tenchi

Hi folks,
I have accumulated about 160K Asia Miles that are expiring in June 2014.

I am planning to buy two tickets (myself and wife) to Japan (YYZ-NRT) sometime in August - say August 7, 2014 (date is very flexible).

I am thinking my best value would be to somehow use the oneworld Multi-Carrier Awards Chart awards.

Checking on the oneworld.com website for flights I can see
Toronto->Chicago->LA->Tokyo (AA & JAL) - 7,624 miles
or
Toronto->Chicago->Tokyo (JAL only) - 6,702 miles

My preference is the 2nd option since it is less than 7,000 miles so I am able to buy two business class tickets
[4,001 - 7,500 miles = 80,000 for business class ticket]
However it is not possible because it doesn't involve two oneworld alliance partners.

1) Is my understanding correct about how the redemption works? Am I right in assuming it will cost me 80,000 miles for each ticket? Is that how the miles calculation works or am I supposed to double the miles - i.e. 6,702 miles each way = 13,404 total miles
2) Is there anyway to book connection flights that will involve two oneworld alliance flights and still keep the distance less than 7,000 miles?
3) Since there is a potential stopover, am I allowed to stay over in Chicago for a day or two on my way back?

I hope some of you professional flyers can help a newbie out. Thanks in advance for for your help.

CanucksHKG

YYZ-ORD-NRT = 2 carriers, as the first leg is with AA.

You can even consider YYZ-JFK-NRT on JAL's new 787s.

Multi-Carrier awards are based on total distance traveled, so yes - you will have to look into the bracket that's for 13.4k miles / 15.2k miles. In your case, I'm not sure if you would even have enough for two Y tickets. You might be better off with the regular AM award chart.

Good luck finding award availability for August 2014.

cxfan1960

The second leg can also be AA, in which case the Asia Miles Awards Chart (instead of the OW Multi-Carrier Awards Chart) applies.

tenchi

Thanks for the quick feedback.

I guess if I don't have enough for two tickets I will end up purchasing 1 of the two tickets.
Which brings up another question: Do I buy the 1 ticket from a travel agent or through Cathay Pacific customer service when I book the award? I am looking to make sure the seats are together.

But I'm curious as to why you think I am better off with the regular AM award chart. I see the miles requirements are actually more than the oneworld chart (which is why I was looking at the latter).

August is just a date I pulled out of the air. I am flexible - Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.. whenever.. as long as I can somehow make the most of the miles.

tenchi

I assume AA=American Airlines.
Isn't the Asia Miles reward chart applicable only for Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air?

Thanks again for your help.

CanucksHKG

I would pick JL over AA in a heartbeat on a 12+ hour flight especially when OP's trying to satisfy the two OW rule.

OP, I think your best bet is two PEY tickets if that's you're fixed on your destination and # of AM on hand. Or start considering other part revenue tix / part redemption / part one-class upgrade alternatives.

kaka

OP wants to clear out his AM account it seems? you only told us about the 160k that expires in june. do you have more miles that is expiring? at the worst you could buy miles if you have 70%+ of the number of miles you need... unless you are into J/F awards, i dont see why you should fly Y and use the Oneworld multi-carrier award which costs significantly more.

LchChester

are you looking for a one-way or a roundtrip ticket?

tenchi

This is the first time I am redeeming miles (any miles - not just Asia Miles) so please excuse my ignorance. Until I read the helpful answers from some of you I didn't realize that award zone distance calculation was different between the Asia Miles chart and the oneworld awards chart.

To answer some of the questions posed to me:
Yes, I am looking to clear out my AM account. I just have 160K and change. No more expiring. So I am just trying to make the most of it for a trip for two. I would actually prefer YYZ-HKG trip but I don't have enough miles for two tickets (Economy)

Yes, I am considering round-trip tickets.

I would like to confirm the following:

1) To use the Asia Miles Award chart, can I use any other oneworld alliance airline other than Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air? For Example, if I were to book YYZ-ORD-NRT (JAL only) - 6,702 miles, would I be eligible for 2 premium economy tickets (72,000 each)

2) However looking at the Airline Partners Awards Chart below the AM awards chart (https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/redeem/charts), I see JL only allows "Round-trip First, Business and Economy Class" - so that means I won't be able to book Premium Economy on JL?

3) During the YYZ-ORD-NRT, am I allowed a few days stopover in ORD on the way back?


Thanks again for all your help. Really appreciate it.

caimaster

JL is a great airline but their fuel surcharge is very high. You might be looking at almost 1500USD for round trip in fuel surcharges for 2 people.

If you are thinking of buying one ticket, have you looked into companion ticket from Asia Miles? You can buy 1 J ticket from CX then redeem 95000 points for the other. YYZ-HKG-NRT. You can do a stopover in HK. But the J ticket will set you back almost 7K

ernestnywang

I understand that this is your first time redeeming miles, but please also read the chart description carefully. To answer your question,

1. AM chart is one-way based (as you already know) and is for any single carrier (any AM partner) or CX+1. (First line says "This awards chart applies to redemption for single or mixed (two) carrier awards. For mixed carrier awards, Cathay Pacific must be included" per https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/redeem/charts#1) I. e., you can use it not only on CX, KA (Dragonair), but also any single OW or non-OW AM partner. Therefore, it can be used if your journey involves JL only, AA only, CX+JL, or CX+AA. Do note that as caimaster hinted, CX does not charge fuel surcharge on AA segments, but does on JL segments. However, again, JL does not operate YYZ-ORD, so there is no way you can fly YYZ-ORD-NRT just on JL, but AA all the way may be an option.
2. Premium economy award is not possible on JL (and AA doens't have it).
3. If you are redeeming AM award, you can have "two stopovers, two transfers or [and*] one open-jaw" per https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/site/terms#14. Therefore, you can stopover in NRT and ORD once each. If you are using OW award, you can have "five stopovers, two transfers and two open-jaws" per https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/redeem/charts#3.

*It really is "and" instead of the typo "or."

Note that you only need 70% of miles and can purchase the remaining 30% should you need to. That puts your upper limit to 160/70*100=228K. How to use it is up to you.

tenchi

Thank you to all for your explanations. I apologize if I was being redundant with some questions. I was just looking for some of you seasoned miles redeemers to assure me that the chart is what is strictly followed - never know, they might be flexible with certain things or maybe there are some tricks to exploit

Also was just looking to see if I can get some ideas as how to make the most of my miles - again, probably someone who has already gone through what I am going through now at some point before would be a good source for advice.

Thanks again folks.
My understanding is now much better as compared to my initial post.
This is an awesome and helpful forum!!

Now to see if it is worth it to top off my miles and aim for the YYZ-HKG trip after all (in Premium Economy). Might even factor in a stop over in NRT (again, will have to see how much fuel surcharge for JL to see if worth it).

percysmith

JL YQ - I only realised it now, being quoted HK$5,554 last night for a SYD-NRT-SYD ticket. I saw it on BAEC first, and thought the YQ includes payment for shortfall of Avios that I require. But I then had MPO Manila quote me the exact same figure and fell off my rocker, causing a number of WhTFs here and down under.

And I just realised JL PE is not a valid redemption for AM, despite appearing on BAEC. No wonder the Manila GA said he can't see PE, and quoted me YQ on a J(U) tix instead.