SFO to CAN in December, newbie needs advice
Oct 2, 2014, 1:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 4
SFO to CAN in December, newbie needs advice
Hi guys, newbie here
I'm planning a trip to China with my girlfriend in December for around 3 weeks. Tentative dates I have are Friday 12/12 - Saturday 1/3. The prices I'm seeing are around $1500 for 1-stop flights. Travel time one-way is between 15-20 hours (~12 hours for a non-stop flight).
I'm mainly using Kayak and Travelocity for the search. My girlfriend checked at a travel agency today, and prices were around $1500 then, except the flight is nonstop, and the return date is slight.
So I'm just trying to figure out how to save some money on the airfare for this trip. I'll keep doing research, but I was wondering what is generally the best way to purchase airfare tickets. My considerations are:
1) Kayak or similar - Compare prices and find lowest price
2) Travel Agency - May give cheaper deals if you bundle with something else (I don't need hotels, my girlfriend has a house there)
3) Other - ??
One other thing is, I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card with around 80,000 reward points. If I book airfare through the Chase rewards program, I believe I get 20% off, but I'm not sure how their prices compare to say Kayak. Another option I was thinking is to transfer the Chase points over to another airline, and perhaps get a deal that way.
Any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks!
I'm planning a trip to China with my girlfriend in December for around 3 weeks. Tentative dates I have are Friday 12/12 - Saturday 1/3. The prices I'm seeing are around $1500 for 1-stop flights. Travel time one-way is between 15-20 hours (~12 hours for a non-stop flight).
I'm mainly using Kayak and Travelocity for the search. My girlfriend checked at a travel agency today, and prices were around $1500 then, except the flight is nonstop, and the return date is slight.
So I'm just trying to figure out how to save some money on the airfare for this trip. I'll keep doing research, but I was wondering what is generally the best way to purchase airfare tickets. My considerations are:
1) Kayak or similar - Compare prices and find lowest price
2) Travel Agency - May give cheaper deals if you bundle with something else (I don't need hotels, my girlfriend has a house there)
3) Other - ??
One other thing is, I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card with around 80,000 reward points. If I book airfare through the Chase rewards program, I believe I get 20% off, but I'm not sure how their prices compare to say Kayak. Another option I was thinking is to transfer the Chase points over to another airline, and perhaps get a deal that way.
Any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks!
Oct 2, 2014, 10:34 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: Hilton credit card Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,652
If you leave December 11 and return December 31 fare is $988 on Air China routed SFO-PEK-CAN. Spend some time learning how to use google.com/flights and it may help you to make decisions. The fare calendar is quite useful.
Normally, I buy air tickets directly from the web site of the airline that I am flying with. I find the ticket that I want using some tool like kayak or google.com/flights, then go to the airline site to make the purchase rather than involving a middleman.
Normally, I buy air tickets directly from the web site of the airline that I am flying with. I find the ticket that I want using some tool like kayak or google.com/flights, then go to the airline site to make the purchase rather than involving a middleman.
Last edited by jbeckett; Oct 2, 2014 at 10:48 am
Oct 2, 2014, 12:25 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 4
Thanks for the tips guys!
@szehui: Yeah, HKG is an option I'll have to look into this further tonight when I get home from work!
@jbeckett: Is there a particular reason you choose to buy directly from the airline site? I'm assuming it's cheaper via rewards programs?
@szehui: Yeah, HKG is an option
I'll have to look into this further tonight when I get home from work!@jbeckett: Is there a particular reason you choose to buy directly from the airline site? I'm assuming it's cheaper via rewards programs?
Oct 2, 2014, 12:40 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: Hilton credit card Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,652
My main reason is that I believe if something goes wrong with the ticket, it will be easier to resolve the issue if I bought the ticket from the airline. If the price is the same from a third party as it is to purchase it directly, then why bother with the agent? (unless that third party is a good travel agent that I believe is adding value)
Oct 2, 2014, 12:59 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 239
How about coming down to LA, where there are nonstop flights on China Southern Airlines from LAX to CAN?
Not sure if the extra flight/time makes it worth it. I just booked $1068 tickets on Vayama.com for Chinese New Year, which IMO is a pretty good deal for a high demand ticket.
Not sure if the extra flight/time makes it worth it. I just booked $1068 tickets on Vayama.com for Chinese New Year, which IMO is a pretty good deal for a high demand ticket.
Oct 3, 2014, 12:13 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 4
Hello guys,
I'm still having trouble finding a good deal to CAN or HKG from SFO for my dates, approximately Dec 12 - Jan 3. At this point, prices seems to be rising so I am planning to book soon.. or should I wait a little bit more while doing more research? I'm new to all of this stuff, and it's really daunting as there are a lot of information and I am really looking for a simple solution. Can anyone point me in a good direction?
