automatically cancelled 14 days before the departure date if not ticketed. Does ANA chose to fly with seats empty rather than issue an award ticket? Is there hope? The trip is sandwiched within a trip to Germany where I will ride on the LH A-380 back to SFO in Business (and maybe First), so if I don’t get the award, I’ll just hang out in Germany, so not a big deal I suppose. Thanks — Michael (UA 2-million+ flyer).
May 5th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ U — It’s a great deal, in my opinion. With the upcoming Aeroplan devaluation, US Airways is actually one of the best Star Alliance programs for award redemptions. I’m definitely considering it as well. That being said, the offer does seem to come around at least once a year or so, so if you have no immediate use you might as well wait.
May 5th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I think it depends on what award redemptions you’re going after. If you’re wanting to travel primarily to Europe, for example, Aeroplan still has one of the better award charts out there. If you travel primarily to Asia and Australia, they have a decent award chart, though not great. Still, when you’re earning two miles per dollar, it’s a pretty great card.
May 5th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — I don’t think I’ll ever understand ANA. The easy answer is that, yes, they would often rather let seats go out empty than releasing award space. Aside from February or early March, it’s rare for ANA to release award space more than a week or so before departure. It’s quite frustrating, since their premium cabin loads aren’t great, so the seats literally are going out empty otherwise. So there’s a chance the space will open up a week or so out, but I’d say the chance is slim to none that they’ll open up space for June 2+ weeks out.
Not sure if you use a DSLR camera, but if you do, maybe he will let you try one out for publicity on the blog, specially since its a frequent “traveler” blog.
Cheers ttyl
May 6th, 2011 at 10:58 am
marathon man said,
Hi Lucky, Saw you speak at the FTU in NY. Excellent! I have never been a MR guy but was thinking about it recently. On AA I’m lifetime Gold, on DL I’m all set too, and on UA/CO, well, I’m a big coins guy so I have uber miles but no status. Thing is… What can status even do if there’s not only me but also two small children and my wife? Say I do MRs and get to 1k even. What then? I mean is it worth it for free bags check in and the ability to sit in FC or a nice lounge when I’m alone? What about when traveling with family (which is pretty much the only time it would matter for me)?
I am soon to try to construct some MRs and try the whole bump game and all of what you talked about at FTU. Your advice on these things I have asked about here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
MM
May 6th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
lucky said,
@ marathon man — You’re one of the people I was really hoping to meet at FTU, so too bad we didn’t get to formally say hi. In your shoes it’s a toughie. As an elite with UA/CO you would be entitled to companion upgrades, and as a top tier elite you would earn some confirmed regional and systemwide upgrades. That may very well not be all that useful to you if you would be traveling as a party of four, though. If you’re earning miles in massive quantities through coins, that might be the way to go. However, if you could use the extra miles, have the time, and enjoy flying, mileage running could be a cheap and “profitable” hobby… if your family supports it!
May 8th, 2011 at 3:20 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m going on a quick trip from Edinburgh to Dublin 5/27-5/30, and the cheapest tickets I can find are Aer Lingus for £182 (~$300) at the times I need to fly. I noticed that Aer Lingus seems to have some sort of relationship with United. Do you know if it’s possible to redeem United miles for travel on Aer Lingus? Their website doesn’t have a clear answer. Thanks for your help!
@ Liz — You can, though it’s not a very good deal. United charges 30,000 miles for a coach award on Aer Lingus within Europe. Not a very good redemption value, unfortunately.
May 9th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
United award tickets (for non-elite members) can be changed free of charge, as long as the same city pairs and routing are kept. Do you know if this option is still available after check-in? That is, is it possible to call United reservations, cancel the check-in for an award flight, and then change the date (assuming award space is available on a new date)?
Thanks, -Ron.
May 9th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Carlos said,
Congrats on graduating btw.
May 9th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Danny said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a United Premier Executive and I have Coach award on CO. How do I get continetntal to recognize my status? Thanks
May 9th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — Hmmm, I’ve never been in that situation, though I see no reason that wouldn’t be allowed. That’s no guarantee, though.
May 9th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — You could call Continental and ask them to add your Mileage Plus number to the reservation, if it’s not already on there. That should do the trick.
May 11th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Timothy said,
Question regarding bumps. If you’re in the middle of a Mileage run, say from LAX-DFW-MKE-DFW-LAX and you ask for a bump from DFW-MKE will the rebook the remainder of your mileage run if taking the bump will cause you to miss those flights?
thanks
May 11th, 2011 at 11:29 am
lucky said,
@ Timothy — Ultimately it’s up to the gate agent, though if they choose you as a volunteer they could definitely rebook the remainder of your mileage run to make it work.
May 11th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Kim said,
Hi Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Spain on LH from Bos. May use USAir miles plus SPG for 4 award seats (better value than upgrades). Is the 75% mileage bonus on USA transfers a good offer in your opinion? I can transfer 50k miles from husband’s account to mine for $500 = 87,500. That gets me to 100k and one seat in the bank. Is there a lower mileage option in *a for LH awards? Aeroplan? Thanks! Kim
May 11th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Gary said,
Hi Lucky,
Love your website!
It looks like on my Cathay Pacific flight, I will have accumulated enough points for an instant upgrade (economy to business class). But, I would only have enough points for this upgrade after I check-in.
Would I be eligible to use my points to upgrade to business class after receiving the points from the check-in process? Or do I have to have enough points before check-in?
Thanks!
May 11th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — Given that you’re looking for four award seats, I would first consider what time of year you want to travel to make sure that some flights actually have that much space. The transfer bonus is pretty good, given that you get 37,500 miles for around $500 or so (by your math). I’d certainly take advantage of it if you’re shooting for business or first class tickets.
May 11th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Gary — Assuming you’re talking about the miles you would earn from the flight, unfortunately you could only apply those to your next itinerary. You have to earn them before you can redeem them.
May 11th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Kim said,
Lucky,
Do all *a programs require 100k miles for Business class? Is Aeroplan a “cheaper” alternative into LH?
May 12th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — No, different airlines have different redemption levels. Aeroplan charges 80,000 miles in business, while Continental charges 105,000 miles, for example.
May 13th, 2011 at 6:10 am
Kim said,
Lucky,
Seems like moving miles from SPG into Aeroplan is a lower mile(lowest award?)option for LH usiness. Any downside? Can I book multiple seats using miles from one Aeroplan account? How about SPG to ANA to Virgin for LHR then connect to Spain? LHR fees and connection hassle right? Am I missing any other good options?
Thanks for the follow up. Have a great weekend!
May 13th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Elena said,
Dear Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Italy for my husband’s 50th birthday from Raleigh-Durham NC. And I am totally lost. We have American Express miles and I am trying to use it. After spending a lot of time with no luck, I am waiting for your help as only one way to get this trip.
Could you explain me what I have to do?
Whom should I call to transfer miles?
Which Airline is asking less miles for that? We would like to visit few cities in Italy, like Milano, Venice, Rome its and maybe arrive in one of them and return from another (if it is possible).
Thank you very much for your advice!!!
May 13th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — By my math it’s about the same when you factor in the 25% bonus to US Airways right now, but in general Aeroplan is a better option. They don’t impose fuel surcharges as long as you stay off of Air Canada metal, so it can be a very good deal. If you book through ANA you can book Virgin, though you’d have to book the other segments separately, since Virgin doesn’t fly within Europe and you can’t tag on a segment on another airline. So the cost of a revenue ticket would likely make it impractical. Those are really the best options out there, I think.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Elena — Not to self plug, but this might be a question where my award consulting business (pointspros.com) would come in handy. Generally speaking, your best bet would be to transfer to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, as a business class award through them would cost only 80,000 miles per passenger or 100,000 miles in first class. Of course that’s assuming there’s award availability, which there might not be. But as a starting point, they’re probably best. You can always email me at request@pointspros.com and I can help you plan it, saving you a lot of time, hassle, and potentially miles.
May 13th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Jd said,
As most of your long haul F/J trips are award travel, have you ever experienced any instances where you have been treated differently as it’s an “Award” vs actual
premium cabin purchase? Also what about hotel stays on an a redemption vs standard rate. Any difference in the treatment/service you receive?
May 13th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Jd — That’s a great question. Instead of answering here, I’m going to make a blog post about this topic tomorrow on the main page, so keep an eye out there.
May 14th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Brett said,
Hi Lucky! I met you at the Frequent Traveler University a few weeks back, and was wondering if you could share the slides you presented. I am trying to use ExpertFlyer to find an inexpensive fare from PIT to KOA on UA (depart Jun/24, return Jun/30) and remembered that you had some slides that showed how to do this. If you have any more comprehensive references, that would be great, too!
Also, I do a lot of fundraising for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (a non-profit charity) and want to find ways to give away frequent flyer miles as prizes or incentives for people to donate. Do you know of a way I can give people miles without the airline fees for transferring miles?
Thanks,
Brett in PGH
May 15th, 2011 at 9:30 am
John said,
Ben,
Caught your Mendoza report…just curious, if American’s footing the bill, why they didn’t put you on LAN (their oneworld partner for domestic/Argentina)?
Did I hear you right, you’re an EXP now???
—John
May 16th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Chuck said,
Hi Lucky,
Planning a trip from LAX to TLV this Oct or Nov. I have 600K Amex points and would like to travel business or first class. What airlines / program would you suggest that I transfer the points to? Thanks.
May 16th, 2011 at 9:10 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
I will be traveling on UA(NC) to LHR,would I be able to use the arrival lounge@LHR?
I also have Air NZ*G and BMI *G.
Thanks for the help!
May 16th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Brett — I’d be happy to send over the slides. Just send me an email at the address on the “About” page. As far as the charity goes, you could contact the airline directly and see if they’ll waive fees. In some cases they’re willing to partner with charities to allow people to donate miles without any sort of fees and have you as an “approved” charity, though it can be tough to get them to allow one to transfer miles out of their account and to someone else as an incentive.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Probably because it costs them a lot less to transport someone on their own metal over paying a partner airline to transport someone. I’m almost EXP, I’ll be there in two weeks.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Chuck — It really depends on availability, though generally speaking I’d say Continental is the best value while they’re still a partner. They charge 115,000 miles in business class, which is a pretty good value.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Unfortunately not, unless they changed the rules recently.
May 16th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Chuck said,
Lucky,
What do you mean by “while they’re still a partner”? I am a total novice at this…
Thanks again.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Jennie Bernbaum said,
I have just recently started reading your blog. I understand the whole idea of racking up points and miles, etc. as a sport/hobby/profession. But, why don’t you stay longer at some of your destinations? Is the flying experience THE goal? Or having a certain type of hotel experience THE ancillary goal? Thanks.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Chuck — Continental and Membership Rewards are terminating their partnership on September 30 of this year, so it will no longer be possible to transfer points from Membership Rewards to Continental.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Jennie — When I mileage run my travel is continuous so that I can rack up as many points as possible in the smallest amount of time possible. When I redeem miles, however, I do spend quite a bit of time at my destination. During my current trip, for example, I’m spending three days in Kuala Lumpur, two days in Melbourne, etc.
Lucky
I have a flight scheduled for this Sunday with CO from MEX to IAH. The issue here is that when I booked the flight there was no available seats(in coach and in first) except 6 but they were extra legroom. I did not choose the seat because it would cost me 40 usd extra.
After I booked the trip I checked again and the flight didn’t appeared in the booking section.
1. I don’t understand, apparently it appears in the flight map 6 available seats,but the flight is not available..??
2. I had the experience with Aeromexico that I didn’t selected seats and the flight was over sold and I wasn’t confirmed in the flight. I have the feeling this flight is over sold and I’m not confirmed , in case it is I can’t take the next flight because it’s too late.
There are two earlier flights but I have no idea how could I change to an earlier flight or at least confirm my seat at my actual flight but of course without any extra cost.
Should I call CO one day before?
My flight number is CO 1515 and is this Sunday 22nd…
Thanks,
Oscar
May 16th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — There’s nothing they’ll do before departure. You’ll be assigned a seat at check-in, probably a seat towards the front, since those are vacant.
May 16th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Referring back to comments 820/823, I didn’t get to try a date change after check-in on an award ticket because the person ended up flying as planned. But something funny happened — I checked her into seat 12E, which was the first row of economy minus on a United 320. But after the flight she reported it was an exit row! I see that United has two configurations for the 320. So was it a lucky break due to an aircraft swap? What about the poor chaps in row 10 who thought they were getting an exit row? Just curious.
-Ron.
May 16th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
lucky said,
Ron — That’s what it sounds like to me.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:09 am
A. S. said,
Lucky, I’m trying to redeem an Emirates F award using United miles before their partnership ends this month. I can’t find Emirates-specific rules on the UA website and I remember reading somewhere that they only accept straight roundtrips, while I read somewhere else that they will allow open-jaws (e.g., LAX-DXB-SFO). Do you know what the real, exact rule is? I know I’ll get conflicting answers from the agents — who are largely unfamiliar with EK awards — so I was hoping for some background info first. Thanks and enjoy your current mega trip!
May 17th, 2011 at 12:17 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — Open jaws are allowed. That being said, it’s my understanding that travel has to be complete by the date the relation ends, so you have less than two weeks remaining (though I might be wrong).
May 17th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
A. S. said,
@ Lucky — Actually, here is the wording:
“Award travel on Emirates Airlines must be ticketed by May 28, 2011 and flown by May 28, 2012.”
My girlfriend wants to apply for one new credit card; she charges ~$600-$1000 / month in random food and other charges. Would you suggest the 75,000 mile bonus AA Visa, the 50,000 mile bonus Sapphire Preferred or another card as the one worth grabbing at the moment? She doesn’t need it until July 1; any reason to think holding off is a valuable strategy? Thanks as always.
May 17th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
John said,
Was referring to the EZE-MDZ seg (on Aerolineas vs. LAN).
May 18th, 2011 at 2:50 am
lucky said,
@ MJG — Keep in mind there are reasons to apply for credit cards beyond the need to spend money on them. In her shoes I would be applying for more cards than I need based on trying to earn as many miles as possible. Then just cancel the card before the annual fee (or second annual fee) hits. If she spends $10,000 per year, for example, she would be earning $150-200 worth of miles (valuing them at 1.5-2.0 cents each). Therefore it probably makes sense if she picks a card with no (or a low) annual fee, because a $90 annual fee would cost more than half of the rewards she’s earning.
May 18th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
1K Traveler said,
What’s up with the new boarding process at United. 1K is not listed on the new boarding procedures just received in a mail from United. What’s up?
New Order:
Global Services
Presidential Platinum
First
Business
One Pass Elite
Mileage Plus Premier
Star Alliance Gold/Silver
May 19th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
jfpanik5 said,
I am trying to book a flight between Miami and Buenos Aires for Christmas this year on United miles. When I called United, they said that seats were not available yet. Is that common for seats not to be released yet for a flight coming up in December? If so, when is a good time to start looking again?
May 19th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
lucky said,
@ 1K Traveler — That’s because all elites board together now, as far as I know.
May 19th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
lucky said,
@ jfpanik5 — It’s probably quite the opposite, as they’ve released the space and it’s already gone. Awards to South America around Christmas are very difficult, so I wouldn’t count on finding a seat if you’re not booking 11 months or a week before departure.
May 20th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Steven said,
Lucky – Silly question.
What is the best online tool for searching for Star Alliance award travel (SQ, TG, LH, etc..) as a Mileage Plus Premier Exec?
Best regards
May 20th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
edison said,
where is the picture at the top of your blog from? is that matt damon? just curious. great blog and happy travels!
May 20th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — The ANA tool is generally the best. Just google “ANA award availability tool” and you should get a link.
May 20th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ edison — Thanks! It’s actually just a stock picture, I didn’t even choose it.
May 20th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
I booked a one-way Star Award from the US to Asia, but connecting in Europe. (using UA miles)
However, they only charged me the # miles to Europe. Do you think this is an error, or if so, will it auto-correct?
May 21st, 2011 at 5:12 am
lucky said,
@ David — Typically if something is ticketed they’ll honor it at the price they charged. So you have nothing to worry about.
Just curious, do you think its a good value to book 2 tickets return from Canada to Mexico City for 70,000 Aeroplan points.
Or is it better value to use them for a bigger reward like Asia or something rather?
May 21st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Matt — “Value” with miles is a really relative term. In terms of the actual retail value could you get more out of your miles by traveling to Asia? Almost definitely, yes. But that doesn’t answer the question as to whether a) you have any desire to visit a place that might be a better value b) what your financial situation is (in other words, is 35,000 miles a better deal for you at the moment than the cost of the cash ticket and c) whether you have a need to go to Mexico City. Sorry for the roundabout answer. So in general there are better values out there, but if getting you to Mexico City on miles makes you happy with your redemption, I say go for it!
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:03 am
MSaleh said,
Hi Lucky,
I will be travilling next month on the 16th of june LHR-LAX in the First cabin, I was wondering if there is a way to find out if we will be lucky and get the new BA first seats on this flight.
thank you
Regrads,
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:22 am
lucky said,
@ MSaleh — Unfortunately not until the day before departure.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m going to be flying South African Airways from LHR to JNB next month and want to upgrade, but all my miles are on Continental. Is there any way to do it? Thanks!
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Liz — Unfortunately, unless you’re on a full fare ticket, there’s not a way to upgrade on SAA using Continental miles
Do you have a flight logging/history tool that you use? The only one I know of is Flight Memory but it’s such a pain to get data in there that I just don’t do it.
I do think that it’d be interesting to see which aircraft I’ve flown most on, how many total hours in flight, etc….but I can’t bring myself to invest literally days of data entry. Got a good solution?
Thanks for the response!
What is usually the best value with Aeroplan points?
RTW travel? Africa? First-class? I’m really putting effort into earning them a lot now so I’d like to plan for a very good trip anywhere.
May 24th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Adam said,
Lucky,
I am based at LAX and am planning on using my award ticket back from Hawaii next year on AA to go to Europe after a long (approx six months) stopover in LA.
My question is, is there a way to extend a ticket like this when returning from Europe to LA (on any alliance)? (i.e. LHR-LAX (stopover)-South America)
Thanks (funny about the PJ’s by the way)
May 24th, 2011 at 11:43 am
glu800 said,
Hi Lucky, I have an award booking dilemma. I’ve been keeping an eye on award flights from SFO (or LAX) to AKL during peak Christmas season 2011 for some time now. I am trying to use AA miles.
Yesterday, I found return availability in early Jan on QF for AKL-MEL-LAX, and in F no less! I checked the Qantas website and I saw that the A380 is only operating on certain days that week for the route, and not on the day the award seat is available. I really want to try the A380 in F… so do you think it’s wise of me to just book this now and hope that the route goes to daily A380 by Jan 2012? QF is scheduled to have 2 or 3 more 388s delivered by Q4, and if none of those are delayed, the QF93 route *should* go to daily. But its a risk I’d be taking.
Sorry for the long question, and thanks for any guidance!
It’s Matt again. Thought I posted this already so hopefully it doesn’t appear twice. Thanks for the advice before.
Now just curious since I’m very active now with points.
Using Aeroplan points, what do you think is the best trips for VALUE?
Round the world flights?
Africa?
First-class?
Stuff like that?
May 25th, 2011 at 4:56 am
lucky said,
@ Brian — As much as I’d like to track it, I don’t, because it turns out to be too complicated. The only ones I know of are Flight Memory and BA97.
May 25th, 2011 at 4:57 am
lucky said,
@ Matthew Bailey — From the US, going to Europe in first class (100K), going to Asia via Europe in first class (120K), or going to Australia in first class (140K).
May 25th, 2011 at 4:58 am
lucky said,
@ glu800 — I would go for it more based on wanting to go to Australia/New Zealand that time of year as opposed to aircraft type. If it’s just the plane you’re after, plan a different trip during lower season, in my opinion, since you have a much better shot.
May 26th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Rob said,
Hey Lucky,
I just posted a comment on this topic on an old thread and thought it would be smart to repost this question here in case others are also curious.
I have been planning to use a bunch of United/Continental miles to book a trip from DC to Bangkok in March of next year and have been running into a few issues. Although I have the miles to book economy class tickets for me and my wife right away, I would like to wait a couple of months (perhaps until the end of the summer) to book the travel to see if we can get enough miles to go over in business class. Anyway, I have not been able to find reward flights through United’s reservation engine, but have found loads of good options while running searches through the Continental site. It seems to me that I might have a better chance of landing good stop overs (i.e. Dubai, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, etc.) and a lower point cost/ticket if I book through Continental instead of United. The problem is, the Continental engine might not exist by the time I have enough miles to redeem a business class reward. What should I do? Do you think the problems I am having on the United site could be avoided/mitigated by making a call to the airline, or should I try to go through Continental? Also, does United offer more than one stopover?
Thank you so very much for your help!
May 26th, 2011 at 9:05 am
Ben said,
Hey lucky, I’m in the midst of trying to book an aeroplan ticket to sydney. I’ve looked on the ANA website for reward flight availability, but the agents at aeroplan say there isnt availability where I see it on the ANA site. Is this possible. A friend of mine has told me that they should have the same availability.
Another question, when I was on the phone with them, they were saying i couldnt do a stopover in places like Seoul or Manila, even though the total miles would be about the same as a stopover in Singapore or Tokyo since they don’t have partner airlines that fly through those places, i.e. there is no SYD-ICN-ORD scheduled flight so they cant do it in parts.
Thanks a lot
-Ben
May 27th, 2011 at 12:23 am
Steve Johnson said,
Hi,
I have been trying to secure a business to first Star Alliance upgrade on LH with UA miles, first class cabin on the flight is completely empty (confirmed by LH) and ticket class (“D”) is eligible for upgrade but UA keeps getting “space unavailable” when I spend the 15 minutes every time talking to them to try and get the upgrade. This is frustrating, I have secured several of these upgrades on same flight without issue previously even when there were a couple revenue seats already booked, I can’t understand why I can’t get it now when cabin is empty (and either can UA or LH, both of whom say “it should be available” but don’t do anything to help). Any ideas? Flight is LH 711 on 29 May so 24 hour limit is fast approaching…
Steve
PS any idea if UA will ever make these upgrades bookable online again? They used to have this when program first started but removed it from their site without explanation, other Star partners (eg CO which is now part of United!) still offer online Star Alliance upgrade redemption…
May 27th, 2011 at 1:41 am
lucky said,
@ Rob — That’s simply because ual.com only shows award space on United metal through their standard award tool. Both airlines only allow one stopover and one open jaw. You shouldn’t have any issue booking in a few months. If Continental’s search engine doesn’t work anymore, others will, and at worst you can call the airline directly.
May 27th, 2011 at 1:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ben — What airline was the travel on that you had the discrepancy with? As far as whether or not something is legal goes, it all depends on where you’re originating. It could be that going via Asia isn’t within the maximum permitted mileage or a legal routing for the city pair.
May 27th, 2011 at 1:46 am
lucky said,
@ Steve Johnson — That’s because Star Alliance upgrades are only confirmable if there’s award space. I believe the flight you’re looking at is to Tokyo, which is an A380, right? If so, that would be because Lufthansa doesn’t release first class award space on the A380 to partner airlines.
May 27th, 2011 at 5:29 am
Justin said,
What would you recommend?
LH F in 747 (more time in lounge) – old config
LH F in A380 (less time in lounge)
May 27th, 2011 at 7:33 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — For the novelty factor I’d go with the A380. It’s an impressive bird.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Ben said,
The airline is Air NZ, LAX-RAR direct flight.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:56 am
Vik said,
Lucky,
I’m fairly new to the miles game and after reading your latest blogs and wanted to ask what you consider to be the best award flight to strive for (airline/class and route). I have about 200k miles on BA, 80k points on amex and between 20-60k on a bunch of other airlines (mainly asian) with no qualms with buying miles/points up to 2.5cpm.
Thanks
May 27th, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ Vik — That’s a toughie, because the value of a redemption goes beyond the flight, but the destination has to be considered as well. That being said, purely in terms of inflight experience I think it’s tough to beat a redemption in Qantas A380 first class from Singapore to Sydney or Melbourne. American and British Airways miles can easily be used for that.
May 27th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I listened to you speak at Frequent Traveler University in NYC and became intrigued with mileage runs. I was looking to plan my first run this weekend but ran into a problem. On AA.com, I was able to price JFK-MIA, then MIA-SBA (via LAX) via a multi-city search. All flights were showing O inventory for a total fare of $99 (plus taxes). I was able to get as far as the final fare screen on AA.com, which confirmed this fare. However, when I proceeded to purchase the ticket, the system indicated that the fare was not available (this happened multiple times). I called AA.com web support and was informed that the system will not allow me to purchase the ticket, as the system has controls against booking these unusual routes that can essentially be used to beat fares to destinations within the itinerary (JFK-MIA, for example). I was told that nothing can be done about this and the route cannot be booked.
Is this consistent with your experience with AA? Am I doing anything wrong? When I attempt to book JFK-SBA directly, the fare is much higher and the routing does not lend itself well to a mileage run.
Thanks in advance.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Cedarglen said,
Hi Ben,
This is hypothetical, but very possible. In such a situation, how will the carrier deal with the flyer: Flyer has over 1 million available miles on FF program A. Books a long, multi-leg international trip, all legs on line A and allowing **more than plenty of time** for the several connections. (All seats are Business/First.) Line A has a mechanical in city #3 and cannot get it fixed within the 6-hour layover and cancels. the flight. Obviously, the rest of the long schedule is toast. What will they do?
May 28th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Cedarglen said,
Hi Ben,
This is hypothetical, but very possible. In such a situation, how will the carrier deal with the flyer: Flyer has over 1 million available miles on FF program A. Books a long, multi-leg international trip, all legs on line A and allowing **more than plenty of time** for the several connections. (All seats are Business/First.) Line A has a mechanical in city #3, cannot get it fixed within the 6-hour layover and cancels. Obviously, the remainder of the schedule is toast. What will carrier A do or tell the FF PAX? We’ll fix it – or walk home? Thanks.
-Love the trip reports!! -C.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Jeremy said,
Hi Lucky,
I have family in Hawaii so we fly out there alot I normaly fly out of Albuquerque NM on United and connect in SFO or LAX as it is cheper then doing ABQ-DEN-OGG or DEN-OGG. When I use miles I try to go for the SFO or LAX conections from ABQ way to much so I try direct from Denver and its perfect for me in terms of miles I would have to use can you please tell me why when I use money its cheper to go threw LAX or SFO then with miles and why its cheper to go threw Denver with miles then cash
Thanks
May 28th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Bill Marlowe said,
Hey Lucky,
Expertflyer is showing two first class seats available on Swiss First Class from JFK-DXB. What are the chances of me using my OnePass miles to book it? Thanks
May 28th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — Interesting. It sounds to me like you’re doing everything right and aa.com is just misbehaving. In the past I’ve had luck with calling web support and they’ll usually honor a fare, though it sounds like your experience was different. I would chalk it up to bad luck and an isolated incident, hopefully.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Cedarglen — They’ll accommodate you on the next available flight that has space.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Jeremy — The simple answer is because inventory and revenue management are beyond illogical, at least in the eyes of most consumers. There’s likely no good reason, other than how dynamic of an art it all is. To try to provide a semi reasonable explanation, I’m guessing it’s because United’s not releasing a whole lot of award space from ABQ to LAX/SFO, while they’re willing to “marry” those segments on revenue tickets.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Bill Marlowe — Swiss is one of the few airlines that releases a LOT of award space for their own members but not for their partner airlines. The only way to know is to call. I’m guessing it won’t be available, as they usually only open up space a few days before departure, but who knows.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Bill Marlowe said,
Thanks lucky any other suggestions? I sent in a request on pointspros…do you handle those bookings?
May 29th, 2011 at 9:06 am
Renata said,
Hi Ben, my friend has 160,000 miles with Lufthansa’s miles and more and since he wants to go from frankfurt to hong kong to visit his sister I told him the best thing to do is get a first class ticket with those miles. He also wants to go to the British isles right before that so I’m trying to figure out a way to incorporate that (I’ve been super inspired by your blog and we recently won a free first class trip on TK, so he DOES NOT want to go back to coach…ever). Lufthansa’s redemption rates are so ridiculous though,so is there any way to transfer those miles via credit card or something to another program? Thanks!!!
May 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Cedarglen said,
See 899 and 903. OK, but through how many days and catchup flights. For the entire trip? How about if if is a lightly paid Mileage run and they begin to smell a a runner. Just deny it and hold out for the route? Fun and lots of games, for sure. C.
May 29th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Renata — Unfortunately not, once you credit miles to a program, that’s it. There’s not really a way to add in a flight to the British Isles either, since you’d have to backtrack through Frankfurt or Munich anyway.
May 29th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Cedarglen — That’s far too theoretical for me to give you a good answer. They’ll put you on the next flight, whenever that is. Mileage running is allowed, so it doesn’t matter how complicated your routing is.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Vik said,
Lucky,
Following on my first question about the best flight to strive for, there are a couple of products I’d love to experience at some point and wanted to get your take on how easy/hard it is to get partner award availability – I’m based in NY but don’t really mind the destination as the longer I get to experience the product the better:
9W first class suites/think it’s available on leased Thai and Turkish planes (would also like to check out the first class lounge in bangkok if possible)
SQ first &/or new business class – I read SQ blocks first to partners but wasnt sure
CX first class
Your suggestion of the Quantas a380 first class
Do you think it would be possible to get an aeroplan award and try out the thai / sq products before the redemption changes?
Thanks and really appreciate the opportunity to ask these questions
May 30th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Yaswanth said,
Lucky,
I got in on the Discover American Wyndham Points sale they had and got 162K points with the intention of transferring them to AA miles. My question is should I wait for a transfer bonus or should I go and do it now so they count towards the Million Miler status before they change the policy at the end of July? I am leaning towards the latter but wanted a 2nd opinion. Thanks!
May 30th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Vik — Thai first class should be easy enough. They fly the Jet Airways 777 to Paris and Tokyo, and those seats are easy to come by. Singapore, however, is not happening, since they don’t release award space in their new first and business class. Qantas A380 first class is easy enough to come by between Australia and Asia/Europe. Not so much to the US.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Yaswanth — It’s a gamble, but I’d go for it now, since it was such a good deal. You never know when they’ll change the award chart and increase the cost to transfer miles.
May 31st, 2011 at 3:08 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky,
Not sure if I should ask this here or your rewards site. I have to fly from Edinburgh to Heathrow on June 4. Last minute prices are quite high, but I’m not sure its worth using miles. What would you recommend as the best way to maximize miles/earnings and minimize price?
Thanks!
May 31st, 2011 at 10:12 pm
JRL said,
Luck,
Is there any way to avoid 180,000 miles F pricing to the middle east on US Airways? They’re still the most reasonable to Asia at 120k, but Middle East is an absolute rip off. How about “making” the destination North Asia and the Middle East a Stopover?… I can’t get verification if a stopover in a higher priced region should raise the pricing all-together. Is this standard practice across *?
Can’t wait for the Australia pics.
JRL
May 31st, 2011 at 10:24 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Like everything else at US Airways, it comes down to the agent. Technically you can only have a stopover at a Star Alliance hub, though that certainly limits the options with Star. That’s not even strictly enforced, though. I’m betting you could convince an agent to price out a US to Asia award with a stopover in the Middle East (something like JFK-FRA-DXB-BKK). If you make it too complicated they’ll likely start asking questions. “Rules” and “US Airways” don’t go together in the same sentence, as rules are rather moot at US Airways.
June 1st, 2011 at 8:59 am
AdamRx said,
Lucky,
How do you become a Royal Ambassador?
Thanks
June 1st, 2011 at 9:14 am
Mitch said,
Lucky,
How do you determine whether to choose Gold Passport points or airline miles when staying at Hyatt properties, especially absent some promotion where larger amounts of miles are awarded per stay? Also, do you almost always choose points as your diamond amenity?
June 1st, 2011 at 10:37 am
lucky said,
@ AdamRx — Royal Ambassador is technically invitation only, though typically takes around 60 or so nights at Priority Club properties with stays at three or more InterContinental hotels, all after having purchased Ambassador status.
June 1st, 2011 at 10:40 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — When there aren’t any miles bonuses, it’s not even worth considering choosing them as your earning preference. A while back United offered 2,500 miles per stay, and I considered that worthwhile for many stays. Typically my breakeven point is if I would earn at least 20% (or so) more miles than I would points, I’ll go with miles. That math has become easier as of late, thanks to the absence of Gx bonuses.
And yes, I almost always choose points for the Diamond amenity at US properties. I figured 1,000 points are worth about $15, which is more than I value any amenity I’ve ever received.
June 1st, 2011 at 11:22 am
Scott said,
Lucky,
I’ll be flying Dublin-Paris later this summer on an Air France flight, purchased with Delta miles. I just lost my silver status but I am a Delta Amex Platinum card holder. Any recommendations on how I might gain access to a lounge without paying huge fees in Dublin before our flight? I’ll have quite a few hours to kill.
June 1st, 2011 at 9:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Scott — Unfortunately having a Delta American Express won’t help you very much in gaining access to a lounge in Dublin when flying Air France. I see there are two Priority Pass lounges in Dublin, so if you have Priority Pass or a way to get a membership, that would be your best bet. I’m betting the lounges that belong to Priority Pass also sell day passes since they seem to be independent, though I have no clue how much they would cost.
June 2nd, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Michael said,
I’ve read that Lufthansa eVouchers can be redeemed on United, do you know if that includes Continental flights, and what the lowest fare class is?
Much easier to ask you than dig through loads of posts on Flyertalk, cheers!
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm
eli said,
Hi, I was hoping you could help me out with this. I am looking for referer bonus links for starwood business and amex platinum cards that give at least 10,000 points to the referrer or more.
thanks
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
lucky said,
@ Michael — I don’t believe they can be used for Continental flights.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
lucky said,
@ eli — No such referral bonus exists.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 am
Despina said,
Ben, do you by any chance know what time of day (US PST) Lufthansa loads their award seats? I am currently checking at 8 a.m. daily but perhaps I should be checking at night as well or in the afternoon? Thanks!
June 3rd, 2011 at 10:52 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, I hope you can help me with this. I would like to use my US Airways Dividend Miles to redeem ANA’s First Class seat between LAX and NRT for spring of 2012. When I called US Air, they told me there are no First Class seats released to US Air by ANA. So I checked ANA’s tool to see if I can find any avilabilities and the only thing I find is WL(Waiting List) which I can’t use as I have 0 miles in my ANA account. Any advise as to what I can do at this point? Thanks.
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Matt F said,
Lucky,
I’m based in CHS and have two planned upcoming trips. First is MAD in early december with my wife, second is Seoul sometime next year with a Hong Kong or Tokyo stopover. I’ve got around 80k MR pts, 55k chase sapphire pref pts and 155k AA pts. Thinking about using the AA pts for a one way coach then one way business for MAD and transferring the MR and Chase pts to BA with some additional earning to try and hit 200k for a business R/T ticket for Seoul with the HK stop on Cathay (revenue ticket to ORD). I’m still really new at this and was wondering if you had any thoughts on this plan? Thanks, your blog is terrific, good luck with the full time approach!
June 3rd, 2011 at 3:07 pm
London Tim said,
Lucky,
Reading your “How I construct your mileage run”, I notice domestic flights in the USA are fairly liberal about transfer rules.
For just about any flight from London to anywhere else, everything seems to be done on MPM basis (even on AA flights to the USA), which gives very little scope for mileage running it seems. Is there any way to get around this?
If not, does that mean mileage running adventures are financially unworkable from this side of the pond on a student budget? (e.g. £1500 per year max) I’ve had no luck getting prices less than £0.07 per mile…ish
June 3rd, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
Despina — I can’t say I’ve noticed a pattern, unfortunately. Keep in mind that a decent portion of the space that’s probably showing up nowadays comes from people canceling tickets (along with new inventory being released), so I’d say it could happen all times of day. Checking in the morning sounds like a good bet.
June 3rd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — Try checking ANA space out of IAD and ORD. They have decent first class inventory for next February and March.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Matt F — That sounds like the perfect strategy to me.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
London Tim — It’s more the fact that you need to fly internationally out of London as opposed to the routing rules vs. MPM rules. Flying internationally involves a lot more taxes than flying domestically, which adds up quickly. Beyond that, you see fewer fare wares and fare sales, since about half of international tickets seem to be fuel surcharges, which don’t change with fare sales.
June 4th, 2011 at 11:25 am
Snowcone said,
Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately, since I live in Southern California, flying out of IAD or ORD would be going out of my way. I am wondering if it is extremely difficult to get a First Class award tickets on ANA from LAX/SFO to NRT for there may be plenty of people willing to pay for them. Wonder if there are any award seats to begin with. Are you aware of any such restrictions by ANA? Thanks.
June 5th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I’ve seen them open up fairly frequently, so there’s a good chance they’ll still be released, as ANA award space is really good that time of year.
June 5th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Snowcone said,
I am actually thinking about April or May. How is ANA award space for those months from west coast to NRT? I thought the earlier I start looking at the seat availability, the better chance I have, but I suppose that’s not necessary true? Do you suggest I keep on checking now? Do you know if ANA releases First Class award seats at the last minutes if not all the seats are filled? Sorry, so many questions…
June 5th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — No, they’d rather let the cabin go out empty than release award seats, often. Their inventory management isn’t nearly as active as Lufthansa’s, for example. Chances are you won’t find space for April or May more than a few days out.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Corey said,
Hi Lucky,
Great site. I have a question about earning miles. I had a flight out of Charlotte on AA that was delayed for several hours. It looked like I would miss my connection out of Ohare to get home that night. The AA gate agent went ahead booked me on a US Air flight nonstop home instead. I started thinking it sure would be nice to get those AA miles back since they are my primary carrier. Is there a way to get mileage or segment credit for the AA flights?
June 6th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — You should be able to request original routing credit by calling AAdvantage.
June 7th, 2011 at 12:49 am
Jd said,
When you fly into LHR, twice in one week, do the immigration officers ever ask you why? Can you say business, as I assume you do not have a business visa, or do you say personal or do they even care?
June 7th, 2011 at 7:28 am
lucky said,
@ Jd — I was actually through there three times in a week, hah. In this case it was just transit each time, so I didn’t have to clear immigration.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:15 am
Eddie said,
Lucky,
Regarding your recent post on US Airways 100% offer, you mentioned there is a way to get around the Starnet blocking. Can you tell us how we can get around this ?
June 8th, 2011 at 9:50 am
lucky said,
@ Eddie — When you call, ask them to manually request the space, or do a “manual sell.” It might take a few tries, but it usually works.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Jess said,
Hi Lucky. My grandparents are flying EWR-SAN this Friday at 11 AM on CO. They wait list upgraded with miles and a copay. They have no status, they acquired the miles almost entirely from CC usage. There are currently 5 seats available in F. I’ve already separated their PNR but at this point, is there anything else I can do to try to get them the upgrade? This is a big trip for them and sitting in first class (even on this domestic flight) is something they’d really like to do, once in their lives.
Subject: United / Emirates Partnership
Did anyone expect Emirates miles to be EQM (status miles)? Did anyone book tickets with inbound/outbound crossing the May 28 end date?
Does anyone who was impacted feel there was deception rather than full disclosure of what you were receiving?
June 10th, 2011 at 7:41 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — Unfortunately not that I can think of. The good news is that I believe Continental processes mileage upgrades before elite upgrades, so at least in theory they should have a good shot at getting it. Good luck!
June 10th, 2011 at 7:42 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — I hadn’t, thanks for the link. Can we petition for Jet to join the Star Alliance instead of Air India?
June 10th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Worldwide_flyer — Their website was pretty clear that miles on Emirates don’t earn elite qualifying miles… just redeemable miles are earned.
June 10th, 2011 at 11:35 am
mark said,
lucky
got fortunate and found multiple seats for outbound sfo to syd flights for next may, now trying to work reverse and only finding saver awards in Y, any creative ways to get home in C, or bite the bullet and fly in Y
mark
June 10th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Jess said,
@Lucky They both got it! They’re wait listed for F SFO-EWR next Friday but I think that’s possibly a lost cause, considering it’s a more competitive market. Thanks though!
June 10th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
Justin said,
If you do plan on staying in St. John’s how about you fly Porter. Though if you do make sure you visit their lounge in Toronto. YTZ not YYZ.
June 12th, 2011 at 5:38 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Hi Lucky,
I plan to have dinner at one the Sheraton property but not a guest staying at the hotel,can I hand my SPG Platinum and earn point for my dine visit?
Thanks for all the help in advance.
June 12th, 2011 at 7:26 am
lucky said,
@ mark — Depending on where you’re starting from you could try routing the return via Asia (Bangkok or Seoul), or otherwise if you wanted to stick to United “metal” you could try waitlisting, which is a gamble, though usually works out.
June 12th, 2011 at 7:38 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — If only I could use miles to fly Porter!
June 12th, 2011 at 7:38 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — It’s my understanding that Starwood lets you earn points for spend at hotels even if you’re not staying there, so you should be able to.
I know you don’t do much DL flying, if any. But I have a flight this week on a 764ER that has a total of J40 Y206. Using WAramean, the flight is now J3 Y4. Does that seem like good numbers for a bump?
June 12th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Spicy B — It’s always tough to tell in advance, but that definitely sounds like it has the potential to be oversold.
June 13th, 2011 at 1:26 am
M said,
LOVE your recaps with plentiful pictures–I find myself purposely reading slower just to savor the detail (I am an excessive speed reader normally) in your last adventure.
Quick question, I’ve been wanting to fly Singapore Airlines for a while (no destination in mind but wanting to try the ‘best’ airline). I however have miles mostly for oneworld not star alliance. I do have about 100K+ in Amex MR so what would be the best way to go about transferring miles to a star alliance airline and what would be average miles necessary to fly lax-sin for example (unless you know a good valued award route)?
June 13th, 2011 at 7:05 am
lucky said,
@ M — Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately Singapore doesn’t release award space in their new business class to partners (which is all they fly out of San Francisco and Los Angeles), so the only way to book an award would be through their program, where awards are ridiculously expensive. Think 250,000+ miles for a roundtrip ticket, plus fuel surcharges. Singapore is good, but not *that* good.
June 13th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Antonio said,
@Lucky – How did you book your Singapore Business class flight then?
June 13th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — I booked it before Singapore switched the aircraft type on the route. Singapore used to fly a 747 on the route featuring the old product, though when they switched the plane to one featuring the new business class they honored the original business class booking.
June 13th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
A friend of mine booked a trip from the US to the Middle East using United miles, outbound in United First + Lufthansa Business, return on Turkish Business. He was charged 145,000 miles, which is double the one-way price for First. Aren’t Star Alliance awards supposed to be charged on a one-way basis? That is, shouldn’t he be charged for one-way First plus one-way Business, which according to my calculation comes down to 130,000 miles? If I’m right, is there a way for him to get credited back with the difference?
June 14th, 2011 at 2:38 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, I have read both of your rteviews on the hotels and wonder where your preference would be for staying in Hong Kong between the Conrad as a Hilton Diamond or the IC as an Ambassador? Also, would your answer be any different if you were redeeming points for the stay?
June 14th, 2011 at 9:04 am
M said,
Thanks for the info–you’re right…Singapore is definitely not worth that many miles to me! What airline would you recommend as being the ‘best’?
Another thing, awardwallet vs. gomiles vs. usingmiles etc…which do you use?
June 14th, 2011 at 9:41 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Once it’s booked you can’t split a record. Assuming there’s no stopover on the itinerary your friend could have booked it as two one ways and been charged the price for the respective cabin in each direction. At this point there’s not a whole lot that can be done, though, assuming he doesn’t want to cancel and rebook.
June 14th, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — As a Diamond I could go with the Conrad, as the club lounge is very nice. The IC HK is very nice, but only if you pay a crazy amount in order to get a harbor view room, and even then you don’t have club access. So I’d go with the Conrad.
June 14th, 2011 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ M — If you’re limiting yourself to business class, you can’t go wrong with either ANA, Asiana, Thai, Swiss, etc., though in your shoes I would shoot for first class if possible, since there’s a huge difference.
I use Award Wallet for tracking miles.
June 14th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Katie said,
I thought I would ask this here in case someone else wondered the same. I have an upcoming 5 hour layover in DEN. Should I buy a day pass for the RCC for each my husband and I? The benefits would be more privacy and limited free snacks/drinks. United has a discount if you buy daypasses online ahead of time. I could tough it out, but my husband isn’t necessarily as patient. Thoughts?
June 14th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks! I doubt my friend would want to go through the hassle of canceling a roundtrip and rebooking as two one-ways. But if he does try this move, is there a risk of losing his seats? The outbound is next week, inbound next month.
June 14th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Katie — That’s a toughie. I believe the advance purchase rate would be somewhere around $80 for two people. Figure between getting to the Red Carpet Club and boarding the next flight you’ll have around four hours to kill, making it $10/hour for the Red Carpet Club.
Generally I’d say go for it, though Denver is an easy place to kill a few hours even without lounge access. They have free wifi and more importantly some very nice restaurants.
So if you have work to get done, I’d say go for it. If you’re more interested in relaxing, I’d say pick a nice restaurant and have a pretty decent meal for the same price as mediocre cheese and crackers in the Red Carpet Club.
June 14th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — The actual award space would still need to be there, as there’s no guarantee the space would be released again if he had to make the booking. So it would be incredibly risky.
June 14th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
MARIA said,
HELLO, I PLAN TO TRAVEL SO: LAX- SAIGON- BY LAND TO HANOI, FLY TO JAKARTA- VISIT BOROBUDUR AND BALI, RETURN TO LAX.
1.-WHAT AIRLINES AND ROUTE DO YOU ADVICE?
2.-I HAVE 100,000 WITH AMEX WHICH CAN BE APPLIED TO UPGRADE TO BUSINESS EVEN IF I BUY THE LONG HAUL ROUND TRIP TICKET.
THANK YOU, MARIA
June 15th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Craig said,
Hi Ben,
UF grad looking to book a ticket to ATH from CLT and a ticket to DBV from CLT using ~80k US Airways miles and 50k Amex points.
How exactly do you use US miles to book award tickets on other airlines (say, Lufthansa or Swiss)? Any guidance on how / where to transfer Amex points?
I have a quandry that you might appreciate somewhat, now that you are AA Executive Platinum.
I am very fortunate in that I have about two million frequent flyer miles and I am just starting to use them. However, a very good buddy is AA Exec Platinum and he is willing to give me a good number of his VIP upgrade certificates.
However, unlike you, I have a full-time job and can only travel so many times a year. (This year I’m really pushing it to take five one-week international trips — two on miles and three on VIP vouchers).
The dilemma is that if I use a number of his VIP vouchers in the future, I will not be able to use my miles and will end up hoarding them, which is contrary to your “earn and burn” mantra. In the last year, I picked up another 750,000 miles between credit card spending and bonuses, and I can see getting lots more after reading your great advice.
To make matters more complex, I am so intrigued by your AA Exec Platinum challenge, that I am tempted to do it myself, with my son, which would give us 32 upgrade vouchers in a relatively short period of time.
I realize that AA would probably only let me do a Platinum challenge, since I am not an elite on any other airline, and that I’d have to earn my 100,000 BIS miles or points to get Exec Platinum. But with the availability of my friend’s VIP vouchers, any trips and milage runs would be most comfortable, and like you, could include discount business class to LHR, upgraded to first class.
What are your thoughts??? Earn and burn and forget about the upgrades, or use the upgrades while I have the opportunity and become EXP?
Also, any way a non-elite can ever get an Exec Platinum challenge when AA offers them again?
Thanks and keep up the great work!!!
June 17th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Lefty said,
Ben,
I have purchased my parents tickets in premium economy on Thai (LAX-HKT) via BKK. I also purchased their tickets to and from LAX on a different itin. My question is am I able to purchase a day pass for them to a lounge in the Bradley Terminal at LAX on their day of departure? They have a 5 hour layover and Thai check in opens 3 hours prior.
If so do you have one you recommend? I would prefer one that is behind security due to the lines there. Also same question at BKK?
Thanks!
June 17th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Jon said,
Lucky,
I have a flight on Qantas in Y fare class from SYD to MEL and then following day MEL to HKG. I am not currently a Qantas FF program member but have Alaska and American memberships without status on either but might go for Alaska status if I have time this year. I am United 1K. Where should I credit my Qantas miles?
Thanks!
Jon
June 17th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
lucky said,
@ MARIA — It all depends on when you’re traveling and what award availability looks like. In theory you almost have enough for a roundtrip business class award ticket, so you might be better off going for that instead of upgrading, since the revenue ticket might be very expensive. But there’s no easy answer, because there are several promotions, though they’re only useful if there’s availability for your preferred dates. If you’re interested I do offer an award travel consulting service at pointspros.com which might be useful for you.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig — You would have to call US Airways to book a ticket using their miles. If you’re looking for a business class award, you’re probably best off topping off your US Airways account with another 20,000 miles so you have enough for one roundtrip business class ticket through their current promotion. As far as the American Express points go, Continental is going to have the best price at 55,000 miles for coach, unless you can find saver space through Delta and take advantage of their 50% transfer bonus. As always, it’s a function of availability, though.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — I hadn’t seen that before, looks awesome! As always with this kind of stuff, I’ll believe it when I see it.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig New York — Ah, great question. Let me respond to it in a blog post tomorrow, because other people mind this pretty useful, I think.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Lefty — The only lounge I know of at LAX Bradley Terminal that sells passes is the reLAX lounge, which is landside. Passes are $50, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t know of any in Bangkok Airport, though unlikely Bradley, there’s actually a ton to do there and it’s a generally nice airport, so they shouldn’t have too much trouble passing time.
If I have an air-ticket with CO and want to win miles with my OnePass Account (no status) but I have a LH Frequent Traveller card can I use the “special privileges”(like boarding first) and still win points in another account??
June 20th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Lim said,
I was reading your Macau Holiday Inn writeup. Did you book a standard or the deluxe room for US$100 all in before they upgraded you upon check in?
June 20th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Jim said,
Hi Lucky,
I have about 35,000 WorldPoints left from an old BoA Visa I no longer use. Today I logged on intending to cash the points out for a $350 check, when I noticed they are also offering the option to convert points to Aeroplan miles at a 1:1 ratio.
Given the fact that I don’t currently have any Aeroplan miles, and Aeroplan’s upcoming changes to their award levels, is it worth it to convert the WorldPoints to miles, or am I better off taking the $350?
Thanks for your help!
June 20th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Will — In theory, yes. There are two profiles for frequent flyer accounts on tickets. One profile is for benefits, while the other is for mileage accrual. You should be able to enter each in one area to get the miles in one program and benefits from the other program.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Lim — I forgot the room type, though I had booked whatever the cheapest room was.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Jim — Assuming you have other ways of accruing Aeroplan miles (Membership Rewards, SPG, etc.), that’s definitely a better deal, even post-devaluation. Business class to Europe with two stopovers, for example, is still only 90,000 miles, which is a bargain.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
JRL said,
Luck, what do you know about China Southern?
I’m trying to anticipate award space on their 380 product. Also, seat guru shows 3 cabins for their LAX-CAN flight but says their is only First, Premium Economy and Economy. Does this mean “First” is actually a J product, thus, Delta miles can be appropriated?
I’d love to know the difference (service wise) between all these chinese carriers, which I read was “improving”: Eastern, Southern, Air China, China Airlines, and all the other flag carriers I’ve omitted. Must I order my meal by number? Who do you think uses the least MSG?
JRL
June 20th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Scholar in Training said,
Lucky, what’s your strategy for folks with orphaned miles these days? I have a buddy with around 30k in UA, 25k in US, 15k in AA, 15k in DL, etc. and it’s driving him crazy that he doesn’t have enough in one place to do anything internationally. Any suggestions? I know points.com will help but their transfer rates are poor. And I’ve heard the Amtrak transfer has been pretty much closed up, except for maybe CO transfers.
Thoughts?
June 20th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
mike said,
how did that one guy earn 750,000 AA miles in one year by credit cards? It seems impossible?!!
June 20th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I’m in the same boat as you, I have no clue. There are a lot of Chinese airlines with very little differentiation among them, it seems. That being said, I don’t think you can redeem Delta miles for China Southern first class. Very strange that they don’t seem to have business class on many routes.
June 20th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Unfortunately in this case there’s not really a good answer. The ideal strategy would be to keep accruing miles in those accounts by means of credit card sign-up bonuses, Netflix, dining programs, etc., until one has enough points for a worthwhile award. I know I have many accounts that I used to consider “orphan” accounts, where I now have enough points for even international premium cabin awards. Continental is the perfect example, even without a United transfer. I earned 50,000 miles last year through their checking accounts, 50,000 miles recently for their credit card, and another 100,000 miles through the Chase Sapphire card. That’s 200,000 miles without ever flying the airline.
I realize it’s not the ideal answer, but it’s really the only practical solution without losing 90% of the points’ value.
June 20th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — You might want to make ask in the post on the subject, but I think it was through British Airways. If that’s the case it could be through multiple family members signing up combined with promotions and a lot of credit card spend.
June 20th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
MJG said,
Just want to point out that there is actually a huge difference between the Chinese carriers. China Airlines is Taiwanese, not Chinese, so would not be used for the same routes. China Eastern is of a lower quality than Air China; China Southern is a decent airline but flies fewer transcontinental routes. Other Chinese airlines (Hainan Airines)are very high quality, while others, particularly those that fly only domestic short-haul are, as one would expect, more similar to a U.S. airline than Singapore or Cathay. That being said, had a perfectly good experience on China West, which only has about three plans in service flying across a very narrow expanse of the mainland. In short, no Chinese airline is going to compare to the other Asian carriers (Cathay, Singapore, Asiana, ANA, etc.) but then again I don’t think many international premium jetsetters are major American, Delta, United, Continental fans either.
June 21st, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Mark said,
When’s your next United mileage run?
Ooh, post 999.
June 21st, 2011 at 7:16 pm
mendy said,
I fly all the time domestic and international. I have a million memberships/rewards cards, but feel like I can never gain real miles becuase I have to have too many different memberships and there are not enough links between the airlines/partners.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:18 am
jfpanik5 said,
Lucky,
I guess you could say I am a miles novice, but I have a question for you.
I have the most miles (although still very few) on United, but I recently flew Virgin Atlantic to London. I made myself a member of Virgin’s FF program, but did not yet register the miles under their program. Later that week I saw how I could get Continental miles fro Virgin flights and then transfer it to United which excited me a lot, so I went and created a Continental account. When reading, however, I saw that I needed to have the account before I flew that segment in order to get miles. Is there a way around this, for example, can I get those miles as Virgin miles and then transfer those to Continental and then to United?
Thanks,
Joe
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:37 am
rich (arizona) said,
Can someone explain double dipping with regards to Hilton’s reward program? I understand it has to do with getting multiple bonuses.
I currently signed up for the double points bonus. Is there another bonus I can also sign up for? I did get the temporary gold status and with the cheap hotel rates in Scottsdale/Phoenix in the summer it will be easy to gain 3 stays for about ~$50-60 per night.
Just wondering if there is another bonus I should be getting.
The fam and I are going to Europe this summer. Even though plans have been up in the air until this past week, I started doing my homework last month to be ready to use my miles.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw 3 seats open in C class FLR-FRA-LAX-SFO. I jumped on it using my UA miles to book these as one way rewards.
Of course, now I need to get us to Europe. Ideally we’d like to do
NYC-ARN (Stop)-FCO/FLR/PSA.
I know UA will want to make me pay for each segment separately. Does any airline offer a stop-over on a one way redemption that would allow me to do this routing (a stopover in Stockholm (ARN)) without paying extra miles (beyond the standard US to Europe redemption)?
I have a ton of points in *A and OW (AMEX, Starwood, BD, UA, AA, BA) if that help inform your answer. Thanks!
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:30 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — I actually have no travel planned at all, other than a couple of awards flights later in the year. Believe it or not, I’m totally fine with that, for once.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 am
lucky said,
@ mendy — The key is to consolidate your miles as much as possible by understanding alliances and partnerships and crediting miles to a single program whenever possible. For example, you can credit your US Airways, Continental, and United miles all to the same account so you can “consolidate” a bit.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ jfpanik5 — No, you couldn’t transfer the points once they’re credited. You should be able to request credit retroactively, so maybe fax/scan your boarding pass to OnePass and request the mileage credit. There’s a good chance they’ll allow it.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:34 am
lucky said,
@ rich — It’s simply a way to earn both miles and points for a stay. You can either earn full points, full miles, or a lesser of both amounts. That’s the extent of it.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ robertol — I can’t think of any program that has both reasonable redemption rates on one way awards (like no fuel surcharges and reasonable prices) that still allows stopovers. You might be best off just booking a cheap intra-Europe ticket. British Midland doesn’t allow stopovers within Europe, British Airways has fuel surcharges and crazy redemption rates when booking multiple partners, etc.
June 26th, 2011 at 7:27 am
mike said,
Chase Sapphire 100K Question
Lucky did you get the targeted offer? How can one get the targeted 100K Sapphire offer? I printed out the blank targeted offer form from Fatwallet and put my name on it and I am waiting the results of my application.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I didn’t get the targeted offer, though applied with the 50K offer hoping for the 50K bump. In the end it looks like they pulled it too early, which I can’t blame them for. There’s not a whole lot of recourse, unfortunately.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
kathy craig said,
My husband and I got the BA credit card 18 months ago, and now have 200k miles. We just celebrated 20th anniversary and would like that wow trip using these miles. England is a choice of his but mine is Europe or Israel. We would like to fly 1st class or business for comfort. How creative can these 200k miles be? Are they good for any hotels?
June 26th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
kathy said,
That would be out of SFO.
June 26th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ kathy — Congrats on your 20th anniversary! If you travel to Europe you’re almost certainly going to end up having to pay extensive fuel surcharges which British Airways charges. The much better value, if you were up for it (and given that it’s your anniversary), is to redeem your miles for travel on Cathay Pacific to Asia. It would be 100,000 miles to Asia, and you could travel to somewhere like Bali with a stop in Hong Kong, if you wanted. That would be the best “value.”
June 27th, 2011 at 10:14 am
CDiddy said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m wondering if it’s possible to use one person’s miles from American Airlines, to top off a redemption for someone else. The scenario is this: I’m planning on booking a flight for my wife and myself on an AA partner, using AA miles. My wife has almost enough for her ticket, but she’s about 4K short. I have enough miles for my ticket, plus enough to cover my wife’s 4K shortage. Can I use my excess miles, essentially combining our two mileage balances, to book our 2 tickets?
Thanks
June 27th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
rich (arizona) said,
What are the best tools to search for business class seats from a specific city? Ideally the destination can be one of many and the dates would be flexible.
Do you use ITA?
June 27th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
lucky said,
@ CDiddy — American does not allow “household accounts” like British Airways does, for example, so the only way to do that would be to pay the transfer fee to transfer miles from one account to another.
June 27th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Are you talking about revenue or award tickets?
June 27th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Revenue. Just pondering MRs and I can handle coast to coast in coach (or get a free upgrade on US Airways as I’m CP) but if I do something TA I’d rather be in business if the price is right.
June 28th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Tee said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m just getting started building up miles on UA and want to plan ahead to book a RT first class award trip to LHR next summer. I have about 63k combined miles with UA & CO. How can I find out how many miles I’ll need for the flight? And should I fly UA/CO or a Star Alliance partner?
Thanks in advance!
Tee
(p.s. I posted in the wrong forum. Please disregard my questions there)
June 28th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
TooTalltoFly said,
Lucky, just tried to book a Lufthansa first award (showing wide open avail on ANA tool) with US airways to take advantage of their 100% miles bonus offer and was told no availability. Any hints on how to get around the starnet blocking that seems to be going on?
June 28th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
John said,
Lucky,
I would like to make a one way partner reward ticket (mostly on Lufthansa) with Continental. The problem is the final leg is a one-hour flight on United Express. United Express doesn’t release award seats for about 2 weeks after Lufthansa and I don’t want to chance losing seat availability on Lufthansa. Is it possible to waitlist the final flight, and if so what number at Continental do I call. The listed numbers on their web sight leave me perplexed. The flights will originate in Dubrovnik connect through Germany and my final destination is in California. There seems to be good availability on Continental.com. I do not have any status but availability for June 2nd flights should be released in a few days. Thanks, John
PS love your blog(s)
June 28th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Emil said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a pretty basic question about hotels. Do stays booked via expedia/kayak/priceline/etc count as stays for status (I’m especially interested in Hilton and Hyatt)? I registered for that Hilton Gold promo recently and I need to book 3 stays by the end of August.
Also, if I currently have status, does it also apply to stays booked through this website?
I’m pretty sure I’ve read before that Priceline’s NameYourPrice reservations do not count, but I don’t know about expedia/kayak/etc.
Thanks!
June 29th, 2011 at 10:37 am
lucky said,
@ rich — Unfortunately I don’t know of any tool that lets you search just for premium fares. I think you’re best off just keeping an eye out on the “good premium fares” thread in the mileage run forum on FlyerTalk.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ Tee — A Star Alliance first class award would cost 135,000 miles. I highly recommend flying one of United’s partners, like Lufthansa, which will offer a much better in-flight product.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:40 am
lucky said,
@ TooTalltoFly — You would need to call them and request a “manual sell,” “direct sell,” or whatever your preferred terminology is. It can take some persistence. At the end of the day I can help with that through my award consulting service, if you can’t make it happen on your own.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:41 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sadly there’s no way to waitlist. If you’re booking almost a year out, I can’t imagine you’ll have any trouble, even if it means waiting an extra two weeks. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it, personally.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:47 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — As a general rule, stays booked through anything but the chain’s website do NOT qualify for points, so you’ll want to book directly through their website. Sometimes they’ll accidentally post points, but it’s not worth the risk.
June 29th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
patrick said,
Lucky,
I need some help with award flights for my son going to Croatia.
Thanks
June 29th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Adam said,
Lucky,
I have successfully booked a mini RTW thru aeroplan:
SNA-ORD UA F
ORD-MUC LH F
MUC-ZRH LX C
ZRH-BKK LX F (stop)
BKK-HKG TG F (stop)
HKG-ICN TG C (stop)
ICN-LAX OZ F
These are for April 2012.
In your experience, how far out from the trip do you get to pick your seats?
LH shows all 8 F seats available for revenue from LAX to MUC for our travel dates, when do you think they will release those for awards?
Thanks for your enlightenment.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Adam said,
Hi Lucky,
I live in Washington D.C and would like to take a trip to Israel in October to visit a friend. I have 150K in Miles and was going to use British Airways for 65,000. HOWEVER, they wanted to charge me $500 in fuel and taxes. I’m not quite sure how to use partner or star alliance programs. Do I have any other options? I could fly out of New York too
Thanks,
Adam
June 30th, 2011 at 5:14 am
mike said,
Ack. All my Visa cards are regular Visa and not Signature Visa so I can’t register for the Hilton offer.
AA Business Citicard Question:
If I start a new Business Citicard and I already have a Business Citicard, if I wait 90 days fromt the first card, will I get the miles sign up bonus again?
June 30th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Antonio said,
What’s the best way to get the most bang for your buck with 1 Miles&More eVoucher (I got just 1 as part of the FB status match promo)? Can they be redeemed on United?
June 30th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — You can pick seats for Lufthansa as soon as the schedule opens up. Just call them. As far as space opening up goes, in my experience Lufthansa releases award space LAX-MUC 11 months out if no seats are sold. Are you sure no seats are sold (ie, is the flight F8), or are there just no seats assigned on the seatmap? There’s a difference.
June 30th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — Unfortunately British Airways imposes hefty fuel surcharges for flights on their own planes. What other programs do you have miles with?
June 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I don’t believe so, at least not for the same exact card.
June 30th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Lufthansa only. I believe it’s only good for a shorthaul upgrade, which probably isn’t worth all that much.
June 30th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
patrick said,
Is your e-mail down?
July 1st, 2011 at 8:56 am
AdamRx said,
@Lucky
re: lufthansa LAX-MUC
for my dates (next April), expert flyer is showing F8.
Per Aeroplan/ANA, no award seats yet.
July 1st, 2011 at 9:33 am
Adam said,
@ Lucky
I have 150K AMEX MILES. Sorry, I forgot to mention it. The program I looked into was BA because of the 50% transfer bonus. People said that Delta is offering a similar deal but I don’t see it on the AMEX page. It is my first time using points and I would like to get good value. I can get economy from DCA or IAD to TLV for 125-150K amex points but that seems like a bad value to me. I am interested in economy or business
Thanks
Adam
July 1st, 2011 at 11:10 am
Bryce said,
Hey Lucky,
Looking to book my first trip to Asia (either Hong Kong or Tokyo) and was wondering if you could book premium economy with miles. I’m going to be flying United/Continental.
Thanks,
Bryce
July 1st, 2011 at 7:12 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
You mentioned you love Hong Kong, and several other cities… But have you ever thought of actually moving abroad for a period of time? You could live anywhere with your job!! This would give you a much better feeling for the culture and city, or are you to much in love with the long haul first?
July 1st, 2011 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — Availability permitting, you could get business class through Continental for 115,000 miles, which would likely be your best bet here.
July 1st, 2011 at 7:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Bryce — You can’t use miles for Economy Plus on United. You either get it based on elite status or buying up to it.
July 1st, 2011 at 7:36 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — One of the beautiful things about what I do is that I can work from anywhere, so you’re right. That’s actually why I choose to live in Tampa. It’s incredibly cheap and there are cheap tickets to anywhere. The “cost” of working out of a city like Hong Kong is just too high, unless you’re getting paid an ex-pat wage, which is crazy high in cities like Hong Kong.
So for the time being I’m stuck traveling to those exciting cities in first class and staying in five star hotels using points. Tough life, I know.
July 1st, 2011 at 9:04 pm
patrick said,
Check your e-mail…
July 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have a nice holiday.
(Still would be nice to see this page list comments with the newest ones at the top. It is a long list to get to the bottom of.)
+1
“Still would be nice to see this page list comments with the newest ones at the top. It is a long list to get to the bottom of.”
July 4th, 2011 at 1:16 am
mike said,
Quantas Web Site:
I have seen alot of award availability by using Quantas on AA Partners such as Alaska Airlines and even AA flights that AA claims is not available!
July 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
lucky said,
@ rich @ John — Thanks for the reminder, I’ll send over the request. I’m not sure about the feasibility of this, given that these are just “comments” to a normal blog post, but I’ll cross my fingers!
July 4th, 2011 at 10:03 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — Qantas’ tool is probably your best bet, followed closely by British Airways’ tool. Both should display accurate availability.
July 4th, 2011 at 10:04 am
lucky said,
@ mike — Hmm, were they connecting flights? Sometimes I’ll find them not to be accurate when connections are involved, though when searching a single flight I’ve usually found them to be accurate.
July 4th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben,
I was recently bumped on AA and my fare class changed to Y due to the manual airport rebooking. Even though the tickets were originally purchased in Q, will I receive 1.5 EQPs? I should note that the first leg of my trip was in O or Q, so the fare classes are mixed on the itinerary.
Please let me know. Thanks.
Jason
July 5th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Puck said,
Does Intercontinental honor ambassador and royal ambassador benefits when staying on a “friends and family rate?” I realize they usually don’t on an award stay but was not sure about this question. Thanks.
July 6th, 2011 at 7:27 am
Luke said,
My wife is traveling with out two kids ORD-DEN #427 today (7/6/11) and flight was just canceled. UAL says it is for servicing.
I am suspicious because I looked at purchasing last night to join them on this flight #427 was not even showing up on UAL.com.
My wife asked about this and rep said it was not showing up because flight was full, but as you know the “full” flights show up – they just have an “x” next to them so you cannot purchase. Flight #427 did not even show up as an option.
I think they knew they were going to cancel last night. Am I being to cynical thinking it was probably a load issue. All three of them were upgraded (Wife 1k, one kid P) on this 767 3-class.
Now they can’t get her out til 5pm so unhappy wife with two year old and infant on the way home and bagging the trip. Working on letter to UAL – any thoughts?
Thanks!
Luke
July 6th, 2011 at 7:58 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — If you got rebooked in a higher fare class, chances are that’s how it’ll post. So while you have no claim with them if it doesn’t, you can cross your fingers and hope it posts that way. Good luck!
July 6th, 2011 at 7:59 am
lucky said,
@ Puck — Technically they don’t have to, though in practice most properties do, in my experience. I suggest emailing the specific hotel you plan on booking and asking.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:02 am
lucky said,
@ Luke — I tend to think that the idea of a flight being canceled due to a light load is entirely a myth. That flight was continuing on somewhere upon arrival, and those passengers were substantially inconvenienced as well. So United (or any major airline, for that matter) doesn’t just cancel a flight because it’s not full. I wouldn’t read too much into the cancellation, though they’re definitely due a “gesture of goodwill” for the cancellation, since it was within United’s control, in my opinion.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Luke said,
Lucky – Thx for quick reply! Good point re next leg etc.
Any thoughts on why #427 was not even showing up as an option for purchase on ual.com last night?
That was what really made me wonder if they knew it was going to be canceled last night? As of 6pm last night this flight did not exist…
Enjoying reading about your trip and happy you did not fall for the scam in Kuala Lumpur!
Luke
July 6th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Jack said,
I recently took a British Airways Oneworld partner awards trip. I booked two one-ways: JFK-SCL-CJC on LAN and EZE-JFK on AA.
My understanding is that award flights do not earn miles; that is, I cannot earn BA miles for my trip. However, is it possible to earn miles on other Oneworld airlines for the flight? For example, I have a AA PNR for my EZE-JFK flight. I linked my AAdvantage # to that PNR when I flew back, and the points (including the 100% bonus, as I’m PLAT) showed up in my account. I also have a LAN PNR for the outbound flight, for which I have not yet received AAdvantage miles; however, I plan to request them from AA once my 15 day waiting period for mileage requests is up.
In short, the question is: is it possible to get AA to give me miles for one or both of those flights – either because I flew on AA metal or because BA, not AA, was the airline for which the flight represented an “award ticket”? To earn 20k miles for a trip that only cost me 20k miles + $300 seems a bit too good to be true. That said, I appear to have gotten it for the AA EZE-JFK flight, so I’m a bit confused. Any clarification about the precise policies (or, more importantly, the way in which the policies are actually carried out) for the way earning oneworld miles for award flights on partner airlines would be helpful.
Thanks,
Jack
July 6th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Peter Li said,
Dear Lucky,
I booked an award ticket with US Airways miles. Two of the flight segments will be flown by AirChina. However, I notice for the past week, the first flight delayed a few times, which would cause misconnection. I will have another LH flight after the CA flight. I called Air China and was told that the ticket was issued by US Airways. It’s US Airways’ responsibility to make change, even if the delayed was caused by weather or mechanical reasons. I called US Airways and was told that it is AirChina’s responsibility to make change if Airchina’s flight delay causes the misconnection.
Now, I am stuck. The agents were not very helpful. I am wondering whether there is any written rule regarding such situation.
Thanks a lot,
Peter
July 6th, 2011 at 11:46 am
Nolan said,
Hi,
I own a small business and have a credit card processing machine. Is there a concern of doing something illegal if you ran a charge on your airline credit card? I know there is a processing fee but if it’s low enough it can be less than buying miles if you just need to top off your account for an award ticket.
Thanks,
Nolan
July 6th, 2011 at 11:58 am
lucky said,
@ Jack — You’re not supposed to be able to earn miles for award tickets, so it sounds like that was a glitch, even if you request miles in a program other than the one you booked through. If you request the mileage credit they’ll almost certainly deny it, citing an ineligible booking class. In your shoes I wouldn’t follow up, because they may very well reverse the miles that were credited for the other ticket when they realize the mistake.
July 6th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Peter — Misconnects on an award ticket can be a serious PITA. It gets really sticky, since you do get the runaround, and there can be lots of parties involved (you, the airline that caused the delay, the airline you were connecting to, and the airline through which you booked). Generally speaking you should try to talk the airline that caused the delay into taking care of you, since it was their fault and you’re at the airport. They might have to call the issuing airline to reissue the ticket, but they’re likely the only ones that would book you in a “non-award” fare bucket. US Airways could just try to find you award space, while Air China should (at least in theory) book you in a revenue fare bucket if the problem was their fault.
July 6th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Nolan — I’m not an expert in this area, though I can’t imagine it’s illegal. If anything it might violate your merchant contract (read up on your agreement with them) or cause tax issues (since it may appear to be revenue for your business), but that’s about it.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:06 am
mike said,
Can you credit the miles earned from the Cathay Pacific deal to AA?
July 8th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — It’s my understanding that you can only credit them to Asia Miles.
July 11th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Lance said,
Lucky,
I am planning on redeeming one pass miles for a trip sometime early next year for both my wife and myself. I will need 140,000 for each ticket with my current plan. My wife only has about 20,000 miles in her one pass account and i have 115,000. I also have 55000 Amex points and 103000 Ultimate Rewards points to transfer. As far as reward redemption goes, does it matter if I transfer all the points to my account or transfer to where there is 140000 in each account? i.e. is it easier to redeem a business/first seat individually or two seats on one account.
Also does $400 in taxes and fees ($330 of it fuel surcharge) sound right for North America – Asia? Better than the $800-900 BA charges on BA NA-EU, but seems steep.
July 12th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — It doesn’t make a difference, other than the fact that all miles for a single redemption have to come out of a single account. So you’ll probably want 140,000 miles in each account, or 280,000 miles in one account. If you start booking one-way tickets (70,000 miles each) you lose the ability to have a free stopover.
July 12th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Correct, “Z” is first class, “U” is business class, and “X” is coach class. $400 sounds exactly right based on the tickets I’ve booked lately.
July 13th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Emil said,
Lucky,
If I book two consecutive nights as two separate transactions (this is at a Hilton), will they count as two separate stays?
I would be fine with settling the bill each day, or even checking in and out (though I hope that wouldn’t be required). I just need an extra stay for the Hilton card Gold promo.
Thanks for helping
July 13th, 2011 at 7:04 am
Sam said,
Lucky,
I have a math/rules question for you. I am going to Tokyo in the fall and will buy a revenue ticket, I plan to fly business class. I recently got an Amex Platinum Delta card so I am looking at flying Delta. Here is my question: As a Gold status Delta person the chart says you get 100% mile bonus, the platinum card rules say that by using the card you get double miles. If I read this right and my math is correct it should be something like this: 12K mile round trip Boston to Tokyo (12K is an easy number to work with and a close prox to the actual miles) + 12K for gold status bonus + 12K for using card + the $ spent on the ticket = over 36K for one trip. Does this add up to you?
Thanks!
July 13th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Bob said,
Just heard the piece about the us mint/cc, thing on NPR, but really was wondering what is the best way to start building miles/points?
Basically I’m asking if there is a noobs guide to this whole thing?(or a site that regularly lists deals would be cool too)
July 13th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Andres said,
Hey lucky, what Bob said,
Except I would rather know where to start reading. I found your site and was initially lost trying to look for answers.
For ex.
How did you start? Was it luck?
What should I read before I start going nuts trying to get points like in an old video game?
What advice do you have for a college student?
I read your advice for the best credit cards but as a student I’m not spending that much.
Seeing that there is more than one person that is clueless, I suggest hat you have a webpage for beginners.
If there were answers to these questions above, sorry, I haven’t had a chance to read all of them.
Thank you
July 13th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Kevin N said,
Lucky,
In a few of your trip reports you’ve mentioned “maximizing” already ticketed award reservations. For example, you had ticketed LAX to Tokyo to Singapore. In order to “maximize” this you added Tampa to Washington to LAX. Is the ability to add additional segments (presumably without increasing the number of miles necessary) unique to United? Are there any additional charges to book this way? Thank!
July 13th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Brad P said,
Will making a charitable donation to a nonprofit organisation (501c3) earn someone points/miles on a travel rewards credit card? I see that most credit cards w/ such rewards programs bar cash advances, balance transfers, and money orders from earning the card-holder points/miles. However, there is no confirmation that a donation falls under the cash transfer category. Thanks!
July 17th, 2011 at 4:18 am
London Tim said,
Lucky, is there anything/anyone to stop me buying a fully flexible (refundable) ticket on a mileage-earning credit card, then cancelling the ticket and still earn from the purchase?
Obviously it’s not a technique you can do too many times, but if you have enough credit limit, then a fully flexible first class ticket can earn up to 30k miles!
July 17th, 2011 at 8:28 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — Unfortunately the system is *usually* smarter than that. As a rule, it will still count as one stay.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:30 am
lucky said,
@ Sam — Not quite. The credit card doesn’t get you double flown miles, it gets you double miles based on the purchase. So if the ticket cost you $1,000, you would normally earn 1,000 miles for the purchase. The double miles would earn you double of those 1,000 miles, for a total of 2,000 miles. Hopefully that makes sense.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:31 am
lucky said,
@ Bob — It’s a pretty complex art/obsession, so just start reading blogs, websites like flyertalk.com and milepoint.com, etc. Credit cards are a great way to rack up miles when they have great sign-up bonuses, which I post about here all the time. It’s often possible to earn 100,000 miles just by signing up for a credit card.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:34 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin N — How far you can maximize an award is really dependent upon the rules/policies of the program. Most airlines charge change fees if you make the change after the fact, typically with the exception of top tier elites, as they get fee waivers.
But lots of airlines will let you maximize awards. For example, Cathay Pacific charges the same for an award from San Francisco to Hong Kong as they do for an award from San Francisco to Hong Kong to Bali (with a stopover in Hong Kong, if you’d like). American charges the same for an award from London to Chicago as they do for an award from London to Chicago to Honolulu (with a stop in Chicago, if you’d like).
Of course an award is only truly maximized when you’re getting where you want to go. In other words, there’s no value in adding a segment if it doesn’t take you somewhere that you want to visit.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:35 am
lucky said,
@ Brad P — Assuming the charity accepts credit cards with a normal merchant account, I assume it would earn miles. They’ll likely still have to pay the credit card processing fee, though.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:37 am
lucky said,
@ London Tim — When you refund the ticket, the miles would once again be deducted from the account. Just as they can give miles, they can also take them away.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:38 am
lucky said,
@ Andres — It’s going to be impossible for me to answer that here, so I like the idea of having a separate “beginners” page. Let me get working on that.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Are you going to provide any details about the “Cops” experience you tweeted about the other day? Or did I miss the details? Curious minds want to know
July 17th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Andres said,
“@ Andres — It’s going to be impossible for me to answer that here, so I like the idea of having a separate “beginners” page. Let me get working on that.”
Sweet. Looking forward to it!
July 18th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
London Tim said,
Thanks for the response Lucky. Just seems like on this side of the pond air miles promotions aren’t quite as lucrative as over there. For instance credit cards here only offer 10k opening reward. Wanted to hit the million AA mark before things change. (I’m only on 35k!) maybe it’s too unrealistic having started only a month ago?
Are there any ways to get *big* mileage other than BIS, credit cards or hotel stays? or would you have to kill me after you told me?
July 18th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — LOL! It doesn’t have anything to do with travel, so I guess I really can’t talk about that here, now can I?
July 18th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — Sadly your observations are correct. Loyalty programs just aren’t as rewarding outside of the US, and you don’t see the same killer promos and offers.
July 20th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Sean said,
Lucky, recently found your blog. Like Andres I’ll be looking forward to that “beginners” page. I’ve been having trouble deciding if I’m your target audience or not!
July 20th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Antonio said,
I received my Miles & More Senator card from their Flying Blue status match promo. Do you know if this will allow me to use, for example, the SilverKris Lounge Business Class in SFO when flying domestically? Normally I can only use it due to my Premier Exec status when I’m flying internationally out of SFO. Thanks.
July 20th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately that still doesn’t get you access.
July 21st, 2011 at 1:13 am
Snowcone said,
Lucky,
What do you know about JAL’s First Suite? I know you speak highly of ANA but how is JAL compared to ANA’s First Class? Is the award seat as hard to come by for LAX-NRT as ANA? I have enough miles in my AA and BA accounts but I am not sure how I can check the availabilities. Any good tool? Thanks.
July 21st, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for a great blog.
I booked a mini-rtw for 2 people in F, on two different PNRs, for next year including ZRH-BKK on TG. Checking both the ANA and Aeroplan websites, two seats opened up on the LX flight. I tried to change both itins, but everytime they changed one ticket, the second seat disappeared from inventory.
The Aeroplan agent said sometimes an airline will only release two seats as a pair at the same time, and if you’re dealing with two reservations sometimes they will pull the second after you ticket the first.
Have you ever experienced this? Any advice how to deal with it? I can’t tell if I was given straight info or not.
Thanks!
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Justin said,
Lol this Ask Lucky, must be a lot of work . Well since it’s up, I might as well use it, again. Do you get access to the Virgin Clubhouse in lhr if you arrive on a VS flight in Upper, and depart on another flight, from a different airline (AC). My route would be BOM-LHR-YYZ. BOM-LHR on VS and then LHR-YYZ on AC.
Whaddaya think?
P.s. No first class PJs in a lounge.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:47 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I’ve only flown JAL’s old first class product, and it was good though not quite to the level of ANA. I find the service on ANA to have a slight edge. They don’t seem to release very much award space LAX-NRT, but they seem to release a lot more space SFO-NRT.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:48 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Have been in exactly the same situation on exactly the same route on exactly the same airline. That’s just what Swiss often seems to do. They’ll only release the two seats together, and not separately. So the only way to get them is to be on a single record, unfortunately.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:49 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Unfortunately you can only use the arrivals lounge (if it’s not open), though not the Clubhouse. Sorry!
July 24th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Snowcone said,
Thank you for your tip, Lucky. I am so happy to have found you and your blog that I know I can turn to you for your expertise with the questions I have. I wish I had known you much earlier.
Last year, I redeemed my United miles for First Class seat between LAX and NRT on United. My destination was Sapporo but when I found the available seat for the LAX-NRT leg of the trip, domestic portion which is a code-share with ANA, still was not available. Most likely, award seats had not been released yet at that point. I didn’t want to take a chance of losing the seat I found on United by waiting for ANA so I booked LAX-NRT only and ended up paying for the domestic leg although award seats opened up at a later date.
My question is, could I have done this differently? Could I have avoided having to pay extra for the domestic leg in Japan in anyway? Have you ever encountered a situation like this? Thanks!
July 25th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
rich (arizona) said,
For hotels if you book via orbitz do you still get points for your stay (for Hilton and Hyatt)?
July 26th, 2011 at 12:19 am
JD said,
Lucky,
What would you do if you were living in a city in the middle of the US? Most mileage runs are coast to coast. I want to do mileage runs, I’m just not sure how since I’m right in the middle.
Can you go in detail on some of your AA runs? I’ve seen a bunch for UA/CO/Delta but nothing for AA.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:53 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — Perhaps I’m going crazy, but I believe there’s not a way to redeem United miles for intra-Japan flights on ANA. So if that’s the case (which I think it is), you did the best possible.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:54 am
lucky said,
@ rich — You do not, unfortunately.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:56 am
lucky said,
@ JD — I’m the biggest advocate of mileage running, but living in the middle of the country it usually just doesn’t make sense, in my experience. There’s no way to rack up enough miles at a reasonable enough cost for it to be justifiable, at least for me. In the middle of the country you’re probably best off doing international mileage runs if your mind is set on mileage running.
My American trips actually haven’t been mileage runs thus far, aside from my discounted business class ticket to Paris. I’ve just had legitimate trips around the country, connecting in either Dallas or Miami.
July 26th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Sam said,
Lucky,
Thanks for answering my Delta miles question. On another subject. There was a story on NPR this AM about people who are buying $1 coins from the Tres Dept, on a credit card, depositing them in the bank, paying off the card with that money and collecting miles. One guy took his whole family to HI first class all the way. Feds are now not letting people by the coins on cards anymore. Thought you would get a kick out of this. If I had figured that one out earlier I would be rolling in miles!
July 26th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
rich (arizona) said,
If you purchase an annual pass for Economy Plus on United, does that mean when you book a United (or I guess Continental) flight you can select an Economy Plus seat at the same time?
It has been years since I’ve flown United on a paid ticket.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:33 am
Snowcone said,
@ Snowcone — Perhaps I’m going crazy, but I believe there’s not a way to redeem United miles for intra-Japan flights on ANA. So if that’s the case (which I think it is), you did the best possible.
Actually, you can add intra-Japan flights operated by ANA if award seats are available without using extra miles. I didn’t want my post to become too long, so I didn’t go into the details the last time but I was able to grab an award seat for CTS-NRT coming back when I booked UA tickets. So at the end, I paid for just one-way ticket NRT-CTS.
July 27th, 2011 at 7:48 am
Chris said,
Hi Lucky, what is the best-value award ticket to Thailand from NYC (in biz and/or first)? Trying to decide where to direct my CC spending and signup bonuses. Thanks!
July 27th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Davies said,
Hi Lucky,
I have lots of BA executive club miles and I want to use it to go to from Vancouver to Manila with a stopover in Hawaii. I’m looking at Japan Airlines. Is YVR-NRT-HNL (Stop)-NRT-MNL a valid one way itinerary? Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — You sure can.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — Probably booking through Delta or Continental for 120,000 miles in business class.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Davies — It would not be, since you’d be backtracking and transiting the same city twice, which is a big no-no. Frankly there’s no way to do that at a reasonable price, since BA’s award chart gets very expensive when you start mixing airlines. And you’d need to mix airlines to do what you’re trying to do.
July 27th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
eug said,
Aegean’s Star Alliange Gold status is earned after just 20,000 qualifying miles.
So, I don’t fly in Europe. I am basically west coast AS. Shooting for Gold 75k this year. Found a way to do it with 10 RT from PDX – SEA – MIA for about 3K-4K in 12 weeks. I just started thinking about it though.
But the Aegean’s thing. Do I understand it, that I could sign up for it. Fly “United” First Class, that would triple my earnings of miles going towards my Gold status? or is it just after earning Gold status, that I would get reademable miles?
Sorry for the typos.
July 27th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I’m trying to plan a honeymoon for my future wife and I. Trip isn’t for a while so I’m hoping to get award availability near the 330 day mark. I’m looking at a *A business award to Asia (final destination TPE) with a stopover in Europe and am trying to maximize the experience with some of the best routes/airlines out there. So far, I’ve come up with SFO-FRA-CDG (LH A380, stopover in CDG), CDG-ICN-TPE (OZ), but for the TPE-SFO return, I’m not sure if I want to go with UA, ANA, or OZ.
Couple questions: is this a legal award/routing for 120K in C? Which airline would you pick for TPE-SFO? I’m leaning towards UA just because I happen to like their new C product, but curious to know your thoughts.
July 27th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Addendum to previous post: would availability be easier in F versus C for 2 passengers and would that change your airline selection for TPE-SFO? Would you change anything else to “maximize” the experience?
July 28th, 2011 at 3:27 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m trying to upgrade a flight for my parents because my dad has Parkinson’s which makes it tough for him to sit for long periods. They’re traveling EWR-DEN on Continental, DEN-SLC on United, and back, all booked through Continental. I’m being told that I can’t use miles to upgrade the United flights, because it is still considered a separate airline for these purposes. (Merger? Says who?) Is this correct? Any ideas? Thanks for the help!
@ eug — Your understanding is correct. You would earn both elite qualifying and redeemable miles immediately if crediting to Aegean. It’s as good as it sounds, but then again I’d keep in mind that their elite status won’t get you a whole lot more than lounge access and the other Star Gold benefits when traveling on the Star Alliance.
July 29th, 2011 at 6:34 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — That sounds like a legal routing to me. Availability would probably be better in business class than first, though either is a possibility (minus A380 first class). I’d say you’re on the right track. Given that you want to go to Paris, that routing is tough to beat. For the way back I’d consider United for their hard product or ANA for their superior service.
July 29th, 2011 at 6:35 am
lucky said,
@ Liz — Unfortunately that’s correct. If you fly both airlines you’re unfortunately stuck paying for the upgrade twice, since they’re not “merged” for those purposes, yet.
July 29th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
toomanybooks said,
Hey, Lucky, why don’t you get one of those Business Class unlimited passes from Phillipine Airlines and fly around for a few weeks and tell us about it?
Hey Lucky, Which credit card do you recommend opening? I know your favorite card is british airline, and SPG Amex, but it seems like they don’t have any good sign up bonus right now.
I also want to open continental debit card through chase, but they said they do not offer this promo anymore, is this true?
thanks for your help
July 31st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ toomanybooks — Tempting, though the lack of ability to earn miles in a “real” frequent flyer program make it not quite worthwhile, in my opinion.
July 31st, 2011 at 11:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — The 25,000 mile checking account isn’t available anymore ever since they stopped giving miles on debit cards altogether. If you’re just after the sign-up bonus, I’d say the American 75,000 mile sign-up bonuses are tough to beat at the moment.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:51 am
rocdoc said,
Planning to sign up for the Amex Premier Gold Card you recommended, with a 25k bonus. Pardon my ignorance, but I am a member of AAdvantage, and when I called them about some info re points to miles, they were very rude, and told me the Amex “miles” do not transfer to AAdvantage. Do they tell you that simply because they want you to use the credit card they support? What I want to know is, if I get the card, accrue 100K points, can I use that to upgrade a ticket on AA?
August 1st, 2011 at 9:54 am
lucky said,
@ rocdoc — American Express Membership Rewards points can’t be transferred to American. They have several airline transfer partners including Delta, ANA, British Airways, and Continental (through September 30). Now, British Airways is partners with American so you could book an award ticket on American using British Airways miles, though that’s the extent of it. You can’t upgrade an American ticket using American Express points.
August 1st, 2011 at 11:00 am
Jeff said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a new Platinum member of AA and I travel between NY and London about 5 times per year (in addition to flying in the continental US). What is the best way to get upgraded on my flights? Are there any tricks I can use to give myself a better chance of being upgraded to business class?
Thanks!
August 1st, 2011 at 11:53 am
Captain said,
So, I have an award trip booked, but wish to book a revenue ticket to go somewhere else while I’m at my destination (on my award).
Should my rev flight get delayed, and I end up missing my award flight back home, what happens?
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:21 am
Jenny said,
Hi Lucky!
I love reading your trip reports and have a question for you – do you have any tips on how to be upgraded to First Class on an international flight if you booked a Business class ticket? Thank you!
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:23 am
lucky said,
@ Jeff — Unfortunately there’s not really a “trick.” Your best bets are either:
a) Hope for an operational upgrade, which would be pure luck
b) Use miles to upgrade
c) Find a friend that’s Executive Platinum and use some of their eVIPs
d) Go for Executive Platinum since it would earn you eight systemwide upgrades, which are totally worth it, in my opinion
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:24 am
lucky said,
@ Captain — Technically you’re hosed, since you’re on separate reservations and you’d be at “fault.” That being said, if you can find a helpful agent they should be able to work with you to find an alternative. When you’re dealing with multiple airlines it gets complicated, especially when you book the trip with a different airline than you fly (ie booking a United award for travel on Lufthansa), so I’d do whatever you can to avoid missing the connection by leaving plenty of time.
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:25 am
lucky said,
@ Jenny — It all depends on the airline, how expensive your business class ticket is, and what your status with the airline is. Generally speaking, assuming you don’t want to “pay” for the upgrade, your best bet would be to have top tier status with the airline and hope they’re oversold in business class, which isn’t all that rare.
I’ve got a one night stay (23h layover) in Hong Kong in January and I’d like to put a little effort into getting a great hotel (Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott, Intercontinental, Ritz Carlton, etc). I’m normally an SPG guy, but I’ve already done the W there and the LM is way out of town.
First idea is the 2 stays => 1 free night promos. Which chain(s) typically do these? When would I normally need the promo to run for a January free night?
Next idea is some promo to accumulate a lot of points from a couple stays. Don’t seem to be many of these, or geography makes it difficult (unless I can get phantom stays).
Last resort would be churn and burn a credit card (Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, whatever) and redeem points for a night. Less exciting than mattress running.
Should I link my United and Continental mileage accounts now, or should I wait and hope they offer a bonus later? I am not planning on using the miles in either account in the near future.
August 3rd, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Lauren said,
Lucky,
As a former but not current corporate traveler, I have several dwindling balances in several loyalty programs. This includes a few night’s worth of points at both SPG and Marriott, most of my miles (85K) in a Continental OnePass account, and points from business expenses (100K) in AmEx Membership Rewards, which I still accrue in my new job though at a drastically lower rate.
I almost exclusively transfer the MR points for economy award tickets for international travel, and generally on Continental or other Star Alliance carriers – but of course value the flexibility to transfer to just about any other program (especially hotels) if needed to supplement balances here or there.
As Continental and AmEx are severing their transfer agreement at the end of the month, do you recommend that I carry all of the points over to Continental to consolidate balances while I still can? Or leave them in the AmEx “slush fund” knowing that I won’t be able to combine with Continental points in the future?
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Oscar said,
So I’m trying to book a flight to Vail from Mexico because it’s cheaper to fly UA I found a flight with a stop in Houston but then I found out that if my destination was Cheyenne I could fly directly to Denver and then to Cheyenne and it evens costs 5 dollars less.
Of course I don’t want to go to Cheyenne but what happens if I book the flight and I fly all the way to Denver and because it’s my first stop at the U.S. I’ll pick up my bags but instead of going to the next flight I just do like Denver it’s my final destination. Would I get charged for some stupid fee?
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Most of the chains that offer stay two get one free promotions do so in the fourth quarter, so in terms of timing that would work well. Hyatt would be your best bet in that case, though it’s far from a guarantee that the promotion will return this year.
Frankly most of the hotels you mentioned aren’t that great for basic rooms, in my opinion. For example, the InterContinental is one of the best, though only great if you have a harbor view room (which, without status, would be very expensive). Along the same lines I don’t think the Grand Hyatt is that great for a standard room.
If you have any Priority Club points now, you could buy an additional 40,000 Priority Club points for $240, which would be enough for a free night at the InterContinental. I’d say that’s probably your best bet as of now, if you don’t want to hold off for other promotions that might come along in the fourth quarter.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Ed — I can’t imagine they’ll offer another bonus (they often do it as an introductory offer, though see no reason they would offer it again), so it really doesn’t make a difference either way. Either you can link them now or later when you *have* to link them.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Lauren — That’s a real toughie. American Express points as such are incredibly valuable, but have definitely lost some value lately. Aeroplan increased award prices recently, which I would have otherwise suggested would be the best alternative. British Airways and Delta often have transfer bonuses, though neither are especially great values unless you have a specific award in mind.
Given your situation, I would say go for the transfer. You’ll have one account with lots of miles, and Continental generally offers the most attractive award chart for what you’re looking to do of any Membership Rewards partners.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — That’s known as throwaway ticketing. It’s not allowed, though the airline really doesn’t have any grounds on which to punish you unless you’re a repeat offender. I see no downside to doing that.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:05 am
Mark said,
Hi! My wife has about 200k miles on her Amex card and would like to redeem some to travel from LAX to London (to visit me) – problem is neither of us has done this before (hence the large number of miles). Can you give a quick run down of how best to do this? Hoping to get here over here for a week or so in the highest comfort possible. Thanks very much.
August 4th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
John said,
Ben,
BA first redemption is usually wide open but I am having trouble finding awards to LHR (biz or first)for mid June of 2012. What gives? Do they release more as time approaches? I’m looking from IAH and DFW- usually a gimme.
Thanks
August 4th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Oscar said,
Hey I’m trying to plan my Christmas/ New Years Vacations with my kids. The only problem is that I don’t have any place in mind. What places would you recommend for a family for Xmas and New Year. I don’t want to stay in North America and the Caribean.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — It all depends on when you’re traveling and what availability looks like. One option would be to look at Delta availability and transfer to them under their current 50% transfer bonus. You should be able to often find business class roundtrip for 100,000-150,000 miles, not factoring in the 50% bonus. Otherwise the next best deal would be Aeroplan, which is Air Canada’s frequent flyer program. Business class to Europe through them costs 90,000 miles, and you could fly any Star Alliance airline, including Lufthansa, United, etc.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Oddly enough you’re right. I don’t have a good explanation, other than that British Airways is good about releasing more award space closer to departure. So I’d keep an eye on it, as more space will likely open up in the coming months.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I suppose it’s a function of how much you’re willing to spend and how far you’re willing to travel. I find places like South America and Australia to be overrun that time of year, so I’d favor something like Thailand, for example. More reasonable prices, not quite as crowded, and possibly more fun.
August 6th, 2011 at 2:35 am
Lim said,
I know you used to redeem quite a lot of flights via AP. May I know how do you manage to pre-select seats on other *A flights redeemed with AP e-tickets starting with 014-xxx? The airlines don’t seem to accept e-tickets that are not issued by them for pre-flight seat selection.
August 6th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Despina said,
Hi Lucky, I just found out about SPG’s Airline Direct Deposit program. As we don’t typically stay at Starwood properties on holiday (my husband does for travel and we also have the SPG AMEX although we aren’t really using it as much, and our focusing all our spend on a UAL Signature Plus visa), do you think it’s worth it to enroll in the Airline Direct Deposit program and directly deposit to UAL MP?
Thanks!
August 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
lucky said,
@ Lim — You have to call the airlines directly in order to select seats, though they should be able to assign them then.
August 7th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — The major benefit of the Direct Deposit program is obviously that the points convert to United at a 1:1 ratio, while they’d otherwise convert at a 2:1 ratio. So if your end goal is to earn United miles, then yes, that’s your best bet.
That being said, I really value the flexibility of SPG points, and I think you’re missing out on some great deals if you transfer SPG points out without a transfer bonus, at least when you don’t have a specific redemption in mind. For example, US Airways usually has a pretty nice additional transfer bonus from SPG once or twice a year, in addition to the 25% transfer bonus you would get anyway. Their redemption levels to Europe in first class are lower than United’s, and as far as I can tell, they don’t Starnet block anymore.
August 7th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Sarah said,
I got a few skykits/customer appreciation cards from a United flight this week. What is is worth these days? I am currently 1P and will be 1K later this year… should I wait to be a 1K before redeeming it？
August 8th, 2011 at 10:22 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — I haven’t redeemed any lately so don’t know for sure, but I’d guess $50-100 nowadays. It should be worth more if you redeem it when you’re 1K, so it might make sense to wait.
August 8th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
chowdah said,
Hi Ben, thanks for all your posts. Very interesting. Question on UA upgrades. I have complimentary upgrades pending for both legs between LAX-SJD. We’re a few weeks out from the flight. I called and UA said there are no more upgrades available on the return flight, even though there are still seats open. (I’m assuming I’d be on the wait list if I try to apply my Regionals?) Would it make sense for me to request the upgrade now? If I do, do you know what the priority sequence is for upgrades? I’m trying to avoid requesting regionals if comp upgrades with status is prioritized over confirmed upgrades with lower status. ‘Cause then I’d waste a regional? Oh, I’m at 1K.
Thanks!
August 8th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
bmvaughn said,
Should I be following both FT and MP, or just one of them?
August 8th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
lucky said,
@ chowdah — If you applied confirmed regional upgrades now, there’s a chance your upgrades could clear before the 100 hour 1K upgrade window. However, once 100 hours hits, there’s no priority for using confirmed regional upgrades over just an unlimited domestic upgrade. My only concern would be that if your upgrade doesn’t clear in advance, your companion will no longer have 1K upgrade priority once departure management hits, a few hours before the flight. I’d say stay waitlisted for a complimentary upgrade and hope for the best.
August 8th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
lucky said,
@ bmvaughn — Depends how much time you have on your hands, I suppose.
In all honesty, it’s a toughie. I like both sites. FlyerTalk has a lot more archived information (given how much longer it has been around), while I prefer MilePoint’s format. If you have a preference for one over another I’d stick to it, since most of the important promotions/program changes seem to be covered thoroughly on both websites.
August 9th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Renata said,
Hi Ben, do you know if you can get a first class ticket on US Airways for 110,000 AND a stopover in BKK of you fly from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on Thai? Also, do you know if routings to South America via Europe are permitted (like flying BOS-FRA-GIG on lufthansa with a stopover in FRA). Thanks!
August 9th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Renata — First class to North Asia (if that’s what you’re referring to) would cost 120,000 miles. Technically if you stopover in Bangkok they should charge you the 160,000 miles for South Asia, though in practice you can probably find an agent willing to book it for 120,000 miles.
As far as North America to South America goes, you can’t legally route via Europe. Then again, your mileage may vary, as I’m sure you can find some agent geographically incompetent enough to allow you to route via Europe.
Perhaps here on the blog or over at TravelSort? Or maybe you could cover other regions, e.g. Asia?
You already post a lot of first/business seat & lounge reviews here, but I think comparing the airlines in one post is generally a lot more informative than reviewing each one individually. I imagine an article like that would especially interesting to travelsort..?
Best,
August 10th, 2011 at 11:22 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, my husband and I will be traveling to UK on BA First in September thanks to 2-4-1 voucher with $30K spent on their card. I am very excited as this will be our first time to fly first on BA and would like to check out their arrival lounge at LHR as we have sometime to kill before we can check in the hotel. Is the lounge located outside of the custom? I am wondering if we need to bring our suitcases with us and if so, is it really worth the trouble and maybe we shouldn’t bother but head for the hotel. Will you tell me what you think? Thanks.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:27 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — Thanks for the idea, I’ll be sure to propose it for a future TravelSort post.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:36 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I haven’t used the BA arrivals lounge at Heathrow, though I believe it’s landside after customs/immigration. Therefore you would want to pick up your bags first. Unless you have too much luggage, I’d go for it. You can shower, have breakfast, and get a spa treatment there. It shouldn’t be far from the arrivals area, so there shouldn’t be too much walking involved. Enjoy your trip!
August 10th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Jess said,
Out of curiosity, have you hit million miler status yet with United/how far away are you? I seem to remember that a little while ago, you said you were on track to hit it by July.
August 10th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
puck said,
Hi Lucky. Got a quick question about booking award travel: I’m planning to book two business class round-the-world Star Alliance tickets using United MP award miles for travel during the summer of 2013 (honeymoon trip ) I’m having trouble sussing out how far in advance I should plan to book tickets like these. A year? More? Less? I’d like to potentially work with PointsPros to book this travel, so I’m currently trying to do my homework a bit while I still have plenty of planning time (hopefully this way I’m not a pain-in-the-ass customer when that time eventually comes!)
August 10th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky, hypothetical MR situation here: suppose I’m on a UAL mileage run, consisting of a SBA-SF0-ORD redeye arriving in ORD at 5:10am, then ORD-SFO-SBA departing an hour later. If I volunteer to get bumped on my SFO-ORD leg, is UAL going to give you a voucher, give you a flight the next morning, and also rebook your return flight? Or are you SOL once you get to ORD, since you missed your return? Would I just be able to return to SBA from SFO the next morning, and use the voucher for a MR some other day?
August 10th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — I haven’t stepped foot on United since flying American, so I suppose that’s on hold for now.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
lucky said,
@ puck — The schedule opens up 330 days before departure, so the closer you can plan to that date, the better.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — It all comes down to the agent and how desperate they are for volunteers. If they have enough volunteers otherwise they may choose not to take you since it would be too much work to rebook you. They certainly could rebook your entire itinerary, though, without issue. If you’re nice to the agent, anything is possible!
August 10th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
amitdelia said,
Wanting to do a trip to AUSTRALIA. Can I do Quantas hub [dallas] to melbourne to sydney to new zealand and back. Would this be 80k one way in business class?
Also to South America, can I do Miami [LAN hub] to Lima to Santiago to Rio de Janeiro to Miami. Would this be 80k roundtrip in business?
Thanks so much.
August 11th, 2011 at 3:01 am
lucky said,
@ amitdelia — Are you talking about using British Airways miles? If so, since you would fly Dallas to Sydney to Melbourne to Sydney to New Zealand, that wouldn’t be legal since you’re transiting the same city twice. You could do Dallas to Sydney to New Zealand, though.
As far as the second routing goes, you’ll want to call BA directly to ask. You can definitely do Miami to Lima to Santiago OR Rio de Janeiro, but I doubt both…
August 11th, 2011 at 6:43 am
chowdah said,
Interesting thing happened… while getting read to board a flight from FRA to HKG, I was getting ready to board from one of the lounges. As the gate agent scanned my economy boarding pass, a “receipt” printed out with a business class seat. Do you know in what kind of situations would this happen? Perhaps economy class was oversold or something?
August 11th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
amitdelia said,
Lucky — you are awesome! Thank you for replying to my question so fast. I asked the question on 3 other blogs and flyertalk but no response — I know you’re busy so I really appreciate it; I could only focus on college and grad school so I have no idea how you do it. As a newbie I have 2 questions to steal your knowledge:
1. I live in Houston, so to do the Australia trip would I use my AA miles to get to Dallas and then use my BA miles to go to Sydney and then new Zealand and back? That would be 80k BA miles one way plus 25k AA miles Roundtrip, is there a better solution? How would I factor in Melbourne
2. For south America, since I don’t live in a LAN hub city, is it better to fly out on AA to Lima and then use BA miles in south America? I really want to hit chile, Peru, and brazil in any order
Thanks a million — you’re an awesome person who doesn’t mind sharing with us newbies
August 12th, 2011 at 3:54 am
Andy said,
Hi Lucky,
Read about you and your adventures in Oslo airport magazine which opened a whole new world for me.Respect! But being an English guy living in Norway does impose a lot of restrictions on earning miles. However I am tempted by buying miles on various US carriers at discounted rates (e.g. US Air) and using them on other airlines. It seems that 100,000 miles would here allow a business class trip to the US. What would you suggest for the best combination of low taxes and charges, luxurious service and all-round great experience from Europe to New York if I am flexible with the departure airport and carrier? I can get to most major hubs fairly cheaply so could avoid Heathrow if necessary which seems to be very expensive. Also, can you recommend good newbie pages for working this kind of thing out without bothering you?
August 12th, 2011 at 4:02 am
lucky said,
@ chowdah — Congrats! It sounds to me like you got operationally upgraded. Do you have status with the airline you were flying? If not, it’s VERY rare to get operationally upgraded, so consider yourself very lucky. This happens when a flight is oversold in coach so they need to upgrade passengers to make more room in coach.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:29 am
chowdah said,
@ lucky – It was a LH flight… I only have 1K with UA. So very lucky indeed!
August 13th, 2011 at 6:50 am
lucky said,
@ amitdelia — I don’t think it’s an especially good redemption to use 25,000 miles for a coach ticket from Houston to Dallas, so if you can find a reasonable fare I’d much rather pay for that segment than redeem miles for it. American miles are conservatively worth 1.5 cents each, so I suspect you should be able to find a ticket for less than $375 roundtrip from Houston to Dallas.
As far as your second question goes, I suggest doing a cost analysis for your specific dates. If you were to book American as far as Lima, see how much the intra-South America tickets would cost you to purchase (or how many miles it would be). Alternatively take a look at how much it would be to get to a LAN gateway in North America. I suspect it would be cheaper to book a revenue ticket to a North America gateway and then fly LAN, not to mention the in-flight experience would likely be a lot better.
August 13th, 2011 at 6:54 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — Buying US Airways miles is a GREAT deal, especially for transatlantic flights. As long as you’re not originating in the UK taxes on the ticket shouldn’t be too bad, maybe about $150 roundtrip, plus US Airways’ $50 Dividend MIles processing fee. The best availability can typically be found on Lufthansa through Frankfurt or Munich, so that’s probably your best bet. You should be able to include your segment from the home airport to the hub at no additional cost as well.
I would check out my articles on TravelSort.com, where just last week I wrote about the best options for awards using US Airways miles, and I also have some posts there about how to actually search for award availability.
August 13th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
With the recent AX MR promos and sign-up bonuses, I have a good amount of MR points. Sept 30 is coming soon, I’m not sure how much I should transfer to CO, or if I should stay put for an actual redemption. I prefer CO/UA b/c I have 1K status, and like being able to change award itineraries without fees. Also, their taxes & fees seem to be very reasonable. What do you think? Is there value in make SQ or NH transfers and redemptions?
August 14th, 2011 at 9:06 am
lucky said,
@ David — Excellent question! I’ll have a blog post on this today or tomorrow.
August 14th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Ray said,
I’m planning a trip to Beijing and Shanghai. I live in San Francisco. If I want to use Star Alliance miles (UA, Air China, Asiana), which airline has the best experience in coach or biz class?
August 15th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ray — In coach I’d say most Asian airlines would offer the best experience. Then again, if you could get access to United’s Economy Plus, that would definitely be the most spacious option. Generally I’d say Asiana would be the best. In business class United has a flat bed product to China on the 747, so they might just be the best. Otherwise ANA and Asiana via Tokyo and Seoul respectively are also very good.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
David K said,
I have 114,000 Wyndham points from the Discover America promo earlier this year. I’m torn between converting them to 45,600 AA miles or 45,600 UA/CO miles. I’m EXP with AA with about 650,000 miles and don’t have status with UA/CO with about 170,000 miles. Thoughts? You’re not aware of any periodic transfer bonuses from Wyndham by the way?
Thanks!
August 15th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
lucky said,
@ David K — That’s a toughie. I don’t believe there are usually any transfer bonuses, though I’m not too familiar with Wyndham. That being said, I’d transfer to Continental in your shoes, since you already have so many American miles. That opens up a lot of new award opportunities that you can’t get through American.
August 16th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Ismael said,
Lucky,
Using United miles, we can fly to Southeast Asia with a stop in Europe or the Middle-East on coach for only 65,000 miles. This is a great deal considering round-trip to Europe is 60,000 and to the Middle-East is 80,000. Using Continental’s online search, I noticed that any arrivals or departures to DOH connect in FRA. This makes a trip from DOH to SIN very long with a connection in FRA. Is a more direct route possible using United miles? Is it possible to search and use Qatar Airlines award space since they are an affiliate. Big Thanks.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
oleg said,
You mentioned in another comment you haven’t flown UA since getting started with AA. Out of curiosity, why? Just busy requalifying for EXP for next year? Don’t want to pursue the MM on UA related to the upcoming program changes? Something else?
August 17th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Adam said,
Lucky, probably a simple question for you. I am trying to book a Boston – Singapore (2 Day Layover) Bangkok (Stay for a week) – Boston trip. How far out do you think i should look to book with miles – (United Miles). Looking to fly Biz Class…also what airlines do you think provide the best product for said trip?
August 17th, 2011 at 8:50 am
lucky said,
@ Ismael — That would be serious backtracking and not allowed on an award from North America to Asia. The best you can probably do is going as far as Dubai, and then flying Thai from Dubai to Bangkok. But going back through Europe wouldn’t be allowed if originating in North America. You can’t mix Qatar Airways with Star Alliance partners on an award either.
August 17th, 2011 at 8:52 am
lucky said,
@ oleg — Frankly I haven’t been doing a whole lot of revenue flying at all because fares are so high. I’m planning travel for the fall right now, when fares are lower. I have a lot of flying to do on American as well.
August 17th, 2011 at 8:55 am
lucky said,
@ Adam — That’s actually one of the toughest questions that can be asked! It really depends on flexibility, what type of routing you’re willing to take, etc. But you can usually find award space anywhere from a couple of days out to 11 months out. It’s just a function of how flexible you are. But typically I always suggest booking six months in advance (at least) if you have particular dates in mind.
August 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Adam said,
Thanks for the quick response!!!! and great work on the blog by the way….amzing site!
August 17th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have you (or anyone else) seen any decent business class fares to Europe for Sept/Oct/early Nov? Dates are pretty flexible.
I’m trying to get about 18,000 miles credited to my US Airways account. From PHX to most of Europe it usually is about 12,000 miles round trip. If I can get a 50% bonus for business class that would work.
I guess on partners like United/Continental you’d get 125% (would be ok) for fares CDJ. LH on CDJPZ and Air Canada CDJZ.
I haven’t seen anything decent on US Airways lately ($3K+ for envoy).
Ideally I’d like to keep it around $2K R/T.
August 17th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Funny you mention it, because I was looking into this earlier today. Unfortunately I’ve yet to see anything I’d consider even halfway decent. The good deals seem to come after Labor Day.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Justin said,
Hey Lucky! Back with another question! If a family member flys with you can you pocket their miles too? Say I was on a payed business class flight with my mother, could I add the miles that she flew into my FF program? BTW, what in your opinion, is the best FF program for each alliance eg. easiest to gain top tier, best rewards etc.
Thanks again!
August 19th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Harrison said,
Hey Lucky! Back with another question! If a family member flys with you can you pocket their miles too? Say I was on a payed business class flight with my mother, could I add the miles that she flew into my FF program? BTW, what in your opinion, is the best FF program for each alliance eg. easiest to gain top tier, best rewards etc.
Thanks again!
August 19th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Despina said,
How does UA calculate EQM’s please? An elite travelling from SFO-LAS roundtrip will earn 1,000 minimum redeemable miles even though the actual mileage is 826. For EQM purposes does UA count the 826 or bump to 1,000? Thank you!
August 19th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Xiaohang said,
Hi Lucky, I’m really a new fish in the pond of flight game. I just booked a mixed cabin first class flight through Continental. My question would be, do I have first class lounge access at the connecting station where I will arrive in a first class cabin but depart with a business cabin. The connecting station will be BKK in Bangkok and the flights are Thai Airways’.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — They could only credit it to their account, and not your account. As far as the best programs go, it really depends what you’re looking for! It’s tough to give an overall “best.” Perhaps generally United is the best in Star, American in OneWorld, and Delta in SkyTeam.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — You don’t earn bonus EQMs for being an elite. Instead you only earn them for premium fare classes. So as an elite you would earn 500 EQMs for such a flight. If you were traveling full fare coach or paid first class you’d get a 50% bonus, which would earn you 750EQMs each way.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — Star Alliance rules only give you first class lounge access at the gateway from which you’re departing in first class. That being said, each airline has their own policy for their own passengers. For example, if you flew United international first class from Tokyo to Chicago and then coach from Chicago to Washington, you would get access to the international first lounge in Chicago.
I *believe* (though don’t quote me on this) that Thai gives you first class lounge access if you’re coming off a Thai Airways first class flight and connecting to a Thai Airways business class flight. But it’s not an alliance rule as such.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Helixcardinal said,
You’ve gone on a lot of great trips in international premium cabins. What would you rank as your top five airlines/experiences, including hard, soft, and airport products? From what I’ve read in your reports, I gotta imagine CX, OZ, SQ and TG F are all up there among others, but curious to know how they all stack up in order.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Murphy said,
@ lucky and Justin
Just thought I’d chime in and say that there are indeed a few FFP’s that let you pool miles from different individuals (like bmi and British Airways), effectively giving you the ability to pocket someone else’s miles (and legally too)!
August 20th, 2011 at 7:10 am
clara3454 said,
Hello Lucky! I was at Le Meridien Khao Lak while you were there. I realized this after I left, or I would have said “hello”. Anyway, I have 2 F award tix on hold with Usairways. My husband and I will be traveling with our infant who will sit on my lap. Apparently the cost for our baby to travel with us is 1/10 of the full ticket price of a seat in our cabin ($19k!), so we will have to pay $1900 for our kid. Any suggestions on a way around this? We are flying Thai, Lufthansa, United and TAM. Thx!
August 20th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Despina said,
@Lucky, I don’t think I was clear in my original email. I know that there are no bonus EQM unless you are on a certain fare. Based on your answer though it seems that UA hands out a minimum of 500 EQM to its elites rather than actual miles flown (e.g. 413 miles from SFO-LAS). Is that correct? Thanks!
August 20th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Scholar in Training said,
What are your thoughts on the UA Month of Miles promo? Worth some effort or not really? I’m surprised you didn’t post about it!
August 20th, 2011 at 10:06 am
lucky said,
@ Despina — That’s correct. Any any bonuses are based on the minimum 500, and not the actual flown miles.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:10 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Gosh, that’s a toughie. That might even be one for a future TravelSort post. Generally I would say Thai, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore, and Asiana are *probably* my favorites. You could just as easily substitute ANA for either Asiana or Singapore and I probably wouldn’t notice, since all three airlines are great in the air though nothing special on the ground.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:11 am
lucky said,
@ clara3454 — I wish there were a way around it, but that’s the sad reality of infants in premium cabins — on award tickets, an infant in a premium cabin is often more expensive than an adult in coach.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:12 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — It looks like it’s targeted and there are multiple versions of the offer, right? That’s why I haven’t blogged about it. I’ll give it a closer look, and if it’s interesting will definitely blog about it.
August 20th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Helixcardinal said,
Thanks for the answer. Look forward to the Travelsort post.
August 20th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Xiaohang said,
@lucky Thanks for the answer, can’t imagine a guy being so easy on eyes and still so easy to get answers from
August 20th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — Pssh, there’s no such thing. I’m just easy to get answers from, not easy on the eyes.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Xiaohang said,
@lucky LOL, your pic tells differently
August 21st, 2011 at 10:27 am
Xiaohang said,
@lucky
Guess I’m being a little bit pet peeving here by continuously asking silly questions. But is it possible that a single flight is available if it only consists of the departure and the destination of my trip, but not available if the same flight is just a leg of my trip.
Sorry for my awkward wording, I wish I could use some jargon.
Thank you
August 21st, 2011 at 10:51 am
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — It is, and that’s what’s referred to as “married segments.” It goes both ways, that sometimes there will be availability if you’re connecting for a given flight, but not available if the flight constitutes the entire trip. Typically it doesn’t cause a flight to be sold out, but instead pushes it into a higher fare bucket, depending on which category the flight falls into. But it happens!
August 21st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Xiaohang said,
@Lucky
Thanks for the clarification. But if that’s the case, how would it be possible to build my “married segment” flight consisting of different legs(like what you did in trip report), which however would only be available in the “unmarried segments”. Also, I just noticed what appeared on my computer screen was apparently different from what on the airline agent’s, who answered my request to change the date of reward ticket. She basically had much less seats, if any at all, available for change. At the same time, I saw quite a few options within my time limit. How is this possible and how would I be able to still change my reward flight date or even connecting station? Thank you for your help
August 21st, 2011 at 12:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — What I had written applied to revenue tickets, not award tickets. There shouldn’t be any married segments issues on award tickets. Where were you looking at going, what availability did you find, and what were you using to search?
August 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Xiaohang said,
Washington Dc to Guangzhou(CAN).
While I found mixed-cabin business or first class IAD-FRA-BKK-CAN quite available in several different dates, the Continental airline agent told me she could only put me in flight either ten days earlier or after my original departure date, only in business class and by IAD-NAA-CAN. I searched on Continental Airlines. Speaking of revenue tickets, do you know if reward ticket customer would be denied access to the lounge i.e. Star Alliance lounge? Thank you
August 21st, 2011 at 10:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — If you searched Continental’s website for the availability and it gave you options, then the agents should be able to see it. Are you sure you were looking at SaverPass space, which shows up in blue?
Reward ticket customers most definitely get lounge access like any other revenue customer.
August 22nd, 2011 at 8:04 am
Xhang said,
@ Lucky – Yup, I’m pretty sure about that. Saverpass it is. Guess I have to call again and see what comes up on his/her screen
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Xhang said,
@ Lucky – Just called, and a nice lady was able to change it for me, just the way I wanted. Thank you, lucky!
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Antonio said,
Today I decided to take a bump on United in return for a hotel and $400 flight credit. I’m at the Doubletree Burlingame (SFO), and when I checked in, as an HHonors Gold member, I asked for a breakfast voucher. They told me that since it’s an airline voucher stay, that I don’t receive a free breakfast. I called HHonors, and they said it was at the discretion of the hotel. Is this consistent with your experience? Should I fight harder for free breakfast?
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Xhang — Happy to hear it worked out!
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — That’s a great question. I’m not a Hilton guy so I can’t say for sure, but I did a bit of research. My understanding is that Hilton elites get their benefits on “eligible” rates and award stays. Though I see nothing that suggests elite benefits have to be honored to third party bookings or airport accommodation rates. So in this case you may unfortunately be out of luck.
Congrats on the bump, though!
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Antonio said,
@Lucky – Thanks on the congrats! I knew you’d be proud!
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:29 am
Xiaohang said,
@Lucky – So I was playing around with Continental flight search, what surprised me was that none of the A380 first class tickets were available for reward flight. (Only partner of CO has A380 would be LH?) Given the date range I searched was quite broad, I’m quite confident those tickets are not for redeeming. I then went ahead and searched on Qantas, which also gave the same disappointing result. So would it be possible that I can redeem A380 first flight through any corporation? Or A380 flights are so popular that the airlines never worry about the vacancy?
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:56 am
XH said,
@ Lucky – Here is something very interesting, couple days ago I asked you if I have Royal First lounge access in BKK, since only my arrival flight to BKK will be first class and my departure flight be business. So I actually sent out the email and asked the Lounge Service Team, just out of curiosity. The two replies I got was quite entertaining. The first read as follow: I would like to inform you that F/cl passenger arriving with Thaiairways and connecting by TG on any class of service within same day are fully eligible to access RFL. For spa facility is according to time allowing. The luggage can be automatically transfer.
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:03 am
XH said,
Continued:
I guess that email already confirmed what you told me. But 3 hours later, the so called “Lounge Sevice Manager in charge” emailed and said “Royal First Class Lounge provides for first class passengers who depart from Bangkok on star alliance flights and for TG Platinum member passengers who travel on TG flights.” Pay attention to that “in charge”, since the first email I received was also from Lounge Manager, but not “in charge”. The email was also CCed to quite a lot of people, which I found quite unprofessional. What would be your comment on this?
August 24th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Ram C said,
This is probably a silly question, but I’m asking since I can’t find the answer anywhere online. I qualified for UA Premier status (*A Silver) in May 2011. Until when do I have this status? Feb 2012 or Feb 2013?
August 24th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
JS said,
Lucky,
I’m 7/8′s the way to booking a trip from LAX to TLV. I’ve got my returns and three of the four outbound flights, but oneworld is not showing anymore availability for a remaining coach seat. Does AA open up coach seats as the date gets closer? The departure date is 10 months from now.
Thanks.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — The only airlines that reliably release first class award space on the A380 are Qantas and Emirates (though other than JAL, they don’t have many practical airline partners).
August 24th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Ram C — I believe it should be valid through January of 2013.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ JS — The airlines do indeed release more award space close to departure, so definitely keep an eye on it, as there’s a great chance of more space opening up.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:26 am
Paladin said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m looking at potentially being in Accra, Ghana a bunch in the next couple of years… It doesn’t look like Marriott has any hotels in the area, any suggestion on a hotel reward program to leverage? I’ve found a Holiday Inn but not familiar enough with the other programs to know if there is a program affiliation with any of the hotels there.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:03 am
James said,
I am traveling to Bail.What can you tell me about immigration? I have heard that it can take hours,also I heard that There is a VIP service called “Bali Easy Service”.I am staying at the IC in a club room, do they have a transportation option.I tried to email the IC ,however no responce.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
JD said,
James. I was just there, I woudl highly recommend the VIP service. We ended up hiring one at immegration due to the long line. The VIP will meet you at the plane
Hi Lucky. you are brilliant. What a fantastic relay of your SIN-SYD-MEL-SIN-LHR trip on Qantas A380. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I was lucky enough to fly Bus Class MEL-LAX a few years ago on A380. What a treat. I have enjoyed a Coach trip LAX-MEL last December and am looking forward to another in Jan 2012. Isn’t she “amazing”? Regards Alan J
August 26th, 2011 at 12:38 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, Does the Amex Premier Rewards Card offer 3X points on all airline purchases (miles are the purchases I have in mind) or just 3X on airfare itself?
