As many folks know, I probably book more award tickets than anyone else in the world. And I develop a really good sense for the value and ease of using different sorts of mileage and what routes offer the best availability. So for those looking to do it themselves, or just thinking about what’s possible and wanting to set expectations accordingly, I thought I’d offer a bit of stream of consciousness on award availability. It occurred to me yesterday that the conventional wisdom changes frequently, at least in terms of available routes. That’s because I noticed first class award seats available on Thai almost every day during the summer from Zurich to Bangkok and back. I assume this will tighten up quickly, but it really struck me because the Zurich route was perhaps the most…
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A Nice Endorsement from Frugal Travel Guy, and American Airlines Oneworld Awards
Frugal Travel Guy offers up the following gracious endorsement of my award booking service: I contacted Gary at the View from the Wing blog and he was very helpful with his award booking suggestions. He knows more tricks than I will ever remember. I did this one all myself, and I went a different way than he suggested (my vouchers were expiring), but it was great to have a real pro as a sounding board. He really knows his stuff and I can assure you if you are at all hesitant to try something like this, his award booking service will be worth every penny you spend on it. Gary will save yo money and miles Rick was planning a trip through several cities in Europe, and has a boatload of American Airlines miles. One…
US Airways 100% Bonus on Transferred Miles
US Airways has brought back their 100% bonus on mileage transfers through May 31. The cost is 1 cent per mile plus a $30 processing fee, and up to 50,000 bonus miles can be earned. Transfer 50,000 miles to someone for $530 and they receive 100,000 miles, enough for business class from the US to Europe.Transfer 45,000 miles to someone for $480 and they receive 90,000 miles, enough for business class from the US to North Asia. This bonus is on top of the 25% bonus for elites who transfer miles. So for elite members of US Airways Dividend Miles this is a really outstanding value.
The Star Alliance Award Search “Killer App” Just Got Better!
The All Nippon Airways award booking engine is the best way to search Star Alliance award inventory. Get yourself an ANA Mileage Club account and you have a pretty darn good gauge of what’s available as an award to Star Alliance partners. It pretty much never shows Singapore Airlines business and first class availability (what few seats may exist) from the US to Asia. But otherwise it’s pretty much a match for what everyone has access to, other than United Mileage Plus (because United often ‘blocks’ award seats being offered by their partners when United doesn’t want to pay for the seats; you could book the same flights with Continental or US Airways miles for instance that United claims are unavailable). There are really only two drawbacks to the tool, and one of them has…
I Just Earned Miles on an Award Flight
I’m planning on doing a trip report of some sort, I’m just back in the US from a jaunt to Asia in First Class on Cathay Pacific (Toronto – Hong Kong – Manila – Hong Kong – London) with a return to North America on British Airways in First Class. I had the Presidential Suite at the Intercontinental Manila, and suites on Mactan Island and in Macau, plus lunch at the Fat Duck Restaurant outside London. Certainly plenty of stories to share. But since I’m just back to the States today, and need to oh I dunno work all week (and I won’t be back in the air for about 11 days..) the trip report will have to wait. I’m not promising anything at all for specific delivery dates. I have to do my taxes…
Aeroplan 1500 Bonus Miles for Transferring In Hotel Points
Via One Mile at a Time, Air Canada’s Aeroplan is offering a 1500 mile bonus for transferring hotel points into at least 10,000 Aeroplan miles. Registration for the offer is required and the offer is valid through April 30. I wouldn’t make a transfer just to take advantage of this bonus, in general I find maintaining the flexibility of points to be hugely valuable. But if you’re considering or even potentially might transfer miles into Aeroplan, you should certainly register. And Aeroplan is in general a great place to accumulate points (though you need activity in your account at least once a year to keep it active, and all points expire if unused after seven years). Their award chart pricing is good, they don’t block partner award availability as Star Alliance member United does, and…
The KLM Lounge in Toronto Isn’t As Bad As Lucky Said
He thinks it’s rather mediocre but he’s wrong, it’s much, much worse. The SATA flight was delayed, the place is packed, barely a seat. At least they’ve decided to pre-print the codes they give you to access the internet. But you have to actually track down a staff member to get you one. The line waiting for codes became several people deep. They had tomato bisque warming in a pot with a big sign declaring, “Made Fresh Today!” Perhaps that’s even true, given that today began 23 hours and 15 minutes ago. There’s dim sum, but I get orders of magnitude better in the frozen foods section of my Asian grocer. Otherwise there’s a coffee machine, self-serve alcohol, and a limited selection refrigerator. And not nearly enough seating. It felt like the C7 Red Carpet…
San Francisco Takes On LAX: Connect Here, We’re Better
I get press releases all day long from travel providers, and 99% of the time I spare you, my readers, from having to hear about them. They usually read something like, “New survey research discovers that X% of travelers say they want to get away for Y holiday, and Z is a great place to [Book Your Travel Online / Stay for a Romantic-Exciting-Fun Time / Waste Large Amounts of Your Hard Earned Dollars]” And on occasion when I reply to the PR hacks with a legitimate question, even just searching for how in the world there’s something to write about, I don’t hear back. Most PR firms send out press releases hoping something’ll stick but don’t know enough about what they’re pitching to speak intelligently about it, or they’re too lazy to do the…
Award Booking Successes and Frustrations
Grey Roberge details his experiences booking a Star Alliance first class award through Aeroplan. Regular readers of my blog know that I’m a big fan of the Aeroplan program, and in particular their first class award from the US to South Asia (as far south as Singapore) for 120,000 miles — which allows you to transit the Atlantic or Pacific (or one ocean each direction) and to stopover twice in addition to your destination. And I rather like Aeroplan agents, I have found them on the whole to be quite friendly. It’s a Canadian thing. The one thing I don’t like is that they do not permit award holds. Instant ticketing only. Now, you can make changes to an itinerary after ticketing for CAD$90. And as long as you’re three weeks out from travel, you…
Successfully Booking Star Alliance Awards Podcast
Tonight I’ll be recording another podcast with the folks at Upgrd.com. It’ll be a few days before it’s live, but in the meantime you can check out the most recent installment in the series on Star Alliance awards and how to successfully book them.
