US Airways Dividend Miles - DM Award on *A - Planning Honeymoon

Hi everyone, long time follower but first time poster here on FT. I've picked up many travel tips over the years and I appreciate the forum immensely, and i would appreciate any input on this question. I'm in the process of planning my honeymoon from BOS to ATH on May 23-June 5, 2010.

BOS -> ATH on May 23rd
ATH -> BOS on June 5th

As of yet, I haven't purchased tickets (was waiting for any drop in prices), but with the recent Double Bonus and the Buy/Share/Gift promotion from US, i was wondering if the following award is possible?

I currently have approx 60K DM, am silver preferred, but with the recent promotion, i'm wondering if i can buy 50K, get a 100% bonus, then end up pocketing 100K new miles, ending up with just over 160K DM. Can i then quickly spin that into 2 roundtrip business class award tickets on any Star Alliance carrier, such as LH and LX which have multiple flights to ATH? I've never booked award travel using DM on a non-USAir flight, so am just a little nervous about buying the DM and then not being able to get the business class seats if its not going to work.

I've already looked up award availability on the ANA tool and it seems there are flights on LH available, and maybe LX too but i guess i would have to call US and find out. Basically have the chance to spend just over 1300 dollars and spin all those miles into 2 business class tix (after international fees of course). Am i interpreting this correctly or is there something i'm not considering?

Thanks for everyone's input!

http://www2.usairways.com/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_3B8407DACE8602F2424925E6D37F48D0E78E0000/filename/partnerawardtravel.pdf

Above is the *A Award Travel Chart from Dividend Miles...that should be fine, but make sure to call US before making such purashes to confirm. Also, remeber award inventory is subject to change at any second, so there is always some risk...hope it helps!

http://www2.usairways.com/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_3B8407DACE8602F2424925E6D37F48D0E78E0000/filename/partnerawardtravel.pdf

Above is the *A Award Travel Chart from Dividend Miles...that should be fine, but make sure to call US before making such purashes to confirm. Also, remeber award inventory is subject to change at any second, so there is always some risk...hope it helps!

I'm thinking of doing something similar as the OP and hope he won't mind me piling on his thread. Couple of questions:

Does US let you hold award reservations for a couple of days while you buy/transfer the miles?
Is there an international origination ripoff like DL?

Thanks :)

With flexibility in routing (willing to make up to 3 flights, connecting a bit out of the way) your exact dates should be possible. More flexibility in dates by a day or two each side of your intended travel would nearly guarantee availability.

I've always had excellent success finding 2 open seats on some transatlantic flight which is always the hardest to find. Sometimes you need to check every day or so as the dates near and look at partners most people forget about (Poland's LOT and Turkish Airlines come to mind - both have nice business class products) but it's definitely possibly

A quick search of my own shows there is availability for at least 2 business seats on multiple routes on LO, LH, UA and TK for the dates you are seeking.

Do your research on the ANA tool, or ask nicely and I might be persuaded to help you find a route to your liking. You basically need to call US armed with the exact flights you want and know have availability.

BOS-JFK-FRA-ATH / ATH-IST-ORD-BOS work for you? It's one of a bunch of options available right now.

Does US let you hold award reservations for a couple of days while you buy/transfer the miles?
I think you can hold up to 3 days, unless you travel with SQ which is 1 day max. Bought miles post very quickly (instantly?) so it should be no problem to reserve first, then buy miles. Not sure how long transfers take.

I think you can hold up to 3 days, unless you travel with SQ which is 1 day max. Bought miles post very quickly (instantly?) so it should be no problem to reserve first, then buy miles. Not sure how long transfers take.

Bought miles do (in my experience) post instantly. You may need to log out and log back in to see it, depending on your settings.

Transfers also seem to be instant, though I've only done the share miles deal once - for a grand slam promo hit. Transfers from other methods (hotels, SPG, etc) vary and typically take much longer than 3 days.

I think this is a great deal for C tickets to Europe.