August 26th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Paladin — As far as I know the Holiday Inn is the only major chain in Accra (though I may be wrong, I’ve never been). So if it was points you’re after, Priority Club is a pretty good program with lots of points earning opportunities, so I wouldn’t hesitate to go with them.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ James — Up until maybe a year or two ago the InterContinental Bali actually included meet and greet planeside with club rooms. Nowadays they just include a car transfer from the airport to the hotel, though you should be able to arrange that for sure by calling or emailing them. Other than that I highly recommend a priority immigration service, as JD mentions above, given that they’re usually reasonably priced.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Alan J — Thanks! She is indeed.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Mitch — It’s triple points one any purchase processed directly by the airline. That should usually include the purchase of miles, though US Airways, for example, runs their mileage sales through points.com, which doesn’t earn you the triple miles. But other than that it does usually count for triple miles.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:02 am
bpick said,
I read your article about booking award travel with Star Alliance. I am trying to book award travel with US Air and flying on Continental. US Air has booked me on outbound CVG/SNN with three day hold but they insist there are no return seats two weeks later even though Continental shows availablity. I used your method, talked to 4 CSR’s so far. I am half way there. Any other thoughts?
August 29th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
bludevil said,
Hi, I’m looking to go to Paris in March (2 people) and would like to use miles for biz class tickets or to upgrade a coach ticket to biz class. There are two of us and both AA and Delta miles are possibilities. Right now, the tickets are VERY expensive for mileage. What would your suggestions be?
August 29th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
lucky said,
@ bpick — Are you sure the space you’re looking at on Continental is saver space (meaning it shows up on their website with a blue button), as opposed to standard space (which shows up with a yellow button)? Also, have you checked the ANA tool, because occasionally Continental releases award space which is just for their own members.
August 29th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — Where are you starting from?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
bludevil said,
Tampa to Paris (possibly Orlando to Paris)
August 29th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
bludevil said,
I’d also be open to buying reasonable business tickets on AA or Delta or their partners
August 29th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Becca B said,
Hi Lucky – Love the blog! I’ve learned quite a bit in a short period of time. Question about the recent hurricane and canceled flights. Friday afternoon, I’m flying American from LGA to Nashville. Since the airlines will be trying to accommodate flyers whose flights were canceled over the weekend, do you think I have a greater chance of getting or do you think, since my flight is at the end of the week, flights will already be back to normal?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Becca B said,
looks like I deleted “getting bumped from my flight” on accident!
August 29th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
lucky said,
@ bluedevil — My best advice would be to check all of Air France’s routes, which usually have decent award availability. I would search them individually using Expert Flyer or Air France’s website, as I see plenty of space out of many of their gateways. That’ll be your best shot at getting “low level” award seats to Paris.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Becca — I’d say there’s still quite a bit of a backlog, so while it’s no guarantee, I’d say you have a very good shot at a bump!
August 30th, 2011 at 7:01 am
bludevil said,
what’s the best way to search award inventory on sites like Air France? I haven’t had much success.
August 30th, 2011 at 10:28 am
John said,
Lucky, Just moved to Canada from the US. Any suggestions in Credit Cards for miles here?
Dear Lucky,
I’m about to sign up my sister for her first FF account. She and I live in Seattle and most often fly Alaska (to Vegas or California or Mexico) but I’m wondering if it would be better to sign her up for an American account? What do you think? I currently have both an Alaska account (90K sitting there) and British Airways (67K).
August 30th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — You can sign up for an Air France Flying Blue account and if you see “saver” award space on airfrance.com it would probably be bookable via Delta as well. Otherwise ExpertFlyer.com is great for finding Air France award space, though that’s a subscription service. As a last resort delta.com should return Air France award space if you search segment by segment, so I suggest searching for space out of North American Air France gateways to Paris.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Unfortunately there’s no such thing as a 100,000 mile sign-up bonus in Canada. I’m not too familiar with the cards over there, though I believe the primary form of points accrual would be through actual spend. If you’re an American and still have an address back in the US, you could probably still sign up for US cards, though.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Chrissy — Alaska has a great frequent flyer program with lots of partners, so I would suggest she credit her miles there, especially since she lives in Seattle, where she’s a bit of an Alaska captive. You never know how long the partnership will go on, and American’s presence in Seattle is quite limited. Alaska also has some great redemption opportunities and low thresholds to qualify for elite status, so you really can’t go wrong with them.
August 30th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Cathy Strick said,
Hi. I’m getting ready to book an award trip for my family of 4 to Australia using AA miles next summer. Can I book an award in premium eco for my kids? If yes, how many miles? Thanks
August 31st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Dan said,
Lucky,
I know the airports I would be leaving from (LA area) but can never really decide a destination, and I usually travel last minute. Could you advize on some good sites where I could enter departure and get a selection for destinations? How about a good last minute travel site?
I am a frequent traveler (almost always in Economy on a G fare purchased by the government), but never bothered to join any frequent traveler groups until now.
August 31st, 2011 at 8:01 pm
U said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m an elite status newb. Do you know of any ways to earn Continental EQMs without flying? I will be about 5,000 short at year-end. Thanks.
August 31st, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Roger Haynie said,
I have booked an award for 3 economy seats from ICT to NRT on 11/03 with AA, but I still need to get from NRT to Hiroshima. I have 50K CO miles. Can I use those miles for an award with CO partner Al Nippon? And since I have already booked the flight to NRT with AA, how do I my luggage gets transferred to the flight to Hiroshima?
You enter the starting airport, choose your price limit, airlines, etc, and it gives you a decent list of places to fly. I found a cheap MCI-MSY r/t last August for $110.
September 1st, 2011 at 8:20 am
David Finden said,
Do you know any more details on British Airways Executive Club changes?
Thanks – this was great! found a R/T for this weekend in first class at a reasonable price.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:50 am
lucky said,
@ Cathy — Unfortunately there’s no way to use American miles for Premium Economy — just first, business, or coach.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:51 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Sadly it wasn’t me that helped, though wholeheartedly agree with FriendlySkies’ suggestion. You can’t beat Fare Compare.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ U — Keep in mind you can combine Continental and United EQMs. So you could get a United credit card, some of which give EQMs. That being said, you could just take one mileage run for maybe $250 all-in and not only earn some miles, but also get the EQM bump you need for status.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Roger — Once you make a booking you can request to have your bags “interlined” at check-in. This would mean that when you check-in just show them your onwards itinerary and they can tag your bags all the way to your final destination. Are the revenue fares very high, because you might just be best off booking a revenue ticket given the route?
September 4th, 2011 at 10:29 am
rich (arizona) said,
I really think you should tell your readers how you got your room in Paris. This avoidance of the issue doesn’t make it any better. Generally I support you in many of your comments but saying you were comped but not mentioning why/how is kind of sleazy.
September 4th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Your post on keeping the BA visa card in light of the BAEC changes got me thinking. I have the Amex PRG card with a reasonable chunk of MR points. My primary programs are CO/UA, AA, PC and SPG. In the context of MR losing CO transfers, the devaluation of BA and Aeroplan, high annual fee, is there any reason to keep spending and renewing my Amex PRG?
September 4th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Thanks for the feedback. Frankly I was put off so much by the attitude in the comments of the post that I have no interest in posting there further. I wrote a review, and couldn’t have been more transparent in saying the stay was comped. It was at the very top of my review. You’d be shocked by the number of bloggers that take comps and don’t disclose it, or just generally hide the fact that it was comped at the end of the post as much as possible.
I pay for 99% of my travel out of pocket, and out of my hundreds of reviews, I believe two have been comped stays, both clearly disclosed.
What I was put off by was people thinking they have the right to know how I got a comp. If people had asked out of curiosity, I have no problem disclosing it. But the accusatory tone of “you owe us an explanation” isn’t one I’ll play along with. As far as the review is concerned, what difference does it make how the stay was comped? The way I see it, there are three options:
a) I contacted the hotel
b) The hotel contacted me
c) A PR firm contacted me on behalf of the hotel
So what difference does it make? for the record, it was option (c).
September 4th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — There’s no doubt the value of Membership Rewards points has gone down drastically for all the reasons you mention. That being said, the earnings opportunities of Membership Rewards points through the Premier Rewards Gold card are still unrivaled.
Say you put $30K per year of airfare on your credit card (I realize most don’t, but I do, so just stick with me for the sake of the example). You would earn 90,000 Membership Rewards points, plus a 15,000 point annual bonus. That’s 105,000 Membership Rewards points. Then if you transfer during a 50% bonus that’s 157,500 Delta miles for $30K spend.
So yes, admittedly their points aren’t as valuable as they used to be, though they still are incredibly valuable due in large part to the points earning ability of the Premier Rewards Gold card AND the huge transfer bonuses they offer.
And trust me, there are still some great redemptions out there. Etihad first class from New York to Abu Dhabi costs 140,000 Membership Rewards points through ANA, with no fuel surcharges. 120,000 Delta miles for Air France business class to Mauritius is also a tough to beat option. Aeroplan still offers business class to Europe with two stopovers for 90,000 miles.
So yeah, if you were earning just one point per dollar I wouldn’t put the spend on a Membership Rewards card. But for earning two or three points per dollar, plus an annual bonus, plus transfer bonuses, it’s still my go to card.
September 5th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
MKM said,
Hello Lucky,
I’m planning on a trip to Lisbon during Thanksgiving and I’m trying to decide which airlines I should take in biz. I’ve traveled in CO’s BF product but not in UA’s and LH’s biz class seats. Do you have experience with all three? I do like CO’s product but am really curious about trying out LH’s. I’ve flown UA in the old biz seats and the new(ish) F seats but not the updated biz seats. Any suggestions or comments?
September 5th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
ArizonaGuy said,
If QF is showing CX award availability but the wonderful BA website search engine does not, would calling BA improve upon this? Such as when I can see SFO-HKG wide open but BA shows me nothing for partners. I can find JFK-HKG but I don’t want that.
September 5th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ MKM — Continental is the only airline that flies nonstop and also has fully flat beds, so I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them. Lufthansa’s business is alright. The food and service are quite good, though seats are slanted flat. United’s hard product is probably the closest to Continental’s, though the catering isn’t as good and you’d have to make an extra connection. So unless you’re trying to earn extra miles, I would go with Continental.
September 5th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ ArizonaGuy — The Qantas award tool often displays Iberia award space when the BA tool does not, in which case it’s usually not available to AA/BA. Along the same lines, they occasionally display Cathay award space that isn’t really there. So if you’re sure the BA tool is functioning properly (meaning you’re finding partner award space as opposed to BA metal award space), then chances are that it’s not available through BA. It can’t hurt to call just in case, though.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:36 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Would I be able to access LH First class terminal in FRA.
My routing are:
FRA/ZRH (LX/Business class)
connecting
ZRH/BKK (LX/First class)
Thanks!
September 6th, 2011 at 6:45 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Absolutely, Swiss first class gets you access to the FCL/FCT.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
London Tim said,
Lucky, 2 things:
1) you know those facebook apps (or similar) which estimate the percentage of the world you’ve been to? Would you care to do it and tell us your result?
2) What would you estimate your yearly BIS mileage to be?
Thank you!
September 6th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Gale said,
I know this may sound a bit crazy, and you may not be the right person to ask … but can you out in an HD TV with wall mount to a private jet? I have just purchased a used Piaggio Avanti P-180, and am deciding what to use as IFE. Would I be able to stick in any old HDTV with wall mount, or would I have to use one of the bulk head monitors? Do you have a clue how all of this works.
Thanks
Gale
September 8th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Adena said,
I will be flying american airlines next month and I am needing to know something about boarding. If I am one of the first ones on the plane can I sit anywhere, or do I have to sit in my seat number? I flew frontier about 2 months ago and they didnt care where I sit. My problem is I am not a good flyer and I have to have a window seat at the front of the plane. Less bumps up there and when we do hit turbulance I need to be able to look out the window. A pilot told me this. Thank you
September 9th, 2011 at 1:28 am
London Tim said,
@Adenauer unfortunately you will be required to sit at your allocated seat until everyone has boarded. If there are seats left over then you can start swapping.
If you want to guarantee a window seat you will need to select it in advance – Just log onto AA with your booking number a few days before your fight
September 10th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — 1) Haven’t done it, though I’ll give it a try sometime soon and let you know the results.
2) I’d say somewhere in the area of 300,000 BIS per year.
September 10th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Gale — That’s totally outside my area of expertise. I have no clue; I’m sorry!
September 10th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Adena — @ London Tim is correct. American lets you pre-assign seats, so you would have to pick your seat in advance (or ask at check-in or at the gate).
September 11th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
mike said,
A us airways miles ticket booked ticket to south pacific. first two fights were NYC-Bos*coach* then Bos-Zrh*bus*. first flight was auto changed to earlier in day by two hours due to later flight cancelled. When I call can I ask to be changed to NYC-Fra *bus* then Fra-zrh to continue on the other two legs of trip? Do not want to have ticket redeposited because its an end of the year ticket and flights are slim.
September 12th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Unclesam said,
I will be flying Business class from DFW to DEL and returning back from BOM to ORD and wanted advice on which one world airline(s) I should choose that offer the best product. Another consideration is that I would like to do it in 3 segments each way (instead of 2) without increasing the travel time tremendously. Third consideration (less important than ones already mentioned above) is accumulation of potential bonus miles.
September 12th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Denis said,
@Lucky do you know of an annual trip cancellation insurance policy that would cover all trips taken within a given year? I know they exist but don’t know who offers them.
September 13th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Patrick said,
I have Platinum and Million Miler status with AA. I fly long haul international on a regular basis but hardly ever domestic. As a result I’ve accrued 38 upgrade stickers in my account which I don’t have much use for since they only upgrade me domestically. Is there any way to trade in all these 500-mile stickers for a few systemwide upgrades that I could use on my international trips? Also, is there any benefit to having a large number of 500-mile stickers sitting in my account? Thanks.
September 13th, 2011 at 8:30 am
ricardo said,
Is there an AA Executive Platinum challenge? I think challenges are only for gold and plat…I’ve been plat for the past 4 years and can’t seem to make it to EXP – a challenge would help.
Any news on DEQM coming on in remainder of 2011?
September 13th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Jess said,
I have two friends who are planning their honeymoon to Rome in late October 2012. I’m trying to advise them on how best to snag business class at least flights. The bride has good credit and about 25,000 miles on Continental. The groom doesn’t have good enough credit to apply for cards, unfortunately. Should I advise the bride to apply for a US Airways card and then buy up to the amount she needs for one ticket and then open up a United CC (she previously had a Continental card that she’s closed) and try to close the gap to be able to get another award from Continental/UA? Is it possible to use two different FF programs, both in *A, to get two business class tickets on the same flight if they do it at 330 days out or close to it? Or for safety’s sake, since they need two tickets, should they concentrate on one airline?
September 14th, 2011 at 8:40 am
Mike said,
Lucky,
I booked a flight to punta cana on low milage rewards with CO, departing PHL.. My original outbound flight was economy class that connected in IAD. I just saw a direct first class for less miles so I called to change the outbound segment, they said it would be a $75 change fee per person because I was changing the class of service. Is this correct?
This link seems to indicate that as long as it’s 21 days out and the origin and destination are the same, there shouldn’t be a fee….
@ mike — Since it’s a partner award, any changes will be subject to award availability. If it’s not there, US Airways doesn’t really have a way of opening it up. That being said, they should waive the change fee if there were availability.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Unclesam — I’m curious, why three segments instead of two? Generally though, in your shoes I would book business class on American and upgrade to first class. Otherwise the pickings are slim, and I’d say you’re best off booking British Airways.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Denis — I’ve actually never heard of something like that, so I don’t. I’m sorry!
September 15th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Patrick — Sadly they’re of limited use if you fly mostly domestically. American doesn’t let you trade them in, as far as I know. So the only use would be to eventually use them for domestic flying. Keep in mind you can use them for Hawaii and also to upgrade a travel companion, if it’s a consideration.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
lucky said,
@ ricardo — The only EXP challenge they ever offered was for top tier elites with other airlines, and they’re not even running that promotion right now. So as a Plat your only way to make it to EXP would be the hard way, of actually earning 100K EQMs/EQPs. I doubt we’ll see a DEQM promotion this year.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — As long as both airlines are in the same alliance you should be able to book two tickets out of two different accounts in different programs. I think the best bet would indeed be to get enough miles with UA/CO for one ticket, and then buy the remaining miles through US Airways. I’m guessing US will offer at least one more buy miles promotion this year, so it might make sense to wait.
The other thing to look into, depending on where they’re starting, is to buy Delta miles for about 1.1 cents each through the current promotion, assuming they have existing Delta accounts with at least some mileage activity in the past. Air France is a Delta partner and has fairly good award space, so that’s an $1,100 business class ticket to Europe, plus tax.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — Assuming it’s more than 21 days out, there shouldn’t be a fee to do that.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
David Zeidwig said,
In June of 2009 I mover 25,000 points over from Amex to Virgin Atlantic in response to a promotion they had for a free roundtrip flight to London. The points are just sitting there and everyone at VA is claiming no knowledge of any deal. I said why would I move 25,000 points to just sit in an account for two years?? They want a snapshot of the promo, and I cannot find anything to give them. Can you help?? The points were moved on 6/30/09 which was the last day of the deal.
September 16th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Sara said,
I am going to repost my comment here from your post regarding booking award tickets.
I booked a star award to ICN on asiana using continental miles in Mid August. This leg continues to drop from my online itineary. Thank goodness I called Asiana to confirm my seat, and they tell me that it has been cancelled. Continental fixes it, but again Asiana does not see it. This has happened 3 times. I have spent about 7 hours dealing with this. The last cont. agent I talked to re ticketed, but to no avail. And was very short with me and told me that if Asiana is canceling, they have every right and I am out of luck, even though I have a confirmation and a ticket number!!
I finally got to a supervisor who also started out saying that if they cancel, they can’t do anything. I blew my top and now it is in the liaison’s hands. The problem is now that seat is not available for an award booking and I am hoping they will honor as I need to fly with my aged parents who have not been to korea in 35 years!!
Can Continental legally not fulfill their ticket with me? SInce the flight hasn’t been cancelled or changed, I feel they need to solve this issue.
September 16th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Michael said,
Lucky,
I am heading to London in the next few weeks on a Delta 767-400 in first class. The flt has a 1-2-1 seat config. Could you please recommend what seat I should take? You often point out the best seat in your blog and want to know what you think.
Thank you.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
jmd001 said,
Hey, Ben–
Still waiting for your write-up on Berchtesgaden! Will be there (at the IC) in two weeks. Looking for all the G2 I can get on the hotel and the area. Thnx.
–John
September 17th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Jess said,
Nope, no Delta miles at all. The UA/CO accumulating and US buying seemed like the thing to do to me, as well. Other than the CC and the online shopping portal are there any good non-flying ways to accumulate UA/CO miles? And what airline should they be aiming to actually fly? I suspect Lufthansa, no?
September 17th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Unfortunately I don’t know what promotion you’re talking about and don’t recall hearing about it. This is why it always makes sense to take screenshots when there’s an offer you’re taking advantage of, so you have documentation.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Sara — If your reservation was ticketed they really can’t do that. I would make sure they get in touch with the liaison as they should be able to fix this. Totally unacceptable, from your description.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — If you’re flying alone I suggest a seat on one of the sides that’s closest to the windows. Even on the window seats they’re staggered, so I suggest the seat that’s the closest to the window, and not the one closest to the aisle, as it’s the most private.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
lucky said,
@ jmd001 — I’m hurrying!
September 17th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — Credit cards and buying miles outright are probably the two best ways. I would aim for Lufthansa, though it all comes down to availability for your particular dates.
September 17th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
caelus said,
testing
September 18th, 2011 at 12:03 am
Unclesam said,
Lucky,
The reason for 3 segments is I want to make EXP for next year based on 100 segments. In previous years, I have made it on miles but this years i happen to doing more short haul flights. Also, I don’t want to use my eVIPs for this trip as i have a nice trip planned with the entire family in business class to Europe.
I do think my only option is AA or BA and so far it is looking like it will be a combination.
September 18th, 2011 at 6:05 am
adam davis said,
Lucky,
Great website. Question: Thank you for advising that with our AMEX points to go with air travel than with gifts or hotels. But, which airline represents the best value for someone on the west coast–Portland. We’ve got 1.3 million ponts and wondering which airline(s) to consider. It sounds like your recommendations (e.g., Iberian) are best for the east coast–your comment about “zones.” But, what about the west coast? I take it you’d still wave us away from Delta (and their current promotion) which is big in Portland), along with Alaska Airlines? Also, for your information, we often have to fly through Seattle (Alaska’s hub). Have caught the BA flight out of Seattle to Europe. Now we’re using the Delta to Amserdam direct from Portland. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Adam
September 19th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Julianne said,
I have 2 V fare tickets ORD-FRA. Last March when booked plane was 747, now it’s 777. 2 1K MM traveling with SWU. Now shows no business seats for sale but 125K award seats are available. Can I get these and keep my other seats? Tried 1K desk and was told for $2000 fare increase and $700 change fees I could delete ORD-FRA and put in reward ticket. Can I keep original ticket and get 2 award tickets to sit in BC?
September 19th, 2011 at 11:01 am
lucky said,
@ Unclesam — In that case I’d say BA is a better option given that they have a fully flat product in business class. But you can’t go wrong either way.
September 19th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I learned your technique for booking mileage runs at FT University earlier this year. I’m a Plat on AA hoping to become EXP next year.
It looks like SBA is a good mileage run destination from NYC, as it can be routed through MIA. I used FareCompare and ExpertFlyer to find flights in the appropriate fare bucket (in this case, S). Then, I log on to aa.com and run a multi-city search with the corresponding flights. When I view the price, it is initially correct. However, when I proceeded to purchase the ticket, the system indicated that the fare was no longer available. This happens all the time on aa.com when I attempt to utilize this method. Web Support informed me that this is intentional, as these routings were not intended to be priced at that fare.
I would appreciate any guidance you can provide. This happens every time I attempt to book a mileage run on AA.com. Thanks in advance.
September 19th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Ahmad said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for putting out a great blog! I want to use my VS miles to book an ANA award flight (SFO to NRT in F). On the ANA search engine, my dates come up as “Waitlist” — do you know if I can I get on this list through Virgin Atlantic, and in your experience, how likely is it that these will clear?
Thanks again for all your helpful tips!
September 20th, 2011 at 9:27 am
lucky said,
@ adam — I think it depends on where you hope to travel to. Good Membership Rewards transfer partners are quickly disappearing, so Delta might just be the best option come November, when British Airways and Continental are devalued. In your shoes I would consider transferring some points to Continental before September 30, assuming you value international first class award tickets.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:29 am
lucky said,
@ Julianne — If you’re trying to cancel the outbound portion of the trip, it’s not unusual that a one way is a lot more expensive than a roundtrip. If you just skip your outbound your return would be canceled, so you don’t want to do that. You’re probably best off either canceling the entire revenue booking and going for a roundtrip award ticket, or sticking to the revenue booking.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:30 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Unfortunately I’ve noticed the same thing. American seems to have recently eliminated the ability to get around married segments on their website.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ Ahmad — You can only get on the waitlist if you’re using ANA miles. ANA first class award space is very tough to come by, so you’ll want to be looking for travel around February if you want a chance at first class, since that’s the time of year where they have the most award space.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
As American eliminated the ability to get around married segments on AA.com, are there are alternative methods to book these fares for mileage runs? What about an third-party website like Orbitz? What is the best way to book AA mileage runs now that this loophole has been closed?
Thanks, as always, for your expert feedback.
September 21st, 2011 at 12:31 pm
John said,
Ben, have you noticed that Cathay availability from the U.S. roundtrip to HKG in first or bus. is much harder to get in the last few wks (for future travel)? Is this because of the BA miles devaluation coming in Nov. (and people are booking ahead of this) or has Cathay suddenly become more stingy with award availability?
September 21st, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Jess said,
This is a really stupid, basic question but I can’t figure it out. On CO/UA do elites get a minimum 500 redeemable miles per segment or 500 EQMs? Or both?
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:04 am
London Tim said,
Lucky, your amount of travelling in premium cabins is fascinating. When was the last time you flew economy class?
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Illinois Morgan said,
VERY interested to hear your thoughts on the new MileagePlus program…
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
MKM said,
Lucky,
Any recommendations on award travel to Dubai within the Star Alliance network? Some of the awards, especially in F, look a bit overpriced to me and I’m leaning on just doing Business class at this point.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:49 am
Matt F said,
Lucky,
I’m looking to fly Lufthansa from the East Coast to Munich in 1st on a usair award (end of May 2012), any suggestions for plane types that would be especially enjoyable?
September 23rd, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Audy said,
Lucky,
Have you ever run into trouble booking Air Japan (NQ) flights with dividend miles? Air Japan operates NH flights from NRT-HNL but the agents don’t see it as an option. I may need to request a long sell, something I’ve never had to ask for.
Thanks!
September 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Do you know if BMI extends elite benefits for a couple of months after the membership year, as is typical for U.S. programs?
I am currently BMI silver, about to lose status. My membership year resets in late October, and last year when I was downgraded from gold, the silver status was reflected on the Diamond Club website pretty much on the day. However, my card says status is valid until 12/11 (and last year’s gold card said valid until 12/10).
I’ll be flying on US Airways in November, and it would be nice to know if I will get free bags.
Thanks!
September 24th, 2011 at 6:33 am
A. S. said,
Lucky,
Was your second citizenship an issue when you applied for Global Entry? Did you just not mention it (is that not required) or is it explicitly permitted for dual/mutli-citizens to apply for Global Entry? I heard that US citizens residing abroad are eligible for the program, but nobody I asked knows anything about dual- or multi-citizens — and my email to DHS has so far gone unanswered.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Unfortunately the same is true for other booking sources as well, unfortunately. It seems like there’s no way to get around married segments for travel on American no matter where you book, though I’d love to be proven wrong.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ John — I can’t say I have, at least not substantially. On Chicago to Hong Kong, yes, but I suspect that’s a function of the fact that the route hadn’t even started. But SFO, LAX, and JFK haven’t changed a whole lot, in my opinion. YYZ is worse than it was, but that’s because some of their flights to Toronto no longer offer first class. So yes, a bit worse, but not substantially given the circumstances.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — You earn the minimum for both.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ London Tim — I fly maybe a handful of domestic segments in coach a year either because the flights are operated by regional jets or I miss a connection and my upgrade doesn’t clear, though I don’t remember the last time I’ve been on a flight of more than two hours in coach. Knock on wood…
September 24th, 2011 at 9:41 am
lucky said,
@ Matt — Try to get a 747, which will require you to route through Frankfurt (since Lufthansa doesn’t fly 747s to Munich). On the 747 you either get two first class seats to yourself, or you get their new product which features both a seat and a bed.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Audy — Actually, I have. For whatever reason, US Airways can’t book Air Japan flights, at least in business class, in my experience. I don’t know what it is, but there’s not even a way to get a manual sell. It’s just not in their system, unfortunately.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — They don’t extend status beyond that period since everyone has their own qualification year. That being said, since you have a card that is valid through December, you should be able to get those benefits through US Airways. Just show your card.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:44 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — I didn’t tell ‘em, and they didn’t ask.
September 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Africanist said,
Lucky,
Love the blog. I’m just starting out after college and would like to travel smarter. (I looked for a “starting out” post but wasn’t able to find one…)
I’m from Boston and my wife is from London, and I’ll likely be starting to travel to central and southern Africa with some regularity. Essentially, I think it’d be nice to fly outside coach once in a while, but I am on a budget. I’ll only be traveling about twice a year, usually between two of these three points, so is it worth my time and money to sign up to rewards programs? If so, what do you recommend?
Thanks!
September 25th, 2011 at 4:45 am
BrewerSEA said,
@Patrick @lucky
You can trade AA 500 mile upgrades for RDM at a 1:500 rate if you can show a history of mostly international or paid first travel. Not a great deal however.
September 25th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Blake said,
I am booking an award…will be flying FC from HKG to YYZ. Need to figure out my connection from PVG to HKG. What would you pick out of these two options?
1) FC on Dragonair at 8am…5 hour layover in HKG
2) BC on Cathay at noon…1.5 hour layover in HKG
Trying to weigh the benefit of “FC” and trying a new airline (i.e. KA)
September 26th, 2011 at 8:06 am
gobluetwo said,
@Africanist,
Absolutely sign up for rewards programs. BOS-JNB, for instance, can be on British Airways stopping in LHR. BOS-LHR is about 3250 miles and LHR-JNB is about 5630 miles. Round trip, you’d accrue almost 18,000 miles. Do that twice a year and you’re easily at the entry-level elite tier and will have earned about 37,000 redeemable miles. Even doing one trip to Africa and one to London, you’re still very close to elite status. I’d say it’s definitely worth signing up for a program and putting all your miles toward it.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Blake — If it were me, I’d go with first class on Dragonair. Not just for the first class vs. business class on the fairly short flight, but also so I’d have more time in Cathay’s lounge. Of course take this with a grain of salt since I’m a wanderer that can work from anywhere — 12 hours in a lounge doesn’t sound like a half bad time to get some work done to me.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Africanist — As @gobluetwo says, absolutely sign up for a frequent flyer program. If you stick to one alliance you’ll get elite status, bonus miles, and occassionally upgrades. Furthermore, if your credit can sustain it, by all means sign up for some credit cards for the sign-up bonuses, and you’ll be looking at a free first or business class ticket to Africa in no time.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:07 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, for the grand slam promo it says we can earn up to six hits with hotel partners. Could all six hits come from the same hotel family or same brands. I was thinking of tying this into Hilton’s new promo or Hyatt’s. Love the variety of your postings too.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Brian said,
You always drink Diet Coke- do you ever drink alcohol? Just curious.
I’ve got a CX F award ticket (thanks for all your help above) from BA miles with a couple regional segments in Y because they were unavailable in any better cabin.
Q1) If I find space in C or F cabin will BA reticket without much hassle?
The QF and BA tools have never shown accurate inventory for the regional segments; when I booked the regional segments in Y they showed nothing available at all.
Q2) Any other places to look for CX award availability?
September 30th, 2011 at 12:59 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — My understanding is that it’s only one per hotel brand.
September 30th, 2011 at 1:01 am
lucky said,
@ Brian — Diet Coke is my drink of choice. I never drink alcohol on the ground, though once in a while I’ll drink a glass of champagne pre-departure on a flight or some Baileys with dessert. That’s the extent of my drinking, though (and yes, I’m legal).
September 30th, 2011 at 1:04 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — They will reticket, though there is a $70USD change fee to do so. While I find Qantas’ tool unreliable when it comes to regional flights, I haven’t found the same to be true with BA’s site. There’s no better place to look given that Cathay releases quite a bit of space only to their members, so using their search tool wouldn’t help.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:29 am
John said,
Just moved to Vancouver and have YVR as my new home airport. Am a DL platinum but thinking of switching to AA for oneworld or United for Star Alliance. The biggest reason I like DL is for the upgrades and would like to continue the free ride in First. I would be able to qualify for top tier @ over 100k miles with either airline. Which would you recommend?
September 30th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Grode said,
Lucky, my partner and I have 150k+ miles from the CC promo British Airways ran a few months ago. We want to use them to go to Central America (currently 35k each coach), and maybe do some domestic travel. Of course BA doesn’t fly to these places, so the question is: should we book before 16Nov? What’s your sense of Avios point redemption on these flights?
October 1st, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Ginly said,
Lucky,
I have a little over 100k BA miles right now. I am debating whether to use it before Nov 16 or not. My dad is going back to HK next summer and I would be able to use up all my miles on a business class ticket for him (RT JFK – HKG $327 taxes, have to purchase separate RT DCA – JFK ticket at $150 so total out of pocket would be about $478). We also have enough miles for a RT DCA-HKG economy flight for him on United.
Or should I save them post-Nov 16 and hope that the value for US domestic tickets would be the same and I would be able to get 4 RT US domestic tickets at about $10 for taxes? I don’t have any trips planned nor can I commit to any trips yet though so I would have to book the domestic tickets after Nov 16.
Any idea on what the US domestic reward tickets will be like after BA changes their program??
October 1st, 2011 at 3:01 pm
lucky said,
@ John — If you travel internationally (beyond the US) you really can’t go wrong with United or American given that they offer systemwide upgrades. I would make the choice based on which airline’s route network meets your travel needs better. But I think you definitely should switch for the added upgrades, especially since you would have top tier status.
Some other considerations might be:
– Do you travel with a companion often? United offers free companion upgrades while American doesn’t.
– Do you travel internationally a lot on discounted fares, be it coach or business? American not only gives you two more systemwide upgrades than United, but they’re valid on all fares.
– Do you value the international first class lounge access American gives their top tier elites when traveling on longhaul international flights?
October 1st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Grode — It’s tough to say what will happen to the new award chart. It seems like it will be distance based so it might not be that bad for you if you only want to travel to Central America or domestically, which isn’t that far. That being said, I can’t imagine the price will go down, so I would book before November 16 in your shoes.
October 1st, 2011 at 3:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Ginly — That’s a toughie. If it were me, I would go for the Cathay Pacific ticket, simply because I get more “value” out of international business class than domestic coach tickets. But that’s me, and everyone is in a different situation. There really is no knowing as of now what the domestic award chart will look like for British Airways. I suspect it will also be distance based, so whether you’re booking shorthauls or transcons may well effect the price. So I’d go for it, but that’s just me…
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:30 am
Ginly said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the quick response from yesterday. We have decided to go ahead and use those miles for the business class tix to HKG. The problem is that since Cathay Pacific doesn’t fly out of DCA/IAD, we’re booking the awards flight JFK-HKG so we need to buy our own flight for DCA-JFK. The problem is that we won’t be able to put those legs of the flight on the same itinerary (since one is a BA awards flight and one is a revenue flight on AA). My dad would have to check in his luggage at DCA, pick it up at JFK, check back in at JFK and pick up at HKG and vice versa on the way back. My dad is not so worried about the hassle of it but what if they lose his luggage on the HKG-JFK flight? They won’t redirect it to DCA. What if his HKG-JFK flight gets delayed and he misses his JFK-DCA flight? He would have to be responsible for it. Is there any way around this? Thanks.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:14 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
Do you know the status is of Lufthansa’s 747 First Class retro fits?
Have you flown the “new” old seats?
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Ginly — He should actually be able to interline his bags. When he checks in at DCA just have him show the ticket for the connecting flight, and they can tag the bag all the way through to Hong Kong. The same applies on the return. This assumes he’s flying a carrier that has an interline agreement with Cathay Pacific, which I suspect most airlines have.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They’re about a third of the way there. In two recent LH F segments I had the old product both times, unfortunately. It seems they’re reconfiguring them quickly, though.
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Rod said,
I’d love to see a reference chart with each of the major airline programs that summarizes such things as:
do they allow one way awards
Can you have stoppovers or open jaws
Can you change dates without penalty
What are there cancellation policies
What are the fees with the various airlines you can book with their miles, (so we can avoid the BA and other super high fees)
What do you think?
Thanks for all your help in a great blog,
Rod
October 3rd, 2011 at 5:37 am
BrewerSEA said,
@lucky @Mitch
You can earn all 6 stay hits at one hotel partner. I’m getting all of mine at Hilton and taking advantage of the free nights promo. Per the GS FAQ:
“You earn one hit for every mileage-earning hotel stay with a maximum of 6 hits. Earn your hits from the same partner (6 stays with Hilton = 6 hits) or from different hotel partners. For example, if you stay with Hilton on September 15 and again on October 1, you’ll earn two hits. If you stay twice with Hilton and twice with Marriott during the promotion then you’ll earn four hits, two hits from Hilton and two hits from Marriott. You must earn at least 200 Dividend Miles for each stay in order for the stay to qualify as a hit.”
October 4th, 2011 at 1:01 am
John said,
Lucky, thanks for the great response. It sounds like American may be the way to go for me. Now to just snag a great deal to for an elite challenge like you landed with them.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:53 am
Heels05 said,
Lucky, What seat would you suggest for a LH 747 in F. I would assume row 81 or 83. I’m thinking 81 since legroom shouldn’t be an issue in any seat. Does it make a difference on the new or old seats? The routes are EWR-FRA and back FRA-BOS. Thanks!
October 4th, 2011 at 7:55 am
lucky said,
@ Rod — Great idea, thanks! Let me see what I can do. It’s on my list of things to work on.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:56 am
lucky said,
@ Heels05 — I love row 82. As you mention legroom isn’t an issue, so I don’t find row 83 “necessary.” I don’t like facing a wall, so 82 is the happy medium for me.
October 5th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Ken said,
Lucky – on the BA single partner award changes. Are we still expecting Nov 15th to be the date? I’m planning a trip on Cathay ORD-HKG for November, and I believe Cathay opens 355 days out, correct?
Second question – it’s not available on the BA website, but if i call and book, would they allow me to go ORD-HKG-BKK for the same mileage? Cathay stopover rules? (sorry, I realize that was just 3 questions in one)
October 6th, 2011 at 8:24 am
lucky said,
@ Ken — Yep, the new chart should kick in on November 15 and they do open up space 355 days out.
They would allow you to go from Chicago to Bangkok via Hong Kong for the same mileage (assuming you fly Cathay Pacific the whole way), and you could stopover in Hong Kong for as long as you wanted.
October 6th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Joe said,
Just bought a 2 month subscription to KVS which leads me to the following question. Is BA the only OW airline to fly to MLE (out of LGW)? Need to use some AA miles.
Also, may I suggest that new posts to the “Ask Lucky” section be posted at the top instead of the bottom.
Enjoy India, I’ve never seen anything else like it!
Thanks
October 7th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Jill said,
Hi Lucky!
Similar question to Ken, but looking to burn BA miles on a one-partner LAN award. How many days out do they open up space?
October 7th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Lance said,
I am looking at utilizing my onepass miles to take advantage of the rt to South Asia via Europe routing some time in the last quarter of 2012. I have also seen that it is possible to do this award through Australia if there is availability. This leads me to my question. Since I am based in Houston, ideally i would like to route originate and return at iah. If the IAH-AKL becomes available on the 787, would this be a permitted routing to BKK (IAH-AKL-BKK)? Also, where can I learn more about maximum permitted mileage for such a trip and how it is calculated? There doesn’t seem to be too much reliable information out there.
October 9th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
Does LH have a contract at a MUC hotel for day rooms for F pax?
JRL
October 10th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Joe — Yep, they’re the only OneWorld airline that flies to the Maldvies. Malaysian Airlines should be joining OneWorld soon and they fly to the Maldives, though it will be a few more months before you can redeem American miles on them.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Jill — I believe 355 days out, though I’m not 100% sure.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They sure do, you can get a complimentary dayroom at the Hotel Kempinski, which is actually much more conveniently located than the one in Frankfurt, given that it’s connected to the terminal.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — Pending award availability, that should be legal. The best way to look up MPM is to either call the airline directly or otherwise use a subscription service like ExpertFlyer, KVS, etc.
October 11th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Oscar said,
I’m checking for air tickets from Mex to MiA for the December holidays and it’s just too expensive. Do you think airlines such as AA will have some sort of sale?
October 11th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — That’s a peak travel period, so I suspect we won’t see many fare sales since they’re able to fill up planes at higher prices. That’s not to say fares won’t dip a little bit if they’re not meeting their sales goals, but I doubt we’ll see any substantial promotions.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Kevin said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a United 1K who accumulated 75k miles flying on business in the first quarter this year, then 15k in the second—and nothing since with no prospect of flying before the end of the year. Given that I need another 10k miles I’m thinking my wife and I may take a long weekend vacation somewhere in the first week of December. Given that the fare is coming out of my pocket, I want to do this cheaply, altho I do have lots of systemwide upgrades left this year.
We’d be interested in Hawaii if we could get a crazy route that got me enough miles, or else somewhere–anywhere–cheap to get to and interesting to be in.
Do you have any suggestions?
October 12th, 2011 at 10:48 am
MP said,
Hi Lucky! LOVE YOUR BLOG! I hope you can point me in the right direction. I want to use my BA miles to fly from YUL to HNL (or YUL OGG) in June/July 2012. When I visit the BA site, first it tells me that BA doesn’t fly that route (duh); when I include partners, it says no flights are available in the entire months of June and July (???). Can you tell me WHERE I can go online to book this? Thanks! Montreal Poster
October 13th, 2011 at 9:49 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
I’ve been having lots of debates with call center supervisors of late. On * would this be Kosher routing (CO, UA, or US miles), or is the JFK-LAX portion outside of the maximum permitted miles per city pair:
JFK-LAX-LHR-NRT
JRL
October 13th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
First of all, thank you for your blog, I’ve been following you for around 6 month and am really thankful for all the information you are sharing with your readers.
I’m planning yo go to Europe (Belgium-Germany-Austria-Switzerland) on Dec 17- Jan 2 but am not sure if it’s a good time to visit those countries at such time. What do you think?
Thanks
Serge M.
Lucky,
I’m currently Platinum on USAir. Only going to fly to Eurpoe and Australia in 2012 (many times). Trying to decided which Star Alliance partner to switch to. Thinking of Luftansa or Air New Zeland as my primary. I want the best chance for upgrades internationally and that doesn’t happen with USAir. Ideas?
October 13th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — Where do you live? It would help to know that to provide a good suggestion.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ MP — Thanks! I suggest going to aa.com and searching for award availability there. If you see award space available through them, it should also be bookable through British Airways. That’s a much easier way to search.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Unfortunately that’s way over the MPM. If you go via LAX the only way that would be legal is if you continue via the Pacific.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Serge — It’s tough to say. On one hand I love Europe that time of year since they have Christmas markets set up which are really cool to walk around. At the same time, it’s really cold, which takes away most of the fun for me. So if you don’t mind the cold I’d say go for it, though don’t expect to be outside 10 hours a day. If you do mind the cold, save the trip till at least March or so when the temperatures get nicer.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Stacey — Your best bet would be to switch to United. They offer their top tier elites six systemwide upgrades which can be applied to many fares (though not the very cheap ones), which is about as generous as it gets when it comes to Star Alliance airlines and upgrades. Neither Lufthansa or Air New Zealand will give you any worthwhile international upgrades for elite status.
October 14th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Kevin said,
Right, duh–I’m in SFO.
October 14th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Adam said,
Lucky, blog is great as always. Quick question, i booked have a rev fare ticket that as a result of a schedule change now has a misconnect (going to Costa Rica in Jan….from new england so i really want to go) Problem is, my only option would be to get in 8 hours later. The only flight option that would get me in at what i find to be an acceptable time has no coach avail. left, just some biz class…any ideas for getting moved up on the flight i want.
October 14th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Sandino said,
Hey Lucky,
Love your site. Gives all of us who have never traveled a sense of hope.
I am new to the mileage game and have a simple question – How can you tell which airline “product” you are booking?
Sandino
October 15th, 2011 at 7:59 am
Chris said,
Hi Lucky,
Just thought I would mention that Capital One no longer is offering the Hyatt multi-night $900 dollar gift certificates when redeeming miles with the Venture card. I finally had enough points to get two of the gift certificates and found out today that they were no longer being offered – this is after they upped the points required shortly after I got my Venture card. The only reason I got the card in the first place was to get the Hyatt certificates – grrrrr. I redeemed my miles for two $500 dollar gift cards and one $200 dollar gift card before they stop offering those too!
safe travels,
Chris
October 15th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
YL said,
Hi Ben,
Hope you are enjoying your travels in India. I currently have a business award for 2 using UA miles. Outbound is US-SIN via HKG and inbound is SIN-EWR via FRA. We are thinking of a day trip to KUL from SIN two days after we arrive. Does our award reservation allow us to add a roundtrip segment from SIN-KUL for same day departure and return? Not sure if it qualifies as a stopover…Else we can get a ticket on Jetstar.
Thanks,
YL
October 17th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Hermann said,
Hi Ben,
here´s a question on mattress running. I´ll be on a week or longer stay with a friend at a hilton and we were wondering if we could optimize a bit by booking half of the nights each, alternatingly. Would that work? Thanks for some thoughts on this!
H
October 17th, 2011 at 9:16 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin — It’s going to be really tough to get 10K EQMs with one trip out of SFO assuming you want to stay domestic and get a reasonable fare that’s upgradable. In your shoes I would maybe take a weekend trip with your wife to Hawaii, and then do another separate east coast mileage run that’s cheap, because you won’t be able to stretch the routing on a single trip enough to accomplish that.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
lucky said,
@ Sandino — Can you clarify? Are you talking about the aircraft type, type of service, seat, or something else?
October 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
lucky said,
@ Chris — Thanks for the heads up, that’s too bad.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:19 am
lucky said,
@ YL — If you can structure the trip in such a way that Singapore is your stopover point and Kuala Lumpur is your destination, that would work. The issue is you would have a stopover in Singapore on both the outbound and return if you only fly to Kuala Lumpur two days after you get to Singapore. If you have that Kuala Lumpur trip within 24 hours of your arrival or departure in Singapore it should be possible, though.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:21 am
lucky said,
@ Hermann — Been there, done that. Absolutely! Just remember you may be required to technically check out and check in every day, at least in terms of settling the bill. They should be able to let you keep the same room, at least.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:34 am
Nathan said,
Love the blog and the trips!
Have to book a one-way flight to MNL from SIN in June ’12.
There is some award space on SQ. 1 first, 2 Biz
I do not have any UA miles. Would it be worth it to get a United card for this flight specifically as the flight is only 3.5 hours. Would I get the SQ experience since it is a shorter regional flight?
October 18th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Sandino said,
Hey Lucky,
I was asking more along the lines of seat type/configuration. I travel out of LAX and notice a great deal of difference in the quality of first and business class from both the United and American carriers. I travel almost exclusively domestic, mainly to the east coast (NYC, MCO/TPA, BOS) and although I understand service varies according to the crew, sometimes the seats themselves can be almost ancient compared to my next flight to the same destination.
Thanks again
Sandino
October 18th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Frieda said,
Lucky,
To maintain CO elite status this year, I need approx 10K miles. I hear about mileage run but totally un-familiar in term of finding and getting the routes. Any suggestion for mileage run in US or to Asia?
Much appreciate it
Frieda
October 19th, 2011 at 6:40 am
ekartash said,
Great Blog! I read your article on Bali vs Maldives. I am going to Bali this January. You write that one can get 5 star hotels for affordable rates. I see prices for around $400 for nice places, and while i think that is pretty reasonable, i was wondering if you know of even better deals. I plan doing 3-4 days in Ubud and 3-4 days on the beach (Sanur or Saminyak.
Hi Lucky, my mother passed away in Australia overnight, I’m trying to get myself and three kids back there for the funeral from EWR (or other NYC)next Wednesday (would need to leave Sunday latest), I have plenty of Amex, appreciate any suggestions, previously I’ve utilised Air Canada, was thinking for flying via Singapore, I know Qantas don’t have a lot of business or first seats available, any suggestions much appreciated, Thanks
October 19th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Would you have any ideas on how to quickly get points into a hotel program? I’m typically chain-agnostic because I just don’t spend that many nights in hotels (12 to date this year), but now I’m looking into a weeknight stay in DC and cash prices are really high. The only substantial balances I have are with airlines, but exchange rates on points.com are not worth it. I’d happily sign up for a hotel-affiliated credit card, but bonus points take several weeks to post. Any other ideas on how to very quickly rack up hotel points sufficient for one night, without spending more that $100-120?
Thanks!
October 20th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Rob said,
Hi Lucky- Been following the blog but just came across this section. I have a question that I’m sure you’ve answered numerous times but I need specifics (or direction). About 2 months left in the year and I need 15K miles on AA to retain my Platinum level. I might pick up a biz trip JFK – SFO but that still leaves me about 10K to qualify. Any tips on how to achieve without breaking the bank? I live in New York. And if I do end up falling slightly short, will AA bridge? Thanks.
October 20th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Joe said,
Hi, I am just about to become AA Exec Platnum and have become concerned by AA route cuts and offended by the AA flight attendants in coach. When I hit Exec Plat I’m considering taking UA 1K challange and switching. I had heard some good things about UA lately, has UA improved and which is better, AA Exec Plat or UA 1k?
Thanks!
October 21st, 2011 at 6:55 am
lucky said,
@ Nathan — The service on the regional flights is good, though not spectacular. Either way I’d recommend signing up for as many cards as possible for the sign-up bonuses, though whether it’s worth it for that flight specifically is a tough one. Is the alternative to pay for a coach ticket? If so I’d say go for the credit card and book business class. Sounds like a win-win.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:57 am
lucky said,
@ Sandino — Got it. Indeed, many airlines operate a variety of configurations on the same routes. American, Delta, and Continental even all operate internationally configured flights on select routes to Miami, so in coach that translates to a personal TV at a minimum, and in business or first it can translate to a flat bed.
The best way to keep track of the products is to look at the seatmaps for the flights on the airlines’ websites. Once you see the seatmap go to seatguru.com and compare the seatmap to the one there. That should list the amenities offered.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:58 am
lucky said,
@ Frieda — My best suggestion would be to go over to the mileage run forum on flyertalk.com. They list a lot of good fares there, so there should be plenty of ideas there for jumping on the best available fares.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am
lucky said,
@ ekartash — “Cheap” is definitely a relative term, especially compared to the Maldives where anything half decent is $1,000+ per night. *Truly* five star hotels are $400 per night (Aman, Four Seasons, etc.), though there are plenty of 4.5+ star hotels like the InterContinental, Conrad, etc., that often go for less than $200. For Four Seasons and the like also look out for buy three get one free offers, which seem to be pretty common.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am
lucky said,
@ Tim O’Brien — Sorry to hear about your loss. What programs do you have miles with? Assuming you’re looking for an award ticket, that’s a key detail.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:02 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — As you mention hotel credit cards take several weeks to post the miles, and that’s the easiest ways to get points inexpensively. I’m not sure what the rates are at Priority Club properties, though it’s possible to buy their points for 0.6 cents each, so if a hotel were 25,000 points per night it would only cost you $150 per night, which may very well save you money. But other than that I can’t really think of anything.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:03 am
lucky said,
@ Rob — I’d suggest going to the mileage run forum on FlyerTalk or using farecompare.com/flyertalk to look up good fares out of New York.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:05 am
lucky said,
@ Joe — Having been both, I can honestly say they’re both excellent. If you’re about to earn Executive Platinum, I suggest experiencing it for a while, as your travel experience will probably change radically. You’ll get unlimited domestic upgrades, eight international upgrades, fee waivers, and all around better service. If you don’t like it, then do a challenge.
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for your great blog. I’m booked ZRH-BKK next spring on Thai, now FRA-BKK is getting the leased 77W after December 1. Schedule currently shows 77W until March 24, do you think the spring schedule hasn’t loaded yet and they will keep 77W on that route or is there a chance of change back to 747? Would love to try the suites but I know MUC-BKK was apparently originally slated for 77W, then changed to FRA, so I wonder how set FRA might be. I’m on an Aeroplan mini-rtw.
Thanks!
October 22nd, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Just Me said,
Hi Lucky,
First, I’m a great fan; I love your blog.
Here’s my question. I’m considering changing the outbound portion of a first class ticket for 3 passengers, from New York to Asia on Lufthansa (booked with United miles). It’s an all-LH itinerary JFK-MUC_Asia. There is a 1 day stopover in MUC (which we don’t want), and one of our 3 seats from JFK to MUC is in C, not F (all other flights are in F for all 3 of us).
The option I’m thinking of requires a USAir or United flight from LGA to IAD (in Y), then IAD to MUC (in LH F), then MUC to Asia (in LH F). It’s all on the same day with 2 hours or so between flights.
So, what happens if the NYC-IAD flight is delayed and we miss our connection to MUC (and therefore also our onward flight to Asia)? Who is responsible for getting us to our destination in Asia: United, USAir (if we take a USAir flight to IAD), or Lufthansa? Would the responsible airline tell us they can only book us on flights with award seat availability? Does it make a difference whether the delay is due to mechanical, ATC or weather?
What would you do: pay $225 in fees to change to the IAD connection to eliminate the unwanted stopover and gain transatlantic F for all of us, or leave it as is?
Thanks!
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — There’s no airline that’s more unreliable with aircraft scheduling than Thai. If I had to guess I wouldn’t be surprised if Frankfurt keeps the 77W. I’d say so with pretty good certainty. But it’s no guarantee.
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Just Me — This is one of the toughest topics out there, because there’s no good answer. If you misconnect on an award and have unhelpful agents, you’re more or less screwed. Or it can be really easy.
Technically the airline that caused the misconnect is responsible for getting you to your destination, though the airline that ticketed the reservation has to reticket the issue. So obviously United doesn’t have an easy way to open up Lufthansa award space, though there’s always a chance you can get a Lufthansa agent to rebook you if you’re at the airport.
What would I do? Well, I love Munich and I love a day between longhaul first class tickets, so I’d leave it as is. I always find international first class flights to be more enjoyable if they’re spaced out a bit. But if it’s important to you to not have that overnight, I would pay the fee and make the change.
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Just Me said,
Thanks, Lucky. I’m beginning to agree with you. Although my wife isn’t all that interested in seeing Munich (and definitely not in the middle of winter), it’s absolutely true that waiting a day between the flights will make the 2nd one more enjoyable. And I’m willing to bet Munich will be fun (we’ll be there before Christmas, so the Christmas markets should be in full swing).
Steves is great but gears his site and tips towards budget travel, whereas you clearly go a bit more all-out. It’d be great if you wrote something like that, or had an entire section of the site dedicated to it.
Ben
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:14 pm
margaret said,
Dear Lucky,
We have the BA Visa and have used most of the sign on miles we got–but we still have 27K on one card and 29 on another. What to do? Our other miles are star alliance. If I used them for a RT on LAN for sometime next year could I change the dates? Thank you!
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for the feedback, it looks like I won’t be able to get enough points. But I have a follow-up question: I booked a Holiday Inn stay; then later while logging in to an infrequently used credit card which collects ThankYou points, I noticed that Holiday Inn stays get 10 points/dollar (and if I understand correctly, a point is pretty reliably worth 1 cent). This bonus shows up on their online shopping portal, though the blurb only says you need to pay with a card that collects ThankYou points. Do you know if the offer also requires that I book through the portal? Should I cancel my reservation and book a new one?
Thanks, -Ron.
October 24th, 2011 at 3:43 am
JRL said,
Lucky, I’ve gotten conflicting AAnswers. Is the following one-way route valid for 67,500 AA miles in F or does the partner award exceed the MPM?:
HKG-JFK (VIA VVR)
indefinite stopover in NY <330 days
LGA-DFW
DFW-HNL
JRL
I assume NYC co-terminals apply?
October 24th, 2011 at 8:21 am
lucky said,
@ Other Ben — Love it, thanks for the idea! When I have some spare time I’ll get working on that.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:22 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — You could use those miles either for a roundtrip within the US or otherwise for a one way to South America. You can change dates after November 16, though the ticket has to be used within a year of the date it was issued.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:23 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Assuming it’s listed in the actual shopping portal, I suggest rebooking. Otherwise it sounds like it’s just a purchase bonus, so no need to rebook.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:24 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — The co-terminal isn’t the issue, but rather the routing as such. That’s serious backtracking with both exceeds the MPM and isn’t a valid published routing. Sorry!
October 24th, 2011 at 10:28 am
marina said,
Hi Ben
I probably will split BA miles award between business and economy to Asia on Cathay pacific. Which way outbound or return is the best way to use business or may be first class award to experience the service: food, flat beds, entertainment? it would be my first trip outside of economy class. Also I could depart from chicago, nyc or Toronto how to figure out what are the newest planes with flat beds versus the old one, also which departure time is the best- nyc city has 3 departures. Is the first class on cathay is much better then business class considering I am traveling by myself?
And the last issue pertaning to this award- most people getting it to HKG,BKK, SIN and DPS. I would like to make it 6 weeks trip to South Asia and even I never visited BALI due to the trip being december, January weather will be not ideal there. Any way to include Bkk Hanoi and Saigon with open jaw, chang mai, cambodia, kuala lumpur and Sin with this award? Many thanks
October 24th, 2011 at 10:54 am
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky,
I have two credit card questions. I am following your advice and applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Premier Amex Gold. I’m already a platinum member, but I don’t really use all of the perks so will most likely cancel on the renewal date. My questions:
1) I just got off the phone with Chase and they told me that in order to get the 2x points benefit on travel expenditures, I need to book all travel through their online Ultimate Rewards Booking Tool. Has that been your experience? I was under the impression that any travel related expenses would count as 2 points (i.e. travel booked through Expedia, etc). I am asking because I am planning on booking a Backroads family vacation next summer, and I want to find the best way to maximize my points. Platinum Amex is offering a 25k bonus on Backroads trips when you spend $5k. I was thinking that I would book 1-2 people through my Platinum card, get the 25k bonus, then book the other 2 people on Chase in order to get 2x points. Does that make sense?
2) Regarding the Premier Gold Amex, can I still take advantage of the 75k sign-up bonus? If not, should I not apply for this card if I can’t take advantage of any large bonus offer.
Thanks for your help!
October 24th, 2011 at 11:00 am
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — For the Sapphire card all travel expenses earn two points per dollar. You can earn additional points by going through the shopping tool, but you earn the two points per dollar regardless of where you make the purchases.
Unfortunately they’re no longer “bumping the bonus” on the Premier Rewards Gold card, it seems. I think it might make sense to wait and see if there’s a big sign-up bonus anytime soon, though it’s no guarantee.
October 24th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
lucky said,
@ marina — I’d upgrade the return so you have something to look forward to at the end of the trip and can arrive home well rested. Cathay has their newest product on New York and Los Angeles right now, though the exact configuration isn’t guaranteed. First class is excellent and worth the premium in my opinion, though it’s all a function of how many miles you have. Unfortunately you can’t include any of those segments as part of the award given that they wouldn’t be operated by Cathay Pacific.
October 24th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
glenn yamauchi said,
Hi Ben, does AA or BA allow a rounting like NRT-HKG-LAX?
My research I think AA no, but not sure about BA.
Many thanks,
Glenn
October 24th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
marina said,
hello, Ben Thank you for the prompt reply.How the business class on Cathay? I have 106000 BA ponts, but also have 50000 chase sapphire and 27000freedom and 95000 am express. I just want to book south america award for the next fall if i find any space before devaluation. What is the new product out of NYC> What plane are they fly?. They have 3 departure from the JFK and on the Cathay web site it is not clear what plane are they flying. By looking at Cathay map they do fly to all of those destinations I mentioned but mostly from HKG. I still did not understand how people getting stopovers in BKK and SIN on the way to Bali, if Cathay have a direct flight from and to Bali from HKG and BKK. How the stop in SIN is allowed? Also how much more taxes between couch, bus, and first class?Big difference? Thank you so much again
October 25th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Jon said,
I currently have a mini-RTW in first on an AC award with a turnaround in SIN from a origin of YVR in spring next year. Currently, I am booked flying ICN to LAX on Asiana in first, but I just looked after reading your Travelsort article and there happens to be space on ANA’s NRT-ORD flight in first (777). Would you switch to ANA or stay with Asiana for the transpac?
October 25th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
lucky said,
@ glenn — AA definitely doesn’t, though I suspect BA does, since Cathay Pacific publishes a fare between the two cities.
October 25th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — They’re both phenomenal airlines. I prefer the food on Asiana, so if it were me I’d stick with Asiana. But they’re honestly both excellent.
October 26th, 2011 at 9:57 am
gba said,
Hey Ben, I may need to make changes to an Aeroplan award (ticketed before the devaluation) and am wondering whether open-jaw (overland) “segments” count against the 10 segment limit. If I take an open jaw, does that mean I only get 9 flight segments?
October 26th, 2011 at 10:16 am
John M. De Piro said,
Recently my wife and I traveled to Europe.,we were in business class. Not an hour into the flight, the flight attendant spilled 2 glasses and a bottle of champagne on the back of my wife’s head all the way down to her back. Accidents do happen, but one of the flight attendants said at this altitude things dry fast. That got me. I e-mailed Delta with the complaint 3 weeks ago with no reply. Who do I call? Thanks
October 26th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Andrew said,
Hey Ben. Do you think that domestic AA awards with BA miles will no longer be 25/50/75 come November 16? Thanks!
October 26th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
lucky said,
@ gba — That’s a toughie. I’m not 100% sure, though I suspect it wouldn’t count.
October 26th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
lucky said,
@ John M. De Piro — Ouch, sorry to hear about that! I would send a follow up email in your shoes. If that doesn’t work I would email an executive about it (executive email addresses are typically firstname.lastname@delta.com).
October 26th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — There’s no telling based on how secretive BA is about the changes, though if I had to guess I’d say they keep the redemption levels the same for that. At least on some level they’re trying to compete with US airlines because of their credit card, and since every US airline charges 25,000 miles for a domestic coach ticket, I doubt they’d change that.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:50 am
MillValleyMom said,
Quick question regarding getting miles for online shopping. There seem to be a million options out there for earning points, but it’s time consuming to go through every shopping portal to figure out where I will get the best deal. Is there a website that consolidates all of this for you? I found this site http://www.nerdwallet.com/discounts/store/
It seems to do a decent job, though it feels like it is still in Beta and kind of clunky (i.e. Amazon doesn’t show up as a reward partner with US Airways). Any others out there? Thanks.
October 30th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
JW said,
Hi, I have been approved for the following cards this year.
1. Citi AAdvantage VISA and AMEX (both) on 3/1/2011
2. Chase OnePass Plus MasterCard on 4/23/2011
3. CitiBusiness AAdvantage VISA on 10/29/2011
In the next 12 months, I plan to get the following credit cards. Are they worth to have in your opinion? I am also not certain about the order, specifically in what month/year. With the “rules” Chase and Citi have, I think I need to be extra careful so your advice will be much appreciated!
1. Chase United MileagePlus Explorer VISA (60k miles)
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred (50,000 points)
3. CitiBusiness AAadvantage VISA (50,000 miles)
4. Citi AAdvantage personal cards (both VISA & AMEX)
Many thanks!!
October 30th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I have two questions:
1) Does mileage running (to earn top-tier status) make sense if I am doing no other significant flying during the year? For the most part, I would be mileage running exclusively throughout the year.
2) I am based in the NYC area near JFK and AA is my airline of choice. Now that the AA website no longer permits bookings that manipulate fare rules (based on the Expert Flyer method explained in your session in NYC), do you still believe that it makes sense to mileage run on AA?
Thanks for your assistance.
October 30th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — evreward.com compares online shopping bonuses, so I suggest you take a look there.
October 30th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
lucky said,
@ JW — Yes, brilliant strategy! You should be good on the Citi front, as they usually allow you to get approved for two cards at once, though if you don’t get approved for two you can reapply after two months. The business card shouldn’t interfere with any of that.
On the Chase front, that’s more of a “your mileage may vary” situation. For some people they seem to only approve one card every 60 days, though for others they seem to approve more. I think the key is having existing Chase cards and being willing to transfer credit lines from one of them to your new card. So in your shoes I would suggest applying for one and then maybe waiting a month or two before applying for the second card.
Good luck!
October 30th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — Yes and no. Mileage running makes sense in my opinion if you’re doing so with a goal in mind. If the mileage run is just to mileage run, then no, it’s not worth it. If you’re mileage running in order to get award tickets, visit places, etc., I’d say it makes a lot more sense. I enjoy “mileage running” for Executive Platinum because I can take four international business class trips a year at coach prices, and in the process requalify for status. As far as the second question goes, there are ways to trick the routings on international itineraries which I’ll outline on the blog soon, so if you’re willing to fly internationally, stay tuned for those.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
A. S. said,
@Lucky — I’m booking a BA award (CX F flights) for way off in the future, just to leverage things in case of drastic changes on 11/16. Due to the unpredictable nature of my travel, I may need to change dates/times and pay a fee (no problem there). The question to you is: can I also change the destination (within the same region) without them cancelling and re-booking or is that considered a re-issue? The point is that I don’t want to re-issue as they’ll probably apply the new mileage rates (which we all anticipate to be higher and is the whole point of this exercise).
October 31st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
bludevil said,
Hi! After doing some figruing, it looks like I will be three nights short for gold membership renewal in HHonors. Any suggestions?
October 31st, 2011 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — That’s a great question. Since the new award chart will be based on zones as opposed to regions, I suspect changing issues would trigger a reissue and cause the number of miles to potentially change. So unfortunately I think you’re only going to be able to change the dates.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:06 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — The only two options are to either make three mattress runs or spend $20,000 on the Surpass credit card to get Gold status. Assuming you can make the mattress runs for less than $100 each, I’d say it’s well worth it.
October 31st, 2011 at 4:01 pm
James said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m looking to use Hilton points (I’ve got 60k) to book a room in Barbados in April, but it says only “premium rooms” are available for my dates, at 91,535 or something per night. Now I checked other dates and found 50k, so do you think there’s a convention or something and they’re blocking the standard rooms? Will rooms be available? I don’t really know anything about the situation here: please help!
November 1st, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Tproc said,
Hi, I enjoy reading your blog. Please keep it coming. Got a quick question. I am based in IAD, what is the upgrade chance for 1K? I am on my way to 1K this year. Thanks a lot.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:53 pm
lucky said,
@ James — Hilton makes all of their standard rooms available at the “low” redemption rate, though many hotels don’t have all that many standard rooms for just that reason — they don’t want to give them up for award redemptions.
So as of now there are probably no standard rooms available, though there’s a great chance they’ll still open up for your stay. Keep checking back, as space does tend to open up again closer to departure as people make cancellations.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Tproc — Thanks! It all depends on where you’re flying to. Generally IAD is tough for upgrades, though not as tough as SFO, for example. Assuming you don’t fly during peak times and select aircraft type carefully (avoid the A319 and A320), you should clear almost all of your upgrades as a 1K though.
November 2nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
James said,
Thanks Lucky: I’ll keep checking
November 2nd, 2011 at 11:09 pm
carwag25 said,
Hi Lucky, I am SJC based and looking for ideas on low cost common mileage runs out of SJC on AA. Need to make ~15K miles before Jan 13 for the one world mega do EXP challenge. Do you have any MR recommendations out of SJC? Also willing to do SFO as a last resort. Thanks!
Not quite a direct travel question, though somewhat related.
Do you know if the A.. Payments limit is $1k per calendar month, or $1k per 30 days?
November 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
SL said,
Hi Lucky, you’ve got a great blog! I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining a ‘loyalty’ community I am creating.
Send me an email if you have any questions and I can share more details with you too.
Thanks, I hope to hear from you soon!
-SL
November 4th, 2011 at 10:27 am
akace said,
hey lucky, im just getting into the miles game but find that my biggest problem is not miles, but rather having a traveling partner. its hard to find friends with the points to go on trips such as yours. any interest in taking me along? ill use my miles.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
lucky said,
@ carwag25 — Have you checked farecompare.com/flyertalk? From the looks of it, American has some pretty good fares from San Jose to Ft. Lauderdale and other places in Florida, which might be your best bet.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — I never really got into the whole cashback thing, but that’s pretty compelling. Thanks for the heads up!
November 4th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Spicy B — My understanding is that it’s based on a calendar month.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
lucky said,
@ akace — Hah, the key is to get them in on credit card churning and mileage running, and then from there they can take trips with you. Of course it takes a special breed to want to do that. My schedule is booked up through April of next year, though I may very well eventually be up for it!
November 4th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Apu said,
If I have had AA Citi card and cancelled it (got about 10 months back and cancelled about 5 months back) – do you think I should re-apply for their current offer of 50K AA miles? Or should I wait … thanks!
November 5th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Aric said,
Lucky. I’m 8,700 miles away from Silver Elite on CO. Is it worth a mileage run? I live in Omaha, NE. The best deal I’ve found to obtain Elite status is double miles on UA from Chicago to Hong Kong. So I could get 32,000 miles for about $1,100. Fligt is aboard UA 747. I’ll probably fly 4-6 times next year plus a trip to Sweden on SAS. Could someone survive 15 hrs in coach each way? Love your work. Thanks
November 5th, 2011 at 7:40 am
lucky said,
@ Apu — Assuming it’s the exact same version of the card you won’t be able to get the bonus again. If you previously had the Visa you could now get the American Express, for example, but you won’t get the bonus again if it’s the same exact card.
November 5th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Aric — That’s a real toughie. Assume you value those redeemable miles at 1.5 cents each, which is a conservative estimate. That means you’re earning $480 in redeemable miles, and that the trip is really “costing” you $620 for the status. Is that worth it? I’d say so, though that *doesn’t* factor in the fact that you’re flying coach for 15 hours in each direction.
Would you look forward to the trip and enjoy it? If so, I’d say go for it. If not, I don’t think it’s worth it.
November 5th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
A. S. said,
@Lucky: I am currently Platinum with CO and was holding firm with 98K EQMs, putting my other UA/CO travel on UA in order to only requalify to Platinum/1K when they merge accounts on 12/31. I was doing this to delay receiving my SWUs since I won’t be using them now. But I noticed that they deposited my 6 SWUs anyway on 10/25 and gave me 1K status on United, though they didn’t actually merge the miles. So it appears that they have already merged the activity for everyone. Do you have news on this?
November 5th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — Ouch, that’s the first I’ve heard of that! I suspect at this point there’s not all that much that can be done, though thanks for the data point.
November 5th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
David said,
Do you offer daily email updates? I consistently forget to check your blog and would love to get an email daily with the new posts…
November 5th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Daniel said,
Hey Lucky
Question: I have united miles that I want to use for a holiday flight next month from SFO to TPE. I used the ANA tool and found award availability from SFO-ICN-TPE through Asiana. However, this flight requires me to stay in ICN for a night. Then I thought, maybe I’ll stay an extra night to explore Seoul. My question is, assuming there is award seat availability, can I extend the stopover and stay in ICN for an additional night (or two) and still count it as a single ticket? Basically, what is United’s rules on stopovers for award tickets? I think you wrote about this before but I couldn’t find it in a previous post. Thanks!
November 6th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky, you seem to be the Chase Sapphire guru. Can you tell me what the difference is between their claims that you get “2 points per dollar spent when you purchase flights, hotel accommodations, car rentals, timeshares, and more” and then “1 additional point per dollar spent when you book airfare or hotel accommodations online through Ultimate rewards”? Does this mean that I get 2 points on airfare if I book through Kayak, but I would get a total of 3 points per dollar spent if I booked the same ticket through Ultimate Rewards? Thanks.
November 6th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky, is there a way to purchase domestic w-fare tickets on united.com? Or do these have to be purchased over the phone? Thanks!
November 6th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Antonio said,
Nevermind, I read it in the ORD DEQM promo comments. You can delete both of these posts.
November 6th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Steve said,
Hi Lucky. I’m currently 8 segments short of re-qualifying for AA platinum. Thus, I’m trying to find an online tool that will help me identify AA routings that include 4 segments in each direction (from the DC area). Do you have any suggestions.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Thanks for the feedback, working on it as we speak, as I don’t as of now.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — Assuming it’s a roundtrip award ticket, you would be allowed one stopover of more than 24 hours somewhere along the way, so you could indeed add an extra day in Seoul if you wanted. If it’s just a one way no stopovers are allowed, so you can stop along the way for a maximum of 24 hours.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — Correct, you earn three points per dollar for travel booked through their mall, though in many cases that won’t be the lowest rate, earn you stay credits at hotels, etc. But you do earn an additional point per dollar on travel by purchasing through Ultimate Rewards.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — The best you can do is look up fares on Expert Flyer and look at the fare rules there. Generally speaking for domestic tickets American only allows a single transfer in each direction, so you may just be best off going for an international trip.
November 7th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
barelyelite said,
CX 777 JFK-YVR: Is F worth the extra 7500 miles each way over J?
November 7th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ barelyelite — To break it down, that’s an extra ~1,250 miles per hour, or about $20. Absolutely worth it!
November 8th, 2011 at 7:48 am
James said,
Lucky – great blog! I posted this on one of the frequent flyer forums, but thought I’d shoot it by you …
Based in Shanghai: Stick with AA?
Now that I’m based in Shanghai, I am faced with the challenge of deciding whether or not to stick with AA or join Star Alliance or Sky Team. I truly enjoy AA, especially as Exec Plat, for these reasons:
- 8 SWUs are a great benefit, especially since they apply to any fare; and I’ve had a very good success rate in SWUs, between PEK/PVG and ORD/LAX.
- Flagship Lounge access when flying to/from China (I’m sitting in the Chicago Flagship Lounge, waiting for my flight to PVG)
- Good service, in my view, whenever interacting with AA staff, either on the phone or in-person (Lounge, in-flight, ticket counter)
Drawback to AA, now that I’m based in Shanghai:
- No China partner: It’s unbelievable to me that both China Eastern and China Southern are Sky Team partners; I know AA pursued on of those two, but lost.
- I’ll fly 50K per year inside China, none of which will be credited to AA.
- I’ll only fly 3 times non-personal trips to the US on AA (~45K-50K EQM)
So, I’m looking for a little guidance or advice (especially if you are an AA loyalist based in China): Stick with AA (and probably invest in a lot of mileage runs to stay Exec Plat) or just break down and shoot for top tier status in Sky Team or Star Alliance?
November 8th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Aric said,
Another question from a novice. If I quality for Silver Elite on CO this year, will the additional miles I earn this year carry over to 2012? E.g., If I earn 30k in ’11 will 5k be applied to earning Gold Elite in ’12? Thanks.
November 8th, 2011 at 8:11 am
lucky said,
@ James — Without knowing your financial situation or how much free time you have on your hands it’s tough to say what YOU should do, though I’ll say what I would do. It sounds like American still works best for your trips to the US, so I’d say keep crediting to them. Take 2-3 well crafted mileage runs a year to the US to earn the remaining miles you need to requalify for Executive Platinum.
Then for intra-China travel I would start crediting to another airline and build up status with them. If you can do Air China I would credit to Aegean and earn Star Alliance Gold at their low thresholds. Otherwise maybe credit some miles to Delta. But I don’t see the intra-China travel as a reason to give up on American.
November 8th, 2011 at 8:12 am
lucky said,
@ Aric — Unfortunately not. Delta is the only airline that allows “rollover” elite qualifying miles, so your counter resets on January 1 with Continental and whatever status you earned the previous year will be valid.
November 8th, 2011 at 9:41 am
James said,
Thanks for the input Lucky. On my ORD-PVG trip today, which started in the Flagship Lounge and was upgraded to Business via an SWU, I was thinking … gosh, this will be hard to give up. So, for me, I’ve got to figure out another 30K by the end of the year to wrap up Exec Plat for 2012.
November 8th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
I know that one can take up to two pieces as a carry-on. One is regular bag (22″ max) and another one could be a camera bag. What size is allowed for this second piece?
Thanks
November 9th, 2011 at 7:27 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — I don’t think most airlines regulate the size, other than saying it has to be a “personal item that fits underneath the seat in front of you.”
November 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Serge said,
Lucky thanks for the previous one. One more questions. Does Best Western partner with someone in terms of points redemption? I’m going to Switzerland soon and see that major hotel chains here in the US do not have too many choices when it comes to Switzerland. But Best Western does. Checked all (IHG, SPG, HYATT, Marriott, Hilton) none of them partner with Best Western.
Planning to stay in Bern and was able to locate only one HolidayInn which is too far from the downtown. Any suggestion? Thanks
November 10th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Charlene said,
I was thinking of booking a flight from Bangkok to NYC with BA miles before the award chart changes, and then possibly changing the flight route after the new award chart is announced (say Phonm Penh to NYC). What’s the policy for this? (Fees, more miles?)
Thanks.
November 11th, 2011 at 8:13 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — Unfortunately they don’t partner with any hotels, but they do have airline transfer partners so you could accrue points with one of their airline partners if you’re not otherwise loyal to Best Western.
November 11th, 2011 at 8:14 am
lucky said,
@ Charlene — As far as I know if you change the routing the ticket will reprice (meaning you’d pay the change fee and the difference in miles). But if you just change the dates and keep the routing the same, you would just be responsible for the change fee though the number of miles would stay the same.
November 12th, 2011 at 6:50 am
Chase said,
Lucky,
Great blog. I’ve got 100k MR points, looking for a pair of one-way business class tickets to Europe. With Continental gone, it appears I’m SOL yes? Aeroplan asks for 120k, which I thought was the best chance. Any ideas?
Chase
November 12th, 2011 at 9:54 am
Lynn said,
Hey Lucky,
Been collecting miles since June and think I am ready to book our first big trip. Hawaiian miles to HI in April and return using AA miles, stop (flexible on where, we can use SWA to return to our home in STL home and use SWA again to get to “stop” city again; gotta love that companion pass).
Would love to visit Iceland this summer with final leg. It looks like ITA does not track Air Berlin and I understand Air Berlin flys to Iceland. Maybe it’s me, but I can’t get their website to work….called the reservation line but not not of help there either. Almost a three day journey with a long layover in Germany (but not long enough to really do anything).
Do you have any ideas? Do all Air Berlin flights stop in Germany? And if so, are layovers allowed when using AA miles if this is the 2nd leg of a multiple city trip?
Any other thoughts on how to get there? I know AS partners with Icelandair but would like to save those miles for a different trip. If not Iceland, our other thought is Ireland which should be a fairly easy ORD to DUB direct in summer.
Many thanks,
Lynn
PS. Really appreciate your insightful thoughts and am glad you have included card sign up links which allow us to show our appreciation.v
November 12th, 2011 at 10:26 am
lucky said,
@ Chase — Aeroplan doesn’t allow one way awards on their partner airlines and they impose fuel surcharges, so it’s not ideal though it may just be the lesser of evils if that’s what it comes down to. The only other option would be British Airways which starts at just 50,000 miles in business class (more depending on where in Europe you’re traveling), plus fuel surcharges.
November 12th, 2011 at 10:57 am
lucky said,
@ Lynn — Air Berlin only serves Iceland by way of Germany, unfortunately. You would be allowed to stop in Germany for up to 24 hours, but anything beyond that would be considered a stopover and require multiple awards. If you’re committed to using American miles for the trip, unfortunately your only real option is to go through Air Berlin, since no other OneWorld or American partner serves Iceland. Otherwise keep in mind that Delta flies there direct from New York, though that probably wouldn’t help you if you want to use American miles.
Also keep in mind that if you were to stop in the US (between Hawaii and Iceland) the stop would need to be at your international gateway, which for Air Berlin would most practically be New York.
November 12th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
margaret said,
Most of our miles are on united/star alliance but we have two BA accounts with 27K miles each Is their value likely to diminish Nov 16? Should we do something now? I looked at flights to New York on AA next spring, but I wasn’t sure it made sense to commit. Will there be more flights later?
November 12th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
margaret said,
Also, how do I use the BA miles on AA? On the AA site there are saver awards, but when I go through the BA site there don’t seem to be any for the same dates. Am I doing something wrong?
November 12th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Cathy Strick said,
Hi Lucky, I’m trying to burn my BA miles before the big devaluation with a family Easter trip. I found availability to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. (2 First 2 Eco) Thinking a few days in Bali? Any other recommendations for sunny destination from Hong Kong?
November 13th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Sam said,
I’m looking for advice and suggestions. I’m about to start traveling almost monthly for work. Company pays for the flights via travel agency, but I can get ff miles. I pay for hotel and car and get reimbursed. I have a big trip to Hawaii the second week of January. I’m going to take my wife, but I think it’s probably too late to work the “system” to get her flight free and any extra personal night free, right? I was thinking about doing Hilton Hnors primarily, using the Amex Surpass and Citi cards as daily spenders. Surpass has the 9x-6x-3x points and Citi has 6x-3x-1x points. We already put all spending on credit, so daily use can rack up lots of points. The bonus sign ups points look good too, especially if both my wife and I do it. I’m just not sure what the best way to rack up ff miles is? Maybe I don’t need to worry so much about hhonors and instead focus on miles I can use to have my wife travel with me? I fly out of Fayetteville NC whic means only us air or delta for any flights I’ll be taken. Thanks for your time!
November 13th, 2011 at 7:49 am
Ezra said,
Hi Ben,
your blog is a fav among many given the “storytelling” nature of your trip reports. Keep it up!
But on to practical stuff: I travel a bit too (from BRU), both eastwards and westwards.
How do you make sure your connectivity requirements (given your “day job”) are met?
Just look for hotels with proper wifi or do you carry something with you?
I’m on Abroadband pay-per-use (http://www.abroadband.com/) on a MiFi, this way I’m always able to connect and meanwhile keeping costs under control (steady 56 eurocents per MB everywhere).
Curious what your recipe is!
Cheers,
Ezra
November 13th, 2011 at 7:54 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — For domestic flights it’s tough to say what will happen to the price of tickets, though frankly I doubt it will go up. I would say you’re best off waiting, since I can’t imagine a domestic trip will go much above the 25,000 mile level. If you find saver award space through American it should also be available through British Airways. Are you sure the space you found was at the saver level and for travel on American? If so, you should at least be able to book it by calling British Airways.
November 13th, 2011 at 7:55 am
lucky said,
@ Cathy Strick — You can’t beat Bali, in my opinion. Otherwise maybe Thailand? You could fly into Bangkok and spend a few days there or drive to Hua Hin from there, which is a nice beach destination. But I’d go with Bali in your shoes.
November 13th, 2011 at 7:58 am
lucky said,
@ Sam — The best way to start up racking points is through credit card sign-up bonuses. Given your goals I’d say you’re best is to acquire the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Starwood American Express. The Chase Sapphire Preferred will get you over 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to Continental/United and redeemed for travel on US Airways, which is their partner. If you complete the spend quick enough you could potentially still use that for your flight.
Then if you got the Starwood American Express and completed the spend fast enough, you could potentially use those points towards a couple of free nights in Hawaii. Otherwise the Hyatt credit card will get you two free nights at any Hyatt in the world, and they have three resorts in Hawaii.
Good luck and welcome to the “game.”
November 13th, 2011 at 8:28 am
lucky said,
@ Ezra — Thanks for the kind words! Embarrassingly enough (and somewhat contradicting what I previously wrote), I actually don’t do all that good of a job staying connected while on the road. In the US I just work off my iPhone and wifi hotspots, but up until now when traveling internationally I just don’t use data on my phone and just connect to hotel wifi and wifi hotspots. It keeps me connected enough so that I can get by, but not so connected that I spend my entire trip on the road working.
November 13th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Denise said,
Hi. I have never really paid attention to my miles but just found out i have 920,000 miles with American. The operator told me I should really try to geet to the million mile mark but i found out it after Dec. 1 only flying miles will count. Is this someting I should try to do before Dec 1?
November 14th, 2011 at 1:24 am
margaret said,
thanks for all the great advice!
I want to cancel the BA Chase card I got last May in order to get the 100K bonus and the no foreign transaction fees. I am planning to replace with Chase Sapphire preferred. I already have Chase United Mileage Plus and prefer to have Star Alliance miles. Up until now I have never added or changed credit cards to get benefits. I do have good credit scores and enough income to pay off cards each month (never late) Is there anything I should know before doing this? I found this link http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/images/cancel-credit-card-worksheet.pdf for how to cancel a credit card. Is that a good description of how to cancel?
Thanks again
November 14th, 2011 at 4:02 am
oleg said,
Question regarding schedule changes and awards. I have a CO award ticket with a flight in LH F segment in May. However due to an LH schedule change it went from a 5:30pm departure to a 1:30pm (getting rid of a large portion of my nice long connection). Had this been a UA/CO flight, this would’ve been a free pass to get award space opened on any flight I want. Any experience with schedule changes on partners? Would they actually consider opening up space if I ask nicely (still want to say on LH), or I’m basically left to find whatever alternative space that actually exists?
November 14th, 2011 at 6:43 am
lucky said,
@ Denise — If you get to million miler status with American you would earn lifetime Gold status, which would get you exit row seating, priority check-in and security lines, no checked bag fees, etc. Keep in mind that there are both “lifetime” miles and actual “redeemable” miles that you can use for travel. I would suggest going for million miler now if you have a way of doing so, either by transferring points from Starwood Preferred Guest, spending money on your American credit card, etc.
November 14th, 2011 at 6:45 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — I think that link makes it all a bit more complicated than it needs to be. Just call the credit card company and tell them you want to close your account. You’ll still get your final balance which you can pay off without interest. There’s no need to write the letter, as you can verify online that the card was closed. Keep in mind that you may be offered a “retention” bonus, which might be worth considering.
November 14th, 2011 at 6:47 am
lucky said,
@ oleg — Airlines have liaisons that work between airlines to resolve issues such as this. In other words, Continental can’t open up Lufthansa award space, but of course Lufthansa can. So if you can create a compelling case or there are dire circumstances, the agent can put in a request for the liaison, and then the liaison can see what Lufthansa is willing to do. It’s definitely possible in circumstances where a flight is canceled, etc., though I’m not sure less lounge time would be considered a serious enough reason by them. Definitely worth a try, though!
November 14th, 2011 at 10:16 am
alphadog said,
Your website reads like graduate studies and I’m still in prep school but here goes. I have over 300K with AA and have their Citi MC along with AE Starwood. I’ve done well with AA to Europe and UK but am I missing out being shackled to them? I’m reading a lot about United and Continental. Thanks.
November 14th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
CDiddy said,
Hey Lucky,
My wife and I are traveling to Hong Kong for the first time ever. Was wondering if you have stayed at the Intercontinental or the Conrad their? Would you recommend one or the other? We’d be using points at both places. Other option would be to transfer AMEX point to SPG and stay at the new W.
Thanks for your thoughts.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
XH said,
Hi @lucky
I’m trying to book first class award ticket from Washington DC to Guangzhou, China sometime between 16th Dec and 22th Dec. After some research on the schedule for award flight (Continental mileage), I found that it is not easy to arrange a route consist of less than four segments. Do you have any suggestions for connecting airports? I am trying to book LH or LX flights with first class tix originated from US, but seems not very optimistic based on my time window.
thank you
XH
November 15th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Armand Jean du Plessis said,
have 30,000 american airlines miles and want to travel to lima peru on january 7th from nashville TN but DONT want to pay $1,200 r/t ticket price. any way to buy enough miles in order to qualify for an award ticket? or get a discounted fare price? thanks in advance!
November 15th, 2011 at 7:57 am
Iain said,
Hi Lucky
This really isn’t a points question, just wondering if you had seen this flyertalk page?
@ alphadog — Sounds like you’re well on your way to being an expert if you have 300,000 miles with American. Diversification is key with miles, especially if you’re looking to travel to Europe where American is weak, quite frankly. In your shoes I would switch quite a bit of spending over to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You earn one point per dollar for all purchases, two points per dollar on travel and dining purchases, a 7% annual points dividend, no annual fee the first year, and no foreign transaction fees. The points can be instantly transferred 1:1 to Continental, United, Hyatt, British Airways. So the card is a much more efficient way to earn Continental and United miles than with their card directly.
This would enable you to fly Lufthansa first class to Europe, for example, which is one of the best products out there.
The card also comes with a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $3,000. If you pick up the Ink Bold business card that’s another 50,000 points, earning you a total of over 100,000 points. That’s enough for a business class ticket to Europe, and since Continental is partners with Virgin Atlantic, you could fly them in Upper Class for only 100,000 points. Not bad for signing up for a couple of cards.
If you’re using points I’d shy away from the InterContinental. Their standard rooms are small, and what makes the hotel so nice is the views of the harbor, and you’d instead have a room facing the city.
So on an award redemption go with the Conrad. Even the standard rooms are huge, and if you have elite status those benefits will be honored on an award stay.
November 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am
lucky said,
@ XH — Unfortunately you’re looking at traveling during a peak travel time, so finding anything at all is a good thing, in my opinion. The flight with the best availability to Guangzhou is the Lufthansa flight direct from Frankfurt, though they don’t sell first class on the flight. So be sure you look into that as well. Good luck!
November 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am
lucky said,
@ Iain — Saw that earlier this morning. Funniest thing I’ve read in a very long time.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:01 am
lucky said,
@ Armand Jean du Plessis — Well a coach award ticket would cost 35,000 miles, so you could buy miles directly from American. It won’t be cheap, but certainly cheaper than paying $1,200. If American doesn’t have award space, consider looking into award availability on LAN, which is one of their partners.
November 16th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Ginly said,
Lucky,
I want to take advantage of that Radisson 50k promo but don’t actually want to stay at the hotel. Could I just check in and ask them to check me out right away?
November 16th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Kim said,
Lucky,
I have 200k points in AMEX Premier Rewards. I am going to cancel this card for a number of reasons. Just got a great offer on Chase SP (50k bonus on 1st purchase/no min)and have AMEX SPG which I love. PR fees start soon so I need to move these points before I have an actual plan for them. I’d love to surprise my husband with tickets at Christmas. Lufthansa biz class somewhere? I can add SPG points to the mix and we can travel at a later date. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Kim
November 17th, 2011 at 12:56 am
Jason said,
Ben,
Love the blog, and especially love that I’m being guided by a fellow Gator. Just booked my first award ticket, LH business class to Greece (with a stopover and open jaw of course), based largely on your tips. Anyway, do you ever make it back to Gainesville for the odd football game? I’m guessing no since Saturdays are probably for mileage running, but I just feel like I owe you a beer or a diet coke with lime or whatever for all the knowledge you’ve passed down. Token of my appreciation…next round at Swamp is on me.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Justin said,
First off, I want to thank you so much for your blog. I have learned much from it and found it the most useful/accessible out of all the other blogs that I have frequented. I just had a quick question about your churning strategy. According to Gary from View from the Wing, it is optimal to apply for many credit cards on a single day, every 90 days. I believe that he uses this method so that credit card companies will not be able to detect recent inquiries made by other banks on the same day. And he waits 90 days so that inquiries will fall of his record like clockwork as long as he sticks to his schedule. What is your take on this “strategy?” I recently applied for 2 Southwest cards and 2 Citi AA cards. I really wanted to get either the Continental card and/or the Sapphire Preferred card but I don’t want to make a rookie mistake and jeopardize my churning career. Thanks in advance!
November 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Kim said,
Ben,
Just a quick add-on to my question yesterday. After reading your top 10 premium award column (great advice there), I’m thinking New York, Hong Kong and Bali on Cathay using AMEX PR and SPG points. What would you do with 300k points from those programs from Boston? Is Christmas travel out of the question at this point? Thanks so much!
November 17th, 2011 at 9:22 am
lucky said,
@ Ginly — Phantom stays are technically prohibited. There’s a chance they’ll *accidentally* credit you the stay if you book and no show, but by the rules they’re not supposed to do that, unfortunately.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
lucky said,
@ Kim — Unfortunately you’re a day late for the Cathay Pacific award, since British Airways massively devalued their award chart yesterday — so very bad timing, unfortunately. That being said, availability was non-existent around Christmas, so if that’s your goal you didn’t miss out all that much.
Generally you’re going to have a hard time using miles for any warm places over Christmas, at least this late in the game. If you don’t mind the cold, there’s plenty of award space to Europe in late December/early January, so if you don’t mind the cold you should have pretty good luck. If using American Express points you can transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, though just make sure you avoid travel on Lufthansa and Air Canada, as there will be hefty fuel surcharges on that.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:26 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Thanks for the kind words and congrats on the award! Don’t make it to Gainesville much anymore, though if I do I’ll let you know. Or if you’re ever in Tampa let me know and lunch is on me.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Serge said,
Ben,
Wanted to ask you about tripods as carry-on. I would like to take my tripod with me into the plane (folded “17) but am not sure what TSA thinks of it? Any experience you can share?
Thanks
November 17th, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the “game.” Let me start by saying that we all make churning “mistakes,” so don’t expect everything to go perfectly and to always get approved. I’ve lost out on a lot of cards due to stupid mistakes on my part, and I learn from them, so in the end I don’t mind so much.
I’m a churner, though not as “aggressive” as Rick, for example. I churn maybe twice a year, and apply for multiple cards those days. For me, it’s not worth getting a card with a 25,000 mile sign-up bonus with Air Tran or Southwest, for example. It’s just not worth the pain it is to complete the spending, etc.
So I get maybe 5-6 good cards a year, and am perfectly happy with that. The idea behind applying for multiple cards the same day is that it’s more likely to count as a single inquiry on your credit scores, given that your credit score loses a couple of points for each “hard pull.”
The thing to keep in mind also is that at any given time you want to mix up the type of cards you’re getting as much as possible. For example, you don’t want to apply for five Chase cards, but instead a Chase card, a Citi card, an Amex, etc. That maximizes your chance of approval.
In your shoes I would go for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (I consider the bonus to be much better than that of the Continental, and the card is better to keep long term), though the issue is that Chase usually won’t approve several apps within a short time span. So in your shoes I would wait till six months after you got approved for the Chase Southwest card, and then go for the Sapphire Preferred and signed up for other good bonuses you consider worthwhile. This is because when Chase opens a new account, they often ask you to close a previous account, and they reserve the right to take away your card rewards if you cancel the card within six months.
Hope that helps at least a little.
November 17th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Sean said,
Hi Ben
I need to hit a spending limited on an AMX and the only way I can make it is going to be Gift Cards. I know I can get AMX cards on Big Crumbs but I am not sure how good an idea it is to buy AMX Gift Cards to meet a AMX spend. Do you know of any place like BC that i can get Visa/MC Gift Cards or is someplace like walmart my best option?
As always thanks for all the advice.
November 18th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
scumd said,
Hi Lucky
I have been trying to redeem for a Lufthansa flight by Onepass mileage in first class. However, I could not find any first class tickets bookable by phone although it clearly showed availability online for exactly the same date and the same class. I was wondering if United has intentionally blocked the first class booking on Lufthansa. Care to share a thought?
You mentioned in this article that BMI allows unlimited number of stopovers on awards. Where did you get this information from? And have you ever attempted to book an one-way award that included more than one stopover? I am asking because from my experience with DC, and upon checking on their website, it is very clear that only one stopover is permitted. Their wording is
‘No stop-overs are permitted within Europe. Outside of Europe one stop-over is permitted. A stop-over is a lapse of at least 24 hours between your arrival and departure at any transfer point, i.e. if travelling from London Heathrow to Singapore via Frankfurt, you would not be able to stay in Frankfurt for more than 24 hours.’
If you book a round trip as two one-ways, then you will naturally be allowed 2 stopovers, though this is still not unlimited. The added benefit though, could be you could do two stopovers and two open-jaws using the a roundtrip equivalent amount of miles.
Care to clarify on this? Thanks
November 19th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Jake said,
Hi Lucky,
My wife (a DL PM) recently received a offer for 100% bonus on up to 150K transferred miles, which based on the terms appears to work out to $.01/mile. I know how you normally feel about SkyPesos, but this seems like a pretty hard offer to pass up.
That said, we don’t have any plans to use them right now and are just about to redeem 270K AA miles on EY tix to South Africa in F/J 11 months out. DL would’ve worked well there and clearly saved us a bundle (though no F), but there’s slim pickings across DL, AF, and KL.
WWLD?
November 19th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky,
I had booked my family in Business Class on a Lufthansa flight next summer from ZRH to IAD. The plane was supposed to be a 747-400, but I just noticed that they switched it to an Airbus A340-600. I’m wondering if these are equal products, and if not, do I have any recourse? Thanks.
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 am
Noah Kimmel said,
Hi Lucy,
I am starting my career as a Consultant for a major firm in New York City. I will be travelling weekly. I worked at a major airline for over one year, and I am an airline geek. I currently have approximately 10,000 AA miles, and I’m at the lowest tier of Marriott and Hilton.
Now is the best time for me to start choosing a single airline and hotel partner to be loyal to. Who do you recommend? Is it worth it to stick with American? I hear Delta is growing in NYC and has a better on-board product. What about hotels? I hear people like Starwood, though I usually stick with Hilton or Marriott.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:05 am
lucky said,
@ Sean — As far as generic American Express gift cards go, the only place I know of to buy them is directly. You’re right, it could be risky to buy too many since it could trigger a financial review. You’re probably best off just getting some gift cards for other businesses you frequently use.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:07 am
lucky said,
@ scumd — Were you calling Continental or United? Occasionally there are discrepancies in availability between Continental and United. You’re usually best off booking through Continental, as they should have access to the same availability that shows online.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:09 am
lucky said,
@ alan — Am looking into this now.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:12 am
lucky said,
@ Jake — I actually think it’s a fantastic deal, and I’d jump on it. Air France has reasonably good award space to Europe and Delta miles leave you best positioned for travel to Tahiti/Mauritius/Australia, so I actually think they’re not all that bad. Go for it, in my opinion!
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:14 am
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — I noticed Lufthansa’s equipment swap on the Frankfurt to Washington route a couple of weeks ago. The products are actually identical, so no reason to be disappointed, in my opinion. If anything it’s better since there’s no middle seat in business class on the A340-600.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:15 am
lucky said,
@ Noah Kimmel — The key question is where you’ll be traveling to. Do you know yet whether you’ll be doing domestic travel or international travel? Smaller towns of big cities where every chain is present?
November 22nd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
David said,
2 quick questions Ben.
1) TG currently has the 773 with suites advertised on the MUC route beyond June. How likely is this to remain the case? I’d hate to book the suites and then get stuck with an old 744.
2) When does LH tend to release their F seats? I’m trying to find availability for FRA-ALA in late June but can’t find anything in F. This also happens looking out 355 days.
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Justin said,
Hey Lucky!
I’m a student (secondary) with next to no money. I’ve got an aeroplan card and really want to get into the realm of mileage running. I’m willing to sign up for different ff programs if need be, but could you do a post for people like me (by popular demand of the other 50%) . I’ve been reading for the past 1 1/2 years and would really love to read one of your articles on how to earn miles with no money.
Thanks
Justin
P.S. If I book a yyz-yvr award (AC), and get bumped what would I get/would I get miles?
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Noah Kimmel said,
Hi Lucy,
I do not yet know where I would be going, but I imagine it is primarily domestic. I have a basic bias against treking out to Newark, so UA/CO is not my first choice, but should I choose AA or DL? (I assume b6 isn’t the best for elites, even if it is best for the “regular folks”)
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ David — As far as Munich goes, it’s tough to say. On one hand I’d say it’s likely, but at the same time Thai is notoriously inconsistent when it comes to the equipment they operate on routes. So I probably wouldn’t count on it.
Lufthansa has gotten a lot worse about consistently releasing award space lately, to the point that they’ve gone from the best airline to releasing first class award space to average at best. I will say that Lufthansa has VERY active inventory management, so it could (and does) literally happen all the time. The only time they reliably release space is close to departure when the seats would otherwise go unsold.
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the idea, I’ll do my best. It’s a lot easier to earn miles for free in the US thanks to credit card sign-up bonuses. Sadly outside of the US it’s not nearly as easy. Though I’ll do my best to have a post along those lines. As far as compensation goes for getting bumped on Air Canada, it would likely come in the form a voucher good for future travel.
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Noah — If you’re trying to maximize your elite benefits I would definitely recommend American. Their miles are more valuable, you get eight systemwide upgrades for reaching top tier status, you get international first class lounge access when traveling internationally, etc.
On the hotel front I would go with Starwood. They usually have decent promotions and great hotel coverage, along with pretty good elite benefits.
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:32 pm
murtuza said,
Hi Lucky,
I have about 45k miles on AA, 42k miles on Delta, 56k miles on Alaska and 26k miles on AMEX PR card. Is there a way I can use this to book a flight from SFO -> BOM -> DXB -> SFO in coach in the month of Feb 2011? The return flight is from BOM and I need stopover of about 10 days in DXB. I want to maximize the miles usage and minimize money spent.
November 24th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Justin said,
I know this may be pushing it a bit, but when you write the article on mileage running as a student/with no money could you write it with an international aspect aswell?
Thanks
Justin
(question #1551)
November 24th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Justin said,
How do you have so many miles on different ff programs (United, BMI, ANA etc)? Do you transfer them?
November 24th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Justin said,
This may officially qualify as pestering but, what do you say when the Tsa questions you for your reason of flying? Do you say mileage running, visiting family etc?
November 24th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
lucky said,
@ murtuza — Unfortunately at this point your balances are a bit too spread out for such an award. You’ll want to work on building your balances more in a single account/alliance to make that happen. Keep in mind that United/Continental is the only airline that’s going to allow a stopover like the one you’re proposing.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Will do, thanks for the suggestion.
Regarding how I have miles in so many programs, I believe the key to maximizing mileage programs is to diversify, assuming your balances are big enough. Due in part to credit card sign-up bonuses and flying, I’m able to build big balances in several accounts.
As far as the TSA goes, I refuse to speak to them. Simple as that.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Mark said,
Lucky,
I enjoy your blog and your posts
on Flyertalk. Here’s my concern
you need to ease up on plugging that
Credit card. It is overly self-serving
And only serves to undermine your credibility.
Don’t drive your readers away with thrare
Crass product placements!
Thanks,
Mark
November 24th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Andrew said,
Your blog is awesome; keep up the good work. May I ask who you travel with normally? You always saw “we” in trip reports and such. Must be nice to travel frequently with somebody.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — I appreciate the feedback. In fairness to me I’m self employed and have to make a living. Maybe every tenth post is about credit cards. I provide full disclosure and a lot of readers find the posts useful. I’ll continue to provide full disclosure and make credit cards a small part of my blog, though I don’t plan on stopping to write about them completely. After all, they’re what allow tons of people to travel the world for free.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — Thanks! It all depends, I travel with different people all the time, and sometimes I travel alone. I usually just travel with fellow mileage “nuts.”
November 25th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Angelina said,
Hi Ben!! First off, Happy Thanksgiving to you!! I had a question that involves maximizing the use of my hotel points for upcoming travel. I’ve been doing some of my own research, but since I am relatively new, I was wondering if you can throw in some of your expertise…
I have upcoming travels to the following places in 2012 – Hong Kong (3 nights), Macau (2 nights), Bangkok (2 nights), Singapore (2 nights), and Hawaii (Honolulu/Waikiki Beach, 6 nights).
Here’s what I have as far as points:
Club Carlson – 104,000 (My fiance and I both took advantage of the stay one, get 50,000 bonus points offer, however I see they do not have properties in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore).
Chase Sapphire – 53,500 upon completing the minimum spend requirement which I am almost at.
Marriott ~3750
SPG – 0, but I did receive a reward offer to receive 8,000 spg points upon completing one stay, which I will most likely do in the current weeks.
So, my question is: How can I maximize my points? I know I can transfer my Chase points to most hotel chains. What would you do? SPG has hotels in Bangkok for 4000 SPG points (I was thinking of using my 8000 in bonus points to cover my 2 nights in Bangkok…?)
November 25th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Angelina — Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! As far as using Ultimate Rewards points towards travel goes, you’re probably best off transferring those points to Hyatt for award stays in either Hong Kong to Macau.
You’re a bit short on points otherwise, so have you considered signing up for the Chase Ink Bold card, or otherwise having your fiance sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or Chase Ink Bold card? In your shoes I would also sign up for the Starwood American Express card. If you can find “cash and points availability” at hotels for your preferred nights, the 25,000 point sign-up bonus will go a long way to covering hotels for nearly all of your stays.
November 25th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
FLyerboi17 said,
Lucky,
I am currently staying at the Hyatt Andaz Wall Street for about a day now and ate breakfast this morning downstairs and the waiter looked at me like I was from crazy town when I asked if they could make me lemon poppyseed pancakes!!!! After reading review after review about them I was dying to try them!!! Any advice??? How did you first hear about them????? Was it published on the menu?
November 25th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ FLyerboi17 — Too funny! The lemon poppy seed pancakes are actually at the Andaz 5th Avenue, not at the Wall Street hotel. Sorry!
November 26th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Justin said,
When did you first sign up for your first credit card? How do you cancel paid fee cards so efficiently/are there fees to cancel? Any tips?
As you can see, I’m going to try and get into the world of mileage all thanks to my patronage to your blog for 1 1/2 years.
Thanks for inspiring me
BTW, do you think the American Express SPG card is worth it? I’m thinking of signing up for a CIBC Aerogold, and the SPG card and cancel them after about 10 months.
Justin
November 26th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Chris said,
Hi Lucky! Hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend. Just wanted some advice. I’ll be flying Cathay Pacific in a couple of weeks for a quick trip. I’m registered in Asia Miles, BA Executive Club & AAdvantage. I would probably have put the miles into BA before they changed over to Avios, but now I don’t know what to do at this point. I do fly Cathay about once a year, but Asia Miles isn’t that flexible to use here in the US. Got any advice on where to apply my miles? If there’s any better partners, I wouldn’t mind enrolling to a new program. Thanks!
November 27th, 2011 at 12:27 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thank YOU for reading. I actually got my first credit card when I was 18. I started with a Discover student credit card to build my credit, and six months later got my first “real” credit card. The rest is history.
For the cards I churn, I keep them for 11 months and then cancel them just before they’re up for renewal. This is because the age of accounts factors into your credit scores. Then there are some cards I keep annually for the benefits, not to mention to keep my credit score good, since having several accounts for a long time in good standing is great for your score.
Absolutely, I think the SPG card is among the best out there.
November 27th, 2011 at 12:28 am
lucky said,
@ Chris — If you’re traveling in a booking class that accrues full miles through AAdvantage, I’d say it’s a no brainer — credit to them!
November 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Shanghai9 said,
You’ve posted that some airlines require the credit card used when booking an award flight. I’ve booked a trip for my parents and would like to get them their own cards on the account I used for their flights. Do you know if that will suffice or does it have to be the exact card (with my name on it)? I assume not since the account number is the same, but it would terrible if my parents were stuck.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:18 am
lucky said,
@ Shanghai9 — For the most part airlines no longer require this. United required it for a long time, though I haven’t seen it in a long time. Unless the e-ticket says a credit card is required, I wouldn’t worry about it. IF they do need the card, I would assume it needs to be a card with the same 15-16 digit number, or else it wouldn’t match.
November 27th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky, I noticed that United was offering 30 miles per dollar spent at FTD and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall was offering 11 points per dollar spent. Is there any reason these two promotions would conflict with one another?
November 27th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Sam said,
Lucky, can you explain how you qualify for top tier via hotels? I know you have top status in Hilton, SPG, Hyatt and a royal ambassador, but do not believe there are enough nights in a year to do that… I am staying over 150 nights in hotels next year so trying to optomize
November 27th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — Hmm, is there a special link that has to be followed in order to get the 30 miles per dollar? If not, I suspect they could be stacked. Otherwise, not so much, unfortunately.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — I actually only have top tier with Hyatt, Starwood, and InterContinental. With Hilton I have Gold status. I qualify by:
Hilton: Comped Gold due to United status
Starwood: Make exactly 25 stays per year
Hyatt: Make exactly 25 revenue stays per year
InterContinental: Either stay roughly 60 nights per year, or get a Royal Ambassador referral certificate from a friend
Hope that answers your questions!
November 28th, 2011 at 7:10 am
David said,
Lucky
A quick question for you. I’m trying to book an award through Aeroplan for my parents from Australia to North Asia in J. The total cost is 180 000 miles and it is being funded from their accounts. One has ~140 000 miles and the other ~50 000. Is there any way to pay for an Aeroplan award from two accounts without paying to transfer the miles?
Thanks
David
November 28th, 2011 at 10:29 am
lucky said,
@ David — Unfortunately that’s not possible. All the miles for a single ticket have to come out of a single account. Sorry!
November 28th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Brian said,
You’ve spent a good deal of time this year as EXP on AA, and have been 1K on United, if you had to pick only program to be top tier elite, which would it be?
Do you know of anyway to get Hyatt Platinum through matches/challenges? I currently am about to do a churn, and the Hyatt card is part of it. I would love to not have to spend $1k, and getting a few suite upgrade certs. I’m currently a SPG Gold, Marriott Silver, and thanks to the recent promo, Accor Platinum. Maybe just nicely asking?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Andrew said,
Quick question-what happens if you sign up for a credit card and can’t meet the minimum spend to get the bonus (on the Sapphire Preferred for example)? Do you get “partial credit”?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — Unfortunately there’s no such thing as partial credit in the credit card world. It’s all or nothing.
November 28th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — That post is coming really soon. I promise. I swear. No, really!
November 28th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — As far as I know, Hyatt is only doing challenges as of now. So I would email them with a copy of your elite card, and if you have top tier (or mid tier) status I think they may just grant you Platinum at a minimum.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:06 am
Jess said,
I have to fly into TPA MLK weekend from EWR (or another NY airport or Philly in a pinch) for a wedding. I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and am a Continental Silver. I would most like to pick a flight that carries a chance of a bump but if that isn’t likely, I’d like to pick one where my upgrade has a snowball’s chance in hell of clearing. The wedding is Saturday, I’d be flying in anytime on Friday (or possibly Thursday night) and back home on Tuesday morning (or possibly Monday night). Any thought on how to optimize (on UA/CO, obviously, for the upgrade)?
November 30th, 2011 at 10:53 am
KP said,
How do you check Star Alliance award availability within five days of flight? The ANA tool doesn’t seem to show it once you get pretty close to the date of the award.
Thanks
November 30th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
ricardo said,
Fantastic blog, great work. I’m trying to use AAdvantage miles to visit BCN with a stopover in CDG, but I don’t think One World allows stopovers in Europe anymore, correct?
What are the chances of upgrading using miles and $350 copay? Is it worth it? Doesn’t seem like it to me…25000 miles + $350. Currently AA PLAT
Thanks! keep up fantastic work
November 30th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — Frankly it’s always pretty tough to predict. I think the obvious advice is to either fly a 737 on Continental or 757 on United, which would maximize your upgrade chances. Generally speaking your best shot at an upgrade is the flight with the worst shot at a bump. So really you’re going to get a “balance” either way, because the flights at peak times may be oversold, while the flights not during peak times might result in an upgrade.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
lucky said,
Search it the opposite way around. the ANA tool just won’t show Star Alliance OUTBOUND space within five days. Say you want to look up award space from San Francisco to Munich in four days. Simply type in Munich as your origin and San Francisco as your destination, and then search the outbound date for tomorrow and the return date for four days from today, and that should do the trick. Otherwise use the Continental or Aeroplan websites.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
lucky said,
ricardo — Thanks for the kind words. You’re correct, you can’t have a “free” stopover of more than 24 hours on an all partner award ticket anymore. Generally speaking using miles is a much better value than upgrading. If you use miles you’re going to pay 100,000 miles, as opposed to 50,000 miles, plus $700, PLUS the cost of airfare. So if you can do an award ticket I’d go with that.
If you upgrade I suggest trying to find a flight where you can confirm the upgrade as opposed to being waitlisted. You probably have a decent chance of clearing eventually, though it would be nice to have the upgrade confirmed immediately.
November 30th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Ybjfk said,
Ben,
I love how you continue to do it real big. I got a question for you. I am about to do it real big…like you…again. I just saw a special about the Swiss on PBS and thought I would take Swiss Air then fly from their to South Korea…first class (You hear me Rick…FIRST CLASS) then use some BMI miles to get me from Korea to the Maldives…doing it real big with my bride, at the Beach House.
My question to you Lucky…how can I search for Swiss first class availability using ANA?
December 1st, 2011 at 4:31 pm
ricardo said,
JAL business award seats SFO – Tokyo 50% one world:
How often does what an AA CSR’s claims on what they have for booking not match award availability as displayed on ba.com and qantas.com? Example: SFO-HKG-SIN, first segment is in F, second in Y only. But other oneworld partners show J avail. Even thought about booking the HKG-SIN separately for 20K + $43 through BA. What do you think? Book Y segment with AA and hope J opens up? I guess that is the most rational…
December 4th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Jason said,
Ben,
I was recently at the Tumi store and they said the FAA is changing the rules for carry-on bags to a smaller size, I think 20 inches from 22? They suggested I get the Tumi Continental because it is the right height but is 16 inches wide instead of 14. Do you know about this rule change, the Continental bag, and if US airlines will let me carry it on? Thanks!
December 4th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Navej said,
Hi Ben,
Thanks for all you do.
I recently had an award ticket on hold with US Airways. On the second call the award was cleared with the rate desk and the hold renewed. I called again when I noticed the miles had been deducted from my account and was assured that the award was on hold for another two days. When I went to ticket the award, I was told the Air New Zealand portion had been removed by them. The space has not come back available.
Is there anything I can do to get my routing back? I was told by two different agents that the award was on hold until a specific time.
Thanks
December 6th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
XH said,
Hi Ben
Thanks in advance for your answer. As you recently pointed out, LH first class are no longer available award booking through CO or UA. This left me wondering how many solid first class products are still bookable through CO mileage redemption system. Could enlighten me on this subject?
December 6th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
XH said,
Also, since the dropout of LH first class in CO award booking, what options do I have for transatlantic first class other than CO and UA?
December 7th, 2011 at 7:47 am
Andrew Aniego said,
HI
I have 45k miles on my delta american express, is there anyway i could transfer it to receive elal points ?
Really appreciate your consideration
A
December 7th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
jiangatang said,
Flying LAX-LHR in C. Should I go with Virgin Upper class or NZ C?
December 7th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — While the Continental tool doesn’t show Swiss award space, the ANA and Aeroplan tools do. Have a great trip, and congrats!
December 7th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Hmmm. I’ve never had a discrepancy between what American shows and what British Airways shows. Qantas, on the other hand, will occasionally show space that American and British Airways can’t see. But it’s definitely an exception and not the norm.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — That’s the first I’ve heard of that, and I can’t imagine it’s the case, frankly. That being said, the Tumi 22″ is actually more than 22″ and doesn’t fit in some overhead bins wheels first, so I suggest getting the 20″.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Navej — Unfortunately that’s one of those situations where there’s no good solution. While holds may seem guaranteed, they really aren’t, as airlines can pull their space at anytime. It’s worth keeping in mind that with Star Alliance, holds really can’t be extended if partner airlines are involved. They can extend the hold of the actual record, but the individual airlines will start taking back their seats. So that’s worth keeping in mind.
If you had been flying the airline you were ticketing through you could have probably gotten the flights reinstated, but since you were flying a different airline than you ticketed through, they have no way of getting those seats back. Sorry!
December 7th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
lucky said,
@ XH — Yeah, it’s getting pretty bad. Transatlantic the only route other than United flights with tons of first class space in advance is Montreal to Zurich. Every other route has space released only a couple of weeks in advance nowadays, at most. Other than that there’s still Asiana and Thai, that are good about releasing space. Not many other options, though.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew Aniego — Unfortunately not. Delta miles can be redeemed for travel on El Al, though you can’t just transfer the points.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
lucky said,
@ jiangatang — That’s a toughie. If you were departing London I’d say definitely go for Virgin for Clubhouse access. But out of Los Angeles they use the same lounge on departure. Onboard I’d say Air New Zealand has better food, so I’d probably go with them. And their new 777-300ERs are pretty snazzy too.
December 7th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
It’s probably been asked plenty of times, but I’d like to pick your brain on the best mileage program for easy/cheap (relatively) awards to Bora Bora/PPT. I realize that the main challenge is the actual availability of seats.
My balances are currently roughly 150k UA, 50k US, 50k BA, 100k spg, 50k UR. The plan is to save most of the spg/UR to use to top off two business awards to BOB/PPT a year or two in the future, but I’d like to get your thoughts on which mileage balance I should be maximizing (besides spg and ur, where most of my cc spend will be going).
December 7th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Dave said,
Hey Lucky,
My partner and I would like to take advantage of the double elite miles promotion between LAX and ORD in January to get a jump start on our status for next year. We have several unused “Customer Appreciation” e-certificates that we would like to use. Is there a way to force a “W” fare AND use the e-certs on United.com? He is 1-K and I am Premier Exec.
December 7th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Ryan said,
Hi Ben,
Quick question about Aeroplan award booking. I booked an award trip in business @ 45k (YOW-YYZ-SFO-HNL outbound and HNL-DEN-YUL-YOW return). I was just wondering if you know of any option to add an extra leg for minimal miles similar to what you discussed in a Travelsort article about going from Europe to the US and adding an extra leg to South America or another article where you mentioned adding a Hawaii to Chicago flight on an American award booking from London to Chicago.
Thanks!
Ryan
December 7th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — There are only two practical options for travel to Tahiti — Air France and Air Tahiti Nui. Delta partners with both airlines and charges 150,000 miles for business class roundtrip, while American only partners with Air Tahiti Nui, and charges 125,000 miles roundtrip in business class. Both are great values, so I’d work towards building balances with those two airlines. Keep in mind that Delta has a transfer promotion right now (which I’ll blog about shortly) whereby you can buy the 150,000 miles for about $1,650 — not bad for a business class award to Tahiti!
December 7th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — If you call United web support they should be able to manually apply them to a W fare, though it might take a bit of time on hold.
December 7th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Unfortunately in that instance not really. Aeroplan doesn’t allow one way award tickets on partner airlines, so if you’re just trying to add a segment, you would end up paying the roundtrip price difference in order to make that happen, which isn’t really cost effective.
December 8th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Ryan said,
Thanks Lucky – Would you consider YOW-YYZ-SFO-HNL outbound and HNL-DEN-YUL-YOW return a good award redemption with Aeroplan’s current promotion @ 45k points for business class?
I know you say that whatever makes you happy is a good award redemption (and this trip does accomplish that for me), but I would like to know your thoughts.
December 8th, 2011 at 1:21 am
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Yes, I’d say that’s a spectacular value.
December 8th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Mantini said,
Hey Lucky, one of my dream trips is to circumnavigate the globe on Air New Zealand – LAX-LHR-HKG-AKL-LAX. Any advice on the best place to start building up points for this – Aeroplan, Mileage Plus, MR, UR?
December 8th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
IC Bali – as a platinum ambassador on a revenue stay, what room/upgrades/benefits could i expect in April 2012?
December 8th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
sam said,
So may take a job that will require 70-90% travel domestic only, NYC,DFW,ATL,DET,ORD,MIA. Based in Phoenix, do you know anyone who knows US program inside and out? Or what plan would you recommend? Corporate carrier is AA, but 100K miles in coach connecting through DFW and ORD 2-4 times a week would be brutal
December 9th, 2011 at 12:50 am
lucky said,
@ Mantini — Continental/United miles would probably be the best way to do that, since Aeroplan imposes fuel surcharges. So earning United, Continental, or Ultimate Rewards points should work great.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Ken — The standard upgrade is typically to a duplex room, in my experience, for both Ambassador and Royal Ambassador members.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:04 am
lucky said,
@ sam — Yeah, connecting twice a week probably isn’t ideal. US Airways miles are fairly valuable, though flying them isn’t all that much fun. Keep in mind Chairmans Preferred get a couple of international upgrades per year, though that’s about it in the way of bonuses for flying.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
michael peachey said,
Hi -
In your humble opinion, whats the best thing to do with 500,000 Amex Membership miles? Wait for another Delta bonus promotion? Buy a widescreen TV, something else?
@ michael — It depends what your redemption goals are. To maximize their value you definitely shouldn’t do anything except an airline mileage transfer. So I would only transfer once you have a specific redemption goal in mind, determine which program is best, and then make the transfer.
December 10th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — Yep, that’s it!
December 10th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m on a first class rewards ticket from IAD to MNL with stops in FRA, NRT, and BKK. However, I am in business class on the FRA to NRT leg on Lufthansa’s a380 (rough itinerary, but I really wanted to get on an a380 haha). Will I still be allowed access to Lufthansa’s first class Tower Lounge in FRA or will I only have access to the business class lounge?
Thanks!
December 10th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Do you depart from Frankfurt to Tokyo the same day you arrive from Washington to Frankfurt? If so you can access the First Class Lounge.
December 10th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
RKToledo said,
Lucky,
With the recent announcement of Lufthansa A380 flying out of Houston, can you give me your thoughts on what is to be expected for future award availability on this flight. Any chance of first class awards being offered. Also, I believe you mentioned in a prior post that future Lufthansa flights out of Dallas would not have first class. Where can I find the specifics on this news? Thanks.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
How are you liking the Keurig machine? Where would you say is the best e-retailer to buy one for max miles if you don’t have the Ultimate Rewards card?
JRL
December 12th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Megan said,
Thanks, Lucky! I am flying out the same day. I am so excited to experience the Tower Lounge in FRA! It’s not that often that a 22 year-old gets to experience these things! Thanks for your help!!!!
Hi Lucky
We want to take advantage of some off-season airline redemptions and wondered if you or your readers could recommend some good winter (Feb) European destinations.
Thanks for the help and for the great blog!
Gary P
December 13th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
John said,
Ben, how is JAL’s first class product? I’m booked on a JAL flt from NRT to ORD (777-300). You panned JAL first class in an 09 trip report from NRT to JFK. Since then I think they have introduced a so called first class suite in first (which is not really a suite but a better seat).
December 13th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Michael said,
Ben,
I’ve got my first ever mini-RTW in F booked for next July (2012), in which I’m flying -ZRH-BKK- on TG F. My friend and I really want to try LH F and the FCT, so we’d like to fly -ZRH-FRA-BKK-. At the moment there’re no seats open. My question is, what are the chances LH opens two seats on FRA-BKK some time before travel? How many times a day should I be checking the ANA tool?
PS – Really love your blog.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
lucky said,
@ RKToledo — I suspect business and coach award availability will remain fairly good (probably even improve). However, Lufthansa has almost entirely stopped releasing first class award space in advance, not just on the A380, but generally. So I suspect we won’t see any (or at least much) first class award availability on the new Houston route.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I love, it’s incredibly easy to use. As far as the best online retailer goes, that’s a toughie. I know this will sound crazy coming from me, though the price of Keurig coffee machines is constantly changing so I’d say it all depends on the detail a retailer is running. It’s not unusual to see the price vary from anywhere between $80 and $150. So I wouldn’t recommend any specific retailer based just on a few miles.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Well done and have a great time!
December 13th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Gary P — That’s a toughie. I really like London, and the weather isn’t usually too bad off season. Barcelona is usually warm, so you can’t go wrong with that. I also love Munich, so you really can’t go wrong with that. None should be all that bad in February.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
lucky said,
@ John — JAL first is *good*, though not the best in the world. It’s way better than American, United, etc., though not quite on the level of Singapore, Cathay Pacific, etc. The food is fairly good, seat is good, entertainment is not so great, and service is attentive though a lot of the flight attendants struggle with English, much more so than ANA. So an all around solid product.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — Lufthansa has just about stopped releasing first class award space in advance. There’s definitely a chance the seats will open up, though don’t expect it to be more than a week or so before departure, in my opinion.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Heather said,
What is the best way to get an award seat on the upper deck of a 747 from the west coast to Europe?
December 14th, 2011 at 1:40 am
lucky said,
@ Heather — United sometimes has award space from San Francisco to Frankfurt on the 747, so that would be one option if that’s what you’re looking for.
December 14th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
sslsps said,
Hi
A couple of months ago, I booked the outbound flight JFK-ICN-HAN on OZ
and a return HKG-NRT-EWR on NH and CO
A few days ago I noticed that there is new availability showing up on
Continental.com for SQ flights in both directions: JFK-FRA on SQ
A380 connecting to TG for flights to BKK and HAN. On the way back it
is HKG-SFO on SQ connecting to CO
Would you recommend sticking with the outbound OZ flights or is flying
the 380 on SQ worth the slightly longer trip with 2 connections?
And is it worth switching to the SQ flight HKG-SFO on way back?
thanks
December 14th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
thrive said,
Your Chase Sapphire Preferred posts say that the 7% annual dividend applies to the 50,000 point signup bonus. Two agents just told me that’s not the case. What gives?
