MilesBuzz! - United vs US Air for South Asia Award

My wife and I want to travel to Singapore (SIN) and Bali (DPS) in March of 2013. We'll be departing from Charlotte (CLT). We've tentatively marked off the March 18 - March 31 as the days we'd like to be gone.

Initially I was thinking ~5 days in SIN, then about 6 days in DPS. We'd love to book one-way award from CLT->SIN, pay out of pocket for 2 one-way SIN-DPS, then book another one-way award from DPS->CLT. (this isn't possible with US Air, right?) However, we'd be willing to come back to SIN for a day or so as well if we need to book round-trip on US Air.

My Points/Miles Summary looks like this: (me/wife)

US Air: 33,000/108,000
United: 61,000/0
Chase UR: 130,000/42,000
Starwood: 22,000*/0

*I'll likely have another 40,000 more starwood points once my (2x) $5k spends are met.

From my understanding I'd need 160,000 US Air or 130,000 United miles for 2 economy awards to Singapore. Correct??

Option 1: Attempt to book 1 award ticket on US Air, and 1 on United. (this is risky, no?)

Option 2: Transfer 69K UR to United, and book 2 award tickets on United

Option 3: Convert 20k starwood into 25k US Air, Share 27k of my US Air miles with my wife (for a ~$270+ fee), and book both tickets on US Air.

Anyone have any suggestions on what option is best here?

I'd prefer to keep as many UR points as possible for booking Grand Hyatt Singapore rewards while in Singapore, or @ Grand Hyatt Bali. I think we'd be comfortable spending ~$3,500 out of pocket for other ideas or upgrades if anyone has any suggestions. We pretty much just want to visit SIN and DPS, and we're looking for the best way to use our points and some cash to do that. Business/First would be nice, but I know I don't have enough miles, and likely not enough cash.

Thanks in advance.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Don't UA and US both permit a free stopover on such awards? If so, you would not have to pay for SIN-DPS tickets; you would just continue on to DPS as part of your award.

And no, US does not offer one-way awards for half the roundtrip price, but I think that they do permit an open jaw on a roundtrip award.

Id say united just because you can get on Singapore Air flight.
See if you can get on Houston-Moscow-Singapore flight.

You can always put your US itinerary on hold, book the UA, then confirm the US after UA is booked. Schedule changes/cancellations however might make this tricky if you're rebooked on different flights. This is such a long journey, I'd recommend you go for business over economy...you have the miles for it.

This is such a long journey, I'd recommend you go for business over economy...you have the miles for it.


Can you please explain? Wouldn't I need 240k miles to book 2 business tickets? How can I do that with my current mileage/point numbers? Even if I transferred all my UR to United I'd still be short. Plus, I'd have 0 miles remaining for any hotel redemptions while there.

Can you please explain? Wouldn't I need 240k miles to book 2 business tickets? How can I do that with my current mileage/point numbers? Even if I transferred all my UR to United I'd still be short. Plus, I'd have 0 miles remaining for any hotel redemptions while there.

120k US (you'd have to either buy or share from US or transfer from SPG) *check to see if you're eligible for the 100% US buy miles promotion right now

120k UA (top up with Chase UR)

As I said though, that does come with some risk in the event of changes/cancellations if you're rebooked on different flights. I've had success limiting the risk in the past by calling the operating carriers and having them note that the two people are traveling together though.

I am heading to DPS next May so I did a lot of research for redemptions on UA. Here are my suggestions.

I do not recommend option #1 as there could be too many things going wrong with having many segments.

I would transfer 124,000 UR points to UA so you will have 185,000 UA miles total. With that I would redeem CLT - DPS in economy and DPS - CLT in business coming back (or the other way around). I prefer business class coming back as the flight time is typically longer to US and flying economy on the way to the destination is bearable as you have the excitement/anticipation of getting there.

If you can find Qatar IAD - DPS or JFK - DPS, that would be my first choice as it is the most direct and their economy cabin is one of the best. The next best route is JFK - FRA - DPS by Singapore Air on A380. This route usually have good availability in Y and you may have to call to book.

You can always add a stopover in SIN on the way to DPS. If you want to stay another day in SIN coming back, find a connecting flight that is less than 24 hours in SIN and you will be okay. No extra miles needed.

You will then have 48K UR points and more SPG points for hotels. Bali Hyatt in Sanur is a great value at 5,000 per night and they provide free shuttle to Grand Hyatt. Or you can pay for the room at Bali Hyatt as it is only $110 - $120/night and you can use 6,000 Hyatt points to upgrade to a suite (if available) for 4 nights. You can use UR points and/or SPG points to mix and match hotels between Singapore and Bali. Good luck.