I'm still having trouble finding a good deal to CAN or HKG from SFO for my dates, approximately Dec 12 - Jan 3. At this point, prices seems to be rising so I am planning to book soon.. or should I wait a little bit more while doing more research? I'm new to all of this stuff, and it's really daunting as there are a lot of information and I am really looking for a simple solution. Can anyone point me in a good direction?
Oct 9, 2014, 3:08 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 4
Ok, I'm back after doing a little more research
So right now, the cheapest prices I'm seeing are from these 3 airlines:
Air China ($922) - 1 stop, ~19hr
Air Canada ($1028), 1 stop, ~17hr
United ($1167), non-stop, ~15hr
United is the only one where I can transfer my Chase UR points to. However, the cost of the airfare in terms of miles (points) is 170,000. Remember I only have 80,000 points. I have two questions about this..
1) I only have 80,000 points, which is not enough to purchase the airfare. Can I pay the remainder with money?
2) 170,000 points is equal to about $1,700 if I get gift cards through Chase. So it's almost like I'm paying $1,700 in airfare.. which is ridiculous? Isn't it much better to purchase the flight with money? How does this make sense?
Regarding 2) however, if I book the flight through Chase, I can get roundtrip tickets from United for 81,340 points (my exact balance) + $150.. which is about $963 and makes much more sense to me.
So it looks like my best bet is to purchase through Chase UR?
So right now, the cheapest prices I'm seeing are from these 3 airlines:
Air China ($922) - 1 stop, ~19hr
Air Canada ($1028), 1 stop, ~17hr
United ($1167), non-stop, ~15hr
United is the only one where I can transfer my Chase UR points to. However, the cost of the airfare in terms of miles (points) is 170,000. Remember I only have 80,000 points. I have two questions about this..
1) I only have 80,000 points, which is not enough to purchase the airfare. Can I pay the remainder with money?
2) 170,000 points is equal to about $1,700 if I get gift cards through Chase. So it's almost like I'm paying $1,700 in airfare.. which is ridiculous? Isn't it much better to purchase the flight with money? How does this make sense?
Regarding 2) however, if I book the flight through Chase, I can get roundtrip tickets from United for 81,340 points (my exact balance) + $150.. which is about $963 and makes much more sense to me.
So it looks like my best bet is to purchase through Chase UR?
Oct 9, 2014, 7:00 am
#9
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BOS, BWI, DCA, IAD
Programs: American, Delta, JetBlue, United
Posts: 2,049
You cannot normally pay partly in miles and partly in $. UA does offer one-way award tickets for half the mileage of a roundtrip, so it is possible to get one one-way ticket with miles and the other one-way ticket with cash. But for the routes you're interested in the price in $ for a one-way ticket is likely to be much more expensive than a RT.
Oct 9, 2014, 7:14 am
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,403
A few random comments:
IMO redeeming UA miles for less than one cent per mile is an extremely bad value.
If you nevertheless want to do this, you might be able to purchase some UA miles from UA. Check their rules on this as there could be limits. However, the cost will be much more than one cent per mile, so again this is a very bad idea.
CZ has a hub and home at CAN. I'm surprised you're not finding more flights operated by them. CZ (China Southern) is a full member of SkyTeam (same as DL) and operates a A380 from LAX.
If you buy a ticket from a travel agent for a seemingly lower price, there's a good chance that it's a consolidator ticket. It might not earn full status and redeemable mileage credit if this matters to you. You need to check the technical details, starting with the exact fare code including any designators, of the particular carrier(s) operating and marketing the flight as well as the rules of the FF program to which you hope to credit the miles.
Are you interested only in Star Alliance flights? DL would have flights to CAN using partners for the last leg (from NRT, ICN, PEK, PVG, etc.). There are CX and IIRC AA/UA flights to HKG where you could take a Chinese carrier, a CX affiliate, or a LCC or budget airline form HKG to CAN if you don't want to take a train or other ground transportation.
IMO redeeming UA miles for less than one cent per mile is an extremely bad value.
If you nevertheless want to do this, you might be able to purchase some UA miles from UA. Check their rules on this as there could be limits. However, the cost will be much more than one cent per mile, so again this is a very bad idea.
CZ has a hub and home at CAN. I'm surprised you're not finding more flights operated by them. CZ (China Southern) is a full member of SkyTeam (same as DL) and operates a A380 from LAX.
If you buy a ticket from a travel agent for a seemingly lower price, there's a good chance that it's a consolidator ticket. It might not earn full status and redeemable mileage credit if this matters to you. You need to check the technical details, starting with the exact fare code including any designators, of the particular carrier(s) operating and marketing the flight as well as the rules of the FF program to which you hope to credit the miles.
Are you interested only in Star Alliance flights? DL would have flights to CAN using partners for the last leg (from NRT, ICN, PEK, PVG, etc.). There are CX and IIRC AA/UA flights to HKG where you could take a Chinese carrier, a CX affiliate, or a LCC or budget airline form HKG to CAN if you don't want to take a train or other ground transportation.