December 14th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
lucky said,
@ sslsps — Is this a coach or business class award? If the former, then I would stick to the more direct routing. If the latter, I’d say go for it and take the more indirect routing to experience the A380.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
lucky said,
@ thrive — I know The Points Guy had confirmed that with a Chase marketing rep, so I think it’s fairly reliable. I wouldn’t necessarily count on what a phone agent tells you, as I doubt they’re all that “in the know.”
December 15th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Beth said,
Hi Lucky,
My husband and I are looking at going SAT-DUB early June. we have about 200,000 points mostly with amex and chase, then some small fry with BA, delta and united. Is there a way we can combine some of these points together? Also which carrier/s would recommend to maximize our points? We have no idea what we’re doing.
December 16th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Will said,
Hi Lucky,
I think I’m going to “pull the trigger” and book my first set of MRs in Jan to get the TEQM on AA, but I’m really nervous about it (mostly about weather and delays since its ORD-SFO)! I have a spread sheet with all my flight times, cost and such, would you mind if I sent it to you to give it a quick look and let me know what you think?
MUCH appreciated and thanks in advance!!
December 16th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Steve said,
Lucky,
I have a $400 UA cert and am looking to maximize it on an MR. Perferrably Feb/Mar although I am pretty flexible. I have never had a cert (bumped) before so I am new to using these. Any suggestions on routing?
Also hope you are enjoying your W bed as much as I am!
You’re a wealth of travel knowledge so I figured I’d come to you for some input on this. I’m new to the frequent flyer / milage game.
I’m at the Diamond Medallion tier and in a few days I’ll be flying CDG -> JFK on Air France’s a380, I’m flying on a “full fare” ticket. I want to use one of my Delta “system wide upgrade” to get into Affaires class but they keep trying to kick me into Premium Voyageur.
Do you have any tricks that might work in this sort of situation?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Beth — Which Chase and AmEx cards are your points with? Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards, or a different program?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Will — Sure, feel free to email them over!
December 16th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — Where do you live?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
lucky said,
@ JamesZ — Your Delta systemwide upgrades unfortunately only entitle you to a one class upgrade, so from coach you can only upgrade to premium economy. If you wanted to fly business you would have to book premium economy.
(ORD/SFO Double EQM)
Do you think this would qualify for EQM? I had a hard time understand the T&C. Thanks
I had my itinerary routing as:
LAS/IAD/LHR/ORD/SFO (stop over@LHR)
All in W fare.
Ticketed 11/24
Just completed travel.
December 17th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Silkclass — My interpretation would be that you don’t qualify for the double EQMs because you need to have roundtrip travel on the ORD-LAX/SFO routes, which you don’t have.
December 18th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Beth said,
Yeah about 25000 in Ultimate with another 50000 to come as a signup bonus and 125000 in Membership Rewards. We were also wondering if a stopover in Dubai is a pipedream? It’s not exactly a regular stopover.. Thanks for your help!
December 18th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Ross said,
Back in September 2009, I asked which frequent flyer programs should I sign up for. Currently, I have United’s Mileage Plus (UA) and Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan (AS). Since I flew more on AS rather than UA, I am currently at MVP Elite in AS. AS has strong partnerships with DL and AA. I have not flown in DL and AA yet.
Now that I am moving to Chicago from San Francisco, it appears that I am going to be flying more either on UA or AA. In terms of domestic business and coach products offered, which would you prefer: UA or AA?
December 19th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Daniel said,
Hi Lucky,
I wanted to fly from LAX to JFK, and then on the way back I wanted to stopover in Chicago (JFK-ORD-LAX). Can this still be considered a roundtrip flight? Also if this is a RT flight, how would I book this flight online, or would I need to call he airline?
Thanks,
Daniel
December 19th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky,
I know AA has the Business Extraa program but I just had to purchase some pretty expensive seats on United and was wondering if United had a similar program
December 19th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
MariaM said,
Hi Lucky,
I am trying to book what I consider a complicated itinerary using my Continental miles. I have to go to Spain next summer for school and am planning on meeting my husband in China once I am done. I already booked our tickets using BA miles on Cathay. We fly out of BKK. A few months ago I tried this routing since I know CO won’t allow me stopovers on a one way ticket so this is what I did using the Multiple Destination: EWR-MAD-MAD-HKG, PVG-BKK which was pricing at 47.5k miles all SaverPass (I don’t have enough miles for business and I am flying business on Cathay on the way back). Now when I try it, it won’t give me any Saver availability only Easypass at 80k when I try booking it as a multicity ticket but if I try each leg individually then it does give me Saverpass availability. What should I do? Should I call Continental and have them do it over the phone? Is this possible? Hope you can help!
Thanks!
December 19th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Beth — Well the stopover wouldn’t be in Dubai, but instead the stopover would be in Dublin enroute to Dubai, which would be possible. You should be able to book that through Continental/Star Alliance with ease, flying Continental as far as Dublin and then flying Swiss/Lufthansa/Austrian to Dubai.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Ross — American hands down. They have wifi on more planes, generally better food in first class, easier upgrades, and on the whole, newer aircraft.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — The requirements are a bit higher, though United does have Perks Plus, which is a similar program.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — You can certainly route that way, though the stopover wouldn’t be “free,” as the fare would break in Chicago. So you would end up paying for two tickets on your return.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
lucky said,
@ MariaM — You’ll want to call Continental for that. They should be able to do it by phone.
December 20th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
hsw25 said,
Hi Lucky,
I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for several years now. Love it! I have a question for you about the Intercontinental Bali. During your 2008 stay, you mentioned you used a buy one get one certificate at the property. I was thinking about using my Ambassador cert for a stay next year. Do you know how I can find out if the property accepts them for a King Club Intercontinental room? Also, given the the potential unrest in the Indonesia, did you find the area to be safe (for an American)?
H
December 20th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Brad said,
Hi Ben,
Hotel loyalty program question for you if you have a chance.
I don’t travel very often for work (certainly not often enough to hit the nights or stays required for top-tier status), but when I do, I’m fortunate enough to stay at high-end properties.
Is there any industry discussion (if you know) of hotel loyalty programs’ adding an elite-status qualifier based on spend (in addition to the nights/stays currently offered)? I’m biased, of course, but it seems to me that five or 10 nights at a St. Regis (to use Starwood as an example) might translate to more revenue than 25 stays at a Four Points, and so hotel programs would do well to offer the St. Regis guest some recognition other than simple points earning.
Thanks for any thoughts.
December 21st, 2011 at 11:19 am
lucky said,
@ hsw25 — Thanks so much for reading! Absolutely, you can use a BOGO on a club room. Just keep in mind you have to book through the URL listed on the voucher. As far as the safety of Indonesia goes, I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to return. I felt 100% safe, so I really wouldn’t be worried.
December 21st, 2011 at 11:24 am
lucky said,
@ Brad — Great question. The only program I know that will let you qualify for top tier status based on spend is Hilton, as you can qualify based on nights, stays, or base points earned. Now, Hilton is also the brand that will let you earn Diamond status for spending $40,000 on their credit card annually, so…
Other than that, I really don’t know of any programs that let you qualify based on spend. They really should, though.
December 21st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
hsw25 said,
One more thing Lucky: I have booked a First Saver award to Bali using 70,000 OnePass Miles. I am on UA F DFW-IAH-ORD-LHR and connecting to TG F at LHR. Right now, LH has a good bit of I inventory out of IAH on theit A380 service. Obviously, I’m hoping LH F opens up (on the DFW-FRA flight) as I get closer in. But if that doesn’t happen, which would you prefer: UA new F (operated on a 763) or LH J?
December 21st, 2011 at 12:44 pm
lucky said,
@ hsw25 — United first, hands down. Totally worth it for the flat bed alone.
December 21st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
hsw25 said,
Thanks!
December 22nd, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
Complete newbie here! I really enjoy your blogs but I do have a rudimentary question. I came across a post you had mentioning how you can get in a “free” trip to Hawaii flying through an AA gateway. But I’m not sure how that might practically work (if it would at all for me). I’m in SFO and would like to fly to Europe some day with my AA miles. Would the Hawaii strategy work like this?
SFO –> MAD (via say, LAX) – 2/2/12
MAD –> LAX –> HNL , with MAD–>LAX scheduled 2/9/12, and LAX –>HNL scheduled something like 5/1/12
Then I would have to find my own way back home to SFO from LAX on 2/9/12?
And I would have to book a separate flight to get back home from HNL –> SFO on like 5/8/12?
And finally, if I’m understanding this right, I would assume I would need to book all of this via an AA phone rep?
Thanks again for your time and patience!
December 22nd, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Constantine said,
Hi Lucky,
As you may know, Air Canada announced changes to the number of EQMs required to qualify for *A Gold – from 35k to 50k as of 2013. In your opinion, which *A rewards program offers the *A Gold status for the least amount of EQMs and for longer period of time?
Thank you.
Constantine
December 22nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Jettyboy said,
Hi Lucky,
I would like some advice about routing rules when using US Airways Dividend Miles. I would like to book my parents on a round-trip award ticket in J, from MAA (Chennai) – LAX. I am trying to do this ideally with just one stop which leaves me pretty much with just one option using US miles: LH (via FRA) or TG (via BKK). They would like to stop over in BKK on the way back, so I was thinking of booking them on LAX-NRT (NH), NRT-BKK(UA) and BKK-MAA (TG) which seems to work fine.
For the trip from India to the US, will I be able to book them on LH J via FRA? That is, does US airways allow routing via the Atlantic on one leg, and via the Pacific on the outbound, or will this be considered a RTW ticket?
Also, in your opinion, which carrier would have the best J product? In case I cannot book them on LH (which doesnt have a great J product anyway) I am not able to see any availability on BKK-LAX in TG J using the CO website so was thinking of having one more stop, and am able to see some availability on OZ (via ICN) or on NH (via HND). Would you recommend either of these? Do any of these have flat beds in J? As always, thanks for your time in answering our questions.
December 22nd, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Tiffani said,
Hi to my fellow Tampa Bay area person. I’m interested in the Sapphire Preferred card and I can’t find anywhere if I can transfer miles to either American or Delta.
If I can’t do it with that card, which card is the best one for me for each airline?
I have Delta status, someone else in my family has American status so we are looking at two different cards.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Neil — You’re right on all counts. You would basically get a free one-way ticket to Hawaii. If you wanted to simplify it slightly in terms of needing to purchase an extra ticket, you could instead do MAD-ORD-SFO on the return, and then SFO-LAX-HNL on the same ticket a few months later at no additional cost. You’d need to book this by phone, as you point out.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Constantine — Aegean would be the best option at this point, as they offer Star Gold for 20,000 elite qualifying miles.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Jettyboy — The thing about US Airways is that they don’t really enforce any of their routing rules, so you can really do whatever you’d like. I wish I had a better answer, but they’ll allow just about anything.
As far as business class products go, I’d say Thai and Lufthansa are pretty comparable. I would consider routing them from NRT to LAX on ANA, as they operate one of their 777s with fully flat beds on that route. Otherwise Asiana is excellent as well, and has their new business class product on the evening 777 from ICN to LAX.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 am
lucky said,
@ Tiffani — That’s a great question! Let me answer it tomorrow on the main page of the blog, if that’s alright, as I think a lot of people might benefit from the question.
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:58 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, If one were to earn American Executive platinum status fairly early in 2012 when yould the evip’s expire?
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:27 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — If you just qualify they would be good through February 2013, though if you requalify the would be good through February 2014.
December 27th, 2011 at 2:30 am
John said,
Lucky, how does AA elite status factor into the AA Exec Plat madness? Would it be a bonus to the triple dip? An example might help clarify this if you don’t mind!
December 27th, 2011 at 4:47 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sorry, I’m not sure what exactly you mean? As an Executive Platinum member you get a 100% bonus on redeemable miles, meaning you end up earning triple redeemable miles and triple elite qualifying miles between ORD/DFW and LAX/SFO. Does that answer your question, or are you asking something else?
December 27th, 2011 at 10:43 am
beltway said,
Lucky, I’m thinking of booking an award for me & my DW as follows:
Origin: WAS
Destination: MLA
Stopover on return: BCN
I have more than enough miles with UACO, US, BA, AA, and DL that I can use any of these programs, and am wondering what the best approach is. As best my tiny brain can determine,
1) US is possible if I fly into BCN on JK (which seems to require flying LH MLA-MUC), given their stopover/partner hub requirement.
2) UACO offers better options: stopover allowed, and there are assorted options (LH via FRA, OS via VIE, LX via ZRH) for getting MLA-BCN in 2 segments.
3) AA won’t permit a stopover overseas, and although I could book an open jaw (WAS-MLA, BCN-WAS) there doesn’t appear to be a good way to burn my crappy Avios to go MLA-BCN. (The “Iberia” non-stop is really VY.)
Am I missing anything obvious here?
December 27th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
I am addicted to your website. I hope you can answer this question, since emailing Lufthansa hasn’t yielded a useful response.
I was lucky to get a Lufthansa first class RT SFO to TLV via Frankfurt–sounds like these won’t come up again!
On my return I arrive FRA 8 p.m., leave the next morning at 10 a.m. Will stay over at airport Sheraton which has pretty mediocre services but will do. I would love to stop at the FCL before going to hotel and have a nice dinner and use wifi. I will have my boarding pass for the next morning. Do you think they will let me do that?
Thanks for all the fascinating posts!
December 28th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Arthur Yu said,
Hi Lucky,
Hoping you can offer your insight. My co-worker and I are both United 1K and we have a few SWUs that will be expiring at the end of January. Reading through Flyertalk there were some individuals who suggested donating them to our traveling military men/women. We thought that was a great idea and we’d like to try and set that up, but besides actually knowing the name of the person you’re upgrading is there an organization that can help arrange this anonymously or where we can donate the SWUs to?
I’m planning to go to Australia next year and I just wanted to know from which U.S. city is cheaper to fly to Australia. LAX, SFO, LAS…. ???
Thanks
December 28th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
lucky said,
@ beltway — You should be able to book that through US if you wanted to. You don’t actually have to fly to the hub on the airline with a hub there, but rather only need to have a stopover in that hub. So you could fly Lufthansa to Barcelona if you wanted to, and then continue to Malta.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
lucky said,
@ margaret — Thanks for reading! Unfortunately there’s no way they’ll allow that as they require a same day departure, and they’re very strict about that.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Arthur — Very nice thought on your part! I wish there was an easy way to do it, but short of actually showing up at the airport and finding someone to upgrade (not to mention their flight has to have upgrade space available and be in an eligible fare class), that’s not really possible.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I can’t really say that one city in particular has cheaper fares than others. Once you have your dates narrowed down, I suggest doing a search for the various cities to see which is cheapest.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Daniel said,
Hi Ben,
Looking to spend 92.5k United miles on a trip to Asia out of ORD – 60k there in business through Europe (with a stopover) and 32.5k back in economy. Any recommendations on how to plan this for the best flight experiences? I was thinking ORD-ZRH on Swiss, then ZRH-SIN on Singapore, but does Singapore ever release business award space on A380? What about the way back – who has the best transpacific Y product? Any better ways to route / plan this? Planning to book as far in advance as possible.
Thanks!
December 28th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Loma said,
Hi Lucky,
Here’s a customer service question about AA. I traveled DFW-LAX-HKG-MNL-HKG-SFO-DFW in November 2011. I booked it over the phone and I believe it was on the Platinum reservations number.
The big problem is, the agent booked me on a Cathay Pacific flight number for the flights to HKG and MNL instead of an AA flight number, when she in fact told me that I was booked on AA and that I should get miles for all my flight segments.
I realize this and take care of it over the phone after I’ve done all my travel. I called customer service and they took me to the “highest level” and the most she could give me was 5K bonus miles. I bargained for more concessions and the best they could do was 20K bonus miles.
The bonus miles were posted and after that, they said it was a done deal. “Sorry for the mistake that the agent made”.
Well, with their DEQAA promo (and I recently flew DFW-LHR roundtrip), I think I can qualify for Executive Platinum IF they give me the lost EQMs from that mess the agent put me in for my trip to Asia.
Question: Do you think there’s a chance I could negotiate this with AA? That they’d give me Executive Platinum if they gave me those lost EQMs? What would your advice be?
December 28th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — Be sure you book that through Continental, since through United you’d have to book the ticket as two one ways, and therefore wouldn’t be allowed a stopover.
That being said, Singapore doesn’t release “new” business class award space, and Swiss doesn’t usually release it in advance. So I suggest aiming for Continental or United on the transatlantic flight (since they have flat beds), and then Asiana or ANA with their new flat bed product for the connecting flight.
Otherwise Swiss does occassionally release business class award space in advance out of Montreal to Zurich, so I would seriously consider that.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Loma — Just to clarify, did you earn any EQMs on the Cathay Pacific flight, or none at all?
December 28th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Loma said,
Lucky, none at all. I only got base miles, bonus miles, and EQMs for DFW-LAX and SFO-DFW. I did call customer service when I got to Manila when I saw that LAX-HKG-MNL miles didn’t post. But they said that it usually takes longer for the long-haul flights to post. And of course, with all the jetlag and travelling, I didn’t have time to further pursue it until I got to DFW and realized the glaring mistake thanks to the codeshared flight and wrong booking code made by the agent!
December 28th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Loma said,
@Lucky, so my flights on Cathay Pacific were essentially Cathay Pacific flights and were thus ineligible for any mile-earning on AA. And this was because the agent booked me on a CX code instead of an AA code, when she told me that everything was on AA. I know that I should have double-checked and known better, BUT, the agent should have just booked me on all AA flight numbers since I was booking through AA anyway! When I called customer service after all travel was complete, they said that they couldn’t anything since all travel had been completed and that the flights were on CX so nothing they could do. But surely they could do something better than 20K bonus miles.
December 28th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Loma — That’s a toughie. I suspect they won’t budge since they’re usually pretty strict about not crediting miles in those instances. It’s unfortunate, but just a guess. In your shoes I would take a last minute mileage run as it’s well worth it for the added perks.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:26 am
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
This is a huge advance planning question, but I want to get the best chance at a comfortable flight, ideally 1st class but Business is OK My husband and I want to go to Manado (indonesia) in March 2013. Right now we’ve both got 200K/mileage plus miles thanks to the sapphire/ink bold credit cards we just got. We put everything on cards so we should have another 50K or more by May when flights available.
On United site they only list reward flights to Singapore–interestingly, First Class is 320K and Business is 300K. According to Kayak, Singapore flies SFO to Manado in partnership with Silk Air. It’s only 3.5 hrs Singapore to Manado so we don’t care about class, but if we have to pay for the flight it’s about $500 RT (The economy fare from SFO is $1200 RT–go figure)
So what would be the best strategy? I am assuming that we have to go United–I know getting SFO-SIN won’t happen. But is there any alternative to 320K miles?
December 29th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Oscar said,
My Travel dates Are from August and coming back December. I know that buying your ticket 11 months earlier doesn’t means you will get the cheapest rate. When would it be the best time to buy my tickets ?
December 29th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Loma said,
Thanks, Lucky. Too late to mileage run now, but I guess I’ll charge this very bad mistake to experience! Can’t make the same mistake twice now.
December 30th, 2011 at 2:14 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — United’s website will only show you awards for their flights and flights on a few of their partners. If you call you should get much better availability, in business class for 120,000 miles per person roundtrip, or in first class for 140,000 miles roundtrip. That being said, you can’t use United miles for travel on SilkAir.
December 30th, 2011 at 2:15 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I wish there were a good answer, though prices are constantly fluctuating so it’s tough to say. It could be cheapest 11 months out, or it could be cheapest two weeks before departure. All I can recommend is to lock in the ticket when the price is one that you think is reasonable and one you’re willing to pay.
December 30th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Michelle said,
Would you mind sharing a copy of your powerpoint presentation? Enjoying your site.
December 31st, 2011 at 1:10 pm
mike said,
Car storage ideas? If you are going on an extended trip should you disconnect the battery of your car so it doesn’t die? How long can a car last without starting it?
I am thinking it is better to take a taxi to the airport so I don’t have to pay the daily parking rate.
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m kind of lost in prices for Australia.
I don’t know what is an average for an economy ticket, do u happen to know this?
Cheapest tickets are 1400 USD on Air Pacific, with a stop on Fiji, Qantas and Air New Zealand both cost 1650 USD.
And I remember just 2 years ago tickets were 800 USD on United.
December 31st, 2011 at 4:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Michelle — Feel free to email me if you’d like one.
December 31st, 2011 at 4:29 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I wish I could help, though unfortunately that’s completely outside my area of expertise!
December 31st, 2011 at 4:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — What time of year are you traveling?
January 1st, 2012 at 10:48 am
Tiffani said,
hi, is anyone else not seeing rollover MQM on Delta? I logged in this morning and none of them had rolled over. I should have about 21,000!
January 1st, 2012 at 10:54 am
Tiffani said,
never mind… just called Delta and they said all the rollovers don’t happen at the same time as the year and they should be in our account around the 5th or 6th. Pfew!
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:39 am
Tom Pearsall said,
Where do I find information on co-terminals for specific airline?
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:58 am
lucky said,
@ Tom — They’re usually listed in the fare rules for a given routing/city pair.
I think this comment was lost in the Christmas Comment debacle.
I was (seemingly targeted) sent a mailer from Amex for a 30% bonus transfer of MR points. Which would cost 61,538 MR points for an Upper Class ticket NYC-LHR. Are there any other avenues which would make this a deal a wash, or should I jump on it?
Could you also add a “Jump to the bottom” link at the top of this page?
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky,
I was interested in making a reservation through UA from Hawaii to Asia and was wondering if it’s possible to travel via the Atlantic as there is a published MPM for this routing. Also, when I called to make a reservation from HNL-CDG via NRT, I was told I could not route via Asia. Is this correct?
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Mike said,
so the chase saphire has no foreign transaction fee…sounds good but is it? Do they give you a competitive fx conversion rate or do they just make up for the no-fee with a lousy rate? Any info on that? thanks homey-
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — Sorry I missed your question originally. Is the transfer bonus for Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club? If so I’d avoid the transfer, since they impose fuel surcharges on award tickets. So you’d end up paying about $800 in addition to the miles, which makes that a not-so-great deal, in my opinion.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — You should be able to go from Hawaii to Europe via Asia (Lufthansa publishes a fare with a reasonable MPM), though you can’t technically go from the US to Europe via Asia.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — I’ve found their conversion rates to be the actual exchange rate, or at the very least extremely close. It’s definitely not a gimmick.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
jayy said,
I manage FF programs for several family members and was wondering if any of the transfer programs (Ultimate Rewards, AMEX, or SPG) require the receiving account to match the cardholder’s name? Or can you ‘gift’ the points to anyone? Also, what are the usual transfer fees? Any good resources you can point me to comparing these details would be very helpful. Also, will Ultimate points transfer to United once the merger closes (I understand you can transfer to Onepass right now).
January 5th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
JT said,
Lucky,
What’s the most efficient route from ORD to JNB with the best first/business class product? Using a revenue ticket, work is paying…
Thanks!
January 7th, 2012 at 1:20 am
Sarah said,
I booked a ticket on AA.com with this routing DFW-ORD-CDG and returing with CDG-LHR-DFW. My eVIPs cleared both ways but when the return cleared, the agent asked for my credit card info to pay for the paris luxury tax. It was $90 extra but I thought that since I am flying on a BA operated AA codeshare on CDG-LHR, would I not have to pay for the luxury tax since that segment is in coach? I am a connecting passenger through LHR so the UK APD would not apply. Any ideas?
January 7th, 2012 at 4:25 am
lucky said,
@ jayy — That’s a great question. Let me answer it in the form of a blog post, since I think a lot of people would benefit from it. The only thing I’ll answer here is that Ultimate Rewards points can actually already be transferred to United miles as of a few months ago.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:26 am
lucky said,
@ JT — If you’re looking for business class and not looking to upgrade to first class, Id say Delta through Atlanta isn’t a bad option since it allows you an uninterrupted night of sleep and they have flat beds. Otherwise I would consider South African through Dulles or Virgin Atlantic through London, as I like their Upper Class and Clubhouse products.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:28 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that the Paris luxury tax isn’t necessarily based on the class of service you fly out of Paris, but rather the class of service for the longest segment on that direction of the itinerary. It sucks, but unfortunately I think there’s no way around it.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:39 am
abc said,
Lucky,
I love to read the FF/travel tips and reports in your blog. However, as I am based in Europe, I cannot apply most of your advise. Do you know of any sites/blogs aimed at Europe-based travellers or even have some tips yourself?
January 7th, 2012 at 10:47 am
lucky said,
@ abc — While there are plenty of great frequent flyer blogs written by Europeans (including several on Boarding Area), based on what I’ve seen they’re more travel centric as opposed to deal centric. There just aren’t as many deals for non-US based frequent flyers, at least when it comes to credit cards. Other than that, you can still take advantage of a lot of the deals posted here as a European, including discounts on purchased miles, transfer miles promotions, etc. Thanks for reading!
January 7th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Phil said,
I know this is a totally beginner question, but I need help from somewhere. My girlfriend and I are considering getting married/honeymoon in Summer 2013. We have discussed having a honeymoon in Bora Bora. I was hoping we could use frequent flier points to get first class (from NYC) there. We obviously have a long time. Neither of us travels that often, but we spend a lot on CC’s. What Card/Airline should we go with? I figure if we start now we have plenty of time. I have about 100k skymiles with Delta but have recently learned that they don’t do First Class International via points. Again sorry for the beginner question.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Phil — Unfortunately there’s no way to use miles for first class to Tahiti. The only two airlines that fly there nonstop from the mainland are Air France and Air Tahiti Nui. Air France doesn’t have a first class product, while Air Tahiti Nui no longer offers first class awards. It used to be possible to use American miles for Air Tahiti Nui first class, though not anymore.
So you’re actually fairly well positioned with your Delta miles for a business class award, though. Just build your balance to 150,000 SkyMiles each and you’ll have enough to cover the flights.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Phil said,
Lucky, thanks so much for your help.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
RKToledo said,
Lucky,
I can book today a business class award on LH with routing of N. America gateway-FRA-NRT. Flights will be in September. Which airline (UA,CO,US) should I book this award if I plan on monitoring First Class availability & making change per segment as 1st class awards are opened? I don’t have status. Thanks,
January 8th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Ricardo said,
Lucky
I’ve been reading your blog and it’s great but I’m in a situation right now.
I need to go to Houston and all the tickets are over 450 USD
I found a great deal and I have two options:
Fly MEX to IAH to LAX
return IAH-MEX
Will my return flight get cancelled?
Or should I try the less suspicious
MEX-LAX-MEX (both with a stop in IAH)
I know that this is called an throwaway ticket but what kind of problems can I get?
January 9th, 2012 at 6:48 am
lucky said,
@ RKToledo — Well US Airways is the cheapest at 120,000 miles, though they don’t allow changes after departure and also have the highest change fees. So if the goal is to minimize the cost of changes, definitely go with Continental. They’ll let you make free changes up until 21 days before departure, and after that it’s only $75 per change.
January 9th, 2012 at 6:52 am
lucky said,
@ Ricardo — If you skip a segment on an itinerary, your onward segments will be canceled. So if you find a way to book MEX-IAH-LAX as a one-way, and then IAH-MEX as a one way, you should be fine. But if it’s all on one ticket your onward segments would be canceled.
January 9th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Purewater said,
Lucky, What’s the best website(s) to track all of your airline/hotel points? I think you’ve mentioned one of these before, they send out an alert prior to your points expiring.
Do you know from your Chase contacts if the current Sapphire Preferred signup bonus & bonus spend threshold is going to change anytime in the foreseeable future?
January 9th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Purewater — I like awardwallet.com.
January 9th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Get Gowing — I haven’t heard anything one way or another, but then again, if it does changes I doubt we’d get much advance notice.
January 9th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Purewater said,
Thanks Lucky…btw, just got approved for the Chase Ink card thru your link. They called me up for a little interview prior to approval, so people going for the bogus sole proprietor designation might run into some problems. Anyhow, hope you made some serious $$ off my card!
January 9th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
lucky said,
@ PUrewater — Thanks very much, I really appreciate it! And thanks for the heads up regarding the “interview.” If I can ever be of assistance with anything, please let me know.
January 10th, 2012 at 11:07 am
Naif said,
Hi Lucky,
I have around 7500 miles in my AAdvantage account, as I usually fly Delta and United. I was just wondering if I could use these miles as AA requires min. 25000 miles to trade them on points.com… Any suggestions?
January 10th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Dave said,
Hey Lucky,
Due to the Mileage Plus one-time lifetime mileage adjustment my partner has now achieved million mile status with United. He also currently has 1-K status. As his designated significant other what are the implications for my status. I am currently Premier Exec and have several mileage runs planned in the future. Are they still necessary?
Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
AlohaStephen said,
Hi Ben!
What cc did you start off with as a college student? I want to get my brother(who is a soph in college) started.
Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Naif — No easy way to transfer them, though if you get another 5,000 miles you’ll have enough for a one way domestic coach ticket. Do you live in the US? If so, you could dine at some AAdvantage dining restaurants or sign up for a credit card to (more than) make up for the remaining miles.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — Congrats to your partner! You’ll also get 1K status, though won’t get the SWUs/CR1s he gets. So if you think it’s worthwhile to mileage run for those then go for it, though you’ll get 1K upgrade priority/fee waivers/mileage bonuses/etc. either way.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
lucky said,
@ AlohaStephen — That’s a good question. I believe it was a student Discover card. I had a $1,000 credit line, if I recall correctly. I spent about $250 on the card per month for six months, and then started getting approved for the “big league” cards. During my first churn I got the Starwood American Express, a Continental Mastercard, and two AAdvantage cards. The rest is history.
Good luck to your brother!
January 11th, 2012 at 8:20 am
Jim said,
With all your AA flying are you abandoning United? Or will you still find time this year to requalify for 1K?
With the 60k United Explorer card and the 50k Chase Sapphire cards currently both being offered, is it likely to apply for both and get approvals on the same day? If not, then how long should the wait between them be? And, now that the Sapphire is limited-time as well, which should come first?
Thanks!
January 11th, 2012 at 9:29 am
lucky said,
@ David — Chase is so hit or miss that it really is tough to say. Typically they’ll only approve one at a time, though if you have existing credit lines with them, you can often talk them into switching one of your existing credit lines onto a new card. That being said, generally I think the best strategy is to apply for one, be approved for it, and then apply for another, because if you apply for both at once they’ll likely both be rejected (Chase seems to do fewer instant approvals than in the past). They used to have a six month rule for waiting between cards, many thought it was three months, and now it’s all over the place.
So I’d probably wait a month or two between applications for the best shot at approval. Chase is one of the few card issuers where you can still usually talk a human into approving you for a card.
As far as which should come first, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a 53,500 mile sign-up bonus (when you factor in the 7% annual points dividend), so you’d be getting 6,500 more miles by going with the Explorer card.
Perhaps I’m biased, but I still think the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a better deal, because it’s a card you’ll actually want to use for every day purchases, unlike the Explorer card, between the 7% annual points dividend, double points on dining and all travel, and no foreign transaction fees. So while the United Explorer card is a nice card to sign-up for and put in your sock drawer, I think the Sapphire Preferred is a better combination of great sign-up bonus with great ability to earn points with everyday spend.
Thanks for the thoughtful (and quick!) answer. I’ll use your link for my application.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:01 am
lucky said,
@ David — Thanks very much! Let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
January 11th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Despina said,
Happy New Year Ben! I wanted to refer you to some friends but the entries concerning Brownell Travel seem to have disappeared, or am I just blind? I thought you had a link up top to your travel agency business. Thanks.
January 11th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Ron said,
Ben,
Are their any routes in particular that have been getting the new Lufthansa 747 first class?
Any other way to tell if my flight will have it?
January 11th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Heels05 said,
If I arrive FRA in LH F but depart TG F, do I have access to the First Class Terminal? And more importantly, would they drive me to my non LH plane?
Lucky,
Have you noticed the dreadful coach inventory on AA for this summer? It’s Delta-esque. For example, from Chicago to LAX/SFO/SEA/PDX, there are stretches months long without a single seat available. Is this a recent glitch, or has AA domestic coach availability really fallen apart so much?
January 12th, 2012 at 3:21 am
TG said,
Hi Lucky, I stumbled on your post on TravelSort about ‘How to Find An Award Space on Star Alliance’. In the article you mentioned that one can use Continental’s online tool to look for availability of award space. Say for example if the flight from LAX to VCE on first class costs 100,000 Miles. Does 100,000 refer to the miles from Continental Frequent Flyer Porgram? Say If I’m on KrisFlyer Program (Singapore Airline), would I be charged similar 100,000 miles as shown on Continental’s website?
January 12th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
ricardo said,
lucky, how does award availability look on LAN using AAdvantage miles? looking to fly to south america in may…maybe argentina & chile using a stopover?
January 12th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Happy new year to you as well! I’ll be sending you an email shortly.
@ Heels05 — You would have access to the Lufthansa First Class Lounge, though not First Class Terminal, assuming your travel is on the same day (though there would be no car transfer). The reason you would have access isn’t because you’re departing in Star Alliance first class, but rather because you arrived same day in Lufthansa first class.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ kcre — Historically American is one of the most generous airlines when it comes to award availability on their own flights. That being said, I’ve noticed the same trend as of late, and it’s not exclusive to domestic coach inventory. International award inventory is also worse than ever before. So you’re absolutely right, and I suspect this is a combination of American focusing on selling seats (given that they’re in Chapter 11) and also that they may have capacity cuts, so don’t want to “give away” too many award seats in advance. Very frustrating!
January 12th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
lucky said,
@ TG — When you look at the cost of an award on Continental’s website, that would be the price in Continental miles. Each airline has different award costs, even for the same flights. So you’d want to check directly with Kris Flyer to see how much they would charge for the same award, as it could be drastically different.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
lucky said,
@ ricardo — LAN generally has excellent award availability, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding space. Just keep in mind that if you book a partner award you won’t be allowed free stopovers. You could try to book a OneWorld award so that you would be allowed free stopovers, though would need at least two OneWorld carriers on the award, and the redemption levels could also be higher.
January 13th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Steven said,
Given the rumors that AA may be acquired by US Air or Delta, should I do my best to use up all my AA miles, especially if I want to use them for oneworld awards?
Thanks
January 13th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky,
I would like to know the rules for partner aielines’ lounge use. For example, if I am flying United first, can I use the first class lounge of United’s partner airlines? How about the arrival lounge? I would appreciate your sharing your knowlegde.
January 13th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
yerffej201 said,
Hi Lucky,
What’s the lowest miles that are required for a QF A380 First Class from Mel-Sin-Lhr from all the OW FF programs?
January 14th, 2012 at 1:34 am
lucky said,
@ Steven — Admittedly I’m no expert in the field of M&A, though I can’t imagine this’ll go through. I’d say with 99.9% certainty that this won’t happen and you can continue to use your American miles for One World awards. Don’t worry!
January 14th, 2012 at 1:36 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — While arrivals lounges are typically only for passengers of the airline operating the flight, you can use any Star Alliance first class lounge (with the exception of Lufthansa and Swiss) at your transoceanic gateway when flying first class on a Star Alliance carrier. So if you fly United first out of Tokyo you can use the ANA first class lounge, if you fly Lufthansa first class out of Bangkok you can use the first class lounge, etc. Hope that helps.
January 14th, 2012 at 1:37 am
lucky said,
yerffej201 — Definitely American at 80,000 miles for first class one-way.
January 14th, 2012 at 1:56 am
George Ibrahim said,
Hey Lucky,
I will be flying first class from DC to Frankfurt on Luftansa. That should me eligible to use the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge, but not the First Class Terminal, right? I’ll be flying to Beirut, Lebanon on Middle East Airlines Business class, and wondering what lounges I can access while in Frankfurt.
January 14th, 2012 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ George — You can actually use the First Class Lounge (though not the First Class Terminal). The FCLs can be used as arrival lounges, though it may require switching terminals and clearing security one extra time, depending on where you arrive/leave from. Well worth it and much better than the Welcome Lounge, in my opinion.
January 14th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I’m using stickers to upgrade a flight on AA, and I noticed that the upgrade still has not cleared (Plat/72 hour window) although there are 4 seats in J.
Is it fair to say that AA is not yet clearing these seats in case they can sell them? I thought the upgrade would clear as long as a J seat was available 72 hours in advance.
Thanks in advance for the clarification.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
beth said,
Well I found tickets through Continental and their partners to get SAT-DXB-DUB-SAT for both of us with some change thrown in for taxes, question is how am I supposed to transfer Amex points to Continental? Is there a loophole somewhere I’m missing?
January 15th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Mantini said,
LH flies FRA-LCY (operated by LH CL), but I can’t search it on CO.com, because “no CO partners operate this route with a CO flight number”.
Is it impossible to book through CO at all, or just on their website? Any thoughts?
January 16th, 2012 at 12:19 am
Danny said,
Ben,
Ive started using Top Guest in the last couple of weeks, for the hotel programs when will I see the points post to my account?
Thanks
January 16th, 2012 at 3:03 am
Andres said,
Hey lucky,
I made a post a few months ago asking about a beginners webpage. Comment # 1076
How far have you progressed?
Thank you
January 16th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Confused by Delta said,
Hi Lucky,
There seem to be conflicting reports as to whether or not you can do an open jaw AND a stopover on a Delta award flight. ThePointsGuy reports that you can do it, though Delta doesn’t officially recognize it, while others say it’s not possible.
What’s your experience in the matter? If I’m looking to book flights to Europe from NA in May should I try for both? Or just do an open jaw and call it a day?
Thanks!
January 16th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — That’s correct. American (like most airlines) holds back seats until closer to departure in case anyone still wants to purchase them). They won’t let business class seats go out empty if there’s still an upgrade list, but it might only clear at the gate. Good luck!
January 16th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Mantini — That’s just a website glitch. You can book those seats by calling.
January 16th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Priority Club typically posts next day, in my experience. Are your Top Guest, Four Square, and loyalty program accounts all properly linked?
January 16th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Andres — It’s a big task, and frankly I haven’t gotten all that deep into it yet. Will work on it as soon as possible, though, I promise.
January 16th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Confused by Delta — The rules don’t say you can, though in practice you can. So yes, open jaw and stopover is fine.
January 16th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Danny said,
If you mean properly, that theyball have the same email address. Than no. While four square and my loyaity program share the same email address, too guest uses another. But on the top guest site my rewarda number are all correct.
Thanks
January 16th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Mantini said,
Thank you!
January 17th, 2012 at 2:07 am
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
I have to fly RT SFO to Minneapolis. I have United Mileage Plus–but according to Kayak, the United flight if booked through US Air, is about $125 cheaper! am I missing something here?
January 17th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Confused by Delta said,
Thanks a bunch!
January 17th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Yuliya said,
Hi Lucky,
I am very happy to learn about your blog I am new to the mileage concept.
I have about 105,000 avios points (mostly came with the credit card promotion). I would like to use them for Europe so I tried using ba website but it seems that taxes/surcharges are higher than the actual ticket.
Thank you so much for your help.
Yuliya
January 17th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Which programs are you trying to accrue points with?
January 17th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
lucky said,
@ margaret — Nope, this is fairly common, believe it or not. Often times a codeshare flight will be cheaper than if you booked the flight directly with the operating airline. I’ll never claim to understand airline pricing.
January 17th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Yuliya — Unfortunately British Airways imposes crazy fuel surcharges on award redemptions, and as you note, for economy redemptions they can be almost as much as the ticket cost. The key is to either book first or business class, where it becomes a comparatively better value, or use your Avios points to travel to another region (like South America, domestic, etc.) where there are no fuel surcharges.
January 17th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Jim said,
What is the best way to get from CDG to the Vendome?
January 17th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
I have close to 175 K American Airline miles and I primary fly to Taiwan for vacation. However, it is always very hard to find any available seats in the business class using aa miles for flying Japan Airline. I usually fly from Austin, Texas. Any suggestion on how I can search the award ability better than just calling the agents? I don’t mind routing through different city as long as they are in business class seats. Thank!
January 17th, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Danny said,
@lucky
Beat Westwrn, United, and Priority Club.
January 18th, 2012 at 5:36 am
lucky said,
@ Danny — In that case I would follow up with Top Guest customer service, because at the very least Priority Club points should be posting almost daily.
January 18th, 2012 at 9:01 am
mike said,
I read in few places that when booking a trip, book it by doing two
one ways. Then on the return flight, add another stop to get a free
one way destination. For example, since Im in NY and if i wanted to
go to LOndon, I would book one way AA rewards from ny to lon. Return
flight lon-nyc(stop)-hawaii.
Where I can continue to hawaii days, weeks or months later. How do I
do that? If I book lon-nyc(stop)-hawaii, do I use the same amount of
miles as if I was booking lon-nyc? Can this also be done when paying
with cash? Which other airline offers this option?
Mike
January 18th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
alex said,
Hey Lucky,
Here’s a question: When booking FH&R, how do I add my rewards program number to the reservation? Do I have to call every time?
January 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — You would have to book it by calling American, and tell them you want to return from London to Hawaii with a stopover in New York (it can be a day or several months — the ticket has to just be used within a year of the date of issue). The cost in miles would be the same.
If paying in cash the cost would be different since you’d be paying for the portions of the trip individually. Other airlines allow stopovers, though many price Hawaii as a different region than the rest of North America.
January 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
lucky said,
@ alex — You would have to call Starwood every time (and sometimes the hotel directly).
January 18th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Thomas said,
Lucky,
The reviews I have seen of the Business class seat on the Qantas 747 used on the DFW-SYD route have been poor (maybe an old 8 degree seat?). I read that Qantas was planning on upgrading 747 interiors to what is now on the A380. Do you know if this particular 747 that flies DFW-SYD will be included in that upgrade and, if so, when the updates will occur?
Given the length of the DFW-SYD route, I read that this is a special kind of 747 that they don’t have many of in their fleet, and so I didn’t know if the updates would apply to it.
Lucky — I am a 3rd year Continental OnePass Gold member at about the 65k mile mark each year. I seemed to get upgraded often prior to the CO/UA merge, but the last 6 months they have been non existent with 8 people upgraded and I’m number 10 on the standby list. Have you heard about this happening to others? Is it just because the pool of passengers is that much larger now? Since I do not live near a hub (SYR is home) do you suggest an airline with fewer Gold level members that upgrades may become more readily available? Apologies of someone has already asked this above, I scanned it for an already posted answer but gave up with the volume of email traffic. Kudos to you for your effort here. Just followed you on Twitter too.
January 19th, 2012 at 7:20 am
alex said,
Okay one more– What is the most luxurious US Air first class product to Europe? Is there a good one?(I’m asking because i’m considering buying up to chairmans.)
January 19th, 2012 at 11:03 am
lucky said,
@ Thomas — Hmmm, I haven’t flown Qantas 747 business class, though to the best of my knowledge the seats are fully flat. One interesting thing about the flight is that it has a first class cabin, though they don’t sell any first class seats. So if you’re a One World Emerald they’ll usually let you sit in one of the first class seats with business class service. But I’ve heard fairly good things about the product, so I wouldn’t be too worried.
January 19th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Randall said,
Hi Lucky, Do you know any reward malls that give points for Amazon purchases? I used to use US Airways for that, but Amazon disappeared.
Thanks
Randall
January 19th, 2012 at 11:19 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — That’s a great question. Upgrade percentages seem to have consistently gone down for elite members since the merger, so you’re not alone, if that makes you feel any better. If Delta meets your travel plans just as well you may find you have a better upgrade percentage on them, though their miles are much less valuable than United’s. American will make you purchase “stickers” if you always want to be upgraded, so they’re not that competitive of a program either in your shoes.
What I would do is go for Platinum. Figure out a way to fly an extra 10,000 miles, and you’ll find your upgrade percentage will go way up, not to mention you’ll earn more miles for flying. I think it’s well worth it to maintain any sort of a reasonable upgrade percentage.
Sorry, wish I had a better answer!
January 19th, 2012 at 11:20 am
lucky said,
@ alex — You’ll want to fly the A330-200, which features their new Envoy Suites. It can frequently be found on their flights to London, Paris, Munich, and sometimes Rome, so definitely shoot for that.
January 19th, 2012 at 11:21 am
lucky said,
@ Randall — Hawaiian still does, as far as I know. Not my favorite points currency, but it’s something at least.
January 19th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
ALinet said,
Hi Lucky,
I was wondering if you could write a post on the benefits of Alaska credit card and mileage program…I see a lot of pros tout it, but I can’t find much written about it.
Thanks!
January 19th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
Just wondering if you seen my question above?? Thanks!
January 20th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I had posted here a few weeks ago about being on a first class itinerary (IAD-FRA-NRT-BKK-MNL) but being business class on Lufthansa from FRA to NRT. You said I would be allowed into the Lufthansa first class lounge, but will I be able to access the Lufthansa First Class TERMINAL? Thanks for your help!
If I get the Chase Saphire, can I transfer my points to marriott and then southwest to count towards getting a companion pass for the year?
January 20th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Ken said,
Ben,
Any suggestions for trying to get bumps during this weekend’s snowstorm? i’ve got a MR ORD-SFO tonight and a redeye return, and i’m doubtful that i won’t be delayed/cancelled. How do I check to see how full a flight is, again? expertflyer?
January 20th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
lucky said,
@ ALinet — Putting it near the top of my “to do” list, as I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it lately. Thanks for the suggestion!
January 20th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Neil — Whoops, sorry I missed your question! JAL actually has pretty good award space out of their North American gateways, so I’m surprised you’re having trouble. I suspect you’re dealing with less than competent agents, so I would search for space on your own using the procedures I presented here: http://travelsort.com/blog/how-to-find-oneworld-award-space
January 20th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Assuming you’re arriving in first class on Lufthansa same day and connecting on Lufthansa, absolutely.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
lucky said,
@ jana — Absolutely, once you transfer the points to Marriott they’re just like any other Marriott points, and can then be transferred to Southwest.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — Just get to the gate early and be nice to the gate agent. If you use ExpertFlyer you can see how many seats American is still selling. If they aren’t selling any more seats it doesn’t mean they’re oversold, but it means there’s a good chance they are. Alternatively you can check aa.com and do a “dummy booking,” and see how many seats they would let you book on your flight.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Ally said,
Hi Lucky,
What is the best award redemption for travel to Moscow?
January 20th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Ally — It depends where you’re originating, what class you want to fly in, and where you have miles.
January 20th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky, I’m planning to apply for the chase sapphire preferred card (definitely through your referral link) and was wondering whats the best airline program to transfer the bonus miles to? I fly BA a lot and often use it to redeem cathay miles, but now that avios is devalued, whats a good program to redeem cathy business class? I have some miles with continental too so would they be good for US-Asia in business on other carriers as i usually go there for vacations. thanks.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — I’d say that transferring to Continental is the way to go for the most part. There you can go from the US to Asia via Europe for 120,000 miles in business class or 140,000 miles in first class, with a stopover and open jaw along the way. British Airways Avios points have been devalued so much that except in rare circumstances (which I outlined today in a post) it’s not worth transferring to them anymore.
But Continental leaves you with so many awesome partners that you really can’t go wrong with them.
Otherwise have you considered transferring to Hyatt? They have some spectacular hotels in Asia, so this is a case where transferring to hotel points might make a lot of sense.
I also love Virgin Atlantic, so if you transfer points before the deadline next month you can still book for travel on them through Continental.
Thanks for considering using my link, I really appreciate it! Let me know if you have any other questions.
January 20th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Enri said,
Hi Ben- I stumbled across your site over a year ago and I have been hooked ever since. There are many sites that do trip reports from frequent travelers, but none have the quality of your trip reports. Congrats.
Tha question I had for you is I wanted to see if you thought that a business class trip to South East Asia was possible at all (or a pipe dream) with 103K Avios points that I have, plus 75K Aadvantage miles that my wife has, in addition to 60K SPG points that I have.
Thanks Ben!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m arriving on United (first class) and then departing Lufthansa (business) same day. I guess I’ll just have to stick with the lounges instead of the FCT? Thanks for you help!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Enri — Thanks so much for reading! You’re almost there. If you convert those SPG points to American you’ll have another 75,000 American miles, for a total of 150,000 American miles. American charges 55,000 one-way for business class to Southeast Asia, so you’d be just 15,000 miles short of that third one-way. Then for the fourth one-way you have more than enough British Airways miles.
Have you considered having your wife apply for a Starwood card, or applying for an AAdvantage card or two? If you do, you may very well have enough miles for two first class tickets.
Safe travels!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Actually you won’t have first class lounge access, then. You’d only have access to the Senator Lounge, since Lufthansa restricts access to their first class lounges to passengers traveling on Lufthansa metal in first class.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:55 am
Sean said,
Hey Lucky, do you know how available are travel reward cards for people with little or no credit history? I’m a college freshman and aspiring FFer, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to get any of the lucrative credot cards younreconmend. Any advice? Thanks
January 21st, 2012 at 9:09 pm
David said,
Hi Ben, I read your Travelsort article re: Maximizing AA Miles and have a question: When searching LAN’s site for award availability using your R/T business class example for 100k AA miles, how do you know if the amount of LAN kilometers required for each segment will equate to the 50k AA one way business saver fare or the 100k one way business anytime fare?
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:19 am
Michael said,
Hey Ben,
Looking to go to Buenos Aires in May with the girlfriend. Currently have combined about 150k CO miles, 75k AA miles and 400k MR points (plus 35k SPG). So far seems could get business class down and first class back on United (for 117.5k CO miles for one and 135k Aeroplan for the other via MR); AA first seems to be 130k RT. In your opinion was is the best series of maneuvers to get best quality at the lowest price, assuming availability of course?
Thanks a ton.
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:20 am
Michael said,
Should note we are coming from NYC.
January 22nd, 2012 at 5:39 am
n/a said,
Lucky,
Consider the following for a future post here or at Travelsort (if you haven’t already):
I think many casual frequent flyers who follow this hobby often go out of their way to avoid Skyteam-related flight options, because of the poor reputation of Delta’s program compared to our Oneworld and Star options.
But it’s important to have one mileage program account at the ready in Skyteam for a potential flight with that alliance. With that in mind, is Delta really the best option for both the frequent business flyer and the casual vacation flyer? I’d appreciate if you could analyze the Skyteam options, and tell us which program you think is best for each of these two profiles of miles collector. Consider they’d value different things. The biz traveler would likely value the chance to earn status with a Skyteam airline above all else, while the casual flyer likely has no chance to get status because they don’t fly enough. I think the casual values a program where miles won’t easily expire, one with the lowest redemption prices possible, one with the fewest variables to hassle over with redemption (i.e. higher redemption rates during different seasons, a difficult web site, etc.)
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:27 pm
LizM said,
Lucky, saw you speak in Chicago. Really appreciated all your hard work! Here is my question. I got the spg Amex biz card. Got my 10000 sign up and my 15000 spend bonus. We (party of 4, 2 rooms) stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki.
12/21-12/24 on cash and pts, 2 reservations, one mine and one my boyfriend.
And 12/24-12/28, 2 reservations, both my boyfriend.
Here is the actual question…
I used my spg card to pay for my res (1rm) 12/21-24 AND BOTH 12/24-28 rooms.
I figured I would get spg points for using my card to pay those bills.
It looks like I did in my spg acct for my 12/21 stay but I got nothing for using my card for the other bills (and they were big!) but since I am brand new to spg Amex I didn’t know if it just takes awhile for the points to post. Thoughts? Words of advice?
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Sean — That’s a fantastic question, and I’ll be answering that on the blog shortly.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:51 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I suggest using the BA website, and if LAN space shows up there, it would be bookable through American at the MileSaver level.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — If you’re willing to book by January 31, hands down American first nonstop to Buenos Aires is the way to go. They charge 150,000 miles for first class when booking through British Airways, but there’s currently a 30% transfer bonus from American Express. Therefore you’d only pay 116,000 Membership Rewards points roundtrip for first class to Buenos Aires.
While their service may not be great, the seats are comfortable and they have fairly good bedding, and frankly there’s a lack of good alternatives to South America. So in this instance I’d say it’s a no brainer.
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
lucky said,
@ n/a — Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind for a future post. I’d say that Delta is the best SkyTeam program for both “profiles,” though it would be interesting to analyze.
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:09 pm
lucky said,
@ LizM — Those points would post once your statement closes, as far as I know, and not before. So you have nothing to worry about. The only points you should have already received are for the actual stay (two points per dollar spent or three points if you’re a Gold or Platinum member). The credit card points post once the statement closes.
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:42 am
Beau said,
First – thanks for time / effort in writing this blog. I’ve been reading for a little over a month and have learned a lot searching through the archives – your blog is an invaluable resource.
I currently live in Rome. I’d like to have a trip with my family (me, wife, 4 year old, 1 year old) in October from Italy to Africa. Specifically we’d like to go to Addis Ababa, Harare and Johannesburg. I’m assuming that I’ll need to book the flights through a Star Alliance airline, since there are non-stop flights to/from Addis via Ethiopia Airlines. We’ll also have to be content with economy class as I don’t have very high points balances.
My mileage balances: 30K Starwood, 42k US Airways, 30K Continental, and soon to be 50k Amex and 50k Chase Ultimate Rewards.
It seems that United / Continental don’t allow award redemptions from Europe to Africa – so should I plan on booking through US Airways? (This will also determine which is the next credit card that I apply for.)
I’m a bit new to understanding the nuances of points / travel – does it seem I’m on the right track?
Thanks again!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:21 am
MillValleyMom said,
Do you have a referral link to the Chase Ink Bold card? Would like to apply for a business card.
I have no way of posting the link directly (apparently it’s not able to track it that way), so thanks very much for considering using my link!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:48 am
MillValleyMom said,
Applied. Happy to give you the referral! Your website is an invaluable resource for me.
January 23rd, 2012 at 2:31 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — You’re awesome, thanks so much! If I can ever be of assistance, let me know please.
January 23rd, 2012 at 2:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Beau — Thanks for the kind words and for reading the blog, I appreciate it! You actually can use United/Continental miles to fly from Europe to Africa. Through United/Continental it would cost you 60,000 miles in coach or 90,000 miles in business class. So based on your present balances, if you transfer points from Ultimate Rewards to Continental and top off your US Airways account with their current promotion, you should have enough points for at least two tickets. Then if you wanted to, you could transfer your American Express points to Aeroplan to have almost enough points for the third ticket.
Alternatively you could get the Chase Ink Bold credit card, which, when added to your present balance and Continental miles, would be enough for that third ticket.
January 24th, 2012 at 5:30 am
A. S. said,
Hi, Lucky,
I am — for the first time ever — looking at Alaska’s Mileage Plan program, due to the impending ability to redeem miles on EK. I noticed that all of their awards charts are between the US and other regions. Do awards that start and end outside of the US therefore require two redemptions (via the US) or are there “hidden” charts that can only be booked by phone? For example, if I wanted to go from South America to the Mideast, would it require a US/South America redemption and another US/Mideast redemption or can I book directly? Or is it even allowed…?
Thanks!
January 24th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Larry said,
Hi Lucky. I’m sure this has been asked before, but my searching is poor. Do you have an opinion on the best *A F product from North America to LON? It looks like my two best options are AC from YYZ or UA from ORD or IAD. The AC flight is on a 333, all of which (I think) are configured with their exec first suites. The UA flights are on 763s, which I think also all have the first suites. Even though the AC flight is a “C” product, I see it gets good reviews. (My return is in F, so I’m paying F miles anyway for the award.) Any thoughts would be much appreciated, especially if I’m overlooking anything. (I want to try US’s envoy suites, but there is no availability.)
January 24th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
lucky said,
@ A.S. — Best I know, unfortunately Alaska’s program is pretty US-centric. I believe they only allow redemptions between select regions, and anything else would require multiple awards.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Larry — Air Canada Executive First is really business class. It’s a decent business class product, though definitely not first class (as you note from the coding). So between those two options, United is the obvious choice, since it’s a “real” first class product (not a very good one, but first class is still much better than business class). If you have the time and the availability is there, I would consider flying Lufthansa through Frankfurt or Munich, or Swiss through Zurich or Geneva, as their products are much better.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
chrissiA said,
Hi Lucky.
I’m following your blog for quite a while and I always like your reports!
I’m planning on spending some time in my favorite city in the states – Chicago.
Do you have any recommendations for hotels?? Would be great!
Thanks a lot!
January 24th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Ryan said,
Hey Lucky,
Quick question for you: I am on a once in a lifetime trip with my never-had-a-passport-before dad to Scotland this Aug, and I was able to book LHR-IAD in United F, then IAD-MCO (our destination) in United economy, due to scheduling contraints. I just recently found availability to change this, same day, to LHR-FRA-MCO in Luft business. Would the fees I would pay to change this award ticket down to business class (but on Lufthansa)be worth it in your opinion? I just feel like bus class in Luft and the lounge in FRA would be better than even F in United…also, do you know what the change fee is? $150 a passenger or something?
Thanks,
Ryan
January 24th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
lucky said,
@ chrissiA — Thanks for reading the blog! Do you have any hotel chain allegiance? What’s your budget? Chicago has lots of great hotels.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Larry said,
Thanks Lucky. I’d love to fly LH or LX in F to Europe, but I’m using US miles and flying in October. I’ve barely even been looking, because I thought finding anything in F on either of those airlines was pretty much a no go, so it looks like United is my only real option if I want first class.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Assuming you booked through United, you would need to redeposit the miles and start over, assuming you wanted a mileage refund for the return. The change fee for that would be $150. Otherwise if you don’t want a mileage refund (and at least one other segment is in first class), the change fee would be $75 per person.
Keep in mind that in Frankfurt you’d have access to the Lufthansa Senator lounge if flying United first class, while you’d only have access to the Lufthansa Business lounge if flying business class without status.
That being said, I’d much rather do Lufthansa business class straight to my destination, rather than having to change planes in Washington and fly coach for a two hour flight.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Larry — Indeed, Lufthansa has entirely stopped releasing first class award space in advance for Star Alliance partners. That being said, be sure to check back close to departure, as they may very well open up space then. It would be well worth the $150 change fee, in my opinion.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
chrissiA said,
Thx for your prompt response, you must be pretty busy..
I don’t have any favourite chain. I’m open to almost everything.
Our budget will be around 250-350$/night.
January 24th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Ryan said,
Hey Lucky-Sorry, I guess I didn’t clarify it well enough. At the moment, we have a UA F flight from LHR straight to IAD. Then we’re on an economy flight to MCO. Instead of doing this, we would pay the fees and change it to route through FRA, thus having a non-stop from FRA to MCO in LH C. I feel like that would be a more pleasant experience than the 4 hr layover in IAD plus the 2 1/2 economy flight to MCO afterwards as well, even if we first had a 7 hr UA F flight before then…
Thanks for the quick response btw. I’ve been reading this blog for over 2 years now, it’s the first one on my reader!
January 24th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
Dan Ray said,
I would appreciate your help. I am United 1K/Continental Plat and I have 6 Continental SWU that expire 7/31/12. I simply don’t know how to use them. I would love to do an international mileage run as long as I knew I would be upgraded. Any suggestions. I am in PDX.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Tim said,
Hey Lucky… I just started reading your blog and it really shocked me you started all this while in college. I think it would be great if you did a post on how it all started. What got you into it, how much time you invested, etc… A beginning for other beginners.
Thanks for your great blog.
Tim
January 24th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Mitch said,
Lucky,
For those of us who are Premier Execs on United, when is the date when our bonus miles will be reduced from the current 100% to 50%?
Thanks
January 24th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Sorry if my response wasn’t clear, but that’s exactly how I understood it. I think switching to the Lufthansa option the whole way in business class would be a smart move.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan Ray — As long as you book a minimum of a “W” fare you can apply for an upgrade on international flights. To find upgrade space you can either call the 1K desk/Continental Platinum desk, sign up for an ExpertFlyer subscription so you can search yourself, or use the award search tools on continental.com or united.com. It can be tough to confirm upgrades in advance, though if at all possible I recommend doing so, because it wouldn’t be fun to end up in coach on a longhaul flight if you can avoid it.
Any other specific questions? I’d be happy to make another post explaining aspects of it in detail, if there’s something you’re most interested in.
January 25th, 2012 at 12:00 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — I believe March 1, 2012, is the big day.
January 25th, 2012 at 12:02 am
lucky said,
@ chrissiA — Hotel prices in Chicago can vary greatly depending on the week/time of year, but if it ends up being within your budget (and they often run specials), I highly recommend either the Park Hyatt or Peninsula. Both are fantastic hotels with great locations.
January 25th, 2012 at 1:32 am
chrissiA said,
thx Lucky!! I will definitely check those out! Keep the reports coming, I’m always looking forward.
January 25th, 2012 at 10:27 am
DougM said,
Lucky,
Do you know the time frame (shed-jewel)for Cathy to release business award space to One-world?
I have AA miles and am trying to get from SAN-MNL. I can get business out on Feb 9, but AA says no business available for return Feb 22 or 23.
Thanks,
Love the Blog – keep up the great work!
January 25th, 2012 at 10:38 am
lucky said,
@ DougM — Thanks for reading! Did you just say shed-jewel? I’m an instant fan!
Cathay Pacific is pretty active with their inventory management, and releases award availability pretty consistently 11 months out. Of course you’re looking at closer to departure, so that doesn’t apply.
Frankly, I see them open up space all the time close to departure, so you’ll want to keep checking back. If the seatmap is pretty wide open there’s a good chance the space will open up, so just check back daily (and you can always check Cathay Pacific award availability online through the British Airways website to make the search a bit easier). But unlike other airlines, I haven’t seen a pattern whereby space opens up X days out.
Good luck and safe travels!
January 25th, 2012 at 11:19 am
MJG said,
Ben,
Ever seen BusinessFirst space available to Micronesia from the U.S. on CO at the SaverPass rate? I can’t find a single date with availability.
-MJG
January 25th, 2012 at 11:22 am
lucky said,
@ MJG — I’ve seen it in the past, though it’s definitely VERY rare. When it opens up, it seems to usually be close to departure.
January 25th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Michael said,
Hey Lucky,
Does AF see all of DL’s low award space? I’m see seats for the low award pricing on DL.com, but not on AF.com. Does Skyteam not release all low award seats to partners?
Thanks!
January 25th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — Hmm, that’s strange. In my experience Delta does make all of its low level award space available to partners (not that there’s much to go around). Are you searching the segment individually, or as part of a larger itinerary?
January 25th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Michael said,
Individually — BOS-YYZ one-way is all I want anyway…
At AF.com it just doesn’t show the date I found and when I pick a date that AF shows as available, it tells me “There are no Air France flights on the selected route.” (duh). Maybe I better phone this one in.
January 25th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — I suspect that’s the case, and that it’s simply a website glitch/shortcoming.
January 25th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
MillValleyMom said,
I followed the link on one of your blog posts yesterday and was able to find the following routing:
CMB to SIN – Emirates (first)
SIN to DOH – Qatar (business)
DOH to LHR – Qatar (first)
LHR to SFO – British Airways (first)
Can you tell me how many miles I will earn from this itinerary? It is an attempt to do a mileage run, but it seems like all of these airlines have different loyalty programs, so I am not sure that it makes sense.
Thanks!
January 25th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
anita said,
imnotarunner at gmail dot com
I’ve never flown first class or business class, I saved up money to fly my mother and myself to Asia for her birthday. I was wondering if you could provide tips and tricks .I’ve read about Z fares but not sure how to get them. Just curious how do you get upgraded?
I will get a credit card to earn miles but I don’t think that’s enough. I would like to experience this biz class/first class for once in my life. Help!!
Thank you,
Anita
January 25th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — There are a ton of different airlines you can fly with for that fare, so I guess the question is which program do you want to earn miles with?
One “simple” change I’d make to what you have now is to fly Colombo to Singapore to Dubai to London on Emirates in first class. As you point out, Qatar doesn’t have first class between Singapore and Doha, so I’d go with Emirates in your shoes.
January 25th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ anita — How soon did you want to take the trip with her? How much had you budgeted for the flights? Would you possibly be receptive to signing up for a couple of credit cards in order to earn the miles needed for the trip in business or first class?
January 25th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Assuming I book the routing you suggest CMB/SIN/DBX/LHR/SFO, all in first, flying the first three legs on Emirates and the final leg on AA (though operated by British Airways), how many miles will that get me? Is there any way to get all of these miles to count towards one alliance (i.e. Oneworld)? Lastly, even though I am flying BA from LHR to SFO, it is being ticketed by AA. Does that mean I will only have access to the Oneworld lounge in LHR, or can I use the Concorde lounge reserved for BA passengers in F?
January 25th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — You would absolutely still have access to the Concorde Room as long as your flight is on BA metal (even if it’s an AA codeshare). If you wanted to credit the whole trip to one airline (at least in theory), you could credit it to Alaska and with their double miles promo earn a minimum of about 20,000 elite qualifying miles, and even more miles depending on whether you have elite status with Alaska, are flying during their double miles promo, etc.
January 25th, 2012 at 7:14 pm
nd said,
Hi Lucky,
I just had a recommendation. Obviously this blog caters to F/J travel, and the audience is largely reflective of that. Still, it’s not always practical/feasible for one to find available award inventory–especially if they have multiple travelers, or have strict schedules. Or if they just want to save some miles for something else.
Hence, given your countless hours looking at award inventories, I was wondering if you might consider in the future doing a comparison of international coach award inventories of the various big name airline FF programs; strengths and weaknesses could be considered, as well as any gems (like Flying Blue’s promo awards). I’d be interesting to hear what you have to say about coach travel.
Alternatively, or in conjunction, you could also post a guideline of when, in your opinion, it makes sense to upgrade using miles on a purchased coach ticket.
p.s. Do you have any updates re: your hiring process?
Thanks, and enjoy your latest journey.
January 26th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Rachel said,
Hi Lucky,
I have tickets booked BusinessFirst roundtrip using US Airways miles to Greece for my honeymoon in early July. Lufthansa has changed its flight schedules so my original flight to get me to Europe would cause me to miss my connection.
US Air said they could book me on an earlier flight in coach, but I wouldn’t be able to get a refund of the mileage difference. The agent said that since I’m flying back in BusinessFirst that I have to pay that cost roundtrip, but I thought you could do economy one way and business back.
Do I have any options besides 1. sitting in economy for eight hours or 2. changing my travel dates?
Thanks a bunch for your help!
January 26th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Greg Levitt said,
Hey Lucky,
Long time reader. First time questioner.
I usually fly AA. My status is about to expire but I have status with Air India.
Is there a way to book my ticket with my Air India number to get free baggage and then some how change to my AA number after but still get the free bags?
Thanks!
January 27th, 2012 at 1:11 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, I have a question about credit cards. I am planning to stay at Westin in Seoul in April and am not sure if I should use Amex Starwood or Chase Sapphire to pay for the stay. I know Sapphire has no foreign transaction fee and earns x2 points but is there any extra merit for using Starwood card? Also, I am not sure which is better, to redeem 20,000 points for 2 nights or pay $600 for 2 nights. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated!
Hi Lucky, I have another questions for you. Been quite a while since the last one so I hope that’s ok, I know you’re a busy man
I enviously follow your trips etc. but as a Brit living in central Norway the chances for point accumulation are somewhat less than Stateside. However I jumped at the chance for some half price miles with US Airways and boosted these with the Grand Slam, meaning I know have a healthy 140K with them. Suddenly out of the blue I am invited to a wedding in El Salvador at the end of April. Given your knowledge and the fact that I know this is going to be time consuming, do you think there is any chance of my bagging a ticket to San Salvador in business or first class? I haven’t even much idea of how to get there but it looks like I can go via Miami, NYC or major hub. The dream would be Lufthansa I guess…if you could just give me an idea whether this is worth pursuing or if I am way too late here. Cheers and happy trails!
Andy
January 27th, 2012 at 9:12 am
lucky said,
@ nd — That’s a great idea, thanks for the suggestion! I’ll be sure to have posts about that in the near future. Unfortunately still kind of working on the hiring process.
@ Greg — Unfortunately since Air India doesn’t belong to the One World alliance or have a partnership with American, there’s no way to leverage your status with them on American. The only option I could think of would be to status match to another OneWorld airline and use that for free bags, though I can’t think of any off the top of my head that would match Air India status.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:19 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — It would be a no brainer to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Starwood card earns two points per dollar, while Sapphire Preferred earns 2.14 points per dollar plus has no foreign transaction fees. As far as 20,000 points vs. $600 goes, that’s a toughie. I’d say that’s right around the value where you can’t go wrong either way. I’d probably use points in that situation, especially since award stays now qualify towards status with SPG.
January 27th, 2012 at 11:34 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — No worries at all, I’m always happy to help however I can. That’s not unrealistic at all, with a bit of date flexibility you shouldn’t have too much trouble with that. Lufthansa business class should be attainable, though they no longer release first class award space more than a few weeks out at most, so if you want first class you’ll have to wait until closer to departure to book.
January 27th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
hiyo said,
Hi Ben,
I am getting no response from this question on FT, so I thought maybe you would have an answer or opinion.
What is the actual definition of “Same Day,” as relates to United Club access on an international itinerary?
I am 1P on UA, traveling next week SAN-LAX-IAH-CZM. I get into LAX @2030 and out @0030, four hours later. Will I get club access? It will feel like “same day” to me, but do they really go by calendar date, rather than a real-world flying day, which can include a connection to a red-eye that is technically “next day?”
I think I can expect access in IAH as it is the actual gateway airport and will be inarguably “same day.”.
The Star Alliance site says:
Quote:
Star Alliance Gold Customers Travelling in Any Class: Customers have access to any Star Alliance member carriers’ owned lounges with the Star Alliance Gold logo at the entrance.
Customer must present proof of Star Alliance Gold level status via a valid frequent flyer program Star Alliance Gold level card or other valid indication of Star Alliance Gold level status
Customer must also present a boarding pass for travel on a Star Alliance flight departing from the local airport
Customer is entitled to one guest
Continental, United and US Airways Star Alliance Gold customers may only access the United Clubs and US Airways Clubs within the U.S. when travelling in conjunction with a Star Alliance international flight.
/Quote
Will that cut any ice with the UC staff in LAX? Or is “same day” strictly the calendar definition? In or out?
Thanks,
hiyo
January 27th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
When achieving a new elite status level on AA, is it necessary to request that my AAdvantage number be removed and re-added to previously booked reservations?
Hi Ben and thanks so much for the (as ever) rapid response. I am now looking at flying from little old Trondheim where I live to Frankfurt and hopping on an A380 to San Francisco for a four night stopover then down to San Salvador with Continental for the wedding, then back again. First of all this should be 120K in my estimation but am I missing any extra ‘costs’? Secondly, I did read about Lufthansa withholding first class award seats. What if I book Business and then first class becomes available, can I cancel and rebook or will I be penalized? Thirdly thanks again for the blog, you got me into this whole FF thing after a chance read of an interview you did, ‘lucky’ for me too!
January 28th, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Greg Levitt said,
Oops! My previous post was supposed to read Kingfisher not Air India.
So my question is. Kingfisher will soon join one world. I will have Kinfisher status when my AA status expires.
Is there anyway to book with my Kingfisher # to get free baggage but then change to my AA # to earn miles??
Thanks, Greg
January 29th, 2012 at 2:28 am
Sean said,
Hey Lucky, I posted here about a week ago regarding reward credit cards for first-timers and students. You said you’d have a post about it on the blog, but either I completely missed it or you haven’t gotten around to it. Realize you’re in Shanghai and quite busy right now, just a friendly reminder though
January 29th, 2012 at 2:48 am
lucky said,
@ hiyo — *Technically* same day means same calendar day. In practice they usually apply logic, so they should give you access to the lounge. I had the same thing just this week where I had a forced overnight enroute to Shanghai, and they give me lounge access the previous day. So I’d say you have nothing to worry about.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:48 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — In my experience no. That being said, some people do seem to have issues, so it can’t hurt.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:51 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — Yes, that should be legal, pending availability (though availability on the A380 to San Francisco is very tough — almost impossible — to come by). The cost would be 100,000 miles in business class or 125,000 miles in first class.
You would be best off booking business class, and then if you want to rebook into first class you can cancel for $150 and rebook after your miles are redeposited.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
January 29th, 2012 at 2:51 am
lucky said,
@ Greg — That makes a lot more sense, and yes, you shouldn’t have an issue doing that. Just show your Kingfisher card, or otherwise keep your Kingfisher number on the reservation until you check-in, and then switch it at the gate.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:52 am
lucky said,
@ Sean — Got sidetracked, so sorry. I’ll have the post up in the next 48 hours. I was actually thinking about it this afternoon.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, AT THE Turkish Air Lounge in IST and this place is awesome. I’m not sure how I want to spend the overnight here. I’m hoping for a late night shower but I suspect the showers will be closed. This is far better than the previous lounge at the same location and better than any lounge I’ve been in. Outside of the service at the First Class Terminal in FRA I think this is the place to be. Watching big screen movie in recliner with a glass of wine at hand. Don’t know what to eat next. This isn’t a lounge — more like a resort without the pool.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Xavier said,
Hi Ben, I am a graduate student in public policy and urban planning. Any ideas on getting a summer internship in aviation industry? Thanks in advance.
January 29th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
JG said,
Lucky – thanks for all your writing, I’ve learned a lot from it. I have a *A routing check for my honeymoon planning. Is this a legal award that I can book assuming I find availability in F or C?
1. BOS-FRA-BKK-DPS using LH and Thai
2. open jaw; BKK-CDG for a Paris stopover
3. CDG-BOS
I’d get from DPS back to Thailand (and around Thailand) on discount airlines. Thanks!
January 29th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — While I haven’t been there myself, I’ve heard great things about it. Happy to hear you’re having a great time!
January 29th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Xavier — Oh man, that’s completely beyond my area of expertise. Based on what I’ve seen internships in the aviation industry can be very tough to come by. Are you looking for something airport related, airline related, or something else?
January 29th, 2012 at 4:50 pm
lucky said,
@ JG — Through Aeroplan or Continental/United, absolutely. Through US Airways it’s not, since they allow only a stopover or an open jaw. Congrats on the honeymoon!
January 29th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
I was trying to find out how to book around the world trip using oneworld alliance website. But it seems a bit complicated. Could you write a post on this topic. Greatly appreciate.
Serge M.
January 30th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Xavier said,
I am thinking of management or government relationship -related work. Probably need to go for non-profits, hmm… But still thank you! Have fun in Shanghai, I was born and raised there…
January 30th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Delta747 said,
Lucky, is there a way to contact you about booking some Virtuoso hotels for me? I have a couple of trips in the planning and need some help.
Delta747
January 30th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
leftpinky said,
Hey Lucky, can you book Hawaiian airlines flights with Avios points, or just AS? thanks
January 31st, 2012 at 6:01 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — Are you trying to book a revenue or award ticket? I don’t think the OneWorld website will actually let you price out a ticket regardless, though if you let me know which you’re looking at doing I can give you a better idea of what might be possible.
January 31st, 2012 at 6:04 am
lucky said,
@ Delta747 — Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately I’m not taking on any requests at the moment as I’m working out some details. Sorry about that (and to be so vague)!
January 31st, 2012 at 6:04 am
lucky said,
@ leftpinky — Unfortunately just Alaska or American, and not Hawaiian.
What do you think about traveling with an infant on business or first class? My wife plans to take a flight to Korea (by herself with my one year old) but can’t decide whether to fly her First/Business or Economy (will be redeeming miles)?
Friends tell me that while First/Business will offer comfort to my wife (not sure how much since she will have to take care of the baby) but since that baby might bother other flyers she will have to constantly monitor other passengers’ reaction to my baby’s noise which will cause such a stress. On the other hand, pursers might help out if flown First/Business. What’s your take Lucky?
Do you think a mid-February flight will be full? if not economy with an empty seat might be a better choice…(just hoping)
January 31st, 2012 at 4:26 pm
RakSiam said,
I got a bunch of credit cards and bonuses last year. Now the fees will be coming due and I have a question. I got the CO MC. Now that UA and CO are the same airline it doesn’t seem to make sense to hold onto this card (I have a UA Visa that is many, many years old). The current UA Explorer bonus seems pretty meager. I am planning to get the Sapphire card shortly. Should I apply for that one and then if it is initially rejected go ahead and have them move the credit line (not insubstantial) from the CO card to a Sapphire and close the CO? Planning to keep one AA card and cancel the other but will keep my US MC for the 10k bonus miles on anniversary. That seems to be worth $89 I am new to this whole “churning” thing but it seems like a lot of bonuses are only good for first time members. I have to decide what to do with my Chase BA card too. Will likely ditch that one.
January 31st, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Steve said,
Lucky – i’m planning a North America –> South Africa trip in June/July, trying to use US Airways miles for C redemption (a decent deal at 110K miles). Availability between FRA/MUC/LHR and JNB is pretty easy to come by in C, for these dates. Crossing the Atlantic is harder, but some convenient routes (on AC primarily) have very good Y availability. Would you recommend booking a mixed ticket and waiting for C availability to come up closer to the date, on AC? I assume those dates imply lots of leisure travelers and front cabin availability, but i don’t have a feel for whether AC makes it available to C reward seats shortly before travel.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Serge — Do you have any points as of now? If so, with which programs?
As you can see, the debate can get heated. That being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to have her fly business class. That being said, keep in mind that the infant fare for international flights is 10% of the full fare cost of the ticket in that cabin, so it would cost a lot more in business class thank coach.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ RakSiam — You’ll absolutely want to first apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and then if/when you’re rejected, call the Chase reconsideration line and request they close your card in favor of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That definitely maximizes your chances of getting the card approved.
Welcome to the “game,” and let me know if you have any other questions!
January 31st, 2012 at 7:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — Award space for this coming summer to Europe is very tough to come by, so it would be very risky to book something now if you wouldn’t be willing to fly coach. I’d increase your flexibility and make sure you look at all routes so you can lock in something good now, like BOS-ZRH/FRA/MUC, YUL-ZRH/MUC, EWR-DUS, etc.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:38 pm
Jamie said,
I remember you had a post about some worthwhile hotel redemption (Hyatt?) for AMEX rewards points. I searched your blog and your travelsort articles but couldn’t find it. Can you let me know the link? Thanks!
January 31st, 2012 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Hmm, using American Express points? I don’t think I had such a post, as I can’t really think of a good way to use them for hotels. Sorry…
January 31st, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Serge said,
I do, around 150k with American.
February 1st, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Kat said,
Hi Lucky,
Is there any reason why I am unable to look up SFO-IAD-LIR-SFO awards on the Aeroplan website? It allows me that stopover in DC when I replace LIR (Costa Rica) with GRU (Brazil). I was just wondering if it was a fluke, if it is then I’ll just look up routes separately and book them. Thank you!
February 1st, 2012 at 2:39 pm
RakSiam said,
Thanks. Applied for Sapphire last night and did not get immediately approved. Called the reconsideration line just now and in the matter of about 2 minutes closed the CO card and had the credit line moved to my new Sapphire card. I guess the only drawback here was missing out on a retention bonus.
There’s some conflicting information about whether this applies only to bonus miles earned for opening actual bank accounts, or whether credit card accounts count too. It seems to me that it would be pretty significant for Citi to take the stand that bonus miles for opening a credit card account are taxable, since that would greatly reduce the value of such bonuses to consumers.
I’m a tax lawyer and I love reading your blog, and it’s rare that your line of work and mine intersect!
For 150,000 miles you can fly up to 25,000 miles in business class, which is a ton.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:03 am
lucky said,
@ Kat — I suspect it’s a function of there being a lack of availability on the route. I would try calling Aeroplan as the website can be glitchy when trying to include stopovers.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:03 am
lucky said,
@ RakSiam — Sounds like a typical Chase experience. Happy to hear it worked!
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:04 am
lucky said,
@ Andrew B — Thanks for the link. Obviously much more your area of expertise than mine, though it’s a precedent I certainly don’t like, especially knowing how highly these programs value miles/points.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:16 pm
DougM said,
Lucky,
Through your advice on patience and perseverance was finally able to get my wife C class on CX, SAN TO MNL for award travel. Now my question is, will she have access to Cathay lounges in LAX and HKG?
Welcome Back to the USA.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
DC MOMO said,
Lucky,
Do you know if ANA charges YQ on Air New Zealand or if Air New Zealand even has YQ? I just called up ANA to find out what an award from EWR-AKL would price at and they quoted me only $55 in taxes and fees. Seems a little low to me and not having the points in my ANA account, I was a little worried to make the transfer from membership rewards.
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:07 pm
OG said,
Lucky quick question, am planning a short IST-DXB hop at the end of the month, i found a saver coach award IST-DXB on the 22nd, no awards on the 26th the date i want to return, is there away to set up an expert flyer alert to send an email when CO X award availability opens up?
Hi Lucky-I know you’re a big fan of LX (Swiss) and I’ve managed to book LX First with miles from ZUR to NRT in mid-March. The aircraft is an A340. What can I expect in terms of both hard and soft product on that flight?
February 3rd, 2012 at 11:11 am
Heybull said,
Lucky, I have read on your site about booking an additional leg on award travel at the end of a vacation to get a oneway to Hawaii. I can not find one to work. I am based in the SFO/SJC area and trying to make it work returning from CDG or LHR the stopover SFO add OGG. I see it working at AA other hubs like JFK or MIA, but can’t find a bay area fit. How would you make this work? Thank you.
February 3rd, 2012 at 9:22 pm
ckalodes said,
Hi Lucky,
I have been reading your blog and really enjoy all of the pictures and reviews of First Class service for a big chunk of the airlines. However, I was curious. It says in the “About” section that you are a college student. How do you bankroll all of the First Class flights and hotel stays? How do you have time for 100 plus days of hotel stays and travel to different countries? It puzzles me…
February 4th, 2012 at 1:37 am
lucky said,
@ DougM — Congrats! Absolutely, as a business class passenger she’d have access to the lounges at both airports.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:42 am
lucky said,
@ DC MOMO — That’s very strange. Air New Zealand does impose fuel surcharges on redemptions, so I have no clue why they wouldn’t automatically price it with ANA, as they should impose fuel surcharges on those redemptions.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:43 am
lucky said,
@ OG — You can set up an alert for Continental coach space, though not for coach space on Turkish, unfortunately.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:45 am
lucky said,
@ JetAway — Congrats! What can you expect? An awesome flight all around. It’ll be Swiss’ old first class product, though it’s still fantastic — fully flat, great turndown service, etc. I suspect the service will be very similar to a daytime flight from Zurich to the US, so if you look at my trip report index at the reports I’ve written about Zurich to New York, I’d say that’s close to what you can expect.
Have a great trip!
February 4th, 2012 at 1:47 am
lucky said,
@ Heybull — Since San Francisco wouldn’t be your gateway, that most likely wouldn’t work. The best you could do is something like LHR-LAX, LAX-OGG, and then just have a stopover in Los Angeles and purchase a separate ticket from there to the Bay Area.
Hi Lucky, can I use UA or CO miles to book a reward ticket on Silk Air? If I call, can they do this? I want to book a ticket on their SIN-BPN route, but those flights don’t show up on the CO website. Thanks.
February 4th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately you can’t. It’s one of Singapore’s partners, though not part of the Star Alliance, and therefore not bookable with Continental or United miles.
February 4th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Antonio said,
In that case, do I earn EQMs and RDMs if I fly them?
February 4th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately not.
February 5th, 2012 at 2:59 am
Ahmad said,
The Chase Sapphire card offers 3x miles for travel bookings made through the UR site. Do you recommend taking advantage of this, or do you book directly with the airline/hotel/Visa Signature/AMEX sites to get the most miles? Thanks!
February 5th, 2012 at 3:07 am
lucky said,
@ Ahmad — Absolutely, I do it all the time. It’s a great way to rack up extra points, especially for flights. If you book a hotel just be sure it’s at the published rate so you earn points directly with the hotel as well.
February 5th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Corey said,
Hi Lucky-
Given the choice would you fly LH business or UA business from FRA-SFO? Is UA first on 744 a large step up from business?
Thanks for the knowledge
February 5th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — I’d go for United due to the fully flat seat. I’d say first class is a large step up in terms of personal space. The service and food are only marginally better, while the entertainment is the same. So if the premium isn’t too great I’d go for it.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
Do you know if you’ll be speaking again this year at Frequent Traveler University in NY?
February 5th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Oscar said,
Small question
When going to Vegas, do you stay at a typical Vegas Hotel (MGM chain, Harrahs chain) or you prefer to stay at a Courtyard, Hyatt Place..
Which is your favorite Vegas hotel?
February 6th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Esther said,
I have a question about using airmiles on BA versus United. I am British living in Boston; my family and I travel to London often. We have been building up airmiles through our BA credit card and we also have a United airmiles credit card. I’ve just started booking flights to Europe for this summer and see that even though airmiles seats are available with BA, the taxes and surcharges add up to almost $700 per ticket. It seems the same route with United would incur taxes of $200. We prefer BA because it has non-stop flights to London but that’s $2000 in surcharges for a family of four, even if we use airmiles! I guess this means we should switch back to building airmiles on US airlines, as they’re not allowed to charge such high extras… do you have any advice? Thanks.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:57 am
lucky said,
@ Esther — Unfortunately your observations are correct. There’s no way to redeem BA miles for transatlantic travel without incurring those high fuel surcharges. So if you don’t find the premium of those fuel surcharges to be worthwhile the convenience of the nonstop, I would indeed go back to accruing United miles in your shoes. Keep in mind American also flies nonstop from Boston to London, so if you earned American miles you could fly nonstop and avoid the fuel surcharges.
February 6th, 2012 at 10:11 am
MG said,
Hello, Ben
I am trying to put together trip for my husband birthday last minute for March and an wondering what is best alliance to choose(less miles, better availability and better product) for the business class award ticket to south africa, kenya, india or TLV? No status, only silver on delta. Have around 300 on delta, 200 on american and around 200 on united/continental? If buying a revenue ticket for economy who is better to fly to south africa on Delta alliance? I will be leaving from the east coast(NYC, washington, Phil or chicago/detroit) Many thanks
February 6th, 2012 at 11:57 am
lucky said,
@ MG — I’d say you’ll generally find the best availability with Star Alliance, not to mention among the lowest award costs.
February 7th, 2012 at 8:37 am
Richard said,
I was looking into applying for maybe two credit cards but it doesn’t seem like there are many compelling options right now.
Ideally I’d like to get something for hotel nights or maybe bump up my AA miles to 250K (currently 216K) for a couple of first class tickets (NA to Europe).
I currently have cards such as: Hyatt, BA, the two AA cards (AmEx and Visa?), Starwood and Sapphire.
I was considering the Thank You card but haven’t they just lowered the pts from 50K to 25K?
Or might it be best to wait a couple of months and see if something really compelling comes up?
Thanks.
Someone mentioned that the Virgin card I could get 50K pts and transfer them to Hilton for 100K pts (which I guess might get me two free nights).
Any other suggestions?
February 7th, 2012 at 11:01 am
London Tim said,
I have an interesting question. Do Air China release award spaces for PEK-FNJ? It could be the most interesting redemption you’ve ever made!
February 7th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Danny said,
As I missed a chance to take advantage of AA recent triple mile promo, do you think UA will be offering a similar offer sometime soon?
February 7th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Tony said,
Would the following routing be doable using United miles? Trying to bring a relative overseas with us on vacation in Hawaii AND for a trip to our home in the states.
NRT – HNL (destination) – ORD (stopover) – NRT
OR
NRT – HNL (stopover) – ORD (destination) – NRT
Trying to get this all on one ticket to save some miles. Thanks in advance for the response!
February 7th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Richard — Do you have any business credit cards? If not I would consider the Ink Bold (helps with miles and hotels), SPG Business card (helps with hotels), or American Business Visa (helps with miles). Those are the three best offers out there right now, in my opinion, given your situation.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — Hmm, now that’s an interesting question. I see the flight in the schedule, though for whatever reason I don’t see any award space on it. Not sure if that’s intentional or not. Going to investigate this a bit more over the next few days.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — They didn’t match the bonus and aren’t in Chapter 11 like American, so I doubt we’ll see them offer it anytime soon.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Tony — Absolutely legal!
February 8th, 2012 at 12:46 am
MDR said,
Two questions: I’m SFO based, looking to redeem miles for a UA award to SYD. What is the MPM from SFO-SYD, and by how much can I exceed it? For example, can I do SFO-ICN-SYD, SFO-HKG-SYD, or SFO-SIN-SYD?
What if I were starting from the east coast and going to SYD? What is the MPM from JFK-SYD? Can I still route through Asia starting from JFK?
February 8th, 2012 at 5:59 am
lucky said,
MPM for SFO-SYD is 8,911 miles, and MPM for JFK-SYD is 11,947 miles. You can exceed the MPM by 15%, so there are some possibilities to route via Asia there.
February 8th, 2012 at 10:05 am
MDR said,
@lucky,
For a UA award I can exceed MPM by only 15%? I thought recently it was upped to 25%.
February 8th, 2012 at 10:44 am
lucky said,
@ MDR — American lets you go 25% over, though United only 15%. That’s still a ton.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:42 am
MDR said,
@lucky
OK, got it. Thanks for the clarification and for un-confusing me!
Is there any way to check reward availability for Hyatt hotels I have no points? I want to ensure there is reward availability before transferring (chase UR) point to my Hyatt account.
February 8th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Andrew said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m also thinking of transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air, though I’d like to redeem those points on Delta or Alitalia to fly from NYC to Rome. Is there any way to check award availability for Korean Air’s partner awards? I’m guessing if I looked up Alitalia or Delta there would be different availability for Korean Air miles.
Loading ...
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:10 am
Scholar in Training said,
I’ll start. I’ve never done this “free confirmed changes” thing on UA for 1Ks before. If I want to get on an earlier ORD-LAX flight, can I do that with OLCI or do I need to call reservations 24 hours in advance? My upgrades have already cleared but I want to switch to an earlier flight that has intl 767 config, if possible.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 am
Ashley said,
I have a question that’s been bothering me for a long time. I live in Chicago; consequently, I’m 1K @ UA, EXP @ AA. I travel a lot and have had status in these programs for a long time.
My question has to do with: upgrades! As an EXP @ AA, the airline will upgrade me on domestic flights almost 100% of the time without payment (certs, miles, or otherwise). On the other hand, with UA, even as 1K, they require “payment” in the form of the ecerts or miles.
Since most people seem to prefer status in order to secure upgrades, I don’t understand the economics supporting upgrades in United’s program. I understand that we get certs deposited in the account here and there based on mileage flown; but it still doesn’t seem to equal out so that one would have enough certs to fly up-front the same amount as they would be able to on AA (100% of the time, assuming domestic). Top it off with the fact that certs on United are more expensive than AA (I recall them being $50/ea vs AA where they were $30/ea…although I haven’t purchased any in a coons age).
Regards,
Ash
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:10 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — You would be best off calling reservations three hours before the flight you want to take to confirm yourself on it. Before that there’s really no benefit to checking in or calling reservations. Since you’re upgraded, it’s also worth noting that you’d be confirmed into coach and would once again have to get on the upgrade waitlist to get into business class. If it’s not a busy business travel day you shouldn’t have too much trouble, though.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:28 am
lucky said,
@ Ashley — Great question, and I don’t think there’s an easy answer, but I’ll try. For one, the only way to sponsor an upgrade for a traveling companions (or anyone else except yourself, for that matter) on American would be to burn miles, eVIP’s, or to buy stickers. At United, on the other hand, you can use confirmed regional upgrades or the 500′ers we get for free to sponsor companions, which I like. At the same time, unless you have a perfectly balanced flying schedule (about 50% longhaul international, 50% domestic), you’re right, you’ll probably end up in coach sometimes. The benefit to others with this is that the lower tier elites actually stand a chance at upgrades, since 1K’s aren’t always getting upgraded.
At the same time there are ways to get creative with upgrade instruments. United counts the distance from the origin to the destination (assuming the upgrade clears before check-in), so you can actually get more than 500 miles worth of flying upgraded with a 500 mile upgrade. Along the same lines, if you’re flying SFO-JFK-LAX-SFO for example, united.com will often upgrade SFO-JFK-LAX with one 500 miler, since that’s the distance between SFO and LAX.
So while it doesn’t get you up front every time, I’m almost always in first class thanks to upgrades, and if not there’s Economy Plus, which is basically ghetto first class. Actually, with the new “choice” menu it might just be better than first class.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:35 am
Scholar in Training said,
Hmm. So if I have a confirmed F seat on the later flight maybe it makes more sense to just standby for C on the earlier flight? Because if I do a confirmed switch and am in Y and I don’t clear… then that would suck. I’d rather fly later on the 319 in F than earlier on the 767 in Y. See what I’m saying?
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — If your flight is showing NC space when you want to make the switch, I would make a confirmed same day change and get the upgrade confirmed. If there are still quite a few business class seats showing, I would just risk it and make the change, given that you’ll be up there on the upgrade waitlist and there will be misconnects and no shows.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 am
Scholar in Training said,
OK and just to confirm, I can make the switch only on day of departure? Or 24 hours in advance? If the flight is at 8am in the morning, when should I call?
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — You can make the change three hours prior to departure of the flight you want to take. So if you want to take an 8AM flight, you could make the change at 5AM.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Scholar in Training said,
Hmmm interesting. This is actually the middle-leg of a three flight journey meaning I’ll be in the air on the first flight when the 3 hour window opens. And I’m guessing one can’t do this once one is already checked in, right?
Tricky!
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — No, unfortunately not. You never know, if you get a nice agent anything is possible, though.
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
sam said,
lucky? if you still have that power point file from the Ann Arbor DO, could you send it to me. Thanks
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — It has been sent.
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Vagabond Jim said,
Lucky & Ashley:
It’s worth pointing out re upgrading companions: if you are an EXP at AA you have earned 40 stickers to hit (500 mile upgrades) that level. Now, you may have used many on your way thru the ranks but you’ll probably have some in your account.
And buying that at 60% of the UA’s price ($30 v. $50) is a nice little benefit if you need to buy more.
I do wish AA did the point-to-point distance thing…
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:47 am
yyzatcqq said,
Did you ever sort out the Aeroplan ticket issue?
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:22 am
Gene said,
@ Lucky — Can I also obtain a copy of the PowerPoint presentation? Thanks!
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
lucky said,
@ Vagabond Jim — True, although you’re not even able to upgrade 20% of your flights with the stickers you earn up until you make Executive Platinum, so I doubt most new Executive Platinum members will have more than a couple of stickers left unless they’re buying them. You’re right though, the price is much more reasonable to buy them at American.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
lucky said,
@ yzzatcqq — The one with the MCO-FRA issue? If so, I didn’t, because plans ended up changing, so it was for the better. I called back about the flight about a day later and they still weren’t showing it, so I don’t know what’s up with it.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
lucky said,
@ Gene — I’ll send it right now.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
HunterSFO said,
I know I e-mail / ask a lot of questions. Out of curiosity, on average how many questions do people ask you in a day?
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
yyzatcqq said,
Will you answer just about anything? As long as both the question and the answer could be read in open company no matter the age?
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Gosh, that’s something you probably don’t want to know. On a slow weekday I’d say I get 50 emails/PM’s/comments/calls with airline related questions. On a busy weekday I get closer to 100. Sometimes I sit at my computer almost nonstop morning to night as my inbox never empties out. Add that to my nasty habit of responding almost immediately, and this is becoming a full time “job.”
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ yyzatcqq — Hmmm, try me, and then I’ll tell you.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Scholar in Training said,
Do you have a significant other?
August 4th, 2009 at 8:18 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Nope
August 4th, 2009 at 11:52 am
HunterSFO said,
@Scholar in Training – (sample personal ad for Lucky) “…enjoys long plane rides in international first class to fantastic exotic destinations…ISO dedicated mileage runner with elite status in many programs…non-smoker a plus” LOL!!!
August 4th, 2009 at 11:53 am
HunterSFO said,
@Lucky – can’t believe nobody’s snapped you up yet
August 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
jb831 said,
Hey Lucky,
Seems like you have considerable experience on various OneWorld carriers (in First).
Any experience on BA (F)?
(Just contemplating some award redemption options. You sure have made CX look awfully tempting!
August 4th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
lucky said,
@ jb831 — I actually haven’t flown BA yet, but without sounding like too much of an armchair CEO, I do have a few thoughts. The seat itself is quite bad (better than most European airlines, save Swiss), the food will be ok (not as good as Lufthansa or Swiss…. the British are known for many things, but gourmet food isn’t among them), and the service will typically be quite good. Again, without having tried them I’d rate them below Swiss for sure (which I’d argue is the best European airline), and probably on par with Lufthansa, although I think Lufthansa will again take the lead when they unveil their new seats.
Can anyone that has flown BA F chime in?
August 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
yyzatcqq said,
the last time I flew BA F they still had the Hi-8 tape players in the arm rests. I would not give them a 2nd chance for premium travel unless they bring the Concorde back.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:50 am
jb831 said,
Thanks for the input regarding BA F, gentlemen!
I guess I’d only strongly consider a BA F redemption (over CX) if BA does another 50% off redemption promo this year.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Jamie said,
Here’s a question I’ slightly worried about lucky.
I remember reading somehwere about a similar situation but can’t find it now.
I’ve just booked an award with US Air all in F.
I’ve just looked at my reservation and even though the correct amount of miles have gone out of my account for F, the reservation says coach on every flight.
Am I missing something here or is it a bug on the website?
August 6th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — It’s certainly possible that there’s a glitch, but this is worth looking into. Are you viewing the reservation on usair.com or are you looking at the e-ticket they sent you? If you’re looking at the e-ticket, that might be a serious problem. If you’re looking at the website, it might just be a glitch. I would give US Airways a call and ask them about it to be on the safe side. Feel free to email me your record locator and last name and I could look into it as well, if you’d like.
I’ve certainly had mistakes happen to itineraries of mine in the past, and it sucks. Better to spot potential problems early than when you get to the airport.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Zac said,
Hey Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Asia – specifically India and I have ~300,000 membership reward points that I would like to redeem for most value. Which airline should I put my bets on???
Thanks,
Zac
August 6th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Zac — In order to help, I’d need some more info. Where are you starting from? Are you traveling alone? Are you looking for a premium cabin (first/business class) redemption, or looking to get the best value from a coach award?
August 6th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
ORDnHKG said,
You had travelled on so many F and C class on different airlines, do you just giveaway the amenity kits and PJ ? Or you sell it on ebay ?
Ok, let me come to the point, I am actually an amenity kit collector, curious if you have any amenty kit that you don’t want about to give it away or sell it, I would be very interested, especially pacific carriers. let me know, as maybe able to meet next sunday with you in chicago.
August 6th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
lucky said,
@ ORDnHKG — I typically wear the PJ’s I get and use the contents of the amenity kits. Shocker, I know, but in my case I don’t see much use in the contents getting old. I then use the kits as little travel cases to store power cords, etc. So I don’t really have any “unopened” amenity kits, sorry.
August 8th, 2009 at 11:30 am
David said,
Lucky,
I’m flying from MIA to FRA on LH in a week. I booked reward travel for FC through Air Canada (Aeroplan) using Amex points. FRA is my final destination, then I fly back FRA to MIA a week or so later. Do I have access to the FCT in FRA when I arrive? Or when I depart? I am flying F on a LH flight, but am confused as to the access rules to the FCT. Thanks.
August 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The First Class Terminal in Frankfurt is not an arrivals lounge, so you could not use it upon arrival. That being said, you can use it on the way back. They keep changing the access rules, but right now as long as you have a same day Lufthansa first class boarding pass (even if you’re arriving from somewhere in first class and continuing within Europe), you get access. Regardless, you’ll have access as a departing first class passenger originating in Frankfurt.
Enjoy the lounge!
August 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky- I have a SFO-LAX-JFK flight on Thanksgiving day all in F including the p.s. flight. Since I will already have my samde-day p.s. F boarding pass for the LAX-JFK leg when I get to SFO, will they let me use the IFL at SFO as well, or do I only get to use the one at LAX?
Also, if I go with my family to HNL with everyone on the same PNR, does my 1K status allow everyone to use the 1K check-in line and priority security line, or do I have to *wait* for everone else on the PNR to go through the non-status check-in and security? This will be a SAN-SFO-HNL-LAX-SAN itinerary…
Thanks!
August 9th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — You should be able to use both. The SFO IFL agents are among the least friendly out there, but lately they have gotten better. So I wouldn’t arrive too early to the airport just to use the IFL, but definitely check it out if you have time.
As far as your second question goes, everyone should be able to go through security with you, use priority check-in, and board via the red carpet. As long as it’s family or only a few friends, I’ve never seen them have an issue.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Patrick said,
Hi Lucky,
ANy information on an arrivals lounge at LAX? COming in on Asiana F and connecting up to SFO on UA. Never used an arrivals lounge so any information would be great. Will I be greeted upon arrival or is that soooo 1995?
August 9th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Patrick — Unfortunately there isn’t any arrivals lounge (as far as I know, at least) at LAX for Asiana passengers, and United doesn’t have one either. You’ll probably be able to use the United International First Class Lounge at LAX, though, which is quite nice.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
ooD said,
Just found out I’ll be traveling to Asia and Europe before the end of the year for business and looks like I’ll be just short of 1P on UA after these trips. You predict any DEQM type promotions before year’s end like earlier in the year? Maybe not exactly the same, but something to boots up my EQM. Hopefully I can get some small boots without resorting to mileage runs
August 10th, 2009 at 8:12 am
lucky said,
@ ooD — That’s a toughie. There is definitely going to be some kind of a promotion, given that it should be a pretty rough winter for the airlines. At the same time, I kind of expect some sort of promotion for RDM’s instead of EQM’s. A DEQM promotion is certainly possible, although I think it’s unlikely and if it happened I would expect it to be a promotion you have to pay for.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
ooD said,
What’s RDM?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
lucky said,
@ ooD — RDM=redeemable miles
August 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
crammer said,
Lucky,
I heard on the most recent upgrd podcast that you really like Hong Kong. Can you go into a few reasons why you enjoy HK so much? I have never been, and it’s on my list of places to go. (I even know a Cantonese speaker who might be convinced to come along…)
August 10th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
lucky said,
@ crammer — Great question. First of all, it was the first Asian city I ever visited, and at the time (when I was maybe 13) Asia was some far off place mystical place to me. So the fact that it’s the first place I visited has something to do with it.
Beyond that, though, it’s just such an amazing, dynamic city, with the most amazing landscape. The two sides of the city are separated by Victoria Harbor, so the views are truly incomparable. Every night they have the “Symphony of Lights” show, whereby most of the major buildings light up as part of a laser show.
There’s also so much to do and it’s a relatively easy city to navigate. What really makes Hong Kong great as an English speaker is that almost everything is written in English (thanks to the British influence), which makes it easy to get around. Most people speak English as well. Compare that to Japan, where getting around can be a real PITA as someone that doesn’t speak the language.
It’s hard to exactly point my finger to it, but there’s something magical about the city. Their slogan is “Live it. Love it.” and I guess that’s very true. You really have to experience Hong Kong to get a real sense of what makes it great.
August 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
jb831 said,
Hi Lucky,
When staying at IHG properties, do you ever book the “bonus point packages”? (ie: the rates where you pay slightly more than the Best Flexible Rate, to earn an additional 1,000 / 3,000 / 5,000 / etc. points?) Is it worth it, or should one just stick to Best Flexible Rates?
Many thanks!
August 11th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
lucky said,
@ jb831 — I never have, because it’s almost never worth it. InterContinental did recently have a separate promo where they offered 10,000 bonus points per stay at no additional cost, which I took advantage of. I value Priority Club points at about half a cent per point, and I haven’t seen them “beat” that ratio with the offer.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Alex said,
Here’s my question…
I live in a small town (CHO – Charlottesville, VA) and therefore my airline choices are fairly limited (largely US and DL through Atlanta and Delta, respectively) but I fly a pretty fair amount for work, 80-100 segments and just over 100k miles per year. This breaks down to about 35 segments on each of DL and US, giving me Silver status on both, and the other 1/3rd spread out among everyone else. Likewise, I end up with about 50k miles on US and DL per year and 50k spread elsewhere, including bonuses, etc.
Is there anything I can do to concentrate my earnings and get more out of them – assigning miles to another program for example? It’s impractical for me to fly only DL or US because of work requirements, and I’m already using SPG Amex and/or AMEX Platinum to purchase the tickets for those miles.
I welcome your thoughts – thanks.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Alex — That’s a tough one. This would be easy if they were in the same alliance, but given that DL and US are in different alliances, there’s not a whole lot I can think of. Is CO an option? Once they join Star Alliance you could hopefully credit US and CO flights to one FFP, helping you to concentrate your miles.
August 12th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
sam said,
hey lucky, my girlfriend and I are planning to stay at the IC Bali for a week, your review of the hotel was fantasic. I’d just like to know your opinion on a few things. I Don’t think i can make it to RA in time. I am a Amb right now, and we’re planning to book the Club room, so is it worth it for me to try aquire a RA referal? Are the differences between RA and Amb very big at this hotel? Also, I’ve got enough points to fly to Bali on Both Skyteam and *A in Bussiness class, which airline would you say is the best for the job. Thanks
August 12th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — I’m totally jealous of the trip, sounds like fun. At the InterContinental Bali the differences between Ambassador and Royal Ambassador aren’t big, especially when booking a club room. The minibar is pretty crappy, so you’re not losing out on much there. Either way you should get an upgrade to a duplex suite, which is VERY nice. As a Royal Ambassador you would probably have a better shot at a larger suite, although the duplex suite really is very nice. So I don’t think you’d be missing out on a whole lot.
As far as airlines, that’s a toughie. Maybe ANA connecting to SQ? If SQ had any transpacific award availability I’d go with them, but they don’t right now. Who knows, that might change soon, though.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
sam said,
Now you know how we felt when we saw your review, thanks for the advice on the Royal Ambassador, probably saved me a few SWUs. But do you still get the airport pickup and everything?
I can’t get anything on *A, There are some availabily on the ANA tool, but no dice when i try to book then.
I think i’m going to go with YYZ-EWR-PVG on CO and PVG-DPS on MU. and DPS-PVG on MU, PVG-DTW on DL and DTW-YXU on NW for the return. Never tried CO’s international services in bussiness class yet.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — Yes, the transfer and greeting service is available for all club guests, regardless of status. Skyteam sounds like a good option, especially with the longhaul CO flight. I’m actually looking forward to giving them a try when they join Star Alliance.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Iceman said,
Just looked at your trip report for ORD-NRT on NH last July. If given the choice of NH C versus UA C (on a 747) for that same flight, what would you choose?
August 13th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — Call me crazy, but assuming that this were in a few months when new business class is guaranteed, I’d go with United. The seat and entertainment are FAR superior. No matter how good the food and service are on ANA, it’s not going to make me any more comfortable or keep me any more entertained for 12 hours. Add that to the recent cutbacks in ANA premium cabins, and I’d go with United without thinking twice.
August 14th, 2009 at 12:45 am
LAXNRT said,
Lucky,
got a question about status match. I know you got a status match to BMI Gold before. I am a UA GS and would like to get a BMI Gold Card to for domestic red carpet club access. What is the best way to go about this? Is it even possible? I was thinking about status matching to NWA and from there to BMI if that is still possible. WOuld appreciate any advice.
Chris
August 14th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Iceman said,
@ Lucky: Thanks for the fast response. I think you’ve convinced me to go back to UA. :-O What did you think of the slanted lay flat on ANA and what were their premium cabins like before the cutbacks?
August 14th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Iceman said,
@ Lucky: Sorry for a second response, but I found a good thread on FT talking about the cutbacks in premium cabins. Do they still have a kitchen counter type set-up where you can get food at your leisure?
August 14th, 2009 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ LAXNRT — You got it, that would be the best way. Match to some other carrier (NWA sounds good to me), and then fax in or email the elite card to Diamond Club, and you should be status matched. Enjoy!
August 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Iceman — I haven’t flown ANA in business for about a year, so I don’t know the details of the cutbacks. I’m sure the service and food is still far superior to United. However, maybe I’ve just become too spoiled, but a slanted flat seat is a killer. And I find ANA’s slanted flat to be among the worst, since it always seems to me like it’s at a pretty high angle. As far as the kitchen counter, they never really had that. They had a counter with cookies and chips and chocolate, but the flight attendants were always there to provide meals at your leisure.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Iceman said,
Thanks for the info! Guess I’ll be making another call to UA today.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
ooD said,
Hey Lucky. I need some advice planning a trip.
I will be flying from SFO to MUC on UA, but plan to connect through ORD to be on the same flight as my friend, who will fly from ORD. I am 1P and she is 1K.
Is there a way for me to get on her itinerary so that if she gets a free bump along the trip (for being 1k), I will too since we are flying together? The only thing I can think of is buying 1 RT SFO-ORD myself and haver her book my RT ORD-MUC with her, which is going to be more expensive than me getting 1 RT SFO-ORD-MUC.
There has got to be a trick.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
lucky said,
@ ooD — Sadly to be on the same record you would both need to have the same exact itinerary and book it together. Frankly, I wouldn’t waste your time trying to get on the same itinerary for that reason alone, because a) if they’re op-upping 1K’s, there’s a decent chance they’re op-upping 1P’s too, b) if your friend would get upgraded and mentioned you were traveling together, there’s a decent chance you’d get upgraded as well, and c) there’s a chance they might just skip your friend on the list if there were two of you on the record and they only needed to move up one person.
Keep in mind that United doesn’t just do free upgrades. They will only upgrade to business if they need to do so for operational reasons.
August 19th, 2009 at 4:37 am
sam said,
Hey lucky, when are you leaving hongkong, I’ll be in hongkong next friday, staying at the IC hongkong, are you going to be around?
August 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am
lucky said,
@ sam — I’m only there for three days and will be leaving this Sunday. Guess I’ll miss you, unfortunately.
August 19th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
sam said,
I thought HongKong was your favourite city, why such a hurry to leave?
August 19th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
imm2b said,
@ Lucky – Do you have a FAQs page?
August 20th, 2009 at 3:52 am
lucky said,
@ sam — It is, but there’s something called the real world I have to get back to, unfortunately.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:53 am
lucky said,
@ imm2b — Interesting idea, but I don’t. There are so many different types of questions I get and similar questions dealing with different programs that it might be a real challenge. Feel free to ask away, though, if there’s anything I can help with.
August 25th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Rochester Rich said,
Ben, Welcome Back. Thanks for your help previusly on this itinerary. After 3.5 hours on the phone with a very helpful agent I got confirmed Business tickets for 4 to Europe but there are some issues. Of those 3.5 hours the flight selection process went quickly as I had done all the leg work. So 45 minutes for the flights and forever and a day for confirmation and fees. And they needed to make changes to get it to price correctly. Here’s the itinerary:
6/19 ROC-LGA (US turbo-prop on a flight to be discontinued shortly)
6/19 JFK-IST (TH on a 777 with the heringbone business class layout)
23 hour layover in IST
6/21 IST-ATH (TH in Y)
6/23 ATH-MUC (LH in C)
7/5 MUC-CLT (LH in C)
7/5 CLT-PHL (US in Y)
7/5 PHL-ROC (US — Y only commuter jet)
80K miles and $95 taxes and probably a fee to book that they’ve neglected to tell me about.
1. They refused to book us on a connecting US Shuttle flight (ROC-DCA-LGA) in F and no seats available in Y. So now we’re stuck on a turbo-prop that will soon be axed from the schedule with the slot exchange with Delta.
2. They refused to book the non-stop CLT-ROC even though F is available. When they book in F the cost in miles goes to 120K.
3. They gave me a hard time about the 23 hour layover calling it 2 stopovers but we worked through that issue.
Do I accept the coach flights — really only the short CLT-PHL flight?
Do I stick with the turbo-prop or request a UA connection through IAD that still leaves enough time to get to JFK?
Is the TH flight aboard a 777 a good choice and worth the hassle to get to JFK?
23 hours in IST?
August 25th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Rochester Rich — Holy cow, I hadn’t realized TK was flying their 77W’s to NY. That’s HUGE news, and a post about that will follow shortly. What you were told about first class domestically repricing the itin to a first class award price is BS. That sounds like a cast of “hang up and call again” to me. As far as changing to the UA flight goes, the issue is that you’ll be charged a fee if you try to make a change now, so I would leave it as is.
The 77W in business class is probably the best transatlantic business class option. Watch for my Turkish trip report in the next week or so. It’s a fantastic product, though.
23 hours in IST should be great. I just got back and really enjoyed the city. You should be able to see quite a bit in that amount of time. Stay tuned for the trip report on that too.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Dan said,
Dear Lucky,
Thanks for your great blog and your great generosity in sharing your wisdom. I am planning an award trip for my wife and myself SFO-CDG, LHR-SFO for September 2010. I have enough UA miles for two XF tix. I am considering trying for LH SFO-FRA-CDG (I know, Starnet blocking). Your review of the service and the FCT sounded great. For LHR-SFO I guess just old F on a UA 777- I do like the nonstop option.
Any comments or suggestions on my itinerary? Thanks for your help.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — If you value a nonstop, then LHR-SFO is fine. If it were me, I’d go with either LHR-FRA-SFO on LH, or LHR-ZRH-ORD-SFO (or LHR-ZRH-JFK-SFO) on LX. It all comes down to personal preference.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Dan said,
Thanks, Lucky.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Blankeeta said,
Lucky,
I recently flew business class on AA to/from GIG. I was excited to experience their 777 with lie flat seating but was dissapointed when trying out the seats. They lie flat but at an angle! I hated having all the blood in my body draining to my feet. Please tell me that other carriers provide business class passengers with true bed-like seating…
August 28th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
HunterSFO said,
@Blankeeta – UA has true 180 degree lie-flat on all int’l 767s and 747s. Upgrade of the 777s is postponed till next year though
August 28th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — Slanted lie flat seating is a common complaint. Some consider it more comfortable than a recliner for sleeping (because it is flat, although at an angle), while others consider it less comfortable for the reasons you mention. Fortunately most airlines installing “new generation” business class seats have flat beds in business class.
There are two general types — herringbone and normal seating configurations. Herringbone seats are what you’ll find on Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Virgin, etc., whereby the seats are facing sidewards and no one has a “formal” seatmate.
Then there are airlines like Swiss, United (as HunterSFO mentioned, only on the 767 and 747), Singapore, etc., that have flat beds in business class. It really does make a huge difference, and as of late I refuse to cross an ocean in anything but a truly flat bed.
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:18 am
BQ said,
How do you efficiently find award availability on Swiss? I have been experimenting with the ANA site to find availability for an upcoming award trip to Croatia/Turkey with United Miles, but Swiss availability isn’t shown there.
September 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Robertol said,
I am a BMI Gold (and UA 1K). Given what’s going on with BMI, I am becoming wary of posting my premium *A cabin miles to Diamond Club (mostly C-class on LH, UA or SQ). AC Aeroplan looks like an interesting alternative… otherwise, I can keep posting to BD. Other options? Advice?
September 7th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ BQ — There are two practical ways to find Swiss award availability. Either get a membership to ExpertFlyer, which will allow you to see their award availability, or get a Miles & More account and search using that. It’s worth noting that in order to search award availability with Miles & More you need some activity in your account, though, which often makes ExpertFlyer the easier option.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Robertol — Assuming you’re not trying to hoard miles for way in the future, I would keep earning with bmi. Yes, there’s a bit of uncertainty, but I think we’ll have a good amount of notice before anything major changes. The beautiful thing about bmi is that you’re usually getting 200% for business class, and there’s simply no other program that can match that. With Aeroplan you’d typically be getting 125%. So I would say keep going with bmi for the time being, not only because of their great earning opportunities, but equally because of their amazing award redemption rates.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Ross said,
I have a question about joining for frequent flyer programs.
I just started working for a job that requires me to travel 50% to 75% every month. Most of my business travels are located domestically in the Western half of the US, with San Francisco and Sacramento as home bases. However, there are times when I have to travel to financial centers such as New York, London, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
I thought about joining United’s Mileage Plus because of its San Francisco hub. But since United is a Star Alliance member, I could be stuck taking its alliance partners (Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa) over oneworld members (Cathay Pacific and British Airways, both my preferred airlines to Asia and Europe).
Is it worthwhile to join United’s Mileage Plus over American’s AAdvantage? I want to join in a program where the airlines can fly mostly nonstop between financial centers around the world.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:08 am
lucky said,
@ Ross — First of all, I would suggest signing up for a frequent flyer account with any airline you fly. They’re free and it certainly can’t harm to have an account. That being said, if you’re based out of San Francisco, United is the obvious choice. They have nonstop service to London, Chicago, New York, and Hong Kong, along with a good frequent flyer program. If your company will only pay for coach, you should be able to rack up a good number of upgrades if you travel enough. If your company is paying for business or first, I would suggest flying some Star Alliance partner airlines, like Singapore Airlines from San Francisco to Hong Kong, for example, since they offer a better product. You could still credit the miles for that flight to United, since both airlines are in the Star Alliance.
Hope that helps.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Ross said,
@ lucky
Thank you for your reply. I’ve been reading your entries about your flight experiences in CX and SQ. SQ has been a trendsetter in the industry, especially in ordering aircrafts. Too bad SQ decided to drop its aircraft titles (Megatop for 747, Jubilee for 777, LeaderShip for the Airbus 340-500, and so on). I want to see those names again.
1. If you’re being offered the chance to travel for pleasure to East Asia and Southeast Asia from the US, which would you choose: CX or SQ?
2. How about Asiana (OZ), which is also a member Star Alliance–do you have plans to take one of their flights in the near future?
September 13th, 2009 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ Ross — As far as your first question goes, what cabin are we talking about? Assuming it’s a premium cabin, you really can’t go wrong with either choice. I’d give slight preference to Cathay in first class (new product) and Singapore in business class (new product). As far as the second question goes, I’ve flown Asiana several times within Asia. They’re a solid airline, and I would definitely consider them assuming it was the new first or business class product. Their old product is rather ancient.
September 15th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
sam said,
hey lucky, i’m trying to book a award tic in biz to HKG. and none of the ORD-HKG flight in feb are showing XC availability at all. Do they usually release availability a little closer, or should i find another way there.
September 15th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — That’s a toughie. ORD-HKG has always been one of the tougher flights to get an upgrade on, and that was back when there were over 70 seats in business class. With just 50 seats I’d say the chance of any more seats opening up, at least predictably so, is pretty low. Maybe we’ll see a seat or two, and maybe we’ll see some seats way closer to departure, like a week out, but I wouldn’t count on it. I would find another way there….
September 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
sam said,
in that case, what do you think my chances are of getting an upgrade (or two) after buying W bucket tickets and using SWUs.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:38 am
sam said,
Also, i remember you mentioned SQ never releases any availability on trans-pacific flights in C or F. But do they ever release C or F seats on intra-Asia flights, say HKG-SIN? I apologize for all the questions, but being the undisputed expert on the subject comes with some responsibilities
September 16th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Blake said,
Question — Just made prem exec on UA and want to status match to gold on CO. UA is telling me 2-3 weeks to get the card (CO says they need a copy of the card). Any way to expedite this? I begged them to send me a digital copy, fedex, etc. — they weren’t helpful.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am
lucky said,
@ sam — Chances of getting an upgrade? Generally decent, assuming you travel on an off peak day. This far out I would shoot for a confirmable upgrade if at all possible. SQ does release some intra-Asia awards last I checked, but the availability is very, very limited.
@ Blake — Unfortunately there’s no way to expedite that, and Continental is one of the stricter airlines when it comes to the credentials they require to match. Sorry.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
FBKSan said,
Lucky,
I posted the following on FT, but it was buried at the end of a thread and I didn’t get a response. Any insight?
If I put a ticket on hold from one region to another (e.g., Europe to Africa), can I change the originating region–and obviously pay the additional miles–before the hold expires without losing the original segments? (I ask because I have enough miles for the EUR-AFR ticket now and will have the extra miles needed for USA-AFR in a few days). If United is going to have to cancel the EUR-AFR hold to setup USA-(EUR)-AFR then I won’t bother.
Related question: could I do the above but actually ticket EUR-AFR and then change the origin region at a later date without jeopardizing my existing seats?
FBKSan
September 16th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
lucky said,
@ FBKSan — That’s a good question, and I’m actually not positive. I believe that would require a redeposit, so they might just have to start from scratch. The same goes for later changing the award. It’s easy when you’re talking about the same region, but I’m pretty sure you’d be out of luck in this case.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
RDimperio said,
Ben, I’m about to break into the ranks of 1K thanks mostly to United’s Fall DBEQM promotion. Now I’m wondering about those 4 e-500 mile instruments that you get at each 10K once a premium member. The 10K is counted on paid United and United Express flights. What about those that post as Y class. Do I count these miles as 1.5 or 1.0 times the actual flight miles? Thanks.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — Congrats on making it to 1K (almost)! As a 1K you’re not actually earning any extra 500 mile upgrades compared to Premier or Premier Executive members. You do earn up to two confirmed regional upgrades per quarter along with a minimum of six systemwide upgrades a year, though. 500 milers are based on “butt-in-seat” miles, so double EQM’s, premium flights, etc., don’t help you to accrue more of them.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
David said,
Lucky,
I have a question about the Hyatt Faster Free Nights promo combined with the Fast Track. I signed up for the Fast Track promo and will secure Platinum status with a 5-night stay in Seattle that I was going to make for work anyway. I’m wondering if it’s worth going for Diamond locally doing a mattress run. I’ve never done a MR before and was wondering if 1) I actually have to stay at the hotel or if I can just check-in and pay and 2) how does the Faster Free Night promo work for me? I’ll be heading to Cologne, Germany next September and thought I could use the free nights to book my hotel, but alas the free nights have to be used by March. Is Gold Passport Diamond really worth the effort? Thanks.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
lucky said,
@ David — In general I’d say Hyatt Diamond is among the best top tier status levels, and that’s largely thanks to the recent changes they’ve made to the Gold Passport program. You’ll receive access to the club lounge, free internet (which is a Platinum perk as well), along with four electronic suite upgrades, which are especially nice. As far as whether or not it’s worth mattress running, that’s tough for me to answer without knowing your financial situation and your travel plans beyond Cologne. If you could conceivably maintain Diamond with your normal stays in the future, then I think it’s a great status level to maintain. It’s not necessarily worth always mattress running for, though, especially if you only have a few “real” stays.
As far as the actual process of mattress running, you do have to check-in at the hotel, although you don’t actually have to stay there. Might want to go to the room, make the sheet covers a bit messy, and then leave. Your Faster Free Nights stays have to be completed by March of next year, so that wouldn’t really help your trip to Cologne next September.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
David said,
Thanks, Lucky. Do the free nights count towards status? If I have ten more nights to go towards Diamond, can I check in for two separate one night stays at a Hyatt Place (~$80/night), then use a resulting free night as an additional stay? Or, do all stays toward status have to be paid?
And, how would you compare SPG to HGP? Would you aim to have all your stays at one or the other or mix them up?
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The free nights you redeem don’t count towards status. Only paid stays booked through hyatt.com qualify for points. Generally I think SPG over promises and under delivers, while Hyatt under promises and over delivers. At Hyatt properties you always know what you’re getting as a Diamond — free internet, free club lounge access (or breakfast), and if you requested it, a confirmed suite upgrade. As a Platinum with Starwood you get club lounge access (if they have a club, which often isn’t the case), and you might or might not get any sort of real upgrade. You might get a room with a view, or you might get a huge suite.