Regardless of the carrier, the thought of flying Y to Asia from NA does not appeal to me especially since you don't have to. with a little more mileage work you could easily fly in J and possibly fly in F.

Why not get some citi aa cards for you and your wife to fly cx one direction.? Two 50k offers per person would give you 100k each. CX F to DPS would be 67.5k miles one way. I like the QR option mentioned earlier but your time is running out to make an award booking using UA miles (my understanding is that this relationship ends 9/15).

Flying CX F is a vacation in and of itself.

As johndeere19 mentioned above you can put USAir award on hold and confirm the United award before confirming USAir award. As long as you make sure all segments on both awards are on same flights, you are ok. You can hold united ticket as well if you need to.

+1 to Johndeere19 who already mentioned the way for two RT business class tickets.

Good luck

I agree wholeheartedly with EJH25's post. Transpacific in y is a bear. I did it a lot when younger but have no desire to do so again. Flying in a premium cabin is certainly the way to go if you can. And yes, Cathay F is a real treat!

Why not get some citi aa cards for you and your wife to fly cx one direction.? Two 50k offers per person would give you 100k each.

Two Citi AA cards per person means $12,000 of spending required in the next four months, and even if the OP can manage that in four months, that still won't get him the miles until January.

However, if your wife hasn't gotten the Chase United Explorer card, that's a fairly quick 50k with no minimum spend, which can help you hang on to some of your UR points. You'd have to transfer some to your UA account and some to her's, and then book your tickets separately.

If you can find Qatar IAD - DPS or JFK - DPS, that would be my first choice as it is the most direct and their economy cabin is one of the best.
The next best route is JFK - FRA - DPS by Singapore Air on A380. This route usually have good availability in Y and you may have to call to book.

You can always add a stopover in SIN on the way to DPS. .

Note: "I think" its only possible with the free stopover in SIN if using Singapore air as this is their main hub, then after a few days in SIN can fly with them onward to DPS as your final destination.
I don't think using Qatar will allow a free stopover in either SIN or DPS. Not 100% sure but correct me if I'm wrong.

PS: I've done the SIN-DPS route before about 2-3 years ago using the local Asian low cost carriers and its not too expensive if you get them while on sale. About $150 (or less) ow on sale and about $250-300 regular price. Also don't let the sale prices fool you. It could say $70 a tix but final cost will be $150 as the fees and taxes cost more than then the tix itself. Just to let you know.

Hope this helps.

Note: "I think" its only possible with the free stopover in SIN if using Singapore air as this is their main hub, then after a few days in SIN can fly with them onward to DPS as your final destination.

You can do this with any airline that serves the destinations. You just do multi destination search for example:
Destination 1: USA - SIN (3/18)
Destination 2: SIN - DPS (3/24)
Destination 3: DPS - USA (3/31)

Sames miles, no need to pay extra for flights.

It would be best if you search flight availability on the ANA search engine segment by segment (i.e. NYC - FRA, FRA - SIN) and call in as it is highly likely that UA.com will not give you the most desirable routes/carriers.

In terms of the OP signing up for additional cards, etc. I think it is always a good advice to book award flights sooner than later for more availability. At least, I feel more comfortable that way.

Note: "I think" its only possible with the free stopover in SIN if using Singapore air as this is their main hub

You can do this with any airline that serves the destinations.

If using US miles, the stopover must be in a partner hub and you are supposed to fly the partner into its hub. Of course, many US agents will book it anyway. Although, if flying Y, why not fly on SQ?

is there a maximium number of miles that you can have on a FF ticket ?

I seem to remember a few years ago I tried to get a ticket LAX-BKK-Jakarta and they said it was too many miles !

Just something to check :)

Soarer

You're 7k UR/UA away from being able to book 2 returns in business class on UA. I'd focus on that. Buy something from Sears (via UR mall, obviously) electronic and re-sell it or something...

I'd aim for CLT-MUC on LH, MUC-BKK on TG and BKK-DPS also TG. On the way back you could try something like DPS-SIN on SQ (business class usually available) (stopover); SIN-ICN on SQ/OZ; ICN-LAX/JFK/ORD on OZ and LAX/JFK/ORD-CLT on US. Go RTW and experience some great business class cabins.

