I'd like to do a trip over to Europe in March (around the 17th, return around the 24th, dates flexible +/- a day or two). I'm dropping from CP to Gold (I assume) in February, and it sounds like the free upgrades are long gone for '04. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

So, does anyone know of any ways to get cheap Envoy tickets? Consolidators? I've never really used one, and in fact, wouldn't know where to start looking. Any advice would be appreciated.

My only other option will probably be burning my 80K Northwest miles for a freebie in WBC. I don't even have enough miles left in the US bank for an upgrade to Envoy with miles, let alone a free ticket. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

OT: I'm really gonna hate it after this year with hardly any miles left and piddly Silver status on an airline that's going nowhere fast. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Unfortunately, for the anticipated 2 more years I'll be stuck in this frozen h*ll called Erie, PA, US Airways still remains the least of the evils for now--with NW, CO, and DL messing with elite qualifying miles on discounted fares, and UA/AA being at least a 90 minute drive. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif So, here's to hoping US gets their act together and that I get at least enough miles this year to requalify for Gold. (Figured a paid Envoy ticket might help get me jump started...)

I've heard of http://www.1stair.net/ a few times. Haven't used them yet ...

There's a cheap $999+tax Envoy fare from MIA-AMS or MCO-AMS if you are willing to book a separate ticket to get there first. It's easy to find on Expedia but may not price right. Find your flights, then call US and ask them to look for the ZKS92E fare.


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum124/HTML/006770.html

hmmm - MCO-AMS might be attractive for the 20K envoy bonus.

For the past several years, US (as well as DL and several other carriers) has periodically offered an advance purchase, non-refundable, discounted business class fare to various European destinations from gateway cities only (usually only PHL for US). These fares have ranged from as low as $1,200 to around $1,900 RT. Travelocity is a good place to check. I would assume that they will surface again this year.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gardener:
hmmm - MCO-AMS might be attractive for the 20K envoy bonus.</font>

What bonus? I'd gladly pay the $999 MCO-AMS fare for 20K miles, plus the base miles, preferred bonus, and class of service bonus! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Edited to add:

I think I found the 20K bonus, but why does it have to be MCO-AMS rather than MIA-AMS?

Also, will US have a problem with me nesting an MCO/MIA-AMS roundtrip inside of a ERI-MCO/MIA roundtrip?

In terms of mileage, I figure:

MCO-PHL 857 miles
PHL-AMS 3727 miles
AMS-PHL 3727 miles
PHL-MCO 857 miles

TOTAL FLIGHT MILES 9168
+ 100% Gold Preferred Bonus of 9168 miles
+ 50% Class of Service Bonus of 4584 miles
+ Envoy Europe Bonus of 20,000 miles

TOTAL MILES AFTER BONUSES=42920, with 13752 towards preferred status.

Add on the online booking bonus (if I can get the fare to work), and the web check-in bonus (if I can get the web site to work), and I've got 44920 miles. Add in 5326 total miles after bonuses for ERI-MCO roundtrip, plus 1000 for booking that ticket online, and I've got a total of 51246 miles for the trip. Costing me about $1500 for the two tickets, my earning rate is at $0.029 per mile. I guess that's not too bad. &lt;shrug&gt; Assuming I redeem those 50K miles for two $500 coach tickets at worst, or one $2000 first class ticket, then the trip is almost paid for with the miles I'll earn.

[This message has been edited by TravelScholar (edited Jan 25, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dhacker:
There's a cheap $999+tax Envoy fare from MIA-AMS or MCO-AMS if you are willing to book a separate ticket to get there first. It's easy to find on Expedia but may not price right. Find your flights, then call US and ask them to look for the ZKS92E fare.


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum124/HTML/006770.html</font>

Anyone know the date by which these tickets must be purchased?