So in general I’d say Hyatt has a more consistent program. Also, I think it makes more sense to have top tier status with one program rather than mid tier status with two programs. The benefits are better, assuming one chain has hotels in all the places you need to travel to.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
I may try for a bump on a SFO-LAX flight in about a week that currently is showing F7Y5 (it’s a 320). If it does zero out, does united.com provide an option to volunteer during online check-in, or can that only be done at the airport the day of departure? Thanks.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:37 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — They might or might not offer to add you to the volunteer list when you check-in online, but it really doesn’t matter because you can be added at the gate or at check-in by an agent. The list is sorted much like the upgrade list, so it’s by status first. A quick note about the SFO-LAX flights — they’re an interesting bunch, since there’s basically a flight every hour. That translates to lots of people standing by for earlier flights. So in my experience they don’t tend to be oversold by too much under normal circumstances, but when a flight is cancelled (which is common), it can be bump heaven.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Seth said,
I know NWA/DL/Sky Team is not your primary area of expertise, but I’m hoping you can help me anyway. I’m Gold Elite in WorldPerks (for a few more days anyway). I’m trying to book an award ticket for a trip to London (from BOS) in December. My options are pretty limited due to availability and my mileage poverty. First of all, does it make sense to you that NWA is still offering award tickets on CO flights in December, even though CO won’t be in Sky Team by then? Is there risk in booking those? Should I be worried about not getting Sky Team Elite benefits? If not, would you recommend CO over NWA/KLM flights? I’m really only familiar with NWA/DL, but I’m curious about whether CO’s onboard amenities might be better for such a trip. Any advice you have would be much appreciated.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:31 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — I’ll certainly do my best to help. Yes, Continental is still offering SkyTeam awards as long as you book before they leave SkyTeam, even if it’s for a later travel date. Your booking will be safe, but keep in mind that if you want to make a change after they leave SkyTeam, flying Continental won’t be an option. You shouldn’t, however, get any elite benefits if you’re flying them when they’re in Star Alliance, so that’s a reason to avoid them.
As far as onboard amenities go, I assume we’re talking about a coach award? If so, I’d say just try your best to get on a plane that has personal televisions. This means it makes sense to avoid DL’s 767-300′s and KLM’s 747′s, along with any 757′s (if there even are any into London from the US). Other than that, you really can’t go wrong. As far as I know CO has PTV’s in their longhaul fleet, DL has them on their fleet except for the 767, NW has them, and KLM has them on their A330′s.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Seth said,
Thanks for the info. I will definitely be avoiding CO.
So is it only the 767-300s that don’t have PTV? I’m getting a return LHR-DTW on a DL-operated (strange?) 767-400ER.
Also, is it typical for award availability to constantly change, like from search to search within the span of a few minutes? I will do a search and 5 minutes later with the same search the availability is completely different. Can I attribute it to it being within a week of award searching via nwa.com going away?
September 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — Correct, only 767-300s don’t have PTV’s. The -400 series does. Delta and Northwest are shuffling planes between their routes, so it’s common to see 767s out of DTW and 330s out of ATL.
Award availability is fluid, although typically not to the point that it changes every few minutes. I doubt it has to do with the site going away. Probably just bad luck, or maybe good luck, depending on which way the availability is fluctuating.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Ann Simmons said,
Can you please tell me witch one of your braches are opened on SUNDAYS for buisness, in the Baltimore, Maryland or surrounding areas.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Blankeeta said,
Lucky, here’s a novice question. I’ve booked a OneWorld award ticket taking me to multiple Middle East Desitations. My initial routing is: RDU-LGA-YYZ (AA), YYZ-LHR (BA) all on the same day. What is the luggage situation? Do I have to pick up my checked AA bags in YYZ and then re-check with BA in YYZ? Also, do you think AA will charge me for my heavy checked bags that are going internationally on their OneWorld Partner?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — I believe you’ll have to pick up your luggage and re-check it in Toronto. At least I did when I flew DFW-YYZ and then YYZ-HKG earlier this year. American shouldn’t charge you for your heavier bag, assuming it’s within the weight limits of one of the partner airlines you’re flying. If they try to, simply show them your itinerary and explain the weight limits of the other airlines. Enjoy your trip!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Is it true that after October 1st, Lufthansa will not allow arriving F pax into any FCLs at FRA? I was planning a trip for next year either arriving FRA in F as destination or possibly connecting to CDG or ZRH. Are there no options for showers either UA or LH arriving in F?
Thanks so much.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — I just saw the 500+ post thread in the Lufthansa forum, although it seems to be much about nothing. As a first class passenger one could never use the FCL or FCT as an arrivals lounge. Lufthansa does have a new “arrivals lounge” you can use, though. If you’re connecting you should be able to use the FCL or FCT, at least as far as I can tell. Happy travels!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Dan said,
Thanks Lucky, although on the LH website under “first class at the airport” it does seem to say the FCLs were available to F pax “departing from Frankfurt, changing flights there or arriving” whereas the FCT was available only for departures.
October 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 am
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, did you get in on the BOM deal last night? BA across the ocean but then could link up with *A carriers to BOM.
I got in with Orbitz but they promptly canceled my reservation overnight.
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — I saw it but decided against booking. As much as I’d love to actually visit India, I couldn’t fit it in my schedule for the time being. From a mileage run perspective it just wasn’t good enough, in my opinion. I can get more miles than that more comfortably for less by other means. Besides, mistake fares can get pretty frustrating with the airlines trying to cancel reservations, as I guess you’re experiencing. Hope they honor it!
October 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Kevin said,
Lucky,
I know that you don’t check bags, but I am thinking you might have an answer. I am going to check because I have a multipurpose trip (business attire and outdoor gear) and I don’t feel like trying to make it work with Carry-Ons.
So here goes: I am flying IAD –> JFK on United 7768 and JFK –> ZRH on LX 15. Should I check through to ZRH (assuming I can) or should I check my bag to JFK and recheck with Swiss. I should have enough time for the latter option since the RJ flight has been on time for the most part.
What do you think?
Thanks
October 9th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — With a trip like that you should be able to check the bag all the way through to ZRH. At check-in simply show them your itinerary and they’ll tag the bag all the way. Actually, in many cases “short checking” (not checking your bag to the final destination) is against the rules. Happy travels!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Iceman said,
If traveling from USA-NRT with miles in C, what would be your preferred *A airline? Assume that you can leave from any point in North America, but needs to be non-stop to NRT from there.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — Assuming you can leave from any point in North America, I could go with Air Canada (777), followed by United (new configuration), followed by ANA. While ANA might have the best service, Air Canada and United’s seats and entertainment blow ANA out of the water.
October 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
RDimperio said,
I loved my Business Class on ANA earlier in the year but have little to compare it to at this point.
Ben, What to do in light of the recent changes? Upcoming trip to Hawaii in January for two. EWR-DEN-SFO-HNL on 319/320/767 returning HNL-SFO-EWR on 777(redeye)/319. Newly minted 1K. Just saw 2 CR-1s in my account. Have 13 e-500s.
Would like to upgrade westbound and am indifferent about the eastbound.
1. Use the CR1s on the westbound?
2. Hold the CR1s for a rainy day and use miles (no cash)?
3. Gamble with the e-500s westbound.
4. Try to confirm the westbound and gamble with the eastbound flights with e-500s.
Will I still acrue CR1s in 1Q2010?
Thanks for your help, Rich
October 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — ANA definitely has the best in-flight product, but the seats are slanted flat and the entertainment is somewhat limited. Other than that, ANA is fantastic. As far as the Hawaii trips, I’d use the two CR1′s for the westbound portion, unless you have a future use you’ll definitely need CR1′s for. Since you asked me, I don’t use miles to upgrade domestically, so if I really wanted to upgrade I would use CR1′s. I’m not quite sure whether or not we’ll continue to accrue CR1′s until this policy is fully in place (I haven’t been able to keep up with the 1,200+ post FlyerTalk thread, sadly), but I wouldn’t count on it.
I would then try upgrading the other direction with 500′ers, if it’s something you’d be interested in. Enjoy your trip!
October 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
ktpc2005 said,
Remember the Air New Zealand nothing to hide safety video. Southwest fan site on Facebook posted a video that Air New Zealand is challenging the Southwest crew to help make a body paint safety video musical.
Funny that it will never show on Southwest planes due to the face they have no video equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfETlqvBAeE&feature=player_embedded
October 15th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
lucky said,
@ ktpc2005 — Hah, very funny! Thanks for the heads up. Wonder how the Southwest people would get to New Zealand. :p
October 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Ron said,
Lucky, I’m wondering about the value of US elite status. I’m generally a Sky Team flier (accruing my miles on Northwest, now Delta), but I’ll be flying LAX–TLV and back on US over the holidays. The outbound falls within their fast track promotion, and since that one leg is over 7500 miles it would earn me silver status. I also have a mostly dormant United account with about 10,000 miles. So, do I go for silver on US, or build on my existing United miles?
My wife and kids are also flying with me; they’ve been accruing their Sky Team miles on Continental, so they should be able to add the US flights to that (current balances are 36K, 27K, 20K; not enough status miles this year to earn any status). Do they go for silver on US, or build up Continental?
I typically fly alone for business, and with the entire crew for pleasure. My wife seldom flies alone, my kids never. For me, silver on US could make some potential future flights more pleasant. As for the rest, is there even a remote possibility of getting 4 upgrades into a 12-seat front cabin?
October 17th, 2009 at 11:58 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — The value of status vs. the value of accruing more miles in a single account is always a tough question. As you know, status as such has zero value if you don’t take advantage of your status on that airline. Miles, on the other hand, can be earned continuously, and as long as there’s some activity every 18 months, they should eventually add up to a free ticket.
Now, first let’s quickly discuss US Silver status. There are definitely some nice benefits for future flights, like free checked bags, first class check-in, and a decent chance at upgrades if you’re not flying on peak routes or during peak times. Unfortunately I think international upgrades aren’t even worth considering.
So if you plan on taking at least a couple of trips with your US Silver status, I would say it’s worthwhile to credit to them. As far as your family goes, unless they plan on taking a couple of US trips next year, I would suggest they credit to Continental, since they already have decent balances.
As a general rule, I like to stick to one program in each alliance and credit to that airline, even if I could get slightly more benefits by crediting to another airline.
October 17th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Tom said,
Ben… I consider you an expert on Intercontinental. Have you been to the IC in Budapest? I am considering a stay there this Dec (especially attractive F&F rate) and am wondering what your impressions are if you’ve stayed there.
Thanks
October 17th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Tom — Wish I could help, but I’ve actually never stayed at the InterContinental Budapest. It seems like a pretty good hotel based on the FlyerTalk reviews, though:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/779118-ic-budapest-master-thread-merged.html
October 19th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Simon said,
Lucky,
Wife & I want to travel from Ft. Lauderdale to London non-stop using MR points. We were thinking about Virgin but you had mentioned ANA was better for the money. ANA does not flight from Ft. lauderdale or Miami. You also mentioned transferring points to ANA and then flight on Virgin. How can I transfer points to ANA and then flight on Virgin while not been hit hard on those other surcharges you are referring to? Pls advise and thanks!
October 19th, 2009 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Simon — While there are no nonstop flights from Ft. Lauderdale to London, Virgin does fly from Miami. They are partners with ANA, so if you transfer miles to ANA and book an award through them (they typically have access to the same availability), you’ll only pay 68,000 miles and probably $200, vs. quite a bit a more through Virgin.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Scholar in Training said,
Next week I need to fly a route serviced by UA/US/CO, both with a connections. Options are US through LGA/DCA/PHL on regional jets. Done this version a thousand times. UA the connection times through ORD/IAD are not desirable. Final option is to give CO a try through CLE now that they are part of *A. This would be on regional jets as well.
So, should I stick with what I know (US) or give CO a try?
October 20th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Given the new relationship, I see no reason not to give CO a try. You might like them more, in which case you’ll fly them from now on. If not, you can go back to US. Of course if it were me I’d take UA regardless of the times OR whichever routing was worth the most miles.
The only consideration is the 100% RDM bonus on US. I’m sure the same will be coming from CO, but I’m not sure how soon that will be implemented.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
I had a ticket today SFO-LAX on the 12:44 and this morning saw the previous flight at 11:20 was cancelled. I expected there would be bumps, but they didn’t need anybody. I wonder what happened to those passengers who were cancelled?
October 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — Ah, the frequent cancellations of SFO-LAX/LAX-SFO flights have led to lots of bumps for me in the past, so sorry it wasn’t the same for you. Chances are United put some people on standby for later flights, and only confirmed passengers to the point that the flights wouldn’t be oversold in anticipation of this. Smart from their perspective but sucks for us.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I just read through some of your older trip reports and noticed that when actually offered PDB of choice you have a tendency to STILL order orange juice. I have to give you a hard time about this because my logic says that if people order OJ or water when given PDB of choice then it sends a message to UA that just offering OJ or water and nothing else is what passengers want. This is the kind of behavior that contributes to UA framing their announcements about “enhancements” with things like “due to customer feedback….”
Any way I can convince you to order ANYTHING except water or OJ when given a choice???
October 20th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Hah, the simple answer is NO!
I don’t usually drink alcohol, so that’s not an option. The last thing I need is more soda while on the ground. So unless it’s a morning flight, I really prefer still water. And I’m betting most people do, which is why those are the two “standard” options. Nonetheless airlines should at the very least accommodate special requests, and for the most part they do, in my experience.
October 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Oliver said,
@HunterSFO — on my first Int’l F flight recently I picked water. Guess I sent the wrong message, too.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
HunterSFO said,
Alright then, well I tried. But don’t go in to the RCC and request half eaten cookies from an 8 year old’s birthday party, okay?
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 am
Brad said,
Ben,
Quick question for you! I have an award ticket to HNL in December. My routing is ORD-SFO-HNL-ORD I have F from SFO-HNL and C on the 747 from HNL-ORD. My question is: there was no NC/NF space on the ORD-SFO segment….am I automatically put on the wait list since I have purchased a C/F award or do I have to do something to get on this wait list?
Thanks!
October 24th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Brad — You’d actually have to manually request to be waitlisted in order to get a premium seat when space opens up. Ideally there will be NC/NF space before departure so you can already clear into it, but otherwise you’d have high priority at the gate for getting any open premium seats. Just call up United and ask to be waitlisted.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Jamie said,
Lucky,
Been following your blog since it’s birth – awesome!! It’s a daily hit with me now.
Anyhow, I’ve booked a trip in F (thanks to the US Airways 100% bonus miles on purchase), LHR-ZRH-PVG-BKK-LHR.
My question is …..
Is it possible to skip the LHR-ZRH and just board in ZRH?
I’ve heard of problems on award tickets when people do this?
Also, when I land in PVG, can I go to BKK a day earlier if I want to?
Do I have tgo phone US Air to change the ticket? If so will there be a fee involved?
3rd … and a question to everyone … I’m looking to take my GF (who lives in Bangkok) somewhere in Asia for 10/11 days.
Hong Kong is first on the list, but where else?
It has to be within 2 or 3 hours flying time of HKG.
Any ideas? Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, etc etc?
October 25th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Many thanks for reading!
Unfortunately you won’t be able to stick the LHR-ZRH segment. If you did they would cancel the rest of your ticket, so it’s pretty risky. As far as going to BKK a day earlier, you would have to make that change with US Airways assuming there’s award availability. I don’t believe there’s a fee if you stick to the same route and airline.
As far as where in Asia to go, that’s a toughie. It all depends what you’re looking for. I’d say Hong Kong is pretty unbeatable as far as cities go. Bali is beautiful, although 10 days might be a bit long unless you enjoy spending a ton of time around the pool or at the beach. Otherwise there are parts of Thailand that might be fun to explore, like Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, etc., so that would probably be the most practical trip to take if you were looking at moving around a bit. Singapore is a bit on the sterile side, and definitely not worth 10-11 days, in my opinion.
Hope that helps!
October 30th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Despina said,
Hi Ben,
I’ve been enjoying your London trip posts and can’t wait to hear your detailed thoughts on the BA all-C class experience.
I have a question please. When calculating one’s EQM, can I include “Fare Bonus” and “Elite Bonus”?
Also, if I am un LH metal in C and I get a “Fare Bonus” will that “Fare Bonus” count towards my EQM?
Thanks very much.
Despina
October 30th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Jamie said,
@ Lucky
Thanks for your reply ….
One more thing… am I missing something here or not?
I can buy 50,000 US Miles for approx $1200.
I can then transfer 30,000 miles to my US account from various sources(PC, Amex etc).
With my 80,000 miles I can then book a C ticket to Japan/China with a stop-over in South Asia. All for the $1200 outlay? Plus taxes of course.
Routing is from Europe by the way.
Can I really do that?
October 31st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Yes, the elite fare bonus counts towards elite status. For premium fares you often get a fare bonus which counts towards elite qualifying miles (for business class on United, for example, it’s 50%) and a fare bonus which counts towards redeemable miles (on United 25%). The same applies for Lufthansa metal flights.
Hope that helps.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Sure, theoretically that’s possible. It was an even better deal when US was selling miles for close to a cent per mile. But you could still make a transfer for the other 30,000, most economically from Starwood. US isn’t a Membership Rewards partner, Priority Club won’t have a good conversion rate, etc.
It’s that simple, though.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Ron said,
Lucky, an update and a new question regarding my question from Oct 17 — remember, I’m flying LAX–TLV on US Airways in December, returning in January, and was debating whether to go for fast track silver on US, or add the miles to United, where I already have a small balance (which turns out to be closer to 12K).
First the update: I got a status match to gold on bmi. This lowers the value of US silver, because bmi gold already gives me many of the benefits (premium check-in, no baggage fees, 25% RDM bonus); pretty much the only advantage left for US silver is domestic upgrades. On the other hand, I now have the option of crediting to bmi, which has some nice features: 25% RDM bonus for the current flight, counting both outbound and return legs towards status for 2011 (since status is based on my anniversary rather than a calendar year), and lower requirements for maintaining status (the 15.5K of the current flight brings me almost up to silver for 2011). Basically my options are as follows.
Credit to US: 15.5K balance, silver for 2010, 7.5K towards 2011 status.
Credit to bmi: 19.5K balance, 15.5K towards 2011 status (with a gold starting point).
Credit to United: 27K balance, 7.5K towards 2011 status.
Still no obvious winner, right?
Now the question: bmi gold gives me lounge access on my upcoming flight, and the Envoy Lounge looks like a nice place to spend the 2-hour layover at PHL. I’m flying with my wife and 2 kids (under 6). Star and bmi rules say I’m allowed to bring 1 guest; US club rules say 2 guests or immediate family, and say nothing specific about Star gold using the US club. So, which rules apply? Do you think it matters whether bmi is also on my boarding pass?
November 4th, 2009 at 10:09 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — That’s a toughie. Let me keep it simple — assuming you can requalify for bmi Gold, that would be your best bet. bmi Gold status is the most valuable between the three options, especially with domestic lounge access. If you don’t think you can requalify, I would credit to US, probably.
Either way you can use your bmi Gold card for lounge access, even if it’s not the frequent flyer number on your boarding pass. As far as the rules go, technically you can only take in one guest. Whether or not they let in the four of you is up to the agent. Many agents would allow it, while others wouldn’t. The immediate family rule only applies to members, as you point out.
Good luck!
November 4th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Ron said,
Lucky — thanks for your advice! I’ll try to access all the lounges on my way, even if I can only enter with 1 child (can’t leave both kids to roam the terminal unattended, unfortunately). I’m fairly certain the 1-guest restriction will be enforced at TLV, where all non–El Al carriers share the same lounges (should be a deserted terminal on a Friday night, with no El Al flights and only 3 late night departures to North America). I’m hopeful for the US lounges — LAX Terminal 1 (incidentally, the only LAX terminal I haven’t been through yet), PHL Envoy Lounge on the way out, PHL on the way back.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Joe said,
Lucky – Any clue why when I check Economy Class seat availability on United.com for a confirmed flight, it shows a ton of open seats, but when I check in and/or ask the gate agent if my row is still open they say “gosh no, we are sold out today”? Are there that many people with unassigned seats that don’t show up on the seating picture on united.com? Thanks
November 4th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Joe — It’s all a function of the route. On flights where lots of people book codeshares, like IAD-JFK (because people are connecting to all kinds of international airlines), there are often lots of unassigned seats even though the flight is sold out. But often it’s BS on the part of the gate agent. I hear “we’re completely full” all the time, yet the flight is only 75% full. Keep in mind that there’s often also a long standby list, so those passengers would fill the empty seats.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:09 am
sam said,
hey lucky, following the advice given on upgrd a while back, i just got my BMI status match, and i was just checking out the program.
from my understanding of the program rules. F class on UA earns 300% miles, add that to the 25% bonus. So you have 325% RDM and 325% EQM for a domestic F ticket.
Plus since any EQMs after 55,000 are converted to RDMs, you’re effectively earning 750% on F tickets. Ive seen some $600 trancon in F, that’s 7000 miles would get you 52500 RDMs or 1.14 CPM.
So did i mess up my calculations somewhere, if not, the i don’t understand why everyone isn’t crediting to BMI.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
lucky said,
@ sam — I believe it’s actually 625% on F tickets after 55,000 miles (325% RDM’s and 300% EQM’s), but it might be 650%. Either way, it is a stunningly good deal. You’re not missing anything.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Jamie said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for your reply so quick.
Just as I was about to buy 50K US miles, they came out with the 100% promo again, so I jumped in quick!
I got LHR-FRA-PEK-BKK-LHR in F.
Hope I made a wise choice.
Anyhow, as I’ll be arriving into FRA at midday and the flight out is at 5pm, I’d love some advice on the First Class Terminal.
Maybe you could do a report on it or something. I presume you have been to it?
Or maybe we can get people to add to the report?
BY the way, if your in NYC on Nov 21st, let me know. I’m meeting up with a FT’er for dinner, come join in!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Mike said,
@ Jamie – I’m sure Lucky will give you a more detailed response, but check out the link below.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2008/08/20/trip-report-lufthansa-first-to-europe-including-the-first-class-terminal-part-two/
November 7th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Sounds like a fantastic award! I’m sure you’ll enjoy Lufthansa first class and Thai first class, especially the BKK lounge and spa (where you’re entitled to an hour long massage). Thanks to Mike for jumping in and providing the link. That’s the most recent review I have of the terminal. It really is quite nice, and five hours should pass in no time. Be sure not to eat too much in the lounge, as there’s plenty aboard as well! Enjoy your trip.
Wish I were in NY then, but sadly I already know I’ll be down in FL that weekend. Hopefully next time.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Iceman said,
Staying at an IC for the first time in a while and had a quick question about the room types. What’s the typical difference between a junior executive suite and a junior suite? Is it possible to be in a suite and not have club level access?
November 12th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Iceman — What hotel are you staying at? Each hotel categorizes their rooms differently, and at some hotels it might mean a big difference, while not so much at other hotels. In general I would assume an “executive junior suite” means that it’s slightly larger. It is possible to be in a suite without club access at IC’s. It all depends on the policy of the property. Some hotels automatically give club access to guests that book suites, while others don’t.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Jamie said,
Lucky … not many people have been able to answer this (partly because no one REALLY knows), so I want your take on it …
I want to buy 50K US miles while the 100% promo is still on, to travel to Japan in F (100K miles).
Now … I can only travel after 1st Jan 2011.
That means I won’t be able to book the award until at least February (due to awards only being released 330 days out).
By then of course, the US “customer enhancement to their award chart” becomes effective. Although there’s no specific mention of *A being it I’m wary!
So, I have 4 choices from what I can see ….
1. Buy miles now and HOPE *A awards don’t increase in value and book in Feb if they don’t.
2. Buy miles now. If they do increase the awards, transfer miles into it from somewhere.
3. Book miles now and book award travel now for late 2010. Wait a few months, pay $250 change fee and book on my confirmed dates in 2011.
4. Wait until Feb, and see what changes have been made. By then though I miss out on 100% bonus miles.
No 3 seems ideal to me at the moment, however, if I do this AND the award miles increase for *A, will I not have to “get” the extra miles, even though I’m changing the award booking, and not “booking” it?
Thanks for your time so much lucky.
I’m just so tempted to get the miles now, as I can F to Japan, with a stopover for approx £800, which IMO is a complete steal.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
RDimperio said,
@Jamie In this case USAirways gave two months notice of award chart changes. Maybe you gamble, buy the miles (x2) now and keep watch. I’d save the $250 now and see what happens.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
lucky said,
@ Jamie — I would go with option one. Rumor has it Star Alliance award prices aren’t changing, which would be fantastic news. Option three wouldn’t really help you, because your ticket is only valid for one year. If you book now for travel late next year, you wouldn’t be able to change the ticket to the following year. You would essentially be paying the change fee to redeposit and then rebook, paying whatever the current prices are.
Good luck, this is a steal….
November 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I just noticed this morning that 2 CR1′s just randomly showed up in my MP account today. Of course I’m not complaining, but I have NO IDEA why they put them in there. Any thoughts? While Hyatt has a tendency to do this kind of thing, UA typically doesn’t – usually UA tells you they are going to do stuff like that. Hyatt has stuck a free night and a free confirmed suite upgrade in my account that I still have no idea where they came from…
November 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Are you sure they weren’t your third or fourth quarter CR1′s? They were supposed to post today, as it’s the second Saturday of the month. Mine posted today as well, so I’m betting that’s it.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – another question. I just opened my business account and CO debit card at chase for another 25,000 miles and 20 mileathon points. The terms and conditions state that $500 must be deposited within the first (30?) days but I’m wondering if that’s IN ADDITION to the opening deposit (was over $500) or if the opening deposit counts. What did you do?
November 17th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a question on the current Hyatt promotion. You have the choice of either a free night after each 2nd stay or 3000 bonus points on each stay. Which option do you think makes more sense?
I’m assuming that the points don’t expire as long as the account is active, but I’d have to use the free nights by March 2010, and don’t have any specific plans. How does 6000 points compare to a free night? I have a fair amount of stays lined up in the next couple of weeks for business and would like to take the most advantage of the promo.
Thanks.
November 17th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — The opening deposit counts. I only deposited a total of $500 into the account when I opened it, and that got me all the miles. Enjoy!
November 18th, 2009 at 12:01 am
lucky said,
@ David — In this case, assuming you could find the time to go somewhere, I would definitely go with the free nights. Upper end Hyatt hotels typically go for 18,000 points a night, so you’re getting quite a bit more value out of that than 6,000 points. Of course that assumes you can use it for a Grand/Park Hyatt. So I would definitely try and find some time to take a quick vacation and earn the free nights.
Hope that helps.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:56 am
HunterSFO said,
@David – I’d recommend you really look at your travel patterns. With Hyatt I’ve noticed that category 1 hotels are not bad for mileage runs and business trips. Typically they are as nice as the Hilton Category 3 hotels I’ve stayed at. A Category 1 Hyatt property is only 6,000 points per night. Most of the Hyatts in the US that are not Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites fall in to Category 3 or 4 and are quite nice. there are very few Cateogry 5 Hyatts in the lower 48 states – Andaz WeHo, Park Hyatt DC and Chicago are the ones that come to mind. Also remember that you can redeem 6,000 points for a suite upgrade – so if you are the kind of person who will pay cash for the cheapest room and then want an upgrade to a “ballerfic suite” that might make the points option worth it. Also, points can be redeemed for suites or club rooms by paying a few more points, whereas the free nights only give you a standard room. Of course diamond members would get the free standard room upgraded to club in most cases and in some rare cases to a suite..,. I chose the points option simply because I have trips planned in april and june so the march expiration for the free nights would be a problem for me.
@Lucky – hope i didn’t step on toes, but I wanted to provide an opposing viewpoint that could apply to some people…
November 18th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
David said,
@Lucky and @HunterSFO
I appreciate the advice. My concern is the March expiration date. I tend to be very busy and not able to get away when I want to. The upgrade option is nice and I suppose Gold Passport points can be converted into air miles as well. If I was planning a trip to NYC or Europe, the free nights would make more sense as the rates are much, much higher than the Cat 1 CONUS hotels. Hmmm.
Well, my first run of stays is this Sunday, so I’ll have till then to think about it. Thanks again.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 am
Alex said,
Lucky -
Debating whether to push for Delta Gold status this year. I fly a lot, but live in a small town (CHO) and end up splitting travel up typically by whatever airline makes the most sense schedule/cost-wise.
This year I flew enough segments to make both Delta and US Silver on segments, plus a whole bunch of others, but with the Delta bonus MQMs I’m only 18k short of Gold on miles. I could probably push to get the rest (have a transcon flight to make in a week, could do it in 1st plus add the Reserve Card). Just wondering if it’s worth it?
Let me add that for me, Delta are the most valuable FF miles – I know that’s strange, but it’s how it works out for me with my leisure flight patterns. That’s also mostly because US redemption is TERRIBLE for domestic.
Anyway, the question remains is it worth it to push to Gold, and what’s the easiest way to pick up the 18k MQMs. Any thoughts appreciated.
/A
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
lucky said,
@ Alex — That’s a toughie. In general I’d say it’s worth it, but on the other hand 18K MQM’s is a lot, especially without a double elite qualifying miles promotion. Another factor playing in here is rollover miles. If your travel patterns for next year look decent, you can always start the year with some extra miles and then go back to Gold, but on the other hand you’d be losing out on the Gold mileage bonus.
This is a toughie. Given how late in the year it is, the fact that Delta doesn’t have a double EQM’s promotion, and rollover miles, I would probably just sit tight and wait till next year to get back to Gold.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:45 am
Halothane said,
Ben,
I need 10,700 EQMs to make it to 175K this year. Would you pull the trigger and book a $270 MR to get to the 175K to get the 25K RDMs from Elite Choice or would you just let it go?
December 1st, 2009 at 10:16 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Absolutely go for it. You’ll be earning over 35,000 redeemable miles for $270, which is less than 0.8 cents per mile. Do it, do it, do it!
December 1st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
shawn said,
Lucy, how do you get “sandwiches and snacks for free anyway.”
December 4th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Hey! Need some ideas from you. I know you’re much more creative than I am. I’m looking to take my parents to Europe in C over the week of Thanksgiving in 2010. I’m going to be using US Airways miles to avoid *net blocking of UA.
We will be going to LHR and then will probably do a stopover either in Switzerland or Germany…I’ve not decided yet. Do you have an creative ideas for routing options? I want to avoid UA if at all possible. I was thinking about AC YYZ-LHR and then possibly LH from FRA-ORD. I couldn’t come up with anything better.
What are your thoughts?
Halothane
December 5th, 2009 at 12:43 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Sounds like a fun trip! There are a couple of practical options. My number one choice would be Swiss, especially if you can get their new business class product, which is fantastic. The food, seat, service, and entertainment are among the best out there.
In general I think Air Canada is a great choice, although there’s one reason to avoid them — from YYZ the flight is just too short in my opinion. I’d rather route through ORD and get a half decent nap instead of having a flight that’s most likely under six hours.
As much as I love Lufthansa, I would avoid them on the eastbound flight. The seats just aren’t that comfortable for sleeping. For a redeye I’d actually take new United business over Lufthansa business.
One other option which will no doubt sound crazy. The new Envoy Suites on US Airways look really good, almost like international first class seats. While I doubt I’d continue to fly them in the long run, I’d love to try out the product just to have experienced it. The seats look great, so I’d take that for the eastbound flight, although I’m betting the food and to a large extent service leaves quite a bit to be desired.
Hope that helps!
December 5th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Ron said,
Lucky,
I’ll be inaugurating my bmi gold card (status match) on a flight LAX–BOS–LAX on United next week. What lounges should I settle into? At LAX I believe I should be able to access the RCC in terminal 7 and the Presidents Club in terminal 6, as all the other Star lounges are in distant terminals without connection behind security. I’m less familiar with Logan (last time I passed through was in 1982), but from what I can tell, is it true that there’s no connection between the terminals behind security? So this means no Senator Lounge?
Also, are there any arrival facilities at Logan? I’ll be stepping off a red-eye onto the T and straight to work, and would appreciate a chance to freshen up
December 5th, 2009 at 11:09 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Enjoy bmi Gold! You’re correct, at LAX you should be able to use the Presidents Club or the Red Carpet Club. I haven’t been to BOS for years so really couldn’t tell you, but I’d stick to the Red Carpet Club. Sadly there’s not an arrivals facility, but in theory you could use a departure lounge but only if you had an outbound boarding pass, which it doesn’t sound like you would. Besides, lounges in the US rarely allow a chance to freshen up, so you’re not really missing out.
Happy travels!
December 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky. No outbound boarding pass on arrival — I’ll be spending 2 nights in Boston. Oh well. At least I have a Starbuck’s gift certificate
December 7th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Ron said,
Hey Lucky, you should have told me that there are no bathrooms at the LAX Red Carpet Club!
I had to make a u-turn out as soon as I got in. Also, it turns out their free local calls don’t include area code 562 (Long Beach), which is a bit lame. At this point a hard-core traveler would probably ditch the place and go to the Presidents Club, but I didn’t feel like trekking over to terminal 6 and back. Other than the above two shortcomings, the club was nice — I sat there for close to an hour, drinking decaf and munching on snacks right in front of my departing plane from gate 70A.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Halothane said,
Lucky, do you have any ideas for ex-Europe to BKK routings? I have been trying to get into TG F but UA seems to be utilizing *net blocking. I’m on an F award to Asia via Europe for 145,000 miles. I’ve got the following segments
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-FRA LH C
FRA-BKK LH C
I already have a TG F segment to HKG and on the return I have a LH F TATL and have a segment on TK F from HKG-IST. The only other thing I can think of is to try and get my FRA-BKK segment on LH F so that I can have access to the First Class Terminal in F.
Do you have any creative routing ideas for ex-Europe to BKK?
Thanks!
Halothane
December 10th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Ron said,
Lucky, I’m confused about the upgrade order on United. On the way back from Boston I was flying with a colleague who is Premier Exec, and who tried to upgrade using miles. She was number 10 on the upgrade list with 9 open seats, so she ended up in economy plus. Aren’t mileage upgrades supposed to be processed ahead of the free instruments? Does it make sense that 9 people on a ~70% full 757 from BOS to LAX would try to upgrade with miles?
December 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Halothane — Wow, amazed you got that US to Asia via Europe for 145,000 miles in first class! Wasn’t aware that was allowed, or maybe it’s not and you just got a clueless agent. Looks great so far, though.
Unfortunately all flights out of Europe are consistently blocked on Thai, so you’re out of luck there. Though if you’re flying them from BKK-HKG, that’s all you really need to fly on them to get the full first class experience. It’s all about the ground service, so be sure to enjoy the massage, lounge, and being escorted all around.
As far as airlines and products go, you seem to have ‘em all covered! My first choice would probably be LX followed by TK followed by LH. Swiss just has the best in-flight product, in my opinion, so if you can fly them even more I’d go for it. As long as you’re not in a rush I think Turkish is great, although they’re always late and the service really isn’t fantastic (though I love the food and hard product). Lufthansa is always predictable, on-time, and all around good.
Other than that there aren’t really any options. OZ doesn’t have much Europe-Asia with three cabins, NH is nearly impossible in F, so that doesn’t leave very many options.
Good luck!
December 10th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — At the airport upgrades are sorted first by status, then by fare class, and then by time added to the waitlist, so the order she was processed in sounds right. Keep in mind that 500 milers aren’t really “free” upgrades. Some people purchase them. Along the same lines, some people use systemwide upgrades and confirmed regional upgrades. Before departure management the order is a bit different, as upgrades are sorted by the “priority A” and “priority B” waitlist.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky. I wasn’t aware of the “priority A” and “priority B” waitlists, but now that I’ve read about them I see that the order is the opposite of what I would expect — upgrade instruments are processed before mileage upgrade awards! I would have thought that miles would be treated on par with cash, just like award tickets are considered to be revenue tickets. But if I understand the A/B priorities then I guess my thinking was wrong, and United does not want to encourage people to burn their miles on upgrades. (??)
December 14th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
ET said,
Lucky – although i know you’re not omniscient, i wanted to pick your brain about RA upgrades at the IC SF MH if an RA were to book a 1 Bd suite. It looks like there are a lot of suites above that. Would it be okay to email ahead and try requesting a specific suite if available?
December 14th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
lucky said,
@ ET — Absolutely! Emailing the hotel in advance is always a great idea. Nothing wrong with mentioning what you plan on booking and asking what you would be upgraded to, or even doing a bit of old fashion negotiating. Also, if you’re celebrating something special with your stay it wouldn’t hurt to throw that in either. Hope you have a great stay!
December 17th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
PWMFlyer19 said,
Lucky (or anyone else) – I am flying BA from US to UK and therefore can not credit to AA. Do you have a recommendation on another oneworld carrier that might be best to credit to (Finnair, Mexicana, etc) ? I am thinking of just crediting to BA and maybe using the miles intra-Europe sometime when back in London (which is not infrequent).
Just want to make sure I am not missing some thing. I have SPG Amex, so I can always move miles somewhere to top off an account.
Thanks.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I’m currently trying to decide what my hotel strategy will be for 2010 as I am about to book my January business travel. I’ve heard you speak very highly of Intercontinental Royal Ambassador but I’d like to know more specifically why you chose that program over all the others. Here are some questions that dig into what I’m wondering about:
1. Do you mostly stay at IC branded properties (for your required 50-60 nights/year for requalification) since the benefits don’t apply to other PC properties? How much does doing that usually cost? I typically spend $50-$90 / night on my average mileage runs. Won’t that limit me to HIX and the like?
2. It seems like many of the benefits i’m interested in may not apply at all properties. I want to make sure I get club access or at least a hot breakfast on every stay – Hyatt guarantees that to me. What could I expect as a RA if staying at IC branded properties, and also would it be different at other PC properties as a PC platinum member?
3. Is internet free?
4. Upgrades seem to be very nebulous to me in the RA program. I guess ambassadors get “1 category” and as an “unwritten rule” RAs get “2 categories” but sometimes suites. What has your experience generally been with upgrades? I’ve been very happy with the upgrade aspect of Hyatt’s program – especially being able to confirm suite upgrades at time of booking either with points or diamond certificates. Also do you get upgrades on award stays? I also like being able to confirm a suite with points at time of booking on an award stay at Hyatt.
5. Early Check-in/late check-out has been the one HUGE weak point with Hyatt. Usually they are very stingy with late checkout sometimes only offering 1pm. 2pm seems to be the most common. Early check-in is even tougher for me at Hyatt. Given the mileage running I do, it would be really nice to have. How has that experience been for you as a RA?
6. how lucrative are the points promos? I hear that they are good but that doesn’t really give me a tangible idea. With 50-60 revenue nights/year and trying to take advantage of many promos in true flyertalk fashion, would I earn enough points to redeem for 5 nights at a property in the highest redemption category? More? Less?
7. Service at Hyatt has ranged from “decent, absolutely no complaints” to “outstanding”. Minus the SNAFU with my suite upgrade at GH NY. This includes my $43/night stays at category 1 “hyatt place” properties. I know service is generally fantastic at IC hotels (is that consistent though?) How would you say service has been with PC once you are staying at lower end properties like HIX and Crowne plaza? With Hilton I’ve had absolutely abysmal service at some properties – to the point where I got a refund.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
lucky said,
@ PWMFlyer19 — Great question, unfortunately without a great answer (at least not from me). US to UK on BA is definitely a tough spot to be in as far as crediting miles go. The only alternative I can think of would be crediting to Alaska Mileage Plan, although that only potentially makes sense if you’re on a full fare ticket. They’re partners with virtually every airline, so it’s great to dump “miscellaneous” miles there. Unfortunately they only provide 25% miles on non-full fare tickets, so it probably doesn’t make sense. British Airways isn’t *that* bad of a program to credit miles to given the circumstances. They’re also transfer partners with SPG, so if you keep building up miles with them you can always top off an account that way. I’d just go with that.
Sorry for not having a better answer.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Wow, what a loaded question! Not even sure where to begin on that one. For what it’s worth, I find InterContinental Royal Ambassador to be the best top tier status level due to the value of the benefits that are guaranteed. That being said, a major challenge with InterContinental is the huge gap between InterContinental hotels and other Priority Club properties, not to mention the inconsistency in terms of benefits received at those hotels.
At InterContinental hotels I’ve always found the service to be phenomenal. As a Royal Ambassador you usually get special check-in at the Ambassador desk, and always get a welcome gift, GUARANTEED 8AM check-in and 4PM late check-out (this is a huge benefit, in my opinion), free consumption of the drinks in the minibar, and a two level upgrade. Hotels are typically pretty consistent about the upgrades they give Royal Ambassadors, which is nice. I can email a hotel and they’ll tell me exactly what kind of upgrade I get. That doesn’t always translate to an upgrade to the club level or a suite, but it’s usually one or the other and often both. Because of this it’s easy to stick to the good properties and avoid the bad ones as far as treatment goes. Internet isn’t free at all InterContinental hotels, although is at a good number of them.
When staying at IC hotels, though, I’ve always felt like a bit of a Global Services compared to status with other hotel chains. Overall they do a great job, in my opinion. The points earning opportunities are also great. While they don’t have anything quite as rewarding as Hyatt Faster Free Nights, racking up points through the various promotions is a piece of cake. With 50 or 60 nights you should easily earn enough for five or more nights at a top tier hotel. Sometimes IC even has top hotels available through “PointBreaks,” whereby hotels cost 5,000 points instead of 30,000-40,000.
Now the problems — you won’t get the same consistent “basic” elite benefits you get at Hyatt hotels such as free internet and club access. If you value the consistency that comes with that, IC probably isn’t for you. Along the same lines, the locations are limited and at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza properties you’re just treated as a “Platinum,” which doesn’t guarantee you anything. You’ll sometimes get a suite upgrade, sometimes free breakfast, or sometimes nothing, but it does vary hotel to hotel. Many of my stays are at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels, although they’re typically only quick overnights so all I care about is a clean bed and earning lots of points. Sometimes they only recognize me as a Priority Club member, while other times they’ll roll out the red carpet. Otherwise I basically plan my travels around the locations of IC properties.
Another frustration with Royal Ambassador is that the qualification criteria aren’t published. So you could be at 50 nights for the year and not be invited, which is frustrating when you’ve been working towards it for so long.
Anyway, given that you just started with Hyatt I’d quite frankly stick with them for the time being. They have a great program and it’s a close second for me to InterContinental. Now that you have the status enjoy it, as working towards Royal Ambassador would be quite a bit of work. But it’s always something to keep in mind.
Anyway, hope that helps and let me know if you have any more qustions.
December 21st, 2009 at 7:56 am
Alex said,
Lucky -
You helped me book an award ticket (wonderfully, I might add) from IAD to HNL on DL through MSP in May ’10, to take advantage of the better configuration FC seats. I was wondering how you’d compare that flight/service to the new CLT-HNL non-stop service on US?
That flight is a much more convenient connection for us (no long drive to IAD), and I’m taking advantage of the big US shopping promotion, as well as a Buy Up (company-funded) to either *P or CP on US this year.
Curious if you think it’s a better option.
Thanks!
December 21st, 2009 at 10:33 am
Puck said,
Hi Lucky – as a still-learning mileage runner, I’ve got two questions:
First, a question about matching status. I’m currently 1P on UA, and pretty much think of it as my “primary” airline – I’d like to make a concentrated run at 1K in the next year or two. I’m also Gold on AA. I only occasionally fly AA (just enough to maintain Gold status, never enough to hit Platinum) and will be booking a big award ticket with them in the next year. I’d like to approach AA and ask for a status match, but I’m unsure of how to do this, how likely the chances are of success, and if there are any downsides to doing this. Getting a match to Platinum would be great, really might encourage me to fly them a little more, and would make the upcoming award travel a little more pleasant. Are there any downsides to status matching? Do I get penalized by UA in any way (I suspect not)? Is there an argument that this isn’t “worth it” and that I should just grab some extra AA flights next year to try and hop up to Platinum status? Should I wait until I reach 1K on United (likely another year or so) before trying for a status match? And, of course, what do I actually do/say/write to them to request such a thing? What do you typically get out of a successful “match”? Will AA even do this for UA status?
Second, I earn a lot of my UA and AA miles by flying internationally for work, in coach. I’ve got a lot of 500-mile upgrades bopping around that are useless for upgrading these trips (currently I just stockpile them for use on frankly-not-worth-it upgrades to and from HNL – why aren’t there more three-class planes on the HNL routes??). Again, I’m pretty new at this, so I’m unsure: how does one get/earn systemwide upgrades that can be used on international travel? Are these something I can ask for as compensation during a bump? Do I just wait and work to earn them after becoming a 1K or equivalent? Are there any tricks of the trade that I’ve missed somehow regarding these?
Thanks for the advice, and I love the blog!
December 21st, 2009 at 2:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Alex — Great question! Up front I should say that I haven’t tried either product, but I think I’ve read enough about them to give a reasonable answer. They’re both great options. The NW A333 will be in better shape than the US B767, both in terms of “freshness” of the cabin, entertainment, and seats. Nonetheless US does offer their international business class product, which is solid for Hawaii. The service other than that should be quite similar as far as I can tell. In your shoes I’d go with whichever connection is more convenient or whichever award is cheaper, because you’ll arrive well rested either way. And now that I look at it, award availability is surprisingly good for CLT-HNL up front. Enjoy the trip!
December 21st, 2009 at 2:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Puck — First let’s talk about status matching in general. It’s important to keep in mind that if an airline status matches, it’s “once in a lifetime,” so only do so if you have a good use for it. Typically you’ll want to write a letter to the airline stating how you want to shift some more business to the airline assuming you get status matched. You can give reasons such as a change in travel patterns, a new corporate policy, or being fed up with your old airline and having heard so many good things about the airline you’re matching to. There’s a thread in the “MilesBuzz!” forum on FlyerTalk which has all the addresses, fax numbers, etc., of airlines when it comes to status matching.
That being said, American doesn’t status match. They’re the only legacy that consistently doesn’t, actually. They offer “challenges,” whereby you can fly a certain amount in 90 days and be offered either Gold or Platinum status. In your case, you’d need 10,000 points in 90 days to get a Platinum match. These used to be free, but unfortunately they charge for them now. In your shoes I’d actually focus on United for now. I’m not sure what you see as the benefit of Platinum status when it comes to booking an award, unless you plan on booking an international coach award ticket and want lounge access or something like that. Getting to top tier on United would be much more valuable, in my opinion.
As far as international upgrades go, you earn six systemwide upgrades with United for making it to 1K, and then two more for every 50,000 elite qualifying miles beyond 1K. Other status levels don’t earn them. Through January you can upgrade all “H” class fares on United internationally with miles, but after that there will be co-pays in addition to miles, so it won’t be cheap to upgrade business trips. So for the time being focus on getting 1K so you can get systemwide upgrades and make your travels more comfortable.
Hope that helps!
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Sara said,
Hi Ben,
Just a quick “What Would Ben Do?” question. I made 1K last Friday when the final DEQM posted. I had a trip to STL on Sunday (AA) and returned Monday (UA). When I printed my boarding pass – it printed 1P. I thought we no longer had to call and have our new status reentered on upcoming itineraries??
I have an award booking leaving 12/27 and I want to make sure my new status is included. Would you call and check? I’m flying RNO-SFO on UA and SFO-FRA & FRA- MAN on LH — in case that matters.
Thanks for your help!
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Sara — Congrats on making 1K! Typically the status updates automatically. It might not have been quite enough given that there were only a few days between you making 1K and the trip, but I would assume it will print correctly for your trip next week. If it doesn’t when you check-in just have them re-enter the number, but it really should do so automatically.
December 24th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Sean said,
I have a question about taxes/fees for award redemption in premium cabins. All of my past award tickets have been in Y, for two reasons: (a) I didn’t have many miles to work with, and (b) I was always under the impression that C and F awards, in addition to requiring more miles, incurred substantially higher taxes/fees than Y awards. I’m about to start a new job that will require frequent travel and I’ve been reevaluating my earn and burn strategies. I read recently in an FT thread that for AA awards taxes/fees should be the same for all classes of awards, with flights to LHR as a notable exception. This causes me to question my assumption that premium travel redemption necessarily requires substantial supplemental taxes/fees (over and above what one for pay for a Y award). What’s the real story?
December 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Sean — I’m happy to report that for the most part, taxes and fees are the same for premium awards as they are for coach awards. Some places like the UK charge a “luxury tax,” but frankly even that is minimal compared to the added benefits of premium cabin awards. While a business class revenue ticket is often ten times the price of a coach ticket, it’s often less than double the miles. But for virtually every US frequent flier program you’re in luck, as you won’t pay a premium for a premium cabin award. Enjoy, as burning miles for travel up front is the way to go.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
HunterSFO said,
…so I was just about to get VDB’d on 12/24 SFO-LAX. Then at the last second this lady that had been paging shows up. In front of me they ask her if she will voluntarily re-route through DEN instead of LAX (without compensation) and she says yes. Then they tell me “sorry we don’t need your seat.” First of all the lady should have said “no – not without compensation” but she was stupid (seating area 4) and agreed to do it for free. Second I had higher status as a 1K so shouldn’t I have gotten priority? They already had re-routed like 6 other people NOT to go through LAX. It made me so mad! None of them were on the departure management list for VDB and none asked for any compensation to give up their seats.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — I’ve been in that situation once or twice before as well, and it can be frustrating. At the same time, I have to give the gate agents (and United) credit for doing this, as it’s a smart business decision. Why compensate someone that’s happy to reroute for free, especially when it might get them home earlier? It allows United to maximize revenue while not compensating passengers for something that genuinely doesn’t inconvenience them. While I hate it as a passenger looking for bumps, I think it does make sense. Since they’re not denying them boarding in exchange for compensation, you really wouldn’t get any priority as a 1K unless you wanted to reroute for free as well.
Of course we can sort of fight back. One way would be to inform the passengers being rerouted that they would get a free ticket if they didn’t accept the reroute for free, as the flight is oversold. Of course this might tick off the gate agent and result in us not getting the bump out of anger on their part.
Fortunately for us I haven’t seen this happen too often. At the end of the day getting bumped isn’t really a privilege, so it’s tough for me to get too angry about it….
December 27th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
HunterSFO said,
If you fly SFO-SYD-LAX then LAX-SFO and only stay in SYD for less than 12 hours, can you do SFO-SYD-LAX on only one SWU and then just use an e500 for LAX-SFO?
December 27th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Yes, no, maybe so. I’ve heard of it working for a similar itinerary, but then sometimes it doesn’t. Really is a crapshoot, not nearly as reliable as it is with domestic itineraries.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
HunterSFO said,
what is the world coming to if we can’t rely on .bomb to screw up???
December 28th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
HunterSFO said,
@Lucky – I should have clarified that once I knew I wouldn’t get VDB I tried to get them to re-route me on the flight she previously said I would be re-accomodated on to SD. I cancelled my drinks plans at LAX with a friend because the agent made it sound like I would get VDB’d. The non-stop to SAN would have gotten me in to SAN early enough to drive my disabled sister home (she was flying WN) rather than her having to wait in the wheelchair for a family member to come pick her up. The agent only wanted to re-route the other pax through DEN and NOT me non-stop to SAN.
I also understand that it’s a good business practice on UA’s part. I think it makes a lot of their customers happy and shows that the GAs are actually proactively solving problems. I just would rather get VDB’d, so I didn’t like it. Technically they were VDB’ing those folks though – its just that if the PAX will arrive within a short enough time of their original planned arrival time (or earlier than originally planned) they legally don’t have to be compensated. I do think they should have had to go by status though. But I get that I wasn’t “entitled” to be VDB’d or else I would have complained to UA after the fact. I do think they should have given me the option to go non-stop to SAN rather than re-route the other lady through DEN though. I’m guessing her DEN flight had more empty seats than my SAN flight though.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
JOSH said,
BEN,
HAPPY NEW YEARS TO YOU!
JOSH
December 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Mike M said,
Hey lucky Ben
Hi !
Do you consider the miles you earn from all that flying on United worth it?
I am contemplating a switch from another *A carrier, which does not do starnet block, and will pretty much book anything as long as there is inventory available.
However – United works for the places I need to go very nicely. Which is why I am considering the switch. I don’t want to switch and find myself with a lot of miles, that are worthless.
Also what do you consider most valuable from the 1K status? The 6 SWUs or the the perks that come with it?
December 28th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — In this case United wouldn’t even record those passengers as VDBs when it comes to their statistics. They would just record them as voluntary reroutes, much like someone being confirmed on a different routing by an agent. I agree they should have offered to put you on a different routing, though. I’m guessing since you were (rightfully) expecting compensation, they would have felt bad putting you on a different routing without doing anything else.
December 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
lucky said,
@ JOSH — Happy new year to you too…. is there a question there?
December 28th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike M — Great question. The lure of Mileage Plus used to be the amazing award chart back before Starnet blocking and the other recent “enhancements.” I remember back in the day I kept burning United miles because the deals were just too good. 90,000 miles for business class to Australia or Asia or 120,000 miles for first class to Australia or Asia was just incredible. Then they slowly inflated the award chart and added Starnet blocking, which makes it a somewhat unattractive program in that regard, at least compared to a few of the other options out there.
That being said, I love everything else about United, Mileage Plus, and elite recognition/treatment. United does a good job of taking care of their elites, both at the airport (in terms of treatment) and after the fact (via customer service should there be an issue). The systemwides are great, the confirmed regional upgrades rock, and with those two confirmable instruments in place I’m quite happy about the unlimited domestic upgrades that are coming.
Assuming you’re flying United metal I would definitely credit to Mileage Plus. If you’re flying a variety of Star Alliance airlines, I’d go with another program.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:16 am
magiciansampras said,
Hey Lucky, we need to fly to CAI from BOS in May and we’re flexible on the timing. We were thinking of maybe doing a stopover in Europe for a couple of nights before heading to the Middle East. We want to be able to upgrade on United (I’m a 1K) and therefore fly UA metal as much as possible but also keep the costs down if possible.
Any suggested routings we should look at? We thought about doing something like IAD-KWI-DXB-CAI but the IAD-Middle East routes are all on old config 777s. I think it would be better to transit through Europe on a new config, rest for a day or two, and then continue to CAI likely in coach.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Despina said,
Hi Lucky, any truth to the rumors of LH installing new F seats in 2010?
Hope to see you in SF.
December 29th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Jealous of the visit to CAI, I really want to go! I agree with your conclusion, I’d go with the new config. Ideally I would suggest going through FRA or ZRH. Lufthansa flies three cabin planes out of FRA for the connection to CAI, as does Swiss out of ZRH. While you’d be in coach, you have a better shot at an op-up, and ultimately larger planes are more comfortable and the product is more “full service.” Of course the mileage slut in me also suggests connecting through ORD if possible to maximize mileage.
Enjoy the trip!
December 29th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Lufthansa will be unveiling new first class seats on the A380 when it starts service. As far as the reconfiguration of other planes goes, I’m not entirely sure. I believe they have a project in the works for updating the A330/340 first class cabins, but I’m not entirely sure about the 747. It might be tough for them to do anything there, given that the upper deck limits the type of seats that can be installed without wasting too much space.
Their hard product definitely could use some improvement, though, so I’m anxiously waiting to see what they come up with. I’m a huge fan of Lufthansa, so they’d be in Singapore and Cathay’s league if they came out with something good, in my opinion.
December 29th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
JOSH said,
BEN,
Do you know if CO still match 1K status.
JOSH
January 4th, 2010 at 11:37 am
rktoledo said,
I have a seven day hotel reservation with Sheraton hotels that will occur in a couple weeks. I made the reservation back in July. I need to modify the reservation to shorten my stay by one day. Starwood’s website will only allow me to modify the reservation if I cancel the reservation first. If I do this, then I lose the discount rate that was available back in July. What are the ramifications of keeping the reservation and checking out one day early? Any penalty fees or other negatives to be aware of ?What is the best way to handle this? Thanks,
January 6th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Anna said,
Hey Lucky!
So I am new to the whole “travel miles” and “travel points” thing and I am trying to travel to Thailand (I used to live there) this summer on limited funds. I can apply, at most, to two credit cards, I would think (I’m only nineteen and I have had a credit card only used for emergencies, all payments made on time and in full) because of my age/minimal credit. How can I maximize my mile points in any way possible to cover the airplane ticket cost for this trip, which I cannot afford? Do you have specific articles you have written or anyone else that would help me? What do you suggest I do at this point?
January 6th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Despina said,
Hi Ben,
According to someone I know at United, they are going to start reconfiguring the 777′s this month. I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but you are my best source of information
so I am wondering when you think they will be done with the fleet. Just wondering as I need to decide whether to take LH or UA to FRA in August. UA 900/901 don’t work as well for us as UA926/927 and the LH flights to MUN.
Enjoy SF!
Despina
January 6th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
lucky said,
@ rktoledo — Great question I’ve been mulling over for a few days, but sadly I don’t have a great answer. If it’s a pre-paid stay I’d say you’re out of luck in terms of getting your money back for the last night. Otherwise, what’s the cancellation policy of the reservation? If you can cancel up until the day of you *should* be able to just cancel the last day when you’re at the hotel. In your shoes I would give SPG a call and see if they can contact the hotel on your behalf and take care of your modification. Otherwise contact the hotel directly. Unless it’s pre-paid I don’t see this being much of an issue, frankly. Good luck!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Anna — Sounds like a great trip! It should be possible to do this with a little bit of work and save quite a bit of money. In general I’d say American Citi cards are the way to go, but it would take slightly more than two new cards (which get you 60,000 miles) to get this to work, as it costs 70,000 miles in coach.
The way to go would probably be Continental, as an award to Thailand will be 65,000 miles. With a little bit of work you should be able to earn those miles. First open a business and personal checking account, which will get you 50,000 miles for about $100 in fees. You can read all about that here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2009/08/04/just-earned-25000-onepass-miles/
Just open the business account as a sole proprietorship, with the name of the business being your name. This shouldn’t hit your credit, really, since they’re not credit cards. Then just apply for one credit card, like this one:
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/products/chase/continental.aspx?offer=WL35&mkid=6WLQ
That should be enough to get you to Thailand with considerable savings. Hope it works out and let me know if you need any more information.
January 6th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — I’m a realist and not a PR guy, so I’m going to say it’s rather unlikely. I would expect the project to take at *least* 18 months (I would guess longer), so not even a third of the 777 fleet will be reconfigured by then. Now Lufthansa business class isn’t exactly fantastic either in terms of seat comfort, so it *might* be worth a gamble.
Good luck and sorry I’ll miss you this weekend!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
UAPremierGuy said,
Lucky, I am coming to TPA for the first time ever (for 6 hours) (twice) on a MR this Monday! I should theoretically be getting in around midnight from IAD on Monday night/Tuesday AM, and leaving to sea for a quick one-day turn at 700am via ORD the next AM, Then, I come back that night, on the same IAD flight, and head off to DEN via ORD again the next morning at 0700 hours. Questions would be: should I (or even theoretically can I) spend the night/s in the airport, or are there any cheap, quality hotels near TPA that you’d reccomend? With theoretically 6.5 hours total lay-over time each night, I think an airport hotel would be worth it. What are your thoughts? Thanks!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:30 am
lucky said,
@ UAPremierGuy — If there’s an airport that’s tolerable for sleeping overnight, I’d say TPA is it. We have free wifi and you should be able to stay airside, I believe. The nice thing is that there’s a kids playing area right by the United gates which features long, cushioned benches, almost like a bed. Bring a pillow and blanket and you might actually find yourself getting a few hours of solid sleep.
Personally I’d go for a hotel, though, to get some real sleep. Don’t have much experience with local hotels, but you should be able to priceline something for cheap. Published rates don’t seem to be all that low, unfortunately. I’ve had a similar length layover at many airports and the few hours of deep sleep kept me somewhat sane.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:53 am
UAPremierGuy said,
Great, thanks so much for the quick reply. I think I’ll Priceline it day of and see what I can get, if I can’t get anything, I’ll be taking you up on the long, cushioned benches idea! Oh, the joys of MRing…
January 7th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
rktoledo said,
Lucky,
I took your advice and called SPG to modify my hotel reservation (not pre-paid). After some initial drama (the service rep made a mistake and locked me into a rate $100 more a night than I was paying), Starwood called the Hotel. The Hotel allowed SPG to modify my reservation to the dates I requested under the same rate and terms as the original. So a phone call to SPG was the solution. Thanks for your time on this.
January 10th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Puck said,
Hi Lucky -
Another 1P n00b question. I took a VDB a while back on United and got a free ticket voucher. I just used that ticket voucher for a domestic rt ticket over the holidays. It looks like I didn’t get any mileage credit for that itinerary. I was under the impression that one DID earn miles for voucher tickets – am I crazy? The booking class was V (later upgraded to NF) and S for the tickets, not one of the “no credit” booking classes.
Should I contact United and ask them to credit me those miles, or are they right for not giving them to me?
~Puck
January 10th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Puck — While the free tickets do book into revenue fare classes in theory, they aren’t eligible for mileage accrual. You’re not supposed to be able to upgrade either, so you got lucky. This is the reason I usually ask for travel credits instead of the “free ticket” when I bump — the travel credits can be used towards revenue tickets which are eligible for mileage accrual.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Puck said,
Thanks! I was going to ask what I should go for instead of the “free” ticket – travel credits certainly do sound like a much better idea, so I’ll definitely be going with those from now on…
January 11th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Kevin said,
Hey Lucky,
I have a client going on Russian river cruise from Moscow. There are two non-stop flights from Dulles, one on Aeroflot 767-300 to Moscow-Sheremetyevo or one on United 767-300 to Moscow Domodedovo. I have flown United internationally, but not Aeroflot. The client is leaning toward Aeroflot because it leaves later at night.
Any recommendations?
January 14th, 2010 at 1:06 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin — Sadly I don’t have anything good to go off of here other than my perception of the airlines, but I’d go with United. In this case it’s simply an evil I know vs. an evil I don’t know.
Wish I had better advice, sorry!
January 14th, 2010 at 1:20 am
Hamurabi said,
Hi Lucky,
I enjoy reading your blog and listening to UPGRD (which led me to this site).
I think you also sit on a bunch of Accor vouchers from the 40 EUR/60 USD promotion.
Here is a nice way to combine it with Gold status with Accor (giving free Club access in Sofitel and upgrade upon availability plus late checkout)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-hotel-programs/1034475-free-accor-club-gold-membership.html
Unfortunately someone contacted Accor about the promo code (!) and the accounts might be closed. However, it might still be worthwhile to setup a gold account under a secondary address and see what happens. I usually don’t stay w Accor so I will try to use the vouchers plus the Gold status (and spend a few extra bucks to generate incremental revenues for Accor). Maybe their properties convince me to stay there later again. No matter if my account w Gold status still exists…
Thought I should let you know.
Keep it up
Ham
January 14th, 2010 at 5:50 am
Kevin said,
Thanks for the help. Your answer is pretty much what I have got from most people. I am pushing United, but we’ll see what happens.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:30 am
sam said,
You mentioned you just got a status match to Asiana, can i ask how you did it, was it through the HK residence promo, or was it something else.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Vivek Sawhney said,
I have a Blue Card from Amex. It has 107,000 pints. I wanted to transfer to Virgin Atlantic for buying award tickets from NY to London, which they are giving out on promotion @ 29,500 miles + taxes per ticket. They are also giving 20% bonus miles on transfer. Delta is requiring 90,000 miles per ticket for the same dates. So, Virgin offer looks very good. However, Amex is telling me that since I have a Blue Card, which is free, I cannot transfer my points to Virgin miles. Any solution or comparable alternatives?
January 20th, 2010 at 10:55 am
BTA said,
Hi Ben,
I was just clearing security at the Premier line at ORD. Who did I see walking from the IFC/GS checking, but our good pal Glen Tilton. I so much with I had one of your famous shirts with me….oh well.
January 21st, 2010 at 3:58 am
JOSH said,
What was Glenn doing at IFC/GS?
JOSH
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:26 am
Mark said,
Ok, here’s my burning question. Despite being a college student, how are you able to miss so much class (I assume you do)?
Next, what year of college are you in and have you figured out what you will do when you graduate? Are you concerned that you won’t be able to fly as much?
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:54 pm
lucky said,
@ BTA — I’m surprised he didn’t do OLCI so that he could avoid the common folk (aka employees and customers). Great stuff!
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Great questions. Believe it or not, I almost never miss class. Actually, next Thursday will be the first time I’ll miss a class in almost a year. I’m just pretty good at scheduling my classes. For the past several semesters I’ve had Tuesday/Thursday classes, meaning I can be on the go Fridays through Mondays. I’m hoping I can keep that up, as Monday through Friday classes would really put a damper on my travels, although might cause me a bit less hair loss in the long run (since my Tuesdays and Thursdays are hellish right now).
I’m just finishing up my junior year so should graduate in Spring of 2011. What do I want to do? No shocker here, hopefully something involving airlines, hospitality, or travel. I used to have more specific plans, but not anymore. I’m just waiting to see where life takes me. I’m hoping I’ll still be able to fly as much. Ideally I’d have a job that requires a fair bit of travel, but otherwise I’d be happy to continue spending my weekends crossing the country for miles and hopefully having enough off time to visit some exciting destinations (although that could potentially be an issue).
Gotta lock in million miler before I graduate!
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Oliver said,
Good luck finding a job that let’s you work Tuesdays and/through Thursdays, though.
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Scott said,
You’re only taking classes two days a week right now?? Are you loading those days up with tons of classes or are you just procrastinating graduation? Also, what are you majoring in?
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Scott — Loading those days up. Have classes from morning till night. I’m majoring in marketing.
January 24th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I just signed up for priority rewards and want to focus all my hotel stays at the IHG places. Do you think I should slowly work towards gold status or buy the Ambassador membership and have the gold status automatically? I will not be staying that much at Intercontinental for now, but might possibly in the future. I will most likely stay at the Holiday Inns and the express locations. Any hints on booking the cheapest hotel prices and still earning points and nights towards qualification? Thanks!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, Got 4 hours at LAS midday on an upcoming Saturday run. Flying US so looks like getting to the President’s Club is out of the question. Any must sees/dos?
January 27th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Is it your understanding or experience that XF pax starting with a domestic connection to TATL F no longer have access to IFL at original departure airport? My wife and I have award tix SFO-SEA connecting to SEA-FRA on LH F (first leg currently in Y, no XF availability.) Although I was told by a CSR two months ago I should be able to use the SFO IFL with a same-day TATL F ticket, yesterday at SFO an agent told me it only applies to the airport one is departing in international F from. This seems to jibe with the Star Alliance rules on their website. Has there been a change? Some flyertalk threads also seem to confirm this, but I like to check with a real expert!
Thanks.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — Great question! In general Gold status won’t get you a lot at most Priority Club hotels. So I would say Ambassador isn’t worth it at such for the upgrades at hotels, but I think Ambassador *is* worth it even if you have just one InterContinental stay planned over a weekend. For example, you get the buy one get one free weekend night certificate which more than pays for the price of membership. It’s also worth noting that Gold is really easy to get, and can be achieved in as few as two or three stays. Be sure to check out the master promotion thread on FlyerTalk and enter all those promotion codes. You’ll be amazed by how many points you’ll rack up. You can find the link here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/1031891-ic-master-promo-thread-2010-a.html
January 27th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — Truth be told I’ve only been to LAS a couple of times, so don’t have great advice. I’d say that’s probably not enough time to go into the city (it probably is, actually, but between the cab fare roundtrip and the limited time, I wouldn’t), but the airport itself can be quite an adventure. If you like gambling the slot machines should keep you entertained for a while, or I do recall there being some decent dining options. If you really wanted to use the Presidents Club you could always book a refundable ticket on Continental and then cancel, although that’s morally objectionable (maybe).
January 27th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — Wow, I’m flattered to be called a “real expert!”
Unfortunately the agent was *technically* right. The rules were recently changed to only apply to the gateway airport for lounge access. If your international first class segment were on United you would have still gotten access, as United’s rules haven’t changed, but the Star Alliance ones have. It’s also worth noting that many IFLs probably wouldn’t enforce this. I doubt the LAX or ORD ones do, for example. The SFO one will just always rule against the customer whenever possible. Sorry about that!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
You should do a PRIZE DRAWING once a month or a year, like giving free 25k miles or something…
You should HOST a meeting together for our onemileatatime readers/fans!
JOSH
January 29th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Matthew said,
@Kevin: I flew IAD-DME-IAD in United Business last weekend and have also flown Aeroflot in longhau Business Class. I found the food and service to be superior on Aeroflot (8 course meal), but the lie-flat seat and IFE are superior on UA. I must admit, I enjoyed my Aeroflot flight much more than my United flights, but if your client wants a good night’s rest, the UA lie-flat seats are much better than the angled lie-flat seats in SU’s Presidents Class.
January 30th, 2010 at 2:16 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
I think the airlines should have a Mileage run only flight, flying to nowhere and back.
JOSH
January 30th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
Should I burn $35-45k (from parent trust fund) and buy UA expensive fare and get GLOBAL status? Please advise and help me making decision.
JOSH
January 30th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Quick Questions - Musings of The Global Traveller said,
[...] is my preferred medium for dealing with travel questions, but copying the idea from One Mile at a Time, I’m also happy for questions to be made on [...]
February 13th, 2010 at 12:15 am
Seth said,
I’ve been really procrastinating on this, but…Did you have a blog post at some point asking about the best compensation offers people had experienced on bumps? I searched pretty far back for that post but couldn’t find it. Did I see it on here, another blog, or FT?
February 15th, 2010 at 12:23 am
HunterSFO said,
Hi Lucky – I’ve just flown in to TPA twice in the past two days and I noticed some really big UA birds in a hangar at the airport. There was a 747 and a 777 there – do they ferry those in empty or do they schedule them as revenue flights to get them here?
February 16th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Mike said,
LH or LX?
The boyfriend and I just returned from DPS (we flew SQ). He is an EXP and was just blown away.
We are looking to repeat this premium travel experience, our next trip will probably be Europe / Middle east. I am torn between LH or LX. Do you have an opinion?
This will be in business, sadly I don’t think i have enough miles in F for the both of us.
Thanks Lucky Ben.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:40 am
lucky said,
@ Seth — I’ve had several posts about bump opportunities and compensation, and many times people comment with their experiences. The only specific post I’ve made about the compensation other people received is my post about hobo13′s bump luck at EZE, which you can read about here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2010/01/08/theres-a-new-bump-king-in-town/
If you have a story about bumps, I’d love to hear it!
February 16th, 2010 at 11:41 am
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Amazingly enough, despite flying in/out of TPA every week, I still haven’t seen ‘em, although I’ve heard about them. My understanding is that they ferry them in empty, though. Sad, isn’t it?
February 16th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — In first class it would be a close call, but in business class I’d say Swiss is substantially better. If at all possible. The seat is substantially more comfortable and I find the food and service to be better as well in business on Swiss. If at all possible get on one of their A330-300s, as they feature lie flat beds in business class. That’s a *really* nice ride.
Happy travels!
February 18th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
HunterSFO said,
Lucky – the big UA birds are visible from the CO gates…
February 20th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Seth said,
@lucky – I was coming back from LHR in December on NW781 to DTW. Air traffic throughout Europe, including LHR, was in rough shape because of the recent bad weather and Eurostar shutdown. The flight was oversold by 18. They were offering £500 (at the time almost 1,000 USD) in cash on the spot, in addition of course to lodging and food vouchers until they could get you on a flight. It doesn’t compare to the consecutive bump total of that guy coming back from Buenos Aires, but I thought it was quite generous.
For a variety of reasons I didn’t jump on the offer, probably the best of which was that shortly after that announcement I was paged and got op(ed)-up to BE. It was a 767 with lie-flats so I was quite happy. It was an especially nice surprise since I was on an award ticket.
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:46 pm
David said,
Lucky, what is your take on CR-1s, and when to use them in light of “free” upgrades on UA domestic flights?
Should I use them on any trans-con, especially 3-class flights?
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, awhile ago you were researching Egypt and Nile cruises. I’m doing the same now. Did you end up going on a cruise? What did you choose? Did you like it? General thoughts on the whole endeavor? Thanks!
March 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Rick said,
Lucky, how do you know the real # of air seats available in each class of service? What software do you use, and how can I get it? Is there a cost? Thanks.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I’ll probably make a blog post about this once UDU kicks in, but for now I’d say that (in general) CR1′s are best off being used for 319/320 transcons, 757 transcons to/from SFO and BOS, PS flights, and on peak days for upgrades to business class on the 767. Of course depending on the day of the week it varies, but I’d say overall you have a good shot at the upgrade on three cabin planes, although the 767 can be tough at times because there aren’t all that many seats. And of course the upgrade is really, really worth it on that plane. Furthermore, I find that they release a bit too much “NC” space on the 767 before upgrade windows, so lots of times there are hardly any seats left by the time we’re within the upgrade window.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — That was actually a trip for my brother and mom. They did end up taking a Nile cruise for five days (if I recall correctly) and they really enjoyed what they saw. They felt like there was no better way to get in all the sites, especially since there are usually guides on the boats that apparently do a great job. I’ll ask them for some more details and will do my best to share them here.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Rick — There’s no “real” way to know unless you work for the airline and have access to the loads. You can, however, use websites like seatcounter.com, expertflyer.com, etc., to see how much inventory is left. In coach it often doesn’t reflect the number of seats available, as they often oversell, but in first class it’s usually a better reflection. For many airlines the maximum availability that shows in any “bucket” is 9, so if it’s less than that, chances are there aren’t many seats left. So for example, if a flight is “F3,” it’s relatively safe to assume that there are three seats remaining, and so on. Hope that makes sense.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Despina said,
Ben, glad to hear that you are enjoying your trip thus far. Don’t laugh, but what do you think the odds of are the following scenarios/groups getting an upgrade on a Saturday outbound, Wednesday inbound SFO-KOA itinerary?
1P member with a GM on his PNR.
2P member travelling alone.
3P member traveling alone.
Thanks!
Despina
March 9th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — I wish I had a good answer, but with UDU not having started yet, it’s really, really tough to get an idea of how hard upgrades will be. I could give you a much better answer in a couple of weeks when there are firsthand reports of upgrades. In general I’d say the Premier Executive and companion have a good chance (let’s say 60%+), the Premier has a decent chance (40%+), and the Premier Associate isn’t eligible to be upgraded since that’s not a benefit.
Hopefully UDU works out for all….
March 9th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
crammer said,
Lucky,
Something I’ve always wondered about: How do you (personally) retain Royal Ambassador status from year to year?
I had sort of assumed that when you did mileage runs, you overnighted at a HI or CP for one night somewhere along the way and paid a cheap Sat. night rate (or something like that), but it seems that you also involve a lot of redeyes on your mileage runs, thereby precluding the need for a hotel room at all. But since you need approx 50 nights at PC properties to requalify for RA, where do you get these nights? Do you just book cheap rooms near where you live/work and never actually stay there? Thanks for indulging my curiosity…
March 23rd, 2010 at 4:03 am
sam said,
Ben,
I noticed in recent posts about Hyatts you said you value hyatt points at 2cents a piece, can i ask how you came up with that?
Do you also mind giving us a list of what you value other miles and points, i’ve always used acruw.com, for estimates, but they value DL miles more then UA (which is clearly wrong) I (and possible other who read your blog) would really like to know how you value your points and miles.
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
michael said,
I am booking a flight for my in-laws from BOS (Boston MA) to AGP (Malaga Spain) with a transfer in LHR and My wife and I will be doing the same trip a few days later. I am using my BA card to pay for the flights. My wife has a BA card as well, our executive club is not linked yet but I don’t think that matters unless we redeem miles. Should we pay on my wife’s card since she has a lot more miles? Are there any tricks to getting upgrades or cheaper flights? We have no tier points. My in-laws don’t want a BA credit card.
March 28th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Barbados using the remaining leg on my OneWorld around the world ticket. I’d like to stay at the Barbados Hilton, but have reviewed Hilton related Flyertalk threads and have been so dissapointed (in comparison to Priority Club and SPG). My question to you is…why does Hilton suck so bad? Additionaly, why do people like Hilton? It doesn’t seem like their loyalty program is worth a damn. This Cat 7 property will cost me 50k a night…
March 29th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
David said,
Lucky,
Just got off the phone with US DM, attempting to book some reward travel from FLL/MIA to FRA in late Sept in F for my wife and I. No F available on the LH non-stop from MIA to FRA, either way. There was business available on the return, but then my wife would miss the FCT experience.
Did find a FLL-EWR-FRA, with the domestic segment on CO in business and transatlantic on LH in F. Figure that will be fine.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t seem to find any connections back to FLL at any reasonable hour non-stop from any USA arrival point. The agent checked EWR, JFK, IAD, PHL, CTL, HOU, ORD and BOS. So, we could get from FRA back to the US, but not back to FLL until midnight at best.
So, what would you think of just going from FRA to JFK on LH, arriving 1:10PM and taking a 3:15PM flight on JetBlue to FLL? And paying the $100 per ticket extra to get home in more comfort?
Are we insane for switching airlines/terminals at JFK with 2 hours for customs, transportation and bag recheck?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:29 am
lucky said,
@ sam — I’m working on a post right now about what I find points in various programs to be worth, which I’ll keep “active” as programs devalue, make changes, etc. Stay tuned.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:31 am
lucky said,
@ michael — It really doesn’t matter which card you use given that you can create a household account and combine your miles, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. As far as upgrades go, can you give me some info about what fare class they’re booked in? Could provide more help then….
March 30th, 2010 at 11:33 am
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — LMAO, love the comment. Hilton sucks, totally agree. They don’t value their loyal customers and their hotels aren’t that great. So why are people loyal to them? Well, they have a LOT of hotels, unlike Hyatt (one of my favorites), so lots of people find the Hampton Inns in smaller cities to meet their needs. Their redemption costs and elite benefits really are a few years behind the times, in my opinion. So you should be switching your business to a different chain, and maybe eventually they’ll catch on!
March 30th, 2010 at 11:35 am
lucky said,
@ David — I’ve done exactly that before, and it makes a lot of sense. It’s worth it for the FCT and the better in-flight experience, in my opinion. That being said, two hours is a bit on the tight side, especially if you need to re-check bags. If your flight is on-time you’ll probably be alright, but if you’re delayed even a little bit, you’re looking at a potential misconnect. If there’s a later flight, I’d go with it for peace of mind.
March 31st, 2010 at 9:56 am
David said,
Thanks for the advice, Lucky!
There looks to be a flight from JFK to FLL 45 minutes later, so we’ll probably go ahead and book that.
Any comments on lounges in EWR?
Thanks again.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky, I am so dissapointed! I was hoping to take my little brother on an exciting tour of asia using a OneWorld award. I have enough AA miles for my business class ticket (150k AA miles). Now I am trying to top of my BA account to pay for his ticket, but when I checked out the BA site, my heart broke to find out that although the economy reward cost the same as AA (120k), the coparable business class ticket cost 90k more!!! Please tell me that i misunderstood?
AA
Distance Zone 7
Total Trip Miles = 20,001 – 25,000
Miles Required
Economy Class 120,000
Business Class 150,000
First Class 230,000
BA
Miles in your journey BA Miles needed for economy flight
Total Trip Miles = 20,001 – 25,000
economy 120,000
Business Class Awards x 2
First Class Awards x 3
April 11th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The lounges at EWR for first class passengers on Lufthansa suck. There are two options (although they’re both inside the same entrance) — the Lufthansa Senator lounge and SAS lounge. The Senator lounge is TINY, and while you’ll be directed there, probably isn’t worth spending time in. The adjacent SAS lounge isn’t great either, though a bit more spacious and probably a bit less crowded. It should be quite easy to visit both. Save your appetite for the flight for sure!
April 11th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — Unfortunately your understanding is correct. I find that US airlines charge a ridiculously small premium in terms of mileage for premium cabins despite the massive price difference, while foreign airlines do a better job (from their perspective) of charging an appropriate premium. Certainly quite frustrating when you’re trying to combine miles from various programs as there’s no way to circumvent the difference in premiums.
April 16th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
oscar said,
Hi, so Im right now A Frequent Traveller with lufthansa which gives me certain benefits. But the thing is that I live in Mexico, right now in Switzerland but in some months no. It was kind of hard for me to get the 35,000 miles status and what I heard is for 30 k you can get the Star Alliance gold status with Air Canada. What should I do, because there is 20% that I get Senator.
Another question if my father is name exactly the same and actually I never put my name and Jr. it’s possible to win miles with his ticket when flying the same flight?? (just asking)
Thanks,
April 20th, 2010 at 11:36 am
ybjfk said,
First off, Happy Birthday! The story about the hotel clerk saying they celebrate your birthday every year was priceless. Second, is it just me or is CO’s mileage chart just substandard compared to US and UA. Thanks.
April 20th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
lucky said,
@ oscar — That’s a toughie. In general I’d say you should enjoy status once you worked hard to earn it. There’s not much value in switching around frequently. Yes, with Air Canada you could get “Elite” status with 35,000 miles, but ultimately your benefits are probably better on Lufthansa if you have status with them. Assuming you always fly Lufthansa (or a Lufthansa family airline), I would stick to them. If you’re mixing travel between various Star Alliance airlines, by all means go for Air Canada. Be sure to look at the number of miles you earn in the fare classes you usually fly with a different program, though, as the totals can differ substantially.
As far as the other question goes, it all depends on the airline. It was much, much easier before Secure Flight, since most airlines didn’t have a date of birth on file. Assuming there’s a date of birth in your profile that you can’t easily change, you’re in trouble. If your travel were mostly in the US you’d have a much easier time with that.
April 20th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
lucky said,
@ ybjfk — Thanks! As far as Continental’s mileage chart goes, it’s actually VERY similar to United’s. Actually, it’s virtually identical. The benefits with Continental are that they don’t block partner award inventory (like United does through their Starnet blocking) and they allow a stopover AND an open jaw on longhaul awards (unlike United, which allows one or the other). US has a more generous award chart for sure, so in terms of the program itself, it’s very attractive. The $250 change fee on longhaul awards frustrates me, though.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Marcus said,
Have you ever done the UA SWU on LH dance with the printing out of the SWU and going standby for the upgrade at the gate? Any suggestions on how to best handle it? We’re flying IAD-FRA (UA) – CAI (LH). Do I try to get on the waitlist at IAD or do I have to wait until I show up at the gate in FRA to get on the list?
May 2nd, 2010 at 1:06 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
DOES BMI STILL FLY INTO THE US?
JOSH
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:11 am
lucky said,
@ Marcus — Typically they’ll just clear upgrades at the airport you’re departing from for the segment you’re trying to upgrade. When you get to FRA just see a Lufthansa representative anywhere and they’ll be able to add you to the list. Sometimes they’ll clear it immediately (depends how full it is, if they have the authority to do it, etc.), or sometimes they’ll wait till departure time comes at the gate. Good luck!
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:12 am
lucky said,
@ JOSH — NO!
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
buschoi said,
Hi Lucky, thanks in advance for your help!
I am looking into trading some Marriott Rewards Points into Hilton points on FT’s CC. What would you recommend to be a fair trade? I don’t know if it matters, but I want the Hilton points and will trade away the MR points.
Thanks!
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:09 am
JOSH said,
LUCKY,
Breaking news on UA and CO merger!
Do you think they will change the rule on bump VDB when CO takeover UA? Because CO are not as generous when it come to BUMP. Which mean UA will not be so generous with $VDB when the merger complete and I think they will be no int’l F (only C and Y)……
I don’t think we will be seeing much of the customer relation E-CERT anymore. Please fill me on this.
JOSH
May 4th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Lyndon said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m curious for you to put up a post about the new United/Continental merger. On many fronts it’s interesting (to say the least), although I do not like the loss of the United logo and famous tulip.
More importantly, I’m anxious to know about what’s going to happen with CR1 upgrades and SWU in the future. I love the ability to sponsor other people right now, and it’s helped me out in the past too. Any thoughts on the future of all these perks MP members enjoy currently, once the two come together?
thanks!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:28 am
JOSH said,
I can answer you a fact that the new logo looks better.
JOSH
May 7th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for a great blog. I booked an award trip using Continental miles for a friend. The itinerary is OKC-ORD on United continuing ORD-ZRH on Swiss. The return is Swiss ZRH-CDG (stopover) and finally ZRH-CDG. Is there anything to be aware of in case of irrops or other problems regarding this itinerary since the trip is booked on CO miles (and not her own), but the metal flown is UA and LX? Should she just deal with the airline she’s booked on in case of any problem? Hopefully everything will be smooth, knock on wood, but I thought if anyone knew how to prepare for eventualities, it would be you. Thanks.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Dan said,
I meant ZRH-OKC-OKC on UA for the return, sorry.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Dan said,
Wow, I keep messing up, CDG-ORD-OKC on UA.
Whew.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
lucky said,
@ buschoi — That’s a toughie. I’d say Marriott points are more valuable than Hilton points, but not by all that much. I’d say 1.25-1.5 Hilton points is worth 1 Marriott points, but that’s a very rough estimation.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
lucky said,
@ JOSH — Frankly, United hasn’t been overselling a whole lot lately, in my experience. I’ve been on probably a dozen zeroed out flights this year, but only got one bump. Even when zeroed out the actual loads just aren’t as high as they used to be. United’s getting a bit too conservative (inventory management wise) for my liking).
May 13th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Lyndon — I’ve been meaning to write a post about the merger for a while now, but keep getting sidetracked. This is a toughie. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some realigning of elite levels and that top tier elites retain SWUs and CR1s. I can’t imagine they’d change that, especially since there was just a fight over CR1s when unlimited domestic upgrades started. But whether that’s going to be at the 100K tier, or maybe a new 125K or 150K tier, is a different story. Hoping for the best!
May 13th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — That’s always a toughie. My best advice with awards is to always plan long enough layovers to avoid irrops. You’re not totally screwed in the case of irrops, but when something goes wrong it’s not all that fun and turns into a blame game. In theory the operating airline should help accommodate you, but at the same time the airline that issued the ticket will often have to reissue the ticket. Beyond that, some agents may require that there’s award availability for you to be rebooked, while others won’t.
So I’d say the best bet is to just keep asking if there’s an issue. One agent might refuse to help, while another is happy to. Case in point, my brother was flying JFK-FRA-LHR last year, but due to irrops that didn’t pan out. One agent said there was no award availability so he was out of luck, another offered to rebooked him via Munich (where that was a seat available but not an award seat, technically), and one offered to rebook him nonstop on British Airways, which isn’t even a partner.
May 15th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Dan said,
Thanks for the post, Lucky. Well as it turned out my friend did have irrops.
The first leg of the trip, OKC-ORD was cancelled by UA for wx, and they told her to call CO because CO booked the ticket. CO said she couldn’t leave until the next award availability, which was five days later. So now she’s starting her trip, completely rebooked, 5 days late.
Can this be right? Did UA or CO drop the ball?
Oh, and on top of everything, the CO agent, after assuring us no extra miles would be deducted from my account to rebook, apparently did so and pulled 22,500 extra miles to change the return. After talking to two supervisors at CO, they say to send an e-mail to corporate customer support.
Am I doing something wrong here? Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Eric P said,
Lucky,
I am joining my friend on a same-day mileage run *to* Tampa. Do you have any suggestions on what to do for almost two hours in the Tampa airport? My friend has a membership to the RCC, but it looks like the “reciprocal” agreement with the US Airways Club only applies when flying on their metal.
If you are interested, our route is SFO-ORD-TPA-IAD-SFO. SFO-ORD is a 747 (yay) but IAD-SFO is a 319 (ug). It will be interesting to see what our upgrade luck is a pair of 1Ks.
This trip was an impulse run triggered by an expiring coupon from the “Fly More, Save More” promotion.
May 15th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
kevincure said,
Lucky…this is a bit outside your airlines of expertise, but perhaps you know. I am planning to book a flight on CO to Manila, but was hoping to go there via Guam->Yap->Palau->Manila. Do you know if they would allow this as a legal booking, and if so whether they would allow Palau as a stopover? Technically, it is the “port of entry” for South Asia on the reward chart!
Thanks!
May 16th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Feran said,
I need to go from New York to Vegas on United but the P.S. service JFK-SFO/LAX is very expensive. Any other recommended routing? Are there any of the new config 767s or 777s running domestic routes? Perhaps LGA-IAD-LAX-LAS or something along those lines could work!
May 16th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Bianca B said,
Lucky, why is the Travelocity low fare alert function such garbage? I’ve had some success in the past finding good fares to random locations from RDU using Travelocity low fare alert lists. It is similar to the Flyertalk fares tool, but just another vehicle to find random deals. Unfortunately, as of late, every fantastic fare I come across travelocity is not able to deliver…like the current $104 roundtrip fare from RDU to bermuda??? I can’t seem to find this fare in ITA…what gives?
Do you have any advice on how to make it work? I’ve flown decent fares from travelocity before, including a $350 RDU-FRA R/T last november. UGH!
May 17th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Kevin T said,
Did you see your buddy’s (
) Chris Elliott’s new piece, what a piece of work. Calls frequent flyer programs immoral and says that we should not be loyal to one program because sometimes it is not always the best price.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051304000_2.html?sid=ST2010051403300
May 17th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
HunterSFO said,
Hey Lucky-
I’ve had consistently excellent service on my last 12 UA flights. Have I just been really fortunate or is this a trend you are seeing too? All 12 flights had PDB of choice – even the SFO-LAX ones. Some flights even had the folding cart setup and brought down the aisle for PDB.
NONE of thse crews hid in the galley after meal service and they kept our drinks full the whole time – even up till the “FAs prepare for landing” announcement.
I have been consistently addressed by name throughout the flight, not just while taking meal orders – sometimes even while deplaning.
The crews have been smiling a lot.
as a comparison, none of these things happened 12 times last year out of the 98 segments I flew.
Have you experienced an uptick in service too? I can hardly believe its the same airline! Its even been quite a bit better than CO this year. Im wondering if maybe morale has gone up due to the merger announcement or something.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Daniel said,
Hey Lucky
United or Cathay?
I’ve been with United for the past 4 years, usually flying enough to get premier, but not enough to get 1P. My airport is SFO and I usually rack up miles through trips to Asia (TPE/PEK) rather than through domestic flights or flights to Europe.
After reading your glowing reviews about Cathay, I’ve been thinking about migrating to their program from United. It means I’d have to start over, but I’m not loose that much. I’m not a 1K or anything. Cathay seem to offer a better product if your need is flying to and within Asia. Their ticket prices are also often less expensive.
Member Ross asked you about this back in Sept 2009 on this “Ask Lucky” forum and you said being based in SFO, United is the obvious choice. I feel that because of all the recent cost cutting, United is just not an obvious choice anymore. What is your opinion?
My only concerns about moving to Cathay is their Marco Polo program costs $50. I thought frequent flier programs are typically free? Also, I’m not familiar with Cathay since I’ve always flown exclusively United whereas I know United’s website, policies, lounge access, etc pretty well (partly thanks to you).
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Ouch, sorry to hear about your experience. No, they should have definitely done a better job handling the situation. The issue is that neither Continental or United dropped the ball, per se. They simply found it easier to blame each other. They want to make it seem as if an alliance equates to a seamless travel experience, but as you experienced it’s anything but. Technically there should be award availability when rebooking, but in cases of issues once at the airport I’ve found agents to usually be willing to book passengers in any available revenue seats. As I mentioned, sometimes you’ll even be offered a seat on a non-alliance carrier, as crazy expensive as it might be for the airline. In your friend’s case I would have gone to the airport and pushed it there.
Hope everything works out!
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:46 am
lucky said,
@ Eric P — Enjoy the 747! TPA isn’t all that exciting. While there is a US Airways Club, it is in a different terminal, so there’s no way to access it either way. Fortunately TPA has free wifi and the waiting area is generally tolerable, so I would suggest just surfing the web. Not a whole lot else to be done in two hours. If it were a longer layover I’d suggest going to the International Mall, which is right next door, but two hours would be cutting it tight.
If you get completely bored and all else fails, you can always go through the security checkpoint over and over and see how often you get picked for the full body scanner.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:47 am
lucky said,
@ kevincure — What airline are you looking to book with? Generally I’m going to guess that wouldn’t be possible, but it’s a function of the airline/program you’re trying to book through.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:49 am
lucky said,
@ Feran — Generally there are different fares out of LGA and EWR, so if you can fly out of those, I’d search those separately. If you’re willing to go a bit of a distance, HPN often has MUCH lower fares. There are some new config planes flying domestically. Between ORD and SFO there are actually both 767s and 747s running at the moment, which is a nice treat. Otherwise there’s the three cabin 777 running between IAD and LAX which will likely be old configuration, but it’s better than a two cabin plane, in my opinion. There are also several running between ORD and DEN, so it really shouldn’t be too tough to stick to three cabin planes most of the way.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Bianca B — Wish I had some brilliant advice, but I don’t use Travelocity. Sorry! I’ve gotten so used to knowing which routings do/don’t work and what the fares out of my home airport that I haven’t had a use for it. Even in the past I never relied on low fare alerts of any sort. Sometimes you’ve just gotta search the same routes over and over to look for fare drops, sadly.
Sorry I can’t be of more help…
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin T —
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:54 am
lucky said,
@ HunterSFO — Interesting observation, because I’ve noticed the same thing overall, though I have to attribute it to luck of the draw. There’s no doubt that the merger is improving morale somewhat, but at the end of the day it’s the same employees flying the same airline, so I can’t imagine their attitude changes that frequently. I am thinking that the general level of job satisfaction will increase slightly with the merger anticipation (perhaps a “grass is greener” syndrome of sorts), and that might be reflected a bit. But at the end of the day the same amazing employees have been out there for decades and the same bad apples are still flying the “friendly” skies.
Let’s hope it’s an actual change with the company as opposed to just luck of the draw, though!
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:58 am
lucky said,
@ Daniel — That’s a real toughie. If you’re looking for the best in-flight experience the answer is obvious — go with Cathay. For everything else, stick with United. Keep in mind you get Economy Plus on United, though unless you’re really tall that doesn’t make up for the substantially worse food, service, entertainment, and general cabin condition. But at the same time with United you’ll be earning 100% miles on all fare classes. You’ll be earning miles that you can redeem at a reasonable rate for award tickets.
Some foreign carriers do charge to join frequent flier programs, and the Marco Polo program is one of them. Frankly in your shoes I’d shoot for Premier Executive — I know it doesn’t directly answer your question, but I’d mileage run for it. Then the answer will become more obvious. You’ll start earning a 100% mileage bonus, lounge access, and exit row seating, all of which is incredibly valuable, in my opinion. But if that’s not an option I’d still stick with United for the superior mileage program. But then again, I’m obsessed with miles and points.
May 24th, 2010 at 7:30 am
utdana said,
Hi Lucky,
What a great site! I am a frequent traveler, but have points in many places. I am trying to book a 1-2 week trip with a +1 sometime in June/July.
I can fly from IAH or SFO easily. For points, I have: 73,000 AMEX, 72K SPG, 83K Marriott, 16,5K Continental OnePass, 23K United Mileage.
Is there a smart way to use these toward at least one of the roundtrip flights to South America (Argentina) or New Zealand? (would also consider Europe if that made more sense). Reading your past blogs, seems like I should transfer my AMEX points to one airline?
thanks so much for your advice!
May 24th, 2010 at 7:49 am
utdana said,
oops! Ii forgot to mention that I also have about 50K Delta Skymiles.
I’m not sure what would be the best transfer for my AMEX.
thank you again!
May 24th, 2010 at 9:01 am
RDimperio said,
Tried to fly United PS again. Last year I opted out with a bump and got home 2 hours earlier. This time my CR upgrade to C on the ps flight was changed — first to a non-ps 757and then to a 767 3 class cabin. Ended up in a C rear-facing seat with an operating video. I suppose this is actually a better option than the ps flight but I’m kind of disappointed to miss out again. Now 0 for 2 on ps service. Is ps worth the extra trouble?
Also snagged a CR C seat on a 747 from ORD to SFO. Figured I’d watch the one or two movies I missed the previous week flying to/from Bangkok. But no operating video — most of the upper deck was without the video/audio options though I did see a few folks watching movies towards the end of the flight. Got a card apologizing for the inconvenience though I haven’t had a chance to see what United has in mind for compensation.
Champagne/sparkling wine is not available in C on domestic flights. Odd, I thought it would be.
May 24th, 2010 at 9:30 am
UA-NYC said,
Assuming you got the p.s. meals and everything else – you got a solid net upgrade going from the p.s. 757 to the int’l 767. Consider yourself lucky. I’d take any new config C seat, even rear-facing, over my beloved p.s. row 9!
May 24th, 2010 at 10:35 am
RDimperio said,
Yes, I love the new configuration C Seats. I didn’t have a problem with the rear-facing seat as well. It was tough to watch the approach. With the big runway closed we landed on 22R and taxied pretty quickly to the gate. I think I’ll find it hard to ride in International coach again or the old C seats.
Also had an odd approach to LGA — north over the Hudson followed by a left hand 450 degree turn that put us on runway 13. Very cool for those on the rigth side of the plane. The left side of the plane got a nice view of Newark and the Meadowlands.
May 27th, 2010 at 11:56 am
magiciansampras said,
Assume I have around 200k IC/Priority Club points and I want to use them on a nice beach somewhere internationally. Where would you go? Timeframe is June/July of next year. Need to start planning!
June 1st, 2010 at 8:55 am
Blankeeta said,
Lucky, what’s going on with the upgrd podcast? I haven’t seen a new episode on the website in sometime…
June 1st, 2010 at 5:33 pm
lucky said,
@ utdana — If you transferred both your Amex points and SPG points to Aeroplan, you’d have enough for two business class tickets to South America (they cost 75,000 miles each). Sounds like that’s the best path for you to take.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — You definitely got the better deal if you got the new hard product with PS service. The plane as such is nothing special, though it does feel awfully spacious for a 757. Is PS worth the trouble? Not anymore, at least for me. When I could use 500 mile upgrades for PS I thought it was worth it all the time, but not anymore since I need to burn CR1s on PS. The food service is definitely pretty good, but you didn’t miss out at all with the aircraft. And on the 747 I’m gonna go ahead and guess you lucked out. $200-250 is better than some crap movie (I hope)!
June 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Toughie. Not much of a beach dweller. In terms of maximizing the value of the points, I’d say Tahiti/Bora Bora is the obvious answer. Getting there is a bit of a pain, though, at least when trying to use miles/points or trying to stick to alliances. There’s no doubt that would be the best experience. Otherwise I’d really consider Bali, though the rates there are so low that using points doesn’t really make sense. Otherwise Mauritius or Fiji are probably worth considering. I’d try to combine the best hotel experience with the best flight experience, so I guess that’s all a function of where your miles can take you. And it’s also worth seeing which properties will best honor your status even on award stays.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Blankeeta — We’re recording another one tomorrow. Seems like we took a couple of weeks off.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:57 am
MKG said,
Hi Lucky,
I stumbled on your fascinating posts just by accident but was incredibly intrigued by all the impressive deal-searching and point travel you so excel in. Incredibly simple question, I know, but do you have an info source or article or post that you can point to as a good ‘starting point’ for someone interested in becoming more a more sophisticated mile award user? I have accounts with ANA, Virgin America, AA, and US Airways and a simple AA Mastercard, but I can’t escape the feeling that I’ve been stocking up miles far too piecemeal on these individual airlines and credit cards rather than pooling them all into the kind of amazing ANA-Virgin Atlantic-Singapore-etc. superdeals I read about you doing. Do you have a good primer or source for how to brush up? Thanks for the fun reads.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Harry said,
Lucky,
I got a large number of AA miles and want to redeem them for F award travel on CX next year. I enjoyed your last trip report on CX to Bali. Any tips for me on scoring an F seat? I will be flying DFW-LAX-HKG-LAX-DFW Thanks!
June 4th, 2010 at 9:10 am
RDimperio said,
If you aren’t using CR1s for PS flights where are you using them? Unless upgrades clear in advance are you better to pull the CR1 and hope for the UDU?
June 4th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Keith said,
Lucky,
I’m an AA Plat out of ORD, but am considering switching to UA. Does it make sense to status match into CO, and credit flights to CO until the merger? I wouldn’t be flying much CO (mostly UA), so I guess I wouldn’t get any status benefits other than the mileage bonus until then.
On a related note, when is the merger actually supposed to go through?
June 11th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
My family of four is traveling to Europe next year, SFO-ZRH, VCE-SFO. I have enough miles for C for all of us but they’re from 3 different programs: UA., CO and US. Since LH often has good availability SFO-FRA in C, I’m hoping for that flight, or another gateway to FRA.
Besides Starnet blocking on UA, how much of a potential problem is it to book award tix for the same itinerary using different programs? In case of irrops, am I setting myself up for trouble? (I’ve had that problem when CO miles were used for a cancelled UA flight.)
As always, thanks for your experience and help.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Big Z said,
Lucky–longtime reader; quick q re hyatt and the dreaded phantom nights–let’s say I find myself in the IAD area this weekend and check in to four different hyatts, all on the same night–will I get four stay credits? I could think of a reason some more prolific individuals might need four rooms at four different hyatts and yet *stay* in each of them…
thx
June 17th, 2010 at 4:44 am
lucky said,
@ MKG — Thanks for reading! I don’t think I have a single post that’s a good starting point. I think the best way to learn is to read FlyerTalk.com and follow along for a while on some miles and points blogs. I try to post as many deals as possible, so after a while you can hopefully decide which would be best for you and which you’re better off skipping on. I like the idea of a simple “starting” post, though, so will try to work on that in the coming weeks.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:46 am
lucky said,
@ Harry — Finding availability on Cathay Pacific shouldn’t actually be that tough, believe it or not. I would suggest using all tools available to you to look for availability first, like the British Airways tool. For what it’s worth, SFO to HKG typically has much more award availability than LAX to HKG, so I’d consider that when the time comes to book. Enjoy your trip in Cathay first, it’s one of my favorite products!
June 17th, 2010 at 4:47 am
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — I’ve actually been pooling them for a while now. All my UDUs have cleared so far (out of 40+ flights), so I plan on using them for family and friends. I’ve only used two since UDUs started, and they were on friends traveling with me but on separate records.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:48 am
lucky said,
@ Keith — Interesting idea, though I’m not sure what the benefit would be. As you say, you’d get the mileage bonus but not Economy Plus or upgrades. United offers a challenge, whereby they’ll match you to Premier Executive for 90 days and require you to fly 15,000 miles in that period to maintain the status. Have you considered that?
June 17th, 2010 at 4:49 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Shouldn’t be an issue at all. In the case of irregular operations it might be a pain if you have to call each airline to rebook individually, but beyond that I don’t see it being much of an issue. I would do it in a heartbeat.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:51 am
lucky said,
@ Big Z — ROFL at the reason for using four hotel rooms in a night. Ouch! Actually I don’t think that will work, unfortunately. Hyatt’s T&Cs state you can only earn points for one room in a night, so that wouldn’t be allowed. The thought has crossed my mind before as well, though.
June 22nd, 2010 at 11:53 am
Bianca B said,
Lucky, I am planning an oneworld award around the world fare to Asia. My Asian journey ends in NRT. I am based in RDU, and would like to fly from NRT to the east coast for ease of getting home. What Oneworld Business class product do you recommend from NRT to the east coast?
June 28th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Bianca — Assuming you can’t connect in HKG and fly Cathay Pacific, which I doubt would be possible, your only options are American or JAL. I’d say between those two it’s a no brainer — the service on JAL is going to be far superior, so I’d go with them.
July 1st, 2010 at 11:10 am
Arun said,
Hey Lucky
Got a couple of questions…
Are there any good frequent flyer programs that do not charge taxes for booking award tickets?
I stay in Singapore. Prefer to travel Singapore Airlines/Cathay, but directly booking award flights using Krisflyer costs quite a bit in taxes. Is there any way I can book SQ flights thru a Star Alliance partner for flights originating in Singapore, and yet cut down on the taxes I pay per award ticket?
Thanks in advance
July 1st, 2010 at 12:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — Virtually all frequent flier programs charge taxes, and the taxes are fairly consistent. I think what you’re referring to are the outrageous fuel surcharges that some airlines get away with charging. Most North American loyalty programs, including American, Continental, United, US Airways, and even Air Canada’s Aeroplan, don’t charge fuel surcharges on partner awards.
Then again, you won’t have the same access to Singapore seats that you’ll have when booking directly through them. Assuming the fare classes you fly qualify for 100% mileage credit on partner airlines, you could credit some miles to other programs, but if you fly enough to earn elite status you won’t be getting the same benefits as a “native” elite of that loyalty program. So it’s a toughie…
July 10th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
robertol said,
Warning: completely inane question…
As a 1K, I am flying ORD-TPA (UA 786 A320 Fare Code: L) and TPA-DEN (UA 465 A 320 Fare Code T) later this month on a Thursday. Given that you know these routes well, what would you say my odds are for an upgrade?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
lucky said,
@ robertol — Hardly an insane question! If anything, this is where I can help. What’s your upgrade chance? I’d say virtually 100%. I’ve never seen a 1K not get an upgrade out of TPA, and I do 100+ segments to/from TPA every year. If you don’t clear, please do let me know.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Oscar said,
Lucky
I have two big questions. The first one is that in two weeks Im going to Miami with Mexicana. They have this option of buying an upgrade if there are seats available you can buy it for 150 usd.
The flight is about 3 hours, a bit more, and it departs at 7 am so should I buy the upgrade? Also Im travelling with two kids.
The airplane is an A320 or an B737 and there is only business class seats. Buy it or not?
The other, I know that is not about flights or hotels but you might answer this one: you probably know that Dollar and Thrifty are owned by the same company and they offer the same location,cars and price . I found the best price with both of them in Miami but I dont know in which one to rent? Thrifry or Dollars? Help?
Oh last, have you stayed at the Hyatt grand cypress in Orlando? Any comments?
July 11th, 2010 at 5:03 am
George said,
Lucky,
Been posting here and there but thanks for the great website once again.
Just a few questions for someone wanting to get somewhere, but lives in Australia!
1. Anything you could recommend for getting elite statuses being based in Australia?
2. Up to now I’ve just been buying US Airways miles and redeeming them for first class inventory, which is a great idea. But I’d love to try some One world first class, and my aa miles are not piling up with cheap c/mile. Suggestions?
3. You fly it seems nearly every weekend (!) How do you find time to study, work and fly too! Any tips? =P
Thanks!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Danny M said,
What’s the best airline to fly from LA to Tampa, in first. and the best airport to layover.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Your first question is a toughie. That rate comes out to $50 per hour for an upgrade, which is right on the border of being worth it, in my opinion. I’d say it’s the “standard” price for an upgrade. So it’s tough to answer without knowing your financial situation. If you’re doing well, sure, you’re getting a good deal on the upgrade at that rate. If you’re on a budget, I’d say it’s not an astonishingly good deal.
As far as Dollar vs. Thrifty, well, I never rent cars, but I have a more favorable attitude towards Dollar. Take it with a grain of salt, though.
I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. I really like the hotel, though it’s starting to show its age. Still a very, very nice hotel, in my opinion.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny M — That’s a toughie. Assuming you’re not on much of a budget, I think it’s hard to beat three cabin first class from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles, and then first class down to Tampa on a two cabin aircraft. Of course that’s quite expensive. Otherwise I’d say Continental is pretty tough to beat, especially if you can find a way to get onto one of their 757s configured with international business class seats. Lastly, and this again assumes that cost isn’t an issue, it’s tough to beat American Flagship Service from Los Angeles to New York, and then New York to Tampa on American. And you could use the Flagship Lounge, which is pretty darn nice.
As far as the best airport for a layover, that’s a toughie. The airports with the best amenities are generally also the worst when it comes to delays. In general I’d say DEN is a pretty good airport to connect in, especially in summer. It’s a nice enough terminal and my flights out of there are very rarely delayed during the summer.
Hope that helps.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
lucky said,
@ George — That’s a real toughie. The miles and points game isn’t even nearly as lucrative as it is here in the States when it comes to maximizing. The frequent flyer programs can’t compare, and you don’t quite have as many generous credit card sign-up offers. Assuming you’re just trying to maximize the amount of international premium cabin travel you can do, I’d say stick to United. Assuming you’d be flying to the States anyway, they are likely your best option. If you fly enough you can get 1K status, which will get you lots of upgrades to the States, and the miles are worth quite a bit more than programs like Qantas, where you’re looking at several hundred thousand miles for an international premium cabin award.
Buying US Airways miles is by far the best deal out there for getting premium cabin travel. It’s much tougher with OneWorld. American recently had that promotion for transfers from Starwood, but accumulating that many Starwood points can be tough too. But generally there aren’t all that many options for cheap OneWorld award travel. And even in Star, US Airways is the only airline that really has such cheap offers for miles.
How do I find the time to study, work, and fly? I just don’t sleep and don’t have a waking minute of “free time.” But I love it, so I just look at it as a way to stay busy. I try to stay VERY focused during the week with school work, so I can dedicate the rest of my time to other work and flying.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
viv said,
Hi, Lucky,
Your blog is awesome! I have just finished reading your blog entries on Grand Hyatt Seattle and Hyatt @ Olive 8. I am wondering which one of those would you recommend for a kind of a romantic getaway trip with 4 couples? Please advise! Thanks
July 14th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
lucky said,
@ viv — That’s a toughie. Do any of the couples have status with Hyatt? If so, I’d say the Grand Hyatt is a better option, given that they usually upgrade Diamond members to suites, even without using a suite upgrade. Also, the views from the hotel are phenomenal, especially on the higher floor, assuming you’re facing the direction of the bay. So I’d say it’s a better option in general.
At the same time, the Olive 8 has a much more “chic” interior design, so you wouldn’t go wrong with that option either…
July 14th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Oscar said,
Thanks for answering. And well although I still travelled about 6 times to Europe roundtrip in the last “year” I couldn’t make all my trips on business class. So I could pay the upgrade the only thing is that I have two kids, so what Im going to do is to ask the day before and check the options.
Thanks for the rental car question and the hotel question. BTW when did you stayed I heard the Hyatt grand Cypress Orlando was renovated.
July 14th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
viv said,
Hi! thanks for the reply, Lucky! No, none of us have status with Hyatt, so we will be staying at just the standard room to save some money. I know it is a tough decision, especially after reading your opinions on them, both of them seem so great! One is more classic, one if more chic… so hard to decide!! By the way, I had the chances to stay at Park Hyatt Seoul twice with my girlfriends. I totally agree with everything you mentioned. It is absolutely one of my favorite hotels of all time! Love the contemporary design, and their customer service was also excellent! Your wonderful blog took me back to Seoul and those good memories! Thank you!
July 15th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Ann said,
Love your blog, Lucky. Is busienss class that much better than 1st?
I have 120K US miles and was hoping to fly to Singapore next year, with maybe a stopover in Berlin. So I was eyeing SQ JFK-FRA-SIN and just get an internal flight or train in Germany. I have about just enough SPG points to get 160K US miles (thanks cc bonus!) for this trip. I was planning on transferring those to AA for some as yet undetermined trip, but could use them to make this trip in 1st rather than business.
I don’t travel that much and don’t really play the miles and points game that much and think that US-Europe in Y is good enough for me. But if SQ in first is really significantly better than business, I might slurge. Do you have an opinion? I know you’re usually at the nose, though.
I’m also not sure of my routing, so if you could comment on LX or LH or maybe even TK that’d be good too!
July 15th, 2010 at 11:21 am
lucky said,
@ viv — Happy to hear you had a great experience as well. Love the hotel as such, but even more so, they have customer service down, and that’s key for me.
July 15th, 2010 at 11:26 am
lucky said,
@ Ann — Ultimately there’s a bigger difference between coach and business than business in first class. The way I look at it, business class is a way to arrive at a destination feeling relatively well rested. The biggest difference for me between coach and business is the added space. Flying first class, on the other hand, you arrive feeling taken care of and relaxed, and with some airlines, even pampered. The meals are far superior, there’s much more personal space, but most importantly, there’s a level of personalized service that doesn’t exist in business class.
As far as your redemption goes, I’d get Singapore Airlines out of your mind. Unfortunately they still don’t release any first class award space on SQ25/26, with is the flight you’re looking at. They never do, not even a few days out.
But either way, if you have the miles for it, by all means splurge for first class, in my opinion. It’s worth it! Lots of other airlines are amazing in first class. Consider Swiss on one of their newly reconfigured A330-300s, which fly between JFK and ZRH and JFK and GVA. They have an amazing hard product and great service to boot. Or Lufthansa through FRA is amazing, since you’d have access to the First Class Terminal, where you’ll be driven to the plane in either a Porsche or Mercedes S500.
Or Thai out of BKK is pretty amazing. As a first class passenger you get an hour-long full body massage and get escorted every step of the way, from check-in to boarding.
Or Turkish is worth considering as well, if you can get on their 777-300ER in first class. They fly that plane on JFK-IST and often IST-HKG. If you stopover in IST, as a first class passenger you get a free transfer into the city in a BMW or Mercedes, so that’s quite a deal too.
There are lots of options, you really can’t go wrong. Feel free to email me for some more thoughts or help.
July 16th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
MrT said,
Hi Lucky,
Which Star Alliance program provides the most value when come to redemption for award flight? I’m on Krisflyer program and find that the redemption on SIA is ridiculously expensive. I primarily fly with SIA and Thai Air. I fly at least 50000 miles annually between Australia and countries in Asia.
Should I switch to another FFP? Perhaps UA Milage Plus or Thai Royal Orchid?
Please Advise! Thanks.
MrT
July 17th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
lucky said,
@ MrT — Solely in terms of low redemption levels, I’d say Air Canada is the best. They have very reasonable redemption levels, especially to/from Australia and Asia, and you can even get their “Elite” middle tier status for 35,000 elite qualifying miles, which gets you Star Alliance Gold status. The thing to keep in mind is that not all fare classes accrue full mileage, so you’ll want to check if the fare classes you usually fly would earn full mileage through Air Canada’s Aeroplan.
If you’d like to stick to a US frequent flyer program, I would recommend Continental over United, since they have mostly the same redemption levels, but Continental doesn’t block any partner award inventory, which United does.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Danny said,
Great Blog. Thanks For the info so far.
Do the United 757′s domestics (not PS) have foot rests in first class?
July 17th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — They don’t. None of United’s domestic first class seats have foot rests.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Danny said,
Well that being said do Delta 767 domestic as well?
July 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — I don’t believe they have foot rests either.
July 19th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the info so far. I will be flying into TPA next Thursday, for a conference at the Grand Hyatt.
My first question is I arrive before everyone else the conference does not start until Friday night. Can you recommend somewhere decent for lunch on Friday, I don’t wanna travel to for from the hotel.
Second: Any info on the Grand Hyatt
Last: On the day out, I am leaving a lot later than everyone else, and my flight does not leave until 630, Where would be a good place to kill a few hours near the airport,
Thanks
July 20th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Ruby said,
Hey Lucky!
I’m trying to get onto my first premium status on ANA (I use them a lot) and I need your advice on mileage run routes and/or any tips! From what I read NYC-NRT is the best and most cost efficient from NYC- but I was wondering if you know of any other route within US or to Europe.
Thanks!
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:45 pm
ellyse said,
Hi Lucky! I’ve been following your blog for a couple of months now, and I’d like to give a big thumbs-up, I really enjoy reading your posts!
I have an assortment of FFP cards on various airlines, with Gold status on SQ and AF. I wonder if I could email you for some assistance about which ones to keep/trash, etc? My miles are literally all over the place now!
In addition, I wonder if I’d have a chance to meet up with you IRL someday? I’d really love to meet someone who’s as fanatical about flying as you! I guess I’m “new to the club” but in only a few months I’ve flown a lot and grown to love what I’m doing.
July 24th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Any advice on this award routing regarding other routings/products I should look into?
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-BKK TG F
BKK-HKG TG F
HKG-IST TK F
IST-MUC TK C
MUC-FRA LH C
FRA-ORD LH F
ORD-MEM UA F
Any ideas would be fantastic.
July 25th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Sorry, I might be a bit late here, but I’ll answer nonetheless. As far as places to grab lunch around the GH, that’s a toughie. If you want something more authentic (Cuban), head over to Ybor City, though that’s a bit of a hike. Otherwise the Westshore area has tons of decent chain restaurants, though not much more “authentic” than that.
The Grand Hyatt in Tampa is fine. I stay there all the time. There’s nothing “grand” about it, but it’s a decent hotel nonetheless. Just don’t have high expectations or expect the same quality of some other GH properties, and you’ll be satisfied.
The last day, I’d suggest killing a few hours at the International Plaza. It’s a very nice mall with all kinds of cool shops and restaurants. And it has great airport views no less!
July 25th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Ruby — That’s a toughie. Can you provide some more details. How many miles do you need? Any time/destination constraints?
July 25th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
lucky said,
@ ellyse — Thanks for reading! Absolutely, feel free to email me any time. I’ll do my best to help out, time permitting. I’ve met up with hundreds of readers all around the world, so there are plenty of opportunities. I attend/host FlyerTalk dinners all over the place, and usually even post here when I’m “hosting” a dinner. So when paths cross, I’m all for meeting as many readers as possible. Sounds like you’re on the right track with your new hobby!
July 25th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Halothane — That looks like a fantastic itinerary to me. In your shoes I’d probably try to fit Asiana first class in between FRA and ICN. You could do something ORD-FRA-ICN-HKG-BKK-FRA-ZRH-ORD, or the other way around. There’s a lot to play with there, but Asiana is an airline that really shouldn’t be missed. Or actually, on second thought, you really should do Asiana on the return, so you can experience the FCT twice, though you can experience it either way with an outbound Swiss flight. Have fun!
July 26th, 2010 at 1:02 am
George said,
Hey Halothane, Just putting in 2c for your itinerary. You could try to do(depending on your dates the IST-LHR 77W might be gone):
MEM-ORD UA F
ORD-ZRH LX F
ZRH-CDG LX C
CDG-BKK TG F 77W
BKK-HKG TG F
HKG-IST TK F
IST-LHR TK F 77W
LHR-FRA LH C
FRA-ORD LH F
ORD-MEM UA F
I put in the CDG-BKK on TG 77w suites, as well as changing the IST-MUC to a IST-LHR segment which has F in it instead. There have been varying reviews on TK so I would do OZ myself. You’ll get to see the 77w suite on TG too.
Something else to keep in mind if you fly LX ZRH-HKG you get to go to The Wing lounge at HKIA =)
Sorry to steal your panel Lucky!
July 27th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Ruby said,
Hi Lucky thanks for the reply! I need about 10,000 at least…don’t have much time or destination constraints though. It just seems that I only get 70% on partner airlines…I’m curious to know how you manage so many different airlines at the same time. I would love to know how you got it started!
July 28th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I flew PEK-SFO-DFW on July 26th and only one of my bags made it to DFW. I received the other one today (2 days later). Can get some type of compensation for this? I do not have elite status with United but I did upgrade with miles for the PEK-SFO leg to C. Any idea on how to get some compensation for the inconvenience? Thanks!
July 28th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Ruby — The key for me is to stick to airlines that have affordable mileage run options and offer 100% miles on all the fare classes I usually fly. US airlines are much better about this than foreign carriers. In your case, assuming you live in the US and are just short of status with ANA, I’d suggest doing a few domestic mileage runs. You’ll get a better CPM (cent per mile ratio), but just make sure the fare classes you book qualify for full (or near full) mileage. Good luck!
July 28th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — I would suggest contacting United through the “customer service” link on united.com. It will prompt you to enter flight information, dates, etc., and just leave a short note. Explain you were flying business class and disappointed that your bag arrived two days late, and it inconvenienced you greatly. They should send some miles or an electronic certificate your way.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Harry said,
Thanks lucky! I emailed them and the auto generated response told me that it would take 10 days to get back a response. I’ll have to wait and see…
July 31st, 2010 at 7:47 am
Ruby said,
Thanks Lucky!
August 1st, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Sarah said,
Hey Lucky,
I have 2 questions… first. I need to go to ORD to visit a friend. I bought a OW ticket from my home town to ORD-MKE since it was cheaper ($100) since they compete with Midwest in that market. If I don’t check bags, can I leave in ORD? I probably won’t get flight credit for the ORD-MKE portion.
Also, I am CO Plat, any benefits for flying UA? I read about complimentary upgrades (after 1K, and 1P)… do you have any more details about how it works? I know that I have complimentary access to E+, but does my travel companion get it as well? They charged me $78 for it as additional charges but I believe that it is a mistake. Thanks!
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:37 am
Miley C said,
@sarah, to answer your first question, yes, as long as it’s a OW ticket you can leave at ORD with no problem. However, if it was a RT, the return segments would be canceled if you missed one of the outbound legs. As for the flight credit you won’t get the credit for ord-mke (unless United’s IT system royally goofs up).
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Sarah — @Miley C is totally right about point one. As of now the benefits for flying United has a Continental Plat are limited. You don’t even get Economy Plus for free just yet. But hopefully within the next few months there will be companion upgrades, etc. As of now you get priority boarding, security, and check-in, the same as any other Star Gold, but that’s about it.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Angik Sarkar said,
Hey Lucky,
Reading your blog, I have been inspired to try my luck at bumping. I have two questions
1. For getting bumped, it is better to inform the gate agent beforehand that I can take the next flight. Or should I wait until they call for volunteers.
2. I am traveling on an award ticket with United. Will I get bump benefit, if I offer my seat?
Thanks
August 8th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Chad said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m currently Delta Plat and Hyatt Diamond and pretty much stick to those. I have flown a lot on UA in the past but have had bad experiences, and I worked at the airport in Nashville and although they were DGS employees, the way they are trained and how little they know about operation scares me. Anyway, I spent a good couple hours reading your recent award trip to Asia and having just come back yesterday from one myself on all DL operated flights, I realized its time to hire you to plan my next one. Problem….Delta has few international partners that serve the destinations I want to go, which are primarily Asia/Pacific Islands/Australia and then of course I always like a quick trip to Europe. I am going to stick with DL for domestics for now, but I want to get a new CC to earn miles primarily for awards. I have thought about your fave the SPG, but I am considering the AAdvantage card because although I typically charge 100k annually, I like the idea of getting the 75k miles right off the bat from AA now, and my understanding is that the dollars spent count toward EQM, which would be nice on the few AA flights that I do fly. I guess I’m wondering for my travel desires, spending habits, and future plans to have you plan a fantastic award trip for me (i’m thinking Qantas and Cathay would be nice), which card would you go with?
Thanks!
August 8th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Angik Sarkar — If it looks like the flight might be oversold, get yourself added to the list as soon as possible. This can be done at check-in, the customer service counter, the Red Carpet Club, or the gate. The sooner you’re on the list, the better. And if you add yourself to the list before you get to the gate, be sure to mention to the gate agent that you’re on the list as soon as you get to the gate. Don’t be pushy at that point, but just say “in case you need me, I’ll be sitting over there, so call me whenever.”
If you’re on an award ticket and bump you’d receive the same benefits as on a revenue ticket. There’s actually one huge advantage to being on an award ticket. They’re not allowed to involuntarily deny you boarding. So if you don’t want to be bumped, being on an award ticket is the best way to go. But usually they’ll still let you bump, if you want to.
Hope that helps!
August 8th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Chad — Thanks for the question. The AA sign up offer sure is lucrative, though I don’t believe you earn EQMs for spend on American. Instead, I believe you earn two miles per dollar there when using the card. In your shoes I would sign up for both the AA card and the SPG card, assuming your credit score allows it (generally signing up for two cards at once doesn’t have much of a negative impact on your score).