QR would also be cool if you can swing it, but failing that, or magically finding availability on SQ ex-USA, I'd look into some of the options I mentioned--usually good availability.

You're 7k UR/UA away from being able to book 2 returns in business class on UA. I'd focus on that. Buy something from Sears (via UR mall, obviously) electronic and re-sell it or something...

I'd aim for CLT-MUC on LH, MUC-BKK on TG and BKK-DPS also TG. On the way back you could try something like DPS-SIN on SQ (business class usually available) (stopover); SIN-ICN on SQ/OZ; ICN-LAX/JFK/ORD on OZ and LAX/JFK/ORD-CLT on US. Go RTW and experience some great business class cabins.

QR would also be cool if you can swing it, but failing that, or magically finding availability on SQ ex-USA, I'd look into some of the options I mentioned--usually good availability.

Can't do transpac and transatlantic on a single UA award ticket to get the free stopover.

Can't do transpac and transatlantic on a single UA award ticket to get the free stopover.

Bummer. Thanks for the correction. In that case, book two one ways or an open jaw and pay for the DPS-SIN leg in cash. Who cares about sitting in economy for a 2 hour flight after a vacation in Bali?

My wife and I want to travel to Singapore (SIN) and Bali (DPS) in March of 2013. We'll be departing from Charlotte (CLT). We've tentatively marked off the March 18 - March 31 as the days we'd like to be gone.
...
Initially I was thinking ~5 days in SIN, then about 6 days in DPS.
...
US Air: 33,000/108,000
United: 61,000/0
Chase UR: 130,000/42,000
Starwood: 22,000*/0
...
Anyone have any suggestions on what option is best here?
..
Business/First would be nice, but I know I don't have enough miles, and likely not enough cash.

Thanks in advance.

Hi erobinson,

As others have pointed out, you can dump all of the UR points into your United account, and you're 7k short of a business class ticket. You can buy 7k points for 3.5 cpp, or $245. If you wanted to fly F one way, you'd need another 10k points per person. Buying 27,000 points would set you back about $1,000. I'll let others weigh in on what's worth it.

You both could get the Hyatt Chase credit card, giving you two free nights each at the grand Hyatt in Singapore. In Bali, forget about the Grand Hyatt, especially if this is your first time. The Grand Hyatt is on Nusa Dua, which is about as far away from "real Bali" as you can get. You could stay at the Bali Hyatt in Sanur. Even then, I'd find some place local. You can find a decent place in Bali that fits your budget, no matter how big or small. (I can recommend the Alam Shanti in Ubud. You can get rooms for under $100/night.)

You know what? I'm actually looking at flights to SIN/DPS leaving on March 13 from IAD. I'm seeing some options that really catch my eye. You can fly LH's new 748-i from IAD-FRA connecting to TG's FRA-BKK flight on the A380. These are all in business class.

Alternatively, you can fly IAD-NRT in ANA's J class, connecting with TG's A380 J to BKK.

Once at BKK, you can connect to DPS or SIN. You can do a stopover in SIN and fly onto DPS.

TBH, I'd book either option in a New York minute. I'd buy the points now and lock in the seats. You've got some good options.

is there a maximium number of miles that you can have on a FF ticket ?

I seem to remember a few years ago I tried to get a ticket LAX-BKK-Jakarta and they said it was too many miles !

Just something to check :)

Soarer

I think they were telling you the most common problem of NOT having enough miles in your acct to do the complete trip.

is there a maximium number of miles that you can have on a FF ticket ?

I seem to remember a few years ago I tried to get a ticket LAX-BKK-Jakarta and they said it was too many miles !

Just something to check :)

Soarer

Yes... there is something called "maximum permissible mileage (MPM)" which is a limit to the length of a routing you can take to get from point A to B. But LAX-BKK-CGK wouldn't fall into it. What UA does (I think) is take the shortest legal route and then add 15% to it. It gives you flexibility in routing without letting you crazy.

For instance, from IAD, one can route to SE Asia via the Atlantic or Pacific. However, I don't think one could do the same from LAX.

Yes... there is something called "maximum permissible mileage (MPM)" which is a limit to the length of a routing you can take to get from point A to B. But LAX-BKK-CGK wouldn't fall into it. What UA does (I think) is take the shortest legal route and then add 15% to it. It gives you flexibility in routing without letting you crazy.

For instance, from IAD, one can route to SE Asia via the Atlantic or Pacific. However, I don't think one could do the same from LAX.

