edel67

Hi Everybody!

I joined this forum after I just broke down and gave up on trying to book a December Winter break vacation for my family anywhere interesting using my multiple Miles and More & Sky Team miles.

I even downloaded KVS tool and tried to use it to no avail. No seats anywhere
that I would care to go.

So here I am. I have a few hundred thousand miles on each of the above mentioned. I would like to be able to use them for free airfare, or cruises somewhere interesting for next summer.

Please forgive my ignorance, but how do the "big boys" do it. Can somebody share some of the magic?

*** Sheepish grin ***

Simon

JPG3392

Welcome to FT!

The first step, which is indispensable, is to be very specific about how many miles you have in each program to which you belong. The next step, also indispensable, is to indicate as exactly as possible 1) where you wish to go, 2) when you wish to go there (December winter break is far too vague), and 3) how large your family is. Only then can people offer helpful advice.

Cruises next summer are an entirely different matter. It's best to stick to one question at a time.

squeakr

and what other airports you would consider. I'm guessing SFO, OAK, SJC?

flyertalker00156

Where are you leaving from and where are you wanting to go?

SteamyUncle

As mentioned, more information are necessary for a custom tailored answer. However, in my experience, award availability during the Christmas week is traditionally not very good, to and from Europe at least.

artemis

"Somewhere interesting" is potentially the entire globe. What specific regions of the world do you consider "interesting," and why? How many people are you trying to get tickets for? Are you OK traveling in economy class, and are you willing to consider traveling to/from less obvious airports? (For instance, would you be willing to fly to Brussels if your end destination was Paris, or travel to a different airport than than your home airport to catch an international flight?)

edel67

Hi!

Thank you to everybody for replying. I have 294,000 miles with Lufthansa and
159,000 with Air France.

I do not mind flying coach. I do not mind adjacent airports.

I gave up on the December vacation already. Now I am thinking of next Summer. end of June through end of August, any 3 week interval in between.

Rio De Janeiro for the whole family ( 2 adults and 3 kids - 15, 12, 3 ) sounds like a good idea.

Any help appreciated.

JPG3392

LH is in an alliance with United, and AF is in an alliance with Delta. To fly from California to Brazil, you will need to fly on UA or one of its South American partners, or on DL and one of its South American partners.

Getting 5 award seats on the same flight will be difficult, if not impossible. Would it be possible for you and your wife to fly separately, with each of you being accompanied by one or two of your children?

edel67

Absolutely - we could do 1 + 2 && 1 + 1 easily.

Adam1222

if you have a couple hundred thousand miles, you can't be that much of a newbie.
alas, what you appear to be seeking isn't so much "magic" as the skills of a travel agent. Finding award tickets takes time more than magic. (And luck/low expectations looking for multiple tickets for winter break only 3 months out.) Deciding where you want to go is based on research and personal preferences. once you decide where you want to go, you might want to consider paying an award booking service (there is a thread with information on those). You may find people willing to spend hours booking your vacation for you for free on here, but that's extraordinarily generous. if you have specific questions, of course, you should use the search forum and then, if you can't find an answer, ask away.

Have you looked at award availability for Rio? Have you looked at award charts for the programs you have miles in? You also realize thr Olympics are in Rio next year, right?

EDIT: Brain fart and thought it was 2015 already.

krawin

I'm new in this forum too and I'm looking forward into having great conversation about interesting topics with other forum members. I can see that this forum is filled with topics that are very informative and insightful.

SteamyUncle

Welcome to FT, krawin !

benzemalyonnais

I disagree. South America is a piece of cake with Star Alliance miles. Copa and Avianca have a ton of flights to Brazil and there should be something available.

Somehow there are 5 seats available on December 24th SFO-IAH-GIG on United in economy. Returning to LAX is wide open on Copa GIG-PTY-LAX in Business, LAX-SFO can be tacked on in economy. Not sure if you have enough miles for this or how LH works for economy+business awards. The only issue with December for now is that UA has basically blacked out the holiday travel period.

Next summer would be beyond easy, just take a look (5 person search on united.com, award travel) and you will see that it is so simple.

NewbieRunner

Using LH/Miles & More miles you will need 60,000 miles each for a return trip in economy from the US to South America. You will therefore need 6,000 more miles than you already have for the whole family. Since Miles & Miles website does not let you search for award flights on partner airlines, you will have to check sites such as United (look for saver awards) and ANA for availability.

If you decide to go to Europe instead you will need 50,000 miles each in economy. Your 3-year-old will get a 25% discount if you fly on one of the Lufthansa Group of airlines.

Expect to have to pay a substantial amount as fuel surcharges and taxes. Unfortunately economy awards are not the best use of Miles & More miles and you might be able to buy discount economy tickets for not much more than what you have to pay in fuel surcharges and taxes.