Then I’d use the AA card to get the initial sign up bonus of 75,000 miles and for all AA purchases, where you’ll earn two miles per dollar. Otherwise I would use the SPG card, where you’ll be earning one SPG point per dollar. Keep in mind that for every 20,000 SPG points you transfer, you receive a 5,000 point bonus. So you’d earn 25,000 AA miles for 20,000 SPG points, or essentially 1.25 miles per dollar. Then you could get a very nice award in CX F.
Hope to be able to assist!
August 8th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
minda said,
Lucky, Thanks for the blog. I read your entry today re: waitlisting for award seats and searched on flyertalk for similar threads but i’m still a little confused. is this right?
i want to fly C domestically on UA on a saver award (only have the fifty thousand miles). i can’t find the day i want, or at least some of the segments don’t have it, so i book an award trip in economy for the day i want, then call and ask to be waitlisted for C? and if it becomes available, will i pay in miles or cash? and it will still be only a saver award (fifty k rt)?
Finally, it looks like when i view online at UA that if there is only first and economy and i want business, they put me in economy. is that right? (from clicking on ‘flight details’ there is the option of flying US airways but from what i’ve read their business product isn’t great.
thanks for any help
August 9th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
lucky said,
@ minda — For the most part you have it right. You need to be confirmed in business class for at least one segment in order for them to charge you the business class price, or else it doesn’t work. Either way, regardless of whether the waitlist clears or not, you pay the business class award rate. So it is somewhat risky, but you do have a very high priority. And yes, this is for saver awards.
You are correct on your last point. On a business class award, if only coach or three cabin first class is available, you get confirmed in economy. You can be confirmed in domestic, two cabin first class on a business class award, though, as it’s basically the same level.
August 9th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
gijoe24jp said,
Lucky,
Here’s one funny story about a Jetblue FA for you to share with everyone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/nyregion/10attendant.html?src=me
August 10th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Brian said,
Hi Lucky. I put this on another post, but I think it got buried since the original post is over a month old. Sorry for the double post. How do you value Asiana and Virgin Atlantic miles? When I ask about VS, I mean VS itself, not transferring MR points to ANA. The reason I ask about these two airlines is their respective Bank of America credit cards. Thanks, I love the blog.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — I think Asiana miles are substantially more valuable. First of all, using their credit card, you earn two miles per dollar, as opposed to one with most other cards. Asiana is great for travel to Europe, since the award chart is distance based and they allow several stopovers per itinerary.
Frankly, I find Virgin miles to be limiting. They have high fuel surcharges and their partners are limited. You have lots more options when sticking to Star.
August 13th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Brian said,
Thanks for the response, Lucky. 2 more quick questions.
1: In your knowledge/experience, how difficult is it to redeem miles on each of the two carriers? For OZ, I’d be redeeming on partners (probably United), for VS I’d most likely be redeeming on VS itself.
2: Does the 5 year expiration rule affect your opinion on the value of OZ miles? I get most of my miles from credit card spending, and it looks like I’d be able to acquire enough miles for biz/1st to Europe within the 5 year limit, but it’d be close.
Thanks.
August 13th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — Redeeming Asiana miles is very easy. You have access to all Star Alliance carriers, which gives you a lot to work with. United availability isn’t great, though I’d avoid them in general anyway. As far as the expiration policy goes, it’s not something I factor in. I can accrue enough miles to be able to redeem within five years, though if you think it’s going to be close, it might not be worth the risk. Toughie.
August 14th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Oscar said,
Which Frequent Flier progam should i join
Lucky: Right now I had travelled a lot from Mexico to Europe with LH mostly in coach, right now Im just a Frequent Traveller (Star Silver) and still need 40 k miles to bet to the Senator Status. What Im really angry is that I just joined them because I travelled with them but now that I think with 50 k miles that I have fly this years I could already be Star Alliance Gold members even with UA or CO
So next year I want to join a Star Alliance member Frequent Flyer Progam but which one? My top are United, Air Canada or Aegean that has the lowest criteria.
United is the one that flies the more to MX and Air Canada just to two destinations.
So in which airline should I become member???
August 14th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — In your case I’d probably go with United, if you’d fly them most between the US and Mexico. In general I’d say Continental miles are more valuable, but soon enough they’ll all be the same. So for the time being I’d go with United then, in your shoes.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Oscar said,
Thanks, and yes Ill go with United.
BTW have you heard the story of our biggest airline, Mexicana? Well is disappearing and is a very valuable member of OW so what do you think more airlines will come to MX maybe UA will add more flights and also AC. I hope TAM also comes. Did you know although Mexico is a hub for Ow and ST there are more airlines from Star Alliance?
August 20th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Mike said,
Hi Lucky,
Which credit card program do you think is better, redemption wise – Membership rewards amex or Starwood amex?
Thanks
August 20th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Yeah, looks like things aren’t going too well in Mexico, eh? Makes sense that there are more Star Alliance airlines, though I’m guessing there’s quite a few more OW and ST flights.
August 20th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — I used to value an SPG points and Membership Rewards point about the same. While you have more options with SPG and earn 25% more miles, Membership Rewards points mostly transfer instantly, while SPG points don’t. But lately there have been so many transfer bonuses that make me value SPG points much more. Like the 35% American bonus or 50% US Airways bonus. With those kinds of earning rates you’re looking at close to two miles per dollar.
August 21st, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Harry said,
Hey Lucky,
I am trying to use US Airways miles for F award from DFW to PEK via FRA on the outbound and then ICN/SFO on the way back. DFW to FRA in F is available, but F on A380 from FRA to PEK is not. Is LH pretty stingy with F availability on the A380 routes? Also, is SQ or OZ F ICN-SFO availability pretty stingy as well? Thanks!
August 21st, 2010 at 1:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Harry — Lufthansa doesn’t release any F award space on the A380. And Singapore doesn’t release any award space on their new first class product, which is what they fly on ICN-SFO. Asiana flies a two cabin product to SFO as well, so no first class. Sorry!
August 26th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Max said,
Hi Lucky,
I’ve a a VCE-IST and IST-JFK leg in F on October, I’d like to know who to call for the transportation car at IST airport.
You didn’t mention in your trip review and I tried TK Us Office and Italian Office too but no answers on the phone.
Thanks in advance
Max
August 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
lucky said,
@ Max — I just called the Turkish number in the US, and they were able to arrange it for me. It took some time as they didn’t know what I was talking about, but it worked in the end.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Sarah said,
Hello Lucky,
I got status matched to 1P yesterday from AA EXP… I know that *G have access to US lounges (excluding UA RCC / CO PC/ US Club. Is there a list someone where of the *G lounges I can access when traveling only on a domestic UA/US/CO ticket? I know there’s a few LH & SQ lounges in the US we can access. It was mention on a UPGRD podcast once. Thanks!
August 30th, 2010 at 8:04 am
sjs said,
What did you do?
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/30/virginia.flight.disturbance/index.html?hpt=T2
August 30th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Arun said,
Hi Lucky
I have a biz trip coming up soon… SIN-AMS on SQ biz class. SIN-AMS part of the itinerary cannot be changed with as I need to be in a meeting on the morning of landing in AMS (land at 7:00 and meeting at 10:00) and there is only 1 non-stop SIN-AMS flight everyday.
But for the AMS-SIN trip, any possibilities of creative routing to increase the # of miles for around the same cost? fyi, Amex travel services handles the booking for my firm, and the round trip cost comes to around 6.2k SGD for biz class.
Would be great if you could point to some software/websites that I could play with to “optimise a trip for miles”. Have tried ITA Matrix etc… but couldnt get it to spit out what I want
Thanks
August 31st, 2010 at 9:09 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — Not sure there’s a formal list anywhere. Off the top of my head, though, I can think of the Senator lounges at DTW and IAD, the Singapore lounge at SFO, and the Swiss lounge at JFK. Don’t think there are any others that are easily accessible.
August 31st, 2010 at 9:10 am
lucky said,
@ Arun — Unfortunately the websites you reference are the only ones I can think of for trying to extend the routing. Generally non-US airlines are going to have less generous routing rules than US airlines, at least when booking a roundtrip as opposed to a RTW or special regional fare.
September 9th, 2010 at 6:09 am
Roland said,
Hi lucky,
I sent you an email about this a while ago but you probably didn’t receive it or something. My question was re Australia to US fares, there is a sudden jump from about $1100rt to around $2800rt in mid-June, for all four carriers. Is this normal?
Thanks
September 9th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Ron said,
Hey Lucky,
Just booked LAX–NRT r/t on united.com, and got to fill out an online survey. In answer to “how can we improve the web site” I put down the following.
In order to login and use my profile I need to use my MileagePlus number. However, I prefer to associate the reservation with my BMI DiamondClub number, where I am Star Gold. It would be good to allow a person to be associated with multiple frequent flier accounts on the web site, so I could use my online profile at the same time as enjoying Star Gold benefits and crediting the flight to BMI.
Any thoughts? Did I somehow miss functionality that already exists? I know that I am entitled to Star Gold benefits even without crediting to BMI, but I want to credit to them anyway (and it’s more convenient to have Star Gold status inside the reservation already). Ideally I’d like to be able to use my MileagePlus profile, be recognized as DiamondClub Gold, and possibly credit my flight to a third partner, all on united.com. I realize United is trying to push MileagePlus (and the web site is VERY pushy), but the flip side of this is making life more painful to other Star elites.
Other question: Lounge recommendations for LAX/NRT? This will be my first time at NRT.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:57 am
lucky said,
@ Roland — Those kinds of crazy fluctuations are somewhat normal. It’s like a roller coaster. Expect it to come back down, assuming you’re a bit flexible.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:59 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Unfortunately United’s not the only airline that doesn’t have the functionality for that. Since United is eons behind when it comes to web stuff, I wouldn’t expect them to make that possible anytime soon, unfortunately. They won’t see a whole lot of ROI there. Assuming you’re flying United, the RCC is the most practical option at LAX. In NRT, definitely use the ANA lounge, which is much nicer and you’re entitled to use.
September 18th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Roland said,
Hi lucky,
For some reason you’re always not getting my emails- check your spam filter
but my question was can you maintain status on one carrier while crediting your RDMs to another or is that not possible?
Thanks
September 21st, 2010 at 6:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Roland — No, sorry, it’s not.
September 27th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Ron said,
Lucky, thanks for the recommendation about the ANA lounge (I’m writing from there right now). Free wi-fi + real food are indeed appreciated. I had no problems entering with my United boarding pass and BMI gold card. At LAX it was a different story — even though my United boarding pass said “Star G” and I had a valid BMI gold card, they weren’t able to check me into the RCC and ended up just waving me in. I feel the biggest benefit at LAX is the premium check-in at terminal 6 (I cleared security 30 minutes before colleagues who finished their non-premium check-in ahead of me), though the check-in process was a bit unprofessional — very nice and friendly, but they forgot to make sure I was carrying my Green Card
September 27th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Jon said,
Ben – Are United regional upgrades useful for anything??? I am 1k so the UDU request is made at the time of any booking and I cannot even request the Regional upgrade to be applied if I am near the flight time and the UDU has not cleared. I cannot see any use for these. If there is one please let me know! It would be GREAT if UA would allow us to use these in OTHER regions that NA – I would love to use those to upgrade a SIN to NRT or BKK to NRT flight!
Thanks! Jon
September 27th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — It definitely does depend on your travel patters, though I do find them useful for three reasons. First of all, there are no UDUs on PS flights, so this is the best way to get an upgrade on those flights. Second, if booking far out, they’re great for securing first class upgrades on flights that are usually almost impossible upgrades (even as a 1K), like A319 hub-to-hub midcons and transcons. And lastly, keep in mind they can be used on family members and friends, even when they’re not traveling with you. That’s a huge benefit, in my opinion.
But rarely do I use them for flights where I’d possibly be eligible for a UDU.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, are you aware of any hotel loyalty programs that limit the length of award stays, ie award stays can’t exceed X nights?
Thanks,
Brian
September 28th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — Hmm, how long term are we talking here? I mean, in theory all stays are limited in length to how far out the calendar allows one to book. I believe a few programs have a 30 or 60 day maximum stay policy. I’m intrigued, though. An award stay for that long? You’re going to make me lose sleep!
September 28th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Brian said,
Thanks for the answer Lucky. I’ve never stayed anywhere longer than a week and a half, and I thought that was a really long time (it was fun, though!).
My thinking was a program might limit the length of an award stay and try to get you to buy additional nights. Say you wanted to stay somewhere for 7 or 8 nights, and the program limited you to 5 nights in an attempt to get you to buy the extra few nights to get more money out of you. I suppose I could be a little cynical, but for some reason that thought popped into my head.
Brian
September 30th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m about to buy a ticket on an Alaska-operated flight that also carries a Delta code. The price is the same on both codes. I’m Delta Gold. Does it matter which carrier I buy it from? I’ve heard that operational problems may get resolved more easily when the ticketing and operating carrier are the same; then again, if I have problems with the mileage credit I may get better treatment from Delta (I plan on crediting to Delta either way). As far as I can tell, elite benefits are the same either way (100% bonus miles, no free bags, unclear on priority check-in, security etc.) — but then again I haven’t read the literature too carefully. Am I missing something? Does it matter who I buy from?
Thanks, -Ron.
September 30th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Here I am answering my own question: I went to book the tickets and found out there’s a difference in change fees — $75 when booked on Alaska, $150 when booked on Delta. I don’t foresee needing to change this trip, and I generally follow a policy of ignoring change fees, on the theory that paying the occasional high fee is better in the long run than consistently paying higher fares. Still, if that’s the only difference, why not take the lower change fee just in case? So I booked on Alaska.
There’s actually a promotion going on of 100% bonus miles for combining Delta and Alaska flights on a single ticket, and I could have done that and earned an extra 7000 skypesos by replacing a non-stop Alaska leg with a 3-segment routing on Delta metal, at the cost of an extra $20 in taxes and fees. But this routing is sufficiently inconvenient that I decided to give up the extra miles
Besides, the promotion language talks about combining a Delta marketed and operated segment with an Alaska marketed and operated segment; while general consensus on Flyertalk is that they probably just mean Delta-operated and Alaska-operated, nobody knows for sure (conveniently, bonus miles don’t post until after the promotion has ended), so that 7000-mile bonus needs to be discounted by a certain risk factor that it might not post.
Anyway, while I’ve booked the ticket already, I’d still appreciate your thoughts in case I missed something. I can cancel without penalty for 24 hours…
Thanks, -Ron.
October 1st, 2010 at 7:59 am
twokudu said,
Hi–
Long time reader, lots of good tips! two questions
1: I’m about to take an expat assignment (3 years) in Australia, covering AU, NZ, South Africa and SEA (Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.). I currently live in a Delta hub, with about 225K this year. No doubt on my 3-4 trips back to US I will keep my Diamond status with the rollover. The question is who should be pledge loyalty over my expat time? My plan right now is mostly Quantas and Singapore for all SEA. Anything I am not thinking about?
2: Hotel rec for Tokyo? Nice hotel, well located…
Thanks!
October 7th, 2010 at 10:30 am
magiciansampras said,
Hey lucky, am I right in understanding that there is no way a 1K can upgrade a CO trans-atlantic flight? I’ve heard CO is giving some 1Ks upgrades for domestic legs, but I assume not on international?
October 7th, 2010 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ twokudu — I think it depends entirely on how often you’re flying and what you value most, and especially what class of service your company is paying for. You’re not going to get nearly as many benefits with a Singapore of Qantas frequent flyer account as you could with others. I would almost suggest crediting to a different program, but that’s only if you’re flying paid business class. Give me some more details and I can give you more ideas.
As far as Tokyo goes, it’s tough to beat the Park Hyatt. Tokyo’s very spread out, though, so I don’t think there’s really a “central” hotel. Depends entirely on where you want to be. I also like the Conrad and InterContinentals (both ANA and Strings).
October 7th, 2010 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — Aside from Star Alliance upgrades, which requires purchasing a full fare ticket, you’re correct.
October 7th, 2010 at 10:37 am
magiciansampras said,
You the man!
October 11th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Jon said,
Lucky – what do you recommend for Hotels in San Francisco right now? I will be staying for 2 nights. I am looking at the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental (which i have heard from you is a fantastic hotel) but the Hilton or Marriott Marquis are also options in my price range. Is anyone currently offering a frequent stay/free nights promo that I should consider?
Thanks!
Jon
October 11th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
Is Lufthansa Miles and More a frequent flier program getting into. When I searched up a 20 hr flight for yyz to del in first, I was only able to get 46 miles while a child seat in coach is around 60 for the same flight. Is it worth the hassle? Is there any other ff programs that I should look into? Must have LH, 9W, AC, AIC, SIA and if possible KFR (not a must).
Thanks
Justin
October 11th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
lance said,
If you buy today’s groupon at cafe press you get 50$ for only 25$… Use it to buy a Chicago DO shirt or other paraphernalia
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu1759834
If you click on the link above I get credit for this find
You can get your Chicago DO Seminar logo stuff here:
http://www.cafepress.com/FTORD
Can’t wait to meet everyone out at the seminar! I live in Chicago, but will be staying at the hotel Saturday night!
This groupon will essentially negate the next day shipping charges, so anyone who wants to order still can do so at a cheaper price than even economy shipping….
October 14th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Angik said,
Hey Lucky,
I always wonder, how do you get yourself on the volunteer list even before the gate attendant arrives? I normally go to the GA only after he/she asks for volunteers.
October 14th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
As always, thanks for your help. I have SFO-LAX-OKC coming up. If SFO-LAX is delayed so that I miss LAX-OKC which is the last flight of the day (I’ve been monitoring and seeing this happen) how is it processed? Is it a VDB or something else? Assuming I can rebook at SFO if I see I’ll miss my connection will I get compensated?
Thanks.
October 18th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Halothane said,
Lucky,
Any ideas on decent routings that will take me DPS on *A in F for two people? I currently have ORD-FRA-ICN-SIN-DPS but it takes forever to get there. Is there anything better that you can think of (even if across the pacific?)
Thanks!
October 18th, 2010 at 3:58 am
George said,
Halothane, you could do ORD-FRA-SIN-DPS, to make it shorter; I would personally do ORD-ZRH-BKK-DPS, flying LX and TG to DPS. Or the other way, you could do ORD-LAX-ICN-SIN(or BKK)-DPS, but the only sector in F would be LAX-ICN. If you look to travel in March/April 2011, you could do ORD-NRT-BKK-SIN-DPS, using availability on ORD-NRT on NH F, and flying NRT-BKK in TG’s 77W F suites. Hope that helps!
October 18th, 2010 at 10:49 am
lucky said,
@ Jon — If you’re at all a Priority Club person, Priority Club currently has a “Sweet Dilemma” promotion offering either double base points or one free night after every two stays, and that’s in addition to the “Crack the Case” promotion, which is quite lucrative, if you’ve received that. I’d definitely go with the InterContinental in this case.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:51 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Assuming you’re flying mostly in paid premium cabins, bmi has one of the best frequent flyer programs, offering double miles for business class and triple miles for paid first class. Soon enough they’ll be merged into Lufthansa, though, so they won’t be around much longer. But even so, you have nothing to lose by signing up for a frequent flyer program. In the case of Lufthansa, they should actually offer some nice premium class bonuses as well for flying more expensive fares.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:52 am
lucky said,
@ Angik — You can add yourself to the list either at check-in, at the Red Carpet Club, with a different gate agent at a different gate, etc. Almost anyone can add you to the volunteer list.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:53 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Definitely not processed as a VDB, unfortunately. If it’s due to weather you’re due nothing (not even hotel), and if it’s a mechanical issue or within the airline’s control, you’ll likely get a free hotel and meal voucher. They won’t proactively offer you any compensation, but you can probably get a voucher worth something by emailing customer relations.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:55 am
lucky said,
@ Halothane — @George stole the words right out of my mouth. Besides, since when is a long routing a bad thing?
October 19th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Avi said,
Lucky,
I am an avid points and miles collector (AA Plat, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, etc.) but I am coming up short in one key area. I fly United regularly from ORD to short haul destinations for work (think single class RJ routes like OMA, LNK, CAK, MCI and other fun cities) along with some other occasional trips like LGA or PHL. These are good yields for UA (sometime .50/mile) and I have accumulated 30+ segments, but less than 30K status miles as a lowly Premier. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get to Premier Exec this year, either. I am considering leveraging a Pass Plus purchase to try and get Premier Exec or 1K. Short of that, can you suggest any ways I can help myself?Can it be done through credit card spend (I charge a good amount for business) ? Would status match with AA help, or would I lose it by not flying enough within a trial period? Or am I just a casualty of the elite tiering and segments? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
October 19th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Avi — You can only earn 5,000 elite qualifying miles per year through United’s credit card, so there’s no way to really get ahead on the status front through credit cards. It seems you’re already an American Platinum, so I’m not exactly sure how you’d have a status trial on them. You could always do a challenge on United for Premier Executive, though that requires 15,000 elite qualifying miles within 90 days to maintain the status. The only real suggestion I can make is to try and pad segments whenever possible. If your fares are that high, you should be able to add segments on at least some of your itineraries, assuming you have the time. Sadly you’re a victim of US elite FFPs, which are more concerned about miles than revenue. Wish I had better ideas, sorry…
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:24 am
EE said,
Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Frankfurt from the East Coast. Company policy dictates I fly United or Lufthansa if at all possible. Since I do not have status on either it comes down to which Business Class product is better. I believe both companies have been rolling out an improved Business Class offering. For Lufthansa I believe it is available on the 747-400 and A330 but not on the A340-600. United will likely be on a 777 and I am not sure how far the new product has been rolled out. Which would you recommend?
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 am
lucky said,
@ EE –Since it’s going to be an overnight flight in one direction, I’d say United is a better option if and only if you can get onto a 767. All of the 767s have been converted, and feature fully flat beds. The entertainment and seat are much better on United than Lufthansa, but typically the food and service will be substantially better on Lufthansa.
All the Lufthansa planes actually feature the same slanted flat beds in business class. But if it’s a United 777 vs. Lufthansa, I’d take Lufthansa, since on the 777 you could end up in a cradle seat or a flat bed.
October 24th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
tima1212 said,
Lucky,
My wife and I attended your presentation at the Chicago DO; we greatly appreciated your talk. We are not frequent flyers, but flying United on the way home my headphone jack was busted. As you suggested, I emailed United and just received a $100 e-cert
My question for you — if I have 2 or more e-certs, can they be stacked on the same reservation? Please let me know — THANKS!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
lucky said,
@ tima1212 — Unfortunately only one e-cert per passenger per itinerary. Sorry!
October 24th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
DiscoPapa said,
Ok Lucky, with the impending introduction of one-way *A awards on UA miles, I’m getting ready to blow all 75k in one big swoop. Basically, it looks like it gets me first class most anywhere from the US. Based on your travels, what would you recommend? The Swiss first product looks great… I remember your Turkish flight looked awesome… Lufthansa’s FCT looks nice, but probably not worth blowing my miles just to visit it. I’ve always though SQ would be the pinnacle…?
With keeping Starnet blocking in mind, what would be your pick of airline and route? This is my one time going big on Star Alliance in Int’l first…. it’s gotta be worth it! It doesn’t matter where, I’ll non-rev back.
Thanks!
October 24th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
oleg said,
@tima Technically Lucky is correct; however, in practice web support can do it. Granted worthwhile to consider the hassle of dealing with web support versus benefit. (Just recently booked a family trip – 4 on same PNR with 4 ecerts. E- was almost full, so purpose was both E+ for everyone as well adjacent seats. My entire phone call to web support lasted around 2 hours. Granted I was on hold for 90% of it. So if you want to, it can be done – just make sure you have a decent speakerphone and don’t mind the music.)
October 24th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
oleg said,
(Assuming talking one ecert per passenger. You can’t stack multiple ecerts for the same passenger)
October 25th, 2010 at 12:19 am
lucky said,
@ DiscoPapa — I’d still say the best redemption out there is SQ F from LAX to SIN via NRT in first class. They typically only open up award space four days before departure, but they do so reliably. If you really want to maximize value, tag on a flight from JFK to LAX on PS.
Other than that, TK F from JFK to IST is pretty unbeatable. I’d say if you haven’t experienced the FCT, LH F isn’t a bad option either, or LX if you can find the space with a stop in FRA, so you can experience the FCT.
But in your shoes I’d still go with SQ F, and if you really want to spice it up, do SQ from LAX to NRT and TG from NRT to BKK on their leased 77W from Jet Airways.
October 25th, 2010 at 7:42 am
George said,
Hey Lucky,
Would like some advice on an award booking I have! My partner and I are flying Australia – BKK-DEL – Europe in F. It seems that our BKK-DEL segment has been changed from TG F to TG C. I only realised this as I randomly went to airlineroute.net and saw the plane change. What would you do in my situation? Is it TG’s responsibility to contact me? If so, if I just turn up to the airport, since they probably won’t contact me, should they compensate me?
Thanks so much!
October 25th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Ybjfk said,
Lucky:
The wife and I are planning a little bit of a Holiday. Now, I know it is your brother that enjoys the bubbly on the flights. My question is what non-Asian star alliance carrier has the good stuff (Dom, Krug, Le Dame, Chris, etc.) in F? Or do I have to fly Ana, or Sin to get the good stuff? Thanks!
October 26th, 2010 at 1:09 am
Boraxo said,
Lucky-
I have a choice of flying TPAC business class on Cathay (connecting in HKG) or United (via SYD). Normally an easy choice, but here’s the rub: if I fly Cathay I will drop from PremEx to Premier on UA (though I’d earn AA Gold). Oh, and I’d also lose about 15k bonus miles on UA. What would you do? Is Cathay that good that it’s worth giving up 1P? To be honest I’m not sure how much I’ll miss the perks as I don’t fly UA domestic much and when I do it’s usually with kids which disqualifies me from exit rows and UDU.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
lucky said,
@ George — While Thai should contact you, I wouldn’t count on it. What kind of an aircraft was the flight downgraded to? What airline did you book the ticket through, and is it an award ticket?
October 26th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — That’s a great question. Let me ask my brother and see if he has any insight on the situation.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Boraxo — Believe it or not, I’d go with United. Cathay business class is good, but not that great. First class is exceptional, but business class isn’t that special compared to the competition. I actually think United’s hard product is just about as good. Food is a bit better on Cathay, but not much (again, talking about business class here). Service, of course, is much better, but that’s not worth 15,000 miles, in my opinion.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
George said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the reply. It’s an award flight, from US DM. It is being downgraded from a 747-400 (albeit old style) to a 777-300. I’m not so fussed about the first class on board, but more about the lounge access on the ground!
October 26th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ George — And you’re certain it’s not the three cabin 777 that Thai is leasing from Jet Airways, right? Because that would be a huge upgrade. Anyway, compensation is very much dependent upon whether you booked a paid ticket, award ticket, or upgraded.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
George said,
Yeah I’m sure it isn’t, since they’ve changed the availability of classes to only C and Y for that plane now. If they did, that would be a wonder surprise. It wouldn’t make sense either to place a 77W onto that route though…
It’s an award ticket… so I’m not sure how much compensation they will give… will it hurt to ask at BKK airport? Do you think they’ll grant me F lounge access with my original itinerary which states I’m meant to be in F?
Thanks again!
October 27th, 2010 at 8:30 am
xan said,
Hey Lucky – You recently helped me with a trip – can’t wait – and I have a new issue with US Airways.
They are running a promotion where you get a 100% match on miles purchased. I joined their dividend program, waited the 12 days the site requires, held a trip to Italy with reservations and then went to make my miles purchase – that’s when disaster struck.
The website says 50,000 +50,000 bonus, but when I go to pay, it says 50,000 +10,000 bonus. I have been on the phone with them about 4 times. They agree there is a problem, but they keep shuttling me around the company!
They said they would extend the hold on my reservation, bu I don’t believe them at this point. My traveling companion is having the same problem. We don’t know what to do!
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Xan
October 27th, 2010 at 9:13 am
lucky said,
@ George — Ouch, just the standard 777 is pretty painful for a flight of that length. Unfortunately since the EU isn’t involved here, chances are that the most compensation you’ll get is a percentage of your miles back (the difference between first class and business class) for the distance you were downgraded (proportionally, based on the length of your entire award).
Have they reticketed your reservation (in other words, does your fare code now show “I” (business) instead of “O” (first)? If not, in your shoes I’d just wait till you get to the airport and raise a stink then, as that will be the best chance you have at actually having access to the first class lounge. Otherwise, the only other thing you can probably get out of this is a free reroute, if there were an alternative with first class, though I can’t think of any other three cabin products to Delhi off the top of my head from Asia that would work.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:15 am
lucky said,
@ xan — Sorry to hear about that. Very strange, sounds more like an IT issue than anything else. I’ve never heard of such a problem before. While they can easily hold the ticket if you’re flying on US, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to extend the hold if you’re flying on a partner airline, so I wouldn’t count on what they’re saying to be correct. Unfortunately, though, when dealing with a company like US Airways, you’re kind of at their mercy. Not a whole lot that can be done other than to wait and hope the space is ultimately still there. And maybe request a bit of compensation for the inconvenience.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:59 am
George said,
Lucky,
Sorry I’m taking up three posts!
ON the reservation it now shows ‘I’ instead of ‘O’, but the one I printed off still has ‘O’…
Since I booked with US Dividend miles, I doubt they can refund miles… and if they reroute me, the only option would be BKK-SIN-DEL, and I doubt they will do that in SQ F for me!
I will cause a stink at the airport anyway, and I’ll let you know how it goes? Any tips for causing a stink? =)
October 27th, 2010 at 10:18 am
lucky said,
@ George — Let me know! I would say just be polite but firm and persistent. That seems to work best all over the world, especially in Asia.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:29 am
John said,
Lucky I am using United miles to go 1st class to India. I have a choice of going on a United flt from ORD to FRA (777-200) or a Lufthansa flt from Houston to FRA (747-400). Which one should I choose?
Also, if I am going from one Lufthansa flt (both long haul intercont. 1st class flts) to another in FRA with a long layover will they pick me up from the 1st flt and drop me off at the first class terminal in FRA?
Thanks
October 28th, 2010 at 9:07 am
lucky said,
@ John — I would definitely go with Lufthansa. United will likely be the old configuration, which just isn’t a great experience. Unfortunately Lufthansa doesn’t do pick-ups unless you have a fight connection, so if you want to go to the First Class Terminal you’ll have to leave security and immigration and walk along the outside of the airport to the entrance of the terminal. They do basically anything they can to avoid connecting passengers from using it, unfortunately!
October 29th, 2010 at 8:28 am
John said,
Thanks Lucky, I’ll use Lufthansa. Regarding the pickup from the plane to the FCT you gave conflicting info. I would take the Lufthansa flt from Houston in 1st class and then have a 3 hr 40 min layover in FRA before my next flt to India in 1st class on another Lufthansa flt. In this case would they pick me up from the 1st flt and drop me off at the first class terminal in FRA?
Thanks
October 29th, 2010 at 10:02 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sorry, I had a typo in my last post which caused the confusion. I meant to say “tight,” not “fight.” So they won’t pick you up.
October 29th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
David said,
What’s up with using System Upgrades and Regional Upgrades on United. Have booked four trips recently trying to use regional and system upgrades both internationally and domestically. In all cases, I have been immediately put on a wait list when all seats have been booked. Is this what is coming with the merger with Continental? No more confirmed at booking seat available?
October 29th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ David — The space definitely isn’t there as it used to be, but it has nothing to do with Continental. I’ve actually found that domestically, confirmable upgrade space is pretty decent. Internationally, not so much. Keep in mind that there has been a huge reduction in the number of premium seats thanks to the new business and first class seats, which are in large part to blame for the lack of upgrade space. The 747 has a third fewer business class seats than before, for example. No doubt it will get even worse with Continental, though.
October 31st, 2010 at 10:17 am
Ybjfk said,
Lucky:
My question is when are you going to do it REAL BIG and fly Emirates in F Class? You have done Cathay, ANA, LH, Swiss, SQ, Turk, but never Emirates? I think a trip to Dubai is in order…and I expect another one of your awesome trip reports!
Cheers!
October 31st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — Really funny timing, actually. It’s in the works. Stay tuned for details very soon.
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 pm
DiscoPapa said,
Hey Ben, thanks for the advice. Currently, I’m thinking of burning my miles on LX ZRH-NRT… would like to have fly DL on the way over, and then DL NRT-xxx and make it a RTW. Anyways, I’m about 6k short on my UA miles. What’s the easiest way to earn 6k in the UA program? Upcoming IC hotel stays are already tied up with their current promo… UA would charge me $200+ to buy the 6k. Any thoughts?
Also, if I had LX first starting out of FRA, I’d be able to access the FCT? So I could be on LX from FRA-ZRH-NRT, or does it have to be LH out of FRA?
Thanks!
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:08 pm
lucky said,
@ DiscoPapa — Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I’m not sure how soon you want to book the award, but I’d consider a UA credit card, signing up for Netflix through United, maybe take advantage of the 1,000 miles for your first qualifying dine through Mileage Plus dining, maybe something through the shopping mall, etc. Can’t think of anything other than that.
You could indeed access the FCT either way, through to be on the safe side I would book Lufthansa on the first segment.
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Derek said,
Lucky – What is feasibility of getting 4 tix to LHR/LGW on Star Alliance either from PWM / MHT / BOS using US miles ? I am looking for family trip in June 2012 (before the olympics) and wondering whether this is even realistic. Since it would be with kids, would want fewest number of stops and would want to be in same cabin, though a split of 2/2 would be fine I guess.
Just wondering if getting four seats even has a shot on LH or say UA. Was thinking of of routings like BOS-FRA-LHR or PWM-IAD-LHR. Is Y or C better for tix availability in this situation ?
Thanks.
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Derek — Actually shouldn’t be too tough with a bit of flexibility. Coach would be a bit easier, but getting four business class tickets on Lufthansa through Frankfurt isn’t unusual at all. That would still take two stops, though. Chances are you won’t find four award seats on Continental, United, or US Airways nonstop to London, though. Shoot me an email if you need help planning.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Derek said,
@Lucky – Thanks for the reply. Why two stops, are the BOS-FRA nonstop flights difficult to get tix on (2 flights a day) or are other gateways easier ?
Trust me, if I have to drive from PWM to BOS to get 1 less flight with kids, I will do it
.
Thanks.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Derek — Sorry, totally missed BOS. Those flights usually aren’t too tough to get, so you could do it with one stop.
November 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Sarah said,
Hey Lucky,
I am flying on a LH F award with this routing: DFW-FRA-ICN. I really want to visit the famous Lufthansa First Class Terminal during my transit. My layover is about 8 hours in FRA so time will not be an issue. I know that I will not get picked up with the car service when I land. Do I need to clear customs and immigration first? And then walk to the FCT or is the option with going to F check-in and ask for a car to the FCT still available? I know that you did that a few years ago with your brother on a trip from TPA-ORD-EWR-FRA-MLA. Any tips on maximizing the FCT and LH F experience? I probably don’t have to worry about luggage since it will be checked all the way to ICN right? Thanks!
November 4th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Sarah — Sounds like a fantastic trip! Unfortunately there are no pick ups anymore for getting to the First Class Terminal — you have to walk there. You have to clear customs and immigration and then turn left and walk along the outside roadway until you see the First Class Terminal. It’s not too hard to enjoy the FCT. Be sure to have a nice meal there, but not right before your flight so that you ruin your hunger. Also be sure to grab a rubber ducky from one of the baths.
By the way, as a first class passenger you are entitled to a free day-room at the Hotel Kempinski, with free transfers both ways, if you’d prefer. It’s something to consider given how long your layover is.
November 5th, 2010 at 3:24 am
sarah said,
@Lucky
Thanks for the insight. What is the day-room at the Hotel Kempinski and free transfer? Just a place to sleep? I am looking forward to the trip in LH First on 2 legs. I will be transiting thru Frankfurt and get visit the FCT on my birthday as well.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:22 am
magiciansampras said,
Lucky, I’m confused about how multi-pax PNR upgrades work and I’m looking for a good strategy. Currently I have a JFK-SFO leg where my wife (2P) and I (1K) are on the same PNR. I’ve applied two CR1s to the reservation and we’re both waitlisted. Is my understanding correct that the best chance we have to both be upgraded is to split the PNR in hopes that they clear one seat at a time? Or, alternately, is it best to keep us together so that when I clear she will too (assuming 2 seats open). I’m confused. Suggestions?
I know when we get to the airport it is every man for himself.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ sarah — Yes, it would be a hotel room where you can sleep for a few hours. It’s a fairly nice hotel, so not a bad place to kill four hours, if you wanted a change of scenery.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:34 am
lucky said,
@ magiciansampras — If you want to ensure that you either both get upgraded or neither of you get upgraded, you’re best off staying on the same record. But if you want the best shot of both of you clearing, you’re ultimately best off on separate records. If United only opens up one “NC” (confirmable business class upgrade seat), you and your wife would be skipped over on the list, and they’d go to the next person. Then again, they typically release upgrade space in chunks, so hopefully that won’t be an issue either way. You should have a slightly better chance at the upgrade if splitting the record, but it might not be worth the headache/worry associated with it.
November 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am
magiciansampras said,
Word, that confirmed what I thought. It seems like we might have a slightly better shot splitting up, but it’s probably a minimal difference and not worth the worry. Thanks, lucky!
November 8th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Quasiconvexity said,
Lucky,
My wife and I are currently booked (on an LH F award booked using UA miles) on DTW-FRA in LH F and FRA-MAA in LH C. Currently, there is only one F award seat available but the UA 1K agent I spoke to told me she would not be able to split the record (and getting the 1 confirmed F seat) without canceling the entire booking. Is she right or should I try calling UA again to check? Do these waitlists usually turn out okay?
Thanks much.
November 8th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Quasiconvexity — Unfortunately the agent was correct. While you can split records that are entirely on United, you can’t usually split records on Star Alliance partners. There’s no way to waitlist on a Star Alliance partner, though Lufthansa is usually pretty good about opening up first class award space, so I wouldn’t necessarily be worried.
November 9th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
quasiconvexity said,
Thanks Lucky. F space opened up today on LH exactly two weeks before departure. We have a one hour connection in FRA (arrive and depart LH F) – given how far apart the gates are, do you think LH will have us picked up in a van/car when we land and transported to the other terminal?
November 9th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
lucky said,
@ quasiconvexity — Frankly, I doubt it. If you’re running late they might, but otherwise not, more than likely.
November 13th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Gabe said,
The new PC points break list is out. Too bad I cant find any use for them this time around.
November 15th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Gabe — This one seemed to be particularly lame, if it was even a full update. Seems like there weren’t any InterCon properties on the list…
November 20th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
John said,
Ben, what Hong Kong hotels would you recommend? Also, have you taken that UA flt (747-400) from Chicago to Hong Kong in 1st? If so, how would you rate that flt?
Thanks
November 21st, 2010 at 12:05 am
lucky said,
@ John — Depends on your budget and if you have any hotel allegiance, but I think it’s pretty tough to beat the InterContinental or the Conrad, if you’re looking for a really nice hotel. As far as UA895, the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong goes, I love the views and it’s United’s longest flight, so I have always loved it. Hard product and entertainment is fine, food is mediocre, and service is hit or miss (I’ve had both extremes). Should be able to get a good bit of sleep, though!
November 21st, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I’m doing a decent amount of traveling for interviews and have decided to stick to priority club hotels for my stays. I fly United and use Mileage Plus exclusively, do you think it would be better to credit my PC stays to MP or accumulate PC points?
November 21st, 2010 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Definitely credit to Priority Club, in my opinion. The conversion rate to United miles for hotel stays with Priority Club isn’t good at all, in my opinion.
November 21st, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Okay, cool. Do you consider redeeming PC points for non-point break stays to be a great value though?
November 21st, 2010 at 3:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — I think some of the really high end hotels are a good deal at 40,000 points, and frankly, it’s quite easy to earn Priority Club points, so I definitely consider it to be a good value.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
UltraSnow said,
Lucky, Can I use US Airways miles@110k (according to US Airways Star Alliance award chart) Round trip in F from SIN to FRA via NRT and LAX?
So it look something like this: SIN>NRT>LAX>FRA and then FRA>SIN
Thanks Lucky.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
UltraSnow said,
Lucky, I am planning trip like this so I can have a stop over in LAX atleast for a day or two. Thanks Lucky.
November 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ UltraSnow — Sorry, it’s not legal to go from Asia to Europe via the US. That would be two separate awards…
December 4th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Fern Goodman said,
Lucky,
My husband and I have 120,000 AM EX gold card miles. We would like to use the miles for an upgrade to business class to fly to Paris. We live in New Mexico.
Do we have enough miles,and if so what do we need to do. Thank you
FJG
December 5th, 2010 at 11:17 am
lucky said,
@ Fern Goodman — Rather than trying to upgrade, I would suggest going for an outright award ticket. Through Aeroplan, an American Express Membership Rewards partner, business class award tickets are 80,000 miles each. So for 160,000 miles you have two business class seats. The remaining 40,000 Membership Rewards points would cost you $1,000 to buy directly from American Express, which would be much, much cheaper than booking a revenue ticket and upgrading, not to mention much less risky. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com.
December 5th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, I’ve got 2 quick questions.
1. Does the recent difficulties with getting F awards on LH affect the value of US Dividend Miles in your view? Going to Europe in first class on Star, the only options from Washington DC are LH and UA. Business class isn’t anything to sneeze at, but if my goal is first class award tickets, do you think I’d be better off crediting my miles to another program? I’m not that heavily invested into DM (yet).
2. In a somewhat related note, I’ve seen people knock UA’s first class. I’ve also seen the same thing regarding AF’s business class. Are UA first and AF business truly bad, or are they just not as good as similar offerings from other airlines? The only premium cabin I’ve ever flown in is Club World on BA, if that helps with comparison.
Thanks,
Brian
December 5th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian —
1. Tough to say. As of now it’s still quite easy to get a “manual sell” out of US Airways. Since I’ve been able to get around it in every instance up until now, I can’t say that I consider the miles to be any less valuable… as of now. Long term it’s tough to say. Is their blocking just a temporary thing to see how it changes their award cost structure, or is it permanent? It’s tough to say, but it’s definitely not good news. I’d say US Airways is still a great program for buying miles for cheap, but the fact that they give away so many miles for cheap really makes me worried about the value of the miles for those that are earning them “the hard way.” So in general I’d avoid crediting stuff to them, unless it’s much more lucrative than the alternative.
2. Great question. It’s all relative, but both products are still quite good. For United, the hard product and entertainment is quite excellent on their new product, the food is awful by international first class standards (though acceptable by “normal” standards), and the service is hit or miss, from awful to awesome. Some of my best flights have been in United international first class, along with some of my worst. Air France doesn’t have particularly comfortable seats, and the food is French (in my opinion, it doesn’t translate very well in the air). The service is French too… ’nuff said about that!
December 6th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Damon Risucci said,
Hi Lucky,
Love your site! I have 450K Amex Reward Points and I”m looking for 4 first class tickets from NYC area to Madrid with a return leg of Nice to NYC. We are driving from Madrid to Nice. Any ideas if this could work?
Thanks,
Damon
December 6th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Damon Risucci — That should be possible with a bit of flexibility (generally four award seats on a single flight is tough, which is why flexibility is the key). But by transferring the points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, you have a good chance at getting first class space on Lufthansa through Frankfurt. If you need help planning the award, keep in mind I offer an award travel consulting service — pointspros.com.
December 10th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
hannafree said,
I just made gold status in 10 months, and am traveling weekly for my organization-sometimes with 1-day turnarounds. I can tell this much travel is taking a toll on my health. For the life of me I can’t find a policy statement from any organization or company that has tackled how much their employees should fly, and how many weekend/holiday they can miss, or anything other than reimbursement and frequent flyer HR statements. I’d love back up from someone else to help me with my conversation. ??? Help!
December 10th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
lucky said,
@ hannafree — I don’t think any companies really address that. If you feel you’re traveling too much, I would suggest seeing if you can transfer to a more “stationary” position or find a new job.
December 12th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Dave said,
Lucky,
I really enjoy your site. Tell me, whats the secret to getting 2 CX F awards on the same flight? Should I try to book 331 days out or wait until the last minute. Is this even possible from LAX? Would your booking service be able to do this?
December 12th, 2010 at 9:04 am
George said,
Lucky,
Just a follow up to my question before. I turned up to BKK with my BKK-DEL in C, downgraded from F, connecting to DEL-ZRH in LX F. Feigned upset, conversed with the Royal First ladies for around an hour, and they wouldn’t budge, saying that it was the ticketing carrier’s fault, not theirs. I pushed for quite a while and in the end I was able to get FCL access, the 1 hour massage, but no compensation. The FCL was what I wanted anyway! Turned out ok! Thanks for the pointers.
Wondering if you could help with something else. My family are looking at a celebration trip for 4 people, in F, from South Pacific to Canada. What routes can you recommend which are likely to have F4 available? I’ve found MUC-YUL, but I’d love them to try the FRA FCL, although I’ve never been to the MUC FCL myself. I’d imagine LX ZRH-YUL would never have 4 F seats!
Thanks so much again
December 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
spanky said,
Haha, very nice writeup on your saturday afternoon with the suntrust debit cards, i loved it. One quick question though. you had 2 business accounts, with 5 authorized users each to make 10 debit cards? Correct? Did you have to provide the ssn and birthdate of the additional users? Did you really use 10 people from your family? (i.e. brothers, sisters, mom, dad, grandma, dodg?)or did you just use various spelling of your own name?
December 14th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — Cathay Pacific first class isn’t too tough to get at all. Instead of flying out of LAX, consider departing SFO or YYZ. There’s much better first class award availability out of those airports. And absolutely, this is where my award consulting service could be of some help, though frankly, even without a lot of advance notice, Cathay Pacific first class award space isn’t too tough to find.
December 14th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
lucky said,
@ George — Thanks for the follow up. Sorry you didn’t get any comp, though at least you got F lounge access. Anything on a Lufthansa 747 would give you the best shot of four first class seats on a single flight, though with Lufthansa reducing the size of their premium cabins, even that is proving difficult.
December 14th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
lucky said,
@ spanky — That’s correct. And yes, I provided legitimate names and SSNs for the authorized users.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Emil said,
Hello Ben,
I’ve been an avid reader of the blog for about a year now and, between it and flyertalk, I’ve learned a lot about frequent flier programs and award flights. However, I know next to nothing about hotel rewards programs–not even the most basic things. In fact, I don’t have an account with any of the major hotel groups.
You’ve been mentioning these rewards more and more lately, but I find this piecemeal introduction a bit confusing. Is there a good summary or guide for newbies to hotel rewards somewhere on the web? I figure there must be, and I just haven’t found it yet.
Thanks!
December 16th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
You overnight frequently at LAX, right? Are you familiar with the following cluster of hotels in Culver City: Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Westside, Courtyard Los Angeles Westside, Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside? At least the Radisson brands itself as an airport hotel (with a free shuttle).
I’m looking at a 4-night stay (not for myself), basic room, and these three are the most convenient geographically. Points/miles/status don’t matter, price is not a major factor (they’re all in the same range, wifi included), nor are external amenities such as parking and shuttles. It’s the inside that matters to me — rooms, dining, gym/pool, and overall which would offer the most pleasant stay. If you have knowledge or experience with these hotels, I’d appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks, -Ron.
December 16th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Thanks for the question. That’s a toughie. I think one useful post, if you haven’t read it yet, would be this one:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2010/07/12/is-hotel-loyalty-worth-it/
I’d be happy to make a “newbie” guide, though I guess it all comes down to whether travel is for business or leisure, how much you’d usually stay otherwise, etc. Give me some more info about your travel patterns, and I’d be happy to provide you with some general ideas. I think the key is just understanding the promotions that are out there and being willing to “mattress run” when it makes sense.
December 16th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — Wish I had some ideas, though unfortunately I haven’t stayed at any of those. I do stay near LAX a lot, though have always done the Westin or the Priority Club properties. Sorry!
December 16th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
While the term “Sky Pesos” when referring to Delta miles is pretty funny, it isn’t so amusing when trying to redeem them for premium flights! What do you think is the best use of Delta miles? Which SkyTeam premium cabins are best among the alliance?
Is their a tool (compliant with Mac) to check for availability, so when you call Delta, you have already done your homework?
December 16th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Heh, well said. A few good contenders for award tickets using Delta miles, in my opinion:
1) Delta flies their new business class product to London, and availability is very good off season. So if London is of interest, that’s a great use of miles.
2) Delta partners with V Australia. They have an excellent business class product with surprisingly great award availability, so at 150,000 miles that’s a great deal.
3) Korean Air is pretty good about award availability between the States and Asia.
4) Air France has excellent award availability on the A380, even out of IAD next summer (which is their new A380 destination).
Delta and AIr France availability can be searched on delta.com, airfrance.com, and expertflyer.com. For Korean Air availability you’ll need to call. Checking V Australia availability requires signing up for a Velocity Rewards account and searching directly on their website.
Hope that helps!
December 20th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Oscar said,
I know that you don’t actually stay on Marriotts but you might help me.
I’m going to take a flight from El Paso, so I will be staying there one night before my flight.
My flight leaves ELP at 6:35 a.m. and I’ll be arriving the day before at about 5:00 p.m. Right now I have points with Marriott and their 3 main properties ask for the same points. I could stay at the Marriott, 3 minutes from ELP, Courtyard 5 minutes from ELP or Residence Inn, 7 minutes from ELP. Marriott and Courtyard both offer me shuttle to the airport. The courtyard has 2 queen beds and the Marriott has 2 double beds, but their rooms are a bit small.
The Residence Inn has the largest room but it only has one queen bed and one sofa-bed. BTW we are 2 adults and 2 kids. I can say that the plus of the Marriott is that they have room-service.
Please tell me in which one should i stay.
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:28 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I do my best to add value where I can, though not having stayed at any of those hotels or even being familiar with them, I don’t think I’d be qualified to suggest a hotel! I’d certainly say that with four people, two queen beds might be important, so I might make my decision based on that. But I think you analyzed the options pretty well, so decide which aspect of the stay is most important to you (big beds, close to airport, room service, etc.), and go with that option.
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Justin said,
Lucky,
I’d love to get inside your head to see the anatomy of your reservation hunt from inception to confirmation code.
We know where you like to stay and what airlines you like to fly, but what is the best way to book?
For hotel stays, how do you make the majority of your reservations? Through the hotels website? Do you search a third party site like Expedia, or do you call up the hotel or the reservation line to try and broker a deal?
For airlines, do you call up to see if they’ll over you a lower booking class that reservations can see but United’s .bomb cannot? Do you search to see if an affiliate airline (like US Airways) is selling the same flight for a lower price on a codeshare? Or do you check Travelosity for good measure.
What are your secrets to all these $99 4 1/2 star stays?!
Any tricks to use, such as AAA or discount clubs (do they actually ask to see a AAA card at check in?) And how can you get those rates to appear?
Thanks,
Justin
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Kassie said,
Hi Lucky,
Well, I don’t have near as much experience nor miles as everyone else, lol. I was wondering if you could suggest (maybe sans acronyms) a good card for me to invest in. I live in San Fran, and my boyfriend lives in the UK (near London). I have about 12K miles now, and I keep getting Virgin Atl. card offers in the mail. The latest one is for 45K miles. Eventually, I’ll be moving over there (but still traveling to the States and around Europe), but until then I’ll be racking up miles. I keep hearing about AMEX and that V.A. isn’t as good. What do you think for someone in my position (ie. little experience -but learning – with little miles, and looking to get more quickly!)
Love your site. I’m reading the rest of your articles all day today! (hurray xmas vacation!)
Thanks,
Kassie
PS. anyone else can answer as well if they have solid advice, too.
December 24th, 2010 at 6:26 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — I’ll probably make a longer post about this sometime soon, though my booking process is surprisingly simple. For hotels, I typically look at the Hyatt and Priority Club options directly on their website to see which hotels are in my consideration set. Then I’ll typically go to TripAdvisor to look at pictures and FlyerTalk to read reviews. I never use third party sites (and don’t even use BigCrumbs or the like, which I should), so then go back to the website and compare rates. I just select “AAA” from the menu, and then compare that to the normal rate, since those are the only ones I’m eligible for (I’ve never actually been asked for proof of AAA membership at check-in, though I do have a membership). Sometimes I’ll look at the “Friends & Family” rate, if I’m not desperate for points. The only other thing I look at for Priority Club is the bonus points package. If they offer points for less than half a cent each, I sometimes bite, depending on my mood.
On the airline front my booking process is really simple. I almost never *have* to go anywhere, so I book entirely based on whether United has a reasonable fare or not. I’ll typically do “dummy” award bookings while logged into expert mode on united.com to see if the fare classes on the individual segments pan out, or if I could get a more favorable routing that way. I then just either book as a one way, roundtrip, or multi-city if the flights I want don’t come up.
That’s it! Let me know if you have any other questions, please.
December 24th, 2010 at 6:30 am
lucky said,
@ Kassie — Generally I’m not a fan at all of anything Virgin Atlantic when it comes to award bookings, because their fuel surcharges and taxes are outrageous. An “award” ticket on them won’t feel like any sort of reward, trust me. In your shoes, I would try and maximize a few credit card bonuses right now. American is offering a 75,000 mile sign-up bonus on their Citi AAdvantage Visa and American Express credit cards, which is more than enough for a roundtrip to the UK in coach, or a one way in first or business class with miles to spare.
But long term, assuming you’ll be in the UK, you’ll want a card without a foreign transaction fee. That leaves the British Airways Visa, which offers a 50,000 mile sign-up bonus right now. Otherwise you’re going to get hit with a 2-3% foreign transaction fee, which basically wipes out the reward, assuming you want to keep the card for the long run.
All around, for US purchases, the American Express Starwood credit card is the best, since it’s by far the most flexible, allowing transfers to dozens of programs.
Hope that helps!
December 24th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Kassie said,
Thank you so much! It’s a place to start, which is exactly what I needed. Great website, too. I have it bookmarked and I’ll be returning frequently.
Cheers!
December 25th, 2010 at 4:26 am
Justin said,
Lucky,
We’ve all experienced a company’s failure to deliver their promise. Judging by your detailed TR’s, you speak up and voice your complaints. As a top tiered traveler I’m sure your service recovery rate is higher than that of someone status-less, but how far will you take it? What’s the most you’ve been compensated, (gratis service, points or monetarily) when you’ve complained? What advice would you lend if you’re faced with a stalemate?
Thanks,
Justin
December 25th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — That’s a good topic for a post sometime. Generally speaking, though, I make two types of complaints. One type is pointing out a basic service failure that inconveniences me. The other type is complaining about an employee, which I only do when I have a really, really bad experience. The point there isn’t to get compensated, but rather to have action taken against said employee. So without going into too much detail, I fortunately usually have pretty easy access to people that are in a position to take action. Sounds vague, I know, though “action” has certainly been taken against an employee as a result of my complaint, even though I didn’t get any compensation (which I specifically requested).
As far as general advice, I would say when writing a complain, stick to the core issue as much as possible. Anything else is just a distraction. Follow up quickly, and if it’s a serious issue, and someone else witnessed it, get their contact information. If the problem is serious enough, the complaint will usually escalate quickly enough.
December 26th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Richard said,
I don’t travel much but have built up about 55,000 United Miles and 170,000 points from American Express through my business accounts. I want to plan a trip for my wife and son to visit some relatives in Italy in mid to late June. What is the best way for me to use these miles for airfare? United miles I understand how to use. Amex points I don’t exactly. How do I go about using them to get the best deal on a flight? I realize that the points will likely not be enough to cover the trip. Thanks so much.
December 26th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Justin said,
Hey Lucky,
I stumbled across something pretty interesting. To follow up on the discussion of reclining as a “right” or “privilege”, What are your thoughts on this device? Are they permissible, and what would you do if you encountered one on your seat back?
http://www.kneedefender.com
Justin
December 26th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Richard — With the number of miles you have, you could almost get three business class tickets to Europe; at the very least, you have enough miles for two business class roundtrips and one coach roundtrip. If you transfer the Membership Rewards points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, it would be 80,000 miles per person in business class, and you could fly any Star Alliance airline. If you need help with the actual booking process, you might find my award travel consulting service useful: pointspros.com. You can shoot me an email at onemileatatime@hotmail.com for more details or if you have any more questions.
December 26th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — I’ve seen that before. Have never run across one, though if someone tried it on me (which they wouldn’t, since I don’t recline in coach on daytime flights) I would call the flight attendant and have them deal with the situation. Definitely not acceptable behavior, in my opinion.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Oleg said,
Discovered last week that ANA won’t ticket an award less than 24 hours before flight (ua miles, was about to snag the last f seat 22hours prior to dep, no dice unfortunately).
Do you know if this is UA specific? Other airlines that won’t ticket last minute? Would be useful to know the future. Thanks.
January 4th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
SPG said,
Hi Lucky,
I did use UA $350 E-cert to pay for my SFO-BOS, the base fare was $298 and the E-cert cover the whole thing except I had to pay $21 for taxes.
Booked in T fare and confirmed in NF (5 days out as 1K). Flight credit never posted to my account so I did call MP and was told that I was not eligible for any flight credit because it’s a free ticket and the base fare is $0. Please help.
SPG
January 4th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Oleg — Many airlines have a policy of requiring awards to be ticketed several days in advance (bmi, for example, requires awards to be booked five business days before departure, and for Gold members it’s three working days before departure). United isn’t one of those, as far as I know. This seems to be a legitimate operating carrier restriction. I have booked awards on some of United’s other partners day of departure, so I assume it’s ANA specific. I believe the requirement is usually something like 2-4 hours before departure, though I might be wrong.
January 4th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
lucky said,
@ SPG — The agent was completely wrong. Like the old phrase goes, “hang up and call again.” If you try a couple more times and still have problems, send me an email and I’d be happy to look into it for you.
January 5th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, how much are fuel surcharges and taxes on VS Upper Class awards, and how do they compare to the cost of a paid ticket? Are we talking about a few hundred dollars, or around a thousand, or more? I tried a few internet searches and couldn’t find anything.
Thanks,
Brian
January 5th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — If you’re talking about booking directly through Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program, they’re pretty steep, typically $400-600 for a transatlantic award. You can tell for sure by signing up for a Flying Blue account and doing a “dummy” award booking. If going through a different program, though, like Continental or ANA, the total will be much less.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
This morning I went on tour of the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City (one of the perks/duties of arranging accommodations for a large group of visitors). You may be interested to know that this is the crew hotel for Aeroflot, and at the front desk they have a model Aeroflot 767 (with one engine missing…).
Anyway, on the tour we were shown a suite, which surprised me because suites are absent from the web site — they’re not there among the room descriptions nor are they available for booking. I asked the Group Sales Manager and he said that suites are mostly used for SPG elite upgrades and for special events; they are available by special request, but since they’re very expensive (more than double the price of a typical room) they don’t show up on ordinary booking channels.
I understand that a hotel might give suites a very high price point in order to keep them exclusive, and as a consequence not sell many of them directly. But I don’t see how it makes sense to hide the very existence of suites. Have you encountered this practice before?
-Ron.
January 7th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — LMAO at the Aeroflot comment! Doubt it’s a coincidence that one engine was missing! To answer your question, that’s unheard of (and completely illogical) to me. There’s nothing wrong with having an expensive suite on the website, since one can always book a cheaper room. If anything, I would say it makes the property more exclusive — psychologically, I would feel like the hotel is nicer if the most expensive room is $599 as opposed to $129.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Corey said,
If you were to spend a weekend in San Francisco using Big Dilemma nights at either the Mark Hopkins or the new Intercontinental SF, which would you choose? I’m PC Platinum, but not Royal Ambassador, so I’d be looking at a basic room with no club access.
Also, does RA get you anything over and above PC Platinum at non-IC hotels?
January 7th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — I would go with the newer InterContinental. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but it’s a modern hotel, compared to the Mark Hopkins, which is shabby chic at best. I also find the service at the IC to be excellent. You may very well get an upgrade.
Technically RAs aren’t supposed to get additional benefits at non-IC hotels, though strangely enough at times my RA status is recognized at Holiday Inn hotels and I’m sometimes given a slightly better upgrade because of it.
January 7th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Rich said,
Have you had any experience with Diners Club points? Any suggestions as to their best use? Occasionally they have some bonuses on the transfers, currently the bonus is an extra 35% on transfers to Delta. I haven’t heard much good about their program.
I have around 150K points on Diners. At some time in the near future I’d like to transfer them and cancel the card. Is my best bet to wait and hope for a bonus offer on transfers to AA or Air Canada? If it matters I’m CP on US Airways. I don’t have any miles with AA or Air Canada.
Thanks.
January 7th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — Really don’t know all that much about Diners Club, though I would say in general 1 AA or 1 Aeroplan mile > 1.35 Delta miles. So while I haven’t followed their transfer bonuses, I don’t think the 35% Delta transfer bonus is particularly compelling, unless you have a particular award in mind.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Ryan said,
I’m in the process of booking an award ticket one-way on BA from LHR to DFW, and the availability for my particular day that I HAVE to leave on is not very good, involving connecting flights and what not that I don’t really want to deal with. Forgive me if this has already been addressed, but my question is should one usually either book far in advance (in which case I’m too late) or a few days before the flight in order to get the best availability? I can book today, but part of me is wondering if I wait I might be able to get a non-stop…
Thanks.
-Ryan
January 10th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Seats are typically released either way in advance or very close to departure, once the airlines realize they won’t sell the seats. So typically it’s not a bad idea to wait until close to departure to book an award, though it you *need* to travel on a specific date, that’s pretty risky. I would book whatever you can find for now, and if the nonstop opens up close to departure, switch to that.
January 10th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Alice said,
Hi Lucky – I attended the Chicago do where you presented on bumps and compensation. We usually travel United and have found much of your advice very useful. This past weekend we flew Air Canada and missed our connecting flight on the way back from Paris due to misplaced luggage (it was in the building, but they didn’t know where). The handling of the whole situation was awful, and when asking for ibd compensation we were looked at like it was unheard of. We ended up talking to a manager who was useless as well. Do you have any advice on the best way to approach contacting Air Canada for compensation possibilities? I appreciate your thoughts.
January 10th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Alice — IDB compensation is only issued if you’re denied boarding, which you weren’t, as far as I can tell. Instead, you misconnected. Therefore, even though it was within the airline’s control (it seems), you’re really at the mercy of the airline. I would suggest contacting Air Canada through their website to express your problems.
January 11th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Eric said,
hi
I am new to the frequent flyer programs and have been reading the last 5 days on flyertalk about everything (statusmiles,awards,ticketpricing,..)
And reading the trick it,negotiate it thread on ft, I cane across fuel dumping trick. well lets say i made it to page 42 of the 500 pages and counting
after a short google : fuel dump : I came on this blog and others , saying the trick has been discovered and airline fixed the loop.
Could you explain how the fuel dump trick then did work in the past? or a link to an explanation ?
many thx and congratulations with your blog !
January 11th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Eric — The fuel dump is, for the most part, dead. I’m no expert on it, though the premise was that adding certain segments to an itinerary would somehow eliminate the fuel surcharge, which was often a big chunk of the ticket price. Then a big article was published about it, and the next day it was fixed…
January 13th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Mark said,
What are the best F seats on the Jet Airways 777-300ER leased to Turkish for 2 people traveling together? Window and aisle or two center aisles?
Award availability was surprisingly open for 1 seat, then it just took checking the ANA tool twice a day for a month and a half to get the other.
January 13th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Assuming the other person is a spouse/partner/wife/significant other, I would most definitely go with the center two seats. When you close the doors you can either life the barrier between the two seats or not, so ultimately you can still talk to the other passenger, even when the doors are closed. The ottoman is also quite uncomfortable for sitting, so it’s the most practical way to dine together as well. Enjoy your flight!
January 16th, 2011 at 12:12 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
I took my first bump on united not to long ago, I thought the $400 criedt was worth a 2 hour wait. I try to use it last week to book a flight only to find it can not be used online! I have to make the reservation over the phone, then send in the vouchers, or go to the airport and make it there. I ended up going to the airport and doing it. (I live in santa barbara, ca not sure if you ever been though there, but it is a really small muni airport, so it was easier then being on the phone) but what gives with the whole thing. Are all the vouchers that way, or is there an easier way to do it\?
January 16th, 2011 at 12:20 am
lucky said,
@ Danny — All of United’s denied boarding compensation comes in paper form. I’d say it’s quite intentional, since a lot less people will go through the hassle of redeeming the vouchers if they have to either go to the airport or mail them in, as opposed to just being able to do it online. Probably saves them quite a bit of money. Frustrating, no doubt, but if that keeps the redemption rate low enough so that they keep issuing fairly generous denied boarding compensation, I’m all for it!
January 16th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Dave said,
Just booked 2 CX F LAX-DPS Award tickets. Visa on arrival at DPS, should I hire a VIP VIsa company or is it not worth the money?
January 16th, 2011 at 9:50 am
lucky said,
@ Dave — Not worth the money, in my opinion. The process is fairly painless either way.
January 17th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Danny said,
Lucky,
Can you explain about the different types of upgrades offered to elites on United, and with there regards when it comes to 2 class, and 3 class aircraft. IE. UDU, Regional, System Wide. Going from coach to business or coach to first? etc etc.
January 17th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Mark said,
What’s the baggage allowance for a non-TG *G flying SGN-BKK on TG?
*A.com says Extra Baggage Allowance – an additional 20kg (44 pounds) or one additional piece of luggage which means you can check in three bags instead of two.
My TG ticket with my *G number on it says baggage allowance 20k
Does that mean my ticket had 0 baggage allowance and being *G got me 20kg? Or do I really get 2 pieces/40kg total?
January 17th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Tor said,
Lucky,
I love your blog – although I should comment more…..
I had a weird experience just now. I just made premier exec on united and had a flight tonight. I didn’t get upgraded, but I had booked a seat in the second exit row by the window. When I boarded (I used the mobile boarding pass), I discovered that my seat had been changed to row 19, in regular economy. Beyond the fact that I was disappointed that I had not been moved to economy plus, at least (and I paid the annual fee for that before I had status) I noticed that one of the FAs was talking to the couple who were sitting in the seat I previously had. She spent the whole flight talking with the couple, and gave the man a big hug and kiss when they got off. Because I was sitting right behind them, I could see them taking the whole flight – at one point, for 90 minutes straight.
It seems likely that the FA had them moved to the exit row, bumping me back three rows. I know seats get changed, but it seems unlikely that random chance would result in the close friend of a FA bumping me out of one of the best seats on the plane.
Have you ever heard of anything like this? If I’m right, is there any kind of compensation I can ask for? I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but this was seriously annoying. Thanks for any advice!
Tor
January 17th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Well, to start, you can always only upgrade one cabin of service (so either from coach to business on a three cabin plane, business to first on a three cabin plane, or coach to first on a two cabin plane). You can use miles to upgrade on virtually all fares, though there is often a co-pay. See united.com for details on the co-pay for each fare class in each region.
Then elites get unlimited domestic upgrades valid within region one which clear on a space available basis within their respective upgrade windows.
Then 1Ks earn confirmed regional upgrades, which can be used to confirm an upgrade at the time of booking (or anytime after departure), assuming there is confirmable upgrade space.
Then there are systemwide upgrades, which can be applied to any fare domestically, or a fare of at least “W” outside of region one. These can also be applied at the time of ticketing, assuming there is confirmable upgrade space. Otherwise they are waitlisted.
January 17th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — I believe you should get two bags for free weighing 20kg each. The standard coach allowance is one 20kg bag, so you get an additional bag.
January 17th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Tor — That’s very strange, though I doubt the flight attendant had any influence there (trust me, they don’t have that much power, though that’s not to say there wasn’t some sort of funny business). I’m a bit confused, though. You say you used a mobile boarding pass, so which seat did the mobile boarding pass reflect? At what point did you realize your seat had changed?
January 17th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Have you ever stayed or do you plan to stay at the IC Willard in DC? You frequently rave about a number of ICs, but from what I’ve read, the Willard is one of the top in the U.S. and I haven’t seen any thoughts from you on the hotel or DC itself.
January 18th, 2011 at 10:37 am
Tor said,
Thanks Lucky.
I didn’t look at the seat when I downloaded it, and I don’t know seats well enough yet that I would have noticed even if I had. I do know that when I checked a few days prior to the flight, I was in 16D, and when I was on the jetway, I looked and saw it was 19D. Obviously, I will be paying much closer attention in the future, but since I was #2 on the upgrade list, I was more focussed on that.
I think I’m also more likely to get an upgrade out of BWI in the future, rather than driving all the was to IAD, which I used to do because there were more direct flights. Since I fly for work, I try and avoid missed connections, but flying out of BWI may get me more upgrades as well as increasing the milage of my flights. Thanks!
Tor
January 18th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
John said,
Hey Lucky!
First, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge via your blog. I’ve found it to be extremely helpful. For the past couple of years, I’ve tried to get more and more travel savvy. My spouse and I recently participated in the SunTrust/Delta promotion and received 265k Skypasos total. I used these to book a trip to Paris in June for four people. I was fortunate to get the seats for 60k.
Here’s my question: Due to the frustration of Delta’s site crashing and calling multiple times to get the itinerary I wanted, I neglected to see if I could get the International leg of my outbound flight in business class. (the international flight is on AirFrance out of IAD on the A380) The tickets are already paid for. Am I pretty much SOL at this point in getting biz class?
Thanks!
John
January 18th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — I’m sure I will eventually, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m not a fan of DC, which is why I haven’t stayed at the Willard.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Tor — It seems like the swap occurred long before the flight was under the gate agent’s control. In your shoes I would learn from the experience and pay closer attention next time to your seat assignment. Smart idea regarding BWI vs. IAD, upgrades should be quite a bit easier out of there.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Without paying a change fee, you’re out of luck. Beyond that, the business class price is 100K, so it sounds like you’re a bit short for four people to be traveling in business. Congrats on the new mileage obsession!
January 18th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have you ever used Aeroplan? I notice that their rewards seem less expensive than others. For example from the US to Europe1 (they split Europe into several categories) first class is only 100K miles compared to USAirways where it takes 125K miles. Also I believe business is 80K vs. 100K on US Airways.
Are you aware of any extra fees Aeroplan charges or difficulties in redeeming award tickets for their star alliance partners (i.e., blocking of seats) ?
I don’t currently have an account with them but I notice a couple of my credit card accounts can transfer to them on a 1-1 basis. Just pondering the best use of points/miles. I’m trying to cancel one credit card but I need to transfer the points first.
Thanks.
January 18th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Yes, I redeem Aeroplan miles on a near daily basis for my clients. It’s one of the best mileage programs out there. No catches at all — no Starnet blocking, no fuel surcharges on Star Alliance awards (though there are fuel surcharges for travel on Air Canada), and two stopovers are allowed on awards between regions. It’s an unbeatable program.
January 18th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Danny said,
Lucky,
I have read somewhere about united doing a qualifying miles challenge for elite status. Is that still and option? If so what are the details, and is then anything special I need to do?
January 18th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Only to those looking to status match, that can prove status with another airline. Not to others, sadly.
January 19th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Mark said,
Which is the better business lounge in HKG, SQ or TG?
January 19th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — TG, hands down.
January 23rd, 2011 at 1:36 am
Jonathan said,
I have been looking at the BA award chart for BA plus partner. Can you really redeem a BA + LAN award from NA to SA via Europe in business for only 50,000 one way?
This seems like unbeatable value if possible.
January 24th, 2011 at 1:47 am
lucky said,
@ Jonathan — No, you can’t go via Europe, that would be two awards. It’s 40,000 miles one way in business class when you stick to just one airline, which is an amazing value, though you can’t route via Europe. The most BA metal you’re going to get on an award including British Airways and one partner would be flying BA between Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.
January 24th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Jonathan said,
Got it. I looked up this page and wondered how it would be possible to do BA plus partner award from NA to SA for 50,000 without going through Europe: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bapartnerplus/public/en_gb#northamericab
That fifth freedom flight appears to be the answer.
January 25th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Just a suggestion. I’m not sure how much, if any, control you have over the formatting of this page, but it might be better to place the newest message at the top of the page instead of the bottom. While some of the older ones can be informative I’m not sure how often people want to read items from 2009.
January 25th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Good point, thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into it and see if I can reverse the order. Sounds like it should be doable.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:55 am
Mark said,
Are there any showers in LAX for a passenger arriving UA tpac NC departing CO domestic?
Can’t get to the *A lounge in TBIT or the NZ lounge in T2.
January 26th, 2011 at 8:03 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — Unfortunately there’s nowhere I can think of to get a shower.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Curious George said,
Lucky,
I’m a long time reader, first time “caller”!
I’m flying ORD-LHR in late May on BA F, I’ve traveled BA J many times, however this will be my first trip in F, for the return I was planning on trying a a different airline.
My first thought was VS J, so I can experience their Drive Through Check In and the Clubhouse, however the flight departs at 11am so I won’t be able to spend that many hours in the clubhouse and VS doesn’t introduce their new J product on the LHR-ORD route till July.
Now I’m thinking of doing LHR-xxx-ORD, after all I’m not travelling with my Wife and kids so I don’ t mind connecting somewhere else.
I don’t often get opportunities to sample different J products (mostly BA, I did travel TK and MS last year) so I am looking forward to trying something like LX, LH or maybe even UA or LOT. If you had this choice, whom would you try?
January 26th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Emil said,
Lucky,
What is your opinion on the recent 80% bonus for MR-to-Delta points transfers?
I normally transfer MR points to Aeroplan and am quite happy with Aeroplan’s redemption rates and their stopover/open jaw policy. That said, 80% seems like a really nice bonus, so I am tempted to get some Skypesos. How do you think 90k skypesos compare to 50k Aeroplan points?
Thanks! Advice is appreciated.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Curious George — If Swiss is operating the A330-300 on the route when you’re scheduled to fly, I’d consider going with them. They have a phenomenal business class product. Frankly, though, I would make every effort to try Virgin, though that’s just me. I haven’t flown with them before, and would really like to experience the Clubhouse. In your shoes I would just take the direct flight to Chicago, and get to the airport really early. Alternatively, maybe fly through JFK, IAD, or another airport operated by a 747 or A346? But I would say either Swiss or Virgin are the way to go.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Blog post coming on the subject shortly!
January 28th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Lance said,
Lucky,
Would like to ask you a Tampa question. I am planning a trip down to Tampa and Naples for Dec. We will have our 3 year old and 2 year old with us. So we are thinking of visiting Busch Garden. What would you recommend we stay in Tampa? We have points with PC and Hilton. So I am thinking of either Intercontinental or Hilton Clearwater. But neither is ideal in terms of location – IC not providing a true Tampa/FL experience and Clearwater being far away although it does have good reviews.
As of Naples, I’m thinking about Edgewater. Any comments there? Any comments or recommendations in general?
TIA
January 29th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Craig said,
Hi Ben,
On the Loyalty Traveler Blog today, Ric posted info about a Cathy Pacific 80 Days of Unlimited Travel Contest. However, prize is limited to economy class.
The link is:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2011/01/29/cathay-pacific-80-days-of-unlimited-economy-class-travel-contest/
I was wondering. We all know you love to fly, but we also know you only like to fly in premium cabins, preferably first.
What would you do if a prize like this landed in your lap — free unlimited travel on a great airline with many longhaul routes, but travel is restricted to coach — something which you hate.
What would you do??? Let’s assume that you can’t upgrade or earn miles from this.
January 29th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — I suppose if you have kids Busch Gardens might be fun, but other than that I don’t think Tampa is really worth visiting. In your shoes I would probably go with the InterContinental, though it’s a bit of a waste of points. The revenue AAA rate is often $70, so I would pay for the stay. If your goal is beach time, I’d say Clearwater or St. Petersburg is a better location. The Hilton isn’t particularly nice, though. The only really nice chain hotel in Clearwater is the new Hyatt Regency, though that probably doesn’t help you. Have only been to Naples once, though found it quite interesting. Think that might be more fun for a family.
January 29th, 2011 at 8:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig — While it seems like a cool enough contest, the retail value of $35,000USD+ is enough to turn me off of it. Can’t imagine taking advantage of it just because of that. If there weren’t any taxes associated with the ticket, I would probably take advantage of it if I won, but even then, I’m not sure to what extent. I’ve been to most of the destinations that Cathay Pacific serves, and returning to them in coach just doesn’t sound like all that much fun when I have the miles to go in business or first class. But the ARV is a killer there, in my opinion…
January 30th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
Arun said,
Hi Lucky
Does Aeroplan allow you to book a premium class award ticket from Asia to US? If so, is it the same cost (in miles) as a US-Asia award?
Thanks
January 30th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
renee said,
I see that you wrote a report about Swiss first class, however, i was wondering your opinion on business class. I have reserved 6 award business seats for my family on the new lie flat seats on A330-300 ( because it was the only *A airline after a few days of searching that i could find award space for everyone on the same flight) to Europe this summer and was wondering if you had any insight on new business class in Swiss. Thanks
January 30th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — They do, and yes.
January 30th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
lucky said,
@ renee — While I haven’t flown Swiss business class, I will say that it looks absolutely top notch. The hard product is great, and Swiss food and service is always great. You made a good decision, especially having found space for six, which is a near miracle.
January 30th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
renee said,
thanks….yes it was not easy finding award space for 6!
January 31st, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Scholar in Training said,
Lucky, I have a question for you.
For an upcoming trip the only booking agent I can find that will piece together the itinerary I want is vayama. I think that’s because the trip starts on CO metal and has a Cape Air and AA segment thrown in the middle. The trip ends on UA.
Now, my concern is what happens should something go wrong? If the first leg is on CO will the whole ticket be CO stock, meaning I should call them? Or would I have to call Vayama? Would UA be able to help me since the trip ends with them? (I’m a 1K on UA).
To be more specific this is my proposed itin: EWR-SJU-STX-SJU-IAD-EWR. The problem is that STX-SJU is on AA and leave a very short time to make my SJU-IAD (UA) connection. If I were to miss that SJU-IAD flight, who would be responsible for me at that point? UA?
Thanks lucky!
January 31st, 2011 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Frankly, what is technically correct is far from what’s practically correct in instances like this. Who’s at fault doesn’t matter, because they’ll play the blame game all day long, it’s about who’s willing to accept responsibility. That being said, you should generally go through your travel agent. That might not be so practical if you miss your flight and the next alternative flight is in 30 minutes, though. Generally the airline which cause you to misconnect should help you out, though at times the operating airline of the flight you missed is happy to help out as well. Just be ready for them to play the blame game.
February 1st, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Emil said,
Hello,
So I’ve read occasional reports about how generous Aeroplan is with US-Asia awards–in particular, that they allow you to fly across the Atlantic one way and across the Pacific the other way, and also that they allow two stopovers/an open jaw.
Looking at their online award software, it seems the first part is correct. What about the second part? Will they allow both 2 stopovers and an open jaw, or a single stopover and an open jaw?
And does one have to book such itineraries over the phone? Their online system keeps giving me error messages when I try to include 2 stopovers.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Ryan said,
Hello Lucky – long time fan here:
I mentioned a few days ago on your SFO Lufthansa A380 post that I snagged a couple F awards for me and the future mrs. flyinryan back when that flight was operated by the 744.
I’m wondering what our ground experience at FRA will be like – we are continuing on from FRA to CDG with about a 3 hour layover, and then the second part of the open-jaw is a return flight from FCO-FRA-LAX-SFO with the longhaul in 744 F.
When we land at FRA from both SFO and FCO, will we get the whole shebang – met by a BMW, driven from the plane to the First Class Terminal, spoiled, pampered, etc? I am really looking forward to this trip, not only because it’s our honeymoon, but I really want to fly the A380, and to do it in LH F – wow. That’s a trip to remember
lucky, I read your blog all the time, and I can’t thank you enough for all the great finds and discussions. You are a total pro and a good friend.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — You’re allowed an open jaw and a stopover or two open jaws. For the more complex routings you need to call Aeroplan to book.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Congrats on the honeymoon and A380! Unfortunately Lufthansa’s ground services don’t include picking you up. You get driven to the plane, but they don’t usually pick you up at the plane. Getting to the FCT is actually a real PITA, as you need to exit the terminal and walk along the outside roadway of the airport to get there. Quite a pain, though worth the trek if you have a long enough layover. Enjoy!
February 3rd, 2011 at 11:12 am
rich (arizona) said,
I’ll second the PITA comment regarding the walk to the FCT. We departed on Dec 14 2010 and the walk was worse since it had snowed several inches the previous night so the walk was slippery and cold. We also weren’t sure where we were going.
We started outside on one level and there was construction going on blocking the walk. So we went back inside. Then another employee suggested going upstairs and walking from there. That was better but we both thought “This is the way they treat first class customers?”
Obviously once inside the terminal they pamper you and it is great but getting there from the main terminal is a HUGE annoyance/disappointment (we crashed at the Sheraton the night before the flight).
One employee suggested to take a cab and Lufthansa would reimburse you but I would have felt embarrassed taking a cab for 1/4 mile or less. If they can afford to drive you to the plane in a luxury car they sure could afford some kind of golf cart or car to take you to the terminal.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Kahty said,
Anybody know how I can earn frequent flier miles on my daughter’s college tuition payments? School doesn’t take debit or debiit cards, but I’m thinkin’ there has to be a way?
February 4th, 2011 at 9:08 am
Scholar in Training said,
@Kahty: There is a website that lets you pay rent with your credit card – try searching Flyertalk. Maybe you could just cut the check through them to the school instead of a landlord? I know they charge administrative fees, though.
—-
Lucky,
Any way for a 1K to upgrade on a transatlantic AC flight? Thanks!
February 6th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Kahty — While there might be a way to pay with a credit card, they’ll charge at least a 2-3% fee, which negates the value of any rewards.
February 7th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Josh said,
lucky, can I ask anything? You are so cute. are you gay or straight?
February 8th, 2011 at 2:44 am
continental flyer said,
Hello Lucky,
I’ve been looking for an answer all over Continental’s website and your past posts here, but I haven’t found one yet, so I’m hoping you can help me.
Does Continental allow US-Asia awards via the Atlantic? I’m hoping to book ORD-stopover in Europe-Seoul-ORD. (with the return possibly also via Europe, if they don’t allow mini ’round the world’ awards like Aeroplan)
Thanks! Help is much appreciated.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ continental flyer — Absolutely, you can go both ways via the Atlantic on a Continental award.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Without paying full fare? No…
February 9th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
kim said,
Hey Lucky –
I was saving up US Air miles for an off peak business class ticket from PHL to somewhere in Italy or France this past Jan/Feb, but missed out and didn’t get to go… Rather than waiting for Jan/Feb of 2012, we would still like to go in spring or summer – what’s our best redemption using USair miles via either usair themselves or someone on the star alliance?
February 10th, 2011 at 12:20 am
lucky said,
@ kim — US Airways’ new Envoy product is actually quite good, if you can find availability on a route that is operated by it (it’s the A330-200). Right now to Europe it’s serving London, Paris, and Munich. Other than that Lufthansa is generally a pretty good option, and they do have a first class cabin out of Philadelphia, should you want to use miles for that. I also find Air Canada to have an excellent business class product, and they have pretty good availability out of Toronto (with easy connections out of Philadelphia).
February 11th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
mitch said,
Hello Lucky,
I was wondering if you think it is worth carrying another Amex card in addition to their platinum card, either a Starwood or Hilton Surpass?
February 13th, 2011 at 4:58 am
LHF said,
Do you think US Airways will offer buy miles get double miles promo again?
February 13th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Jon said,
Lucky,
I am currently an RCC member and renew every year using miles. I am also 1k and get a UDU about 95+% of the time. Can a non-RCC member access the club using a First Class boarding pass earned off a UDU? If so maybe I wont be renewing this year! Thanks!
February 13th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
lucky said,
@ mitch — I think it all comes down to how much money you spend and what you want to redeem your points for. I find Membership Rewards points to be very valuable, and to cover most bases pretty well. I love the fact that they transfer instantly, unlike Starwood, and often have transfer bonuses. So assuming you’re looking for international premium cabin awards, I don’t think you’re missing out if you just have the American Express Platinum card. If you’re more interested in hotel rewards or rewards with other airlines, then the SPG card (or Hilton card on the hotel front) might be worth considering.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ LHF — It’s tough to say. I don’t think we’ll see it as frequently as in the past, though I do think we’ll see it return at least once in a while, or at least some similar offer.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — Domestic first class upgrades don’t entitle you to Red Carpet Club access. If you get an upgrade on a flight to Canada, Mexico, or another international destination, you do get access, though.
February 13th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
Any advice on noise canceling headphones? My wife and I fly 80-100K miles a year, mix of long haul J or F and short haul. Hesitent to go with the Bose as I need 2 pair. Worthwhile investment or any others you would recommend?
February 13th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — That’s a toughie. If you’re traveling mostly in international business and first class, you may already frequently be getting decent headphones aboard. The thing about Bose headphones (or any over-ear headphones, for that matter) is that it’s really tough to comfortably sleep with them on. You can’t really place your head sideways against a pillow (the ear cup will prevent that), so in that sense they’re not great. That being said, the noise cancellation is truly phenomenal. If you find yourself watching a lot of movies or listening to music, I would go with Bose headphones. If you’re mostly sleeping and get decent headphones aboard, I might consider a moderately priced pair of in-ear headphones. Lately I’ve actually found myself using my Bose in-ear phones more than the pair of QC15s I have. They’re much better for sleeping, have decent sound quality, and run about $100.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Amy said,
Lucky – I hear (see) you talk about your “weekly massage” at TPA and was wondering if that’s because the AIT is primary (or I think you also mentioned at one point that the TSOs have it out for you)? I flew in yesterday but forgot to observe before leaving the secure area at which point you can’t really hang around inconspicuously. I’ll be leaving through Airside A on Thursday and am trying to find out if I can self-select for a WTMD or if I need to start preparing my opt out response.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ Amy — While the AIT isn’t primary, you don’t have a choice. They have a metal detector set up next to the AIT, and they “randomly” choose people to go through it. Can’t guarantee that’s the case at airside A, but it is the case at the other concourses that I frequently fly out of. I think they just have it out for me, which is why I frequently get selected. If you want to avoid the AIT or pat down, just observe when they pull someone in the AIT and hurry up then, as they rarely have people “line up” for it. There are two lines that feed into the same checkpoint, so it’s not too hard to avoid. Good luck!
February 16th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
LHF said,
Lucky,
Is it hard to find 3 F award seats? (Between Europe/Asia)
To my knowledge it is merely impossible to redeem 3 seats together at once.
Many thanks in advance.
February 16th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ LHF — It depends on the airline. With British Airways it can be quite easy. With most other airlines, yes, it’s very difficult.
February 17th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
When you say a flight is ‘all 9s’, i.e. they are willing to sell at least 9 more seats, where do you find that information?
February 17th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — I use ExpertFlyer, or often the airline’s website.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:06 am
Amy said,
Lucky – thanks! Just to report back, I managed to get myself selected and had to opt out, oh well. They were going to have me wait for the person already in the scanner (maybe they were almost done). A thread at FlyerTalk says only A and E have it – is that accurate? If C doesn’t, I can always try my luck flying Southwest.
February 20th, 2011 at 8:51 am
JYA said,
Dear Lucky:
I’m an avid reader of your blog. You do a great job of posting interesting bits!
I’m trying to book a round trip flight from SIN to LAX, got two questions hope you can help:
1. Will I get Star Alliance miles if I book Air India? The flights are operated by SQ.
2. How to book cheaper flights? I’m using major travel search engines, e.g. expedia, orbitz. Most of the flights are over 1500 USD. My trip will take place within a week, so I’m aware of the disadvantage. You’re a frequent traveler, is 1500+ from SIN to LAX normal?
Thank you!
JYA
February 20th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Helixcardinal said,
What do you set as your criteria for a worthy mileage run? I’m mulling an itinerary where I can get 6700+ EQM, 13400+ RDM for $190, about 2.8 cpm EQM and 1.4 cpm RDM. Worth booking?
February 20th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
lucky said,
@ JYA — As far as whether you earn miles or not, it all depends on the airline you’re looking to credit to. Some airlines likely will, while others won’t. As far as the second question goes, I doubt you’ll do much better than that on short notice. That’s not a bad fare with a lot of advance notice, let alone in a week.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Generally I’d say the threshold is 1.76 cents per RDM/3.5 cents per EQM. But there really are a lot of factors that go into determining when a mileage run is worthwhile, in my case. That being said, 2.8 cents per EQM is VERY good.
February 20th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
JYA said,
Lucky: It’s United miles. Do you think flying Air India via SQ operated flights will give me United miles? Thank you very much.
JYA
February 20th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I decided to book that MR and have a follow-up question. I know you’re tremendously successful at getting bumped on your MRs, and I’m hoping to the same on mine. However, in order to maximize my mileage, I have two connections each way, and I had to book the roundtrip as two one-ways. If I take a bump and get rerouted, have you had any issues getting original routing credit and how do I do that? Second, would I be able to reschedule my return one-way if I wanted to take a bump that would cause me to miss my return flights?
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:29 am
AJ said,
Hi Lucky
I am trying to compare USAir DM and BMI Diamond club…
If I were to redeem miles from both programs for identical itinerries which are serviced fully by their partners, would the surcharges be the around same for both programs?
Eg: (SIN-NRT on SQ/NRT-EWR on ANA/EWR-FRA on LH/FRA-EWR/EWR-HKG/HKG-SIN)
I am talking about surcharges, and not airport taxes.
I understand that USAir/UA etc do not charge surcharges on award tickets, but not sure if that is the case for redemption on partners.
Also does surcharge include the fuel-YQ included by alot of carriers, or is that considered tax?
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:30 am
AJ said,
Lucky
Also, for USAir DM, if i am currently at 22k status miles, and I earn 10k qualifying miles from a new flight, I will reach Silver (25k) and have a total of 32k status miles.
For US, there is 25% bonus for USAir and LH metal for silver preferred. Do I get 25% of (32k-25k)? Or is the bonus only applicable for the next flight onwards?
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:53 am
lucky said,
@ JYA — I believe you wouldn’t earn miles. Furthermore, if the booking class is Q, V, G, N, T, or R, keep in mind you don’t earn miles for travel on Singapore through United anyway.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:55 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — As far as original routing credit goes, you’re not supposed to get it, though often Mileage Plus will give it to you anyway. As far as getting rebooked goes, it all comes down to the gate agent and how desperate they are. Could they rebook your other ticket? Sure. Will they want to? Probably not, unless there’s no one else willing to volunteer. Assuming you would arrive within three hours, I would just claim “flat tire rule” on the original ticket, and try to standby for the return. That assumes those flights aren’t all oversold.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:58 am
lucky said,
@ AJ — British Midland charges fuel surcharges for their Star Alliance partners (which is considered a surcharge/fee), while US Airways does not, so there would be a big difference in the taxes. As far as the elite bonus goes, you only start earning it for the first segment after which you reach the new elite tier. The bonus only applies to travel on US Airways, Continental, and Lufthansa.
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Sam said,
Hey Lucky. I want to take a trip to South America on OneWorld this summer using my AA miles and was wondering how one goes about checking for award availability on LAN. Is there anything I can do aside from calling AA?
February 24th, 2011 at 5:07 am
AJ said,
Lucky –
I am planning to redeem some UA DM on *A partners.
Are the following routings valid? Not sure if I give my stops and destination correctly whether it will be considered as shooting thru MPM
HKG-EWR/JFK(stop)-CDG return.
SIN-HKG-EWR/JFK(stop)-CDG return
HKG to Europe is 80k miles and SIN-EUR is 90k if you know what I mean
February 24th, 2011 at 9:23 am
lucky said,
@ AJ — That’s not a legal routing. You can do most of Asia to North America via Europe, but not Asia to Europe via North America.
February 24th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Emil said,
Hi Lucky,
I just booked a sort of mini RTW award on CO (ORD-FRA-ICN ICN-SFO-ORD). I thought flying over the Atlantic and the Pacific wasn’t possible on CO for the regular amount of miles. I’m just curious, is this a recent change in rules?
Best,
February 24th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Frankly all the awards I’ve booked with Continental of that nature have been via Europe both ways, though I don’t believe what you did is necessarily prohibited. Certainly it shouldn’t be too tough to find an agent willing to do that, at the very least. Enjoy your trip!
February 27th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Oscar said,
Any luck with this trip?
MEX-LAX with United arriving at LAX at 7:50 a.m.
LAX – LAS with SouthWest departing at 9:30 a.m.
1hr 40 minutes to do all the changes? Migration, Bags, Change Terminal and then Check in. Do you find any possibility of doing the trip?
February 27th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Should be fine if there’s not a delay, though I think it’s risky since you’re switching carriers. If you misconnect you may very well be hosed.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Oscar said,
What if I loose my connection?? What can I do if I miss my connection??
So what % is that I can make my connection.
PS: I’m checking bags.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Oscar said,
Oh and how will I change from UA terminal to T1??
February 28th, 2011 at 8:38 am
scott said,
Hey Lucky,
Just wanted to point out something that I noticed lately. I just got back from a vacation where I haven’t read emails or blog postings for the last 4 days. Since your blog is set up in my RSS feed, I’m able to just scroll through and catch all of your new blog posts since I last checked, which in the case of today is nine posts.
This might sound odd, but your use of the word “insane” and “insanely” is distractingly overused. Do a word search on your blog for those two words so you can see how often you use them. It is quite distracting, and actually disingenuous, to see this term being used with such frequency.
Just an fyi.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:24 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I wouldn’t do it. If you miss your connection between airlines it’ll be tough. And between customs, changing terminals, and rechecking bags, that’s likely.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:25 am
lucky said,
@ scott — Thanks for the feedback, will use “insanely” less.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
rich (arizona) said,
I guess I should first ask, “Do you have Hyatt’s credit card?”. If so is it easy to redeem the two free nights? I’m heading of to London in May and if I can get two free nights there it will save some $$$.
Thanks.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — I don’t yet, simply because of Chase’s “one card every six month” rule. It’s very easy to redeem the free nights, though. As long as a standard room is available, you can use your free night for the stay.
March 2nd, 2011 at 1:34 pm
mike said,
If I get the Delta AMEX card you wrote about and I fly on another airline in a different terminal, will they let me in the Delta terminal in order to use the lounge that day?
March 5th, 2011 at 1:47 am
John said,
Any chance you have a current discount code for the Heathrow Express, the one you listed appears to be dead. Thanks (crzn)
March 5th, 2011 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ mike — The card I was talking about is the American Express Platinum card, which is not associated with Delta. To use a SkyClub, you would actually have to be flying Delta.
March 5th, 2011 at 10:35 am
lucky said,
@ John — Unfortunately I don’t know of any other codes. Sorry!
March 7th, 2011 at 1:12 am
Ken 747-400 Denver said,
Does UA charge a $7 fee to book online, using a discount certificate on a domestic reservation? I noticed that if you compare making a reserv. online vs. using a disc. cert. making that reserv., there’s a difference in “taxes & fees” around $7. They don’t admit to this, but is it built in? Have you noticed this before? I know they still charge a $25 fee for int’l. reserv.s (using mileage), when assisted with a res. agent.
March 7th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
oleg said,
United reservations question…. have a united star award, with a confirmed O (award first) in LH and NY on UA domestic segment. The agent also placed me on the XF waitlist for the UA segment. Technically waitlisting on Star awards is against UA rules – I have no doubt it makes no difference to UA, but any risk from LH about it?
(Noticed http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15410543-post83.html – don’t want to get any accidental cancellations, and could rely on expertflyer for the pseudo-waitlisting anyways)
March 7th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken 747-400 Denver — I’ve never noticed that. Sometimes the website has glitches, so maybe that’s what it is. If you call web support, they can likely fix it.
March 7th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
lucky said,
@ oleg — I’ve never heard of that, and don’t believe it to be true.
March 8th, 2011 at 2:25 am
Ken 747-400 Denver said,
Thanks. I did try web support; it took 1 hr. for them to understand my point in India. Try searching SAN to SEA online for reg. reserv. & taxes/fees will come up as $42. As soon as you change it with a disc. cert., taxes/fees goes up to $49. Forgot, to mention that on orbitz.com, taxes/fees on same identical reserv. were only $39. Amazing. Wish there was some way of getting web support agent in Manila when calling them.
March 9th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
John (crzn) said,
Hi Lucky, FYI just found and booked this 2 4 1 Heathrowexpress
http://www.heathrowexpress.com/amex12
March 9th, 2011 at 10:33 pm
John (crzn) said,
SORRY, posted wrong link– Should be
http://www.heathrowexpress.com/bmima…atecode=bmi241
March 10th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Brian said,
Lucky, both of my frequent flyer accounts (AS & US) have my full name (First Middle Last) attached. I was considering signing up for an SPG AmEx card with the aim of transferring the points to miles in either program. However, when I look at the signup page for the SPG program, they only have a space for a middle initial. On the SPG site, it says that names have to be identical for transfers to go through. Is there a way to the program will allow me to input my middle name, or should I change my frequent flyer accounts to my middle initial? The TSA’s Secure Flight section of their web page says middle names/initials shouldn’t cause a problem at acreening, but I’m skeptical & don’t know if I should risk changing my frequent flyer accounts. Would it work if I put my first & middle names in the field for my first name in SPG?
Thanks.
March 10th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Rich said,
Lucky,
How are you using the Internet while in Doha? Free access from the hotel? Somewhere else? Also have you noticed anything being blocked?
March 10th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — I haven’t found SPG to be that strict. I think as long as the name is just about the same, you’re fine. For example, on my Starwood account I have the name “Benjamin,” but on a frequent flyer account that I recently transferred points to I have “Ben,” and it still went through fine. I would say just make the transfer, you’ll be fine.
March 10th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Rich — While the internet is *really* slow, I have been using the free wifi in the hotel (as a Royal Ambassador). I haven’t noticed anything being blocked.
March 16th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Puck said,
I recently got the AMEX platinum card with 51000 bonus points. Should I take advantage of BA 40% transfer bonus or just keep them as mileage reward points for now, Have no trips planned currently. I guess my real question is how often do these bonus tranfer promotions come along? Thanks for your insight and/or opinion.
March 18th, 2011 at 7:26 am
lucky said,
@ Puck — That’s a toughie. Membership Rewards points are incredibly valuable, though a 40% transfer bonus is very lucrative. BA has had transfer bonuses in the past, but more to the tune of 30%. In your shoes, since you don’t have any specific travel plans, I probably wouldn’t make the transfer. You would be losing the flexibility of the points and totally be at the mercy of British Airways and what they choose to do with their award chart.
March 18th, 2011 at 10:45 am
Arun said,
Hi Lucky
Got a question on redeeming *A awards (Asia to US for travel in May) using US dividend miles.
When I use the ANA tool I can see award availability in business class on Turkish and LH. Are all these available seats actually bookable thru the USAirways? Or is it that out of these available award seats shown by the ANA tool, only the “business saver”seats are bookable using miles? If so, any way for finding out how many saver award seats are available?
Thanks in advance
March 18th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Arun — Typically if business class award space shows up on the ANA tool, it should also be bookable through US Airways (at the price published on their Star Alliance award chart)
March 19th, 2011 at 11:46 am
canadian flyer said,
Hi Lucky. Doesn’t seem to be any mention of the 1MM lifetime status program on the AC or Aeroplan sites. Where can I learn more?
March 19th, 2011 at 11:51 am
lucky said,
@ canadian flyer — As far as I can tell, it’s an unpublished benefit and you need to call Air Canada for more details.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:58 am
OG said,
Lucky-
This may of been answered in a post above; ive tried to skim through as much as possible but could not find what i was looking for.
I am planning on using some MP miles this summer for an award trip that leaves out of dulles with a stop over in cdg for 4-5 days then off to Athens and then a return back to dulles. To book an award with a stopover, can it only be done via the MP 800 number? or can it be done online?
Thanks
March 19th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
lucky said,
@ OG — It needs to be done by phone as of now.
March 19th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
U said,
Hi Lucky,
I am trying to go NYC –> San Francisco –> Shanghai –> Taipei –> NYC, and trying to spend time in all places. I guess Shanghai would be my destination since I will be spending the large majority of the time there. My company is purchasing the tickets for me and my family. My questions are (1) Has anyone made a compilation of stopover/open jaw rules for all of the major airlines? and (2) What do you think my chances are of upgrading my family from discounted coach (my company is going to be looking for the best deal) to premium class with my own points? My understanding is that that is very difficult to do – usually you need full fare coach to be upgradable.
Thanks so much and I am an avid reader of your blog!
March 19th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
lucky said,
@ U — Generally it is tough to upgrade with miles off of discounted tickets, at least without some serious co-pays. Would only be able to provide any useful information if you let me know what carrier you were flying and what programs your miles are with.
March 19th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
U said,
We have not booked the tickets yet, so they could be with any combination of carriers, but the majority of my miles are American and SPG. But if all three of us are going to upgrade, we would only have enough miles on AA to get it done. Thanks again.
March 19th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
lucky said,
@ U — The only way to use American miles would be if you flew American metal, and at that point it’s probably not a great deal since you have to pay some hefty fuel surcharges. So I’d say rough it out in coach and save your miles for a future award ticket in a premium cabin, which is usually a much better value.
March 21st, 2011 at 12:56 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Any suggestions as to web sites or tips on getting good hotel rates in London?
I don’t have enough points to use Starwood pts and they didn’t have any hotels convenient to use thePoints and Cash option.
I’ll probably use two free Hyatt nights but still will be in town for another 5 nights. The 8th night I will stay at a hotel close to LGW since my flight is in the morning.
I don’t think I want to try out priceline since I’d rather know my hotel ahead of time, especially for a 5 night stay.
Thanks.
March 21st, 2011 at 2:21 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — The only suggestion I would have is Priceline, which you seem to be opposed to. Given that most hotels have a best rate guarantee nowadays, it’s tough to “game” the system and get a better deal than the hotels are offering directly. Without knowing what time of year you’re traveling, you might be best off making a flexible reservation now and waiting to see if something better opens up closer to departure, as there are often some lucrative sales in the off season, but they’re typically directly through the hotel or chain of hotels.
March 21st, 2011 at 4:52 pm
luvflying11 said,
Lucky,
Do you recommend getting the “Penfed Premium Travel Rewards Amex credit card”? I haven’t seen lot of discussion on it being a good value but I might be wrong. Can you please give me your opinion in which scneario it is good. Currently they are giving 20K bonus after spending $650.
March 21st, 2011 at 5:01 pm
lucky said,
@ luvflying11 — While I’m not overly familiar with the card, based on looking at it, I don’t find it especially interesting. As far as I can tell there’s no way to convert the points directly to miles, but instead you can use it to pay for travel/merchandise. If you want lots of points for travel, I suggest the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card, which gives you three points per dollar spent, that can be converted to dozens of partners, often with a transfer bonus.
March 22nd, 2011 at 9:25 am
Elliot said,
Hey Lucky – Hope all is well.
I know United has recently changed their routing rules and some of the old sites that were great for finding good mileage run opportunities seem to no longer work. How do you today go about looking for good mileage opportunities? For instance, I am traveling DEN-ORD-DEN next month and would love to work in some extra mileage but ua.com won’t let me do multi-city itineraries with same day travel (e.g. ORD-SEA-LAX-DEN same day). What is your go-to site for building and ultimately booking these?
I know you have covered this in the past and so if your answer has not changed, my apology in advance for a duplicate question.
Thanks.
March 22nd, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Elliot — Unfortunately most fares no longer allow connections, especially between hubs. So I think the only way to add segments would be to click ‘search by price’ and see if any reasonable prices comes back under the ‘one stop’ or ‘two stop’ column.
March 24th, 2011 at 10:29 am
U said,
Hey Lucky,
I wanted to know your thoughts on the Asiana AMEX from Bank of America. 2 points for every dollar all the time seems pretty good! What do you think?
March 24th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ U — There’s no doubt it’s a great card, though personally, it’s a bit “specialized” for my liking. There’s little flexibility with the miles, unlike SPG, Membership Rewards, etc. So while the opportunities are good and the earning value is excellent, the fuel surcharges make it somewhat unattractive for me, given the other good cards that are out there.
March 25th, 2011 at 12:03 am
jiangatang said,
Hey Lucky,
Love your blog!
Need your advice on something…
i’m based in LA and I’m planning an award trip to China in late August. Right now I’ve enough miles with UA and AA for round trip tickets in F. My goal is to try out ANA/Asiana and Cathay in F so I am leaning towards splitting my award into 2 one way awards. The problem is availability. At the moment I cant find any ANA/Asiana award space but have found round trip availability on Cathay. However, there is UA F space available. Should I just book the UA F space and hope for the ANA space to pop up later or should I book both legs with Cathay. From your experience, does ANA/Asiana space appear closer to the travel date even during the high summer season? I am a 1k so no change fees.
Thaks for your help!
March 27th, 2011 at 11:59 am
lucky said,
@ jiangatang — In your case I would go with the sure thing, which is Cathay Pacific first class in both directions. ANA and Asiana do release some award space closer to departure, though it’s not nearly as predictable as on other airlines. And I wouldn’t risk flying United first when you could be flying Cathay Pacific first class.
March 27th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
I have a queetion about US Airways buy miles get double miles promo. Do I have to download the toolbar and have to buy an item from them too?
Is it easy process?
Thanks.
March 28th, 2011 at 12:32 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — For the extra 25% bonus you just have to install the toolbar and do three searches. No need to buy anything. It’s quite easy.
March 29th, 2011 at 9:36 am
mone said,
Hi lucky,
I want to take my kids to Asia, 2 adults and 2 children (10 and 5yo) during the holidays 2011.
I’ve been in Thai (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pucket and Ko Phi Phi), Singapore and Japan.
Haven’t decided where to go with them. Was thinking about Ho Chi Min, cruise to Saigon and Bangkok. Any suggestions?
Have enough miles for business tkts(800K+) (half CO and half AMEX).
EWR is the starting point. I thought about flying SQ but they require 270K each Business ticket (!!), while in another company 135k will do it. Which airline would you recommend …. comfortable seats and better mileage rate exchange ?
Thanks,
mone
March 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
lucky said,
@ mone — I would consider visiting Hong Kong, maybe. As far as which airline to go with, it really depends on availability. Generally speaking, Aeroplan is the best value, charging only 100,000 miles roundtrip in business class for awards to Asia “zone one.”
March 30th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Emil said,
Hello Lucky,
I have a trip to Korea with a return ICN-SFO-ORD with Continental, and I already have a stopover in my itinerary. I have been trying to add an overnight stay at SFO of less than 24 hours.
I’ve looked all over CO’s website for a clarification on whether this is considered a stopover and I have not found one. I have spoken with 2 different agents so far and they both seemed to think that an overnight stop of less than 24 hours would still be considered a stopover. Is this true in your experience? Should I keep calling until someone acquiesces?
Thanks!
March 31st, 2011 at 11:51 am
A. S. said,
Hello, Lucky,
You seem to know Aeroplan pretty well, so here goes:
I’m looking to diversify — having nice chunks of miles across a plethora of programs — and Aeroplan keeps popping up on blogs like yours. Before pulling the trigger, though:
1) Do you know if they occasionally offer signup bonuses? If so, I can wait, because I’m in no rush. Despite the fact that such bonuses are usually tiny, bmi has been known to sweeten the pot, so that’s really the sort of deal I’m asking about.
2) I maintain two residences, US and abroad. Do you know of any advantages for using one over the other?
3) Any general tips for an Aeroplan newbie (who is otherwise a frequent flyer expert) are much appreciated…
Thanks, Lucky!
– A. S.
PS: If you need any AA EXP tips, fire away…been there for many years running now — awesome perks and treatment; I think you’ll like it. The airline itself (i.e., hard/soft product)…not so much.
March 31st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Emil — Hang up and call again. Since it’s an international itinerary, you can have another stopover of less than 24 hours.
March 31st, 2011 at 4:06 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — I’ve never seen them offer a sign up bonus and don’t know of any location specific benefits, so I’ll say that it doesn’t matter. Not so familiar with Aeroplan from an earning standpoint, though from a redemption standpoint they’re fantastic. You can’t beat US to Asia via Europe for only 120,000 miles, with two stopovers.
March 31st, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Mantini said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m sitting on ~80K UA miles, and I’d like to use them for a trip to Europe this fall (late Oct/early Nov). I’ll be spending about 4 days in London and 4 days in Amsterdam.
I’d love to book LH business SEA-FRA-LHR, and return LH economy AMS-FRA-SEA, which I know is doable with my miles if I’m flexible on dates and call United.
My question – is there a way to include the LON-AMS segment without bumping up the mileage needed? Star Alliance doesn’t fly the route, so it’d mean a time-wasting connection somewhere, which I realize probably isn’t worth it since I could get a direct LON-AMS for pretty cheap. I’m just curious if it would even possible using creative stopovers (I’m unclear on UA’s policy in that regard). Thanks.
March 31st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Emil said,
Thanks for the advice, Lucky!
In case anyone else is interested in the same question: I called again and a very helpful agent explained that the formal rule is that it won’t count as a stopover if it is less than 4 hours or if there is no outbound flight on that day. But then he added that the CO system will usually price any itinerary where the stopover is shorter than 24 hours, so that’s a loophole that can be exploited.
March 31st, 2011 at 6:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Mantini — If you book economy one way and business class the other way, the award will essentially be two one way awards, at least as far as I know. That means the award would not allow a stopover. If it were booked as a roundtrip you could add it though, assuming it’s within the MPM, even if there’s a connection. Hope that helps.
April 4th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
JRL said,
When will UA’s VDB compensation certificates be accepted for use on Continental flights. Have you heard anything?
JRL
April 4th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They haven’t announced it yet, though I would expect this to be possible by June or so. Just my guess…
April 6th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Since you seem to do a lot of complicated award trips I’m wondering how hard it is to coordinate two award tickets from different FF Accounts.
Specifically I’m wondering about British Air and AA. If I have 100K+ on both but not enough in either account for two tickets, how difficult is it to get two award tickets on the same flights (assuming the itinerary is reasonably straightforward)?
(Obviously I’m asking about this because of the 100K BA CC offer that is now available.)
Thanks.
April 6th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
gkeller said,
you said: “Every time I book a ticket, in the back of my mind is which flight has the best chance of being bumped,”
Do you recommend other business travelers try this?
Is your work that inconsequential that it doesn’t matter when you arrive?
April 6th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — It’s quite easy. The award inventory for both airlines comes out of the same award bucket, and American allows holds, so you can always find a flight that has two award seats, hold the ticket through American, book the other ticket through British, and then ticket the reservation the first reservation through American.
April 6th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
lucky said,
@ gkeller — Travel IS my “work.” If you’re traveling for business you probably won’t want to do it if you have an important meeting, though if you’re arriving way early, you can always go for it.
April 6th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Hope all is well.
I have booked HKG/BKK TG-F. Would I be able to use the UA int’l F lounge@HKG,do I have o show my *G card as well?
Thanks.
April 6th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Yes you can, and no need for the card.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
steve10011 said,
Lucky –
I anticipate that a lot of people will be jumping on BA’s current Visa offering, me included. I’m planning on visiting NZ at the end of the year, and was wondering how feasible it was to use these BA miles on Air New Zealand (maybe even biz class). Am I counting my chickens, or is this doable?
Thanks!
April 7th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
lucky said,
@ steve10011 — That’s a very, very tough award, especially when not booking 11 months out. The only economical option would be to use the British Airways miles for Qantas, and unfortunately they don’t have very much availability left for the end of the year.
April 7th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
John said,
How do I check award availability on Cathay online? Can’t seem to do it on AA site. Cathay website won’t let you do it without joining their ff program and logging on.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
lucky said,
@ John — I suggest signing up for a British Airways account and searching through their tool.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Carlos said,
Hey Ben,
I have a q. about the 100k offer from Chase you blogged about. I read that to redeem a U.S.A. – MAD flight on AA, using the British Airway miles from the offer, there would be a tax/fuel fee of over $400… I just redeemed using AA miles to MAD for this Summer, and will be paying around $60 in total fees with AA.
Is there going to be a higher fee for redeeming the British Airway miles for the same route?
April 7th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Carlos — I haven’t noticed British Airways imposing fuel surcharges for travel on American, though I might be wrong. While it likely will be a bit more expensive (they’re creative with the taxes they pass on), I don’t believe there will be fuel surcharges.
April 7th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Sco said,
Hi Lucky!
I have 42k miles with bmi that I’m looking to burn before they switch to the LH program. I’ve never redeemed with BD before, so I’m trying to make sure I get the most out of them.
From my understanding, these are some of the details of the BD policy:
- one-way awards are allowed for half the round-trip miles
- one free stopover is permitted on each one-way ticket (so, two stopovers on a round trip)
- they charge the YQs from other airlines on their award tickets
Do I have that right? Is there anything else that is helpful to know?
I think US doesn’t have YQs…are there any other *A members with no or very small YQs?
Thanks!
April 7th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Sco — You’re right on all counts. They also allow cash and points awards, should you be interested in a roundtrip business class award ticket to Europe. One other thing to keep in mind is that fuel surcharges on Air New Zealand between Los Angeles and London are often low, assuming you continue on another Star Alliance flight within Europe.
April 8th, 2011 at 12:06 am
luvflying11 said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a BA companion certificate. It has to be used with the BA metal. I don’t want to go through London since the fees are so high specially going through London.
What are your recommendation using the Companion Certificate w/o going through London. Is there any possibility to goto other Continents using the certificate?
April 8th, 2011 at 11:53 am
oleg said,
@luvflying BA’s hubs are LHR and LGW – so you would find a very hard time finding routes without transiting UK (AFAIK GRU-EZE is the only route that doesn’t terminate in one of the hubs). Moreover, bulk ofthe extra fees are YQ, which you’d pay no matter which BA route you took.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Oscar said,
Hi, if I book an award flight for example with Aeromexico for 10:00 p.m. but I’ll like to take the earlier flight… they will just change me or do I need to pay? I saw in your TR that they just offered you the earlier flight.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
lucky said,
@ luvflying11 — As @oleg mentioned, there’s no way to avoid London using a companion certificate. Keep in mind, however, that the premium departure tax for London, which is about $200 per person for longhaul flights, only applies if you’re spending more than 24 hours in London. If you’re not, you don’t pay that, and you’re just stuck with the high fuel surcharges.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — Typically your ticket would need to be reissued, so no, you couldn’t just make the change. Then again, agents at the airport have a lot of discretion if you’re nice enough and they’re nice enough.
April 8th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
DB said,
Lucky, I have a question about airline credit cards. Are you ever concerned that collecting too many simply for the perks might adversely affect your credit score? I’m right now on the fence about applying for two (each has a 50,000 mileage bonus – one, immediately, the other, after you spend $250). Do you think that applying for one right after the other will harm my credit score? Thanks in advance!
April 8th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
lucky said,
@ DB — I’m no credit expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt. To answer your question, though, no, I’m not really worried. When you apply for a credit card your credit score takes a hit of (literally) a couple of points for the inquiry, but that’s about it. I apply for a lot of cards but still have excellent credit. Make your payments on time and don’t overdue it, and you’ll be fine.
April 8th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
oleg said,
Lucky,
A question to draw on your award booking experience. I’m finding LX availability but only M&M. Do you know when they typically release that to starnet? (e.g. perhaps some general x days/weeks before departure if they haven’t been taken, or something else semi-predictable)
Thanks!
April 8th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
lucky said,
@ oleg — I don’t find there to be much of a correlation. In my experience, often some space is released to everyone, while other space is only released to Lufthansa/Swiss, and it stays that way. So frankly I find it kind of pointless to check Lufthansa availability, as there’s not much of a correlation between their space and the space they actually open up to partners.
April 9th, 2011 at 2:01 am
AA said,
Lucky
Got a valuation question for you.
How would you value Krisflyer miles against SPG points and HHonors points. I am looking for a trade later in FT (know it is against the rules, but I have few hotel points).
April 9th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Oscar said,
Hi I know this is asking for too much but because I don’t have an ExpertFlyer account I was wondering if you could check the flight and how many seats are left for 4 flights April 19th AM 481, April 27th Am 481 and 491
April 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am
lucky said,
@ AA — That’s a toughie, I’m no expert on KrisFlyer miles. I would say that SPG points are worth about 50% more than KrisFlyer miles, while KrisFlyer miles are worth double as much as Hilton points. Just my non-expert opinion, though.
April 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — There’s no way to tell based on ExpertFlyer how many seats are left, unfortunately.
April 9th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Oscar said,
WaIt. But there is a program hat tells u how many seats are available…
April 9th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Laurie said,
Hi Lucky – fellow Gator! I’ve recently started a small business, and I’m importing from bali and Thailand, as well as having some designs made there. Still on a shoestring. Here’s my question: I need another buying trip, but would also like to stop and see my son in Fiji. What would be your best advice in terms of maximizing a mileage award so that I can include a stop in Fiji and do Bali and BKK. I’ve gone into and out of BKK, and used a cheapie Air Asia connect BKK-Bali-BKK, and know I can also do a cheap rt connector thru Kuala Lampur. (Currently have more than enough for Bus Cl on DL or partner) (and returning on DL gives me a huge boost in baggage allowance to save on shipping). Where would you look and how would you start? Or am I simply dreaming here? Thanks -
April 9th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Laurie — Unfortunately there’s not really a way to add a stopover in Fiji on your way to Bangkok and Bali. For one, most airlines allow just a single stopover, though there are some exceptions. Most importantly, though, there’s not really an airline in an alliance that flies to Fiji and could then get you to Bali and Bangkok. Assuming you’re trying to use Delta miles, they don’t allow you to mix non-alliance and alliance airlines, so that makes it even tougher. So unfortunately in this case, there’s not really a way to do that. Sorry!
April 11th, 2011 at 11:33 am
A. S. said,
Lucky,
Do you know if UA allows one-way redemptions on EK? I could have sworn that I read somewhere that somebody successfully did this, but the UA agent told me “no” earlier today. I want to know if it’s a case of “hang up and call back” or not.
– A. S.
April 11th, 2011 at 11:34 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — They do not. Roundtrip awards only.
April 11th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
glu800 said,
Hi Lucky,
What do you think of the new Lufthansa Miles & More Premier World Mastercard with 50K bonus? I believe its 20K after your first purchase and 30K more after spending $2500 within 3 months. Are the miles worth the $79 annual fee (not waived) plus surcharges that LH tacks on to award flights? Do they add the surcharge for partner flights on UA/CO/SQ/OZ/TG/etc… and are they steep?
Thanks,
- glu800
April 11th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, I know you can request miles for an original itinerary in case of operational changes and voluntary bumps but can you get original itinerary miles when you choose to go stand-by on a non-stop flight rather than the connecting flight?
April 11th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
lucky said,
@ glu800 — They do charge fuel surcharges. So while redeeming miles with them isn’t cheap, 50,000 miles for a sign-up bonus isn’t bad either. If you’ve taken advantage of most of the other “good” credit card deals out there, I’d say go for this one.
April 11th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — You’re not supposed to. That’s not to say you can’t request it, because you certainly can, and I’m sure some agents would still credit the original miles. I suppose it’s all a function of how you phrase it.
April 11th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
Have you had any experience booking travel to Cuba? Will any US based FF programs issue awards down there traveling via Canada or Mexico? I understand the legalities for US Citizens, but how could an airline know what flavor passport(s) its members hold?
JRL
*, ST and OW fly there from outside our border.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:39 am
Jess said,
I just discovered this whole world thanks to the NYT article and I’m fascinated. I qualified for Silver Elite on Continental last year by the skin of my teeth, basically by doing a MR on the domestic part of a trip to London to see my BF on US Air (uuuugh) going LGA-BOS-CLT-LGW-CLT-DCA-LGA instead of a direct NYC-LON that was priced about the same in order to get miles. I didn’t know what a mileage run was but it made sense to me to try to lock in the status. I then did a EWR-CLT-TPA-CLT-EWR run at the very end of the year, with the excuse to visit my grandparents, to make up the 500 miles I was lacking.
Anyway, I’m addicted and I’m trying to figure out how to maximize mileage on future NYC-LON trips, as well as NYC-SAN/LAX and NYC-TPA/SRQ trips. I’d definitely like to maintain status on Continental and possibly try to get to Gold if I can swing it. I’m willing to fly whatever Star Alliance carrier that gets me the most miles, although avoiding US Air would be nice, and I have only flown first once, domestically, after a bump so I’ve not yet been jaded/spoiled by premium cabins (although I’d love to find out what’s that like!) The only routing I can find for extra miles that doesn’t cost significantly more is flying around the east coast first on US Air before flying the transatlantic out of Charlotte or flying Lufthansa/Continental to Germany and then doubling back to London. Any ideas how to find better, more creative routings for more miles?
April 12th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — Unfortunately I have no experience with travel to Cuba. I don’t know for sure one way or another and can’t find a link right now, but I remember reading that US frequent flyer programs won’t allow you to use their miles to travel between the US and Cuba. I might be wrong, though.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — Welcome! Generally speaking the airlines have clamped down on routing rules quite a bit over the past few years. In the past it was easy to backtrack via Washington and then Chicago on the way to Europe, though unfortunately that’s not possible anymore. So you’re probably best off taking extra trips. That being said, if you’re as serious about the hobby as you seem to be, I suggest taking a bit of a big picture approach. If you apply for credit cards just for the sign up bonuses you can earn several hundred thousand redeemable miles per year. While that doesn’t help you earn status generally, it’s a great way to make this hobby truly rewarding, and probably in turn cause you to do more revenue flying.
April 12th, 2011 at 11:42 am
JRL said,
In your recent Travelsort blog you wrote, Re: Delta non-partner redemptions:
-Other than Delta, may only use 1 non-alliance partner for an award
-Cheaper redemptions for Jet Airways flights to Europe (Brussels) although need to call Delta, can’t book online
I am confused by your wording and have two questions.
1. Are you saying, other than Delta you cannot incorporate an alliance and a non-alliance in an award, or that you cannot incorporate two non-alliance partners for an award?
For example JFK-BRU on Jet Airways continuing on from BRU-CDG on Air France? (If not, what if it’s a “Delta codeshare”?)
2. What do you mean by “cheaper redemptions”? Better than the almost impossible to find “low” levels on DL @ 100,000 miles?
April 12th, 2011 at 11:52 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — Sadly you can’t combine any partners with a Jet award, be they SkyTeam partners or other airline partners. So in that scenario you couldn’t combine a segment to Paris. By cheaper redemptions I just mean it would actually be a “low” level redemption, which as you know is near impossible for a DL metal award.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Despina said,
Is it true that United allows you to make changes to award tickets once travel has commenced? I have read stuff that indicates it is true, but only on blogs or FT. I can’t find anything at UAL.com that supports that statement and I’m certainly not going to take a CSR’s word for it.
For instance, outbound on LH took place on April 1 and return is scheduled on LH on May 1st. UA miles were used. Can I change my return to June 1st? Are there any restrictions? Do flight numbers have to stay the same? Does routing or carriers need to stay the same or could I switch return to let’s say UA and Aegean?
Thanks!
April 12th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
rich (arizona) said,
FYI,
You might want to consider using a more obvious link to your consulting/award service. I was looking to bookmark it in case I need it in the future and it took longer than it should to find it.
Maybe a link above the poll area or possible next to the title of blog. Somewhere that anyone who reads any of your posts can easily find and click on it. A marketing major should know this
April 12th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — Funny you should mention that, because there’s an update to the blog format coming in the next few hours, largely for that exact reason. So very funny timing, but I appreciate the feedback.