Do they really take the shortest legal fare and use that as the baseline for MAXIMUM permitted mileage. While I know the term is a bit out of place given the 15% allowance, I would think they would take the longest published routing and allow 15%. What if, for instance, LH publishes a fare from LAX to BKK (via FRA)? Would that not be legal?

Do they really take the shortest legal fare and use that as the baseline for MAXIMUM permitted mileage. While I know the term is a bit out of place given the 15% allowance, I would think they would take the longest published routing and allow 15%. What if, for instance, LH publishes a fare from LAX to BKK (via FRA)? Would that not be legal?

This sort of rule doesn't seem to be applied consistently. Given an issue with this kind of rule, you should be able to agent shop your way out of it.

Looking to do *A trip too and seeing if this stopover would work:

SFO-PEK (stopover 4 days)-XIY (open jaw) PVG-SFO

--We're flyig XIY-HGH and coach to PVG; don't think the return XIY-HGH (stopover) -PVG-SFO would work, would it

Looking to do *A trip too and seeing if this stopover would work:

SFO-PEK (stopover 4 days)-XIY (open jaw) PVG-SFO

--We're flyig XIY-HGH and coach to PVG; don't think the return XIY-HGH (stopover) -PVG-SFO would work, would it

U can certainly try. This is a harder rule to get around than maximum mileage. This is a US specific question and there is a US *A thread for this sort of thing. Many folks have asked this same question.

Hi erobinson,

As others have pointed out, you can dump all of the UR points into your United account, and you're 7k short of a business class ticket. You can buy 7k points for 3.5 cpp, or $245. If you wanted to fly F one way, you'd need another 10k points per person. Buying 27,000 points would set you back about $1,000. I'll let others weigh in on what's worth it.

You both could get the Hyatt Chase credit card, giving you two free nights each at the grand Hyatt in Singapore. In Bali, forget about the Grand Hyatt, especially if this is your first time. The Grand Hyatt is on Nusa Dua, which is about as far away from "real Bali" as you can get. You could stay at the Bali Hyatt in Sanur. Even then, I'd find some place local. You can find a decent place in Bali that fits your budget, no matter how big or small. (I can recommend the Alam Shanti in Ubud. You can get rooms for under $100/night.)

You know what? I'm actually looking at flights to SIN/DPS leaving on March 13 from IAD. I'm seeing some options that really catch my eye. You can fly LH's new 748-i from IAD-FRA connecting to TG's FRA-BKK flight on the A380. These are all in business class.

Alternatively, you can fly IAD-NRT in ANA's J class, connecting with TG's A380 J to BKK.

Once at BKK, you can connect to DPS or SIN. You can do a stopover in SIN and fly onto DPS.

TBH, I'd book either option in a New York minute. I'd buy the points now and lock in the seats. You've got some good options.

+1 on staying in Ubud while in Bali, and use those Chase UR points for business class flights instead. Ubud is in the middle of the rain forest, with great restaurants, friendly locals, and you can stay in some nice, local properties for under $100 per night. We stayed 2 nights at the Bali Spirit ($75 per night) and heard the rainfall every night and then woke up to a wonderful complementary breakfast in the hotel restaurant everyday. Then we stayed 2 nights at Tunjan Mas Bungalows http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297701-d600845-Reviews-Tunjung_Mas_Bungalows-Ubud_Bali.html ($50 per night) with it's modern Balinese architecture and would walk through the monkey forest to get to town everyday. These properties would be 3 times the cost in the US, so I would skip the big chains and enjoy the local Balinese hospitality.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. We are now strongly considering business or even first class air fare.

I (and my wife) got a US email this morning offering 100% bonus on purchased miles. So I can buy up to 50k + 50k for $1,750.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but you can, for 90k US miles, route to HKG and then add a paid ticket on from there. Sometimes there are some bargains to be had, and then you can add 'another' stopover.

Maybe an example like this:
CLT-SFO-ICN (stop)-HKG
BUY: HKG-DPS, DPS-SIN, SIN-HKG (Or avios/AA?)
HKG-HOME

Of course, I'd look into the prices before considering this, but I think you'll find the LCCs to be rather cheap this far in advance, and shortish-intraasia flights aren't exactly ones that you NEED to be in Biz for....

+1 on staying in Ubud while in Bali, Ubud is in the middle of the rain forest, with great restaurants, friendly locals, and you can stay in some nice, local properties for under $100 per night. .


While in Ubud, don't forget to do the rice paddie hike that is only about 10min away from town center. It's a great cultural experience.