Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Information Desk
Reload this Page >

Planning trip to Maldives - amateur here

Planning trip to Maldives - amateur here

Old Aug 28, 2015, 8:54 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 4
Planning trip to Maldives - amateur here

I have a question about what credit card / frequent flyer program would be the best for a particular trip. Let’s assume in two years, I want to fly first class from NYC to Maldives. Assuming I have no prior history with any credit cards or airline mileage programs, what would be the best credit card to use for getting the best deal there? Apologies for what might be a very basic question, but I have very little familiarity with this and the number of different programs and advice out there can be a bit overwhelming (or just outdated).

So, just looking for the best option for building up to a first class ticket from NYC to Maldives.

Thanks!
mc12345 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 9:22 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
I think the best options for US-Maldives are with AA, Alaska, and Singapore miles. Of those, Singapore are the easiest to accrue. AA aren't far behind, and there are more routing options with AA (Etihad, Qatar, Cathay). AA Executive (75k but with $450 fee), AA Platinum (50k), SPG (30k [until 9/14/15] + 25% transfer bonus to AA) all have signup bonuses that will get you lots of AA miles quickly.
dukerau is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 9:30 am
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 4
Thank you, dukerau. And those would all still be eligible for first class seats? I've read that some programs are coach only, so just checking. Thanks again.
mc12345 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 10:36 am
  #4  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 24,221
Originally Posted by mc12345
Thank you, dukerau. And those would all still be eligible for first class seats? I've read that some programs are coach only, so just checking. Thanks again.
Most programs have first class awards. (If any don't, perhaps someone who knows of them will post here.)The AA frequent flyer program, as one example, offers awards in all classes of service. First class takes more miles than coach, of course, but not nearly as many more miles as the price difference for paid tickets suggests. Many members of frequent flyer programs find that first/business class awards are the best use of miles, since they typically require 2-3x the miles for tickets that might cost 10x as much if you paid for them with money.

Several AA partners fly to Male (MLE), including British Airways from London and Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong. You'll need 45,000 miles per person for an economy class ticket, 67,500 for business class and 90,000 for first. AA's official partner award chart is here. Other programs may require different amounts of miles.

Booking well in advance helps here, so it's good that you're planning early. Award flights become available about 11 months out. Many flights have very few award seats allocated. They often go quickly.
Efrem is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 11:22 am
  #5  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
In two years' time, everything could be different, so it's very hard to say anything with certainty. Note that currently it is very hard (not impossible) to book one, never mind two, first class seat(s) (Suites) on SQ if you are not a KrisFlyer status member, no matter how many miles you have.
LondonElite is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 11:41 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
Originally Posted by Efrem
Most programs have first class awards. (If any don't, perhaps someone who knows of them will post here.)
The main one that doesn't is Delta. Some airlines restrict first class (and/or business class) awards to their own mileage program. Singapore does this on their long haul flights (everything from the U.S.). Lufthansa does this for first class but they do release to partners within 2 weeks of flight date.

Originally Posted by Efrem
Several AA partners fly to Male (MLE), including British Airways from London and Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong. You'll need 45,000 miles per person for an economy class ticket, 67,500 for business class and 90,000 for first. AA's official partner award chart is here. Other programs may require different amounts of miles.
Lots of ways to get to MLE with AA miles. Avoiding BA is best due to fuel surcharges, and with so many options should be do-able. AA will only allow you to route through Europe on a U.S.-Middle East award (MLE is considered Middle East). So your main options are:

BA via London
QR via Doha
EY via Abu Dhabi

which would all be 67.5k in business or 90k in first each way.

Cathay Pacific is a little more complicated as AA will not allow you to transit HKG when flying U.S.-MLE. You can, however, do one of these with separate award bookings (+ sign between the separate bookings):

JFK-HKG 55k J / 67.5k F + HKG-MLE 22.5k Y / 30k J (no F on this route)
or
JFK-HKG 55k J / 67.5k F + HKG-MLE 12.5k Y BA Avios
or
JFK-HKG-CMB 55k J / 67.5k F + CMB-MLE 4.5k BA Avios (economy) - this one is particularly intriguing if you wish to spend some time in Sri Lanka, as an overnight stay would be required I believe (HKG-CMB arrives at 11pm), and it's the cheapest route in terms of miles. You could stay in Sri Lanka as long as you want - since these are separate itineraries, there are no restrictions on how long your "stop" in CMB is. CMB-MLE is a short hop (<500 miles), so paying extra for premium cabin isn't worth it anyway IMO.

Originally Posted by Efrem
Booking well in advance helps here, so it's good that you're planning early. Award flights become available about 11 months out. Many flights have very few award seats allocated. They often go quickly.
Agreed. Also, one advantage of AA miles is you can change the date of travel or routing without a fee as long as the origin and destination airports remain the same. You can also upgrade in class if a better class opens up and AA doesn't charge a fee. So you may find business class available; you should grab it if you like, then keep an eye out for first class. Even if the dates change or the routing changes, you can switch to the first class itinerary for just the additional mileage cost. For example, you may see JFK-ORD-AUH-MLE available in business and book it. If JFK-AUH F (or J) opens up, you could switch to it. Cathay in particular opens up a lot of award space within days of travel date, so this is a nice feature.
dukerau is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 12:05 pm
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 4
Wow, thank you to everyone for such helpful responses. It seems like AA is the way to go - especially with being able to snag 50k or 75k miles by signing up for one of their cards.