April 12th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — United hasn’t been doing a very good job keeping the website updated regarding recent changes in award rules. My understanding (or at least experience) is that if you have a simple roundtrip award (or at least an award NOT involving a stopover), you can make any sort of a change after departure. Unlike at American, not all awards at United are actually ticketed as one way awards, though you should be able to find an agent willing to do that if you have a simple roundtrip on one record.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Nikki said,
Hi Ben -
In your post on for the ANA and Virgin partner you said:
For example, they charge 68,000 miles for awards under 9,000 miles roundtrip, so recently when traveling to London on Virgin Atlantic I flew from San Francisco to London to New York, which is 8,819 miles, just under 200 miles short of the maximum of 9,000 miles for an award of that price.
Looking at the award chart here: http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/asw_common/amc/reference/tukau/teikeiair_1.html
This is 160k for upper class. Am I wrong, or do you have another way?
Also, with SPG I can transfer up to 95k in miles to ANA, anyways to transfer more miles to ANA?
April 13th, 2011 at 4:26 am
lucky said,
@ Nikki — I’m not quite sure where you’re getting that number from. The chart is based on the roundtrip distance, so when you look at the 7,001-9,000 mile category, you’ll see 68,000 miles as the business class number (which is what Upper Class is). While there’s a daily transfer limit for SPG to ANA conversions, there’s no actual maximum, so over a few days you should be able to transfer more points than that.
April 13th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Dale said,
I’m trying to decide whether to go for elite status on Delta or United. I’m going to be doing SFO-JFK about once a month. I’m based in SFO. Thoughts?
April 13th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Dale — That’s a toughie. I think it really depends on what status level you can achieve. Being based in SFO the obvious answer in theory is United, though in practice not necessarily if you’re flying to New York. United’s Premium Service flights are excluded from unlimited domestic upgrades, so you would have to use miles or upgrade instruments to upgrade those. For a regular flyer, that might not be the best option. on Delta you are eligible for unlimited domestic upgrades, and you would probably clear with some regularity if you’re at least a Platinum member. At the very least you could secure an exit row and have wifi and TV aboard.
I think it’s also worth considering American, actually. They offer a product competitive with United’s, though have the advantage of offering unlimited domestic upgrades, even on that route, to their top tier flyers. So I think it depends if you have any other travel planned beyond the trips to New York, that would help get you to top tier.
April 15th, 2011 at 12:43 am
Tony said,
Hey Lucky-
I have a similar question to Dale. I am a 1P and 75% of my flying is SFO-JFK (based in SFO). With Delta I would be at the Gold level although with rollover MQMs I might hit Platinum. I’ve been seriously thinking about switching to Delta for the following reasons:
1) Chance at upgrades – while I’m sure it’s competitive on trans-cons, at least my chance will be higher than zero.
2) Upgrades on award tickets (I usually redeem my miles for last-minute domestic travel)
3) Free standby and SDC. Removing free standby on United was a big negative for me personally.
Thoughts? I’ve held onto United because I find their miles to be particularly valuable for last-minute domestic redemptions, even during busy periods (at the saver level). With my travel patterns I need to be able to fly domestically last-minute with miles. I know Skymiles is horrible for intl travel, but haven’t heard much about their domestic availability. That’s the one thing keeping me from switching at the moment.
Thanks in advance. Big big fan of the blog!
April 15th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Justin said,
Since you are making this your “day – job” you should consider buying a template and use it, or create your own “professional looking” website. The new layout just doesn’t look that great. You don’t have to respond to this. Just sayin
(e.g. http://bit.ly/TD10u)
April 15th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Steven Goldfarb said,
Hi Ben, I’m the father of someone who works with your brother and have a question he said you might have an answer for. I need to get miles into my daughters American Airlines account, but all I have are American Express miles, any ideas?
April 16th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Tony — That’s a real toughie. You’re basically looking at trading off a reasonable shot at saver award tickets for a reasonable shot at upgrades. Yes, it sucks to fly United and not be able to upgrade on PS flights, but frankly, I think you’ll be sorely disappointed at Delta’s last minute “low” level saver award space. So I guess you really have to ask yourself which you value more. If I were in your shoes I would probably stick with United but connect in Chicago or Denver and hope for an upgrade.
April 16th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the feedback. I’m still working on tweaking a few things with the current layout to make it a bit better, though sadly I’m not much of a tech guy. Appreciate the feedback and will definitely consider it when all is said and done. That being said, hopefully the blog is more about content than a snazzy design.
April 16th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — Thanks for the question! There’s no direct way to transfer American Express points to American Airlines, though I think the biggest question is, what are you trying to accomplish? There might be a roundabout way of accomplishing it, so the more details you can give me, the more likely I’ll be able to help.
April 16th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
rich (arizona) said,
I think you really need to add back the date/time stamp on the messages. Without the date it is hard to tell how recent and useful the messages are.
April 16th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — I hadn’t noticed that was missing; you’re absolutely right. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll ask them to add it back.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Sand Chez said,
Lucky – I’m flying round trip on AA, ORD-MIA-POS in First/Business class cabin on all segments. I’m trying to understand why AA doesn’t grant Admirals Club access to premium ticket holders for travel from USA to POS? (Their stated policy is “International is defined as Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Mexico City. Destinations in Canada and other destinations in Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean are not considered International for the purposes of lounge access.”) Travel to POS from MIA is a longer flight (miles and duration) than from MIA to any AA destinations in Central America and Venezuela. Do you have any thoughts on why AA maintains this policy? thnks
April 16th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Sand Chez — Have you confirmed with American that you wouldn’t be entitled to lounge access? Are you sure that for the purposes of lounge access, POS isn’t considered South America?
April 17th, 2011 at 8:35 am
Sand Chez said,
Earlier I sent an email to AA to see what they have to say — waiting on reply. I’ve also spent a little fruitless time searching online discussions to see what others have had to say about this. My trip is still several weeks away — maybe AA DOES consider POS remote enough that travelers enjoy the normal perks. Thanks for considering my question. (I really appreciate the info you offer on your site.)
April 17th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
As always, thanks for your generous help.
I’m trying to book a mini-rtw in F before the rates go up. I’m basically looking for SFO-GVA-NRT-SFO. But for MPM purposes (and Thai F lounge!) I think I need BKK in there.
What confuses me is the difference in MPM between TPAC, TATL and routings. I’ve read your posts about using published LH fares for North America to Asia via Europe, I think you wrote LAX to HKG could be over 14000 miles.
My question is can my itinerary work basing MPM on published routing miles + 5% for any routing, or only the published routing? And
can total trip be based on 2x that mileage?
If I can’t figure this out myself, I may need to hire you and help you along your new post-college career!
Thanks very much.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
AA said,
Hey Lucky
Any free/paid tools that will email me alerts when F/C award seats open up on LH? I have a C seat booked, but want to see if an F seat will open up on the same flight.
April 17th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — The Atlantic MPM between San Francisco and Tokyo is 14,882 miles. Aeroplan lets you go 5% over that, so you’re allowed 15,626 miles in each direction. When you crunch the numbers, you can probably see that this lets you easily include Geneva, Bangkok, and Tokyo on the same award. Just as an example, San Francisco to Chicago to Munich to Geneva to Frankfurt to Bangkok to Tokyo is 15,453 miles, just within the MPM plus 5%. So you have a lot to work with there!
April 17th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
lucky said,
@ AA — Unfortunately I can’t think of a tool that will automatically monitor LH award space for you. Sorry!
April 18th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Dan said,
Thanks Lucky you’re a great help.
Good luck on your endeavours.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
Need your proffesional opinion. We are on CX F HKG to SFO connecting to AA in June. AA just changed the schedule, leaving us with a 45 min connection. We will not be checking bags. Options are leave it as is and hope the flight gets in early. Or confirm us on a much later flight, going through DFW that would get us in 6+ hours later. They already tried routing us through LAX or YVR with no luck. What would you do? Will they automatically change this as the connection is not legal?
April 19th, 2011 at 8:08 am
Allison said,
Hi, I am a rookie and applied for 4 credit cards last Fri/Sat — Delta Gold Amex, Citi AA mastercard, Continental OnePlus, and United Chase. I got approved for both delta and citi AA mastercard, but I am still waiting for the 2 chase cards. I’ve read in some forums that you should apply for the cards on/about same day…but is there an exception for chase cards? I really want the continental oneplus! I haven’t received anything yet and I called this morning to check on my application status and they transferred me to the fraud prevention dept?? Please help!
April 19th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Adam said,
Mr. Lucky,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and I have a burning question.
How do you afford to travel so much? Is it mostly by credit card churning, promotions, mile runs, etc?
Or do you also spend quite a bit of money to be able to travel a lot?
Also what about hotels, do you find ways to stay frugally, or do you usually just pay for your stays?
Thanks!
April 19th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — You’re going to want to change that. If you misconnect chances are there won’t be any premium cabin award seats left on the later flight, let alone seats in the award “bucket.” I would be surprised if they don’t pester you and constantly call you till departure if you don’t make the change, though.
April 19th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Allison — Chase used to have a “one card every six months” rule, though that doesn’t seem to be strictly enforced anymore. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn you down for the second card, just because it’s two cards in a day. It’s no biggie if you get turned down, we all get approved for some and denied for others, it’s the way the game works.
April 19th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — It’s a combination of everything. I take advantage of all the promotions out there and also pay for a ton of travel, though when I pay it’s usually only if I can get a “deal.” Rarely do I pay full price for a luxury travel product, though I still get to enjoy them by taking advantage of every promotion out there.
April 19th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
BJ said,
Hi Lucky,
When booking hotel rooms through the Amex Platinum FHR website, can we still earn hotel points?
And do we have to use the Amex platinum card for payment during the check-out or can we use a different card? (e.g., SPG card to get more starpoints at Starwood properties)
Thank you in advance!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
lucky said,
@ BJ — It depends on the brand, but usually you do. The only requirement is that you pay with an American Express card. It doesn’t have to be the Platinum card, though.
April 20th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Kim said,
Lucky,
A friend who works for Delta has offered me two friends and family vouchers good for FC seats (based on availability)anywhere DL flies. She can look at booking numbers and guide me to best bets. Cost to me is 10% of highest coach fare and taxes. I want to use the vouchers to fly my dad to Scotland. Maybe BOS to LHR and then take the train to Edinburgh. Not sure I can use code share flights. My dad is 90, in good health but I want to keep this easy. Any suggestions?
April 21st, 2011 at 2:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — The challenge with a “buddy pass” is that it’s always on a standby basis, meaning it can be the best thing ever (where you get on the exact flight you want in business class), or not so great, when you never get on the flight you want. Delta flights to Scotland, and I’d guess that he actually has a better chance at getting on a Delta flight directly to Scotland as opposed to a flight to London. I don’t believe you can use those on codeshare flights.
Either way, given your father’s age, I’m not sure I would do it unless the flight looked wide open. It’s always a huge gamble as to whether or not there’s space on a flight.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Oscar said,
I have 2 options to take to Vegas:
1. With Ua fly to LAX at 6:00 am be in LA for 5 hours and then go to LAS arriving at 1:50 pm. The return flight leaves at 2:45 pm And I’ll have one hour to connect in LAX.
2. With US fly to PHX at 7:15 am, the connection is 1 hr 45 min and then go to LAs arriving at 11:40 am. The return flight leaves at 4:40 pm and will have 1hr 15 min in PHX, but same plane.
Option 2 is better but it costs 90 usd more and we are 2. Should I save 180, and if I did what could I do in LAX for 5 hours
April 21st, 2011 at 9:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I really don’t think I’m qualified to make that call. I think whether or not you should save the $180 or a few hours of your time is your call, depending on what you value your time at. I would go with United, but that’s because I would be working in the Red Carpet Club during my layover, so it really wouldn’t “cost” me anything. If you have a long layover at LAX you could always take The Parking Spot shuttle and do so plane spotting from In-N-Out, if that floats your boat.
April 25th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky,
You often mention how Tampa is a particularly good origin for MRing. What makes it good? What general qualities make a good MR home base?
My home base is SBA, which is nice because I always get an easy 500 UAL EQM each way flying 87 miles to LAX (or slightly farther to SFO). Hit me up if you’re ever in town, I’ll be happy to show you around.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — A good airport for mileage runs would be one first and foremost on a coast, allowing easy connections up and down the coast to accrue extra miles. In that category SBA is perfect. However, the even bigger requirement is that there’s lots of competition, especially among low cost carriers. That’s where Tampa rocks, since we have just about every low cost carrier. The other key is that it’s a primarily leisure destination, which helps keep the fares down, even between big cities.
April 25th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Liz said,
Hi, I’ve got a question for you about Continental’s upgrade policy. Their website says, “OnePass Elite members purchasing certain full-fare tickets on eligible Continental flights can get an instant upgrade at the time of booking and will be shown on the “Customers Upgraded” list. For all other types of tickets, Continental has an Elite Upgrade Automation (EUA) system that will automatically upgrade Platinum, Gold and Silver Elite members in advance up to three hours before departure (depending on availability).”
Do you know what fare class you need to be in? And, does this ever apply to international flights?
I was also wondering, if you request to upgrade when you get to the airport, or even at the gate if first class isn’t full, does it ever cost less and/or fewer miles, especially if coach is extremely full? (Hope springs eternal, lol.)
Thanks for the help!
April 25th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
JRL said,
I have a question about the use of United’s VDB Travel Exchange Coupons which must either be mailed in or processed in person at the airport.
If you tell the agent that you’re mailing the coupons United puts the reservation on hold for 10 days. If you tell the agent that you’re going to exchange the coupons at the airport United puts the reservation on hold for 3 days.
Here is my question: Will I be able to ticket a reservation that has been on hold for 10 days in person at the airport?
April 25th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Liz — You would need to purchase a Y or B fare if you’re a Gold or Silver, or a Y, B, or M fare if you’re a Platinum. Continental will often offer buy ups to first class ahead of upgrades, though the price doesn’t typically get any cheaper, both in terms of money and miles.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Technically you’re not supposed to be allowed to, though in practice I’ve found most agents willing to do it. So it’s very much a case of “your mileage may vary.”
April 26th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
mitch said,
Lucky, where would your preference be between American’s offer of 30 miles per dollar spent on flowers or delta’s 40 miles per dollar. If i will be spending the money on flowers anyway, where is the bigger bang for the buck?
April 26th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
lucky said,
@ mitch — In my opinion, 30 AA miles >> 40 DL miles.
April 27th, 2011 at 12:38 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
Mazel tov on your recent match to AA EXP! As a Chairman Preferred member for several years I’m sincerely considering abandoning US Airways all together after a recent prickly cactus experience.
My question is about matching to UA 1K through their challenge (perhaps from DL Plat). I’ve read lots of conflicting information online about the process, results and requirements. Some are reporting a $999 fee?!
Is the instant 90 day status probationary in it’s offerings (upgrades, bonuses, instruments) or is it “instant hot”
I know it would make sense to wait until after June 1st so that an earned challenged status will be valid through 2/13. Any advice or strategy you’d like to share?
April 27th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Andy Bluebear said,
Does anybody know what lounges MEA passengers have access to in LHR? MEA signed a partnership agreement with Sky Team a few months ago, but I’m not sure what lounge it’s members would have access to at Heathrow.
April 27th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Kim said,
Does anybody have access to travel net to check loads on DL? I’m rolling the dice using S4 passes and my DL friend does not have much exp assessing options. Any DL folks out there?
April 27th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I believe the “free” version of the United challenge requires you to have either American Executive Platinum or Delta Diamond status. If you have one of those, I believe United will give you instant 1K status including unlimited domestic upgrades, though no confirmed regional upgrades or systemwide upgrades. So unfortunately in your case I don’t think there would be any way to make that match.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:41 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Do you think US Airways will offer buy and double miles promo again?
Thanksfor the help!
April 28th, 2011 at 10:24 am
Bill said,
Lucky,
If I’m starting from scratch, what is the best program to go with if I have the goal of a US-Frankfurt First Class ticket on Lufthansa. Also, considering any current promotions/credit card bonuses. I’m based in DFW.
Thanks!
April 28th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — I have no clue, sorry.
April 28th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Bill — It’s very much a function of how you plan on accruing miles on that program — through flying, buying miles directly from them, credit card sign up bonuses, mileage offers through their shopping mall, etc?
April 28th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Bill said,
I would probably collect most of them through non-flying measures as I fly about 25,000 miles per year. I was thinking along the lines of who has the best redemption charts. My guess is I should be looking at US Airways or maybe SPG card.
April 29th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Bob M said,
I’m just a year in to this hobby, but have learned an incredible amount in a short period from you, Lucky, and others like the Frugal Travel Guy. I’m still looking for an expert’s opinion on which single airline program I should favor for each of the three major alliances.
Overall, I almost always try to stick with Star Alliance right now for my Cont Onepass, as I try to build that mileage total up high enough to get a free int’l biz class ticket between Brazil and the US (I live in Sao Paulo). Once I can use deplete that Onepass account, it seems I should definitely switch my Star Alliance focus to Air Canada’s Aeroplan, right?
I don’t really fly Skyteam airlines much because I try to stay away from Delta and it’s unpopular “skypesos.” Not sure which mileage program in skyteam is the friendliest.
And with Oneworld, I have an AAdvantage account now with very few miles. Should this be my favored program for Oneworld, or is there another that offers better value?
Like most, I figure the “value” I’m looking for in a mileage program is its award availability for alliance carriers, low or no fees on award tickets, and preferably a no-expiration policy for miles, or policy that allows you to keep miles alive with semi-regular activity.
Any advice you can offer is much appreciated.
April 30th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
I just booked a flight LAX-TLV-LAX non-stop on El-Al for myself, spouse, 2 kids and a baby. The main consideration was convenience, but now I’m trying to figure out what I can do to get the most earning value out of it. We’re based in the U.S. (Los Angeles area).
El-Al’s Matmid is probably not the best. It costs $25 to join, and we only get 130 points for the round trip (I think our fare class is T, not 100% sure). There’s not much you can do with that, and it’s unclear whether we’ll fly El-Al again any time soon.
AAdvantage is an obvious candidate, but you only get 50% of the miles — that would be about 7500.
Qantas Frequent Flyer and SAA Voyager earn 100% points/miles, but are they useful for people based in the U.S.? I assume to get something out of these programs we’d need to earn more than just this flight. That’s unlikely for SAA, since we all have substantial balances in other Star Alliance programs.
Aeromexico is the last partner, but I can’t find information on earning with them (their web site is down).
None of the choices looks great (earning miles was not a consideration in making the booking). Any thoughts?
Thanks, -Ron.
May 1st, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Allison said,
Hi Lucky, I was wondering if you can help me with several questions:
1. What is the importance of stopovers? Is it to rack up more miles during a trip?
2. Given the current offer of the SPG card — 25k, do you think it’s worth to take up the offer now or wait till a better offer? Have you seen a better offer with the spg before?
3. What is the time lapse for applying AMEX cards? I just got the Delta AMEX 2 weeks ago and now I am itching for the AMEX Premier rewards gold for the 75k offer.
4. I am also interested in the Citi AA Visa/AMEX cards…but unfortunately got the Citi AA MC two weeks ago before I found out. When do you think I should apply for these offers? I’m still trying to hit my spending requirements for both Delta AMEX and Citi AA MC so I can wait for a bit. I just hope the Citi AA offers are still available by the time I can apply…
5. I’ve recently done a lot of shopping online via the airline shopping portals. Specifically on Delta and AA skymall. My miles for purchases via Delta posted relatively quickly but my purchases via AA still hasn’t shown up as pending yet. Is this the norm?
Thank you in advance!!
May 2nd, 2011 at 9:19 am
oliver said,
Hi Lucky,
I am travelling with my wife and infant child from Heatrow to San Francisco in Business next WE. I found out on the web-site that there are 2 different kind of configuration on the 747 used for that route. As our child has a medical issue ( reason of the travel ) we want him to be as comfortable as possible and I am trying to figure out in which seat are the bassinettes available.
Thanks for your help,
Oliver
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:53 am
lucky said,
@ Bill — US Airways has some of the best redemption charts, and has the most ways to earn miles. If nothing else you could buy miles directly from them, often at a rate of about 1.5 cents per mile. So I think they’re your best bet.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:56 am
lucky said,
@ Bob M — For OneWorld stick to American and SkyTeam stick to Delta. There simply aren’t any good alternatives. As far as the Star Alliance goes, I say stick with Continental. Aeroplan is in the process of devaluing their award chart and doesn’t offer nearly as many ways to earn miles as Continental and United does. It generally makes sense to take part in the frequent flyer program of the airline you also at least fly once in a while, so you get some benefits on them.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — While it’s not a spectacular option, I would go with AAdvantage. Yes, it’s only 50% miles, but they’re miles you can actually use and accounts you can keep building miles in, in my opinion.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:59 am
lucky said,
@ Allison –
1) Stopovers are actual stops of more than 4-24 hours, typically on award tickets. They let you see more than one destination at no extra cost. If you’re referring to layovers, those are to add up more miles in my case.
2) I’ve never seen a higher point sign up bonus for SPG.
3) There’s no official rule.
4) I would wait two months.
5) I’ve had the same experience, it takes a while for miles to even show as pending in the AA shopping mall.
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:00 am
lucky said,
@ oliver — What airline are you flying? Generally when traveling with an infant you’re best off calling the airline and they can assign you a seat with a bassinet.
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:54 am
U said,
Hi Lucky,
What do you think about the current hotel points to US Airways transfer promo? I have 93,000 SPG points and am not a US Airways elite, and don’t plan on paying $200 for temporary elite status, so the max bonus I could get on top of the 5,000 SPG transfer bonus would be 50%, making 20,000 SPG points –> 37,500 US Airways points. I don’t have anywhere to fly right now but am considering it because their reward chart looks pretty good and I don’t see 50% transfer bonuses often. What do you think? Thanks.
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Ron said,
Thanks, Lucky — Yes, I guess 50% AAdvantage miles is the best option. As the one person in the group who already has an El-Al account from way back when (currently zero balance), I could use points from the outbound to get an approximately $20 discount on home check-in for the return leg. But I value 7500 AAdvantage miles at more than that, so that’s where we’ll take our miles.
Incidentally, Aeromexico also gives 100% kilometers on El-Al flights, but the LAX–TLV flight is ineligible. On the other hand, MIA–TLV is eligible, even though this flight ceased operations 3 or 4 years ago… go figure.
May 4th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
David said,
FYI. Last year there was an SPG offer for 30K points on 1K spend for both Personal and Business cards. Much better than the current offer, which requires $15K spend in 6 months (difficult for most people.)
May 4th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
Considering the new Aeroplan award chart, should I still start to use the FIA AMEX card, which earns 2 Aeroplan pts/$?
I just got the FIA card, and recently completed spend for the AX Gold Bus for 50K MR points, so I need a new primary AX card: SPG, AX Gold, or FIA.
What do you think…should I forget about accumulating Aeroplan points?
May 5th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Michael said,
Hi Ben,
What’s your expereience been with how ANA handles First Class Awards. I am currently waitlisted for an award ticket FRA-NRT-FRA in June. There are seats. The request is automatically cancelled 14 days before the departure date if not ticketed. Does ANA chose to fly with seats empty rather than issue an award ticket? Is there hope? The trip is sandwiched within a trip to Germany where I will ride on the LH A-380 back to SFO in Business (and maybe First), so if I don’t get the award, I’ll just hang out in Germany, so not a big deal I suppose. Thanks — Michael (UA 2-million+ flyer).
May 5th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ U — It’s a great deal, in my opinion. With the upcoming Aeroplan devaluation, US Airways is actually one of the best Star Alliance programs for award redemptions. I’m definitely considering it as well. That being said, the offer does seem to come around at least once a year or so, so if you have no immediate use you might as well wait.
May 5th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I think it depends on what award redemptions you’re going after. If you’re wanting to travel primarily to Europe, for example, Aeroplan still has one of the better award charts out there. If you travel primarily to Asia and Australia, they have a decent award chart, though not great. Still, when you’re earning two miles per dollar, it’s a pretty great card.
May 5th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — I don’t think I’ll ever understand ANA. The easy answer is that, yes, they would often rather let seats go out empty than releasing award space. Aside from February or early March, it’s rare for ANA to release award space more than a week or so before departure. It’s quite frustrating, since their premium cabin loads aren’t great, so the seats literally are going out empty otherwise. So there’s a chance the space will open up a week or so out, but I’d say the chance is slim to none that they’ll open up space for June 2+ weeks out.
May 5th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Carlos said,
Hey lucky,
Just wanna show you an upcoming gadget.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/97103764/capture-camera-clip-system
Not sure if you use a DSLR camera, but if you do, maybe he will let you try one out for publicity on the blog, specially since its a frequent “traveler” blog.
Cheers ttyl
May 6th, 2011 at 10:58 am
marathon man said,
Hi Lucky, Saw you speak at the FTU in NY. Excellent! I have never been a MR guy but was thinking about it recently. On AA I’m lifetime Gold, on DL I’m all set too, and on UA/CO, well, I’m a big coins guy so I have uber miles but no status. Thing is… What can status even do if there’s not only me but also two small children and my wife? Say I do MRs and get to 1k even. What then? I mean is it worth it for free bags check in and the ability to sit in FC or a nice lounge when I’m alone? What about when traveling with family (which is pretty much the only time it would matter for me)?
I am soon to try to construct some MRs and try the whole bump game and all of what you talked about at FTU. Your advice on these things I have asked about here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
May 6th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
lucky said,
@ marathon man — You’re one of the people I was really hoping to meet at FTU, so too bad we didn’t get to formally say hi. In your shoes it’s a toughie. As an elite with UA/CO you would be entitled to companion upgrades, and as a top tier elite you would earn some confirmed regional and systemwide upgrades. That may very well not be all that useful to you if you would be traveling as a party of four, though. If you’re earning miles in massive quantities through coins, that might be the way to go. However, if you could use the extra miles, have the time, and enjoy flying, mileage running could be a cheap and “profitable” hobby… if your family supports it!
May 8th, 2011 at 3:20 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m going on a quick trip from Edinburgh to Dublin 5/27-5/30, and the cheapest tickets I can find are Aer Lingus for £182 (~$300) at the times I need to fly. I noticed that Aer Lingus seems to have some sort of relationship with United. Do you know if it’s possible to redeem United miles for travel on Aer Lingus? Their website doesn’t have a clear answer. Thanks for your help!
May 8th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Matt said,
Good Work Ben, you’re article got picked up by the New York Times (uncredited though)…http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/magazine/mag-08subversion-t.html
May 8th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Liz — You can, though it’s not a very good deal. United charges 30,000 miles for a coach award on Aer Lingus within Europe. Not a very good redemption value, unfortunately.
May 9th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
United award tickets (for non-elite members) can be changed free of charge, as long as the same city pairs and routing are kept. Do you know if this option is still available after check-in? That is, is it possible to call United reservations, cancel the check-in for an award flight, and then change the date (assuming award space is available on a new date)?
Thanks, -Ron.
May 9th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Carlos said,
Congrats on graduating btw.
May 9th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Danny said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a United Premier Executive and I have Coach award on CO. How do I get continetntal to recognize my status? Thanks
May 9th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — Hmmm, I’ve never been in that situation, though I see no reason that wouldn’t be allowed. That’s no guarantee, though.
May 9th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — You could call Continental and ask them to add your Mileage Plus number to the reservation, if it’s not already on there. That should do the trick.
May 11th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Timothy said,
Question regarding bumps. If you’re in the middle of a Mileage run, say from LAX-DFW-MKE-DFW-LAX and you ask for a bump from DFW-MKE will the rebook the remainder of your mileage run if taking the bump will cause you to miss those flights?
thanks
May 11th, 2011 at 11:29 am
lucky said,
@ Timothy — Ultimately it’s up to the gate agent, though if they choose you as a volunteer they could definitely rebook the remainder of your mileage run to make it work.
May 11th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Kim said,
Hi Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Spain on LH from Bos. May use USAir miles plus SPG for 4 award seats (better value than upgrades). Is the 75% mileage bonus on USA transfers a good offer in your opinion? I can transfer 50k miles from husband’s account to mine for $500 = 87,500. That gets me to 100k and one seat in the bank. Is there a lower mileage option in *a for LH awards? Aeroplan? Thanks! Kim
May 11th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Gary said,
Hi Lucky,
Love your website!
It looks like on my Cathay Pacific flight, I will have accumulated enough points for an instant upgrade (economy to business class). But, I would only have enough points for this upgrade after I check-in.
Would I be eligible to use my points to upgrade to business class after receiving the points from the check-in process? Or do I have to have enough points before check-in?
Thanks!
May 11th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — Given that you’re looking for four award seats, I would first consider what time of year you want to travel to make sure that some flights actually have that much space. The transfer bonus is pretty good, given that you get 37,500 miles for around $500 or so (by your math). I’d certainly take advantage of it if you’re shooting for business or first class tickets.
May 11th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Gary — Assuming you’re talking about the miles you would earn from the flight, unfortunately you could only apply those to your next itinerary. You have to earn them before you can redeem them.
May 11th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Kim said,
Lucky,
Do all *a programs require 100k miles for Business class? Is Aeroplan a “cheaper” alternative into LH?
May 12th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — No, different airlines have different redemption levels. Aeroplan charges 80,000 miles in business, while Continental charges 105,000 miles, for example.
May 13th, 2011 at 6:10 am
Kim said,
Lucky,
Seems like moving miles from SPG into Aeroplan is a lower mile(lowest award?)option for LH usiness. Any downside? Can I book multiple seats using miles from one Aeroplan account? How about SPG to ANA to Virgin for LHR then connect to Spain? LHR fees and connection hassle right? Am I missing any other good options?
Thanks for the follow up. Have a great weekend!
May 13th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Elena said,
Dear Lucky,
I am planning a trip to Italy for my husband’s 50th birthday from Raleigh-Durham NC. And I am totally lost. We have American Express miles and I am trying to use it. After spending a lot of time with no luck, I am waiting for your help as only one way to get this trip.
Could you explain me what I have to do?
Whom should I call to transfer miles?
Which Airline is asking less miles for that? We would like to visit few cities in Italy, like Milano, Venice, Rome its and maybe arrive in one of them and return from another (if it is possible).
Thank you very much for your advice!!!
May 13th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Kim — By my math it’s about the same when you factor in the 25% bonus to US Airways right now, but in general Aeroplan is a better option. They don’t impose fuel surcharges as long as you stay off of Air Canada metal, so it can be a very good deal. If you book through ANA you can book Virgin, though you’d have to book the other segments separately, since Virgin doesn’t fly within Europe and you can’t tag on a segment on another airline. So the cost of a revenue ticket would likely make it impractical. Those are really the best options out there, I think.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Elena — Not to self plug, but this might be a question where my award consulting business (pointspros.com) would come in handy. Generally speaking, your best bet would be to transfer to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, as a business class award through them would cost only 80,000 miles per passenger or 100,000 miles in first class. Of course that’s assuming there’s award availability, which there might not be. But as a starting point, they’re probably best. You can always email me at request@pointspros.com and I can help you plan it, saving you a lot of time, hassle, and potentially miles.
May 13th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Jd said,
As most of your long haul F/J trips are award travel, have you ever experienced any instances where you have been treated differently as it’s an “Award” vs actual
premium cabin purchase? Also what about hotel stays on an a redemption vs standard rate. Any difference in the treatment/service you receive?
May 13th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Jd — That’s a great question. Instead of answering here, I’m going to make a blog post about this topic tomorrow on the main page, so keep an eye out there.
May 14th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Brett said,
Hi Lucky! I met you at the Frequent Traveler University a few weeks back, and was wondering if you could share the slides you presented. I am trying to use ExpertFlyer to find an inexpensive fare from PIT to KOA on UA (depart Jun/24, return Jun/30) and remembered that you had some slides that showed how to do this. If you have any more comprehensive references, that would be great, too!
Also, I do a lot of fundraising for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (a non-profit charity) and want to find ways to give away frequent flyer miles as prizes or incentives for people to donate. Do you know of a way I can give people miles without the airline fees for transferring miles?
Thanks,
Brett in PGH
May 15th, 2011 at 9:30 am
John said,
Ben,
Caught your Mendoza report…just curious, if American’s footing the bill, why they didn’t put you on LAN (their oneworld partner for domestic/Argentina)?
Did I hear you right, you’re an EXP now???
—John
May 16th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Chuck said,
Hi Lucky,
Planning a trip from LAX to TLV this Oct or Nov. I have 600K Amex points and would like to travel business or first class. What airlines / program would you suggest that I transfer the points to? Thanks.
May 16th, 2011 at 9:10 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
I will be traveling on UA(NC) to LHR,would I be able to use the arrival lounge@LHR?
I also have Air NZ*G and BMI *G.
Thanks for the help!
May 16th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Brett — I’d be happy to send over the slides. Just send me an email at the address on the “About” page. As far as the charity goes, you could contact the airline directly and see if they’ll waive fees. In some cases they’re willing to partner with charities to allow people to donate miles without any sort of fees and have you as an “approved” charity, though it can be tough to get them to allow one to transfer miles out of their account and to someone else as an incentive.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Probably because it costs them a lot less to transport someone on their own metal over paying a partner airline to transport someone. I’m almost EXP, I’ll be there in two weeks.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Chuck — It really depends on availability, though generally speaking I’d say Continental is the best value while they’re still a partner. They charge 115,000 miles in business class, which is a pretty good value.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Unfortunately not, unless they changed the rules recently.
May 16th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Chuck said,
Lucky,
What do you mean by “while they’re still a partner”? I am a total novice at this…
Thanks again.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Jennie Bernbaum said,
I have just recently started reading your blog. I understand the whole idea of racking up points and miles, etc. as a sport/hobby/profession. But, why don’t you stay longer at some of your destinations? Is the flying experience THE goal? Or having a certain type of hotel experience THE ancillary goal? Thanks.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Chuck — Continental and Membership Rewards are terminating their partnership on September 30 of this year, so it will no longer be possible to transfer points from Membership Rewards to Continental.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Jennie — When I mileage run my travel is continuous so that I can rack up as many points as possible in the smallest amount of time possible. When I redeem miles, however, I do spend quite a bit of time at my destination. During my current trip, for example, I’m spending three days in Kuala Lumpur, two days in Melbourne, etc.
May 16th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
Oscar said,
Lucky
I have a flight scheduled for this Sunday with CO from MEX to IAH. The issue here is that when I booked the flight there was no available seats(in coach and in first) except 6 but they were extra legroom. I did not choose the seat because it would cost me 40 usd extra.
After I booked the trip I checked again and the flight didn’t appeared in the booking section.
1. I don’t understand, apparently it appears in the flight map 6 available seats,but the flight is not available..??
2. I had the experience with Aeromexico that I didn’t selected seats and the flight was over sold and I wasn’t confirmed in the flight. I have the feeling this flight is over sold and I’m not confirmed , in case it is I can’t take the next flight because it’s too late.
There are two earlier flights but I have no idea how could I change to an earlier flight or at least confirm my seat at my actual flight but of course without any extra cost.
Should I call CO one day before?
My flight number is CO 1515 and is this Sunday 22nd…
Thanks,
Oscar
May 16th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — There’s nothing they’ll do before departure. You’ll be assigned a seat at check-in, probably a seat towards the front, since those are vacant.
May 16th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Referring back to comments 820/823, I didn’t get to try a date change after check-in on an award ticket because the person ended up flying as planned. But something funny happened — I checked her into seat 12E, which was the first row of economy minus on a United 320. But after the flight she reported it was an exit row! I see that United has two configurations for the 320. So was it a lucky break due to an aircraft swap? What about the poor chaps in row 10 who thought they were getting an exit row? Just curious.
-Ron.
May 16th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
lucky said,
Ron — That’s what it sounds like to me.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:09 am
A. S. said,
Lucky, I’m trying to redeem an Emirates F award using United miles before their partnership ends this month. I can’t find Emirates-specific rules on the UA website and I remember reading somewhere that they only accept straight roundtrips, while I read somewhere else that they will allow open-jaws (e.g., LAX-DXB-SFO). Do you know what the real, exact rule is? I know I’ll get conflicting answers from the agents — who are largely unfamiliar with EK awards — so I was hoping for some background info first. Thanks and enjoy your current mega trip!
May 17th, 2011 at 12:17 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — Open jaws are allowed. That being said, it’s my understanding that travel has to be complete by the date the relation ends, so you have less than two weeks remaining (though I might be wrong).
May 17th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
A. S. said,
@ Lucky — Actually, here is the wording:
“Award travel on Emirates Airlines must be ticketed by May 28, 2011 and flown by May 28, 2012.”
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,,2152,00.html
Book away!
May 17th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
MJG said,
Hey Lucky,
My girlfriend wants to apply for one new credit card; she charges ~$600-$1000 / month in random food and other charges. Would you suggest the 75,000 mile bonus AA Visa, the 50,000 mile bonus Sapphire Preferred or another card as the one worth grabbing at the moment? She doesn’t need it until July 1; any reason to think holding off is a valuable strategy? Thanks as always.
May 17th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
John said,
Was referring to the EZE-MDZ seg (on Aerolineas vs. LAN).
May 18th, 2011 at 2:50 am
lucky said,
@ MJG — Keep in mind there are reasons to apply for credit cards beyond the need to spend money on them. In her shoes I would be applying for more cards than I need based on trying to earn as many miles as possible. Then just cancel the card before the annual fee (or second annual fee) hits. If she spends $10,000 per year, for example, she would be earning $150-200 worth of miles (valuing them at 1.5-2.0 cents each). Therefore it probably makes sense if she picks a card with no (or a low) annual fee, because a $90 annual fee would cost more than half of the rewards she’s earning.
May 18th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
1K Traveler said,
What’s up with the new boarding process at United. 1K is not listed on the new boarding procedures just received in a mail from United. What’s up?
New Order:
Global Services
Presidential Platinum
First
Business
One Pass Elite
Mileage Plus Premier
Star Alliance Gold/Silver
May 19th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
jfpanik5 said,
I am trying to book a flight between Miami and Buenos Aires for Christmas this year on United miles. When I called United, they said that seats were not available yet. Is that common for seats not to be released yet for a flight coming up in December? If so, when is a good time to start looking again?
May 19th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
lucky said,
@ 1K Traveler — That’s because all elites board together now, as far as I know.
May 19th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
lucky said,
@ jfpanik5 — It’s probably quite the opposite, as they’ve released the space and it’s already gone. Awards to South America around Christmas are very difficult, so I wouldn’t count on finding a seat if you’re not booking 11 months or a week before departure.
May 20th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Steven said,
Lucky – Silly question.
What is the best online tool for searching for Star Alliance award travel (SQ, TG, LH, etc..) as a Mileage Plus Premier Exec?
Best regards
May 20th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
edison said,
where is the picture at the top of your blog from? is that matt damon? just curious. great blog and happy travels!
May 20th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — The ANA tool is generally the best. Just google “ANA award availability tool” and you should get a link.
May 20th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
lucky said,
@ edison — Thanks! It’s actually just a stock picture, I didn’t even choose it.
May 20th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
I booked a one-way Star Award from the US to Asia, but connecting in Europe. (using UA miles)
However, they only charged me the # miles to Europe. Do you think this is an error, or if so, will it auto-correct?
May 21st, 2011 at 5:12 am
lucky said,
@ David — Typically if something is ticketed they’ll honor it at the price they charged. So you have nothing to worry about.
May 21st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Matt Bailey said,
Hi Lucky,
Just curious, do you think its a good value to book 2 tickets return from Canada to Mexico City for 70,000 Aeroplan points.
Or is it better value to use them for a bigger reward like Asia or something rather?
May 21st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Matt — “Value” with miles is a really relative term. In terms of the actual retail value could you get more out of your miles by traveling to Asia? Almost definitely, yes. But that doesn’t answer the question as to whether a) you have any desire to visit a place that might be a better value b) what your financial situation is (in other words, is 35,000 miles a better deal for you at the moment than the cost of the cash ticket and c) whether you have a need to go to Mexico City. Sorry for the roundabout answer. So in general there are better values out there, but if getting you to Mexico City on miles makes you happy with your redemption, I say go for it!
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:03 am
MSaleh said,
Hi Lucky,
I will be travilling next month on the 16th of june LHR-LAX in the First cabin, I was wondering if there is a way to find out if we will be lucky and get the new BA first seats on this flight.
thank you
Regrads,
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:22 am
lucky said,
@ MSaleh — Unfortunately not until the day before departure.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m going to be flying South African Airways from LHR to JNB next month and want to upgrade, but all my miles are on Continental. Is there any way to do it? Thanks!
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Liz — Unfortunately, unless you’re on a full fare ticket, there’s not a way to upgrade on SAA using Continental miles
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Jon said,
http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2011/05/time-lapse_of_a.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1_HP
cool video….1 hour at BOS in 3 mins
May 24th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Brian said,
Do you have a flight logging/history tool that you use? The only one I know of is Flight Memory but it’s such a pain to get data in there that I just don’t do it.
I do think that it’d be interesting to see which aircraft I’ve flown most on, how many total hours in flight, etc….but I can’t bring myself to invest literally days of data entry. Got a good solution?
May 24th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Matthew Bailey said,
Thanks for the response!
What is usually the best value with Aeroplan points?
RTW travel? Africa? First-class? I’m really putting effort into earning them a lot now so I’d like to plan for a very good trip anywhere.
May 24th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Adam said,
Lucky,
I am based at LAX and am planning on using my award ticket back from Hawaii next year on AA to go to Europe after a long (approx six months) stopover in LA.
My question is, is there a way to extend a ticket like this when returning from Europe to LA (on any alliance)? (i.e. LHR-LAX (stopover)-South America)
Thanks (funny about the PJ’s by the way)
May 24th, 2011 at 11:43 am
glu800 said,
Hi Lucky, I have an award booking dilemma. I’ve been keeping an eye on award flights from SFO (or LAX) to AKL during peak Christmas season 2011 for some time now. I am trying to use AA miles.
Yesterday, I found return availability in early Jan on QF for AKL-MEL-LAX, and in F no less! I checked the Qantas website and I saw that the A380 is only operating on certain days that week for the route, and not on the day the award seat is available. I really want to try the A380 in F… so do you think it’s wise of me to just book this now and hope that the route goes to daily A380 by Jan 2012? QF is scheduled to have 2 or 3 more 388s delivered by Q4, and if none of those are delayed, the QF93 route *should* go to daily. But its a risk I’d be taking.
Sorry for the long question, and thanks for any guidance!
May 24th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Matt Bailey said,
It’s Matt again. Thought I posted this already so hopefully it doesn’t appear twice. Thanks for the advice before.
Now just curious since I’m very active now with points.
Using Aeroplan points, what do you think is the best trips for VALUE?
Round the world flights?
Africa?
First-class?
Stuff like that?
May 25th, 2011 at 4:56 am
lucky said,
@ Brian — As much as I’d like to track it, I don’t, because it turns out to be too complicated. The only ones I know of are Flight Memory and BA97.
May 25th, 2011 at 4:57 am
lucky said,
@ Matthew Bailey — From the US, going to Europe in first class (100K), going to Asia via Europe in first class (120K), or going to Australia in first class (140K).
May 25th, 2011 at 4:58 am
lucky said,
@ glu800 — I would go for it more based on wanting to go to Australia/New Zealand that time of year as opposed to aircraft type. If it’s just the plane you’re after, plan a different trip during lower season, in my opinion, since you have a much better shot.
May 26th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Rob said,
Hey Lucky,
I just posted a comment on this topic on an old thread and thought it would be smart to repost this question here in case others are also curious.
I have been planning to use a bunch of United/Continental miles to book a trip from DC to Bangkok in March of next year and have been running into a few issues. Although I have the miles to book economy class tickets for me and my wife right away, I would like to wait a couple of months (perhaps until the end of the summer) to book the travel to see if we can get enough miles to go over in business class. Anyway, I have not been able to find reward flights through United’s reservation engine, but have found loads of good options while running searches through the Continental site. It seems to me that I might have a better chance of landing good stop overs (i.e. Dubai, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, etc.) and a lower point cost/ticket if I book through Continental instead of United. The problem is, the Continental engine might not exist by the time I have enough miles to redeem a business class reward. What should I do? Do you think the problems I am having on the United site could be avoided/mitigated by making a call to the airline, or should I try to go through Continental? Also, does United offer more than one stopover?
Thank you so very much for your help!
May 26th, 2011 at 9:05 am
Ben said,
Hey lucky, I’m in the midst of trying to book an aeroplan ticket to sydney. I’ve looked on the ANA website for reward flight availability, but the agents at aeroplan say there isnt availability where I see it on the ANA site. Is this possible. A friend of mine has told me that they should have the same availability.
Another question, when I was on the phone with them, they were saying i couldnt do a stopover in places like Seoul or Manila, even though the total miles would be about the same as a stopover in Singapore or Tokyo since they don’t have partner airlines that fly through those places, i.e. there is no SYD-ICN-ORD scheduled flight so they cant do it in parts.
Thanks a lot
-Ben
May 27th, 2011 at 12:23 am
Steve Johnson said,
Hi,
I have been trying to secure a business to first Star Alliance upgrade on LH with UA miles, first class cabin on the flight is completely empty (confirmed by LH) and ticket class (“D”) is eligible for upgrade but UA keeps getting “space unavailable” when I spend the 15 minutes every time talking to them to try and get the upgrade. This is frustrating, I have secured several of these upgrades on same flight without issue previously even when there were a couple revenue seats already booked, I can’t understand why I can’t get it now when cabin is empty (and either can UA or LH, both of whom say “it should be available” but don’t do anything to help). Any ideas? Flight is LH 711 on 29 May so 24 hour limit is fast approaching…
Steve
PS any idea if UA will ever make these upgrades bookable online again? They used to have this when program first started but removed it from their site without explanation, other Star partners (eg CO which is now part of United!) still offer online Star Alliance upgrade redemption…
May 27th, 2011 at 1:41 am
lucky said,
@ Rob — That’s simply because ual.com only shows award space on United metal through their standard award tool. Both airlines only allow one stopover and one open jaw. You shouldn’t have any issue booking in a few months. If Continental’s search engine doesn’t work anymore, others will, and at worst you can call the airline directly.
May 27th, 2011 at 1:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ben — What airline was the travel on that you had the discrepancy with? As far as whether or not something is legal goes, it all depends on where you’re originating. It could be that going via Asia isn’t within the maximum permitted mileage or a legal routing for the city pair.
May 27th, 2011 at 1:46 am
lucky said,
@ Steve Johnson — That’s because Star Alliance upgrades are only confirmable if there’s award space. I believe the flight you’re looking at is to Tokyo, which is an A380, right? If so, that would be because Lufthansa doesn’t release first class award space on the A380 to partner airlines.
May 27th, 2011 at 5:29 am
Justin said,
What would you recommend?
LH F in 747 (more time in lounge) – old config
LH F in A380 (less time in lounge)
May 27th, 2011 at 7:33 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — For the novelty factor I’d go with the A380. It’s an impressive bird.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Ben said,
The airline is Air NZ, LAX-RAR direct flight.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:56 am
Vik said,
Lucky,
I’m fairly new to the miles game and after reading your latest blogs and wanted to ask what you consider to be the best award flight to strive for (airline/class and route). I have about 200k miles on BA, 80k points on amex and between 20-60k on a bunch of other airlines (mainly asian) with no qualms with buying miles/points up to 2.5cpm.
Thanks
May 27th, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ Vik — That’s a toughie, because the value of a redemption goes beyond the flight, but the destination has to be considered as well. That being said, purely in terms of inflight experience I think it’s tough to beat a redemption in Qantas A380 first class from Singapore to Sydney or Melbourne. American and British Airways miles can easily be used for that.
May 27th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I listened to you speak at Frequent Traveler University in NYC and became intrigued with mileage runs. I was looking to plan my first run this weekend but ran into a problem. On AA.com, I was able to price JFK-MIA, then MIA-SBA (via LAX) via a multi-city search. All flights were showing O inventory for a total fare of $99 (plus taxes). I was able to get as far as the final fare screen on AA.com, which confirmed this fare. However, when I proceeded to purchase the ticket, the system indicated that the fare was not available (this happened multiple times). I called AA.com web support and was informed that the system will not allow me to purchase the ticket, as the system has controls against booking these unusual routes that can essentially be used to beat fares to destinations within the itinerary (JFK-MIA, for example). I was told that nothing can be done about this and the route cannot be booked.
Is this consistent with your experience with AA? Am I doing anything wrong? When I attempt to book JFK-SBA directly, the fare is much higher and the routing does not lend itself well to a mileage run.
Thanks in advance.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Cedarglen said,
Hi Ben,
This is hypothetical, but very possible. In such a situation, how will the carrier deal with the flyer: Flyer has over 1 million available miles on FF program A. Books a long, multi-leg international trip, all legs on line A and allowing **more than plenty of time** for the several connections. (All seats are Business/First.) Line A has a mechanical in city #3 and cannot get it fixed within the 6-hour layover and cancels. the flight. Obviously, the rest of the long schedule is toast. What will they do?
May 28th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Cedarglen said,
Hi Ben,
This is hypothetical, but very possible. In such a situation, how will the carrier deal with the flyer: Flyer has over 1 million available miles on FF program A. Books a long, multi-leg international trip, all legs on line A and allowing **more than plenty of time** for the several connections. (All seats are Business/First.) Line A has a mechanical in city #3, cannot get it fixed within the 6-hour layover and cancels. Obviously, the remainder of the schedule is toast. What will carrier A do or tell the FF PAX? We’ll fix it – or walk home? Thanks.
-Love the trip reports!! -C.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Jeremy said,
Hi Lucky,
I have family in Hawaii so we fly out there alot I normaly fly out of Albuquerque NM on United and connect in SFO or LAX as it is cheper then doing ABQ-DEN-OGG or DEN-OGG. When I use miles I try to go for the SFO or LAX conections from ABQ way to much so I try direct from Denver and its perfect for me in terms of miles I would have to use can you please tell me why when I use money its cheper to go threw LAX or SFO then with miles and why its cheper to go threw Denver with miles then cash
Thanks
May 28th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Bill Marlowe said,
Hey Lucky,
Expertflyer is showing two first class seats available on Swiss First Class from JFK-DXB. What are the chances of me using my OnePass miles to book it? Thanks
May 28th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — Interesting. It sounds to me like you’re doing everything right and aa.com is just misbehaving. In the past I’ve had luck with calling web support and they’ll usually honor a fare, though it sounds like your experience was different. I would chalk it up to bad luck and an isolated incident, hopefully.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Cedarglen — They’ll accommodate you on the next available flight that has space.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Jeremy — The simple answer is because inventory and revenue management are beyond illogical, at least in the eyes of most consumers. There’s likely no good reason, other than how dynamic of an art it all is. To try to provide a semi reasonable explanation, I’m guessing it’s because United’s not releasing a whole lot of award space from ABQ to LAX/SFO, while they’re willing to “marry” those segments on revenue tickets.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Bill Marlowe — Swiss is one of the few airlines that releases a LOT of award space for their own members but not for their partner airlines. The only way to know is to call. I’m guessing it won’t be available, as they usually only open up space a few days before departure, but who knows.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Bill Marlowe said,
Thanks lucky any other suggestions? I sent in a request on pointspros…do you handle those bookings?
May 29th, 2011 at 9:06 am
Renata said,
Hi Ben, my friend has 160,000 miles with Lufthansa’s miles and more and since he wants to go from frankfurt to hong kong to visit his sister I told him the best thing to do is get a first class ticket with those miles. He also wants to go to the British isles right before that so I’m trying to figure out a way to incorporate that (I’ve been super inspired by your blog and we recently won a free first class trip on TK, so he DOES NOT want to go back to coach…ever). Lufthansa’s redemption rates are so ridiculous though,so is there any way to transfer those miles via credit card or something to another program? Thanks!!!
May 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Cedarglen said,
See 899 and 903. OK, but through how many days and catchup flights. For the entire trip? How about if if is a lightly paid Mileage run and they begin to smell a a runner. Just deny it and hold out for the route? Fun and lots of games, for sure. C.
May 29th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Renata — Unfortunately not, once you credit miles to a program, that’s it. There’s not really a way to add in a flight to the British Isles either, since you’d have to backtrack through Frankfurt or Munich anyway.
May 29th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Cedarglen — That’s far too theoretical for me to give you a good answer. They’ll put you on the next flight, whenever that is. Mileage running is allowed, so it doesn’t matter how complicated your routing is.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Vik said,
Lucky,
Following on my first question about the best flight to strive for, there are a couple of products I’d love to experience at some point and wanted to get your take on how easy/hard it is to get partner award availability – I’m based in NY but don’t really mind the destination as the longer I get to experience the product the better:
9W first class suites/think it’s available on leased Thai and Turkish planes (would also like to check out the first class lounge in bangkok if possible)
SQ first &/or new business class – I read SQ blocks first to partners but wasnt sure
CX first class
Your suggestion of the Quantas a380 first class
Do you think it would be possible to get an aeroplan award and try out the thai / sq products before the redemption changes?
Thanks and really appreciate the opportunity to ask these questions
May 30th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Yaswanth said,
Lucky,
I got in on the Discover American Wyndham Points sale they had and got 162K points with the intention of transferring them to AA miles. My question is should I wait for a transfer bonus or should I go and do it now so they count towards the Million Miler status before they change the policy at the end of July? I am leaning towards the latter but wanted a 2nd opinion. Thanks!
May 30th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Vik — Thai first class should be easy enough. They fly the Jet Airways 777 to Paris and Tokyo, and those seats are easy to come by. Singapore, however, is not happening, since they don’t release award space in their new first and business class. Qantas A380 first class is easy enough to come by between Australia and Asia/Europe. Not so much to the US.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Yaswanth — It’s a gamble, but I’d go for it now, since it was such a good deal. You never know when they’ll change the award chart and increase the cost to transfer miles.
May 31st, 2011 at 3:08 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky,
Not sure if I should ask this here or your rewards site. I have to fly from Edinburgh to Heathrow on June 4. Last minute prices are quite high, but I’m not sure its worth using miles. What would you recommend as the best way to maximize miles/earnings and minimize price?
Thanks!
May 31st, 2011 at 10:12 pm
JRL said,
Luck,
Is there any way to avoid 180,000 miles F pricing to the middle east on US Airways? They’re still the most reasonable to Asia at 120k, but Middle East is an absolute rip off. How about “making” the destination North Asia and the Middle East a Stopover?… I can’t get verification if a stopover in a higher priced region should raise the pricing all-together. Is this standard practice across *?
Can’t wait for the Australia pics.
JRL
May 31st, 2011 at 10:24 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Like everything else at US Airways, it comes down to the agent. Technically you can only have a stopover at a Star Alliance hub, though that certainly limits the options with Star. That’s not even strictly enforced, though. I’m betting you could convince an agent to price out a US to Asia award with a stopover in the Middle East (something like JFK-FRA-DXB-BKK). If you make it too complicated they’ll likely start asking questions. “Rules” and “US Airways” don’t go together in the same sentence, as rules are rather moot at US Airways.
June 1st, 2011 at 8:59 am
AdamRx said,
Lucky,
How do you become a Royal Ambassador?
Thanks
June 1st, 2011 at 9:14 am
Mitch said,
Lucky,
How do you determine whether to choose Gold Passport points or airline miles when staying at Hyatt properties, especially absent some promotion where larger amounts of miles are awarded per stay? Also, do you almost always choose points as your diamond amenity?
June 1st, 2011 at 10:37 am
lucky said,
@ AdamRx — Royal Ambassador is technically invitation only, though typically takes around 60 or so nights at Priority Club properties with stays at three or more InterContinental hotels, all after having purchased Ambassador status.
June 1st, 2011 at 10:40 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — When there aren’t any miles bonuses, it’s not even worth considering choosing them as your earning preference. A while back United offered 2,500 miles per stay, and I considered that worthwhile for many stays. Typically my breakeven point is if I would earn at least 20% (or so) more miles than I would points, I’ll go with miles. That math has become easier as of late, thanks to the absence of Gx bonuses.
And yes, I almost always choose points for the Diamond amenity at US properties. I figured 1,000 points are worth about $15, which is more than I value any amenity I’ve ever received.
June 1st, 2011 at 11:22 am
Scott said,
Lucky,
I’ll be flying Dublin-Paris later this summer on an Air France flight, purchased with Delta miles. I just lost my silver status but I am a Delta Amex Platinum card holder. Any recommendations on how I might gain access to a lounge without paying huge fees in Dublin before our flight? I’ll have quite a few hours to kill.
June 1st, 2011 at 9:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Scott — Unfortunately having a Delta American Express won’t help you very much in gaining access to a lounge in Dublin when flying Air France. I see there are two Priority Pass lounges in Dublin, so if you have Priority Pass or a way to get a membership, that would be your best bet. I’m betting the lounges that belong to Priority Pass also sell day passes since they seem to be independent, though I have no clue how much they would cost.
June 2nd, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Michael said,
I’ve read that Lufthansa eVouchers can be redeemed on United, do you know if that includes Continental flights, and what the lowest fare class is?
Much easier to ask you than dig through loads of posts on Flyertalk, cheers!
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm
eli said,
Hi, I was hoping you could help me out with this. I am looking for referer bonus links for starwood business and amex platinum cards that give at least 10,000 points to the referrer or more.
thanks
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
lucky said,
@ Michael — I don’t believe they can be used for Continental flights.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
lucky said,
@ eli — No such referral bonus exists.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 am
Despina said,
Ben, do you by any chance know what time of day (US PST) Lufthansa loads their award seats? I am currently checking at 8 a.m. daily but perhaps I should be checking at night as well or in the afternoon? Thanks!
June 3rd, 2011 at 10:52 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, I hope you can help me with this. I would like to use my US Airways Dividend Miles to redeem ANA’s First Class seat between LAX and NRT for spring of 2012. When I called US Air, they told me there are no First Class seats released to US Air by ANA. So I checked ANA’s tool to see if I can find any avilabilities and the only thing I find is WL(Waiting List) which I can’t use as I have 0 miles in my ANA account. Any advise as to what I can do at this point? Thanks.
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Matt F said,
Lucky,
I’m based in CHS and have two planned upcoming trips. First is MAD in early december with my wife, second is Seoul sometime next year with a Hong Kong or Tokyo stopover. I’ve got around 80k MR pts, 55k chase sapphire pref pts and 155k AA pts. Thinking about using the AA pts for a one way coach then one way business for MAD and transferring the MR and Chase pts to BA with some additional earning to try and hit 200k for a business R/T ticket for Seoul with the HK stop on Cathay (revenue ticket to ORD). I’m still really new at this and was wondering if you had any thoughts on this plan? Thanks, your blog is terrific, good luck with the full time approach!
June 3rd, 2011 at 3:07 pm
London Tim said,
Lucky,
Reading your “How I construct your mileage run”, I notice domestic flights in the USA are fairly liberal about transfer rules.
For just about any flight from London to anywhere else, everything seems to be done on MPM basis (even on AA flights to the USA), which gives very little scope for mileage running it seems. Is there any way to get around this?
If not, does that mean mileage running adventures are financially unworkable from this side of the pond on a student budget? (e.g. £1500 per year max) I’ve had no luck getting prices less than £0.07 per mile…ish
June 3rd, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
Despina — I can’t say I’ve noticed a pattern, unfortunately. Keep in mind that a decent portion of the space that’s probably showing up nowadays comes from people canceling tickets (along with new inventory being released), so I’d say it could happen all times of day. Checking in the morning sounds like a good bet.
June 3rd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — Try checking ANA space out of IAD and ORD. They have decent first class inventory for next February and March.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Matt F — That sounds like the perfect strategy to me.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:04 pm
lucky said,
London Tim — It’s more the fact that you need to fly internationally out of London as opposed to the routing rules vs. MPM rules. Flying internationally involves a lot more taxes than flying domestically, which adds up quickly. Beyond that, you see fewer fare wares and fare sales, since about half of international tickets seem to be fuel surcharges, which don’t change with fare sales.
June 4th, 2011 at 11:25 am
Snowcone said,
Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately, since I live in Southern California, flying out of IAD or ORD would be going out of my way. I am wondering if it is extremely difficult to get a First Class award tickets on ANA from LAX/SFO to NRT for there may be plenty of people willing to pay for them. Wonder if there are any award seats to begin with. Are you aware of any such restrictions by ANA? Thanks.
June 5th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I’ve seen them open up fairly frequently, so there’s a good chance they’ll still be released, as ANA award space is really good that time of year.
June 5th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Snowcone said,
I am actually thinking about April or May. How is ANA award space for those months from west coast to NRT? I thought the earlier I start looking at the seat availability, the better chance I have, but I suppose that’s not necessary true? Do you suggest I keep on checking now? Do you know if ANA releases First Class award seats at the last minutes if not all the seats are filled? Sorry, so many questions…
June 5th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — No, they’d rather let the cabin go out empty than release award seats, often. Their inventory management isn’t nearly as active as Lufthansa’s, for example. Chances are you won’t find space for April or May more than a few days out.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Corey said,
Hi Lucky,
Great site. I have a question about earning miles. I had a flight out of Charlotte on AA that was delayed for several hours. It looked like I would miss my connection out of Ohare to get home that night. The AA gate agent went ahead booked me on a US Air flight nonstop home instead. I started thinking it sure would be nice to get those AA miles back since they are my primary carrier. Is there a way to get mileage or segment credit for the AA flights?
June 6th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — You should be able to request original routing credit by calling AAdvantage.
June 7th, 2011 at 12:49 am
Jd said,
When you fly into LHR, twice in one week, do the immigration officers ever ask you why? Can you say business, as I assume you do not have a business visa, or do you say personal or do they even care?
June 7th, 2011 at 7:28 am
lucky said,
@ Jd — I was actually through there three times in a week, hah. In this case it was just transit each time, so I didn’t have to clear immigration.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:15 am
Eddie said,
Lucky,
Regarding your recent post on US Airways 100% offer, you mentioned there is a way to get around the Starnet blocking. Can you tell us how we can get around this ?
June 8th, 2011 at 9:50 am
lucky said,
@ Eddie — When you call, ask them to manually request the space, or do a “manual sell.” It might take a few tries, but it usually works.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Jess said,
Hi Lucky. My grandparents are flying EWR-SAN this Friday at 11 AM on CO. They wait list upgraded with miles and a copay. They have no status, they acquired the miles almost entirely from CC usage. There are currently 5 seats available in F. I’ve already separated their PNR but at this point, is there anything else I can do to try to get them the upgrade? This is a big trip for them and sitting in first class (even on this domestic flight) is something they’d really like to do, once in their lives.
June 9th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Mark said,
Have you seen: http://lloyd-pres-lindia.blogspot.com/2011/06/air-indiawhats-your-fate.html
June 9th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Worldwide_flyer said,
Subject: United / Emirates Partnership
Did anyone expect Emirates miles to be EQM (status miles)? Did anyone book tickets with inbound/outbound crossing the May 28 end date?
Does anyone who was impacted feel there was deception rather than full disclosure of what you were receiving?
June 10th, 2011 at 7:41 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — Unfortunately not that I can think of. The good news is that I believe Continental processes mileage upgrades before elite upgrades, so at least in theory they should have a good shot at getting it. Good luck!
June 10th, 2011 at 7:42 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — I hadn’t, thanks for the link. Can we petition for Jet to join the Star Alliance instead of Air India?
June 10th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Worldwide_flyer — Their website was pretty clear that miles on Emirates don’t earn elite qualifying miles… just redeemable miles are earned.
June 10th, 2011 at 11:35 am
mark said,
lucky
got fortunate and found multiple seats for outbound sfo to syd flights for next may, now trying to work reverse and only finding saver awards in Y, any creative ways to get home in C, or bite the bullet and fly in Y
mark
June 10th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Jess said,
@Lucky They both got it! They’re wait listed for F SFO-EWR next Friday but I think that’s possibly a lost cause, considering it’s a more competitive market. Thanks though!
June 10th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
Justin said,
If you do plan on staying in St. John’s how about you fly Porter. Though if you do make sure you visit their lounge in Toronto. YTZ not YYZ.
June 12th, 2011 at 5:38 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Hi Lucky,
I plan to have dinner at one the Sheraton property but not a guest staying at the hotel,can I hand my SPG Platinum and earn point for my dine visit?
Thanks for all the help in advance.
June 12th, 2011 at 7:26 am
lucky said,
@ mark — Depending on where you’re starting from you could try routing the return via Asia (Bangkok or Seoul), or otherwise if you wanted to stick to United “metal” you could try waitlisting, which is a gamble, though usually works out.
June 12th, 2011 at 7:38 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — If only I could use miles to fly Porter!
June 12th, 2011 at 7:38 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — It’s my understanding that Starwood lets you earn points for spend at hotels even if you’re not staying there, so you should be able to.
June 12th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Spicy B said,
I know you don’t do much DL flying, if any. But I have a flight this week on a 764ER that has a total of J40 Y206. Using WAramean, the flight is now J3 Y4. Does that seem like good numbers for a bump?
June 12th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Spicy B — It’s always tough to tell in advance, but that definitely sounds like it has the potential to be oversold.
June 13th, 2011 at 1:26 am
M said,
LOVE your recaps with plentiful pictures–I find myself purposely reading slower just to savor the detail (I am an excessive speed reader normally) in your last adventure.
Quick question, I’ve been wanting to fly Singapore Airlines for a while (no destination in mind but wanting to try the ‘best’ airline). I however have miles mostly for oneworld not star alliance. I do have about 100K+ in Amex MR so what would be the best way to go about transferring miles to a star alliance airline and what would be average miles necessary to fly lax-sin for example (unless you know a good valued award route)?
June 13th, 2011 at 7:05 am
lucky said,
@ M — Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately Singapore doesn’t release award space in their new business class to partners (which is all they fly out of San Francisco and Los Angeles), so the only way to book an award would be through their program, where awards are ridiculously expensive. Think 250,000+ miles for a roundtrip ticket, plus fuel surcharges. Singapore is good, but not *that* good.
June 13th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Antonio said,
@Lucky – How did you book your Singapore Business class flight then?
June 13th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — I booked it before Singapore switched the aircraft type on the route. Singapore used to fly a 747 on the route featuring the old product, though when they switched the plane to one featuring the new business class they honored the original business class booking.
June 13th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
A friend of mine booked a trip from the US to the Middle East using United miles, outbound in United First + Lufthansa Business, return on Turkish Business. He was charged 145,000 miles, which is double the one-way price for First. Aren’t Star Alliance awards supposed to be charged on a one-way basis? That is, shouldn’t he be charged for one-way First plus one-way Business, which according to my calculation comes down to 130,000 miles? If I’m right, is there a way for him to get credited back with the difference?
June 14th, 2011 at 2:38 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, I have read both of your rteviews on the hotels and wonder where your preference would be for staying in Hong Kong between the Conrad as a Hilton Diamond or the IC as an Ambassador? Also, would your answer be any different if you were redeeming points for the stay?
June 14th, 2011 at 9:04 am
M said,
Thanks for the info–you’re right…Singapore is definitely not worth that many miles to me! What airline would you recommend as being the ‘best’?
Another thing, awardwallet vs. gomiles vs. usingmiles etc…which do you use?
June 14th, 2011 at 9:41 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Once it’s booked you can’t split a record. Assuming there’s no stopover on the itinerary your friend could have booked it as two one ways and been charged the price for the respective cabin in each direction. At this point there’s not a whole lot that can be done, though, assuming he doesn’t want to cancel and rebook.
June 14th, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — As a Diamond I could go with the Conrad, as the club lounge is very nice. The IC HK is very nice, but only if you pay a crazy amount in order to get a harbor view room, and even then you don’t have club access. So I’d go with the Conrad.
June 14th, 2011 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ M — If you’re limiting yourself to business class, you can’t go wrong with either ANA, Asiana, Thai, Swiss, etc., though in your shoes I would shoot for first class if possible, since there’s a huge difference.
I use Award Wallet for tracking miles.
June 14th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Katie said,
I thought I would ask this here in case someone else wondered the same. I have an upcoming 5 hour layover in DEN. Should I buy a day pass for the RCC for each my husband and I? The benefits would be more privacy and limited free snacks/drinks. United has a discount if you buy daypasses online ahead of time. I could tough it out, but my husband isn’t necessarily as patient. Thoughts?
June 14th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks! I doubt my friend would want to go through the hassle of canceling a roundtrip and rebooking as two one-ways. But if he does try this move, is there a risk of losing his seats? The outbound is next week, inbound next month.
June 14th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Katie — That’s a toughie. I believe the advance purchase rate would be somewhere around $80 for two people. Figure between getting to the Red Carpet Club and boarding the next flight you’ll have around four hours to kill, making it $10/hour for the Red Carpet Club.
Generally I’d say go for it, though Denver is an easy place to kill a few hours even without lounge access. They have free wifi and more importantly some very nice restaurants.
So if you have work to get done, I’d say go for it. If you’re more interested in relaxing, I’d say pick a nice restaurant and have a pretty decent meal for the same price as mediocre cheese and crackers in the Red Carpet Club.
June 14th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — The actual award space would still need to be there, as there’s no guarantee the space would be released again if he had to make the booking. So it would be incredibly risky.
June 14th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
MARIA said,
HELLO, I PLAN TO TRAVEL SO: LAX- SAIGON- BY LAND TO HANOI, FLY TO JAKARTA- VISIT BOROBUDUR AND BALI, RETURN TO LAX.
1.-WHAT AIRLINES AND ROUTE DO YOU ADVICE?
2.-I HAVE 100,000 WITH AMEX WHICH CAN BE APPLIED TO UPGRADE TO BUSINESS EVEN IF I BUY THE LONG HAUL ROUND TRIP TICKET.
THANK YOU, MARIA
June 15th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Craig said,
Hi Ben,
UF grad looking to book a ticket to ATH from CLT and a ticket to DBV from CLT using ~80k US Airways miles and 50k Amex points.
How exactly do you use US miles to book award tickets on other airlines (say, Lufthansa or Swiss)? Any guidance on how / where to transfer Amex points?
June 16th, 2011 at 6:57 am
Kevin said,
Hey Lucky,
What do you think of Airbus 2050?
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/163926/20110616/photos-airbus-futuristic-see-through-transparent-plane.htm
June 16th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Craig New York said,
Hi Ben,
I have a quandry that you might appreciate somewhat, now that you are AA Executive Platinum.
I am very fortunate in that I have about two million frequent flyer miles and I am just starting to use them. However, a very good buddy is AA Exec Platinum and he is willing to give me a good number of his VIP upgrade certificates.
However, unlike you, I have a full-time job and can only travel so many times a year. (This year I’m really pushing it to take five one-week international trips — two on miles and three on VIP vouchers).
The dilemma is that if I use a number of his VIP vouchers in the future, I will not be able to use my miles and will end up hoarding them, which is contrary to your “earn and burn” mantra. In the last year, I picked up another 750,000 miles between credit card spending and bonuses, and I can see getting lots more after reading your great advice.
To make matters more complex, I am so intrigued by your AA Exec Platinum challenge, that I am tempted to do it myself, with my son, which would give us 32 upgrade vouchers in a relatively short period of time.
I realize that AA would probably only let me do a Platinum challenge, since I am not an elite on any other airline, and that I’d have to earn my 100,000 BIS miles or points to get Exec Platinum. But with the availability of my friend’s VIP vouchers, any trips and milage runs would be most comfortable, and like you, could include discount business class to LHR, upgraded to first class.
What are your thoughts??? Earn and burn and forget about the upgrades, or use the upgrades while I have the opportunity and become EXP?
Also, any way a non-elite can ever get an Exec Platinum challenge when AA offers them again?
Thanks and keep up the great work!!!
June 17th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Lefty said,
Ben,
I have purchased my parents tickets in premium economy on Thai (LAX-HKT) via BKK. I also purchased their tickets to and from LAX on a different itin. My question is am I able to purchase a day pass for them to a lounge in the Bradley Terminal at LAX on their day of departure? They have a 5 hour layover and Thai check in opens 3 hours prior.
If so do you have one you recommend? I would prefer one that is behind security due to the lines there. Also same question at BKK?
Thanks!
June 17th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Jon said,
Lucky,
I have a flight on Qantas in Y fare class from SYD to MEL and then following day MEL to HKG. I am not currently a Qantas FF program member but have Alaska and American memberships without status on either but might go for Alaska status if I have time this year. I am United 1K. Where should I credit my Qantas miles?
Thanks!
Jon
June 17th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
lucky said,
@ MARIA — It all depends on when you’re traveling and what award availability looks like. In theory you almost have enough for a roundtrip business class award ticket, so you might be better off going for that instead of upgrading, since the revenue ticket might be very expensive. But there’s no easy answer, because there are several promotions, though they’re only useful if there’s availability for your preferred dates. If you’re interested I do offer an award travel consulting service at pointspros.com which might be useful for you.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig — You would have to call US Airways to book a ticket using their miles. If you’re looking for a business class award, you’re probably best off topping off your US Airways account with another 20,000 miles so you have enough for one roundtrip business class ticket through their current promotion. As far as the American Express points go, Continental is going to have the best price at 55,000 miles for coach, unless you can find saver space through Delta and take advantage of their 50% transfer bonus. As always, it’s a function of availability, though.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — I hadn’t seen that before, looks awesome! As always with this kind of stuff, I’ll believe it when I see it.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Craig New York — Ah, great question. Let me respond to it in a blog post tomorrow, because other people mind this pretty useful, I think.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Lefty — The only lounge I know of at LAX Bradley Terminal that sells passes is the reLAX lounge, which is landside. Passes are $50, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t know of any in Bangkok Airport, though unlikely Bradley, there’s actually a ton to do there and it’s a generally nice airport, so they shouldn’t have too much trouble passing time.
June 18th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Will said,
If I have an air-ticket with CO and want to win miles with my OnePass Account (no status) but I have a LH Frequent Traveller card can I use the “special privileges”(like boarding first) and still win points in another account??
June 20th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Lim said,
I was reading your Macau Holiday Inn writeup. Did you book a standard or the deluxe room for US$100 all in before they upgraded you upon check in?
June 20th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Jim said,
Hi Lucky,
I have about 35,000 WorldPoints left from an old BoA Visa I no longer use. Today I logged on intending to cash the points out for a $350 check, when I noticed they are also offering the option to convert points to Aeroplan miles at a 1:1 ratio.
Given the fact that I don’t currently have any Aeroplan miles, and Aeroplan’s upcoming changes to their award levels, is it worth it to convert the WorldPoints to miles, or am I better off taking the $350?
Thanks for your help!
June 20th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Will — In theory, yes. There are two profiles for frequent flyer accounts on tickets. One profile is for benefits, while the other is for mileage accrual. You should be able to enter each in one area to get the miles in one program and benefits from the other program.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Lim — I forgot the room type, though I had booked whatever the cheapest room was.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
lucky said,
@ Jim — Assuming you have other ways of accruing Aeroplan miles (Membership Rewards, SPG, etc.), that’s definitely a better deal, even post-devaluation. Business class to Europe with two stopovers, for example, is still only 90,000 miles, which is a bargain.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
JRL said,
Luck, what do you know about China Southern?
I’m trying to anticipate award space on their 380 product. Also, seat guru shows 3 cabins for their LAX-CAN flight but says their is only First, Premium Economy and Economy. Does this mean “First” is actually a J product, thus, Delta miles can be appropriated?
I’d love to know the difference (service wise) between all these chinese carriers, which I read was “improving”: Eastern, Southern, Air China, China Airlines, and all the other flag carriers I’ve omitted. Must I order my meal by number? Who do you think uses the least MSG?
JRL
June 20th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Scholar in Training said,
Lucky, what’s your strategy for folks with orphaned miles these days? I have a buddy with around 30k in UA, 25k in US, 15k in AA, 15k in DL, etc. and it’s driving him crazy that he doesn’t have enough in one place to do anything internationally. Any suggestions? I know points.com will help but their transfer rates are poor. And I’ve heard the Amtrak transfer has been pretty much closed up, except for maybe CO transfers.
Thoughts?
June 20th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
mike said,
how did that one guy earn 750,000 AA miles in one year by credit cards? It seems impossible?!!
June 20th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I’m in the same boat as you, I have no clue. There are a lot of Chinese airlines with very little differentiation among them, it seems. That being said, I don’t think you can redeem Delta miles for China Southern first class. Very strange that they don’t seem to have business class on many routes.
June 20th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — Unfortunately in this case there’s not really a good answer. The ideal strategy would be to keep accruing miles in those accounts by means of credit card sign-up bonuses, Netflix, dining programs, etc., until one has enough points for a worthwhile award. I know I have many accounts that I used to consider “orphan” accounts, where I now have enough points for even international premium cabin awards. Continental is the perfect example, even without a United transfer. I earned 50,000 miles last year through their checking accounts, 50,000 miles recently for their credit card, and another 100,000 miles through the Chase Sapphire card. That’s 200,000 miles without ever flying the airline.
I realize it’s not the ideal answer, but it’s really the only practical solution without losing 90% of the points’ value.
June 20th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — You might want to make ask in the post on the subject, but I think it was through British Airways. If that’s the case it could be through multiple family members signing up combined with promotions and a lot of credit card spend.
June 20th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
MJG said,
Just want to point out that there is actually a huge difference between the Chinese carriers. China Airlines is Taiwanese, not Chinese, so would not be used for the same routes. China Eastern is of a lower quality than Air China; China Southern is a decent airline but flies fewer transcontinental routes. Other Chinese airlines (Hainan Airines)are very high quality, while others, particularly those that fly only domestic short-haul are, as one would expect, more similar to a U.S. airline than Singapore or Cathay. That being said, had a perfectly good experience on China West, which only has about three plans in service flying across a very narrow expanse of the mainland. In short, no Chinese airline is going to compare to the other Asian carriers (Cathay, Singapore, Asiana, ANA, etc.) but then again I don’t think many international premium jetsetters are major American, Delta, United, Continental fans either.
June 21st, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Mark said,
When’s your next United mileage run?
Ooh, post 999.
June 21st, 2011 at 7:16 pm
mendy said,
I fly all the time domestic and international. I have a million memberships/rewards cards, but feel like I can never gain real miles becuase I have to have too many different memberships and there are not enough links between the airlines/partners.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:18 am
jfpanik5 said,
Lucky,
I guess you could say I am a miles novice, but I have a question for you.
I have the most miles (although still very few) on United, but I recently flew Virgin Atlantic to London. I made myself a member of Virgin’s FF program, but did not yet register the miles under their program. Later that week I saw how I could get Continental miles fro Virgin flights and then transfer it to United which excited me a lot, so I went and created a Continental account. When reading, however, I saw that I needed to have the account before I flew that segment in order to get miles. Is there a way around this, for example, can I get those miles as Virgin miles and then transfer those to Continental and then to United?
Thanks,
Joe
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:37 am
rich (arizona) said,
Can someone explain double dipping with regards to Hilton’s reward program? I understand it has to do with getting multiple bonuses.
I currently signed up for the double points bonus. Is there another bonus I can also sign up for? I did get the temporary gold status and with the cheap hotel rates in Scottsdale/Phoenix in the summer it will be easy to gain 3 stays for about ~$50-60 per night.
Just wondering if there is another bonus I should be getting.
Thanks.
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:17 pm
robertol said,
Lucky,
The fam and I are going to Europe this summer. Even though plans have been up in the air until this past week, I started doing my homework last month to be ready to use my miles.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw 3 seats open in C class FLR-FRA-LAX-SFO. I jumped on it using my UA miles to book these as one way rewards.
Of course, now I need to get us to Europe. Ideally we’d like to do
NYC-ARN (Stop)-FCO/FLR/PSA.
I know UA will want to make me pay for each segment separately. Does any airline offer a stop-over on a one way redemption that would allow me to do this routing (a stopover in Stockholm (ARN)) without paying extra miles (beyond the standard US to Europe redemption)?
I have a ton of points in *A and OW (AMEX, Starwood, BD, UA, AA, BA) if that help inform your answer. Thanks!
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:30 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — I actually have no travel planned at all, other than a couple of awards flights later in the year. Believe it or not, I’m totally fine with that, for once.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 am
lucky said,
@ mendy — The key is to consolidate your miles as much as possible by understanding alliances and partnerships and crediting miles to a single program whenever possible. For example, you can credit your US Airways, Continental, and United miles all to the same account so you can “consolidate” a bit.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ jfpanik5 — No, you couldn’t transfer the points once they’re credited. You should be able to request credit retroactively, so maybe fax/scan your boarding pass to OnePass and request the mileage credit. There’s a good chance they’ll allow it.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:34 am
lucky said,
@ rich — It’s simply a way to earn both miles and points for a stay. You can either earn full points, full miles, or a lesser of both amounts. That’s the extent of it.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ robertol — I can’t think of any program that has both reasonable redemption rates on one way awards (like no fuel surcharges and reasonable prices) that still allows stopovers. You might be best off just booking a cheap intra-Europe ticket. British Midland doesn’t allow stopovers within Europe, British Airways has fuel surcharges and crazy redemption rates when booking multiple partners, etc.
June 26th, 2011 at 7:27 am
mike said,
Chase Sapphire 100K Question
Lucky did you get the targeted offer? How can one get the targeted 100K Sapphire offer? I printed out the blank targeted offer form from Fatwallet and put my name on it and I am waiting the results of my application.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I didn’t get the targeted offer, though applied with the 50K offer hoping for the 50K bump. In the end it looks like they pulled it too early, which I can’t blame them for. There’s not a whole lot of recourse, unfortunately.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
kathy craig said,
My husband and I got the BA credit card 18 months ago, and now have 200k miles. We just celebrated 20th anniversary and would like that wow trip using these miles. England is a choice of his but mine is Europe or Israel. We would like to fly 1st class or business for comfort. How creative can these 200k miles be? Are they good for any hotels?
June 26th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
kathy said,
That would be out of SFO.
June 26th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ kathy — Congrats on your 20th anniversary! If you travel to Europe you’re almost certainly going to end up having to pay extensive fuel surcharges which British Airways charges. The much better value, if you were up for it (and given that it’s your anniversary), is to redeem your miles for travel on Cathay Pacific to Asia. It would be 100,000 miles to Asia, and you could travel to somewhere like Bali with a stop in Hong Kong, if you wanted. That would be the best “value.”
June 27th, 2011 at 10:14 am
CDiddy said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m wondering if it’s possible to use one person’s miles from American Airlines, to top off a redemption for someone else. The scenario is this: I’m planning on booking a flight for my wife and myself on an AA partner, using AA miles. My wife has almost enough for her ticket, but she’s about 4K short. I have enough miles for my ticket, plus enough to cover my wife’s 4K shortage. Can I use my excess miles, essentially combining our two mileage balances, to book our 2 tickets?
Thanks
June 27th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
rich (arizona) said,
What are the best tools to search for business class seats from a specific city? Ideally the destination can be one of many and the dates would be flexible.
Do you use ITA?
June 27th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
lucky said,
@ CDiddy — American does not allow “household accounts” like British Airways does, for example, so the only way to do that would be to pay the transfer fee to transfer miles from one account to another.
June 27th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Are you talking about revenue or award tickets?
June 27th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Revenue. Just pondering MRs and I can handle coast to coast in coach (or get a free upgrade on US Airways as I’m CP) but if I do something TA I’d rather be in business if the price is right.
June 28th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Tee said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m just getting started building up miles on UA and want to plan ahead to book a RT first class award trip to LHR next summer. I have about 63k combined miles with UA & CO. How can I find out how many miles I’ll need for the flight? And should I fly UA/CO or a Star Alliance partner?
Thanks in advance!
Tee
(p.s. I posted in the wrong forum. Please disregard my questions there)
June 28th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
TooTalltoFly said,
Lucky, just tried to book a Lufthansa first award (showing wide open avail on ANA tool) with US airways to take advantage of their 100% miles bonus offer and was told no availability. Any hints on how to get around the starnet blocking that seems to be going on?
June 28th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
John said,
Lucky,
I would like to make a one way partner reward ticket (mostly on Lufthansa) with Continental. The problem is the final leg is a one-hour flight on United Express. United Express doesn’t release award seats for about 2 weeks after Lufthansa and I don’t want to chance losing seat availability on Lufthansa. Is it possible to waitlist the final flight, and if so what number at Continental do I call. The listed numbers on their web sight leave me perplexed. The flights will originate in Dubrovnik connect through Germany and my final destination is in California. There seems to be good availability on Continental.com. I do not have any status but availability for June 2nd flights should be released in a few days. Thanks, John
PS love your blog(s)
June 28th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Emil said,
Hi Lucky,
I have a pretty basic question about hotels. Do stays booked via expedia/kayak/priceline/etc count as stays for status (I’m especially interested in Hilton and Hyatt)? I registered for that Hilton Gold promo recently and I need to book 3 stays by the end of August.
Also, if I currently have status, does it also apply to stays booked through this website?
I’m pretty sure I’ve read before that Priceline’s NameYourPrice reservations do not count, but I don’t know about expedia/kayak/etc.
Thanks!
June 29th, 2011 at 10:37 am
lucky said,
@ rich — Unfortunately I don’t know of any tool that lets you search just for premium fares. I think you’re best off just keeping an eye out on the “good premium fares” thread in the mileage run forum on FlyerTalk.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:39 am
lucky said,
@ Tee — A Star Alliance first class award would cost 135,000 miles. I highly recommend flying one of United’s partners, like Lufthansa, which will offer a much better in-flight product.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:40 am
lucky said,
@ TooTalltoFly — You would need to call them and request a “manual sell,” “direct sell,” or whatever your preferred terminology is. It can take some persistence. At the end of the day I can help with that through my award consulting service, if you can’t make it happen on your own.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:41 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sadly there’s no way to waitlist. If you’re booking almost a year out, I can’t imagine you’ll have any trouble, even if it means waiting an extra two weeks. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it, personally.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:47 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — As a general rule, stays booked through anything but the chain’s website do NOT qualify for points, so you’ll want to book directly through their website. Sometimes they’ll accidentally post points, but it’s not worth the risk.
June 29th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
patrick said,
Lucky,
I need some help with award flights for my son going to Croatia.
Thanks
June 29th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Adam said,
Lucky,
I have successfully booked a mini RTW thru aeroplan:
SNA-ORD UA F
ORD-MUC LH F
MUC-ZRH LX C
ZRH-BKK LX F (stop)
BKK-HKG TG F (stop)
HKG-ICN TG C (stop)
ICN-LAX OZ F
These are for April 2012.
In your experience, how far out from the trip do you get to pick your seats?
LH shows all 8 F seats available for revenue from LAX to MUC for our travel dates, when do you think they will release those for awards?
Thanks for your enlightenment.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Adam said,
Hi Lucky,
I live in Washington D.C and would like to take a trip to Israel in October to visit a friend. I have 150K in Miles and was going to use British Airways for 65,000. HOWEVER, they wanted to charge me $500 in fuel and taxes. I’m not quite sure how to use partner or star alliance programs. Do I have any other options? I could fly out of New York too
Thanks,
Adam
June 30th, 2011 at 5:14 am
mike said,
Ack. All my Visa cards are regular Visa and not Signature Visa so I can’t register for the Hilton offer.
AA Business Citicard Question:
If I start a new Business Citicard and I already have a Business Citicard, if I wait 90 days fromt the first card, will I get the miles sign up bonus again?
June 30th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Antonio said,
What’s the best way to get the most bang for your buck with 1 Miles&More eVoucher (I got just 1 as part of the FB status match promo)? Can they be redeemed on United?
June 30th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — You can pick seats for Lufthansa as soon as the schedule opens up. Just call them. As far as space opening up goes, in my experience Lufthansa releases award space LAX-MUC 11 months out if no seats are sold. Are you sure no seats are sold (ie, is the flight F8), or are there just no seats assigned on the seatmap? There’s a difference.
June 30th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — Unfortunately British Airways imposes hefty fuel surcharges for flights on their own planes. What other programs do you have miles with?
June 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I don’t believe so, at least not for the same exact card.
June 30th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Lufthansa only. I believe it’s only good for a shorthaul upgrade, which probably isn’t worth all that much.
June 30th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
patrick said,
Is your e-mail down?
July 1st, 2011 at 8:56 am
AdamRx said,
@Lucky
re: lufthansa LAX-MUC
for my dates (next April), expert flyer is showing F8.
Per Aeroplan/ANA, no award seats yet.
July 1st, 2011 at 9:33 am
Adam said,
@ Lucky
I have 150K AMEX MILES. Sorry, I forgot to mention it. The program I looked into was BA because of the 50% transfer bonus. People said that Delta is offering a similar deal but I don’t see it on the AMEX page. It is my first time using points and I would like to get good value. I can get economy from DCA or IAD to TLV for 125-150K amex points but that seems like a bad value to me. I am interested in economy or business
Thanks
Adam
July 1st, 2011 at 11:10 am
Bryce said,
Hey Lucky,
Looking to book my first trip to Asia (either Hong Kong or Tokyo) and was wondering if you could book premium economy with miles. I’m going to be flying United/Continental.
Thanks,
Bryce
July 1st, 2011 at 7:12 pm
JD said,
Lucky,
You mentioned you love Hong Kong, and several other cities… But have you ever thought of actually moving abroad for a period of time? You could live anywhere with your job!! This would give you a much better feeling for the culture and city, or are you to much in love with the long haul first?
July 1st, 2011 at 7:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Adam — Availability permitting, you could get business class through Continental for 115,000 miles, which would likely be your best bet here.
July 1st, 2011 at 7:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Bryce — You can’t use miles for Economy Plus on United. You either get it based on elite status or buying up to it.
July 1st, 2011 at 7:36 pm
lucky said,
@ JD — One of the beautiful things about what I do is that I can work from anywhere, so you’re right. That’s actually why I choose to live in Tampa. It’s incredibly cheap and there are cheap tickets to anywhere. The “cost” of working out of a city like Hong Kong is just too high, unless you’re getting paid an ex-pat wage, which is crazy high in cities like Hong Kong.
So for the time being I’m stuck traveling to those exciting cities in first class and staying in five star hotels using points. Tough life, I know.
July 1st, 2011 at 9:04 pm
patrick said,
Check your e-mail…
July 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have a nice holiday.
(Still would be nice to see this page list comments with the newest ones at the top. It is a long list to get to the bottom of.)
July 3rd, 2011 at 10:41 am
Mark said,
Ben,
What’s the best way to find Cathay availability?
Signed,
Star Alliance guy trying to burn 102k BA
July 3rd, 2011 at 10:48 pm
John said,
+1
“Still would be nice to see this page list comments with the newest ones at the top. It is a long list to get to the bottom of.”
July 4th, 2011 at 1:16 am
mike said,
Quantas Web Site:
I have seen alot of award availability by using Quantas on AA Partners such as Alaska Airlines and even AA flights that AA claims is not available!
July 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
lucky said,
@ rich @ John — Thanks for the reminder, I’ll send over the request. I’m not sure about the feasibility of this, given that these are just “comments” to a normal blog post, but I’ll cross my fingers!
July 4th, 2011 at 10:03 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — Qantas’ tool is probably your best bet, followed closely by British Airways’ tool. Both should display accurate availability.
July 4th, 2011 at 10:04 am
lucky said,
@ mike — Hmm, were they connecting flights? Sometimes I’ll find them not to be accurate when connections are involved, though when searching a single flight I’ve usually found them to be accurate.
July 4th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben,
I was recently bumped on AA and my fare class changed to Y due to the manual airport rebooking. Even though the tickets were originally purchased in Q, will I receive 1.5 EQPs? I should note that the first leg of my trip was in O or Q, so the fare classes are mixed on the itinerary.
Please let me know. Thanks.
Jason
July 5th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Puck said,
Does Intercontinental honor ambassador and royal ambassador benefits when staying on a “friends and family rate?” I realize they usually don’t on an award stay but was not sure about this question. Thanks.
July 6th, 2011 at 7:27 am
Luke said,
My wife is traveling with out two kids ORD-DEN #427 today (7/6/11) and flight was just canceled. UAL says it is for servicing.
I am suspicious because I looked at purchasing last night to join them on this flight #427 was not even showing up on UAL.com.
My wife asked about this and rep said it was not showing up because flight was full, but as you know the “full” flights show up – they just have an “x” next to them so you cannot purchase. Flight #427 did not even show up as an option.
I think they knew they were going to cancel last night. Am I being to cynical thinking it was probably a load issue. All three of them were upgraded (Wife 1k, one kid P) on this 767 3-class.
Now they can’t get her out til 5pm so unhappy wife with two year old and infant on the way home and bagging the trip. Working on letter to UAL – any thoughts?
Thanks!
Luke
July 6th, 2011 at 7:58 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — If you got rebooked in a higher fare class, chances are that’s how it’ll post. So while you have no claim with them if it doesn’t, you can cross your fingers and hope it posts that way. Good luck!
July 6th, 2011 at 7:59 am
lucky said,
@ Puck — Technically they don’t have to, though in practice most properties do, in my experience. I suggest emailing the specific hotel you plan on booking and asking.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:02 am
lucky said,
@ Luke — I tend to think that the idea of a flight being canceled due to a light load is entirely a myth. That flight was continuing on somewhere upon arrival, and those passengers were substantially inconvenienced as well. So United (or any major airline, for that matter) doesn’t just cancel a flight because it’s not full. I wouldn’t read too much into the cancellation, though they’re definitely due a “gesture of goodwill” for the cancellation, since it was within United’s control, in my opinion.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Luke said,
Lucky – Thx for quick reply! Good point re next leg etc.
Any thoughts on why #427 was not even showing up as an option for purchase on ual.com last night?
That was what really made me wonder if they knew it was going to be canceled last night? As of 6pm last night this flight did not exist…
Enjoying reading about your trip and happy you did not fall for the scam in Kuala Lumpur!
Luke
July 6th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Jack said,
I recently took a British Airways Oneworld partner awards trip. I booked two one-ways: JFK-SCL-CJC on LAN and EZE-JFK on AA.
My understanding is that award flights do not earn miles; that is, I cannot earn BA miles for my trip. However, is it possible to earn miles on other Oneworld airlines for the flight? For example, I have a AA PNR for my EZE-JFK flight. I linked my AAdvantage # to that PNR when I flew back, and the points (including the 100% bonus, as I’m PLAT) showed up in my account. I also have a LAN PNR for the outbound flight, for which I have not yet received AAdvantage miles; however, I plan to request them from AA once my 15 day waiting period for mileage requests is up.
In short, the question is: is it possible to get AA to give me miles for one or both of those flights – either because I flew on AA metal or because BA, not AA, was the airline for which the flight represented an “award ticket”? To earn 20k miles for a trip that only cost me 20k miles + $300 seems a bit too good to be true. That said, I appear to have gotten it for the AA EZE-JFK flight, so I’m a bit confused. Any clarification about the precise policies (or, more importantly, the way in which the policies are actually carried out) for the way earning oneworld miles for award flights on partner airlines would be helpful.
Thanks,
Jack
July 6th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Peter Li said,
Dear Lucky,
I booked an award ticket with US Airways miles. Two of the flight segments will be flown by AirChina. However, I notice for the past week, the first flight delayed a few times, which would cause misconnection. I will have another LH flight after the CA flight. I called Air China and was told that the ticket was issued by US Airways. It’s US Airways’ responsibility to make change, even if the delayed was caused by weather or mechanical reasons. I called US Airways and was told that it is AirChina’s responsibility to make change if Airchina’s flight delay causes the misconnection.
Now, I am stuck. The agents were not very helpful. I am wondering whether there is any written rule regarding such situation.
Thanks a lot,
Peter
July 6th, 2011 at 11:46 am
Nolan said,
Hi,
I own a small business and have a credit card processing machine. Is there a concern of doing something illegal if you ran a charge on your airline credit card? I know there is a processing fee but if it’s low enough it can be less than buying miles if you just need to top off your account for an award ticket.
Thanks,
Nolan
July 6th, 2011 at 11:58 am
lucky said,
@ Jack — You’re not supposed to be able to earn miles for award tickets, so it sounds like that was a glitch, even if you request miles in a program other than the one you booked through. If you request the mileage credit they’ll almost certainly deny it, citing an ineligible booking class. In your shoes I wouldn’t follow up, because they may very well reverse the miles that were credited for the other ticket when they realize the mistake.
July 6th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Peter — Misconnects on an award ticket can be a serious PITA. It gets really sticky, since you do get the runaround, and there can be lots of parties involved (you, the airline that caused the delay, the airline you were connecting to, and the airline through which you booked). Generally speaking you should try to talk the airline that caused the delay into taking care of you, since it was their fault and you’re at the airport. They might have to call the issuing airline to reissue the ticket, but they’re likely the only ones that would book you in a “non-award” fare bucket. US Airways could just try to find you award space, while Air China should (at least in theory) book you in a revenue fare bucket if the problem was their fault.
July 6th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Nolan — I’m not an expert in this area, though I can’t imagine it’s illegal. If anything it might violate your merchant contract (read up on your agreement with them) or cause tax issues (since it may appear to be revenue for your business), but that’s about it.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:06 am
mike said,
Can you credit the miles earned from the Cathay Pacific deal to AA?
July 8th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — It’s my understanding that you can only credit them to Asia Miles.
July 11th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Lance said,
Lucky,
I am planning on redeeming one pass miles for a trip sometime early next year for both my wife and myself. I will need 140,000 for each ticket with my current plan. My wife only has about 20,000 miles in her one pass account and i have 115,000. I also have 55000 Amex points and 103000 Ultimate Rewards points to transfer. As far as reward redemption goes, does it matter if I transfer all the points to my account or transfer to where there is 140000 in each account? i.e. is it easier to redeem a business/first seat individually or two seats on one account.
July 12th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Mark said,
Just booked a Cathay award ticket from BA and the classes listed are Z for first and X for economy segments… is that correct?
July 12th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Mark said,
Also does $400 in taxes and fees ($330 of it fuel surcharge) sound right for North America – Asia? Better than the $800-900 BA charges on BA NA-EU, but seems steep.
July 12th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — It doesn’t make a difference, other than the fact that all miles for a single redemption have to come out of a single account. So you’ll probably want 140,000 miles in each account, or 280,000 miles in one account. If you start booking one-way tickets (70,000 miles each) you lose the ability to have a free stopover.
July 12th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Correct, “Z” is first class, “U” is business class, and “X” is coach class. $400 sounds exactly right based on the tickets I’ve booked lately.
July 13th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Emil said,
Lucky,
If I book two consecutive nights as two separate transactions (this is at a Hilton), will they count as two separate stays?
I would be fine with settling the bill each day, or even checking in and out (though I hope that wouldn’t be required). I just need an extra stay for the Hilton card Gold promo.
Thanks for helping
July 13th, 2011 at 7:04 am
Sam said,
Lucky,
I have a math/rules question for you. I am going to Tokyo in the fall and will buy a revenue ticket, I plan to fly business class. I recently got an Amex Platinum Delta card so I am looking at flying Delta. Here is my question: As a Gold status Delta person the chart says you get 100% mile bonus, the platinum card rules say that by using the card you get double miles. If I read this right and my math is correct it should be something like this: 12K mile round trip Boston to Tokyo (12K is an easy number to work with and a close prox to the actual miles) + 12K for gold status bonus + 12K for using card + the $ spent on the ticket = over 36K for one trip. Does this add up to you?
Thanks!
July 13th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Bob said,
Just heard the piece about the us mint/cc, thing on NPR, but really was wondering what is the best way to start building miles/points?
Basically I’m asking if there is a noobs guide to this whole thing?(or a site that regularly lists deals would be cool too)
July 13th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Andres said,
Hey lucky, what Bob said,
Except I would rather know where to start reading. I found your site and was initially lost trying to look for answers.
For ex.
How did you start? Was it luck?
What should I read before I start going nuts trying to get points like in an old video game?
What advice do you have for a college student?
I read your advice for the best credit cards but as a student I’m not spending that much.
Seeing that there is more than one person that is clueless, I suggest hat you have a webpage for beginners.
If there were answers to these questions above, sorry, I haven’t had a chance to read all of them.
Thank you
July 13th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Kevin N said,
Lucky,
In a few of your trip reports you’ve mentioned “maximizing” already ticketed award reservations. For example, you had ticketed LAX to Tokyo to Singapore. In order to “maximize” this you added Tampa to Washington to LAX. Is the ability to add additional segments (presumably without increasing the number of miles necessary) unique to United? Are there any additional charges to book this way? Thank!
July 13th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Brad P said,
Will making a charitable donation to a nonprofit organisation (501c3) earn someone points/miles on a travel rewards credit card? I see that most credit cards w/ such rewards programs bar cash advances, balance transfers, and money orders from earning the card-holder points/miles. However, there is no confirmation that a donation falls under the cash transfer category. Thanks!
July 17th, 2011 at 4:18 am
London Tim said,
Lucky, is there anything/anyone to stop me buying a fully flexible (refundable) ticket on a mileage-earning credit card, then cancelling the ticket and still earn from the purchase?
Obviously it’s not a technique you can do too many times, but if you have enough credit limit, then a fully flexible first class ticket can earn up to 30k miles!
July 17th, 2011 at 8:28 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — Unfortunately the system is *usually* smarter than that. As a rule, it will still count as one stay.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:30 am
lucky said,
@ Sam — Not quite. The credit card doesn’t get you double flown miles, it gets you double miles based on the purchase. So if the ticket cost you $1,000, you would normally earn 1,000 miles for the purchase. The double miles would earn you double of those 1,000 miles, for a total of 2,000 miles. Hopefully that makes sense.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:31 am
lucky said,
@ Bob — It’s a pretty complex art/obsession, so just start reading blogs, websites like flyertalk.com and milepoint.com, etc. Credit cards are a great way to rack up miles when they have great sign-up bonuses, which I post about here all the time. It’s often possible to earn 100,000 miles just by signing up for a credit card.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:34 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin N — How far you can maximize an award is really dependent upon the rules/policies of the program. Most airlines charge change fees if you make the change after the fact, typically with the exception of top tier elites, as they get fee waivers.
But lots of airlines will let you maximize awards. For example, Cathay Pacific charges the same for an award from San Francisco to Hong Kong as they do for an award from San Francisco to Hong Kong to Bali (with a stopover in Hong Kong, if you’d like). American charges the same for an award from London to Chicago as they do for an award from London to Chicago to Honolulu (with a stop in Chicago, if you’d like).
Of course an award is only truly maximized when you’re getting where you want to go. In other words, there’s no value in adding a segment if it doesn’t take you somewhere that you want to visit.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:35 am
lucky said,
@ Brad P — Assuming the charity accepts credit cards with a normal merchant account, I assume it would earn miles. They’ll likely still have to pay the credit card processing fee, though.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:37 am
lucky said,
@ London Tim — When you refund the ticket, the miles would once again be deducted from the account. Just as they can give miles, they can also take them away.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:38 am
lucky said,
@ Andres — It’s going to be impossible for me to answer that here, so I like the idea of having a separate “beginners” page. Let me get working on that.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Are you going to provide any details about the “Cops” experience you tweeted about the other day? Or did I miss the details? Curious minds want to know
July 17th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Andres said,
“@ Andres — It’s going to be impossible for me to answer that here, so I like the idea of having a separate “beginners” page. Let me get working on that.”
Sweet. Looking forward to it!
July 18th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
London Tim said,
Thanks for the response Lucky. Just seems like on this side of the pond air miles promotions aren’t quite as lucrative as over there. For instance credit cards here only offer 10k opening reward. Wanted to hit the million AA mark before things change. (I’m only on 35k!) maybe it’s too unrealistic having started only a month ago?
Are there any ways to get *big* mileage other than BIS, credit cards or hotel stays? or would you have to kill me after you told me?
July 18th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
lucky said,
@ rich (arizona) — LOL! It doesn’t have anything to do with travel, so I guess I really can’t talk about that here, now can I?
July 18th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — Sadly your observations are correct. Loyalty programs just aren’t as rewarding outside of the US, and you don’t see the same killer promos and offers.
July 20th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Sean said,
Lucky, recently found your blog. Like Andres I’ll be looking forward to that “beginners” page. I’ve been having trouble deciding if I’m your target audience or not!
July 20th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Antonio said,
I received my Miles & More Senator card from their Flying Blue status match promo. Do you know if this will allow me to use, for example, the SilverKris Lounge Business Class in SFO when flying domestically? Normally I can only use it due to my Premier Exec status when I’m flying internationally out of SFO. Thanks.
July 20th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately that still doesn’t get you access.
July 21st, 2011 at 1:13 am
Snowcone said,
Lucky,
What do you know about JAL’s First Suite? I know you speak highly of ANA but how is JAL compared to ANA’s First Class? Is the award seat as hard to come by for LAX-NRT as ANA? I have enough miles in my AA and BA accounts but I am not sure how I can check the availabilities. Any good tool? Thanks.
July 21st, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for a great blog.
I booked a mini-rtw for 2 people in F, on two different PNRs, for next year including ZRH-BKK on TG. Checking both the ANA and Aeroplan websites, two seats opened up on the LX flight. I tried to change both itins, but everytime they changed one ticket, the second seat disappeared from inventory.
The Aeroplan agent said sometimes an airline will only release two seats as a pair at the same time, and if you’re dealing with two reservations sometimes they will pull the second after you ticket the first.
Have you ever experienced this? Any advice how to deal with it? I can’t tell if I was given straight info or not.
Thanks!
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Justin said,
Lol this Ask Lucky, must be a lot of work
. Well since it’s up, I might as well use it, again. Do you get access to the Virgin Clubhouse in lhr if you arrive on a VS flight in Upper, and depart on another flight, from a different airline (AC). My route would be BOM-LHR-YYZ. BOM-LHR on VS and then LHR-YYZ on AC.
Whaddaya think?
P.s. No first class PJs in a lounge.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:47 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I’ve only flown JAL’s old first class product, and it was good though not quite to the level of ANA. I find the service on ANA to have a slight edge. They don’t seem to release very much award space LAX-NRT, but they seem to release a lot more space SFO-NRT.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:48 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Have been in exactly the same situation on exactly the same route on exactly the same airline. That’s just what Swiss often seems to do. They’ll only release the two seats together, and not separately. So the only way to get them is to be on a single record, unfortunately.
July 24th, 2011 at 7:49 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Unfortunately you can only use the arrivals lounge (if it’s not open), though not the Clubhouse. Sorry!
July 24th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Snowcone said,
Thank you for your tip, Lucky. I am so happy to have found you and your blog that I know I can turn to you for your expertise with the questions I have. I wish I had known you much earlier.
Last year, I redeemed my United miles for First Class seat between LAX and NRT on United. My destination was Sapporo but when I found the available seat for the LAX-NRT leg of the trip, domestic portion which is a code-share with ANA, still was not available. Most likely, award seats had not been released yet at that point. I didn’t want to take a chance of losing the seat I found on United by waiting for ANA so I booked LAX-NRT only and ended up paying for the domestic leg although award seats opened up at a later date.
My question is, could I have done this differently? Could I have avoided having to pay extra for the domestic leg in Japan in anyway? Have you ever encountered a situation like this? Thanks!
July 25th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
rich (arizona) said,
For hotels if you book via orbitz do you still get points for your stay (for Hilton and Hyatt)?
July 26th, 2011 at 12:19 am
JD said,
Lucky,
What would you do if you were living in a city in the middle of the US? Most mileage runs are coast to coast. I want to do mileage runs, I’m just not sure how since I’m right in the middle.
Can you go in detail on some of your AA runs? I’ve seen a bunch for UA/CO/Delta but nothing for AA.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:53 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — Perhaps I’m going crazy, but I believe there’s not a way to redeem United miles for intra-Japan flights on ANA. So if that’s the case (which I think it is), you did the best possible.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:54 am
lucky said,
@ rich — You do not, unfortunately.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:56 am
lucky said,
@ JD — I’m the biggest advocate of mileage running, but living in the middle of the country it usually just doesn’t make sense, in my experience. There’s no way to rack up enough miles at a reasonable enough cost for it to be justifiable, at least for me. In the middle of the country you’re probably best off doing international mileage runs if your mind is set on mileage running.
My American trips actually haven’t been mileage runs thus far, aside from my discounted business class ticket to Paris. I’ve just had legitimate trips around the country, connecting in either Dallas or Miami.
July 26th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Sam said,
Lucky,
Thanks for answering my Delta miles question. On another subject. There was a story on NPR this AM about people who are buying $1 coins from the Tres Dept, on a credit card, depositing them in the bank, paying off the card with that money and collecting miles. One guy took his whole family to HI first class all the way. Feds are now not letting people by the coins on cards anymore. Thought you would get a kick out of this. If I had figured that one out earlier I would be rolling in miles!
July 26th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
rich (arizona) said,
If you purchase an annual pass for Economy Plus on United, does that mean when you book a United (or I guess Continental) flight you can select an Economy Plus seat at the same time?
It has been years since I’ve flown United on a paid ticket.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:33 am
Snowcone said,
@ Snowcone — Perhaps I’m going crazy, but I believe there’s not a way to redeem United miles for intra-Japan flights on ANA. So if that’s the case (which I think it is), you did the best possible.
Actually, you can add intra-Japan flights operated by ANA if award seats are available without using extra miles. I didn’t want my post to become too long, so I didn’t go into the details the last time but I was able to grab an award seat for CTS-NRT coming back when I booked UA tickets. So at the end, I paid for just one-way ticket NRT-CTS.
July 27th, 2011 at 7:48 am
Chris said,
Hi Lucky, what is the best-value award ticket to Thailand from NYC (in biz and/or first)? Trying to decide where to direct my CC spending and signup bonuses. Thanks!
July 27th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Davies said,
Hi Lucky,
I have lots of BA executive club miles and I want to use it to go to from Vancouver to Manila with a stopover in Hawaii. I’m looking at Japan Airlines. Is YVR-NRT-HNL (Stop)-NRT-MNL a valid one way itinerary? Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — You sure can.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — Probably booking through Delta or Continental for 120,000 miles in business class.
July 27th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Davies — It would not be, since you’d be backtracking and transiting the same city twice, which is a big no-no. Frankly there’s no way to do that at a reasonable price, since BA’s award chart gets very expensive when you start mixing airlines. And you’d need to mix airlines to do what you’re trying to do.
July 27th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
eug said,
Aegean’s Star Alliange Gold status is earned after just 20,000 qualifying miles.
So, I don’t fly in Europe. I am basically west coast AS. Shooting for Gold 75k this year. Found a way to do it with 10 RT from PDX – SEA – MIA for about 3K-4K in 12 weeks. I just started thinking about it though.
But the Aegean’s thing. Do I understand it, that I could sign up for it. Fly “United” First Class, that would triple my earnings of miles going towards my Gold status? or is it just after earning Gold status, that I would get reademable miles?
Sorry for the typos.
July 27th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Helixcardinal said,
I’m trying to plan a honeymoon for my future wife and I. Trip isn’t for a while so I’m hoping to get award availability near the 330 day mark. I’m looking at a *A business award to Asia (final destination TPE) with a stopover in Europe and am trying to maximize the experience with some of the best routes/airlines out there. So far, I’ve come up with SFO-FRA-CDG (LH A380, stopover in CDG), CDG-ICN-TPE (OZ), but for the TPE-SFO return, I’m not sure if I want to go with UA, ANA, or OZ.
Couple questions: is this a legal award/routing for 120K in C? Which airline would you pick for TPE-SFO? I’m leaning towards UA just because I happen to like their new C product, but curious to know your thoughts.
July 27th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Addendum to previous post: would availability be easier in F versus C for 2 passengers and would that change your airline selection for TPE-SFO? Would you change anything else to “maximize” the experience?
July 28th, 2011 at 3:27 am
Liz said,
Hi Lucky, I’m trying to upgrade a flight for my parents because my dad has Parkinson’s which makes it tough for him to sit for long periods. They’re traveling EWR-DEN on Continental, DEN-SLC on United, and back, all booked through Continental. I’m being told that I can’t use miles to upgrade the United flights, because it is still considered a separate airline for these purposes. (Merger? Says who?) Is this correct? Any ideas? Thanks for the help!
July 28th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Joe said,
Free CLEAR trial, if you’re interested: http://enroll.clearme.com/p/CMNDENSL03
July 29th, 2011 at 6:29 am
lucky said,
@ eug — Your understanding is correct. You would earn both elite qualifying and redeemable miles immediately if crediting to Aegean. It’s as good as it sounds, but then again I’d keep in mind that their elite status won’t get you a whole lot more than lounge access and the other Star Gold benefits when traveling on the Star Alliance.
July 29th, 2011 at 6:34 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — That sounds like a legal routing to me. Availability would probably be better in business class than first, though either is a possibility (minus A380 first class). I’d say you’re on the right track. Given that you want to go to Paris, that routing is tough to beat. For the way back I’d consider United for their hard product or ANA for their superior service.
July 29th, 2011 at 6:35 am
lucky said,
@ Liz — Unfortunately that’s correct. If you fly both airlines you’re unfortunately stuck paying for the upgrade twice, since they’re not “merged” for those purposes, yet.
July 29th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
toomanybooks said,
Hey, Lucky, why don’t you get one of those Business Class unlimited passes from Phillipine Airlines and fly around for a few weeks and tell us about it?
http://www.philippineairlines.com/special_offers/latest_offers/fly_asia_pass.jsp
July 30th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Jason said,
Hey Lucky, Which credit card do you recommend opening? I know your favorite card is british airline, and SPG Amex, but it seems like they don’t have any good sign up bonus right now.
I also want to open continental debit card through chase, but they said they do not offer this promo anymore, is this true?
thanks for your help
July 31st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ toomanybooks — Tempting, though the lack of ability to earn miles in a “real” frequent flyer program make it not quite worthwhile, in my opinion.
July 31st, 2011 at 11:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — The 25,000 mile checking account isn’t available anymore ever since they stopped giving miles on debit cards altogether. If you’re just after the sign-up bonus, I’d say the American 75,000 mile sign-up bonuses are tough to beat at the moment.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:51 am
rocdoc said,
Planning to sign up for the Amex Premier Gold Card you recommended, with a 25k bonus. Pardon my ignorance, but I am a member of AAdvantage, and when I called them about some info re points to miles, they were very rude, and told me the Amex “miles” do not transfer to AAdvantage. Do they tell you that simply because they want you to use the credit card they support? What I want to know is, if I get the card, accrue 100K points, can I use that to upgrade a ticket on AA?
August 1st, 2011 at 9:54 am
lucky said,
@ rocdoc — American Express Membership Rewards points can’t be transferred to American. They have several airline transfer partners including Delta, ANA, British Airways, and Continental (through September 30). Now, British Airways is partners with American so you could book an award ticket on American using British Airways miles, though that’s the extent of it. You can’t upgrade an American ticket using American Express points.
August 1st, 2011 at 11:00 am
Jeff said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a new Platinum member of AA and I travel between NY and London about 5 times per year (in addition to flying in the continental US). What is the best way to get upgraded on my flights? Are there any tricks I can use to give myself a better chance of being upgraded to business class?
Thanks!
August 1st, 2011 at 11:53 am
Captain said,
So, I have an award trip booked, but wish to book a revenue ticket to go somewhere else while I’m at my destination (on my award).
Should my rev flight get delayed, and I end up missing my award flight back home, what happens?
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:21 am
Jenny said,
Hi Lucky!
I love reading your trip reports and have a question for you – do you have any tips on how to be upgraded to First Class on an international flight if you booked a Business class ticket? Thank you!
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:23 am
lucky said,
@ Jeff — Unfortunately there’s not really a “trick.” Your best bets are either:
a) Hope for an operational upgrade, which would be pure luck
b) Use miles to upgrade
c) Find a friend that’s Executive Platinum and use some of their eVIPs
d) Go for Executive Platinum since it would earn you eight systemwide upgrades, which are totally worth it, in my opinion
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:24 am
lucky said,
@ Captain — Technically you’re hosed, since you’re on separate reservations and you’d be at “fault.” That being said, if you can find a helpful agent they should be able to work with you to find an alternative. When you’re dealing with multiple airlines it gets complicated, especially when you book the trip with a different airline than you fly (ie booking a United award for travel on Lufthansa), so I’d do whatever you can to avoid missing the connection by leaving plenty of time.
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:25 am
lucky said,
@ Jenny — It all depends on the airline, how expensive your business class ticket is, and what your status with the airline is. Generally speaking, assuming you don’t want to “pay” for the upgrade, your best bet would be to have top tier status with the airline and hope they’re oversold in business class, which isn’t all that rare.
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:17 am
Mark said,
Lucky,
I’ve got a one night stay (23h layover) in Hong Kong in January and I’d like to put a little effort into getting a great hotel (Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott, Intercontinental, Ritz Carlton, etc). I’m normally an SPG guy, but I’ve already done the W there and the LM is way out of town.
First idea is the 2 stays => 1 free night promos. Which chain(s) typically do these? When would I normally need the promo to run for a January free night?
Next idea is some promo to accumulate a lot of points from a couple stays. Don’t seem to be many of these, or geography makes it difficult (unless I can get phantom stays).
Last resort would be churn and burn a credit card (Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, whatever) and redeem points for a night. Less exciting than mattress running.
August 3rd, 2011 at 10:51 am
Ed said,
Should I link my United and Continental mileage accounts now, or should I wait and hope they offer a bonus later? I am not planning on using the miles in either account in the near future.
August 3rd, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Lauren said,
Lucky,
As a former but not current corporate traveler, I have several dwindling balances in several loyalty programs. This includes a few night’s worth of points at both SPG and Marriott, most of my miles (85K) in a Continental OnePass account, and points from business expenses (100K) in AmEx Membership Rewards, which I still accrue in my new job though at a drastically lower rate.
I almost exclusively transfer the MR points for economy award tickets for international travel, and generally on Continental or other Star Alliance carriers – but of course value the flexibility to transfer to just about any other program (especially hotels) if needed to supplement balances here or there.
As Continental and AmEx are severing their transfer agreement at the end of the month, do you recommend that I carry all of the points over to Continental to consolidate balances while I still can? Or leave them in the AmEx “slush fund” knowing that I won’t be able to combine with Continental points in the future?
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Oscar said,
So I’m trying to book a flight to Vail from Mexico because it’s cheaper to fly UA I found a flight with a stop in Houston but then I found out that if my destination was Cheyenne I could fly directly to Denver and then to Cheyenne and it evens costs 5 dollars less.
Of course I don’t want to go to Cheyenne but what happens if I book the flight and I fly all the way to Denver and because it’s my first stop at the U.S. I’ll pick up my bags but instead of going to the next flight I just do like Denver it’s my final destination. Would I get charged for some stupid fee?
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — Most of the chains that offer stay two get one free promotions do so in the fourth quarter, so in terms of timing that would work well. Hyatt would be your best bet in that case, though it’s far from a guarantee that the promotion will return this year.
Frankly most of the hotels you mentioned aren’t that great for basic rooms, in my opinion. For example, the InterContinental is one of the best, though only great if you have a harbor view room (which, without status, would be very expensive). Along the same lines I don’t think the Grand Hyatt is that great for a standard room.
If you have any Priority Club points now, you could buy an additional 40,000 Priority Club points for $240, which would be enough for a free night at the InterContinental. I’d say that’s probably your best bet as of now, if you don’t want to hold off for other promotions that might come along in the fourth quarter.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:45 pm
lucky said,
@ Ed — I can’t imagine they’ll offer another bonus (they often do it as an introductory offer, though see no reason they would offer it again), so it really doesn’t make a difference either way. Either you can link them now or later when you *have* to link them.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Lauren — That’s a real toughie. American Express points as such are incredibly valuable, but have definitely lost some value lately. Aeroplan increased award prices recently, which I would have otherwise suggested would be the best alternative. British Airways and Delta often have transfer bonuses, though neither are especially great values unless you have a specific award in mind.
Given your situation, I would say go for the transfer. You’ll have one account with lots of miles, and Continental generally offers the most attractive award chart for what you’re looking to do of any Membership Rewards partners.
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — That’s known as throwaway ticketing. It’s not allowed, though the airline really doesn’t have any grounds on which to punish you unless you’re a repeat offender. I see no downside to doing that.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:05 am
Mark said,
Hi! My wife has about 200k miles on her Amex card and would like to redeem some to travel from LAX to London (to visit me) – problem is neither of us has done this before (hence the large number of miles). Can you give a quick run down of how best to do this? Hoping to get here over here for a week or so in the highest comfort possible. Thanks very much.
August 4th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
John said,
Ben,
BA first redemption is usually wide open but I am having trouble finding awards to LHR (biz or first)for mid June of 2012. What gives? Do they release more as time approaches? I’m looking from IAH and DFW- usually a gimme.
Thanks
August 4th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Oscar said,
Hey I’m trying to plan my Christmas/ New Years Vacations with my kids. The only problem is that I don’t have any place in mind. What places would you recommend for a family for Xmas and New Year. I don’t want to stay in North America and the Caribean.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — It all depends on when you’re traveling and what availability looks like. One option would be to look at Delta availability and transfer to them under their current 50% transfer bonus. You should be able to often find business class roundtrip for 100,000-150,000 miles, not factoring in the 50% bonus. Otherwise the next best deal would be Aeroplan, which is Air Canada’s frequent flyer program. Business class to Europe through them costs 90,000 miles, and you could fly any Star Alliance airline, including Lufthansa, United, etc.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Oddly enough you’re right. I don’t have a good explanation, other than that British Airways is good about releasing more award space closer to departure. So I’d keep an eye on it, as more space will likely open up in the coming months.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I suppose it’s a function of how much you’re willing to spend and how far you’re willing to travel. I find places like South America and Australia to be overrun that time of year, so I’d favor something like Thailand, for example. More reasonable prices, not quite as crowded, and possibly more fun.
August 6th, 2011 at 2:35 am
Lim said,
I know you used to redeem quite a lot of flights via AP. May I know how do you manage to pre-select seats on other *A flights redeemed with AP e-tickets starting with 014-xxx? The airlines don’t seem to accept e-tickets that are not issued by them for pre-flight seat selection.
August 6th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Despina said,
Hi Lucky, I just found out about SPG’s Airline Direct Deposit program. As we don’t typically stay at Starwood properties on holiday (my husband does for travel and we also have the SPG AMEX although we aren’t really using it as much, and our focusing all our spend on a UAL Signature Plus visa), do you think it’s worth it to enroll in the Airline Direct Deposit program and directly deposit to UAL MP?
Thanks!
August 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
lucky said,
@ Lim — You have to call the airlines directly in order to select seats, though they should be able to assign them then.
August 7th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — The major benefit of the Direct Deposit program is obviously that the points convert to United at a 1:1 ratio, while they’d otherwise convert at a 2:1 ratio. So if your end goal is to earn United miles, then yes, that’s your best bet.
That being said, I really value the flexibility of SPG points, and I think you’re missing out on some great deals if you transfer SPG points out without a transfer bonus, at least when you don’t have a specific redemption in mind. For example, US Airways usually has a pretty nice additional transfer bonus from SPG once or twice a year, in addition to the 25% transfer bonus you would get anyway. Their redemption levels to Europe in first class are lower than United’s, and as far as I can tell, they don’t Starnet block anymore.
August 7th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Sarah said,
I got a few skykits/customer appreciation cards from a United flight this week. What is is worth these days? I am currently 1P and will be 1K later this year… should I wait to be a 1K before redeeming it？
August 8th, 2011 at 10:22 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — I haven’t redeemed any lately so don’t know for sure, but I’d guess $50-100 nowadays. It should be worth more if you redeem it when you’re 1K, so it might make sense to wait.
August 8th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
chowdah said,
Hi Ben, thanks for all your posts. Very interesting. Question on UA upgrades. I have complimentary upgrades pending for both legs between LAX-SJD. We’re a few weeks out from the flight. I called and UA said there are no more upgrades available on the return flight, even though there are still seats open. (I’m assuming I’d be on the wait list if I try to apply my Regionals?) Would it make sense for me to request the upgrade now? If I do, do you know what the priority sequence is for upgrades? I’m trying to avoid requesting regionals if comp upgrades with status is prioritized over confirmed upgrades with lower status. ‘Cause then I’d waste a regional? Oh, I’m at 1K.
Thanks!
August 8th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
bmvaughn said,
Should I be following both FT and MP, or just one of them?
August 8th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
lucky said,
@ chowdah — If you applied confirmed regional upgrades now, there’s a chance your upgrades could clear before the 100 hour 1K upgrade window. However, once 100 hours hits, there’s no priority for using confirmed regional upgrades over just an unlimited domestic upgrade. My only concern would be that if your upgrade doesn’t clear in advance, your companion will no longer have 1K upgrade priority once departure management hits, a few hours before the flight. I’d say stay waitlisted for a complimentary upgrade and hope for the best.
August 8th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
lucky said,
@ bmvaughn — Depends how much time you have on your hands, I suppose.
In all honesty, it’s a toughie. I like both sites. FlyerTalk has a lot more archived information (given how much longer it has been around), while I prefer MilePoint’s format. If you have a preference for one over another I’d stick to it, since most of the important promotions/program changes seem to be covered thoroughly on both websites.
August 9th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Renata said,
Hi Ben, do you know if you can get a first class ticket on US Airways for 110,000 AND a stopover in BKK of you fly from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on Thai? Also, do you know if routings to South America via Europe are permitted (like flying BOS-FRA-GIG on lufthansa with a stopover in FRA). Thanks!
August 9th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Renata — First class to North Asia (if that’s what you’re referring to) would cost 120,000 miles. Technically if you stopover in Bangkok they should charge you the 160,000 miles for South Asia, though in practice you can probably find an agent willing to book it for 120,000 miles.
As far as North America to South America goes, you can’t legally route via Europe. Then again, your mileage may vary, as I’m sure you can find some agent geographically incompetent enough to allow you to route via Europe.
August 9th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Emil said,
Ben,
Do you think you might do something like this:
http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/best-star-alliance-business-seats-to-europe.15729/
Perhaps here on the blog or over at TravelSort? Or maybe you could cover other regions, e.g. Asia?
You already post a lot of first/business seat & lounge reviews here, but I think comparing the airlines in one post is generally a lot more informative than reviewing each one individually. I imagine an article like that would especially interesting to travelsort..?
Best,
August 10th, 2011 at 11:22 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, my husband and I will be traveling to UK on BA First in September thanks to 2-4-1 voucher with $30K spent on their card. I am very excited as this will be our first time to fly first on BA and would like to check out their arrival lounge at LHR as we have sometime to kill before we can check in the hotel. Is the lounge located outside of the custom? I am wondering if we need to bring our suitcases with us and if so, is it really worth the trouble and maybe we shouldn’t bother but head for the hotel. Will you tell me what you think? Thanks.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:27 am
lucky said,
@ Emil — Thanks for the idea, I’ll be sure to propose it for a future TravelSort post.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:36 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — I haven’t used the BA arrivals lounge at Heathrow, though I believe it’s landside after customs/immigration. Therefore you would want to pick up your bags first. Unless you have too much luggage, I’d go for it. You can shower, have breakfast, and get a spa treatment there. It shouldn’t be far from the arrivals area, so there shouldn’t be too much walking involved. Enjoy your trip!
August 10th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Jess said,
Out of curiosity, have you hit million miler status yet with United/how far away are you? I seem to remember that a little while ago, you said you were on track to hit it by July.
August 10th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
puck said,
Hi Lucky. Got a quick question about booking award travel: I’m planning to book two business class round-the-world Star Alliance tickets using United MP award miles for travel during the summer of 2013 (honeymoon trip
) I’m having trouble sussing out how far in advance I should plan to book tickets like these. A year? More? Less? I’d like to potentially work with PointsPros to book this travel, so I’m currently trying to do my homework a bit while I still have plenty of planning time (hopefully this way I’m not a pain-in-the-ass customer when that time eventually comes!)
August 10th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky, hypothetical MR situation here: suppose I’m on a UAL mileage run, consisting of a SBA-SF0-ORD redeye arriving in ORD at 5:10am, then ORD-SFO-SBA departing an hour later. If I volunteer to get bumped on my SFO-ORD leg, is UAL going to give you a voucher, give you a flight the next morning, and also rebook your return flight? Or are you SOL once you get to ORD, since you missed your return? Would I just be able to return to SBA from SFO the next morning, and use the voucher for a MR some other day?
August 10th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — I haven’t stepped foot on United since flying American, so I suppose that’s on hold for now.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
lucky said,
@ puck — The schedule opens up 330 days before departure, so the closer you can plan to that date, the better.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — It all comes down to the agent and how desperate they are for volunteers. If they have enough volunteers otherwise they may choose not to take you since it would be too much work to rebook you. They certainly could rebook your entire itinerary, though, without issue. If you’re nice to the agent, anything is possible!
August 10th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
amitdelia said,
Wanting to do a trip to AUSTRALIA. Can I do Quantas hub [dallas] to melbourne to sydney to new zealand and back. Would this be 80k one way in business class?
Also to South America, can I do Miami [LAN hub] to Lima to Santiago to Rio de Janeiro to Miami. Would this be 80k roundtrip in business?
Thanks so much.
August 11th, 2011 at 3:01 am
lucky said,
@ amitdelia — Are you talking about using British Airways miles? If so, since you would fly Dallas to Sydney to Melbourne to Sydney to New Zealand, that wouldn’t be legal since you’re transiting the same city twice. You could do Dallas to Sydney to New Zealand, though.
As far as the second routing goes, you’ll want to call BA directly to ask. You can definitely do Miami to Lima to Santiago OR Rio de Janeiro, but I doubt both…
August 11th, 2011 at 6:43 am
chowdah said,
Interesting thing happened… while getting read to board a flight from FRA to HKG, I was getting ready to board from one of the lounges. As the gate agent scanned my economy boarding pass, a “receipt” printed out with a business class seat. Do you know in what kind of situations would this happen? Perhaps economy class was oversold or something?
August 11th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
amitdelia said,
Lucky — you are awesome! Thank you for replying to my question so fast. I asked the question on 3 other blogs and flyertalk but no response — I know you’re busy so I really appreciate it; I could only focus on college and grad school so I have no idea how you do it. As a newbie I have 2 questions to steal your knowledge:
1. I live in Houston, so to do the Australia trip would I use my AA miles to get to Dallas and then use my BA miles to go to Sydney and then new Zealand and back? That would be 80k BA miles one way plus 25k AA miles Roundtrip, is there a better solution? How would I factor in Melbourne
2. For south America, since I don’t live in a LAN hub city, is it better to fly out on AA to Lima and then use BA miles in south America? I really want to hit chile, Peru, and brazil in any order
Thanks a million — you’re an awesome person who doesn’t mind sharing with us newbies
August 12th, 2011 at 3:54 am
Andy said,
Hi Lucky,
Read about you and your adventures in Oslo airport magazine which opened a whole new world for me.Respect! But being an English guy living in Norway does impose a lot of restrictions on earning miles. However I am tempted by buying miles on various US carriers at discounted rates (e.g. US Air) and using them on other airlines. It seems that 100,000 miles would here allow a business class trip to the US. What would you suggest for the best combination of low taxes and charges, luxurious service and all-round great experience from Europe to New York if I am flexible with the departure airport and carrier? I can get to most major hubs fairly cheaply so could avoid Heathrow if necessary which seems to be very expensive. Also, can you recommend good newbie pages for working this kind of thing out without bothering you?
August 12th, 2011 at 4:02 am
lucky said,
@ chowdah — Congrats! It sounds to me like you got operationally upgraded. Do you have status with the airline you were flying? If not, it’s VERY rare to get operationally upgraded, so consider yourself very lucky. This happens when a flight is oversold in coach so they need to upgrade passengers to make more room in coach.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:29 am
chowdah said,
@ lucky – It was a LH flight… I only have 1K with UA. So very lucky indeed!
August 13th, 2011 at 6:50 am
lucky said,
@ amitdelia — I don’t think it’s an especially good redemption to use 25,000 miles for a coach ticket from Houston to Dallas, so if you can find a reasonable fare I’d much rather pay for that segment than redeem miles for it. American miles are conservatively worth 1.5 cents each, so I suspect you should be able to find a ticket for less than $375 roundtrip from Houston to Dallas.
As far as your second question goes, I suggest doing a cost analysis for your specific dates. If you were to book American as far as Lima, see how much the intra-South America tickets would cost you to purchase (or how many miles it would be). Alternatively take a look at how much it would be to get to a LAN gateway in North America. I suspect it would be cheaper to book a revenue ticket to a North America gateway and then fly LAN, not to mention the in-flight experience would likely be a lot better.
August 13th, 2011 at 6:54 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — Buying US Airways miles is a GREAT deal, especially for transatlantic flights. As long as you’re not originating in the UK taxes on the ticket shouldn’t be too bad, maybe about $150 roundtrip, plus US Airways’ $50 Dividend MIles processing fee. The best availability can typically be found on Lufthansa through Frankfurt or Munich, so that’s probably your best bet. You should be able to include your segment from the home airport to the hub at no additional cost as well.
I would check out my articles on TravelSort.com, where just last week I wrote about the best options for awards using US Airways miles, and I also have some posts there about how to actually search for award availability.
August 13th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
David said,
Hi Lucky,
With the recent AX MR promos and sign-up bonuses, I have a good amount of MR points. Sept 30 is coming soon, I’m not sure how much I should transfer to CO, or if I should stay put for an actual redemption. I prefer CO/UA b/c I have 1K status, and like being able to change award itineraries without fees. Also, their taxes & fees seem to be very reasonable. What do you think? Is there value in make SQ or NH transfers and redemptions?
August 14th, 2011 at 9:06 am
lucky said,
@ David — Excellent question! I’ll have a blog post on this today or tomorrow.
August 14th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Ray said,
I’m planning a trip to Beijing and Shanghai. I live in San Francisco. If I want to use Star Alliance miles (UA, Air China, Asiana), which airline has the best experience in coach or biz class?
August 15th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ray — In coach I’d say most Asian airlines would offer the best experience. Then again, if you could get access to United’s Economy Plus, that would definitely be the most spacious option. Generally I’d say Asiana would be the best. In business class United has a flat bed product to China on the 747, so they might just be the best. Otherwise ANA and Asiana via Tokyo and Seoul respectively are also very good.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
David K said,
I have 114,000 Wyndham points from the Discover America promo earlier this year. I’m torn between converting them to 45,600 AA miles or 45,600 UA/CO miles. I’m EXP with AA with about 650,000 miles and don’t have status with UA/CO with about 170,000 miles. Thoughts? You’re not aware of any periodic transfer bonuses from Wyndham by the way?
Thanks!
August 15th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
lucky said,
@ David K — That’s a toughie. I don’t believe there are usually any transfer bonuses, though I’m not too familiar with Wyndham. That being said, I’d transfer to Continental in your shoes, since you already have so many American miles. That opens up a lot of new award opportunities that you can’t get through American.
August 16th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Ismael said,
Lucky,
Using United miles, we can fly to Southeast Asia with a stop in Europe or the Middle-East on coach for only 65,000 miles. This is a great deal considering round-trip to Europe is 60,000 and to the Middle-East is 80,000. Using Continental’s online search, I noticed that any arrivals or departures to DOH connect in FRA. This makes a trip from DOH to SIN very long with a connection in FRA. Is a more direct route possible using United miles? Is it possible to search and use Qatar Airlines award space since they are an affiliate. Big Thanks.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
oleg said,
You mentioned in another comment you haven’t flown UA since getting started with AA. Out of curiosity, why? Just busy requalifying for EXP for next year? Don’t want to pursue the MM on UA related to the upcoming program changes? Something else?
August 17th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Adam said,
Lucky, probably a simple question for you. I am trying to book a Boston – Singapore (2 Day Layover) Bangkok (Stay for a week) – Boston trip. How far out do you think i should look to book with miles – (United Miles). Looking to fly Biz Class…also what airlines do you think provide the best product for said trip?
August 17th, 2011 at 8:50 am
lucky said,
@ Ismael — That would be serious backtracking and not allowed on an award from North America to Asia. The best you can probably do is going as far as Dubai, and then flying Thai from Dubai to Bangkok. But going back through Europe wouldn’t be allowed if originating in North America. You can’t mix Qatar Airways with Star Alliance partners on an award either.
August 17th, 2011 at 8:52 am
lucky said,
@ oleg — Frankly I haven’t been doing a whole lot of revenue flying at all because fares are so high. I’m planning travel for the fall right now, when fares are lower. I have a lot of flying to do on American as well.
August 17th, 2011 at 8:55 am
lucky said,
@ Adam — That’s actually one of the toughest questions that can be asked! It really depends on flexibility, what type of routing you’re willing to take, etc. But you can usually find award space anywhere from a couple of days out to 11 months out. It’s just a function of how flexible you are. But typically I always suggest booking six months in advance (at least) if you have particular dates in mind.
August 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Adam said,
Thanks for the quick response!!!! and great work on the blog by the way….amzing site!
August 17th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
rich (arizona) said,
Have you (or anyone else) seen any decent business class fares to Europe for Sept/Oct/early Nov? Dates are pretty flexible.
I’m trying to get about 18,000 miles credited to my US Airways account. From PHX to most of Europe it usually is about 12,000 miles round trip. If I can get a 50% bonus for business class that would work.
I guess on partners like United/Continental you’d get 125% (would be ok) for fares CDJ. LH on CDJPZ and Air Canada CDJZ.
I haven’t seen anything decent on US Airways lately ($3K+ for envoy).
Ideally I’d like to keep it around $2K R/T.
August 17th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Funny you mention it, because I was looking into this earlier today. Unfortunately I’ve yet to see anything I’d consider even halfway decent. The good deals seem to come after Labor Day.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Justin said,
Hey Lucky! Back with another question! If a family member flys with you can you pocket their miles too? Say I was on a payed business class flight with my mother, could I add the miles that she flew into my FF program? BTW, what in your opinion, is the best FF program for each alliance eg. easiest to gain top tier, best rewards etc.
Thanks again!
August 19th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Harrison said,
Hey Lucky! Back with another question! If a family member flys with you can you pocket their miles too? Say I was on a payed business class flight with my mother, could I add the miles that she flew into my FF program? BTW, what in your opinion, is the best FF program for each alliance eg. easiest to gain top tier, best rewards etc.
Thanks again!
August 19th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Despina said,
How does UA calculate EQM’s please? An elite travelling from SFO-LAS roundtrip will earn 1,000 minimum redeemable miles even though the actual mileage is 826. For EQM purposes does UA count the 826 or bump to 1,000? Thank you!
August 19th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Xiaohang said,
Hi Lucky, I’m really a new fish in the pond of flight game. I just booked a mixed cabin first class flight through Continental. My question would be, do I have first class lounge access at the connecting station where I will arrive in a first class cabin but depart with a business cabin. The connecting station will be BKK in Bangkok and the flights are Thai Airways’.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — They could only credit it to their account, and not your account. As far as the best programs go, it really depends what you’re looking for! It’s tough to give an overall “best.” Perhaps generally United is the best in Star, American in OneWorld, and Delta in SkyTeam.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — You don’t earn bonus EQMs for being an elite. Instead you only earn them for premium fare classes. So as an elite you would earn 500 EQMs for such a flight. If you were traveling full fare coach or paid first class you’d get a 50% bonus, which would earn you 750EQMs each way.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — Star Alliance rules only give you first class lounge access at the gateway from which you’re departing in first class. That being said, each airline has their own policy for their own passengers. For example, if you flew United international first class from Tokyo to Chicago and then coach from Chicago to Washington, you would get access to the international first lounge in Chicago.
I *believe* (though don’t quote me on this) that Thai gives you first class lounge access if you’re coming off a Thai Airways first class flight and connecting to a Thai Airways business class flight. But it’s not an alliance rule as such.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Helixcardinal said,
You’ve gone on a lot of great trips in international premium cabins. What would you rank as your top five airlines/experiences, including hard, soft, and airport products? From what I’ve read in your reports, I gotta imagine CX, OZ, SQ and TG F are all up there among others, but curious to know how they all stack up in order.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Murphy said,
@ lucky and Justin
Just thought I’d chime in and say that there are indeed a few FFP’s that let you pool miles from different individuals (like bmi and British Airways), effectively giving you the ability to pocket someone else’s miles (and legally too)!
August 20th, 2011 at 7:10 am
clara3454 said,
Hello Lucky! I was at Le Meridien Khao Lak while you were there. I realized this after I left, or I would have said “hello”. Anyway, I have 2 F award tix on hold with Usairways. My husband and I will be traveling with our infant who will sit on my lap. Apparently the cost for our baby to travel with us is 1/10 of the full ticket price of a seat in our cabin ($19k!), so we will have to pay $1900 for our kid. Any suggestions on a way around this? We are flying Thai, Lufthansa, United and TAM. Thx!
August 20th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Despina said,
@Lucky, I don’t think I was clear in my original email. I know that there are no bonus EQM unless you are on a certain fare. Based on your answer though it seems that UA hands out a minimum of 500 EQM to its elites rather than actual miles flown (e.g. 413 miles from SFO-LAS). Is that correct? Thanks!
August 20th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Scholar in Training said,
What are your thoughts on the UA Month of Miles promo? Worth some effort or not really? I’m surprised you didn’t post about it!
August 20th, 2011 at 10:06 am
lucky said,
@ Despina — That’s correct. Any any bonuses are based on the minimum 500, and not the actual flown miles.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:10 am
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — Gosh, that’s a toughie. That might even be one for a future TravelSort post. Generally I would say Thai, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore, and Asiana are *probably* my favorites. You could just as easily substitute ANA for either Asiana or Singapore and I probably wouldn’t notice, since all three airlines are great in the air though nothing special on the ground.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:11 am
lucky said,
@ clara3454 — I wish there were a way around it, but that’s the sad reality of infants in premium cabins — on award tickets, an infant in a premium cabin is often more expensive than an adult in coach.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:12 am
lucky said,
@ Scholar in Training — It looks like it’s targeted and there are multiple versions of the offer, right? That’s why I haven’t blogged about it. I’ll give it a closer look, and if it’s interesting will definitely blog about it.
August 20th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Helixcardinal said,
Thanks for the answer. Look forward to the Travelsort post.
August 20th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Xiaohang said,
@lucky Thanks for the answer, can’t imagine a guy being so easy on eyes and still so easy to get answers from
August 20th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — Pssh, there’s no such thing. I’m just easy to get answers from, not easy on the eyes.
August 20th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Xiaohang said,
@lucky LOL, your pic tells differently
August 21st, 2011 at 10:27 am
Xiaohang said,
@lucky
Guess I’m being a little bit pet peeving here by continuously asking silly questions. But is it possible that a single flight is available if it only consists of the departure and the destination of my trip, but not available if the same flight is just a leg of my trip.
Sorry for my awkward wording, I wish I could use some jargon.
Thank you
August 21st, 2011 at 10:51 am
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — It is, and that’s what’s referred to as “married segments.” It goes both ways, that sometimes there will be availability if you’re connecting for a given flight, but not available if the flight constitutes the entire trip. Typically it doesn’t cause a flight to be sold out, but instead pushes it into a higher fare bucket, depending on which category the flight falls into. But it happens!
August 21st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Xiaohang said,
@Lucky
Thanks for the clarification. But if that’s the case, how would it be possible to build my “married segment” flight consisting of different legs(like what you did in trip report), which however would only be available in the “unmarried segments”. Also, I just noticed what appeared on my computer screen was apparently different from what on the airline agent’s, who answered my request to change the date of reward ticket. She basically had much less seats, if any at all, available for change. At the same time, I saw quite a few options within my time limit. How is this possible and how would I be able to still change my reward flight date or even connecting station? Thank you for your help
August 21st, 2011 at 12:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — What I had written applied to revenue tickets, not award tickets. There shouldn’t be any married segments issues on award tickets. Where were you looking at going, what availability did you find, and what were you using to search?
August 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Xiaohang said,
Washington Dc to Guangzhou(CAN).
While I found mixed-cabin business or first class IAD-FRA-BKK-CAN quite available in several different dates, the Continental airline agent told me she could only put me in flight either ten days earlier or after my original departure date, only in business class and by IAD-NAA-CAN. I searched on Continental Airlines. Speaking of revenue tickets, do you know if reward ticket customer would be denied access to the lounge i.e. Star Alliance lounge? Thank you
August 21st, 2011 at 10:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — If you searched Continental’s website for the availability and it gave you options, then the agents should be able to see it. Are you sure you were looking at SaverPass space, which shows up in blue?
Reward ticket customers most definitely get lounge access like any other revenue customer.
August 22nd, 2011 at 8:04 am
Xhang said,
@ Lucky – Yup, I’m pretty sure about that. Saverpass it is. Guess I have to call again and see what comes up on his/her screen
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Xhang said,
@ Lucky – Just called, and a nice lady was able to change it for me, just the way I wanted. Thank you, lucky!
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Antonio said,
Today I decided to take a bump on United in return for a hotel and $400 flight credit. I’m at the Doubletree Burlingame (SFO), and when I checked in, as an HHonors Gold member, I asked for a breakfast voucher. They told me that since it’s an airline voucher stay, that I don’t receive a free breakfast. I called HHonors, and they said it was at the discretion of the hotel. Is this consistent with your experience? Should I fight harder for free breakfast?
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Xhang — Happy to hear it worked out!
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — That’s a great question. I’m not a Hilton guy so I can’t say for sure, but I did a bit of research. My understanding is that Hilton elites get their benefits on “eligible” rates and award stays. Though I see nothing that suggests elite benefits have to be honored to third party bookings or airport accommodation rates. So in this case you may unfortunately be out of luck.
Congrats on the bump, though!
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Antonio said,
@Lucky – Thanks on the congrats! I knew you’d be proud!
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:29 am
Xiaohang said,
@Lucky – So I was playing around with Continental flight search, what surprised me was that none of the A380 first class tickets were available for reward flight. (Only partner of CO has A380 would be LH?) Given the date range I searched was quite broad, I’m quite confident those tickets are not for redeeming. I then went ahead and searched on Qantas, which also gave the same disappointing result. So would it be possible that I can redeem A380 first flight through any corporation? Or A380 flights are so popular that the airlines never worry about the vacancy?
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:56 am
XH said,
@ Lucky – Here is something very interesting, couple days ago I asked you if I have Royal First lounge access in BKK, since only my arrival flight to BKK will be first class and my departure flight be business. So I actually sent out the email and asked the Lounge Service Team, just out of curiosity. The two replies I got was quite entertaining. The first read as follow: I would like to inform you that F/cl passenger arriving with Thaiairways and connecting by TG on any class of service within same day are fully eligible to access RFL. For spa facility is according to time allowing. The luggage can be automatically transfer.
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:03 am
XH said,
Continued:
I guess that email already confirmed what you told me. But 3 hours later, the so called “Lounge Sevice Manager in charge” emailed and said “Royal First Class Lounge provides for first class passengers who depart from Bangkok on star alliance flights and for TG Platinum member passengers who travel on TG flights.” Pay attention to that “in charge”, since the first email I received was also from Lounge Manager, but not “in charge”. The email was also CCed to quite a lot of people, which I found quite unprofessional. What would be your comment on this?
August 24th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Ram C said,
This is probably a silly question, but I’m asking since I can’t find the answer anywhere online. I qualified for UA Premier status (*A Silver) in May 2011. Until when do I have this status? Feb 2012 or Feb 2013?
August 24th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
JS said,
Lucky,
I’m 7/8′s the way to booking a trip from LAX to TLV. I’ve got my returns and three of the four outbound flights, but oneworld is not showing anymore availability for a remaining coach seat. Does AA open up coach seats as the date gets closer? The departure date is 10 months from now.
Thanks.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
lucky said,
@ Xiaohang — The only airlines that reliably release first class award space on the A380 are Qantas and Emirates (though other than JAL, they don’t have many practical airline partners).
August 24th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Ram C — I believe it should be valid through January of 2013.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ JS — The airlines do indeed release more award space close to departure, so definitely keep an eye on it, as there’s a great chance of more space opening up.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:26 am
Paladin said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m looking at potentially being in Accra, Ghana a bunch in the next couple of years… It doesn’t look like Marriott has any hotels in the area, any suggestion on a hotel reward program to leverage? I’ve found a Holiday Inn but not familiar enough with the other programs to know if there is a program affiliation with any of the hotels there.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:03 am
James said,
I am traveling to Bail.What can you tell me about immigration? I have heard that it can take hours,also I heard that There is a VIP service called “Bali Easy Service”.I am staying at the IC in a club room, do they have a transportation option.I tried to email the IC ,however no responce.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
JD said,
James. I was just there, I woudl highly recommend the VIP service. We ended up hiring one at immegration due to the long line. The VIP will meet you at the plane
August 25th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Alan J said,
Hi Lucky. you are brilliant. What a fantastic relay of your SIN-SYD-MEL-SIN-LHR trip on Qantas A380. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I was lucky enough to fly Bus Class MEL-LAX a few years ago on A380. What a treat. I have enjoyed a Coach trip LAX-MEL last December and am looking forward to another in Jan 2012. Isn’t she “amazing”? Regards Alan J
August 26th, 2011 at 12:38 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, Does the Amex Premier Rewards Card offer 3X points on all airline purchases (miles are the purchases I have in mind) or just 3X on airfare itself?
August 26th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Paladin — As far as I know the Holiday Inn is the only major chain in Accra (though I may be wrong, I’ve never been). So if it was points you’re after, Priority Club is a pretty good program with lots of points earning opportunities, so I wouldn’t hesitate to go with them.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ James — Up until maybe a year or two ago the InterContinental Bali actually included meet and greet planeside with club rooms. Nowadays they just include a car transfer from the airport to the hotel, though you should be able to arrange that for sure by calling or emailing them. Other than that I highly recommend a priority immigration service, as JD mentions above, given that they’re usually reasonably priced.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Alan J — Thanks! She is indeed.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Mitch — It’s triple points one any purchase processed directly by the airline. That should usually include the purchase of miles, though US Airways, for example, runs their mileage sales through points.com, which doesn’t earn you the triple miles. But other than that it does usually count for triple miles.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:02 am
bpick said,
I read your article about booking award travel with Star Alliance. I am trying to book award travel with US Air and flying on Continental. US Air has booked me on outbound CVG/SNN with three day hold but they insist there are no return seats two weeks later even though Continental shows availablity. I used your method, talked to 4 CSR’s so far. I am half way there. Any other thoughts?
August 29th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
bludevil said,
Hi, I’m looking to go to Paris in March (2 people) and would like to use miles for biz class tickets or to upgrade a coach ticket to biz class. There are two of us and both AA and Delta miles are possibilities. Right now, the tickets are VERY expensive for mileage. What would your suggestions be?
August 29th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
lucky said,
@ bpick — Are you sure the space you’re looking at on Continental is saver space (meaning it shows up on their website with a blue button), as opposed to standard space (which shows up with a yellow button)? Also, have you checked the ANA tool, because occasionally Continental releases award space which is just for their own members.
August 29th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — Where are you starting from?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
bludevil said,
Tampa to Paris (possibly Orlando to Paris)
August 29th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
bludevil said,
I’d also be open to buying reasonable business tickets on AA or Delta or their partners
August 29th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Becca B said,
Hi Lucky – Love the blog! I’ve learned quite a bit in a short period of time. Question about the recent hurricane and canceled flights. Friday afternoon, I’m flying American from LGA to Nashville. Since the airlines will be trying to accommodate flyers whose flights were canceled over the weekend, do you think I have a greater chance of getting or do you think, since my flight is at the end of the week, flights will already be back to normal?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Becca B said,
looks like I deleted “getting bumped from my flight” on accident!
August 29th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
lucky said,
@ bluedevil — My best advice would be to check all of Air France’s routes, which usually have decent award availability. I would search them individually using Expert Flyer or Air France’s website, as I see plenty of space out of many of their gateways. That’ll be your best shot at getting “low level” award seats to Paris.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Becca — I’d say there’s still quite a bit of a backlog, so while it’s no guarantee, I’d say you have a very good shot at a bump!
August 30th, 2011 at 7:01 am
bludevil said,
what’s the best way to search award inventory on sites like Air France? I haven’t had much success.
August 30th, 2011 at 10:28 am
John said,
Lucky, Just moved to Canada from the US. Any suggestions in Credit Cards for miles here?
August 30th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Chrissy said,
Dear Lucky,
I’m about to sign up my sister for her first FF account. She and I live in Seattle and most often fly Alaska (to Vegas or California or Mexico) but I’m wondering if it would be better to sign her up for an American account? What do you think? I currently have both an Alaska account (90K sitting there) and British Airways (67K).
August 30th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — You can sign up for an Air France Flying Blue account and if you see “saver” award space on airfrance.com it would probably be bookable via Delta as well. Otherwise ExpertFlyer.com is great for finding Air France award space, though that’s a subscription service. As a last resort delta.com should return Air France award space if you search segment by segment, so I suggest searching for space out of North American Air France gateways to Paris.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
lucky said,
@ John — Unfortunately there’s no such thing as a 100,000 mile sign-up bonus in Canada. I’m not too familiar with the cards over there, though I believe the primary form of points accrual would be through actual spend. If you’re an American and still have an address back in the US, you could probably still sign up for US cards, though.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Chrissy — Alaska has a great frequent flyer program with lots of partners, so I would suggest she credit her miles there, especially since she lives in Seattle, where she’s a bit of an Alaska captive. You never know how long the partnership will go on, and American’s presence in Seattle is quite limited. Alaska also has some great redemption opportunities and low thresholds to qualify for elite status, so you really can’t go wrong with them.
August 30th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Cathy Strick said,
Hi. I’m getting ready to book an award trip for my family of 4 to Australia using AA miles next summer. Can I book an award in premium eco for my kids? If yes, how many miles? Thanks
August 31st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Dan said,
Lucky,
I know the airports I would be leaving from (LA area) but can never really decide a destination, and I usually travel last minute. Could you advize on some good sites where I could enter departure and get a selection for destinations? How about a good last minute travel site?
I am a frequent traveler (almost always in Economy on a G fare purchased by the government), but never bothered to join any frequent traveler groups until now.
August 31st, 2011 at 8:01 pm
U said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m an elite status newb. Do you know of any ways to earn Continental EQMs without flying? I will be about 5,000 short at year-end. Thanks.
August 31st, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Roger Haynie said,
I have booked an award for 3 economy seats from ICT to NRT on 11/03 with AA, but I still need to get from NRT to Hiroshima. I have 50K CO miles. Can I use those miles for an award with CO partner Al Nippon? And since I have already booked the flight to NRT with AA, how do I my luggage gets transferred to the flight to Hiroshima?
August 31st, 2011 at 11:16 pm
FriendlySkies said,
@Dan: Check out http://www.farecompare.com/flyertalk
You enter the starting airport, choose your price limit, airlines, etc, and it gives you a decent list of places to fly. I found a cheap MCI-MSY r/t last August for $110.
September 1st, 2011 at 8:20 am
David Finden said,
Do you know any more details on British Airways Executive Club changes?
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/executive-club-changes/public/en_us?DM1%5FmktgCat=Email&DM1%5FMktgSubCat=2&DM1%5Fcampaign=BBBB55RRBBBDBBBB55RRBBNN&DM1%5FChksm=116996572&DM1_SRC=&utm_source=eD&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email&utm_term=BBBB55RRBBNN&utm_content=BBBB55RRBBBD
September 1st, 2011 at 10:01 am
Dan said,
Lucky,
Thanks – this was great! found a R/T for this weekend in first class at a reasonable price.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:50 am
lucky said,
@ Cathy — Unfortunately there’s no way to use American miles for Premium Economy — just first, business, or coach.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:51 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — Sadly it wasn’t me that helped, though wholeheartedly agree with FriendlySkies’ suggestion. You can’t beat Fare Compare.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
lucky said,
@ U — Keep in mind you can combine Continental and United EQMs. So you could get a United credit card, some of which give EQMs. That being said, you could just take one mileage run for maybe $250 all-in and not only earn some miles, but also get the EQM bump you need for status.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Roger — Once you make a booking you can request to have your bags “interlined” at check-in. This would mean that when you check-in just show them your onwards itinerary and they can tag your bags all the way to your final destination. Are the revenue fares very high, because you might just be best off booking a revenue ticket given the route?
September 4th, 2011 at 10:29 am
rich (arizona) said,
I really think you should tell your readers how you got your room in Paris. This avoidance of the issue doesn’t make it any better. Generally I support you in many of your comments but saying you were comped but not mentioning why/how is kind of sleazy.
September 4th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Helixcardinal said,
Your post on keeping the BA visa card in light of the BAEC changes got me thinking. I have the Amex PRG card with a reasonable chunk of MR points. My primary programs are CO/UA, AA, PC and SPG. In the context of MR losing CO transfers, the devaluation of BA and Aeroplan, high annual fee, is there any reason to keep spending and renewing my Amex PRG?
September 4th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
lucky said,
@ rich — Thanks for the feedback. Frankly I was put off so much by the attitude in the comments of the post that I have no interest in posting there further. I wrote a review, and couldn’t have been more transparent in saying the stay was comped. It was at the very top of my review. You’d be shocked by the number of bloggers that take comps and don’t disclose it, or just generally hide the fact that it was comped at the end of the post as much as possible.
I pay for 99% of my travel out of pocket, and out of my hundreds of reviews, I believe two have been comped stays, both clearly disclosed.
What I was put off by was people thinking they have the right to know how I got a comp. If people had asked out of curiosity, I have no problem disclosing it. But the accusatory tone of “you owe us an explanation” isn’t one I’ll play along with. As far as the review is concerned, what difference does it make how the stay was comped? The way I see it, there are three options:
a) I contacted the hotel
b) The hotel contacted me
c) A PR firm contacted me on behalf of the hotel
So what difference does it make? for the record, it was option (c).
September 4th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Helixcardinal — There’s no doubt the value of Membership Rewards points has gone down drastically for all the reasons you mention. That being said, the earnings opportunities of Membership Rewards points through the Premier Rewards Gold card are still unrivaled.
Say you put $30K per year of airfare on your credit card (I realize most don’t, but I do, so just stick with me for the sake of the example). You would earn 90,000 Membership Rewards points, plus a 15,000 point annual bonus. That’s 105,000 Membership Rewards points. Then if you transfer during a 50% bonus that’s 157,500 Delta miles for $30K spend.
So yes, admittedly their points aren’t as valuable as they used to be, though they still are incredibly valuable due in large part to the points earning ability of the Premier Rewards Gold card AND the huge transfer bonuses they offer.
And trust me, there are still some great redemptions out there. Etihad first class from New York to Abu Dhabi costs 140,000 Membership Rewards points through ANA, with no fuel surcharges. 120,000 Delta miles for Air France business class to Mauritius is also a tough to beat option. Aeroplan still offers business class to Europe with two stopovers for 90,000 miles.
So yeah, if you were earning just one point per dollar I wouldn’t put the spend on a Membership Rewards card. But for earning two or three points per dollar, plus an annual bonus, plus transfer bonuses, it’s still my go to card.
September 5th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
MKM said,
Hello Lucky,
I’m planning on a trip to Lisbon during Thanksgiving and I’m trying to decide which airlines I should take in biz. I’ve traveled in CO’s BF product but not in UA’s and LH’s biz class seats. Do you have experience with all three? I do like CO’s product but am really curious about trying out LH’s. I’ve flown UA in the old biz seats and the new(ish) F seats but not the updated biz seats. Any suggestions or comments?
September 5th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
ArizonaGuy said,
If QF is showing CX award availability but the wonderful BA website search engine does not, would calling BA improve upon this? Such as when I can see SFO-HKG wide open but BA shows me nothing for partners. I can find JFK-HKG but I don’t want that.
September 5th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
lucky said,
@ MKM — Continental is the only airline that flies nonstop and also has fully flat beds, so I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them. Lufthansa’s business is alright. The food and service are quite good, though seats are slanted flat. United’s hard product is probably the closest to Continental’s, though the catering isn’t as good and you’d have to make an extra connection. So unless you’re trying to earn extra miles, I would go with Continental.
September 5th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ ArizonaGuy — The Qantas award tool often displays Iberia award space when the BA tool does not, in which case it’s usually not available to AA/BA. Along the same lines, they occasionally display Cathay award space that isn’t really there. So if you’re sure the BA tool is functioning properly (meaning you’re finding partner award space as opposed to BA metal award space), then chances are that it’s not available through BA. It can’t hurt to call just in case, though.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:36 am
ANAFCLASS said,
Lucky,
Would I be able to access LH First class terminal in FRA.
My routing are:
FRA/ZRH (LX/Business class)
connecting
ZRH/BKK (LX/First class)
Thanks!
September 6th, 2011 at 6:45 am
lucky said,
@ ANAFCLASS — Absolutely, Swiss first class gets you access to the FCL/FCT.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
London Tim said,
Lucky, 2 things:
1) you know those facebook apps (or similar) which estimate the percentage of the world you’ve been to? Would you care to do it and tell us your result?
2) What would you estimate your yearly BIS mileage to be?
Thank you!
September 6th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Gale said,
I know this may sound a bit crazy, and you may not be the right person to ask … but can you out in an HD TV with wall mount to a private jet? I have just purchased a used Piaggio Avanti P-180, and am deciding what to use as IFE. Would I be able to stick in any old HDTV with wall mount, or would I have to use one of the bulk head monitors? Do you have a clue how all of this works.
Thanks
Gale
September 8th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Adena said,
I will be flying american airlines next month and I am needing to know something about boarding. If I am one of the first ones on the plane can I sit anywhere, or do I have to sit in my seat number? I flew frontier about 2 months ago and they didnt care where I sit. My problem is I am not a good flyer and I have to have a window seat at the front of the plane. Less bumps up there and when we do hit turbulance I need to be able to look out the window. A pilot told me this. Thank you
September 9th, 2011 at 1:28 am
London Tim said,
@Adenauer unfortunately you will be required to sit at your allocated seat until everyone has boarded. If there are seats left over then you can start swapping.
If you want to guarantee a window seat you will need to select it in advance – Just log onto AA with your booking number a few days before your fight
September 10th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — 1) Haven’t done it, though I’ll give it a try sometime soon and let you know the results.
2) I’d say somewhere in the area of 300,000 BIS per year.
September 10th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Gale — That’s totally outside my area of expertise. I have no clue; I’m sorry!
September 10th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Adena — @ London Tim is correct. American lets you pre-assign seats, so you would have to pick your seat in advance (or ask at check-in or at the gate).
September 11th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
mike said,
A us airways miles ticket booked ticket to south pacific. first two fights were NYC-Bos*coach* then Bos-Zrh*bus*. first flight was auto changed to earlier in day by two hours due to later flight cancelled. When I call can I ask to be changed to NYC-Fra *bus* then Fra-zrh to continue on the other two legs of trip? Do not want to have ticket redeposited because its an end of the year ticket and flights are slim.
September 12th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Unclesam said,
I will be flying Business class from DFW to DEL and returning back from BOM to ORD and wanted advice on which one world airline(s) I should choose that offer the best product. Another consideration is that I would like to do it in 3 segments each way (instead of 2) without increasing the travel time tremendously. Third consideration (less important than ones already mentioned above) is accumulation of potential bonus miles.
September 12th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Denis said,
@Lucky do you know of an annual trip cancellation insurance policy that would cover all trips taken within a given year? I know they exist but don’t know who offers them.
September 13th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Patrick said,
I have Platinum and Million Miler status with AA. I fly long haul international on a regular basis but hardly ever domestic. As a result I’ve accrued 38 upgrade stickers in my account which I don’t have much use for since they only upgrade me domestically. Is there any way to trade in all these 500-mile stickers for a few systemwide upgrades that I could use on my international trips? Also, is there any benefit to having a large number of 500-mile stickers sitting in my account? Thanks.
September 13th, 2011 at 8:30 am
ricardo said,
Is there an AA Executive Platinum challenge? I think challenges are only for gold and plat…I’ve been plat for the past 4 years and can’t seem to make it to EXP – a challenge would help.
Any news on DEQM coming on in remainder of 2011?
September 13th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Jess said,
I have two friends who are planning their honeymoon to Rome in late October 2012. I’m trying to advise them on how best to snag business class at least flights. The bride has good credit and about 25,000 miles on Continental. The groom doesn’t have good enough credit to apply for cards, unfortunately. Should I advise the bride to apply for a US Airways card and then buy up to the amount she needs for one ticket and then open up a United CC (she previously had a Continental card that she’s closed) and try to close the gap to be able to get another award from Continental/UA? Is it possible to use two different FF programs, both in *A, to get two business class tickets on the same flight if they do it at 330 days out or close to it? Or for safety’s sake, since they need two tickets, should they concentrate on one airline?
September 14th, 2011 at 8:40 am
Mike said,
Lucky,
I booked a flight to punta cana on low milage rewards with CO, departing PHL.. My original outbound flight was economy class that connected in IAD. I just saw a direct first class for less miles so I called to change the outbound segment, they said it would be a $75 change fee per person because I was changing the class of service. Is this correct?
This link seems to indicate that as long as it’s 21 days out and the origin and destination are the same, there shouldn’t be a fee….
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/onepass/rewards/travel/ticketing.aspx
Thanks!
September 15th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — Since it’s a partner award, any changes will be subject to award availability. If it’s not there, US Airways doesn’t really have a way of opening it up. That being said, they should waive the change fee if there were availability.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Unclesam — I’m curious, why three segments instead of two? Generally though, in your shoes I would book business class on American and upgrade to first class. Otherwise the pickings are slim, and I’d say you’re best off booking British Airways.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Denis — I’ve actually never heard of something like that, so I don’t. I’m sorry!
September 15th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Patrick — Sadly they’re of limited use if you fly mostly domestically. American doesn’t let you trade them in, as far as I know. So the only use would be to eventually use them for domestic flying. Keep in mind you can use them for Hawaii and also to upgrade a travel companion, if it’s a consideration.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
lucky said,
@ ricardo — The only EXP challenge they ever offered was for top tier elites with other airlines, and they’re not even running that promotion right now. So as a Plat your only way to make it to EXP would be the hard way, of actually earning 100K EQMs/EQPs. I doubt we’ll see a DEQM promotion this year.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — As long as both airlines are in the same alliance you should be able to book two tickets out of two different accounts in different programs. I think the best bet would indeed be to get enough miles with UA/CO for one ticket, and then buy the remaining miles through US Airways. I’m guessing US will offer at least one more buy miles promotion this year, so it might make sense to wait.
The other thing to look into, depending on where they’re starting, is to buy Delta miles for about 1.1 cents each through the current promotion, assuming they have existing Delta accounts with at least some mileage activity in the past. Air France is a Delta partner and has fairly good award space, so that’s an $1,100 business class ticket to Europe, plus tax.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — Assuming it’s more than 21 days out, there shouldn’t be a fee to do that.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
David Zeidwig said,
In June of 2009 I mover 25,000 points over from Amex to Virgin Atlantic in response to a promotion they had for a free roundtrip flight to London. The points are just sitting there and everyone at VA is claiming no knowledge of any deal. I said why would I move 25,000 points to just sit in an account for two years?? They want a snapshot of the promo, and I cannot find anything to give them. Can you help?? The points were moved on 6/30/09 which was the last day of the deal.
September 16th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Sara said,
I am going to repost my comment here from your post regarding booking award tickets.
I booked a star award to ICN on asiana using continental miles in Mid August. This leg continues to drop from my online itineary. Thank goodness I called Asiana to confirm my seat, and they tell me that it has been cancelled. Continental fixes it, but again Asiana does not see it. This has happened 3 times. I have spent about 7 hours dealing with this. The last cont. agent I talked to re ticketed, but to no avail. And was very short with me and told me that if Asiana is canceling, they have every right and I am out of luck, even though I have a confirmation and a ticket number!!
I finally got to a supervisor who also started out saying that if they cancel, they can’t do anything. I blew my top and now it is in the liaison’s hands. The problem is now that seat is not available for an award booking and I am hoping they will honor as I need to fly with my aged parents who have not been to korea in 35 years!!
Can Continental legally not fulfill their ticket with me? SInce the flight hasn’t been cancelled or changed, I feel they need to solve this issue.
September 16th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Michael said,
Lucky,
I am heading to London in the next few weeks on a Delta 767-400 in first class. The flt has a 1-2-1 seat config. Could you please recommend what seat I should take? You often point out the best seat in your blog and want to know what you think.
Thank you.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
jmd001 said,
Hey, Ben–
Still waiting for your write-up on Berchtesgaden! Will be there (at the IC) in two weeks. Looking for all the G2 I can get on the hotel and the area. Thnx.
–John
September 17th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Jess said,
Nope, no Delta miles at all. The UA/CO accumulating and US buying seemed like the thing to do to me, as well. Other than the CC and the online shopping portal are there any good non-flying ways to accumulate UA/CO miles? And what airline should they be aiming to actually fly? I suspect Lufthansa, no?
September 17th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Unfortunately I don’t know what promotion you’re talking about and don’t recall hearing about it. This is why it always makes sense to take screenshots when there’s an offer you’re taking advantage of, so you have documentation.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Sara — If your reservation was ticketed they really can’t do that. I would make sure they get in touch with the liaison as they should be able to fix this. Totally unacceptable, from your description.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — If you’re flying alone I suggest a seat on one of the sides that’s closest to the windows. Even on the window seats they’re staggered, so I suggest the seat that’s the closest to the window, and not the one closest to the aisle, as it’s the most private.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
lucky said,
@ jmd001 — I’m hurrying!
September 17th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — Credit cards and buying miles outright are probably the two best ways. I would aim for Lufthansa, though it all comes down to availability for your particular dates.
September 17th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
caelus said,
testing
September 18th, 2011 at 12:03 am
Unclesam said,
Lucky,
The reason for 3 segments is I want to make EXP for next year based on 100 segments. In previous years, I have made it on miles but this years i happen to doing more short haul flights. Also, I don’t want to use my eVIPs for this trip as i have a nice trip planned with the entire family in business class to Europe.
I do think my only option is AA or BA and so far it is looking like it will be a combination.
September 18th, 2011 at 6:05 am
adam davis said,
Lucky,
Great website. Question: Thank you for advising that with our AMEX points to go with air travel than with gifts or hotels. But, which airline represents the best value for someone on the west coast–Portland. We’ve got 1.3 million ponts and wondering which airline(s) to consider. It sounds like your recommendations (e.g., Iberian) are best for the east coast–your comment about “zones.” But, what about the west coast? I take it you’d still wave us away from Delta (and their current promotion) which is big in Portland), along with Alaska Airlines? Also, for your information, we often have to fly through Seattle (Alaska’s hub). Have caught the BA flight out of Seattle to Europe. Now we’re using the Delta to Amserdam direct from Portland. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Adam
September 19th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Julianne said,
I have 2 V fare tickets ORD-FRA. Last March when booked plane was 747, now it’s 777. 2 1K MM traveling with SWU. Now shows no business seats for sale but 125K award seats are available. Can I get these and keep my other seats? Tried 1K desk and was told for $2000 fare increase and $700 change fees I could delete ORD-FRA and put in reward ticket. Can I keep original ticket and get 2 award tickets to sit in BC?
September 19th, 2011 at 11:01 am
lucky said,
@ Unclesam — In that case I’d say BA is a better option given that they have a fully flat product in business class. But you can’t go wrong either way.
September 19th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I learned your technique for booking mileage runs at FT University earlier this year. I’m a Plat on AA hoping to become EXP next year.
It looks like SBA is a good mileage run destination from NYC, as it can be routed through MIA. I used FareCompare and ExpertFlyer to find flights in the appropriate fare bucket (in this case, S). Then, I log on to aa.com and run a multi-city search with the corresponding flights. When I view the price, it is initially correct. However, when I proceeded to purchase the ticket, the system indicated that the fare was no longer available. This happens all the time on aa.com when I attempt to utilize this method. Web Support informed me that this is intentional, as these routings were not intended to be priced at that fare.
I would appreciate any guidance you can provide. This happens every time I attempt to book a mileage run on AA.com. Thanks in advance.
September 19th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Ahmad said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for putting out a great blog! I want to use my VS miles to book an ANA award flight (SFO to NRT in F). On the ANA search engine, my dates come up as “Waitlist” — do you know if I can I get on this list through Virgin Atlantic, and in your experience, how likely is it that these will clear?
Thanks again for all your helpful tips!
September 20th, 2011 at 9:27 am
lucky said,
@ adam — I think it depends on where you hope to travel to. Good Membership Rewards transfer partners are quickly disappearing, so Delta might just be the best option come November, when British Airways and Continental are devalued. In your shoes I would consider transferring some points to Continental before September 30, assuming you value international first class award tickets.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:29 am
lucky said,
@ Julianne — If you’re trying to cancel the outbound portion of the trip, it’s not unusual that a one way is a lot more expensive than a roundtrip. If you just skip your outbound your return would be canceled, so you don’t want to do that. You’re probably best off either canceling the entire revenue booking and going for a roundtrip award ticket, or sticking to the revenue booking.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:30 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Unfortunately I’ve noticed the same thing. American seems to have recently eliminated the ability to get around married segments on their website.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ Ahmad — You can only get on the waitlist if you’re using ANA miles. ANA first class award space is very tough to come by, so you’ll want to be looking for travel around February if you want a chance at first class, since that’s the time of year where they have the most award space.
September 20th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
As American eliminated the ability to get around married segments on AA.com, are there are alternative methods to book these fares for mileage runs? What about an third-party website like Orbitz? What is the best way to book AA mileage runs now that this loophole has been closed?
Thanks, as always, for your expert feedback.
September 21st, 2011 at 12:31 pm
John said,
Ben, have you noticed that Cathay availability from the U.S. roundtrip to HKG in first or bus. is much harder to get in the last few wks (for future travel)? Is this because of the BA miles devaluation coming in Nov. (and people are booking ahead of this) or has Cathay suddenly become more stingy with award availability?
September 21st, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Jess said,
This is a really stupid, basic question but I can’t figure it out. On CO/UA do elites get a minimum 500 redeemable miles per segment or 500 EQMs? Or both?
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:04 am
London Tim said,
Lucky, your amount of travelling in premium cabins is fascinating. When was the last time you flew economy class?
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Illinois Morgan said,
VERY interested to hear your thoughts on the new MileagePlus program…
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
MKM said,
Lucky,
Any recommendations on award travel to Dubai within the Star Alliance network? Some of the awards, especially in F, look a bit overpriced to me and I’m leaning on just doing Business class at this point.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:49 am
Matt F said,
Lucky,
I’m looking to fly Lufthansa from the East Coast to Munich in 1st on a usair award (end of May 2012), any suggestions for plane types that would be especially enjoyable?
September 23rd, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Audy said,
Lucky,
Have you ever run into trouble booking Air Japan (NQ) flights with dividend miles? Air Japan operates NH flights from NRT-HNL but the agents don’t see it as an option. I may need to request a long sell, something I’ve never had to ask for.
Thanks!
September 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Do you know if BMI extends elite benefits for a couple of months after the membership year, as is typical for U.S. programs?
I am currently BMI silver, about to lose status. My membership year resets in late October, and last year when I was downgraded from gold, the silver status was reflected on the Diamond Club website pretty much on the day. However, my card says status is valid until 12/11 (and last year’s gold card said valid until 12/10).
I’ll be flying on US Airways in November, and it would be nice to know if I will get free bags.
Thanks!
September 24th, 2011 at 6:33 am
A. S. said,
Lucky,
Was your second citizenship an issue when you applied for Global Entry? Did you just not mention it (is that not required) or is it explicitly permitted for dual/mutli-citizens to apply for Global Entry? I heard that US citizens residing abroad are eligible for the program, but nobody I asked knows anything about dual- or multi-citizens — and my email to DHS has so far gone unanswered.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:36 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Unfortunately the same is true for other booking sources as well, unfortunately. It seems like there’s no way to get around married segments for travel on American no matter where you book, though I’d love to be proven wrong.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ John — I can’t say I have, at least not substantially. On Chicago to Hong Kong, yes, but I suspect that’s a function of the fact that the route hadn’t even started. But SFO, LAX, and JFK haven’t changed a whole lot, in my opinion. YYZ is worse than it was, but that’s because some of their flights to Toronto no longer offer first class. So yes, a bit worse, but not substantially given the circumstances.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ Jess — You earn the minimum for both.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:40 am
lucky said,
@ London Tim — I fly maybe a handful of domestic segments in coach a year either because the flights are operated by regional jets or I miss a connection and my upgrade doesn’t clear, though I don’t remember the last time I’ve been on a flight of more than two hours in coach. Knock on wood…
September 24th, 2011 at 9:41 am
lucky said,
@ Matt — Try to get a 747, which will require you to route through Frankfurt (since Lufthansa doesn’t fly 747s to Munich). On the 747 you either get two first class seats to yourself, or you get their new product which features both a seat and a bed.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:42 am
lucky said,
@ Audy — Actually, I have. For whatever reason, US Airways can’t book Air Japan flights, at least in business class, in my experience. I don’t know what it is, but there’s not even a way to get a manual sell. It’s just not in their system, unfortunately.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:43 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — They don’t extend status beyond that period since everyone has their own qualification year. That being said, since you have a card that is valid through December, you should be able to get those benefits through US Airways. Just show your card.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:44 am
lucky said,
@ A. S. — I didn’t tell ‘em, and they didn’t ask.
September 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Africanist said,
Lucky,
Love the blog. I’m just starting out after college and would like to travel smarter. (I looked for a “starting out” post but wasn’t able to find one…)
I’m from Boston and my wife is from London, and I’ll likely be starting to travel to central and southern Africa with some regularity. Essentially, I think it’d be nice to fly outside coach once in a while, but I am on a budget. I’ll only be traveling about twice a year, usually between two of these three points, so is it worth my time and money to sign up to rewards programs? If so, what do you recommend?
Thanks!
September 25th, 2011 at 4:45 am
BrewerSEA said,
@Patrick @lucky
You can trade AA 500 mile upgrades for RDM at a 1:500 rate if you can show a history of mostly international or paid first travel. Not a great deal however.
September 25th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Blake said,
I am booking an award…will be flying FC from HKG to YYZ. Need to figure out my connection from PVG to HKG. What would you pick out of these two options?
1) FC on Dragonair at 8am…5 hour layover in HKG
2) BC on Cathay at noon…1.5 hour layover in HKG
Trying to weigh the benefit of “FC” and trying a new airline (i.e. KA)
September 26th, 2011 at 8:06 am
gobluetwo said,
@Africanist,
Absolutely sign up for rewards programs. BOS-JNB, for instance, can be on British Airways stopping in LHR. BOS-LHR is about 3250 miles and LHR-JNB is about 5630 miles. Round trip, you’d accrue almost 18,000 miles. Do that twice a year and you’re easily at the entry-level elite tier and will have earned about 37,000 redeemable miles. Even doing one trip to Africa and one to London, you’re still very close to elite status. I’d say it’s definitely worth signing up for a program and putting all your miles toward it.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Blake — If it were me, I’d go with first class on Dragonair. Not just for the first class vs. business class on the fairly short flight, but also so I’d have more time in Cathay’s lounge. Of course take this with a grain of salt since I’m a wanderer that can work from anywhere — 12 hours in a lounge doesn’t sound like a half bad time to get some work done to me.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Africanist — As @gobluetwo says, absolutely sign up for a frequent flyer program. If you stick to one alliance you’ll get elite status, bonus miles, and occassionally upgrades. Furthermore, if your credit can sustain it, by all means sign up for some credit cards for the sign-up bonuses, and you’ll be looking at a free first or business class ticket to Africa in no time.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:07 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, for the grand slam promo it says we can earn up to six hits with hotel partners. Could all six hits come from the same hotel family or same brands. I was thinking of tying this into Hilton’s new promo or Hyatt’s. Love the variety of your postings too.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Brian said,
You always drink Diet Coke- do you ever drink alcohol? Just curious.
September 29th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Mark said,
I’ve got a CX F award ticket (thanks for all your help above) from BA miles with a couple regional segments in Y because they were unavailable in any better cabin.
Q1) If I find space in C or F cabin will BA reticket without much hassle?
The QF and BA tools have never shown accurate inventory for the regional segments; when I booked the regional segments in Y they showed nothing available at all.
Q2) Any other places to look for CX award availability?
September 30th, 2011 at 12:59 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — My understanding is that it’s only one per hotel brand.
September 30th, 2011 at 1:01 am
lucky said,
@ Brian — Diet Coke is my drink of choice. I never drink alcohol on the ground, though once in a while I’ll drink a glass of champagne pre-departure on a flight or some Baileys with dessert. That’s the extent of my drinking, though (and yes, I’m legal).
September 30th, 2011 at 1:04 am
lucky said,
@ Mark — They will reticket, though there is a $70USD change fee to do so. While I find Qantas’ tool unreliable when it comes to regional flights, I haven’t found the same to be true with BA’s site. There’s no better place to look given that Cathay releases quite a bit of space only to their members, so using their search tool wouldn’t help.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:29 am
John said,
Just moved to Vancouver and have YVR as my new home airport. Am a DL platinum but thinking of switching to AA for oneworld or United for Star Alliance. The biggest reason I like DL is for the upgrades and would like to continue the free ride in First. I would be able to qualify for top tier @ over 100k miles with either airline. Which would you recommend?
September 30th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Grode said,
Lucky, my partner and I have 150k+ miles from the CC promo British Airways ran a few months ago. We want to use them to go to Central America (currently 35k each coach), and maybe do some domestic travel. Of course BA doesn’t fly to these places, so the question is: should we book before 16Nov? What’s your sense of Avios point redemption on these flights?
October 1st, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Ginly said,
Lucky,
I have a little over 100k BA miles right now. I am debating whether to use it before Nov 16 or not. My dad is going back to HK next summer and I would be able to use up all my miles on a business class ticket for him (RT JFK – HKG $327 taxes, have to purchase separate RT DCA – JFK ticket at $150 so total out of pocket would be about $478). We also have enough miles for a RT DCA-HKG economy flight for him on United.
Or should I save them post-Nov 16 and hope that the value for US domestic tickets would be the same and I would be able to get 4 RT US domestic tickets at about $10 for taxes? I don’t have any trips planned nor can I commit to any trips yet though so I would have to book the domestic tickets after Nov 16.
Any idea on what the US domestic reward tickets will be like after BA changes their program??
October 1st, 2011 at 3:01 pm
lucky said,
@ John — If you travel internationally (beyond the US) you really can’t go wrong with United or American given that they offer systemwide upgrades. I would make the choice based on which airline’s route network meets your travel needs better. But I think you definitely should switch for the added upgrades, especially since you would have top tier status.
Some other considerations might be:
– Do you travel with a companion often? United offers free companion upgrades while American doesn’t.
– Do you travel internationally a lot on discounted fares, be it coach or business? American not only gives you two more systemwide upgrades than United, but they’re valid on all fares.
– Do you value the international first class lounge access American gives their top tier elites when traveling on longhaul international flights?
October 1st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
lucky said,
@ Grode — It’s tough to say what will happen to the new award chart. It seems like it will be distance based so it might not be that bad for you if you only want to travel to Central America or domestically, which isn’t that far. That being said, I can’t imagine the price will go down, so I would book before November 16 in your shoes.
October 1st, 2011 at 3:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Ginly — That’s a toughie. If it were me, I would go for the Cathay Pacific ticket, simply because I get more “value” out of international business class than domestic coach tickets. But that’s me, and everyone is in a different situation. There really is no knowing as of now what the domestic award chart will look like for British Airways. I suspect it will also be distance based, so whether you’re booking shorthauls or transcons may well effect the price. So I’d go for it, but that’s just me…
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:30 am
Ginly said,
Lucky,
Thanks for the quick response from yesterday. We have decided to go ahead and use those miles for the business class tix to HKG. The problem is that since Cathay Pacific doesn’t fly out of DCA/IAD, we’re booking the awards flight JFK-HKG so we need to buy our own flight for DCA-JFK. The problem is that we won’t be able to put those legs of the flight on the same itinerary (since one is a BA awards flight and one is a revenue flight on AA). My dad would have to check in his luggage at DCA, pick it up at JFK, check back in at JFK and pick up at HKG and vice versa on the way back. My dad is not so worried about the hassle of it but what if they lose his luggage on the HKG-JFK flight? They won’t redirect it to DCA. What if his HKG-JFK flight gets delayed and he misses his JFK-DCA flight? He would have to be responsible for it. Is there any way around this? Thanks.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:14 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
Do you know the status is of Lufthansa’s 747 First Class retro fits?
Have you flown the “new” old seats?
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Ginly — He should actually be able to interline his bags. When he checks in at DCA just have him show the ticket for the connecting flight, and they can tag the bag all the way through to Hong Kong. The same applies on the return. This assumes he’s flying a carrier that has an interline agreement with Cathay Pacific, which I suspect most airlines have.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They’re about a third of the way there. In two recent LH F segments I had the old product both times, unfortunately. It seems they’re reconfiguring them quickly, though.
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Rod said,
I’d love to see a reference chart with each of the major airline programs that summarizes such things as:
do they allow one way awards
Can you have stoppovers or open jaws
Can you change dates without penalty
What are there cancellation policies
What are the fees with the various airlines you can book with their miles, (so we can avoid the BA and other super high fees)
What do you think?
Thanks for all your help in a great blog,
Rod
October 3rd, 2011 at 5:37 am
BrewerSEA said,
@lucky @Mitch
You can earn all 6 stay hits at one hotel partner. I’m getting all of mine at Hilton and taking advantage of the free nights promo. Per the GS FAQ:
“You earn one hit for every mileage-earning hotel stay with a maximum of 6 hits. Earn your hits from the same partner (6 stays with Hilton = 6 hits) or from different hotel partners. For example, if you stay with Hilton on September 15 and again on October 1, you’ll earn two hits. If you stay twice with Hilton and twice with Marriott during the promotion then you’ll earn four hits, two hits from Hilton and two hits from Marriott. You must earn at least 200 Dividend Miles for each stay in order for the stay to qualify as a hit.”
October 4th, 2011 at 1:01 am
John said,
Lucky, thanks for the great response. It sounds like American may be the way to go for me. Now to just snag a great deal to for an elite challenge like you landed with them.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:53 am
Heels05 said,
Lucky, What seat would you suggest for a LH 747 in F. I would assume row 81 or 83. I’m thinking 81 since legroom shouldn’t be an issue in any seat. Does it make a difference on the new or old seats? The routes are EWR-FRA and back FRA-BOS. Thanks!
October 4th, 2011 at 7:55 am
lucky said,
@ Rod — Great idea, thanks! Let me see what I can do. It’s on my list of things to work on.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:56 am
lucky said,
@ Heels05 — I love row 82. As you mention legroom isn’t an issue, so I don’t find row 83 “necessary.” I don’t like facing a wall, so 82 is the happy medium for me.
October 5th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Ken said,
Lucky – on the BA single partner award changes. Are we still expecting Nov 15th to be the date? I’m planning a trip on Cathay ORD-HKG for November, and I believe Cathay opens 355 days out, correct?
Second question – it’s not available on the BA website, but if i call and book, would they allow me to go ORD-HKG-BKK for the same mileage? Cathay stopover rules? (sorry, I realize that was just 3 questions in one)
October 6th, 2011 at 8:24 am
lucky said,
@ Ken — Yep, the new chart should kick in on November 15 and they do open up space 355 days out.
They would allow you to go from Chicago to Bangkok via Hong Kong for the same mileage (assuming you fly Cathay Pacific the whole way), and you could stopover in Hong Kong for as long as you wanted.
October 6th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Joe said,
Just bought a 2 month subscription to KVS which leads me to the following question. Is BA the only OW airline to fly to MLE (out of LGW)? Need to use some AA miles.
Also, may I suggest that new posts to the “Ask Lucky” section be posted at the top instead of the bottom.
Enjoy India, I’ve never seen anything else like it!
Thanks
October 7th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Jill said,
Hi Lucky!
Similar question to Ken, but looking to burn BA miles on a one-partner LAN award. How many days out do they open up space?
October 7th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Lance said,
I am looking at utilizing my onepass miles to take advantage of the rt to South Asia via Europe routing some time in the last quarter of 2012. I have also seen that it is possible to do this award through Australia if there is availability. This leads me to my question. Since I am based in Houston, ideally i would like to route originate and return at iah. If the IAH-AKL becomes available on the 787, would this be a permitted routing to BKK (IAH-AKL-BKK)? Also, where can I learn more about maximum permitted mileage for such a trip and how it is calculated? There doesn’t seem to be too much reliable information out there.
October 9th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
Does LH have a contract at a MUC hotel for day rooms for F pax?
JRL
October 10th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Joe — Yep, they’re the only OneWorld airline that flies to the Maldvies. Malaysian Airlines should be joining OneWorld soon and they fly to the Maldives, though it will be a few more months before you can redeem American miles on them.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
lucky said,
@ Jill — I believe 355 days out, though I’m not 100% sure.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — They sure do, you can get a complimentary dayroom at the Hotel Kempinski, which is actually much more conveniently located than the one in Frankfurt, given that it’s connected to the terminal.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — Pending award availability, that should be legal. The best way to look up MPM is to either call the airline directly or otherwise use a subscription service like ExpertFlyer, KVS, etc.
October 11th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Oscar said,
I’m checking for air tickets from Mex to MiA for the December holidays and it’s just too expensive. Do you think airlines such as AA will have some sort of sale?
October 11th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — That’s a peak travel period, so I suspect we won’t see many fare sales since they’re able to fill up planes at higher prices. That’s not to say fares won’t dip a little bit if they’re not meeting their sales goals, but I doubt we’ll see any substantial promotions.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Kevin said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m a United 1K who accumulated 75k miles flying on business in the first quarter this year, then 15k in the second—and nothing since with no prospect of flying before the end of the year. Given that I need another 10k miles I’m thinking my wife and I may take a long weekend vacation somewhere in the first week of December. Given that the fare is coming out of my pocket, I want to do this cheaply, altho I do have lots of systemwide upgrades left this year.
We’d be interested in Hawaii if we could get a crazy route that got me enough miles, or else somewhere–anywhere–cheap to get to and interesting to be in.
Do you have any suggestions?
October 12th, 2011 at 10:48 am
MP said,
Hi Lucky! LOVE YOUR BLOG! I hope you can point me in the right direction. I want to use my BA miles to fly from YUL to HNL (or YUL OGG) in June/July 2012. When I visit the BA site, first it tells me that BA doesn’t fly that route (duh); when I include partners, it says no flights are available in the entire months of June and July (???). Can you tell me WHERE I can go online to book this? Thanks! Montreal Poster
October 13th, 2011 at 9:49 am
JRL said,
Lucky,
I’ve been having lots of debates with call center supervisors of late. On * would this be Kosher routing (CO, UA, or US miles), or is the JFK-LAX portion outside of the maximum permitted miles per city pair:
JFK-LAX-LHR-NRT
JRL
October 13th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
First of all, thank you for your blog, I’ve been following you for around 6 month and am really thankful for all the information you are sharing with your readers.
I’m planning yo go to Europe (Belgium-Germany-Austria-Switzerland) on Dec 17- Jan 2 but am not sure if it’s a good time to visit those countries at such time. What do you think?
Thanks
Serge M.
October 13th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Stacey said,
Lucky,
I’m currently Platinum on USAir. Only going to fly to Eurpoe and Australia in 2012 (many times). Trying to decided which Star Alliance partner to switch to. Thinking of Luftansa or Air New Zeland as my primary. I want the best chance for upgrades internationally and that doesn’t happen with USAir. Ideas?
October 13th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Kevin — Where do you live? It would help to know that to provide a good suggestion.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
lucky said,
@ MP — Thanks! I suggest going to aa.com and searching for award availability there. If you see award space available through them, it should also be bookable through British Airways. That’s a much easier way to search.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — Unfortunately that’s way over the MPM. If you go via LAX the only way that would be legal is if you continue via the Pacific.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Serge — It’s tough to say. On one hand I love Europe that time of year since they have Christmas markets set up which are really cool to walk around. At the same time, it’s really cold, which takes away most of the fun for me. So if you don’t mind the cold I’d say go for it, though don’t expect to be outside 10 hours a day. If you do mind the cold, save the trip till at least March or so when the temperatures get nicer.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Stacey — Your best bet would be to switch to United. They offer their top tier elites six systemwide upgrades which can be applied to many fares (though not the very cheap ones), which is about as generous as it gets when it comes to Star Alliance airlines and upgrades. Neither Lufthansa or Air New Zealand will give you any worthwhile international upgrades for elite status.
October 14th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Kevin said,
Right, duh–I’m in SFO.
October 14th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Adam said,
Lucky, blog is great as always. Quick question, i booked have a rev fare ticket that as a result of a schedule change now has a misconnect (going to Costa Rica in Jan….from new england so i really want to go) Problem is, my only option would be to get in 8 hours later. The only flight option that would get me in at what i find to be an acceptable time has no coach avail. left, just some biz class…any ideas for getting moved up on the flight i want.
October 14th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Sandino said,
Hey Lucky,
Love your site. Gives all of us who have never traveled a sense of hope.
I am new to the mileage game and have a simple question – How can you tell which airline “product” you are booking?
Sandino
October 15th, 2011 at 7:59 am
Chris said,
Hi Lucky,
Just thought I would mention that Capital One no longer is offering the Hyatt multi-night $900 dollar gift certificates when redeeming miles with the Venture card. I finally had enough points to get two of the gift certificates and found out today that they were no longer being offered – this is after they upped the points required shortly after I got my Venture card. The only reason I got the card in the first place was to get the Hyatt certificates – grrrrr. I redeemed my miles for two $500 dollar gift cards and one $200 dollar gift card before they stop offering those too!
safe travels,
Chris
October 15th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
YL said,
Hi Ben,
Hope you are enjoying your travels in India. I currently have a business award for 2 using UA miles. Outbound is US-SIN via HKG and inbound is SIN-EWR via FRA. We are thinking of a day trip to KUL from SIN two days after we arrive. Does our award reservation allow us to add a roundtrip segment from SIN-KUL for same day departure and return? Not sure if it qualifies as a stopover…Else we can get a ticket on Jetstar.
Thanks,
YL
October 17th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Hermann said,
Hi Ben,
here´s a question on mattress running. I´ll be on a week or longer stay with a friend at a hilton and we were wondering if we could optimize a bit by booking half of the nights each, alternatingly. Would that work? Thanks for some thoughts on this!
H
October 17th, 2011 at 9:16 am
lucky said,
@ Kevin — It’s going to be really tough to get 10K EQMs with one trip out of SFO assuming you want to stay domestic and get a reasonable fare that’s upgradable. In your shoes I would maybe take a weekend trip with your wife to Hawaii, and then do another separate east coast mileage run that’s cheap, because you won’t be able to stretch the routing on a single trip enough to accomplish that.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
lucky said,
@ Sandino — Can you clarify? Are you talking about the aircraft type, type of service, seat, or something else?
October 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
lucky said,
@ Chris — Thanks for the heads up, that’s too bad.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:19 am
lucky said,
@ YL — If you can structure the trip in such a way that Singapore is your stopover point and Kuala Lumpur is your destination, that would work. The issue is you would have a stopover in Singapore on both the outbound and return if you only fly to Kuala Lumpur two days after you get to Singapore. If you have that Kuala Lumpur trip within 24 hours of your arrival or departure in Singapore it should be possible, though.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:21 am
lucky said,
@ Hermann — Been there, done that. Absolutely! Just remember you may be required to technically check out and check in every day, at least in terms of settling the bill. They should be able to let you keep the same room, at least.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:34 am
Nathan said,
Love the blog and the trips!
Have to book a one-way flight to MNL from SIN in June ’12.
There is some award space on SQ. 1 first, 2 Biz
I do not have any UA miles. Would it be worth it to get a United card for this flight specifically as the flight is only 3.5 hours. Would I get the SQ experience since it is a shorter regional flight?
October 18th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Sandino said,
Hey Lucky,
I was asking more along the lines of seat type/configuration. I travel out of LAX and notice a great deal of difference in the quality of first and business class from both the United and American carriers. I travel almost exclusively domestic, mainly to the east coast (NYC, MCO/TPA, BOS) and although I understand service varies according to the crew, sometimes the seats themselves can be almost ancient compared to my next flight to the same destination.
Thanks again
Sandino
October 18th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Frieda said,
Lucky,
To maintain CO elite status this year, I need approx 10K miles. I hear about mileage run but totally un-familiar in term of finding and getting the routes. Any suggestion for mileage run in US or to Asia?
Much appreciate it
Frieda
October 19th, 2011 at 6:40 am
ekartash said,
Great Blog! I read your article on Bali vs Maldives. I am going to Bali this January. You write that one can get 5 star hotels for affordable rates. I see prices for around $400 for nice places, and while i think that is pretty reasonable, i was wondering if you know of even better deals. I plan doing 3-4 days in Ubud and 3-4 days on the beach (Sanur or Saminyak.
October 19th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Tim O'Brien said,
Hi Lucky, my mother passed away in Australia overnight, I’m trying to get myself and three kids back there for the funeral from EWR (or other NYC)next Wednesday (would need to leave Sunday latest), I have plenty of Amex, appreciate any suggestions, previously I’ve utilised Air Canada, was thinking for flying via Singapore, I know Qantas don’t have a lot of business or first seats available, any suggestions much appreciated, Thanks
October 19th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Would you have any ideas on how to quickly get points into a hotel program? I’m typically chain-agnostic because I just don’t spend that many nights in hotels (12 to date this year), but now I’m looking into a weeknight stay in DC and cash prices are really high. The only substantial balances I have are with airlines, but exchange rates on points.com are not worth it. I’d happily sign up for a hotel-affiliated credit card, but bonus points take several weeks to post. Any other ideas on how to very quickly rack up hotel points sufficient for one night, without spending more that $100-120?
Thanks!
October 20th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Rob said,
Hi Lucky- Been following the blog but just came across this section. I have a question that I’m sure you’ve answered numerous times but I need specifics (or direction). About 2 months left in the year and I need 15K miles on AA to retain my Platinum level. I might pick up a biz trip JFK – SFO but that still leaves me about 10K to qualify. Any tips on how to achieve without breaking the bank? I live in New York. And if I do end up falling slightly short, will AA bridge? Thanks.
October 20th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Joe said,
Hi, I am just about to become AA Exec Platnum and have become concerned by AA route cuts and offended by the AA flight attendants in coach. When I hit Exec Plat I’m considering taking UA 1K challange and switching. I had heard some good things about UA lately, has UA improved and which is better, AA Exec Plat or UA 1k?
Thanks!
October 21st, 2011 at 6:55 am
lucky said,
@ Nathan — The service on the regional flights is good, though not spectacular. Either way I’d recommend signing up for as many cards as possible for the sign-up bonuses, though whether it’s worth it for that flight specifically is a tough one. Is the alternative to pay for a coach ticket? If so I’d say go for the credit card and book business class. Sounds like a win-win.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:57 am
lucky said,
@ Sandino — Got it. Indeed, many airlines operate a variety of configurations on the same routes. American, Delta, and Continental even all operate internationally configured flights on select routes to Miami, so in coach that translates to a personal TV at a minimum, and in business or first it can translate to a flat bed.
The best way to keep track of the products is to look at the seatmaps for the flights on the airlines’ websites. Once you see the seatmap go to seatguru.com and compare the seatmap to the one there. That should list the amenities offered.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:58 am
lucky said,
@ Frieda — My best suggestion would be to go over to the mileage run forum on flyertalk.com. They list a lot of good fares there, so there should be plenty of ideas there for jumping on the best available fares.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am
lucky said,
@ ekartash — “Cheap” is definitely a relative term, especially compared to the Maldives where anything half decent is $1,000+ per night. *Truly* five star hotels are $400 per night (Aman, Four Seasons, etc.), though there are plenty of 4.5+ star hotels like the InterContinental, Conrad, etc., that often go for less than $200. For Four Seasons and the like also look out for buy three get one free offers, which seem to be pretty common.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am
lucky said,
@ Tim O’Brien — Sorry to hear about your loss. What programs do you have miles with? Assuming you’re looking for an award ticket, that’s a key detail.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:02 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — As you mention hotel credit cards take several weeks to post the miles, and that’s the easiest ways to get points inexpensively. I’m not sure what the rates are at Priority Club properties, though it’s possible to buy their points for 0.6 cents each, so if a hotel were 25,000 points per night it would only cost you $150 per night, which may very well save you money. But other than that I can’t really think of anything.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:03 am
lucky said,
@ Rob — I’d suggest going to the mileage run forum on FlyerTalk or using farecompare.com/flyertalk to look up good fares out of New York.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:05 am
lucky said,
@ Joe — Having been both, I can honestly say they’re both excellent. If you’re about to earn Executive Platinum, I suggest experiencing it for a while, as your travel experience will probably change radically. You’ll get unlimited domestic upgrades, eight international upgrades, fee waivers, and all around better service. If you don’t like it, then do a challenge.
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am
Dan said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks as always for your great blog. I’m booked ZRH-BKK next spring on Thai, now FRA-BKK is getting the leased 77W after December 1. Schedule currently shows 77W until March 24, do you think the spring schedule hasn’t loaded yet and they will keep 77W on that route or is there a chance of change back to 747? Would love to try the suites but I know MUC-BKK was apparently originally slated for 77W, then changed to FRA, so I wonder how set FRA might be. I’m on an Aeroplan mini-rtw.
Thanks!
October 22nd, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Just Me said,
Hi Lucky,
First, I’m a great fan; I love your blog.
Here’s my question. I’m considering changing the outbound portion of a first class ticket for 3 passengers, from New York to Asia on Lufthansa (booked with United miles). It’s an all-LH itinerary JFK-MUC_Asia. There is a 1 day stopover in MUC (which we don’t want), and one of our 3 seats from JFK to MUC is in C, not F (all other flights are in F for all 3 of us).
The option I’m thinking of requires a USAir or United flight from LGA to IAD (in Y), then IAD to MUC (in LH F), then MUC to Asia (in LH F). It’s all on the same day with 2 hours or so between flights.
So, what happens if the NYC-IAD flight is delayed and we miss our connection to MUC (and therefore also our onward flight to Asia)? Who is responsible for getting us to our destination in Asia: United, USAir (if we take a USAir flight to IAD), or Lufthansa? Would the responsible airline tell us they can only book us on flights with award seat availability? Does it make a difference whether the delay is due to mechanical, ATC or weather?
What would you do: pay $225 in fees to change to the IAD connection to eliminate the unwanted stopover and gain transatlantic F for all of us, or leave it as is?
Thanks!
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — There’s no airline that’s more unreliable with aircraft scheduling than Thai. If I had to guess I wouldn’t be surprised if Frankfurt keeps the 77W. I’d say so with pretty good certainty. But it’s no guarantee.
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Just Me — This is one of the toughest topics out there, because there’s no good answer. If you misconnect on an award and have unhelpful agents, you’re more or less screwed. Or it can be really easy.
Technically the airline that caused the misconnect is responsible for getting you to your destination, though the airline that ticketed the reservation has to reticket the issue. So obviously United doesn’t have an easy way to open up Lufthansa award space, though there’s always a chance you can get a Lufthansa agent to rebook you if you’re at the airport.
What would I do? Well, I love Munich and I love a day between longhaul first class tickets, so I’d leave it as is. I always find international first class flights to be more enjoyable if they’re spaced out a bit. But if it’s important to you to not have that overnight, I would pay the fee and make the change.
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Just Me said,
Thanks, Lucky. I’m beginning to agree with you. Although my wife isn’t all that interested in seeing Munich (and definitely not in the middle of winter), it’s absolutely true that waiting a day between the flights will make the 2nd one more enjoyable. And I’m willing to bet Munich will be fun (we’ll be there before Christmas, so the Christmas markets should be in full swing).
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Other Ben said,
Lucky,
You should consider doing a “Travel Tips” series or section, sort of like what Rick Steves does here http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tips_menu.htm
Steves is great but gears his site and tips towards budget travel, whereas you clearly go a bit more all-out. It’d be great if you wrote something like that, or had an entire section of the site dedicated to it.
Ben
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:14 pm
margaret said,
Dear Lucky,
We have the BA Visa and have used most of the sign on miles we got–but we still have 27K on one card and 29 on another. What to do? Our other miles are star alliance. If I used them for a RT on LAN for sometime next year could I change the dates? Thank you!
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Ron said,
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for the feedback, it looks like I won’t be able to get enough points. But I have a follow-up question: I booked a Holiday Inn stay; then later while logging in to an infrequently used credit card which collects ThankYou points, I noticed that Holiday Inn stays get 10 points/dollar (and if I understand correctly, a point is pretty reliably worth 1 cent). This bonus shows up on their online shopping portal, though the blurb only says you need to pay with a card that collects ThankYou points. Do you know if the offer also requires that I book through the portal? Should I cancel my reservation and book a new one?
Thanks, -Ron.
October 24th, 2011 at 3:43 am
JRL said,
Lucky, I’ve gotten conflicting AAnswers. Is the following one-way route valid for 67,500 AA miles in F or does the partner award exceed the MPM?:
HKG-JFK (VIA VVR)
indefinite stopover in NY <330 days
LGA-DFW
DFW-HNL
JRL
I assume NYC co-terminals apply?
October 24th, 2011 at 8:21 am
lucky said,
@ Other Ben — Love it, thanks for the idea! When I have some spare time I’ll get working on that.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:22 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — You could use those miles either for a roundtrip within the US or otherwise for a one way to South America. You can change dates after November 16, though the ticket has to be used within a year of the date it was issued.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:23 am
lucky said,
@ Ron — Assuming it’s listed in the actual shopping portal, I suggest rebooking. Otherwise it sounds like it’s just a purchase bonus, so no need to rebook.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:24 am
lucky said,
@ JRL — The co-terminal isn’t the issue, but rather the routing as such. That’s serious backtracking with both exceeds the MPM and isn’t a valid published routing. Sorry!
October 24th, 2011 at 10:28 am
marina said,
Hi Ben
I probably will split BA miles award between business and economy to Asia on Cathay pacific. Which way outbound or return is the best way to use business or may be first class award to experience the service: food, flat beds, entertainment? it would be my first trip outside of economy class. Also I could depart from chicago, nyc or Toronto how to figure out what are the newest planes with flat beds versus the old one, also which departure time is the best- nyc city has 3 departures. Is the first class on cathay is much better then business class considering I am traveling by myself?
And the last issue pertaning to this award- most people getting it to HKG,BKK, SIN and DPS. I would like to make it 6 weeks trip to South Asia and even I never visited BALI due to the trip being december, January weather will be not ideal there. Any way to include Bkk Hanoi and Saigon with open jaw, chang mai, cambodia, kuala lumpur and Sin with this award? Many thanks
October 24th, 2011 at 10:54 am
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky,
I have two credit card questions. I am following your advice and applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Premier Amex Gold. I’m already a platinum member, but I don’t really use all of the perks so will most likely cancel on the renewal date. My questions:
1) I just got off the phone with Chase and they told me that in order to get the 2x points benefit on travel expenditures, I need to book all travel through their online Ultimate Rewards Booking Tool. Has that been your experience? I was under the impression that any travel related expenses would count as 2 points (i.e. travel booked through Expedia, etc). I am asking because I am planning on booking a Backroads family vacation next summer, and I want to find the best way to maximize my points. Platinum Amex is offering a 25k bonus on Backroads trips when you spend $5k. I was thinking that I would book 1-2 people through my Platinum card, get the 25k bonus, then book the other 2 people on Chase in order to get 2x points. Does that make sense?
2) Regarding the Premier Gold Amex, can I still take advantage of the 75k sign-up bonus? If not, should I not apply for this card if I can’t take advantage of any large bonus offer.
Thanks for your help!
October 24th, 2011 at 11:00 am
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — For the Sapphire card all travel expenses earn two points per dollar. You can earn additional points by going through the shopping tool, but you earn the two points per dollar regardless of where you make the purchases.
Unfortunately they’re no longer “bumping the bonus” on the Premier Rewards Gold card, it seems. I think it might make sense to wait and see if there’s a big sign-up bonus anytime soon, though it’s no guarantee.
October 24th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
lucky said,
@ marina — I’d upgrade the return so you have something to look forward to at the end of the trip and can arrive home well rested. Cathay has their newest product on New York and Los Angeles right now, though the exact configuration isn’t guaranteed. First class is excellent and worth the premium in my opinion, though it’s all a function of how many miles you have. Unfortunately you can’t include any of those segments as part of the award given that they wouldn’t be operated by Cathay Pacific.
October 24th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
glenn yamauchi said,
Hi Ben, does AA or BA allow a rounting like NRT-HKG-LAX?
My research I think AA no, but not sure about BA.
Many thanks,
Glenn
October 24th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
marina said,
hello, Ben Thank you for the prompt reply.How the business class on Cathay? I have 106000 BA ponts, but also have 50000 chase sapphire and 27000freedom and 95000 am express. I just want to book south america award for the next fall if i find any space before devaluation. What is the new product out of NYC> What plane are they fly?. They have 3 departure from the JFK and on the Cathay web site it is not clear what plane are they flying. By looking at Cathay map they do fly to all of those destinations I mentioned but mostly from HKG. I still did not understand how people getting stopovers in BKK and SIN on the way to Bali, if Cathay have a direct flight from and to Bali from HKG and BKK. How the stop in SIN is allowed? Also how much more taxes between couch, bus, and first class?Big difference? Thank you so much again
October 25th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Jon said,
I currently have a mini-RTW in first on an AC award with a turnaround in SIN from a origin of YVR in spring next year. Currently, I am booked flying ICN to LAX on Asiana in first, but I just looked after reading your Travelsort article and there happens to be space on ANA’s NRT-ORD flight in first (777). Would you switch to ANA or stay with Asiana for the transpac?
October 25th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
lucky said,
@ glenn — AA definitely doesn’t, though I suspect BA does, since Cathay Pacific publishes a fare between the two cities.
October 25th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Jon — They’re both phenomenal airlines. I prefer the food on Asiana, so if it were me I’d stick with Asiana. But they’re honestly both excellent.
October 26th, 2011 at 9:57 am
gba said,
Hey Ben, I may need to make changes to an Aeroplan award (ticketed before the devaluation) and am wondering whether open-jaw (overland) “segments” count against the 10 segment limit. If I take an open jaw, does that mean I only get 9 flight segments?
October 26th, 2011 at 10:16 am
John M. De Piro said,
Recently my wife and I traveled to Europe.,we were in business class. Not an hour into the flight, the flight attendant spilled 2 glasses and a bottle of champagne on the back of my wife’s head all the way down to her back. Accidents do happen, but one of the flight attendants said at this altitude things dry fast. That got me. I e-mailed Delta with the complaint 3 weeks ago with no reply. Who do I call? Thanks
October 26th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Andrew said,
Hey Ben. Do you think that domestic AA awards with BA miles will no longer be 25/50/75 come November 16? Thanks!
October 26th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
lucky said,
@ gba — That’s a toughie. I’m not 100% sure, though I suspect it wouldn’t count.
October 26th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
lucky said,
@ John M. De Piro — Ouch, sorry to hear about that! I would send a follow up email in your shoes. If that doesn’t work I would email an executive about it (executive email addresses are typically firstname.lastname@delta.com).
October 26th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — There’s no telling based on how secretive BA is about the changes, though if I had to guess I’d say they keep the redemption levels the same for that. At least on some level they’re trying to compete with US airlines because of their credit card, and since every US airline charges 25,000 miles for a domestic coach ticket, I doubt they’d change that.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:50 am
MillValleyMom said,
Quick question regarding getting miles for online shopping. There seem to be a million options out there for earning points, but it’s time consuming to go through every shopping portal to figure out where I will get the best deal. Is there a website that consolidates all of this for you? I found this site http://www.nerdwallet.com/discounts/store/
It seems to do a decent job, though it feels like it is still in Beta and kind of clunky (i.e. Amazon doesn’t show up as a reward partner with US Airways). Any others out there? Thanks.
October 30th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
JW said,
Hi, I have been approved for the following cards this year.
1. Citi AAdvantage VISA and AMEX (both) on 3/1/2011
2. Chase OnePass Plus MasterCard on 4/23/2011
3. CitiBusiness AAdvantage VISA on 10/29/2011
In the next 12 months, I plan to get the following credit cards. Are they worth to have in your opinion? I am also not certain about the order, specifically in what month/year. With the “rules” Chase and Citi have, I think I need to be extra careful so your advice will be much appreciated!
1. Chase United MileagePlus Explorer VISA (60k miles)
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred (50,000 points)
3. CitiBusiness AAadvantage VISA (50,000 miles)
4. Citi AAdvantage personal cards (both VISA & AMEX)
Many thanks!!
October 30th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I have two questions:
1) Does mileage running (to earn top-tier status) make sense if I am doing no other significant flying during the year? For the most part, I would be mileage running exclusively throughout the year.
2) I am based in the NYC area near JFK and AA is my airline of choice. Now that the AA website no longer permits bookings that manipulate fare rules (based on the Expert Flyer method explained in your session in NYC), do you still believe that it makes sense to mileage run on AA?
Thanks for your assistance.
October 30th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — evreward.com compares online shopping bonuses, so I suggest you take a look there.
October 30th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
lucky said,
@ JW — Yes, brilliant strategy! You should be good on the Citi front, as they usually allow you to get approved for two cards at once, though if you don’t get approved for two you can reapply after two months. The business card shouldn’t interfere with any of that.
On the Chase front, that’s more of a “your mileage may vary” situation. For some people they seem to only approve one card every 60 days, though for others they seem to approve more. I think the key is having existing Chase cards and being willing to transfer credit lines from one of them to your new card. So in your shoes I would suggest applying for one and then maybe waiting a month or two before applying for the second card.
Good luck!
October 30th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — Yes and no. Mileage running makes sense in my opinion if you’re doing so with a goal in mind. If the mileage run is just to mileage run, then no, it’s not worth it. If you’re mileage running in order to get award tickets, visit places, etc., I’d say it makes a lot more sense. I enjoy “mileage running” for Executive Platinum because I can take four international business class trips a year at coach prices, and in the process requalify for status. As far as the second question goes, there are ways to trick the routings on international itineraries which I’ll outline on the blog soon, so if you’re willing to fly internationally, stay tuned for those.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
A. S. said,
@Lucky — I’m booking a BA award (CX F flights) for way off in the future, just to leverage things in case of drastic changes on 11/16. Due to the unpredictable nature of my travel, I may need to change dates/times and pay a fee (no problem there). The question to you is: can I also change the destination (within the same region) without them cancelling and re-booking or is that considered a re-issue? The point is that I don’t want to re-issue as they’ll probably apply the new mileage rates (which we all anticipate to be higher and is the whole point of this exercise).
October 31st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
bludevil said,
Hi! After doing some figruing, it looks like I will be three nights short for gold membership renewal in HHonors. Any suggestions?
October 31st, 2011 at 1:04 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — That’s a great question. Since the new award chart will be based on zones as opposed to regions, I suspect changing issues would trigger a reissue and cause the number of miles to potentially change. So unfortunately I think you’re only going to be able to change the dates.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:06 pm
lucky said,
@ bludevil — The only two options are to either make three mattress runs or spend $20,000 on the Surpass credit card to get Gold status. Assuming you can make the mattress runs for less than $100 each, I’d say it’s well worth it.
October 31st, 2011 at 4:01 pm
James said,
Hey Lucky,
I’m looking to use Hilton points (I’ve got 60k) to book a room in Barbados in April, but it says only “premium rooms” are available for my dates, at 91,535 or something per night. Now I checked other dates and found 50k, so do you think there’s a convention or something and they’re blocking the standard rooms? Will rooms be available? I don’t really know anything about the situation here: please help!
November 1st, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Tproc said,
Hi, I enjoy reading your blog. Please keep it coming. Got a quick question. I am based in IAD, what is the upgrade chance for 1K? I am on my way to 1K this year. Thanks a lot.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:53 pm
lucky said,
@ James — Hilton makes all of their standard rooms available at the “low” redemption rate, though many hotels don’t have all that many standard rooms for just that reason — they don’t want to give them up for award redemptions.
So as of now there are probably no standard rooms available, though there’s a great chance they’ll still open up for your stay. Keep checking back, as space does tend to open up again closer to departure as people make cancellations.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:54 pm
lucky said,
@ Tproc — Thanks! It all depends on where you’re flying to. Generally IAD is tough for upgrades, though not as tough as SFO, for example. Assuming you don’t fly during peak times and select aircraft type carefully (avoid the A319 and A320), you should clear almost all of your upgrades as a 1K though.
November 2nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
James said,
Thanks Lucky: I’ll keep checking
November 2nd, 2011 at 11:09 pm
carwag25 said,
Hi Lucky, I am SJC based and looking for ideas on low cost common mileage runs out of SJC on AA. Need to make ~15K miles before Jan 13 for the one world mega do EXP challenge. Do you have any MR recommendations out of SJC? Also willing to do SFO as a last resort. Thanks!
November 3rd, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Lance said,
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/1276070-13-cash-back-all-ihg-properties-fatwallet-offer-good-until-11-15-a.html
Might be interesting for you Lucky,,, I heard one of your talks at the chicago DO, and sounds like you use Intercontinental quite a bit
November 3rd, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Spicy B said,
Not quite a direct travel question, though somewhat related.
Do you know if the A.. Payments limit is $1k per calendar month, or $1k per 30 days?
November 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
SL said,
Hi Lucky, you’ve got a great blog! I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining a ‘loyalty’ community I am creating.
Send me an email if you have any questions and I can share more details with you too.
Thanks, I hope to hear from you soon!
-SL
November 4th, 2011 at 10:27 am
akace said,
hey lucky, im just getting into the miles game but find that my biggest problem is not miles, but rather having a traveling partner. its hard to find friends with the points to go on trips such as yours. any interest in taking me along? ill use my miles.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
lucky said,
@ carwag25 — Have you checked farecompare.com/flyertalk? From the looks of it, American has some pretty good fares from San Jose to Ft. Lauderdale and other places in Florida, which might be your best bet.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Lance — I never really got into the whole cashback thing, but that’s pretty compelling. Thanks for the heads up!
November 4th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Spicy B — My understanding is that it’s based on a calendar month.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
lucky said,
@ akace — Hah, the key is to get them in on credit card churning and mileage running, and then from there they can take trips with you. Of course it takes a special breed to want to do that. My schedule is booked up through April of next year, though I may very well eventually be up for it!
November 4th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Apu said,
If I have had AA Citi card and cancelled it (got about 10 months back and cancelled about 5 months back) – do you think I should re-apply for their current offer of 50K AA miles? Or should I wait … thanks!
November 5th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Aric said,
Lucky. I’m 8,700 miles away from Silver Elite on CO. Is it worth a mileage run? I live in Omaha, NE. The best deal I’ve found to obtain Elite status is double miles on UA from Chicago to Hong Kong. So I could get 32,000 miles for about $1,100. Fligt is aboard UA 747. I’ll probably fly 4-6 times next year plus a trip to Sweden on SAS. Could someone survive 15 hrs in coach each way? Love your work. Thanks
November 5th, 2011 at 7:40 am
lucky said,
@ Apu — Assuming it’s the exact same version of the card you won’t be able to get the bonus again. If you previously had the Visa you could now get the American Express, for example, but you won’t get the bonus again if it’s the same exact card.
November 5th, 2011 at 7:43 am
lucky said,
@ Aric — That’s a real toughie. Assume you value those redeemable miles at 1.5 cents each, which is a conservative estimate. That means you’re earning $480 in redeemable miles, and that the trip is really “costing” you $620 for the status. Is that worth it? I’d say so, though that *doesn’t* factor in the fact that you’re flying coach for 15 hours in each direction.
Would you look forward to the trip and enjoy it? If so, I’d say go for it. If not, I don’t think it’s worth it.
November 5th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
A. S. said,
@Lucky: I am currently Platinum with CO and was holding firm with 98K EQMs, putting my other UA/CO travel on UA in order to only requalify to Platinum/1K when they merge accounts on 12/31. I was doing this to delay receiving my SWUs since I won’t be using them now. But I noticed that they deposited my 6 SWUs anyway on 10/25 and gave me 1K status on United, though they didn’t actually merge the miles. So it appears that they have already merged the activity for everyone. Do you have news on this?
November 5th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
lucky said,
@ A. S. — Ouch, that’s the first I’ve heard of that! I suspect at this point there’s not all that much that can be done, though thanks for the data point.
November 5th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
David said,
Do you offer daily email updates? I consistently forget to check your blog and would love to get an email daily with the new posts…
November 5th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Daniel said,
Hey Lucky
Question: I have united miles that I want to use for a holiday flight next month from SFO to TPE. I used the ANA tool and found award availability from SFO-ICN-TPE through Asiana. However, this flight requires me to stay in ICN for a night. Then I thought, maybe I’ll stay an extra night to explore Seoul. My question is, assuming there is award seat availability, can I extend the stopover and stay in ICN for an additional night (or two) and still count it as a single ticket? Basically, what is United’s rules on stopovers for award tickets? I think you wrote about this before but I couldn’t find it in a previous post. Thanks!
November 6th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky, you seem to be the Chase Sapphire guru. Can you tell me what the difference is between their claims that you get “2 points per dollar spent when you purchase flights, hotel accommodations, car rentals, timeshares, and more” and then “1 additional point per dollar spent when you book airfare or hotel accommodations online through Ultimate rewards”? Does this mean that I get 2 points on airfare if I book through Kayak, but I would get a total of 3 points per dollar spent if I booked the same ticket through Ultimate Rewards? Thanks.
November 6th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky, is there a way to purchase domestic w-fare tickets on united.com? Or do these have to be purchased over the phone? Thanks!
November 6th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Antonio said,
Nevermind, I read it in the ORD DEQM promo comments. You can delete both of these posts.
November 6th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Steve said,
Hi Lucky. I’m currently 8 segments short of re-qualifying for AA platinum. Thus, I’m trying to find an online tool that will help me identify AA routings that include 4 segments in each direction (from the DC area). Do you have any suggestions.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Thanks for the feedback, working on it as we speak, as I don’t as of now.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — Assuming it’s a roundtrip award ticket, you would be allowed one stopover of more than 24 hours somewhere along the way, so you could indeed add an extra day in Seoul if you wanted. If it’s just a one way no stopovers are allowed, so you can stop along the way for a maximum of 24 hours.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — Correct, you earn three points per dollar for travel booked through their mall, though in many cases that won’t be the lowest rate, earn you stay credits at hotels, etc. But you do earn an additional point per dollar on travel by purchasing through Ultimate Rewards.
November 6th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — The best you can do is look up fares on Expert Flyer and look at the fare rules there. Generally speaking for domestic tickets American only allows a single transfer in each direction, so you may just be best off going for an international trip.
November 7th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
barelyelite said,
CX 777 JFK-YVR: Is F worth the extra 7500 miles each way over J?
November 7th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
lucky said,
@ barelyelite — To break it down, that’s an extra ~1,250 miles per hour, or about $20. Absolutely worth it!
November 8th, 2011 at 7:48 am
James said,
Lucky – great blog! I posted this on one of the frequent flyer forums, but thought I’d shoot it by you …
Based in Shanghai: Stick with AA?
Now that I’m based in Shanghai, I am faced with the challenge of deciding whether or not to stick with AA or join Star Alliance or Sky Team. I truly enjoy AA, especially as Exec Plat, for these reasons:
- 8 SWUs are a great benefit, especially since they apply to any fare; and I’ve had a very good success rate in SWUs, between PEK/PVG and ORD/LAX.
- Flagship Lounge access when flying to/from China (I’m sitting in the Chicago Flagship Lounge, waiting for my flight to PVG)
- Good service, in my view, whenever interacting with AA staff, either on the phone or in-person (Lounge, in-flight, ticket counter)
Drawback to AA, now that I’m based in Shanghai:
- No China partner: It’s unbelievable to me that both China Eastern and China Southern are Sky Team partners; I know AA pursued on of those two, but lost.
- I’ll fly 50K per year inside China, none of which will be credited to AA.
- I’ll only fly 3 times non-personal trips to the US on AA (~45K-50K EQM)
So, I’m looking for a little guidance or advice (especially if you are an AA loyalist based in China): Stick with AA (and probably invest in a lot of mileage runs to stay Exec Plat) or just break down and shoot for top tier status in Sky Team or Star Alliance?
November 8th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Aric said,
Another question from a novice. If I quality for Silver Elite on CO this year, will the additional miles I earn this year carry over to 2012? E.g., If I earn 30k in ’11 will 5k be applied to earning Gold Elite in ’12? Thanks.
November 8th, 2011 at 8:11 am
lucky said,
@ James — Without knowing your financial situation or how much free time you have on your hands it’s tough to say what YOU should do, though I’ll say what I would do. It sounds like American still works best for your trips to the US, so I’d say keep crediting to them. Take 2-3 well crafted mileage runs a year to the US to earn the remaining miles you need to requalify for Executive Platinum.
Then for intra-China travel I would start crediting to another airline and build up status with them. If you can do Air China I would credit to Aegean and earn Star Alliance Gold at their low thresholds. Otherwise maybe credit some miles to Delta. But I don’t see the intra-China travel as a reason to give up on American.
November 8th, 2011 at 8:12 am
lucky said,
@ Aric — Unfortunately not. Delta is the only airline that allows “rollover” elite qualifying miles, so your counter resets on January 1 with Continental and whatever status you earned the previous year will be valid.
November 8th, 2011 at 9:41 am
James said,
Thanks for the input Lucky. On my ORD-PVG trip today, which started in the Flagship Lounge and was upgraded to Business via an SWU, I was thinking … gosh, this will be hard to give up. So, for me, I’ve got to figure out another 30K by the end of the year to wrap up Exec Plat for 2012.
November 8th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
I know that one can take up to two pieces as a carry-on. One is regular bag (22″ max) and another one could be a camera bag. What size is allowed for this second piece?
Thanks
November 9th, 2011 at 7:27 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — I don’t think most airlines regulate the size, other than saying it has to be a “personal item that fits underneath the seat in front of you.”
November 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Serge said,
Lucky thanks for the previous one. One more questions. Does Best Western partner with someone in terms of points redemption? I’m going to Switzerland soon and see that major hotel chains here in the US do not have too many choices when it comes to Switzerland. But Best Western does. Checked all (IHG, SPG, HYATT, Marriott, Hilton) none of them partner with Best Western.
Planning to stay in Bern and was able to locate only one HolidayInn which is too far from the downtown. Any suggestion? Thanks
November 10th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Charlene said,
I was thinking of booking a flight from Bangkok to NYC with BA miles before the award chart changes, and then possibly changing the flight route after the new award chart is announced (say Phonm Penh to NYC). What’s the policy for this? (Fees, more miles?)
Thanks.
November 11th, 2011 at 8:13 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — Unfortunately they don’t partner with any hotels, but they do have airline transfer partners so you could accrue points with one of their airline partners if you’re not otherwise loyal to Best Western.
November 11th, 2011 at 8:14 am
lucky said,
@ Charlene — As far as I know if you change the routing the ticket will reprice (meaning you’d pay the change fee and the difference in miles). But if you just change the dates and keep the routing the same, you would just be responsible for the change fee though the number of miles would stay the same.
November 12th, 2011 at 6:50 am
Chase said,
Lucky,
Great blog. I’ve got 100k MR points, looking for a pair of one-way business class tickets to Europe. With Continental gone, it appears I’m SOL yes? Aeroplan asks for 120k, which I thought was the best chance. Any ideas?
Chase
November 12th, 2011 at 9:54 am
Lynn said,
Hey Lucky,
Been collecting miles since June and think I am ready to book our first big trip. Hawaiian miles to HI in April and return using AA miles, stop (flexible on where, we can use SWA to return to our home in STL home and use SWA again to get to “stop” city again; gotta love that companion pass).
Would love to visit Iceland this summer with final leg. It looks like ITA does not track Air Berlin and I understand Air Berlin flys to Iceland. Maybe it’s me, but I can’t get their website to work….called the reservation line but not not of help there either. Almost a three day journey with a long layover in Germany (but not long enough to really do anything).
Do you have any ideas? Do all Air Berlin flights stop in Germany? And if so, are layovers allowed when using AA miles if this is the 2nd leg of a multiple city trip?
Any other thoughts on how to get there? I know AS partners with Icelandair but would like to save those miles for a different trip. If not Iceland, our other thought is Ireland which should be a fairly easy ORD to DUB direct in summer.
Many thanks,
Lynn
PS. Really appreciate your insightful thoughts and am glad you have included card sign up links which allow us to show our appreciation.v
November 12th, 2011 at 10:26 am
lucky said,
@ Chase — Aeroplan doesn’t allow one way awards on their partner airlines and they impose fuel surcharges, so it’s not ideal though it may just be the lesser of evils if that’s what it comes down to. The only other option would be British Airways which starts at just 50,000 miles in business class (more depending on where in Europe you’re traveling), plus fuel surcharges.
November 12th, 2011 at 10:57 am
lucky said,
@ Lynn — Air Berlin only serves Iceland by way of Germany, unfortunately. You would be allowed to stop in Germany for up to 24 hours, but anything beyond that would be considered a stopover and require multiple awards. If you’re committed to using American miles for the trip, unfortunately your only real option is to go through Air Berlin, since no other OneWorld or American partner serves Iceland. Otherwise keep in mind that Delta flies there direct from New York, though that probably wouldn’t help you if you want to use American miles.
Also keep in mind that if you were to stop in the US (between Hawaii and Iceland) the stop would need to be at your international gateway, which for Air Berlin would most practically be New York.
November 12th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
margaret said,
Most of our miles are on united/star alliance but we have two BA accounts with 27K miles each Is their value likely to diminish Nov 16? Should we do something now? I looked at flights to New York on AA next spring, but I wasn’t sure it made sense to commit. Will there be more flights later?
November 12th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
margaret said,
Also, how do I use the BA miles on AA? On the AA site there are saver awards, but when I go through the BA site there don’t seem to be any for the same dates. Am I doing something wrong?
November 12th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Cathy Strick said,
Hi Lucky, I’m trying to burn my BA miles before the big devaluation with a family Easter trip. I found availability to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. (2 First 2 Eco) Thinking a few days in Bali? Any other recommendations for sunny destination from Hong Kong?
November 13th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Sam said,
I’m looking for advice and suggestions. I’m about to start traveling almost monthly for work. Company pays for the flights via travel agency, but I can get ff miles. I pay for hotel and car and get reimbursed. I have a big trip to Hawaii the second week of January. I’m going to take my wife, but I think it’s probably too late to work the “system” to get her flight free and any extra personal night free, right? I was thinking about doing Hilton Hnors primarily, using the Amex Surpass and Citi cards as daily spenders. Surpass has the 9x-6x-3x points and Citi has 6x-3x-1x points. We already put all spending on credit, so daily use can rack up lots of points. The bonus sign ups points look good too, especially if both my wife and I do it. I’m just not sure what the best way to rack up ff miles is? Maybe I don’t need to worry so much about hhonors and instead focus on miles I can use to have my wife travel with me? I fly out of Fayetteville NC whic means only us air or delta for any flights I’ll be taken. Thanks for your time!
November 13th, 2011 at 7:49 am
Ezra said,
Hi Ben,
your blog is a fav among many given the “storytelling” nature of your trip reports. Keep it up!
But on to practical stuff: I travel a bit too (from BRU), both eastwards and westwards.
How do you make sure your connectivity requirements (given your “day job”) are met?
Just look for hotels with proper wifi or do you carry something with you?
I’m on Abroadband pay-per-use (http://www.abroadband.com/) on a MiFi, this way I’m always able to connect and meanwhile keeping costs under control (steady 56 eurocents per MB everywhere).
Curious what your recipe is!
Cheers,
Ezra
November 13th, 2011 at 7:54 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — For domestic flights it’s tough to say what will happen to the price of tickets, though frankly I doubt it will go up. I would say you’re best off waiting, since I can’t imagine a domestic trip will go much above the 25,000 mile level. If you find saver award space through American it should also be available through British Airways. Are you sure the space you found was at the saver level and for travel on American? If so, you should at least be able to book it by calling British Airways.
November 13th, 2011 at 7:55 am
lucky said,
@ Cathy Strick — You can’t beat Bali, in my opinion. Otherwise maybe Thailand? You could fly into Bangkok and spend a few days there or drive to Hua Hin from there, which is a nice beach destination. But I’d go with Bali in your shoes.
November 13th, 2011 at 7:58 am
lucky said,
@ Sam — The best way to start up racking points is through credit card sign-up bonuses. Given your goals I’d say you’re best is to acquire the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Starwood American Express. The Chase Sapphire Preferred will get you over 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to Continental/United and redeemed for travel on US Airways, which is their partner. If you complete the spend quick enough you could potentially still use that for your flight.
Then if you got the Starwood American Express and completed the spend fast enough, you could potentially use those points towards a couple of free nights in Hawaii. Otherwise the Hyatt credit card will get you two free nights at any Hyatt in the world, and they have three resorts in Hawaii.
Good luck and welcome to the “game.”
November 13th, 2011 at 8:28 am
lucky said,
@ Ezra — Thanks for the kind words! Embarrassingly enough (and somewhat contradicting what I previously wrote), I actually don’t do all that good of a job staying connected while on the road. In the US I just work off my iPhone and wifi hotspots, but up until now when traveling internationally I just don’t use data on my phone and just connect to hotel wifi and wifi hotspots. It keeps me connected enough so that I can get by, but not so connected that I spend my entire trip on the road working.
November 13th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Denise said,
Hi. I have never really paid attention to my miles but just found out i have 920,000 miles with American. The operator told me I should really try to geet to the million mile mark but i found out it after Dec. 1 only flying miles will count. Is this someting I should try to do before Dec 1?
November 14th, 2011 at 1:24 am
margaret said,
thanks for all the great advice!
I want to cancel the BA Chase card I got last May in order to get the 100K bonus and the no foreign transaction fees. I am planning to replace with Chase Sapphire preferred. I already have Chase United Mileage Plus and prefer to have Star Alliance miles. Up until now I have never added or changed credit cards to get benefits. I do have good credit scores and enough income to pay off cards each month (never late) Is there anything I should know before doing this? I found this link http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/images/cancel-credit-card-worksheet.pdf for how to cancel a credit card. Is that a good description of how to cancel?
Thanks again
November 14th, 2011 at 4:02 am
oleg said,
Question regarding schedule changes and awards. I have a CO award ticket with a flight in LH F segment in May. However due to an LH schedule change it went from a 5:30pm departure to a 1:30pm (getting rid of a large portion of my nice long connection). Had this been a UA/CO flight, this would’ve been a free pass to get award space opened on any flight I want. Any experience with schedule changes on partners? Would they actually consider opening up space if I ask nicely (still want to say on LH), or I’m basically left to find whatever alternative space that actually exists?
November 14th, 2011 at 6:43 am
lucky said,
@ Denise — If you get to million miler status with American you would earn lifetime Gold status, which would get you exit row seating, priority check-in and security lines, no checked bag fees, etc. Keep in mind that there are both “lifetime” miles and actual “redeemable” miles that you can use for travel. I would suggest going for million miler now if you have a way of doing so, either by transferring points from Starwood Preferred Guest, spending money on your American credit card, etc.
November 14th, 2011 at 6:45 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — I think that link makes it all a bit more complicated than it needs to be. Just call the credit card company and tell them you want to close your account. You’ll still get your final balance which you can pay off without interest. There’s no need to write the letter, as you can verify online that the card was closed. Keep in mind that you may be offered a “retention” bonus, which might be worth considering.
November 14th, 2011 at 6:47 am
lucky said,
@ oleg — Airlines have liaisons that work between airlines to resolve issues such as this. In other words, Continental can’t open up Lufthansa award space, but of course Lufthansa can. So if you can create a compelling case or there are dire circumstances, the agent can put in a request for the liaison, and then the liaison can see what Lufthansa is willing to do. It’s definitely possible in circumstances where a flight is canceled, etc., though I’m not sure less lounge time would be considered a serious enough reason by them. Definitely worth a try, though!
November 14th, 2011 at 10:16 am
alphadog said,
Your website reads like graduate studies and I’m still in prep school but here goes. I have over 300K with AA and have their Citi MC along with AE Starwood. I’ve done well with AA to Europe and UK but am I missing out being shackled to them? I’m reading a lot about United and Continental. Thanks.
November 14th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
CDiddy said,
Hey Lucky,
My wife and I are traveling to Hong Kong for the first time ever. Was wondering if you have stayed at the Intercontinental or the Conrad their? Would you recommend one or the other? We’d be using points at both places. Other option would be to transfer AMEX point to SPG and stay at the new W.
Thanks for your thoughts.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
XH said,
Hi @lucky
I’m trying to book first class award ticket from Washington DC to Guangzhou, China sometime between 16th Dec and 22th Dec. After some research on the schedule for award flight (Continental mileage), I found that it is not easy to arrange a route consist of less than four segments. Do you have any suggestions for connecting airports? I am trying to book LH or LX flights with first class tix originated from US, but seems not very optimistic based on my time window.
thank you
XH
November 15th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Armand Jean du Plessis said,
have 30,000 american airlines miles and want to travel to lima peru on january 7th from nashville TN but DONT want to pay $1,200 r/t ticket price. any way to buy enough miles in order to qualify for an award ticket? or get a discounted fare price? thanks in advance!
November 15th, 2011 at 7:57 am
Iain said,
Hi Lucky
This really isn’t a points question, just wondering if you had seen this flyertalk page?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1280092-avios-coming-avios-coming.html
November 15th, 2011 at 8:55 am
lucky said,
@ alphadog — Sounds like you’re well on your way to being an expert if you have 300,000 miles with American. Diversification is key with miles, especially if you’re looking to travel to Europe where American is weak, quite frankly. In your shoes I would switch quite a bit of spending over to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You earn one point per dollar for all purchases, two points per dollar on travel and dining purchases, a 7% annual points dividend, no annual fee the first year, and no foreign transaction fees. The points can be instantly transferred 1:1 to Continental, United, Hyatt, British Airways. So the card is a much more efficient way to earn Continental and United miles than with their card directly.
This would enable you to fly Lufthansa first class to Europe, for example, which is one of the best products out there.
For more on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card see here (and if you apply through my link on that page, which you have no obligation to do, I get a referral bonus):
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2011/10/31/chase-sapphire-preferred-signature-visa-credit-card-benefits/
The card also comes with a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $3,000. If you pick up the Ink Bold business card that’s another 50,000 points, earning you a total of over 100,000 points. That’s enough for a business class ticket to Europe, and since Continental is partners with Virgin Atlantic, you could fly them in Upper Class for only 100,000 points. Not bad for signing up for a couple of cards.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
November 15th, 2011 at 8:57 am
lucky said,
@ CDiddy — Yep, I’ve stayed at (and reviewed) both of them. See the Conrad review here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2008/07/31/trip-report-conrad-hong-kong/
And the InterContinental review here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2009/09/06/quest-to-istanbul-and-hong-kong-part-9-intercontinental-hong-kong/
If you’re using points I’d shy away from the InterContinental. Their standard rooms are small, and what makes the hotel so nice is the views of the harbor, and you’d instead have a room facing the city.
So on an award redemption go with the Conrad. Even the standard rooms are huge, and if you have elite status those benefits will be honored on an award stay.
November 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am
lucky said,
@ XH — Unfortunately you’re looking at traveling during a peak travel time, so finding anything at all is a good thing, in my opinion. The flight with the best availability to Guangzhou is the Lufthansa flight direct from Frankfurt, though they don’t sell first class on the flight. So be sure you look into that as well. Good luck!
November 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am
lucky said,
@ Iain — Saw that earlier this morning. Funniest thing I’ve read in a very long time.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:01 am
lucky said,
@ Armand Jean du Plessis — Well a coach award ticket would cost 35,000 miles, so you could buy miles directly from American. It won’t be cheap, but certainly cheaper than paying $1,200. If American doesn’t have award space, consider looking into award availability on LAN, which is one of their partners.
November 16th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Ginly said,
Lucky,
I want to take advantage of that Radisson 50k promo but don’t actually want to stay at the hotel. Could I just check in and ask them to check me out right away?
November 16th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Kim said,
Lucky,
I have 200k points in AMEX Premier Rewards. I am going to cancel this card for a number of reasons. Just got a great offer on Chase SP (50k bonus on 1st purchase/no min)and have AMEX SPG which I love. PR fees start soon so I need to move these points before I have an actual plan for them. I’d love to surprise my husband with tickets at Christmas. Lufthansa biz class somewhere? I can add SPG points to the mix and we can travel at a later date. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Kim
November 17th, 2011 at 12:56 am
Jason said,
Ben,
Love the blog, and especially love that I’m being guided by a fellow Gator. Just booked my first award ticket, LH business class to Greece (with a stopover and open jaw of course), based largely on your tips. Anyway, do you ever make it back to Gainesville for the odd football game? I’m guessing no since Saturdays are probably for mileage running, but I just feel like I owe you a beer or a diet coke with lime or whatever for all the knowledge you’ve passed down. Token of my appreciation…next round at Swamp is on me.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Justin said,
First off, I want to thank you so much for your blog. I have learned much from it and found it the most useful/accessible out of all the other blogs that I have frequented. I just had a quick question about your churning strategy. According to Gary from View from the Wing, it is optimal to apply for many credit cards on a single day, every 90 days. I believe that he uses this method so that credit card companies will not be able to detect recent inquiries made by other banks on the same day. And he waits 90 days so that inquiries will fall of his record like clockwork as long as he sticks to his schedule. What is your take on this “strategy?” I recently applied for 2 Southwest cards and 2 Citi AA cards. I really wanted to get either the Continental card and/or the Sapphire Preferred card but I don’t want to make a rookie mistake and jeopardize my churning career. Thanks in advance!
November 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Kim said,
Ben,
Just a quick add-on to my question yesterday. After reading your top 10 premium award column (great advice there), I’m thinking New York, Hong Kong and Bali on Cathay using AMEX PR and SPG points. What would you do with 300k points from those programs from Boston? Is Christmas travel out of the question at this point? Thanks so much!
November 17th, 2011 at 9:22 am
lucky said,
@ Ginly — Phantom stays are technically prohibited. There’s a chance they’ll *accidentally* credit you the stay if you book and no show, but by the rules they’re not supposed to do that, unfortunately.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
lucky said,
@ Kim — Unfortunately you’re a day late for the Cathay Pacific award, since British Airways massively devalued their award chart yesterday — so very bad timing, unfortunately. That being said, availability was non-existent around Christmas, so if that’s your goal you didn’t miss out all that much.
Generally you’re going to have a hard time using miles for any warm places over Christmas, at least this late in the game. If you don’t mind the cold, there’s plenty of award space to Europe in late December/early January, so if you don’t mind the cold you should have pretty good luck. If using American Express points you can transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, though just make sure you avoid travel on Lufthansa and Air Canada, as there will be hefty fuel surcharges on that.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:26 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — Thanks for the kind words and congrats on the award! Don’t make it to Gainesville much anymore, though if I do I’ll let you know. Or if you’re ever in Tampa let me know and lunch is on me.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Serge said,
Ben,
Wanted to ask you about tripods as carry-on. I would like to take my tripod with me into the plane (folded “17) but am not sure what TSA thinks of it? Any experience you can share?
Thanks
November 17th, 2011 at 9:32 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the “game.” Let me start by saying that we all make churning “mistakes,” so don’t expect everything to go perfectly and to always get approved. I’ve lost out on a lot of cards due to stupid mistakes on my part, and I learn from them, so in the end I don’t mind so much.
I’m a churner, though not as “aggressive” as Rick, for example. I churn maybe twice a year, and apply for multiple cards those days. For me, it’s not worth getting a card with a 25,000 mile sign-up bonus with Air Tran or Southwest, for example. It’s just not worth the pain it is to complete the spending, etc.
So I get maybe 5-6 good cards a year, and am perfectly happy with that. The idea behind applying for multiple cards the same day is that it’s more likely to count as a single inquiry on your credit scores, given that your credit score loses a couple of points for each “hard pull.”
The thing to keep in mind also is that at any given time you want to mix up the type of cards you’re getting as much as possible. For example, you don’t want to apply for five Chase cards, but instead a Chase card, a Citi card, an Amex, etc. That maximizes your chance of approval.
In your shoes I would go for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (I consider the bonus to be much better than that of the Continental, and the card is better to keep long term), though the issue is that Chase usually won’t approve several apps within a short time span. So in your shoes I would wait till six months after you got approved for the Chase Southwest card, and then go for the Sapphire Preferred and signed up for other good bonuses you consider worthwhile. This is because when Chase opens a new account, they often ask you to close a previous account, and they reserve the right to take away your card rewards if you cancel the card within six months.
Hope that helps at least a little.
November 17th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Sean said,
Hi Ben
I need to hit a spending limited on an AMX and the only way I can make it is going to be Gift Cards. I know I can get AMX cards on Big Crumbs but I am not sure how good an idea it is to buy AMX Gift Cards to meet a AMX spend. Do you know of any place like BC that i can get Visa/MC Gift Cards or is someplace like walmart my best option?
As always thanks for all the advice.
November 18th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
scumd said,
Hi Lucky
I have been trying to redeem for a Lufthansa flight by Onepass mileage in first class. However, I could not find any first class tickets bookable by phone although it clearly showed availability online for exactly the same date and the same class. I was wondering if United has intentionally blocked the first class booking on Lufthansa. Care to share a thought?
November 19th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
alan said,
Hi Ben,
I came across this article of yours whilst reading your latest publishment on the same website http://travelsort.com/blog/maximizing-the-value-of-your-award-ticket-with-stopovers-and-open-jaws
You mentioned in this article that BMI allows unlimited number of stopovers on awards. Where did you get this information from? And have you ever attempted to book an one-way award that included more than one stopover? I am asking because from my experience with DC, and upon checking on their website, it is very clear that only one stopover is permitted. Their wording is
‘No stop-overs are permitted within Europe. Outside of Europe one stop-over is permitted. A stop-over is a lapse of at least 24 hours between your arrival and departure at any transfer point, i.e. if travelling from London Heathrow to Singapore via Frankfurt, you would not be able to stay in Frankfurt for more than 24 hours.’
If you book a round trip as two one-ways, then you will naturally be allowed 2 stopovers, though this is still not unlimited. The added benefit though, could be you could do two stopovers and two open-jaws using the a roundtrip equivalent amount of miles.
Care to clarify on this? Thanks
November 19th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Jake said,
Hi Lucky,
My wife (a DL PM) recently received a offer for 100% bonus on up to 150K transferred miles, which based on the terms appears to work out to $.01/mile. I know how you normally feel about SkyPesos, but this seems like a pretty hard offer to pass up.
That said, we don’t have any plans to use them right now and are just about to redeem 270K AA miles on EY tix to South Africa in F/J 11 months out. DL would’ve worked well there and clearly saved us a bundle (though no F), but there’s slim pickings across DL, AF, and KL.
WWLD?