A related question:
Besides from getting more points from the AA-specific card, are there other advantages to choosing that versus an SPG card? Does it get access to clubs or other perks? And on the flip side, I'd imagine that benefits of the SPG card mean I can use points for plenty of other partners as well?
mc12345 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 12:22 pm
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
All sorts of great advice here, particularly by dukerau. I'll just add a few thoughts on credit cards and which airlines to shoot for if you have a choice. Look at Glossary under Help at the top of the page here to figure out what all these initials stand for:

1. There are all sorts of AA credit cards that offer 50K or sometimes more miles for initial spending (e.g., $3,000 within three months). Getting one type of AA cc and its bonus does not preclude getting another type and its bonus. But you can't repeat the bonuses for the same type of AA card within 18 months of closing it (or something to that effect). The Citi forum under Credit Cards here at FT has all sorts of useful discussions of these options.
2. You can get various cc sign-up/initial spend bonuses that you can then convert to SQ miles via Starwood Amex (both business and personal) points; Chase Ultimate Rewards via its Sapphire, Ink and other chards; Citi Thank You points via its Prestige, Everyday and other cards; and Amex Membership Rewards points via its cards that are not affiliated with a specific hotel chain (such as Starwood), airline or certain other companies. Check out the Chase, Citi and Amex forums under the more general Credit Cards heading for more information. (Though perhaps for Starwood Amex, you'd look at the Starwood forum under the Hotels heading.)
3. EK F seats and its F experience are reportedly great. Alaska credit card sign-up/initial spending bonuses of 25K each for personal and business cards are a good way of accruing miles that then can be used to score EK awards. Lately, though, there have been reports of it being tough to sign up for Alaska ccs repeatedly.
4. Beggars can't be choosers, if we can even use that saying when it comes to getting F tickets. But if you have a choice, SQ and CX (both of which I've flown in F with my wife) are superb all-around airlines, with SQ being slightly preferable in F in my humble opinion, especially if you can bag adjoining middle suites on its Airbus 380 planes. From what I've read about EK, it may a bit behind in terms of seat roominess and sometimes service, but still overall great. EY in F is also supposed to be great in terms of the flight experience, though less so in terms of its lounges and customer service. Its A380 F "Apartments" (including JFK-AUH) are reportedly the best F produce out there, but right now it seems you can't get them with AA miles.
5. By searching through Trip Reports (under Community) or simply googling for videos and reports on F on Singapore, Cathay, Etihad or Emirates, you can get a good sense of these products.

Good luck!
Thunderroad is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 1:06 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
Originally Posted by mc12345
Wow, thank you to everyone for such helpful responses. It seems like AA is the way to go - especially with being able to snag 50k or 75k miles by signing up for one of their cards.

A related question:
Besides from getting more points from the AA-specific card, are there other advantages to choosing that versus an SPG card? Does it get access to clubs or other perks? And on the flip side, I'd imagine that benefits of the SPG card mean I can use points for plenty of other partners as well?
You've got the idea- SPG provides flexibility to other mileage programs, but you do get fewer points. AA Executive does provide an Admiral's Club membership (access to Admiral's Clubs). AA Platinum provides free checked bag on domestic AA flights and a 10% rebate on miles redeemed, up to 10k rebate per year. You can get both cards, just follow Citi's rules about applications (1 per rolling 8 days, 2 per rolling 65 days). Of course on your premium class flights to MLE, you'll get free checked bags and lounge access as part of the ticket. These are additional benefits for other trips you might take domestically or in international economy.
dukerau is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 3:58 pm
  #10  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 24,221
The main pros and cons of the Starwood AmEx, as I see them:

Advantages:

1. 25% bonus miles if you convert 20,000 SPG points at a time, at least to AA.
2. Until you convert, you have Starwood points to use on hotel stays if you want, and with some flexibility as to what they become if you don't.
3. Two-stay, five-night head start on SPG status if that matters to you.

Disadvantage:

1. AmEx isn't accepted everywhere. You need a Visa/MC in addition.

I'd say to go for both, if your credit rating can absorb a small temporary hit for the two accesses in a short time. Might as well get both sign-up bonuses (boni?).
Efrem is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2015, 11:19 pm
  #11  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,923
mc12345 Welcome to FT

Originally Posted by mc12345
I have a question about what credit card / frequent flyer program would be the best for a particular trip. Let’s assume in two years, I want to fly first class from NYC to Maldives.
<snip>
So, just looking for the best option for building up to a first class ticket from NYC to Maldives.
Originally Posted by mc12345
Thank you, dukerau. And those would all still be eligible for first class seats? I've read that some programs are coach only, so just checking. Thanks again.
What experience do you have with international (non USA) airlines and long haul routes?
It is noted you do not mention business class. What is called first for most USA domestic flights would be considered poor quality business class on many non USA international airlines flying long haul routes.

The number of airlines having long haul first class is reducing. In 2 years from now it will be less than today. Many routes do not have first. Only economy (coach) and business or only economy.

Have you checked which airlines fly into the Maldives and with what class? Is not hard to do.
Awards are not guaranteed to be available when you want them. If for 2 people is 4 times as hard.

Frequent flying is not the same as frequent spending (with miles into a ffp)
Look here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Last edited by Mwenenzi; Aug 29, 2015 at 12:23 am
Mwenenzi is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.