November 19th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Hi Lucky,
I had booked my family in Business Class on a Lufthansa flight next summer from ZRH to IAD. The plane was supposed to be a 747-400, but I just noticed that they switched it to an Airbus A340-600. I’m wondering if these are equal products, and if not, do I have any recourse? Thanks.
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 am
Noah Kimmel said,
Hi Lucy,
I am starting my career as a Consultant for a major firm in New York City. I will be travelling weekly. I worked at a major airline for over one year, and I am an airline geek. I currently have approximately 10,000 AA miles, and I’m at the lowest tier of Marriott and Hilton.
Now is the best time for me to start choosing a single airline and hotel partner to be loyal to. Who do you recommend? Is it worth it to stick with American? I hear Delta is growing in NYC and has a better on-board product. What about hotels? I hear people like Starwood, though I usually stick with Hilton or Marriott.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:05 am
lucky said,
@ Sean — As far as generic American Express gift cards go, the only place I know of to buy them is directly. You’re right, it could be risky to buy too many since it could trigger a financial review. You’re probably best off just getting some gift cards for other businesses you frequently use.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:07 am
lucky said,
@ scumd — Were you calling Continental or United? Occasionally there are discrepancies in availability between Continental and United. You’re usually best off booking through Continental, as they should have access to the same availability that shows online.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:09 am
lucky said,
@ alan — Am looking into this now.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:12 am
lucky said,
@ Jake — I actually think it’s a fantastic deal, and I’d jump on it. Air France has reasonably good award space to Europe and Delta miles leave you best positioned for travel to Tahiti/Mauritius/Australia, so I actually think they’re not all that bad. Go for it, in my opinion!
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:14 am
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — I noticed Lufthansa’s equipment swap on the Frankfurt to Washington route a couple of weeks ago. The products are actually identical, so no reason to be disappointed, in my opinion. If anything it’s better since there’s no middle seat in business class on the A340-600.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:15 am
lucky said,
@ Noah Kimmel — The key question is where you’ll be traveling to. Do you know yet whether you’ll be doing domestic travel or international travel? Smaller towns of big cities where every chain is present?
November 22nd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
David said,
2 quick questions Ben.
1) TG currently has the 773 with suites advertised on the MUC route beyond June. How likely is this to remain the case? I’d hate to book the suites and then get stuck with an old 744.
2) When does LH tend to release their F seats? I’m trying to find availability for FRA-ALA in late June but can’t find anything in F. This also happens looking out 355 days.
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Justin said,
Hey Lucky!
I’m a student (secondary) with next to no money. I’ve got an aeroplan card and really want to get into the realm of mileage running. I’m willing to sign up for different ff programs if need be, but could you do a post for people like me (by popular demand of the other 50%)
. I’ve been reading for the past 1 1/2 years and would really love to read one of your articles on how to earn miles with no money.
Thanks
Justin
P.S. If I book a yyz-yvr award (AC), and get bumped what would I get/would I get miles?
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Noah Kimmel said,
Hi Lucy,
I do not yet know where I would be going, but I imagine it is primarily domestic. I have a basic bias against treking out to Newark, so UA/CO is not my first choice, but should I choose AA or DL? (I assume b6 isn’t the best for elites, even if it is best for the “regular folks”)
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ David — As far as Munich goes, it’s tough to say. On one hand I’d say it’s likely, but at the same time Thai is notoriously inconsistent when it comes to the equipment they operate on routes. So I probably wouldn’t count on it.
Lufthansa has gotten a lot worse about consistently releasing award space lately, to the point that they’ve gone from the best airline to releasing first class award space to average at best. I will say that Lufthansa has VERY active inventory management, so it could (and does) literally happen all the time. The only time they reliably release space is close to departure when the seats would otherwise go unsold.
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thanks for the idea, I’ll do my best. It’s a lot easier to earn miles for free in the US thanks to credit card sign-up bonuses. Sadly outside of the US it’s not nearly as easy. Though I’ll do my best to have a post along those lines. As far as compensation goes for getting bumped on Air Canada, it would likely come in the form a voucher good for future travel.
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Noah — If you’re trying to maximize your elite benefits I would definitely recommend American. Their miles are more valuable, you get eight systemwide upgrades for reaching top tier status, you get international first class lounge access when traveling internationally, etc.
On the hotel front I would go with Starwood. They usually have decent promotions and great hotel coverage, along with pretty good elite benefits.
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:32 pm
murtuza said,
Hi Lucky,
I have about 45k miles on AA, 42k miles on Delta, 56k miles on Alaska and 26k miles on AMEX PR card. Is there a way I can use this to book a flight from SFO -> BOM -> DXB -> SFO in coach in the month of Feb 2011? The return flight is from BOM and I need stopover of about 10 days in DXB. I want to maximize the miles usage and minimize money spent.
November 24th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Justin said,
I know this may be pushing it a bit, but when you write the article on mileage running as a student/with no money could you write it with an international aspect aswell?
Thanks
Justin
(question #1551)
November 24th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Justin said,
How do you have so many miles on different ff programs (United, BMI, ANA etc)? Do you transfer them?
November 24th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Justin said,
This may officially qualify as pestering but, what do you say when the Tsa questions you for your reason of flying? Do you say mileage running, visiting family etc?
November 24th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
lucky said,
@ murtuza — Unfortunately at this point your balances are a bit too spread out for such an award. You’ll want to work on building your balances more in a single account/alliance to make that happen. Keep in mind that United/Continental is the only airline that’s going to allow a stopover like the one you’re proposing.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
lucky said,
@ Justin — Will do, thanks for the suggestion.
Regarding how I have miles in so many programs, I believe the key to maximizing mileage programs is to diversify, assuming your balances are big enough. Due in part to credit card sign-up bonuses and flying, I’m able to build big balances in several accounts.
As far as the TSA goes, I refuse to speak to them. Simple as that.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Mark said,
Lucky,
I enjoy your blog and your posts
on Flyertalk. Here’s my concern
you need to ease up on plugging that
Credit card. It is overly self-serving
And only serves to undermine your credibility.
Don’t drive your readers away with thrare
Crass product placements!
Thanks,
Mark
November 24th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Andrew said,
Your blog is awesome; keep up the good work. May I ask who you travel with normally? You always saw “we” in trip reports and such. Must be nice to travel frequently with somebody.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Mark — I appreciate the feedback. In fairness to me I’m self employed and have to make a living. Maybe every tenth post is about credit cards. I provide full disclosure and a lot of readers find the posts useful. I’ll continue to provide full disclosure and make credit cards a small part of my blog, though I don’t plan on stopping to write about them completely. After all, they’re what allow tons of people to travel the world for free.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — Thanks! It all depends, I travel with different people all the time, and sometimes I travel alone. I usually just travel with fellow mileage “nuts.”
November 25th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Angelina said,
Hi Ben!! First off, Happy Thanksgiving to you!! I had a question that involves maximizing the use of my hotel points for upcoming travel. I’ve been doing some of my own research, but since I am relatively new, I was wondering if you can throw in some of your expertise…
I have upcoming travels to the following places in 2012 – Hong Kong (3 nights), Macau (2 nights), Bangkok (2 nights), Singapore (2 nights), and Hawaii (Honolulu/Waikiki Beach, 6 nights).
Here’s what I have as far as points:
Club Carlson – 104,000 (My fiance and I both took advantage of the stay one, get 50,000 bonus points offer, however I see they do not have properties in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore).
Chase Sapphire – 53,500 upon completing the minimum spend requirement which I am almost at.
Marriott ~3750
SPG – 0, but I did receive a reward offer to receive 8,000 spg points upon completing one stay, which I will most likely do in the current weeks.
So, my question is: How can I maximize my points? I know I can transfer my Chase points to most hotel chains. What would you do? SPG has hotels in Bangkok for 4000 SPG points (I was thinking of using my 8000 in bonus points to cover my 2 nights in Bangkok…?)
November 25th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Angelina — Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! As far as using Ultimate Rewards points towards travel goes, you’re probably best off transferring those points to Hyatt for award stays in either Hong Kong to Macau.
You’re a bit short on points otherwise, so have you considered signing up for the Chase Ink Bold card, or otherwise having your fiance sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or Chase Ink Bold card? In your shoes I would also sign up for the Starwood American Express card. If you can find “cash and points availability” at hotels for your preferred nights, the 25,000 point sign-up bonus will go a long way to covering hotels for nearly all of your stays.
November 25th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
FLyerboi17 said,
Lucky,
I am currently staying at the Hyatt Andaz Wall Street for about a day now and ate breakfast this morning downstairs and the waiter looked at me like I was from crazy town when I asked if they could make me lemon poppyseed pancakes!!!! After reading review after review about them I was dying to try them!!! Any advice??? How did you first hear about them????? Was it published on the menu?
November 25th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ FLyerboi17 — Too funny! The lemon poppy seed pancakes are actually at the Andaz 5th Avenue, not at the Wall Street hotel. Sorry!
November 26th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Justin said,
When did you first sign up for your first credit card? How do you cancel paid fee cards so efficiently/are there fees to cancel? Any tips?
As you can see, I’m going to try and get into the world of mileage all thanks to my patronage to your blog for 1 1/2 years.
Thanks for inspiring me
BTW, do you think the American Express SPG card is worth it? I’m thinking of signing up for a CIBC Aerogold, and the SPG card and cancel them after about 10 months.
Justin
November 26th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Chris said,
Hi Lucky! Hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend. Just wanted some advice. I’ll be flying Cathay Pacific in a couple of weeks for a quick trip. I’m registered in Asia Miles, BA Executive Club & AAdvantage. I would probably have put the miles into BA before they changed over to Avios, but now I don’t know what to do at this point. I do fly Cathay about once a year, but Asia Miles isn’t that flexible to use here in the US. Got any advice on where to apply my miles? If there’s any better partners, I wouldn’t mind enrolling to a new program. Thanks!
November 27th, 2011 at 12:27 am
lucky said,
@ Justin — Thank YOU for reading. I actually got my first credit card when I was 18. I started with a Discover student credit card to build my credit, and six months later got my first “real” credit card. The rest is history.
For the cards I churn, I keep them for 11 months and then cancel them just before they’re up for renewal. This is because the age of accounts factors into your credit scores. Then there are some cards I keep annually for the benefits, not to mention to keep my credit score good, since having several accounts for a long time in good standing is great for your score.
Absolutely, I think the SPG card is among the best out there.
November 27th, 2011 at 12:28 am
lucky said,
@ Chris — If you’re traveling in a booking class that accrues full miles through AAdvantage, I’d say it’s a no brainer — credit to them!
November 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Shanghai9 said,
You’ve posted that some airlines require the credit card used when booking an award flight. I’ve booked a trip for my parents and would like to get them their own cards on the account I used for their flights. Do you know if that will suffice or does it have to be the exact card (with my name on it)? I assume not since the account number is the same, but it would terrible if my parents were stuck.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:18 am
lucky said,
@ Shanghai9 — For the most part airlines no longer require this. United required it for a long time, though I haven’t seen it in a long time. Unless the e-ticket says a credit card is required, I wouldn’t worry about it. IF they do need the card, I would assume it needs to be a card with the same 15-16 digit number, or else it wouldn’t match.
November 27th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky, I noticed that United was offering 30 miles per dollar spent at FTD and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall was offering 11 points per dollar spent. Is there any reason these two promotions would conflict with one another?
November 27th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Sam said,
Lucky, can you explain how you qualify for top tier via hotels? I know you have top status in Hilton, SPG, Hyatt and a royal ambassador, but do not believe there are enough nights in a year to do that… I am staying over 150 nights in hotels next year so trying to optomize
November 27th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — Hmm, is there a special link that has to be followed in order to get the 30 miles per dollar? If not, I suspect they could be stacked. Otherwise, not so much, unfortunately.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Sam — I actually only have top tier with Hyatt, Starwood, and InterContinental. With Hilton I have Gold status. I qualify by:
Hilton: Comped Gold due to United status
Starwood: Make exactly 25 stays per year
Hyatt: Make exactly 25 revenue stays per year
InterContinental: Either stay roughly 60 nights per year, or get a Royal Ambassador referral certificate from a friend
Hope that answers your questions!
November 28th, 2011 at 7:10 am
David said,
Lucky
A quick question for you. I’m trying to book an award through Aeroplan for my parents from Australia to North Asia in J. The total cost is 180 000 miles and it is being funded from their accounts. One has ~140 000 miles and the other ~50 000. Is there any way to pay for an Aeroplan award from two accounts without paying to transfer the miles?
Thanks
David
November 28th, 2011 at 10:29 am
lucky said,
@ David — Unfortunately that’s not possible. All the miles for a single ticket have to come out of a single account. Sorry!
November 28th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Brian said,
You’ve spent a good deal of time this year as EXP on AA, and have been 1K on United, if you had to pick only program to be top tier elite, which would it be?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Chris said,
Do you know of anyway to get Hyatt Platinum through matches/challenges? I currently am about to do a churn, and the Hyatt card is part of it. I would love to not have to spend $1k, and getting a few suite upgrade certs. I’m currently a SPG Gold, Marriott Silver, and thanks to the recent promo, Accor Platinum. Maybe just nicely asking?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Andrew said,
Quick question-what happens if you sign up for a credit card and can’t meet the minimum spend to get the bonus (on the Sapphire Preferred for example)? Do you get “partial credit”?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew — Unfortunately there’s no such thing as partial credit in the credit card world. It’s all or nothing.
November 28th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Brian — That post is coming really soon. I promise. I swear. No, really!
November 28th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — As far as I know, Hyatt is only doing challenges as of now. So I would email them with a copy of your elite card, and if you have top tier (or mid tier) status I think they may just grant you Platinum at a minimum.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:06 am
Jess said,
I have to fly into TPA MLK weekend from EWR (or another NY airport or Philly in a pinch) for a wedding. I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and am a Continental Silver. I would most like to pick a flight that carries a chance of a bump but if that isn’t likely, I’d like to pick one where my upgrade has a snowball’s chance in hell of clearing. The wedding is Saturday, I’d be flying in anytime on Friday (or possibly Thursday night) and back home on Tuesday morning (or possibly Monday night). Any thought on how to optimize (on UA/CO, obviously, for the upgrade)?
November 30th, 2011 at 10:53 am
KP said,
How do you check Star Alliance award availability within five days of flight? The ANA tool doesn’t seem to show it once you get pretty close to the date of the award.
Thanks
November 30th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
ricardo said,
Fantastic blog, great work. I’m trying to use AAdvantage miles to visit BCN with a stopover in CDG, but I don’t think One World allows stopovers in Europe anymore, correct?
What are the chances of upgrading using miles and $350 copay? Is it worth it? Doesn’t seem like it to me…25000 miles + $350. Currently AA PLAT
Thanks! keep up fantastic work
November 30th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Jess — Frankly it’s always pretty tough to predict. I think the obvious advice is to either fly a 737 on Continental or 757 on United, which would maximize your upgrade chances. Generally speaking your best shot at an upgrade is the flight with the worst shot at a bump. So really you’re going to get a “balance” either way, because the flights at peak times may be oversold, while the flights not during peak times might result in an upgrade.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
lucky said,
Search it the opposite way around. the ANA tool just won’t show Star Alliance OUTBOUND space within five days. Say you want to look up award space from San Francisco to Munich in four days. Simply type in Munich as your origin and San Francisco as your destination, and then search the outbound date for tomorrow and the return date for four days from today, and that should do the trick. Otherwise use the Continental or Aeroplan websites.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
lucky said,
ricardo — Thanks for the kind words. You’re correct, you can’t have a “free” stopover of more than 24 hours on an all partner award ticket anymore. Generally speaking using miles is a much better value than upgrading. If you use miles you’re going to pay 100,000 miles, as opposed to 50,000 miles, plus $700, PLUS the cost of airfare. So if you can do an award ticket I’d go with that.
If you upgrade I suggest trying to find a flight where you can confirm the upgrade as opposed to being waitlisted. You probably have a decent chance of clearing eventually, though it would be nice to have the upgrade confirmed immediately.
November 30th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Ybjfk said,
Ben,
I love how you continue to do it real big. I got a question for you. I am about to do it real big…like you…again. I just saw a special about the Swiss on PBS and thought I would take Swiss Air then fly from their to South Korea…first class (You hear me Rick…FIRST CLASS) then use some BMI miles to get me from Korea to the Maldives…doing it real big with my bride, at the Beach House.
My question to you Lucky…how can I search for Swiss first class availability using ANA?
December 1st, 2011 at 4:31 pm
ricardo said,
JAL business award seats SFO – Tokyo 50% one world:
http://www.aa.com/viewPromotionDetails.do?fN=SFOHND.xml&_locale=en_US
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:04 pm
David said,
Hi Ben,
How often does what an AA CSR’s claims on what they have for booking not match award availability as displayed on ba.com and qantas.com? Example: SFO-HKG-SIN, first segment is in F, second in Y only. But other oneworld partners show J avail. Even thought about booking the HKG-SIN separately for 20K + $43 through BA. What do you think? Book Y segment with AA and hope J opens up? I guess that is the most rational…
December 4th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Jason said,
Ben,
I was recently at the Tumi store and they said the FAA is changing the rules for carry-on bags to a smaller size, I think 20 inches from 22? They suggested I get the Tumi Continental because it is the right height but is 16 inches wide instead of 14. Do you know about this rule change, the Continental bag, and if US airlines will let me carry it on? Thanks!
December 4th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Navej said,
Hi Ben,
Thanks for all you do.
I recently had an award ticket on hold with US Airways. On the second call the award was cleared with the rate desk and the hold renewed. I called again when I noticed the miles had been deducted from my account and was assured that the award was on hold for another two days. When I went to ticket the award, I was told the Air New Zealand portion had been removed by them. The space has not come back available.
Is there anything I can do to get my routing back? I was told by two different agents that the award was on hold until a specific time.
Thanks
December 6th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
XH said,
Hi Ben
Thanks in advance for your answer. As you recently pointed out, LH first class are no longer available award booking through CO or UA. This left me wondering how many solid first class products are still bookable through CO mileage redemption system. Could enlighten me on this subject?
December 6th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
XH said,
Also, since the dropout of LH first class in CO award booking, what options do I have for transatlantic first class other than CO and UA?
December 7th, 2011 at 7:47 am
Andrew Aniego said,
HI
I have 45k miles on my delta american express, is there anyway i could transfer it to receive elal points ?
Really appreciate your consideration
A
December 7th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
jiangatang said,
Flying LAX-LHR in C. Should I go with Virgin Upper class or NZ C?
December 7th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Ybjfk — While the Continental tool doesn’t show Swiss award space, the ANA and Aeroplan tools do. Have a great trip, and congrats!
December 7th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
lucky said,
@ David — Hmmm. I’ve never had a discrepancy between what American shows and what British Airways shows. Qantas, on the other hand, will occasionally show space that American and British Airways can’t see. But it’s definitely an exception and not the norm.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — That’s the first I’ve heard of that, and I can’t imagine it’s the case, frankly. That being said, the Tumi 22″ is actually more than 22″ and doesn’t fit in some overhead bins wheels first, so I suggest getting the 20″.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Navej — Unfortunately that’s one of those situations where there’s no good solution. While holds may seem guaranteed, they really aren’t, as airlines can pull their space at anytime. It’s worth keeping in mind that with Star Alliance, holds really can’t be extended if partner airlines are involved. They can extend the hold of the actual record, but the individual airlines will start taking back their seats. So that’s worth keeping in mind.
If you had been flying the airline you were ticketing through you could have probably gotten the flights reinstated, but since you were flying a different airline than you ticketed through, they have no way of getting those seats back. Sorry!
December 7th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
lucky said,
@ XH — Yeah, it’s getting pretty bad. Transatlantic the only route other than United flights with tons of first class space in advance is Montreal to Zurich. Every other route has space released only a couple of weeks in advance nowadays, at most. Other than that there’s still Asiana and Thai, that are good about releasing space. Not many other options, though.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Andrew Aniego — Unfortunately not. Delta miles can be redeemed for travel on El Al, though you can’t just transfer the points.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
lucky said,
@ jiangatang — That’s a toughie. If you were departing London I’d say definitely go for Virgin for Clubhouse access. But out of Los Angeles they use the same lounge on departure. Onboard I’d say Air New Zealand has better food, so I’d probably go with them. And their new 777-300ERs are pretty snazzy too.
December 7th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
It’s probably been asked plenty of times, but I’d like to pick your brain on the best mileage program for easy/cheap (relatively) awards to Bora Bora/PPT. I realize that the main challenge is the actual availability of seats.
My balances are currently roughly 150k UA, 50k US, 50k BA, 100k spg, 50k UR. The plan is to save most of the spg/UR to use to top off two business awards to BOB/PPT a year or two in the future, but I’d like to get your thoughts on which mileage balance I should be maximizing (besides spg and ur, where most of my cc spend will be going).
December 7th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Dave said,
Hey Lucky,
My partner and I would like to take advantage of the double elite miles promotion between LAX and ORD in January to get a jump start on our status for next year. We have several unused “Customer Appreciation” e-certificates that we would like to use. Is there a way to force a “W” fare AND use the e-certs on United.com? He is 1-K and I am Premier Exec.
December 7th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Ryan said,
Hi Ben,
Quick question about Aeroplan award booking. I booked an award trip in business @ 45k (YOW-YYZ-SFO-HNL outbound and HNL-DEN-YUL-YOW return). I was just wondering if you know of any option to add an extra leg for minimal miles similar to what you discussed in a Travelsort article about going from Europe to the US and adding an extra leg to South America or another article where you mentioned adding a Hawaii to Chicago flight on an American award booking from London to Chicago.
Thanks!
Ryan
December 7th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — There are only two practical options for travel to Tahiti — Air France and Air Tahiti Nui. Delta partners with both airlines and charges 150,000 miles for business class roundtrip, while American only partners with Air Tahiti Nui, and charges 125,000 miles roundtrip in business class. Both are great values, so I’d work towards building balances with those two airlines. Keep in mind that Delta has a transfer promotion right now (which I’ll blog about shortly) whereby you can buy the 150,000 miles for about $1,650 — not bad for a business class award to Tahiti!
December 7th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — If you call United web support they should be able to manually apply them to a W fare, though it might take a bit of time on hold.
December 7th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Unfortunately in that instance not really. Aeroplan doesn’t allow one way award tickets on partner airlines, so if you’re just trying to add a segment, you would end up paying the roundtrip price difference in order to make that happen, which isn’t really cost effective.
December 8th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Ryan said,
Thanks Lucky – Would you consider YOW-YYZ-SFO-HNL outbound and HNL-DEN-YUL-YOW return a good award redemption with Aeroplan’s current promotion @ 45k points for business class?
I know you say that whatever makes you happy is a good award redemption (and this trip does accomplish that for me), but I would like to know your thoughts.
December 8th, 2011 at 1:21 am
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Yes, I’d say that’s a spectacular value.
December 8th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Mantini said,
Hey Lucky, one of my dream trips is to circumnavigate the globe on Air New Zealand – LAX-LHR-HKG-AKL-LAX. Any advice on the best place to start building up points for this – Aeroplan, Mileage Plus, MR, UR?
December 8th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Ken said,
Lucky,
IC Bali – as a platinum ambassador on a revenue stay, what room/upgrades/benefits could i expect in April 2012?
December 8th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
sam said,
So may take a job that will require 70-90% travel domestic only, NYC,DFW,ATL,DET,ORD,MIA. Based in Phoenix, do you know anyone who knows US program inside and out? Or what plan would you recommend? Corporate carrier is AA, but 100K miles in coach connecting through DFW and ORD 2-4 times a week would be brutal
December 9th, 2011 at 12:50 am
lucky said,
@ Mantini — Continental/United miles would probably be the best way to do that, since Aeroplan imposes fuel surcharges. So earning United, Continental, or Ultimate Rewards points should work great.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:51 am
lucky said,
@ Ken — The standard upgrade is typically to a duplex room, in my experience, for both Ambassador and Royal Ambassador members.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:04 am
lucky said,
@ sam — Yeah, connecting twice a week probably isn’t ideal. US Airways miles are fairly valuable, though flying them isn’t all that much fun. Keep in mind Chairmans Preferred get a couple of international upgrades per year, though that’s about it in the way of bonuses for flying.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
michael peachey said,
Hi -
In your humble opinion, whats the best thing to do with 500,000 Amex Membership miles? Wait for another Delta bonus promotion? Buy a widescreen TV, something else?
Any chance you can email a response?
December 10th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Ken said,
Ben, sorry to bug you again. Duplex = http://bali.intercontinental.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=264&Itemid=274 ?
December 10th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
lucky said,
@ michael — It depends what your redemption goals are. To maximize their value you definitely shouldn’t do anything except an airline mileage transfer. So I would only transfer once you have a specific redemption goal in mind, determine which program is best, and then make the transfer.
December 10th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — Yep, that’s it!
December 10th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m on a first class rewards ticket from IAD to MNL with stops in FRA, NRT, and BKK. However, I am in business class on the FRA to NRT leg on Lufthansa’s a380 (rough itinerary, but I really wanted to get on an a380 haha). Will I still be allowed access to Lufthansa’s first class Tower Lounge in FRA or will I only have access to the business class lounge?
Thanks!
December 10th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Do you depart from Frankfurt to Tokyo the same day you arrive from Washington to Frankfurt? If so you can access the First Class Lounge.
December 10th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
RKToledo said,
Lucky,
With the recent announcement of Lufthansa A380 flying out of Houston, can you give me your thoughts on what is to be expected for future award availability on this flight. Any chance of first class awards being offered. Also, I believe you mentioned in a prior post that future Lufthansa flights out of Dallas would not have first class. Where can I find the specifics on this news? Thanks.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
JRL said,
Lucky,
How are you liking the Keurig machine? Where would you say is the best e-retailer to buy one for max miles if you don’t have the Ultimate Rewards card?
JRL
December 12th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Megan said,
Thanks, Lucky! I am flying out the same day. I am so excited to experience the Tower Lounge in FRA! It’s not that often that a 22 year-old gets to experience these things!
Thanks for your help!!!!
December 13th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Gary P said,
Hi Lucky
We want to take advantage of some off-season airline redemptions and wondered if you or your readers could recommend some good winter (Feb) European destinations.
Thanks for the help and for the great blog!
Gary P
December 13th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
John said,
Ben, how is JAL’s first class product? I’m booked on a JAL flt from NRT to ORD (777-300). You panned JAL first class in an 09 trip report from NRT to JFK. Since then I think they have introduced a so called first class suite in first (which is not really a suite but a better seat).
December 13th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Michael said,
Ben,
I’ve got my first ever mini-RTW in F booked for next July (2012), in which I’m flying -ZRH-BKK- on TG F. My friend and I really want to try LH F and the FCT, so we’d like to fly -ZRH-FRA-BKK-. At the moment there’re no seats open. My question is, what are the chances LH opens two seats on FRA-BKK some time before travel? How many times a day should I be checking the ANA tool?
PS – Really love your blog.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
lucky said,
@ RKToledo — I suspect business and coach award availability will remain fairly good (probably even improve). However, Lufthansa has almost entirely stopped releasing first class award space in advance, not just on the A380, but generally. So I suspect we won’t see any (or at least much) first class award availability on the new Houston route.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
lucky said,
@ JRL — I love, it’s incredibly easy to use. As far as the best online retailer goes, that’s a toughie. I know this will sound crazy coming from me, though the price of Keurig coffee machines is constantly changing so I’d say it all depends on the detail a retailer is running. It’s not unusual to see the price vary from anywhere between $80 and $150. So I wouldn’t recommend any specific retailer based just on a few miles.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Well done and have a great time!
December 13th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Gary P — That’s a toughie. I really like London, and the weather isn’t usually too bad off season. Barcelona is usually warm, so you can’t go wrong with that. I also love Munich, so you really can’t go wrong with that. None should be all that bad in February.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
lucky said,
@ John — JAL first is *good*, though not the best in the world. It’s way better than American, United, etc., though not quite on the level of Singapore, Cathay Pacific, etc. The food is fairly good, seat is good, entertainment is not so great, and service is attentive though a lot of the flight attendants struggle with English, much more so than ANA. So an all around solid product.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — Lufthansa has just about stopped releasing first class award space in advance. There’s definitely a chance the seats will open up, though don’t expect it to be more than a week or so before departure, in my opinion.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Heather said,
What is the best way to get an award seat on the upper deck of a 747 from the west coast to Europe?
December 14th, 2011 at 1:40 am
lucky said,
@ Heather — United sometimes has award space from San Francisco to Frankfurt on the 747, so that would be one option if that’s what you’re looking for.
December 14th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
sslsps said,
Hi
A couple of months ago, I booked the outbound flight JFK-ICN-HAN on OZ
and a return HKG-NRT-EWR on NH and CO
A few days ago I noticed that there is new availability showing up on
Continental.com for SQ flights in both directions: JFK-FRA on SQ
A380 connecting to TG for flights to BKK and HAN. On the way back it
is HKG-SFO on SQ connecting to CO
Would you recommend sticking with the outbound OZ flights or is flying
the 380 on SQ worth the slightly longer trip with 2 connections?
And is it worth switching to the SQ flight HKG-SFO on way back?
thanks
December 14th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
thrive said,
Your Chase Sapphire Preferred posts say that the 7% annual dividend applies to the 50,000 point signup bonus. Two agents just told me that’s not the case. What gives?
December 14th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
lucky said,
@ sslsps — Is this a coach or business class award? If the former, then I would stick to the more direct routing. If the latter, I’d say go for it and take the more indirect routing to experience the A380.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
lucky said,
@ thrive — I know The Points Guy had confirmed that with a Chase marketing rep, so I think it’s fairly reliable. I wouldn’t necessarily count on what a phone agent tells you, as I doubt they’re all that “in the know.”
December 15th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Beth said,
Hi Lucky,
My husband and I are looking at going SAT-DUB early June. we have about 200,000 points mostly with amex and chase, then some small fry with BA, delta and united. Is there a way we can combine some of these points together? Also which carrier/s would recommend to maximize our points? We have no idea what we’re doing.
December 16th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Will said,
Hi Lucky,
I think I’m going to “pull the trigger” and book my first set of MRs in Jan to get the TEQM on AA, but I’m really nervous about it (mostly about weather and delays since its ORD-SFO)! I have a spread sheet with all my flight times, cost and such, would you mind if I sent it to you to give it a quick look and let me know what you think?
MUCH appreciated and thanks in advance!!
December 16th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Steve said,
Lucky,
I have a $400 UA cert and am looking to maximize it on an MR. Perferrably Feb/Mar although I am pretty flexible. I have never had a cert (bumped) before so I am new to using these. Any suggestions on routing?
Also hope you are enjoying your W bed as much as I am!
Thanks!
December 16th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
JamesZ said,
You’re a wealth of travel knowledge so I figured I’d come to you for some input on this. I’m new to the frequent flyer / milage game.
I’m at the Diamond Medallion tier and in a few days I’ll be flying CDG -> JFK on Air France’s a380, I’m flying on a “full fare” ticket. I want to use one of my Delta “system wide upgrade” to get into Affaires class but they keep trying to kick me into Premium Voyageur.
Do you have any tricks that might work in this sort of situation?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Beth — Which Chase and AmEx cards are your points with? Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards, or a different program?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Will — Sure, feel free to email them over!
December 16th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — Where do you live?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
lucky said,
@ JamesZ — Your Delta systemwide upgrades unfortunately only entitle you to a one class upgrade, so from coach you can only upgrade to premium economy. If you wanted to fly business you would have to book premium economy.
December 17th, 2011 at 6:13 am
JamesZ said,
@ lucky thanks for the follow-up.
December 17th, 2011 at 6:17 am
Steve said,
IAD is my home airport.
thanks
December 17th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Silkclass said,
Lucky,
(ORD/SFO Double EQM)
Do you think this would qualify for EQM? I had a hard time understand the T&C. Thanks
I had my itinerary routing as:
LAS/IAD/LHR/ORD/SFO (stop over@LHR)
All in W fare.
Ticketed 11/24
Just completed travel.
December 17th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Silkclass — My interpretation would be that you don’t qualify for the double EQMs because you need to have roundtrip travel on the ORD-LAX/SFO routes, which you don’t have.
December 18th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Beth said,
Yeah about 25000 in Ultimate with another 50000 to come as a signup bonus and 125000 in Membership Rewards. We were also wondering if a stopover in Dubai is a pipedream? It’s not exactly a regular stopover.. Thanks for your help!
December 18th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Ross said,
Back in September 2009, I asked which frequent flyer programs should I sign up for. Currently, I have United’s Mileage Plus (UA) and Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan (AS). Since I flew more on AS rather than UA, I am currently at MVP Elite in AS. AS has strong partnerships with DL and AA. I have not flown in DL and AA yet.
Now that I am moving to Chicago from San Francisco, it appears that I am going to be flying more either on UA or AA. In terms of domestic business and coach products offered, which would you prefer: UA or AA?
December 19th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Daniel said,
Hi Lucky,
I wanted to fly from LAX to JFK, and then on the way back I wanted to stopover in Chicago (JFK-ORD-LAX). Can this still be considered a roundtrip flight? Also if this is a RT flight, how would I book this flight online, or would I need to call he airline?
Thanks,
Daniel
December 19th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky,
I know AA has the Business Extraa program but I just had to purchase some pretty expensive seats on United and was wondering if United had a similar program
December 19th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
MariaM said,
Hi Lucky,
I am trying to book what I consider a complicated itinerary using my Continental miles. I have to go to Spain next summer for school and am planning on meeting my husband in China once I am done. I already booked our tickets using BA miles on Cathay. We fly out of BKK. A few months ago I tried this routing since I know CO won’t allow me stopovers on a one way ticket so this is what I did using the Multiple Destination: EWR-MAD-MAD-HKG, PVG-BKK which was pricing at 47.5k miles all SaverPass (I don’t have enough miles for business and I am flying business on Cathay on the way back). Now when I try it, it won’t give me any Saver availability only Easypass at 80k when I try booking it as a multicity ticket but if I try each leg individually then it does give me Saverpass availability. What should I do? Should I call Continental and have them do it over the phone? Is this possible? Hope you can help!
Thanks!
December 19th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Beth — Well the stopover wouldn’t be in Dubai, but instead the stopover would be in Dublin enroute to Dubai, which would be possible. You should be able to book that through Continental/Star Alliance with ease, flying Continental as far as Dublin and then flying Swiss/Lufthansa/Austrian to Dubai.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Ross — American hands down. They have wifi on more planes, generally better food in first class, easier upgrades, and on the whole, newer aircraft.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — The requirements are a bit higher, though United does have Perks Plus, which is a similar program.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — You can certainly route that way, though the stopover wouldn’t be “free,” as the fare would break in Chicago. So you would end up paying for two tickets on your return.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
lucky said,
@ MariaM — You’ll want to call Continental for that. They should be able to do it by phone.
December 20th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
hsw25 said,
Hi Lucky,
I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for several years now. Love it! I have a question for you about the Intercontinental Bali. During your 2008 stay, you mentioned you used a buy one get one certificate at the property. I was thinking about using my Ambassador cert for a stay next year. Do you know how I can find out if the property accepts them for a King Club Intercontinental room? Also, given the the potential unrest in the Indonesia, did you find the area to be safe (for an American)?
H
December 20th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Brad said,
Hi Ben,
Hotel loyalty program question for you if you have a chance.
I don’t travel very often for work (certainly not often enough to hit the nights or stays required for top-tier status), but when I do, I’m fortunate enough to stay at high-end properties.
Is there any industry discussion (if you know) of hotel loyalty programs’ adding an elite-status qualifier based on spend (in addition to the nights/stays currently offered)? I’m biased, of course, but it seems to me that five or 10 nights at a St. Regis (to use Starwood as an example) might translate to more revenue than 25 stays at a Four Points, and so hotel programs would do well to offer the St. Regis guest some recognition other than simple points earning.
Thanks for any thoughts.
December 21st, 2011 at 11:19 am
lucky said,
@ hsw25 — Thanks so much for reading! Absolutely, you can use a BOGO on a club room. Just keep in mind you have to book through the URL listed on the voucher. As far as the safety of Indonesia goes, I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to return. I felt 100% safe, so I really wouldn’t be worried.
December 21st, 2011 at 11:24 am
lucky said,
@ Brad — Great question. The only program I know that will let you qualify for top tier status based on spend is Hilton, as you can qualify based on nights, stays, or base points earned. Now, Hilton is also the brand that will let you earn Diamond status for spending $40,000 on their credit card annually, so…
Other than that, I really don’t know of any programs that let you qualify based on spend. They really should, though.
December 21st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
hsw25 said,
One more thing Lucky: I have booked a First Saver award to Bali using 70,000 OnePass Miles. I am on UA F DFW-IAH-ORD-LHR and connecting to TG F at LHR. Right now, LH has a good bit of I inventory out of IAH on theit A380 service. Obviously, I’m hoping LH F opens up (on the DFW-FRA flight) as I get closer in. But if that doesn’t happen, which would you prefer: UA new F (operated on a 763) or LH J?
December 21st, 2011 at 12:44 pm
lucky said,
@ hsw25 — United first, hands down. Totally worth it for the flat bed alone.
December 21st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
hsw25 said,
Thanks!
December 22nd, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
Complete newbie here! I really enjoy your blogs but I do have a rudimentary question. I came across a post you had mentioning how you can get in a “free” trip to Hawaii flying through an AA gateway. But I’m not sure how that might practically work (if it would at all for me). I’m in SFO and would like to fly to Europe some day with my AA miles. Would the Hawaii strategy work like this?
SFO –> MAD (via say, LAX) – 2/2/12
MAD –> LAX –> HNL , with MAD–>LAX scheduled 2/9/12, and LAX –>HNL scheduled something like 5/1/12
Then I would have to find my own way back home to SFO from LAX on 2/9/12?
And I would have to book a separate flight to get back home from HNL –> SFO on like 5/8/12?
And finally, if I’m understanding this right, I would assume I would need to book all of this via an AA phone rep?
Thanks again for your time and patience!
December 22nd, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Constantine said,
Hi Lucky,
As you may know, Air Canada announced changes to the number of EQMs required to qualify for *A Gold – from 35k to 50k as of 2013. In your opinion, which *A rewards program offers the *A Gold status for the least amount of EQMs and for longer period of time?
Thank you.
Constantine
December 22nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Jettyboy said,
Hi Lucky,
I would like some advice about routing rules when using US Airways Dividend Miles. I would like to book my parents on a round-trip award ticket in J, from MAA (Chennai) – LAX. I am trying to do this ideally with just one stop which leaves me pretty much with just one option using US miles: LH (via FRA) or TG (via BKK). They would like to stop over in BKK on the way back, so I was thinking of booking them on LAX-NRT (NH), NRT-BKK(UA) and BKK-MAA (TG) which seems to work fine.
For the trip from India to the US, will I be able to book them on LH J via FRA? That is, does US airways allow routing via the Atlantic on one leg, and via the Pacific on the outbound, or will this be considered a RTW ticket?
Also, in your opinion, which carrier would have the best J product? In case I cannot book them on LH (which doesnt have a great J product anyway) I am not able to see any availability on BKK-LAX in TG J using the CO website so was thinking of having one more stop, and am able to see some availability on OZ (via ICN) or on NH (via HND). Would you recommend either of these? Do any of these have flat beds in J? As always, thanks for your time in answering our questions.
December 22nd, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Tiffani said,
Hi to my fellow Tampa Bay area person. I’m interested in the Sapphire Preferred card and I can’t find anywhere if I can transfer miles to either American or Delta.
If I can’t do it with that card, which card is the best one for me for each airline?
I have Delta status, someone else in my family has American status so we are looking at two different cards.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:42 pm
lucky said,
@ Neil — You’re right on all counts. You would basically get a free one-way ticket to Hawaii. If you wanted to simplify it slightly in terms of needing to purchase an extra ticket, you could instead do MAD-ORD-SFO on the return, and then SFO-LAX-HNL on the same ticket a few months later at no additional cost. You’d need to book this by phone, as you point out.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:46 pm
lucky said,
@ Constantine — Aegean would be the best option at this point, as they offer Star Gold for 20,000 elite qualifying miles.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Jettyboy — The thing about US Airways is that they don’t really enforce any of their routing rules, so you can really do whatever you’d like. I wish I had a better answer, but they’ll allow just about anything.
As far as business class products go, I’d say Thai and Lufthansa are pretty comparable. I would consider routing them from NRT to LAX on ANA, as they operate one of their 777s with fully flat beds on that route. Otherwise Asiana is excellent as well, and has their new business class product on the evening 777 from ICN to LAX.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 am
lucky said,
@ Tiffani — That’s a great question! Let me answer it tomorrow on the main page of the blog, if that’s alright, as I think a lot of people might benefit from the question.
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:58 am
Mitch said,
Lucky, If one were to earn American Executive platinum status fairly early in 2012 when yould the evip’s expire?
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:27 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — If you just qualify they would be good through February 2013, though if you requalify the would be good through February 2014.
December 27th, 2011 at 2:30 am
John said,
Lucky, how does AA elite status factor into the AA Exec Plat madness? Would it be a bonus to the triple dip? An example might help clarify this if you don’t mind!
December 27th, 2011 at 4:47 am
lucky said,
@ John — Sorry, I’m not sure what exactly you mean? As an Executive Platinum member you get a 100% bonus on redeemable miles, meaning you end up earning triple redeemable miles and triple elite qualifying miles between ORD/DFW and LAX/SFO. Does that answer your question, or are you asking something else?
December 27th, 2011 at 10:43 am
beltway said,
Lucky, I’m thinking of booking an award for me & my DW as follows:
Origin: WAS
Destination: MLA
Stopover on return: BCN
I have more than enough miles with UACO, US, BA, AA, and DL that I can use any of these programs, and am wondering what the best approach is. As best my tiny brain can determine,
1) US is possible if I fly into BCN on JK (which seems to require flying LH MLA-MUC), given their stopover/partner hub requirement.
2) UACO offers better options: stopover allowed, and there are assorted options (LH via FRA, OS via VIE, LX via ZRH) for getting MLA-BCN in 2 segments.
3) AA won’t permit a stopover overseas, and although I could book an open jaw (WAS-MLA, BCN-WAS) there doesn’t appear to be a good way to burn my crappy Avios to go MLA-BCN. (The “Iberia” non-stop is really VY.)
Am I missing anything obvious here?
December 27th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
I am addicted to your website. I hope you can answer this question, since emailing Lufthansa hasn’t yielded a useful response.
I was lucky to get a Lufthansa first class RT SFO to TLV via Frankfurt–sounds like these won’t come up again!
On my return I arrive FRA 8 p.m., leave the next morning at 10 a.m. Will stay over at airport Sheraton which has pretty mediocre services but will do. I would love to stop at the FCL before going to hotel and have a nice dinner and use wifi. I will have my boarding pass for the next morning. Do you think they will let me do that?
Thanks for all the fascinating posts!
December 28th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Arthur Yu said,
Hi Lucky,
Hoping you can offer your insight. My co-worker and I are both United 1K and we have a few SWUs that will be expiring at the end of January. Reading through Flyertalk there were some individuals who suggested donating them to our traveling military men/women. We thought that was a great idea and we’d like to try and set that up, but besides actually knowing the name of the person you’re upgrading is there an organization that can help arrange this anonymously or where we can donate the SWUs to?
Thanks,
Art
December 28th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Oscar said,
Hi Lucky
I’m planning to go to Australia next year and I just wanted to know from which U.S. city is cheaper to fly to Australia. LAX, SFO, LAS…. ???
Thanks
December 28th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
lucky said,
@ beltway — You should be able to book that through US if you wanted to. You don’t actually have to fly to the hub on the airline with a hub there, but rather only need to have a stopover in that hub. So you could fly Lufthansa to Barcelona if you wanted to, and then continue to Malta.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
lucky said,
@ margaret — Thanks for reading! Unfortunately there’s no way they’ll allow that as they require a same day departure, and they’re very strict about that.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
lucky said,
@ Arthur — Very nice thought on your part! I wish there was an easy way to do it, but short of actually showing up at the airport and finding someone to upgrade (not to mention their flight has to have upgrade space available and be in an eligible fare class), that’s not really possible.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I can’t really say that one city in particular has cheaper fares than others. Once you have your dates narrowed down, I suggest doing a search for the various cities to see which is cheapest.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Daniel said,
Hi Ben,
Looking to spend 92.5k United miles on a trip to Asia out of ORD – 60k there in business through Europe (with a stopover) and 32.5k back in economy. Any recommendations on how to plan this for the best flight experiences? I was thinking ORD-ZRH on Swiss, then ZRH-SIN on Singapore, but does Singapore ever release business award space on A380? What about the way back – who has the best transpacific Y product? Any better ways to route / plan this? Planning to book as far in advance as possible.
Thanks!
December 28th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Loma said,
Hi Lucky,
Here’s a customer service question about AA. I traveled DFW-LAX-HKG-MNL-HKG-SFO-DFW in November 2011. I booked it over the phone and I believe it was on the Platinum reservations number.
The big problem is, the agent booked me on a Cathay Pacific flight number for the flights to HKG and MNL instead of an AA flight number, when she in fact told me that I was booked on AA and that I should get miles for all my flight segments.
I realize this and take care of it over the phone after I’ve done all my travel. I called customer service and they took me to the “highest level” and the most she could give me was 5K bonus miles. I bargained for more concessions and the best they could do was 20K bonus miles.
The bonus miles were posted and after that, they said it was a done deal. “Sorry for the mistake that the agent made”.
Well, with their DEQAA promo (and I recently flew DFW-LHR roundtrip), I think I can qualify for Executive Platinum IF they give me the lost EQMs from that mess the agent put me in for my trip to Asia.
Question: Do you think there’s a chance I could negotiate this with AA? That they’d give me Executive Platinum if they gave me those lost EQMs? What would your advice be?
December 28th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Daniel — Be sure you book that through Continental, since through United you’d have to book the ticket as two one ways, and therefore wouldn’t be allowed a stopover.
That being said, Singapore doesn’t release “new” business class award space, and Swiss doesn’t usually release it in advance. So I suggest aiming for Continental or United on the transatlantic flight (since they have flat beds), and then Asiana or ANA with their new flat bed product for the connecting flight.
Otherwise Swiss does occassionally release business class award space in advance out of Montreal to Zurich, so I would seriously consider that.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
lucky said,
@ Loma — Just to clarify, did you earn any EQMs on the Cathay Pacific flight, or none at all?
December 28th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Loma said,
Lucky, none at all. I only got base miles, bonus miles, and EQMs for DFW-LAX and SFO-DFW. I did call customer service when I got to Manila when I saw that LAX-HKG-MNL miles didn’t post. But they said that it usually takes longer for the long-haul flights to post. And of course, with all the jetlag and travelling, I didn’t have time to further pursue it until I got to DFW and realized the glaring mistake thanks to the codeshared flight and wrong booking code made by the agent!
December 28th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Loma said,
@Lucky, so my flights on Cathay Pacific were essentially Cathay Pacific flights and were thus ineligible for any mile-earning on AA. And this was because the agent booked me on a CX code instead of an AA code, when she told me that everything was on AA. I know that I should have double-checked and known better, BUT, the agent should have just booked me on all AA flight numbers since I was booking through AA anyway! When I called customer service after all travel was complete, they said that they couldn’t anything since all travel had been completed and that the flights were on CX so nothing they could do. But surely they could do something better than 20K bonus miles.
December 28th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Loma — That’s a toughie. I suspect they won’t budge since they’re usually pretty strict about not crediting miles in those instances. It’s unfortunate, but just a guess. In your shoes I would take a last minute mileage run as it’s well worth it for the added perks.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:26 am
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
This is a huge advance planning question, but I want to get the best chance at a comfortable flight, ideally 1st class but Business is OK My husband and I want to go to Manado (indonesia) in March 2013. Right now we’ve both got 200K/mileage plus miles thanks to the sapphire/ink bold credit cards we just got. We put everything on cards so we should have another 50K or more by May when flights available.
On United site they only list reward flights to Singapore–interestingly, First Class is 320K and Business is 300K. According to Kayak, Singapore flies SFO to Manado in partnership with Silk Air. It’s only 3.5 hrs Singapore to Manado so we don’t care about class, but if we have to pay for the flight it’s about $500 RT (The economy fare from SFO is $1200 RT–go figure)
So what would be the best strategy? I am assuming that we have to go United–I know getting SFO-SIN won’t happen. But is there any alternative to 320K miles?
December 29th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Oscar said,
My Travel dates Are from August and coming back December. I know that buying your ticket 11 months earlier doesn’t means you will get the cheapest rate. When would it be the best time to buy my tickets ?
December 29th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Loma said,
Thanks, Lucky. Too late to mileage run now, but I guess I’ll charge this very bad mistake to experience! Can’t make the same mistake twice now.
December 30th, 2011 at 2:14 am
lucky said,
@ margaret — United’s website will only show you awards for their flights and flights on a few of their partners. If you call you should get much better availability, in business class for 120,000 miles per person roundtrip, or in first class for 140,000 miles roundtrip. That being said, you can’t use United miles for travel on SilkAir.
December 30th, 2011 at 2:15 am
lucky said,
@ Oscar — I wish there were a good answer, though prices are constantly fluctuating so it’s tough to say. It could be cheapest 11 months out, or it could be cheapest two weeks before departure. All I can recommend is to lock in the ticket when the price is one that you think is reasonable and one you’re willing to pay.
December 30th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Michelle said,
Would you mind sharing a copy of your powerpoint presentation? Enjoying your site.
December 31st, 2011 at 1:10 pm
mike said,
Car storage ideas? If you are going on an extended trip should you disconnect the battery of your car so it doesn’t die? How long can a car last without starting it?
I am thinking it is better to take a taxi to the airport so I don’t have to pay the daily parking rate.
December 31st, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Oscar said,
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m kind of lost in prices for Australia.
I don’t know what is an average for an economy ticket, do u happen to know this?
Cheapest tickets are 1400 USD on Air Pacific, with a stop on Fiji, Qantas and Air New Zealand both cost 1650 USD.
And I remember just 2 years ago tickets were 800 USD on United.
December 31st, 2011 at 4:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Michelle — Feel free to email me if you’d like one.
December 31st, 2011 at 4:29 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — I wish I could help, though unfortunately that’s completely outside my area of expertise!
December 31st, 2011 at 4:29 pm
lucky said,
@ Oscar — What time of year are you traveling?
January 1st, 2012 at 10:48 am
Tiffani said,
hi, is anyone else not seeing rollover MQM on Delta? I logged in this morning and none of them had rolled over. I should have about 21,000!
January 1st, 2012 at 10:54 am
Tiffani said,
never mind… just called Delta and they said all the rollovers don’t happen at the same time as the year and they should be in our account around the 5th or 6th. Pfew!
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:39 am
Tom Pearsall said,
Where do I find information on co-terminals for specific airline?
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:58 am
lucky said,
@ Tom — They’re usually listed in the fare rules for a given routing/city pair.
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Chris said,
I think this comment was lost in the Christmas Comment debacle.
I was (seemingly targeted) sent a mailer from Amex for a 30% bonus transfer of MR points. Which would cost 61,538 MR points for an Upper Class ticket NYC-LHR. Are there any other avenues which would make this a deal a wash, or should I jump on it?
Could you also add a “Jump to the bottom” link at the top of this page?
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Steven said,
Hi Lucky,
I was interested in making a reservation through UA from Hawaii to Asia and was wondering if it’s possible to travel via the Atlantic as there is a published MPM for this routing. Also, when I called to make a reservation from HNL-CDG via NRT, I was told I could not route via Asia. Is this correct?
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Mike said,
so the chase saphire has no foreign transaction fee…sounds good but is it? Do they give you a competitive fx conversion rate or do they just make up for the no-fee with a lousy rate? Any info on that? thanks homey-
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:26 pm
lucky said,
@ Chris — Sorry I missed your question originally. Is the transfer bonus for Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club? If so I’d avoid the transfer, since they impose fuel surcharges on award tickets. So you’d end up paying about $800 in addition to the miles, which makes that a not-so-great deal, in my opinion.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:30 pm
lucky said,
@ Steven — You should be able to go from Hawaii to Europe via Asia (Lufthansa publishes a fare with a reasonable MPM), though you can’t technically go from the US to Europe via Asia.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Mike — I’ve found their conversion rates to be the actual exchange rate, or at the very least extremely close. It’s definitely not a gimmick.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
jayy said,
I manage FF programs for several family members and was wondering if any of the transfer programs (Ultimate Rewards, AMEX, or SPG) require the receiving account to match the cardholder’s name? Or can you ‘gift’ the points to anyone? Also, what are the usual transfer fees? Any good resources you can point me to comparing these details would be very helpful. Also, will Ultimate points transfer to United once the merger closes (I understand you can transfer to Onepass right now).
January 5th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
JT said,
Lucky,
What’s the most efficient route from ORD to JNB with the best first/business class product? Using a revenue ticket, work is paying…
Thanks!
January 7th, 2012 at 1:20 am
Sarah said,
I booked a ticket on AA.com with this routing DFW-ORD-CDG and returing with CDG-LHR-DFW. My eVIPs cleared both ways but when the return cleared, the agent asked for my credit card info to pay for the paris luxury tax. It was $90 extra but I thought that since I am flying on a BA operated AA codeshare on CDG-LHR, would I not have to pay for the luxury tax since that segment is in coach? I am a connecting passenger through LHR so the UK APD would not apply. Any ideas?
January 7th, 2012 at 4:25 am
lucky said,
@ jayy — That’s a great question. Let me answer it in the form of a blog post, since I think a lot of people would benefit from it. The only thing I’ll answer here is that Ultimate Rewards points can actually already be transferred to United miles as of a few months ago.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:26 am
lucky said,
@ JT — If you’re looking for business class and not looking to upgrade to first class, Id say Delta through Atlanta isn’t a bad option since it allows you an uninterrupted night of sleep and they have flat beds. Otherwise I would consider South African through Dulles or Virgin Atlantic through London, as I like their Upper Class and Clubhouse products.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:28 am
lucky said,
@ Sarah — My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that the Paris luxury tax isn’t necessarily based on the class of service you fly out of Paris, but rather the class of service for the longest segment on that direction of the itinerary. It sucks, but unfortunately I think there’s no way around it.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:39 am
abc said,
Lucky,
I love to read the FF/travel tips and reports in your blog. However, as I am based in Europe, I cannot apply most of your advise. Do you know of any sites/blogs aimed at Europe-based travellers or even have some tips yourself?
January 7th, 2012 at 10:47 am
lucky said,
@ abc — While there are plenty of great frequent flyer blogs written by Europeans (including several on Boarding Area), based on what I’ve seen they’re more travel centric as opposed to deal centric. There just aren’t as many deals for non-US based frequent flyers, at least when it comes to credit cards. Other than that, you can still take advantage of a lot of the deals posted here as a European, including discounts on purchased miles, transfer miles promotions, etc. Thanks for reading!
January 7th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Phil said,
I know this is a totally beginner question, but I need help from somewhere. My girlfriend and I are considering getting married/honeymoon in Summer 2013. We have discussed having a honeymoon in Bora Bora. I was hoping we could use frequent flier points to get first class (from NYC) there. We obviously have a long time. Neither of us travels that often, but we spend a lot on CC’s. What Card/Airline should we go with? I figure if we start now we have plenty of time. I have about 100k skymiles with Delta but have recently learned that they don’t do First Class International via points. Again sorry for the beginner question.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Phil — Unfortunately there’s no way to use miles for first class to Tahiti. The only two airlines that fly there nonstop from the mainland are Air France and Air Tahiti Nui. Air France doesn’t have a first class product, while Air Tahiti Nui no longer offers first class awards. It used to be possible to use American miles for Air Tahiti Nui first class, though not anymore.
So you’re actually fairly well positioned with your Delta miles for a business class award, though. Just build your balance to 150,000 SkyMiles each and you’ll have enough to cover the flights.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Phil said,
Lucky, thanks so much for your help.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
RKToledo said,
Lucky,
I can book today a business class award on LH with routing of N. America gateway-FRA-NRT. Flights will be in September. Which airline (UA,CO,US) should I book this award if I plan on monitoring First Class availability & making change per segment as 1st class awards are opened? I don’t have status. Thanks,
January 8th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Ricardo said,
Lucky
I’ve been reading your blog and it’s great but I’m in a situation right now.
I need to go to Houston and all the tickets are over 450 USD
I found a great deal and I have two options:
Fly MEX to IAH to LAX
return IAH-MEX
Will my return flight get cancelled?
Or should I try the less suspicious
MEX-LAX-MEX (both with a stop in IAH)
I know that this is called an throwaway ticket but what kind of problems can I get?
January 9th, 2012 at 6:48 am
lucky said,
@ RKToledo — Well US Airways is the cheapest at 120,000 miles, though they don’t allow changes after departure and also have the highest change fees. So if the goal is to minimize the cost of changes, definitely go with Continental. They’ll let you make free changes up until 21 days before departure, and after that it’s only $75 per change.
January 9th, 2012 at 6:52 am
lucky said,
@ Ricardo — If you skip a segment on an itinerary, your onward segments will be canceled. So if you find a way to book MEX-IAH-LAX as a one-way, and then IAH-MEX as a one way, you should be fine. But if it’s all on one ticket your onward segments would be canceled.
January 9th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Purewater said,
Lucky, What’s the best website(s) to track all of your airline/hotel points? I think you’ve mentioned one of these before, they send out an alert prior to your points expiring.
Thanks!
January 9th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Get Gowing said,
Do you know from your Chase contacts if the current Sapphire Preferred signup bonus & bonus spend threshold is going to change anytime in the foreseeable future?
January 9th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Purewater — I like awardwallet.com.
January 9th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Get Gowing — I haven’t heard anything one way or another, but then again, if it does changes I doubt we’d get much advance notice.
January 9th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Purewater said,
Thanks Lucky…btw, just got approved for the Chase Ink card thru your link. They called me up for a little interview prior to approval, so people going for the bogus sole proprietor designation might run into some problems. Anyhow, hope you made some serious $$ off my card!
January 9th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
lucky said,
@ PUrewater — Thanks very much, I really appreciate it! And thanks for the heads up regarding the “interview.” If I can ever be of assistance with anything, please let me know.
January 10th, 2012 at 11:07 am
Naif said,
Hi Lucky,
I have around 7500 miles in my AAdvantage account, as I usually fly Delta and United. I was just wondering if I could use these miles as AA requires min. 25000 miles to trade them on points.com… Any suggestions?
January 10th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Dave said,
Hey Lucky,
Due to the Mileage Plus one-time lifetime mileage adjustment my partner has now achieved million mile status with United. He also currently has 1-K status. As his designated significant other what are the implications for my status. I am currently Premier Exec and have several mileage runs planned in the future. Are they still necessary?
Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
AlohaStephen said,
Hi Ben!
What cc did you start off with as a college student? I want to get my brother(who is a soph in college) started.
Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
lucky said,
@ Naif — No easy way to transfer them, though if you get another 5,000 miles you’ll have enough for a one way domestic coach ticket. Do you live in the US? If so, you could dine at some AAdvantage dining restaurants or sign up for a credit card to (more than) make up for the remaining miles.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Dave — Congrats to your partner! You’ll also get 1K status, though won’t get the SWUs/CR1s he gets. So if you think it’s worthwhile to mileage run for those then go for it, though you’ll get 1K upgrade priority/fee waivers/mileage bonuses/etc. either way.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
lucky said,
@ AlohaStephen — That’s a good question. I believe it was a student Discover card. I had a $1,000 credit line, if I recall correctly. I spent about $250 on the card per month for six months, and then started getting approved for the “big league” cards. During my first churn I got the Starwood American Express, a Continental Mastercard, and two AAdvantage cards. The rest is history.
Good luck to your brother!
January 11th, 2012 at 8:20 am
Jim said,
With all your AA flying are you abandoning United? Or will you still find time this year to requalify for 1K?
January 11th, 2012 at 8:30 am
lucky said,
@ Jim — I’m all American now.
January 11th, 2012 at 9:05 am
David Moye said,
With the 60k United Explorer card and the 50k Chase Sapphire cards currently both being offered, is it likely to apply for both and get approvals on the same day? If not, then how long should the wait between them be? And, now that the Sapphire is limited-time as well, which should come first?
Thanks!
January 11th, 2012 at 9:29 am
lucky said,
@ David — Chase is so hit or miss that it really is tough to say. Typically they’ll only approve one at a time, though if you have existing credit lines with them, you can often talk them into switching one of your existing credit lines onto a new card. That being said, generally I think the best strategy is to apply for one, be approved for it, and then apply for another, because if you apply for both at once they’ll likely both be rejected (Chase seems to do fewer instant approvals than in the past). They used to have a six month rule for waiting between cards, many thought it was three months, and now it’s all over the place.
So I’d probably wait a month or two between applications for the best shot at approval. Chase is one of the few card issuers where you can still usually talk a human into approving you for a card.
As far as which should come first, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a 53,500 mile sign-up bonus (when you factor in the 7% annual points dividend), so you’d be getting 6,500 more miles by going with the Explorer card.
Perhaps I’m biased, but I still think the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a better deal, because it’s a card you’ll actually want to use for every day purchases, unlike the Explorer card, between the 7% annual points dividend, double points on dining and all travel, and no foreign transaction fees. So while the United Explorer card is a nice card to sign-up for and put in your sock drawer, I think the Sapphire Preferred is a better combination of great sign-up bonus with great ability to earn points with everyday spend.
Just my two cents…
January 11th, 2012 at 9:59 am
David Moye said,
Thanks for the thoughtful (and quick!) answer. I’ll use your link for my application.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:01 am
lucky said,
@ David — Thanks very much! Let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
January 11th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Despina said,
Happy New Year Ben! I wanted to refer you to some friends but the entries concerning Brownell Travel seem to have disappeared, or am I just blind? I thought you had a link up top to your travel agency business. Thanks.
January 11th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Ron said,
Ben,
Are their any routes in particular that have been getting the new Lufthansa 747 first class?
Any other way to tell if my flight will have it?
January 11th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Heels05 said,
If I arrive FRA in LH F but depart TG F, do I have access to the First Class Terminal? And more importantly, would they drive me to my non LH plane?
Thanks!
January 11th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
kcre said,
Lucky,
Have you noticed the dreadful coach inventory on AA for this summer? It’s Delta-esque. For example, from Chicago to LAX/SFO/SEA/PDX, there are stretches months long without a single seat available. Is this a recent glitch, or has AA domestic coach availability really fallen apart so much?
January 12th, 2012 at 3:21 am
TG said,
Hi Lucky, I stumbled on your post on TravelSort about ‘How to Find An Award Space on Star Alliance’. In the article you mentioned that one can use Continental’s online tool to look for availability of award space. Say for example if the flight from LAX to VCE on first class costs 100,000 Miles. Does 100,000 refer to the miles from Continental Frequent Flyer Porgram? Say If I’m on KrisFlyer Program (Singapore Airline), would I be charged similar 100,000 miles as shown on Continental’s website?
January 12th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
ricardo said,
lucky, how does award availability look on LAN using AAdvantage miles? looking to fly to south america in may…maybe argentina & chile using a stopover?
January 12th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
lucky said,
@ Despina — Happy new year to you as well! I’ll be sending you an email shortly.
January 12th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
lucky said,
@ Ron — There sure are! See this FlyerTalk post: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17773011-post1482.html
January 12th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Heels05 — You would have access to the Lufthansa First Class Lounge, though not First Class Terminal, assuming your travel is on the same day (though there would be no car transfer). The reason you would have access isn’t because you’re departing in Star Alliance first class, but rather because you arrived same day in Lufthansa first class.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
lucky said,
@ kcre — Historically American is one of the most generous airlines when it comes to award availability on their own flights. That being said, I’ve noticed the same trend as of late, and it’s not exclusive to domestic coach inventory. International award inventory is also worse than ever before. So you’re absolutely right, and I suspect this is a combination of American focusing on selling seats (given that they’re in Chapter 11) and also that they may have capacity cuts, so don’t want to “give away” too many award seats in advance. Very frustrating!
January 12th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
lucky said,
@ TG — When you look at the cost of an award on Continental’s website, that would be the price in Continental miles. Each airline has different award costs, even for the same flights. So you’d want to check directly with Kris Flyer to see how much they would charge for the same award, as it could be drastically different.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
lucky said,
@ ricardo — LAN generally has excellent award availability, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding space. Just keep in mind that if you book a partner award you won’t be allowed free stopovers. You could try to book a OneWorld award so that you would be allowed free stopovers, though would need at least two OneWorld carriers on the award, and the redemption levels could also be higher.
January 13th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Steven said,
Given the rumors that AA may be acquired by US Air or Delta, should I do my best to use up all my AA miles, especially if I want to use them for oneworld awards?
Thanks
January 13th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky,
I would like to know the rules for partner aielines’ lounge use. For example, if I am flying United first, can I use the first class lounge of United’s partner airlines? How about the arrival lounge? I would appreciate your sharing your knowlegde.
January 13th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
yerffej201 said,
Hi Lucky,
What’s the lowest miles that are required for a QF A380 First Class from Mel-Sin-Lhr from all the OW FF programs?
January 14th, 2012 at 1:34 am
lucky said,
@ Steven — Admittedly I’m no expert in the field of M&A, though I can’t imagine this’ll go through. I’d say with 99.9% certainty that this won’t happen and you can continue to use your American miles for One World awards. Don’t worry!
January 14th, 2012 at 1:36 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — While arrivals lounges are typically only for passengers of the airline operating the flight, you can use any Star Alliance first class lounge (with the exception of Lufthansa and Swiss) at your transoceanic gateway when flying first class on a Star Alliance carrier. So if you fly United first out of Tokyo you can use the ANA first class lounge, if you fly Lufthansa first class out of Bangkok you can use the first class lounge, etc. Hope that helps.
January 14th, 2012 at 1:37 am
lucky said,
yerffej201 — Definitely American at 80,000 miles for first class one-way.
January 14th, 2012 at 1:56 am
George Ibrahim said,
Hey Lucky,
I will be flying first class from DC to Frankfurt on Luftansa. That should me eligible to use the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge, but not the First Class Terminal, right? I’ll be flying to Beirut, Lebanon on Middle East Airlines Business class, and wondering what lounges I can access while in Frankfurt.
January 14th, 2012 at 9:38 am
lucky said,
@ George — You can actually use the First Class Lounge (though not the First Class Terminal). The FCLs can be used as arrival lounges, though it may require switching terminals and clearing security one extra time, depending on where you arrive/leave from. Well worth it and much better than the Welcome Lounge, in my opinion.
January 14th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
I’m using stickers to upgrade a flight on AA, and I noticed that the upgrade still has not cleared (Plat/72 hour window) although there are 4 seats in J.
Is it fair to say that AA is not yet clearing these seats in case they can sell them? I thought the upgrade would clear as long as a J seat was available 72 hours in advance.
Thanks in advance for the clarification.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
beth said,
Well I found tickets through Continental and their partners to get SAT-DXB-DUB-SAT for both of us with some change thrown in for taxes, question is how am I supposed to transfer Amex points to Continental? Is there a loophole somewhere I’m missing?
January 15th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Mantini said,
LH flies FRA-LCY (operated by LH CL), but I can’t search it on CO.com, because “no CO partners operate this route with a CO flight number”.
Is it impossible to book through CO at all, or just on their website? Any thoughts?
January 16th, 2012 at 12:19 am
Danny said,
Ben,
Ive started using Top Guest in the last couple of weeks, for the hotel programs when will I see the points post to my account?
Thanks
January 16th, 2012 at 3:03 am
Andres said,
Hey lucky,
I made a post a few months ago asking about a beginners webpage. Comment # 1076
How far have you progressed?
Thank you
January 16th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Confused by Delta said,
Hi Lucky,
There seem to be conflicting reports as to whether or not you can do an open jaw AND a stopover on a Delta award flight. ThePointsGuy reports that you can do it, though Delta doesn’t officially recognize it, while others say it’s not possible.
What’s your experience in the matter? If I’m looking to book flights to Europe from NA in May should I try for both? Or just do an open jaw and call it a day?
Thanks!
January 16th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Jason — That’s correct. American (like most airlines) holds back seats until closer to departure in case anyone still wants to purchase them). They won’t let business class seats go out empty if there’s still an upgrade list, but it might only clear at the gate. Good luck!
January 16th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Mantini — That’s just a website glitch. You can book those seats by calling.
January 16th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Priority Club typically posts next day, in my experience. Are your Top Guest, Four Square, and loyalty program accounts all properly linked?
January 16th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Andres — It’s a big task, and frankly I haven’t gotten all that deep into it yet. Will work on it as soon as possible, though, I promise.
January 16th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Confused by Delta — The rules don’t say you can, though in practice you can. So yes, open jaw and stopover is fine.
January 16th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Danny said,
If you mean properly, that theyball have the same email address. Than no. While four square and my loyaity program share the same email address, too guest uses another. But on the top guest site my rewarda number are all correct.
Thanks
January 16th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Mantini said,
Thank you!
January 17th, 2012 at 2:07 am
margaret said,
Hi Lucky,
I have to fly RT SFO to Minneapolis. I have United Mileage Plus–but according to Kayak, the United flight if booked through US Air, is about $125 cheaper! am I missing something here?
January 17th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Confused by Delta said,
Thanks a bunch!
January 17th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Yuliya said,
Hi Lucky,
I am very happy to learn about your blog I am new to the mileage concept.
I have about 105,000 avios points (mostly came with the credit card promotion). I would like to use them for Europe so I tried using ba website but it seems that taxes/surcharges are higher than the actual ticket.
Thank you so much for your help.
Yuliya
January 17th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — Which programs are you trying to accrue points with?
January 17th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
lucky said,
@ margaret — Nope, this is fairly common, believe it or not. Often times a codeshare flight will be cheaper than if you booked the flight directly with the operating airline. I’ll never claim to understand airline pricing.
January 17th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
lucky said,
@ Yuliya — Unfortunately British Airways imposes crazy fuel surcharges on award redemptions, and as you note, for economy redemptions they can be almost as much as the ticket cost. The key is to either book first or business class, where it becomes a comparatively better value, or use your Avios points to travel to another region (like South America, domestic, etc.) where there are no fuel surcharges.
January 17th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Jim said,
What is the best way to get from CDG to the Vendome?
January 17th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
I have close to 175 K American Airline miles and I primary fly to Taiwan for vacation. However, it is always very hard to find any available seats in the business class using aa miles for flying Japan Airline. I usually fly from Austin, Texas. Any suggestion on how I can search the award ability better than just calling the agents? I don’t mind routing through different city as long as they are in business class seats. Thank!
January 17th, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Danny said,
@lucky
Beat Westwrn, United, and Priority Club.
January 18th, 2012 at 5:36 am
lucky said,
@ Danny — In that case I would follow up with Top Guest customer service, because at the very least Priority Club points should be posting almost daily.
January 18th, 2012 at 9:01 am
mike said,
I read in few places that when booking a trip, book it by doing two
one ways. Then on the return flight, add another stop to get a free
one way destination. For example, since Im in NY and if i wanted to
go to LOndon, I would book one way AA rewards from ny to lon. Return
flight lon-nyc(stop)-hawaii.
Where I can continue to hawaii days, weeks or months later. How do I
do that? If I book lon-nyc(stop)-hawaii, do I use the same amount of
miles as if I was booking lon-nyc? Can this also be done when paying
with cash? Which other airline offers this option?
Mike
January 18th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
alex said,
Hey Lucky,
Here’s a question: When booking FH&R, how do I add my rewards program number to the reservation? Do I have to call every time?
January 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
lucky said,
@ mike — You would have to book it by calling American, and tell them you want to return from London to Hawaii with a stopover in New York (it can be a day or several months — the ticket has to just be used within a year of the date of issue). The cost in miles would be the same.
If paying in cash the cost would be different since you’d be paying for the portions of the trip individually. Other airlines allow stopovers, though many price Hawaii as a different region than the rest of North America.
January 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
lucky said,
@ alex — You would have to call Starwood every time (and sometimes the hotel directly).
January 18th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Thomas said,
Lucky,
The reviews I have seen of the Business class seat on the Qantas 747 used on the DFW-SYD route have been poor (maybe an old 8 degree seat?). I read that Qantas was planning on upgrading 747 interiors to what is now on the A380. Do you know if this particular 747 that flies DFW-SYD will be included in that upgrade and, if so, when the updates will occur?
Given the length of the DFW-SYD route, I read that this is a special kind of 747 that they don’t have many of in their fleet, and so I didn’t know if the updates would apply to it.
Thanks so much.
January 18th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Andy said,
Lucky — I am a 3rd year Continental OnePass Gold member at about the 65k mile mark each year. I seemed to get upgraded often prior to the CO/UA merge, but the last 6 months they have been non existent with 8 people upgraded and I’m number 10 on the standby list. Have you heard about this happening to others? Is it just because the pool of passengers is that much larger now? Since I do not live near a hub (SYR is home) do you suggest an airline with fewer Gold level members that upgrades may become more readily available? Apologies of someone has already asked this above, I scanned it for an already posted answer but gave up with the volume of email traffic. Kudos to you for your effort here. Just followed you on Twitter too.
January 19th, 2012 at 7:20 am
alex said,
Okay one more– What is the most luxurious US Air first class product to Europe? Is there a good one?(I’m asking because i’m considering buying up to chairmans.)
January 19th, 2012 at 11:03 am
lucky said,
@ Thomas — Hmmm, I haven’t flown Qantas 747 business class, though to the best of my knowledge the seats are fully flat. One interesting thing about the flight is that it has a first class cabin, though they don’t sell any first class seats. So if you’re a One World Emerald they’ll usually let you sit in one of the first class seats with business class service. But I’ve heard fairly good things about the product, so I wouldn’t be too worried.
January 19th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Randall said,
Hi Lucky, Do you know any reward malls that give points for Amazon purchases? I used to use US Airways for that, but Amazon disappeared.
Thanks
Randall
January 19th, 2012 at 11:19 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — That’s a great question. Upgrade percentages seem to have consistently gone down for elite members since the merger, so you’re not alone, if that makes you feel any better. If Delta meets your travel plans just as well you may find you have a better upgrade percentage on them, though their miles are much less valuable than United’s. American will make you purchase “stickers” if you always want to be upgraded, so they’re not that competitive of a program either in your shoes.
What I would do is go for Platinum. Figure out a way to fly an extra 10,000 miles, and you’ll find your upgrade percentage will go way up, not to mention you’ll earn more miles for flying. I think it’s well worth it to maintain any sort of a reasonable upgrade percentage.
Sorry, wish I had a better answer!
January 19th, 2012 at 11:20 am
lucky said,
@ alex — You’ll want to fly the A330-200, which features their new Envoy Suites. It can frequently be found on their flights to London, Paris, Munich, and sometimes Rome, so definitely shoot for that.
January 19th, 2012 at 11:21 am
lucky said,
@ Randall — Hawaiian still does, as far as I know. Not my favorite points currency, but it’s something at least.
January 19th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
ALinet said,
Hi Lucky,
I was wondering if you could write a post on the benefits of Alaska credit card and mileage program…I see a lot of pros tout it, but I can’t find much written about it.
Thanks!
January 19th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
Neil said,
Hi Lucky,
Just wondering if you seen my question above?? Thanks!
January 20th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I had posted here a few weeks ago about being on a first class itinerary (IAD-FRA-NRT-BKK-MNL) but being business class on Lufthansa from FRA to NRT. You said I would be allowed into the Lufthansa first class lounge, but will I be able to access the Lufthansa First Class TERMINAL? Thanks for your help!
January 20th, 2012 at 9:38 am
jana said,
If I get the Chase Saphire, can I transfer my points to marriott and then southwest to count towards getting a companion pass for the year?
January 20th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Ken said,
Ben,
Any suggestions for trying to get bumps during this weekend’s snowstorm? i’ve got a MR ORD-SFO tonight and a redeye return, and i’m doubtful that i won’t be delayed/cancelled. How do I check to see how full a flight is, again? expertflyer?
January 20th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
lucky said,
@ ALinet — Putting it near the top of my “to do” list, as I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it lately. Thanks for the suggestion!
January 20th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
lucky said,
@ Neil — Whoops, sorry I missed your question! JAL actually has pretty good award space out of their North American gateways, so I’m surprised you’re having trouble. I suspect you’re dealing with less than competent agents, so I would search for space on your own using the procedures I presented here:
http://travelsort.com/blog/how-to-find-oneworld-award-space
January 20th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Assuming you’re arriving in first class on Lufthansa same day and connecting on Lufthansa, absolutely.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
lucky said,
@ jana — Absolutely, once you transfer the points to Marriott they’re just like any other Marriott points, and can then be transferred to Southwest.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Ken — Just get to the gate early and be nice to the gate agent. If you use ExpertFlyer you can see how many seats American is still selling. If they aren’t selling any more seats it doesn’t mean they’re oversold, but it means there’s a good chance they are. Alternatively you can check aa.com and do a “dummy booking,” and see how many seats they would let you book on your flight.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Ally said,
Hi Lucky,
What is the best award redemption for travel to Moscow?
January 20th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Ally — It depends where you’re originating, what class you want to fly in, and where you have miles.
January 20th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Dan said,
Hi Lucky, I’m planning to apply for the chase sapphire preferred card (definitely through your referral link) and was wondering whats the best airline program to transfer the bonus miles to? I fly BA a lot and often use it to redeem cathay miles, but now that avios is devalued, whats a good program to redeem cathy business class? I have some miles with continental too so would they be good for US-Asia in business on other carriers as i usually go there for vacations. thanks.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — I’d say that transferring to Continental is the way to go for the most part. There you can go from the US to Asia via Europe for 120,000 miles in business class or 140,000 miles in first class, with a stopover and open jaw along the way. British Airways Avios points have been devalued so much that except in rare circumstances (which I outlined today in a post) it’s not worth transferring to them anymore.
But Continental leaves you with so many awesome partners that you really can’t go wrong with them.
Otherwise have you considered transferring to Hyatt? They have some spectacular hotels in Asia, so this is a case where transferring to hotel points might make a lot of sense.
I also love Virgin Atlantic, so if you transfer points before the deadline next month you can still book for travel on them through Continental.
Thanks for considering using my link, I really appreciate it! Let me know if you have any other questions.
January 20th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Enri said,
Hi Ben- I stumbled across your site over a year ago and I have been hooked ever since. There are many sites that do trip reports from frequent travelers, but none have the quality of your trip reports. Congrats.
Tha question I had for you is I wanted to see if you thought that a business class trip to South East Asia was possible at all (or a pipe dream) with 103K Avios points that I have, plus 75K Aadvantage miles that my wife has, in addition to 60K SPG points that I have.
Thanks Ben!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Megan said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m arriving on United (first class) and then departing Lufthansa (business) same day. I guess I’ll just have to stick with the lounges instead of the FCT? Thanks for you help!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
lucky said,
@ Enri — Thanks so much for reading! You’re almost there. If you convert those SPG points to American you’ll have another 75,000 American miles, for a total of 150,000 American miles. American charges 55,000 one-way for business class to Southeast Asia, so you’d be just 15,000 miles short of that third one-way. Then for the fourth one-way you have more than enough British Airways miles.
Have you considered having your wife apply for a Starwood card, or applying for an AAdvantage card or two? If you do, you may very well have enough miles for two first class tickets.
Safe travels!
January 20th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
lucky said,
@ Megan — Actually you won’t have first class lounge access, then. You’d only have access to the Senator Lounge, since Lufthansa restricts access to their first class lounges to passengers traveling on Lufthansa metal in first class.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:55 am
Sean said,
Hey Lucky, do you know how available are travel reward cards for people with little or no credit history? I’m a college freshman and aspiring FFer, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to get any of the lucrative credot cards younreconmend. Any advice? Thanks
January 21st, 2012 at 9:09 pm
David said,
Hi Ben, I read your Travelsort article re: Maximizing AA Miles and have a question: When searching LAN’s site for award availability using your R/T business class example for 100k AA miles, how do you know if the amount of LAN kilometers required for each segment will equate to the 50k AA one way business saver fare or the 100k one way business anytime fare?
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:19 am
Michael said,
Hey Ben,
Looking to go to Buenos Aires in May with the girlfriend. Currently have combined about 150k CO miles, 75k AA miles and 400k MR points (plus 35k SPG). So far seems could get business class down and first class back on United (for 117.5k CO miles for one and 135k Aeroplan for the other via MR); AA first seems to be 130k RT. In your opinion was is the best series of maneuvers to get best quality at the lowest price, assuming availability of course?
Thanks a ton.
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:20 am
Michael said,
Should note we are coming from NYC.
January 22nd, 2012 at 5:39 am
n/a said,
Lucky,
Consider the following for a future post here or at Travelsort (if you haven’t already):
I think many casual frequent flyers who follow this hobby often go out of their way to avoid Skyteam-related flight options, because of the poor reputation of Delta’s program compared to our Oneworld and Star options.
But it’s important to have one mileage program account at the ready in Skyteam for a potential flight with that alliance. With that in mind, is Delta really the best option for both the frequent business flyer and the casual vacation flyer? I’d appreciate if you could analyze the Skyteam options, and tell us which program you think is best for each of these two profiles of miles collector. Consider they’d value different things. The biz traveler would likely value the chance to earn status with a Skyteam airline above all else, while the casual flyer likely has no chance to get status because they don’t fly enough. I think the casual values a program where miles won’t easily expire, one with the lowest redemption prices possible, one with the fewest variables to hassle over with redemption (i.e. higher redemption rates during different seasons, a difficult web site, etc.)
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:27 pm
LizM said,
Lucky, saw you speak in Chicago. Really appreciated all your hard work! Here is my question. I got the spg Amex biz card. Got my 10000 sign up and my 15000 spend bonus. We (party of 4, 2 rooms) stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki.
12/21-12/24 on cash and pts, 2 reservations, one mine and one my boyfriend.
And 12/24-12/28, 2 reservations, both my boyfriend.
Here is the actual question…
I used my spg card to pay for my res (1rm) 12/21-24 AND BOTH 12/24-28 rooms.
I figured I would get spg points for using my card to pay those bills.
It looks like I did in my spg acct for my 12/21 stay but I got nothing for using my card for the other bills (and they were big!) but since I am brand new to spg Amex I didn’t know if it just takes awhile for the points to post. Thoughts? Words of advice?
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:50 pm
lucky said,
@ Sean — That’s a fantastic question, and I’ll be answering that on the blog shortly.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:51 pm
lucky said,
@ David — I suggest using the BA website, and if LAN space shows up there, it would be bookable through American at the MileSaver level.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — If you’re willing to book by January 31, hands down American first nonstop to Buenos Aires is the way to go. They charge 150,000 miles for first class when booking through British Airways, but there’s currently a 30% transfer bonus from American Express. Therefore you’d only pay 116,000 Membership Rewards points roundtrip for first class to Buenos Aires.
While their service may not be great, the seats are comfortable and they have fairly good bedding, and frankly there’s a lack of good alternatives to South America. So in this instance I’d say it’s a no brainer.
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
lucky said,
@ n/a — Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind for a future post. I’d say that Delta is the best SkyTeam program for both “profiles,” though it would be interesting to analyze.
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:09 pm
lucky said,
@ LizM — Those points would post once your statement closes, as far as I know, and not before. So you have nothing to worry about. The only points you should have already received are for the actual stay (two points per dollar spent or three points if you’re a Gold or Platinum member). The credit card points post once the statement closes.
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:42 am
Beau said,
First – thanks for time / effort in writing this blog. I’ve been reading for a little over a month and have learned a lot searching through the archives – your blog is an invaluable resource.
I currently live in Rome. I’d like to have a trip with my family (me, wife, 4 year old, 1 year old) in October from Italy to Africa. Specifically we’d like to go to Addis Ababa, Harare and Johannesburg. I’m assuming that I’ll need to book the flights through a Star Alliance airline, since there are non-stop flights to/from Addis via Ethiopia Airlines. We’ll also have to be content with economy class as I don’t have very high points balances.
My mileage balances: 30K Starwood, 42k US Airways, 30K Continental, and soon to be 50k Amex and 50k Chase Ultimate Rewards.
It seems that United / Continental don’t allow award redemptions from Europe to Africa – so should I plan on booking through US Airways? (This will also determine which is the next credit card that I apply for.)
I’m a bit new to understanding the nuances of points / travel – does it seem I’m on the right track?
Thanks again!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:21 am
MillValleyMom said,
Do you have a referral link to the Chase Ink Bold card? Would like to apply for a business card.
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:23 am
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — I sure do! If you go to this page, it’s the first card listed under “Business Credit Cards”:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/best-current-credit-card-offers/
I have no way of posting the link directly (apparently it’s not able to track it that way), so thanks very much for considering using my link!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:48 am
MillValleyMom said,
Applied. Happy to give you the referral! Your website is an invaluable resource for me.
January 23rd, 2012 at 2:31 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — You’re awesome, thanks so much! If I can ever be of assistance, let me know please.
January 23rd, 2012 at 2:38 pm
lucky said,
@ Beau — Thanks for the kind words and for reading the blog, I appreciate it! You actually can use United/Continental miles to fly from Europe to Africa. Through United/Continental it would cost you 60,000 miles in coach or 90,000 miles in business class. So based on your present balances, if you transfer points from Ultimate Rewards to Continental and top off your US Airways account with their current promotion, you should have enough points for at least two tickets. Then if you wanted to, you could transfer your American Express points to Aeroplan to have almost enough points for the third ticket.
Alternatively you could get the Chase Ink Bold credit card, which, when added to your present balance and Continental miles, would be enough for that third ticket.
January 24th, 2012 at 5:30 am
A. S. said,
Hi, Lucky,
I am — for the first time ever — looking at Alaska’s Mileage Plan program, due to the impending ability to redeem miles on EK. I noticed that all of their awards charts are between the US and other regions. Do awards that start and end outside of the US therefore require two redemptions (via the US) or are there “hidden” charts that can only be booked by phone? For example, if I wanted to go from South America to the Mideast, would it require a US/South America redemption and another US/Mideast redemption or can I book directly? Or is it even allowed…?
Thanks!
January 24th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Larry said,
Hi Lucky. I’m sure this has been asked before, but my searching is poor. Do you have an opinion on the best *A F product from North America to LON? It looks like my two best options are AC from YYZ or UA from ORD or IAD. The AC flight is on a 333, all of which (I think) are configured with their exec first suites. The UA flights are on 763s, which I think also all have the first suites. Even though the AC flight is a “C” product, I see it gets good reviews. (My return is in F, so I’m paying F miles anyway for the award.) Any thoughts would be much appreciated, especially if I’m overlooking anything. (I want to try US’s envoy suites, but there is no availability.)
January 24th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
lucky said,
@ A.S. — Best I know, unfortunately Alaska’s program is pretty US-centric. I believe they only allow redemptions between select regions, and anything else would require multiple awards.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:43 pm
lucky said,
@ Larry — Air Canada Executive First is really business class. It’s a decent business class product, though definitely not first class (as you note from the coding). So between those two options, United is the obvious choice, since it’s a “real” first class product (not a very good one, but first class is still much better than business class). If you have the time and the availability is there, I would consider flying Lufthansa through Frankfurt or Munich, or Swiss through Zurich or Geneva, as their products are much better.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
chrissiA said,
Hi Lucky.
I’m following your blog for quite a while and I always like your reports!
I’m planning on spending some time in my favorite city in the states – Chicago.
Do you have any recommendations for hotels?? Would be great!
Thanks a lot!
January 24th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Ryan said,
Hey Lucky,
Quick question for you: I am on a once in a lifetime trip with my never-had-a-passport-before dad to Scotland this Aug, and I was able to book LHR-IAD in United F, then IAD-MCO (our destination) in United economy, due to scheduling contraints. I just recently found availability to change this, same day, to LHR-FRA-MCO in Luft business. Would the fees I would pay to change this award ticket down to business class (but on Lufthansa)be worth it in your opinion? I just feel like bus class in Luft and the lounge in FRA would be better than even F in United…also, do you know what the change fee is? $150 a passenger or something?
Thanks,
Ryan
January 24th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
lucky said,
@ chrissiA — Thanks for reading the blog! Do you have any hotel chain allegiance? What’s your budget? Chicago has lots of great hotels.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Larry said,
Thanks Lucky. I’d love to fly LH or LX in F to Europe, but I’m using US miles and flying in October. I’ve barely even been looking, because I thought finding anything in F on either of those airlines was pretty much a no go, so it looks like United is my only real option if I want first class.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Assuming you booked through United, you would need to redeposit the miles and start over, assuming you wanted a mileage refund for the return. The change fee for that would be $150. Otherwise if you don’t want a mileage refund (and at least one other segment is in first class), the change fee would be $75 per person.
Keep in mind that in Frankfurt you’d have access to the Lufthansa Senator lounge if flying United first class, while you’d only have access to the Lufthansa Business lounge if flying business class without status.
That being said, I’d much rather do Lufthansa business class straight to my destination, rather than having to change planes in Washington and fly coach for a two hour flight.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
lucky said,
@ Larry — Indeed, Lufthansa has entirely stopped releasing first class award space in advance for Star Alliance partners. That being said, be sure to check back close to departure, as they may very well open up space then. It would be well worth the $150 change fee, in my opinion.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
chrissiA said,
Thx for your prompt response, you must be pretty busy..
I don’t have any favourite chain. I’m open to almost everything.
Our budget will be around 250-350$/night.
January 24th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Ryan said,
Hey Lucky-Sorry, I guess I didn’t clarify it well enough. At the moment, we have a UA F flight from LHR straight to IAD. Then we’re on an economy flight to MCO. Instead of doing this, we would pay the fees and change it to route through FRA, thus having a non-stop from FRA to MCO in LH C. I feel like that would be a more pleasant experience than the 4 hr layover in IAD plus the 2 1/2 economy flight to MCO afterwards as well, even if we first had a 7 hr UA F flight before then…
Thanks for the quick response btw. I’ve been reading this blog for over 2 years now, it’s the first one on my reader!
January 24th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
Dan Ray said,
I would appreciate your help. I am United 1K/Continental Plat and I have 6 Continental SWU that expire 7/31/12. I simply don’t know how to use them. I would love to do an international mileage run as long as I knew I would be upgraded. Any suggestions. I am in PDX.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Tim said,
Hey Lucky… I just started reading your blog and it really shocked me you started all this while in college. I think it would be great if you did a post on how it all started. What got you into it, how much time you invested, etc… A beginning for other beginners.
Thanks for your great blog.
Tim
January 24th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Mitch said,
Lucky,
For those of us who are Premier Execs on United, when is the date when our bonus miles will be reduced from the current 100% to 50%?
Thanks
January 24th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
lucky said,
@ Ryan — Sorry if my response wasn’t clear, but that’s exactly how I understood it. I think switching to the Lufthansa option the whole way in business class would be a smart move.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan Ray — As long as you book a minimum of a “W” fare you can apply for an upgrade on international flights. To find upgrade space you can either call the 1K desk/Continental Platinum desk, sign up for an ExpertFlyer subscription so you can search yourself, or use the award search tools on continental.com or united.com. It can be tough to confirm upgrades in advance, though if at all possible I recommend doing so, because it wouldn’t be fun to end up in coach on a longhaul flight if you can avoid it.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
lucky said,
@ Tim — Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate it! I’m not sure if this entirely answers your question, but maybe it’s at least a start: http://travelsort.com/blog/flying-first-class-on-a-student-budget-meet-ben-schlappig
Any other specific questions? I’d be happy to make another post explaining aspects of it in detail, if there’s something you’re most interested in.
January 25th, 2012 at 12:00 am
lucky said,
@ Mitch — I believe March 1, 2012, is the big day.
January 25th, 2012 at 12:02 am
lucky said,
@ chrissiA — Hotel prices in Chicago can vary greatly depending on the week/time of year, but if it ends up being within your budget (and they often run specials), I highly recommend either the Park Hyatt or Peninsula. Both are fantastic hotels with great locations.
January 25th, 2012 at 1:32 am
chrissiA said,
thx Lucky!! I will definitely check those out! Keep the reports coming, I’m always looking forward.
January 25th, 2012 at 10:27 am
DougM said,
Lucky,
Do you know the time frame (shed-jewel)for Cathy to release business award space to One-world?
I have AA miles and am trying to get from SAN-MNL. I can get business out on Feb 9, but AA says no business available for return Feb 22 or 23.
Thanks,
Love the Blog – keep up the great work!
January 25th, 2012 at 10:38 am
lucky said,
@ DougM — Thanks for reading! Did you just say shed-jewel? I’m an instant fan!
Cathay Pacific is pretty active with their inventory management, and releases award availability pretty consistently 11 months out. Of course you’re looking at closer to departure, so that doesn’t apply.
Frankly, I see them open up space all the time close to departure, so you’ll want to keep checking back. If the seatmap is pretty wide open there’s a good chance the space will open up, so just check back daily (and you can always check Cathay Pacific award availability online through the British Airways website to make the search a bit easier). But unlike other airlines, I haven’t seen a pattern whereby space opens up X days out.
Good luck and safe travels!
January 25th, 2012 at 11:19 am
MJG said,
Ben,
Ever seen BusinessFirst space available to Micronesia from the U.S. on CO at the SaverPass rate? I can’t find a single date with availability.
-MJG
January 25th, 2012 at 11:22 am
lucky said,
@ MJG — I’ve seen it in the past, though it’s definitely VERY rare. When it opens up, it seems to usually be close to departure.
January 25th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Michael said,
Hey Lucky,
Does AF see all of DL’s low award space? I’m see seats for the low award pricing on DL.com, but not on AF.com. Does Skyteam not release all low award seats to partners?
Thanks!
January 25th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — Hmm, that’s strange. In my experience Delta does make all of its low level award space available to partners (not that there’s much to go around). Are you searching the segment individually, or as part of a larger itinerary?
January 25th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Michael said,
Individually — BOS-YYZ one-way is all I want anyway…
At AF.com it just doesn’t show the date I found and when I pick a date that AF shows as available, it tells me “There are no Air France flights on the selected route.” (duh). Maybe I better phone this one in.
January 25th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
lucky said,
@ Michael — I suspect that’s the case, and that it’s simply a website glitch/shortcoming.
January 25th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
MillValleyMom said,
I followed the link on one of your blog posts yesterday and was able to find the following routing:
CMB to SIN – Emirates (first)
SIN to DOH – Qatar (business)
DOH to LHR – Qatar (first)
LHR to SFO – British Airways (first)
Can you tell me how many miles I will earn from this itinerary? It is an attempt to do a mileage run, but it seems like all of these airlines have different loyalty programs, so I am not sure that it makes sense.
Thanks!
January 25th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
anita said,
imnotarunner at gmail dot com
I’ve never flown first class or business class, I saved up money to fly my mother and myself to Asia for her birthday. I was wondering if you could provide tips and tricks .I’ve read about Z fares but not sure how to get them. Just curious how do you get upgraded?
I will get a credit card to earn miles but I don’t think that’s enough. I would like to experience this biz class/first class for once in my life. Help!!
Thank you,
Anita
January 25th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — There are a ton of different airlines you can fly with for that fare, so I guess the question is which program do you want to earn miles with?
One “simple” change I’d make to what you have now is to fly Colombo to Singapore to Dubai to London on Emirates in first class. As you point out, Qatar doesn’t have first class between Singapore and Doha, so I’d go with Emirates in your shoes.
January 25th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
lucky said,
@ anita — How soon did you want to take the trip with her? How much had you budgeted for the flights? Would you possibly be receptive to signing up for a couple of credit cards in order to earn the miles needed for the trip in business or first class?
January 25th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
MillValleyMom said,
Assuming I book the routing you suggest CMB/SIN/DBX/LHR/SFO, all in first, flying the first three legs on Emirates and the final leg on AA (though operated by British Airways), how many miles will that get me? Is there any way to get all of these miles to count towards one alliance (i.e. Oneworld)? Lastly, even though I am flying BA from LHR to SFO, it is being ticketed by AA. Does that mean I will only have access to the Oneworld lounge in LHR, or can I use the Concorde lounge reserved for BA passengers in F?
January 25th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
lucky said,
@ MillValleyMom — You would absolutely still have access to the Concorde Room as long as your flight is on BA metal (even if it’s an AA codeshare). If you wanted to credit the whole trip to one airline (at least in theory), you could credit it to Alaska and with their double miles promo earn a minimum of about 20,000 elite qualifying miles, and even more miles depending on whether you have elite status with Alaska, are flying during their double miles promo, etc.
January 25th, 2012 at 7:14 pm
nd said,
Hi Lucky,
I just had a recommendation. Obviously this blog caters to F/J travel, and the audience is largely reflective of that. Still, it’s not always practical/feasible for one to find available award inventory–especially if they have multiple travelers, or have strict schedules. Or if they just want to save some miles for something else.
Hence, given your countless hours looking at award inventories, I was wondering if you might consider in the future doing a comparison of international coach award inventories of the various big name airline FF programs; strengths and weaknesses could be considered, as well as any gems (like Flying Blue’s promo awards). I’d be interesting to hear what you have to say about coach travel.
Alternatively, or in conjunction, you could also post a guideline of when, in your opinion, it makes sense to upgrade using miles on a purchased coach ticket.
p.s. Do you have any updates re: your hiring process?
Thanks, and enjoy your latest journey.
January 26th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Rachel said,
Hi Lucky,
I have tickets booked BusinessFirst roundtrip using US Airways miles to Greece for my honeymoon in early July. Lufthansa has changed its flight schedules so my original flight to get me to Europe would cause me to miss my connection.
US Air said they could book me on an earlier flight in coach, but I wouldn’t be able to get a refund of the mileage difference. The agent said that since I’m flying back in BusinessFirst that I have to pay that cost roundtrip, but I thought you could do economy one way and business back.
Do I have any options besides 1. sitting in economy for eight hours or 2. changing my travel dates?
Thanks a bunch for your help!
January 26th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Greg Levitt said,
Hey Lucky,
Long time reader. First time questioner.
I usually fly AA. My status is about to expire but I have status with Air India.
Is there a way to book my ticket with my Air India number to get free baggage and then some how change to my AA number after but still get the free bags?
Thanks!
January 27th, 2012 at 1:11 am
Snowcone said,
Hi Lucky, I have a question about credit cards. I am planning to stay at Westin in Seoul in April and am not sure if I should use Amex Starwood or Chase Sapphire to pay for the stay. I know Sapphire has no foreign transaction fee and earns x2 points but is there any extra merit for using Starwood card? Also, I am not sure which is better, to redeem 20,000 points for 2 nights or pay $600 for 2 nights. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated!
January 27th, 2012 at 2:15 am
Andy said,
Hi Lucky, I have another questions for you. Been quite a while since the last one so I hope that’s ok, I know you’re a busy man
I enviously follow your trips etc. but as a Brit living in central Norway the chances for point accumulation are somewhat less than Stateside. However I jumped at the chance for some half price miles with US Airways and boosted these with the Grand Slam, meaning I know have a healthy 140K with them. Suddenly out of the blue I am invited to a wedding in El Salvador at the end of April. Given your knowledge and the fact that I know this is going to be time consuming, do you think there is any chance of my bagging a ticket to San Salvador in business or first class? I haven’t even much idea of how to get there but it looks like I can go via Miami, NYC or major hub. The dream would be Lufthansa I guess…if you could just give me an idea whether this is worth pursuing or if I am way too late here. Cheers and happy trails!
Andy
January 27th, 2012 at 9:12 am
lucky said,
@ nd — That’s a great idea, thanks for the suggestion! I’ll be sure to have posts about that in the near future. Unfortunately still kind of working on the hiring process.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:15 am
lucky said,
@ Rachel — Sorry to hear about the issue, though congrats on your honeymoon. I suggest you check out this article I wrote, especially the section regarding an airline liaison, which I think should be able to help in this situation:
http://travelsort.com/blog/what-to-do-if-an-airline-partner-changes-your-award-flight
Good luck!
January 27th, 2012 at 9:17 am
lucky said,
@ Greg — Unfortunately since Air India doesn’t belong to the One World alliance or have a partnership with American, there’s no way to leverage your status with them on American. The only option I could think of would be to status match to another OneWorld airline and use that for free bags, though I can’t think of any off the top of my head that would match Air India status.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:19 am
lucky said,
@ Snowcone — It would be a no brainer to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Starwood card earns two points per dollar, while Sapphire Preferred earns 2.14 points per dollar plus has no foreign transaction fees. As far as 20,000 points vs. $600 goes, that’s a toughie. I’d say that’s right around the value where you can’t go wrong either way. I’d probably use points in that situation, especially since award stays now qualify towards status with SPG.
January 27th, 2012 at 11:34 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — No worries at all, I’m always happy to help however I can. That’s not unrealistic at all, with a bit of date flexibility you shouldn’t have too much trouble with that. Lufthansa business class should be attainable, though they no longer release first class award space more than a few weeks out at most, so if you want first class you’ll have to wait until closer to departure to book.
January 27th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
hiyo said,
Hi Ben,
I am getting no response from this question on FT, so I thought maybe you would have an answer or opinion.
What is the actual definition of “Same Day,” as relates to United Club access on an international itinerary?
I am 1P on UA, traveling next week SAN-LAX-IAH-CZM. I get into LAX @2030 and out @0030, four hours later. Will I get club access? It will feel like “same day” to me, but do they really go by calendar date, rather than a real-world flying day, which can include a connection to a red-eye that is technically “next day?”
I think I can expect access in IAH as it is the actual gateway airport and will be inarguably “same day.”.
The Star Alliance site says:
Quote:
Star Alliance Gold Customers Travelling in Any Class: Customers have access to any Star Alliance member carriers’ owned lounges with the Star Alliance Gold logo at the entrance.
Customer must present proof of Star Alliance Gold level status via a valid frequent flyer program Star Alliance Gold level card or other valid indication of Star Alliance Gold level status
Customer must also present a boarding pass for travel on a Star Alliance flight departing from the local airport
Customer is entitled to one guest
Continental, United and US Airways Star Alliance Gold customers may only access the United Clubs and US Airways Clubs within the U.S. when travelling in conjunction with a Star Alliance international flight.
/Quote
Will that cut any ice with the UC staff in LAX? Or is “same day” strictly the calendar definition? In or out?
Thanks,
hiyo
January 27th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
When achieving a new elite status level on AA, is it necessary to request that my AAdvantage number be removed and re-added to previously booked reservations?
Thanks.
January 28th, 2012 at 6:06 am
Andy said,
Hi Ben and thanks so much for the (as ever) rapid response. I am now looking at flying from little old Trondheim where I live to Frankfurt and hopping on an A380 to San Francisco for a four night stopover then down to San Salvador with Continental for the wedding, then back again. First of all this should be 120K in my estimation but am I missing any extra ‘costs’? Secondly, I did read about Lufthansa withholding first class award seats. What if I book Business and then first class becomes available, can I cancel and rebook or will I be penalized? Thirdly thanks again for the blog, you got me into this whole FF thing after a chance read of an interview you did, ‘lucky’ for me too!
January 28th, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Greg Levitt said,
Oops! My previous post was supposed to read Kingfisher not Air India.
So my question is. Kingfisher will soon join one world. I will have Kinfisher status when my AA status expires.
Is there anyway to book with my Kingfisher # to get free baggage but then change to my AA # to earn miles??
Thanks, Greg
January 29th, 2012 at 2:28 am
Sean said,
Hey Lucky, I posted here about a week ago regarding reward credit cards for first-timers and students. You said you’d have a post about it on the blog, but either I completely missed it or you haven’t gotten around to it. Realize you’re in Shanghai and quite busy right now, just a friendly reminder though
January 29th, 2012 at 2:48 am
lucky said,
@ hiyo — *Technically* same day means same calendar day. In practice they usually apply logic, so they should give you access to the lounge. I had the same thing just this week where I had a forced overnight enroute to Shanghai, and they give me lounge access the previous day. So I’d say you have nothing to worry about.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:48 am
lucky said,
@ Jason — In my experience no. That being said, some people do seem to have issues, so it can’t hurt.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:51 am
lucky said,
@ Andy — Yes, that should be legal, pending availability (though availability on the A380 to San Francisco is very tough — almost impossible — to come by). The cost would be 100,000 miles in business class or 125,000 miles in first class.
You would be best off booking business class, and then if you want to rebook into first class you can cancel for $150 and rebook after your miles are redeposited.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
January 29th, 2012 at 2:51 am
lucky said,
@ Greg — That makes a lot more sense, and yes, you shouldn’t have an issue doing that. Just show your Kingfisher card, or otherwise keep your Kingfisher number on the reservation until you check-in, and then switch it at the gate.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:52 am
lucky said,
@ Sean — Got sidetracked, so sorry. I’ll have the post up in the next 48 hours. I was actually thinking about it this afternoon.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
RDimperio said,
Ben, AT THE Turkish Air Lounge in IST and this place is awesome. I’m not sure how I want to spend the overnight here. I’m hoping for a late night shower but I suspect the showers will be closed. This is far better than the previous lounge at the same location and better than any lounge I’ve been in. Outside of the service at the First Class Terminal in FRA I think this is the place to be. Watching big screen movie in recliner with a glass of wine at hand. Don’t know what to eat next. This isn’t a lounge — more like a resort without the pool.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Xavier said,
Hi Ben, I am a graduate student in public policy and urban planning. Any ideas on getting a summer internship in aviation industry? Thanks in advance.
January 29th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
JG said,
Lucky – thanks for all your writing, I’ve learned a lot from it. I have a *A routing check for my honeymoon planning. Is this a legal award that I can book assuming I find availability in F or C?
1. BOS-FRA-BKK-DPS using LH and Thai
2. open jaw; BKK-CDG for a Paris stopover
3. CDG-BOS
I’d get from DPS back to Thailand (and around Thailand) on discount airlines. Thanks!
January 29th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
lucky said,
@ RDimperio — While I haven’t been there myself, I’ve heard great things about it. Happy to hear you’re having a great time!
January 29th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
lucky said,
@ Xavier — Oh man, that’s completely beyond my area of expertise. Based on what I’ve seen internships in the aviation industry can be very tough to come by. Are you looking for something airport related, airline related, or something else?
January 29th, 2012 at 4:50 pm
lucky said,
@ JG — Through Aeroplan or Continental/United, absolutely. Through US Airways it’s not, since they allow only a stopover or an open jaw. Congrats on the honeymoon!
January 29th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Serge said,
Hi Lucky,
I was trying to find out how to book around the world trip using oneworld alliance website. But it seems a bit complicated. Could you write a post on this topic. Greatly appreciate.
Serge M.
January 30th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Xavier said,
I am thinking of management or government relationship -related work. Probably need to go for non-profits, hmm… But still thank you! Have fun in Shanghai, I was born and raised there…
January 30th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Delta747 said,
Lucky, is there a way to contact you about booking some Virtuoso hotels for me? I have a couple of trips in the planning and need some help.
Delta747
January 30th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
leftpinky said,
Hey Lucky, can you book Hawaiian airlines flights with Avios points, or just AS? thanks
January 31st, 2012 at 6:01 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — Are you trying to book a revenue or award ticket? I don’t think the OneWorld website will actually let you price out a ticket regardless, though if you let me know which you’re looking at doing I can give you a better idea of what might be possible.
January 31st, 2012 at 6:04 am
lucky said,
@ Delta747 — Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately I’m not taking on any requests at the moment as I’m working out some details. Sorry about that (and to be so vague)!
January 31st, 2012 at 6:04 am
lucky said,
@ leftpinky — Unfortunately just Alaska or American, and not Hawaiian.
January 31st, 2012 at 8:35 am
Serge said,
I got this idea after reading one of Ingy’s articles he wrote back in 2007: http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2007/12/around-world-on-miles-and-points.htmlfrom
Major part of the trip was done on points.
January 31st, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Jack said,
What do you think about traveling with an infant on business or first class? My wife plans to take a flight to Korea (by herself with my one year old) but can’t decide whether to fly her First/Business or Economy (will be redeeming miles)?
Friends tell me that while First/Business will offer comfort to my wife (not sure how much since she will have to take care of the baby) but since that baby might bother other flyers she will have to constantly monitor other passengers’ reaction to my baby’s noise which will cause such a stress. On the other hand, pursers might help out if flown First/Business. What’s your take Lucky?
Do you think a mid-February flight will be full? if not economy with an empty seat might be a better choice…(just hoping)
January 31st, 2012 at 4:26 pm
RakSiam said,
I got a bunch of credit cards and bonuses last year. Now the fees will be coming due and I have a question. I got the CO MC. Now that UA and CO are the same airline it doesn’t seem to make sense to hold onto this card (I have a UA Visa that is many, many years old). The current UA Explorer bonus seems pretty meager. I am planning to get the Sapphire card shortly. Should I apply for that one and then if it is initially rejected go ahead and have them move the credit line (not insubstantial) from the CO card to a Sapphire and close the CO? Planning to keep one AA card and cancel the other but will keep my US MC for the 10k bonus miles on anniversary. That seems to be worth $89
I am new to this whole “churning” thing but it seems like a lot of bonuses are only good for first time members. I have to decide what to do with my Chase BA card too. Will likely ditch that one.
January 31st, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Steve said,
Lucky – i’m planning a North America –> South Africa trip in June/July, trying to use US Airways miles for C redemption (a decent deal at 110K miles). Availability between FRA/MUC/LHR and JNB is pretty easy to come by in C, for these dates. Crossing the Atlantic is harder, but some convenient routes (on AC primarily) have very good Y availability. Would you recommend booking a mixed ticket and waiting for C availability to come up closer to the date, on AC? I assume those dates imply lots of leisure travelers and front cabin availability, but i don’t have a feel for whether AC makes it available to C reward seats shortly before travel.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Serge — Do you have any points as of now? If so, with which programs?
January 31st, 2012 at 7:14 pm
lucky said,
@ Jack — That’s indeed a pretty controversial topic I wrote about here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2011/09/30/so-about-infants-in-first-class/
As you can see, the debate can get heated. That being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to have her fly business class. That being said, keep in mind that the infant fare for international flights is 10% of the full fare cost of the ticket in that cabin, so it would cost a lot more in business class thank coach.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:17 pm
lucky said,
@ RakSiam — You’ll absolutely want to first apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and then if/when you’re rejected, call the Chase reconsideration line and request they close your card in favor of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That definitely maximizes your chances of getting the card approved.
Welcome to the “game,” and let me know if you have any other questions!
January 31st, 2012 at 7:19 pm
lucky said,
@ Steve — Award space for this coming summer to Europe is very tough to come by, so it would be very risky to book something now if you wouldn’t be willing to fly coach. I’d increase your flexibility and make sure you look at all routes so you can lock in something good now, like BOS-ZRH/FRA/MUC, YUL-ZRH/MUC, EWR-DUS, etc.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:38 pm
Jamie said,
I remember you had a post about some worthwhile hotel redemption (Hyatt?) for AMEX rewards points. I searched your blog and your travelsort articles but couldn’t find it. Can you let me know the link? Thanks!
January 31st, 2012 at 7:47 pm
lucky said,
@ Jamie — Hmm, using American Express points? I don’t think I had such a post, as I can’t really think of a good way to use them for hotels. Sorry…
January 31st, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Serge said,
I do, around 150k with American.
February 1st, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Kat said,
Hi Lucky,
Is there any reason why I am unable to look up SFO-IAD-LIR-SFO awards on the Aeroplan website? It allows me that stopover in DC when I replace LIR (Costa Rica) with GRU (Brazil). I was just wondering if it was a fluke, if it is then I’ll just look up routes separately and book them. Thank you!
February 1st, 2012 at 2:39 pm
RakSiam said,
Thanks. Applied for Sapphire last night and did not get immediately approved. Called the reconsideration line just now and in the matter of about 2 minutes closed the CO card and had the credit line moved to my new Sapphire card. I guess the only drawback here was missing out on a retention bonus.
February 1st, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Andrew B said,
Lucky,
Have you heard anything about Citi sending tax forms to people who earn miles by opening accounts? It’s happening: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20120131,0,1163342.column
There’s some conflicting information about whether this applies only to bonus miles earned for opening actual bank accounts, or whether credit card accounts count too. It seems to me that it would be pretty significant for Citi to take the stand that bonus miles for opening a credit card account are taxable, since that would greatly reduce the value of such bonuses to consumers.
I’m a tax lawyer and I love reading your blog, and it’s rare that your line of work and mine intersect!
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:01 am
lucky said,
@ Serge — Then you’ll want to look at their OneWorld award chart, which allows an unlimited number of stopovers. That chart can be found here: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/oneworld_awards.jsp
For 150,000 miles you can fly up to 25,000 miles in business class, which is a ton.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:03 am
lucky said,
@ Kat — I suspect it’s a function of there being a lack of availability on the route. I would try calling Aeroplan as the website can be glitchy when trying to include stopovers.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:03 am
lucky said,
@ RakSiam — Sounds like a typical Chase experience. Happy to hear it worked!
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:04 am
lucky said,
@ Andrew B — Thanks for the link. Obviously much more your area of expertise than mine, though it’s a precedent I certainly don’t like, especially knowing how highly these programs value miles/points.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:16 pm
DougM said,
Lucky,
Through your advice on patience and perseverance was finally able to get my wife C class on CX, SAN TO MNL for award travel. Now my question is, will she have access to Cathay lounges in LAX and HKG?
Welcome Back to the USA.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
DC MOMO said,
Lucky,
Do you know if ANA charges YQ on Air New Zealand or if Air New Zealand even has YQ? I just called up ANA to find out what an award from EWR-AKL would price at and they quoted me only $55 in taxes and fees. Seems a little low to me and not having the points in my ANA account, I was a little worried to make the transfer from membership rewards.
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:07 pm
OG said,
Lucky quick question, am planning a short IST-DXB hop at the end of the month, i found a saver coach award IST-DXB on the 22nd, no awards on the 26th the date i want to return, is there away to set up an expert flyer alert to send an email when CO X award availability opens up?
Thanks
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:46 am
JetAway said,
Hi Lucky-I know you’re a big fan of LX (Swiss) and I’ve managed to book LX First with miles from ZUR to NRT in mid-March. The aircraft is an A340. What can I expect in terms of both hard and soft product on that flight?
February 3rd, 2012 at 11:11 am
Heybull said,
Lucky, I have read on your site about booking an additional leg on award travel at the end of a vacation to get a oneway to Hawaii. I can not find one to work. I am based in the SFO/SJC area and trying to make it work returning from CDG or LHR the stopover SFO add OGG. I see it working at AA other hubs like JFK or MIA, but can’t find a bay area fit. How would you make this work? Thank you.
February 3rd, 2012 at 9:22 pm
ckalodes said,
Hi Lucky,
I have been reading your blog and really enjoy all of the pictures and reviews of First Class service for a big chunk of the airlines. However, I was curious. It says in the “About” section that you are a college student. How do you bankroll all of the First Class flights and hotel stays? How do you have time for 100 plus days of hotel stays and travel to different countries? It puzzles me…
February 4th, 2012 at 1:37 am
lucky said,
@ DougM — Congrats! Absolutely, as a business class passenger she’d have access to the lounges at both airports.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:42 am
lucky said,
@ DC MOMO — That’s very strange. Air New Zealand does impose fuel surcharges on redemptions, so I have no clue why they wouldn’t automatically price it with ANA, as they should impose fuel surcharges on those redemptions.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:43 am
lucky said,
@ OG — You can set up an alert for Continental coach space, though not for coach space on Turkish, unfortunately.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:45 am
lucky said,
@ JetAway — Congrats! What can you expect? An awesome flight all around. It’ll be Swiss’ old first class product, though it’s still fantastic — fully flat, great turndown service, etc. I suspect the service will be very similar to a daytime flight from Zurich to the US, so if you look at my trip report index at the reports I’ve written about Zurich to New York, I’d say that’s close to what you can expect.
Have a great trip!
February 4th, 2012 at 1:47 am
lucky said,
@ Heybull — Since San Francisco wouldn’t be your gateway, that most likely wouldn’t work. The best you could do is something like LHR-LAX, LAX-OGG, and then just have a stopover in Los Angeles and purchase a separate ticket from there to the Bay Area.
February 4th, 2012 at 1:50 am
lucky said,
@ ckalodes — I’m actually no longer a college student (probably time for me to update that!), though even when I was in school I managed to do this. If the game is “played” right, it really isn’t that expensive. See this post:
http://travelsort.com/blog/flying-first-class-on-a-student-budget-meet-ben-schlappig
February 4th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Antonio said,
Hi Lucky, can I use UA or CO miles to book a reward ticket on Silk Air? If I call, can they do this? I want to book a ticket on their SIN-BPN route, but those flights don’t show up on the CO website. Thanks.
February 4th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately you can’t. It’s one of Singapore’s partners, though not part of the Star Alliance, and therefore not bookable with Continental or United miles.
February 4th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Antonio said,
In that case, do I earn EQMs and RDMs if I fly them?
February 4th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Antonio — Unfortunately not.
February 5th, 2012 at 2:59 am
Ahmad said,
The Chase Sapphire card offers 3x miles for travel bookings made through the UR site. Do you recommend taking advantage of this, or do you book directly with the airline/hotel/Visa Signature/AMEX sites to get the most miles? Thanks!
February 5th, 2012 at 3:07 am
lucky said,
@ Ahmad — Absolutely, I do it all the time. It’s a great way to rack up extra points, especially for flights. If you book a hotel just be sure it’s at the published rate so you earn points directly with the hotel as well.
February 5th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Corey said,
Hi Lucky-
Given the choice would you fly LH business or UA business from FRA-SFO? Is UA first on 744 a large step up from business?
Thanks for the knowledge
February 5th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
lucky said,
@ Corey — I’d go for United due to the fully flat seat. I’d say first class is a large step up in terms of personal space. The service and food are only marginally better, while the entertainment is the same. So if the premium isn’t too great I’d go for it.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Jason said,
Hi Ben…
Do you know if you’ll be speaking again this year at Frequent Traveler University in NY?
February 5th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Oscar said,
Small question
When going to Vegas, do you stay at a typical Vegas Hotel (MGM chain, Harrahs chain) or you prefer to stay at a Courtyard, Hyatt Place..
Which is your favorite Vegas hotel?
February 6th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Esther said,
I have a question about using airmiles on BA versus United. I am British living in Boston; my family and I travel to London often. We have been building up airmiles through our BA credit card and we also have a United airmiles credit card. I’ve just started booking flights to Europe for this summer and see that even though airmiles seats are available with BA, the taxes and surcharges add up to almost $700 per ticket. It seems the same route with United would incur taxes of $200. We prefer BA because it has non-stop flights to London but that’s $2000 in surcharges for a family of four, even if we use airmiles! I guess this means we should switch back to building airmiles on US airlines, as they’re not allowed to charge such high extras… do you have any advice? Thanks.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:57 am
lucky said,
@ Esther — Unfortunately your observations are correct. There’s no way to redeem BA miles for transatlantic travel without incurring those high fuel surcharges. So if you don’t find the premium of those fuel surcharges to be worthwhile the convenience of the nonstop, I would indeed go back to accruing United miles in your shoes. Keep in mind American also flies nonstop from Boston to London, so if you earned American miles you could fly nonstop and avoid the fuel surcharges.
February 6th, 2012 at 10:11 am
MG said,
Hello, Ben
I am trying to put together trip for my husband birthday last minute for March and an wondering what is best alliance to choose(less miles, better availability and better product) for the business class award ticket to south africa, kenya, india or TLV? No status, only silver on delta. Have around 300 on delta, 200 on american and around 200 on united/continental? If buying a revenue ticket for economy who is better to fly to south africa on Delta alliance? I will be leaving from the east coast(NYC, washington, Phil or chicago/detroit) Many thanks
February 6th, 2012 at 11:57 am
lucky said,
@ MG — I’d say you’ll generally find the best availability with Star Alliance, not to mention among the lowest award costs.
February 7th, 2012 at 8:37 am
Richard said,
I was looking into applying for maybe two credit cards but it doesn’t seem like there are many compelling options right now.
Ideally I’d like to get something for hotel nights or maybe bump up my AA miles to 250K (currently 216K) for a couple of first class tickets (NA to Europe).
I currently have cards such as: Hyatt, BA, the two AA cards (AmEx and Visa?), Starwood and Sapphire.
I was considering the Thank You card but haven’t they just lowered the pts from 50K to 25K?
Or might it be best to wait a couple of months and see if something really compelling comes up?
Thanks.
Someone mentioned that the Virgin card I could get 50K pts and transfer them to Hilton for 100K pts (which I guess might get me two free nights).
Any other suggestions?
February 7th, 2012 at 11:01 am
London Tim said,
I have an interesting question. Do Air China release award spaces for PEK-FNJ? It could be the most interesting redemption you’ve ever made!
February 7th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Danny said,
As I missed a chance to take advantage of AA recent triple mile promo, do you think UA will be offering a similar offer sometime soon?
February 7th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Tony said,
Would the following routing be doable using United miles? Trying to bring a relative overseas with us on vacation in Hawaii AND for a trip to our home in the states.
NRT – HNL (destination) – ORD (stopover) – NRT
OR
NRT – HNL (stopover) – ORD (destination) – NRT
Trying to get this all on one ticket to save some miles. Thanks in advance for the response!
February 7th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
lucky said,
@ Richard — Do you have any business credit cards? If not I would consider the Ink Bold (helps with miles and hotels), SPG Business card (helps with hotels), or American Business Visa (helps with miles). Those are the three best offers out there right now, in my opinion, given your situation.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
lucky said,
@ London Tim — Hmm, now that’s an interesting question. I see the flight in the schedule, though for whatever reason I don’t see any award space on it. Not sure if that’s intentional or not. Going to investigate this a bit more over the next few days.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
lucky said,
@ Danny — They didn’t match the bonus and aren’t in Chapter 11 like American, so I doubt we’ll see them offer it anytime soon.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
lucky said,
@ Tony — Absolutely legal!
February 8th, 2012 at 12:46 am
MDR said,
Two questions: I’m SFO based, looking to redeem miles for a UA award to SYD. What is the MPM from SFO-SYD, and by how much can I exceed it? For example, can I do SFO-ICN-SYD, SFO-HKG-SYD, or SFO-SIN-SYD?
What if I were starting from the east coast and going to SYD? What is the MPM from JFK-SYD? Can I still route through Asia starting from JFK?
February 8th, 2012 at 5:59 am
lucky said,
MPM for SFO-SYD is 8,911 miles, and MPM for JFK-SYD is 11,947 miles. You can exceed the MPM by 15%, so there are some possibilities to route via Asia there.
February 8th, 2012 at 10:05 am
MDR said,
@lucky,
For a UA award I can exceed MPM by only 15%? I thought recently it was upped to 25%.
February 8th, 2012 at 10:44 am
lucky said,
@ MDR — American lets you go 25% over, though United only 15%. That’s still a ton.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:42 am
MDR said,
@lucky
OK, got it. Thanks for the clarification and for un-confusing me!
February 8th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
BostonFlyer said,
Is there any way to check reward availability for Hyatt hotels I have no points? I want to ensure there is reward availability before transferring (chase UR) point to my Hyatt account.
February 8th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Andrew said,
Hi Lucky,
I’m also thinking of transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air, though I’d like to redeem those points on Delta or Alitalia to fly from NYC to Rome. Is there any way to check award availability for Korean Air’s partner awards? I’m guessing if I looked up Alitalia or Delta there would be different availability for Korean Air miles.
Thanks!
Add A Comment