I am looking at a long term plan to perhaps go to Bali next summer (july) - 2 passengers.
I am acquiring Chase Ultimate Reward Points that convert to KoreanAir.
Flights would be from IAD and they have one stop service through ICN.
Is this a flight that is usually obtainable using points? I'm looking at business class. I am somewhat flexible within a few days, but it needs to be in the last half of the month and could go into the first week of August.
Seems like KoreanAir is the best, as it has the one stop flight. Is there any reason to have a stopover in ICN?
I think KE has lots of availability for award seats.
Just be sure that your travel dates are not in their busy period which requires more points.
If u havent been to Seoul, this would be a good time to spend a couple of days.
No extra charge for stopovers.
U can also make use of this stopover for a cheap flight to other parts of NE Asia, like China or Japan.
KE also has their A380 from JFK if u dont mind taking a short trip from IAD.
Note that u have to pay taxes and fees which is around $400 or so i think.
Is this a flight that is usually obtainable using points? I'm looking at business class. I am somewhat flexible within a few days, but it needs to be in the last half of the month and could go into the first week of August.
You'd better check availability before transfer the points. It's easy to get award seats US to Asia in July/August as it is low-demand season in that direction. However, from Korea to US in July/August is almost impossible to grab anything. KE charges 50% more points in this season but still extremely hard. Still, call KE and try.
I actually just transferred a bunch of Chase miles to KE and the transfer is instantaneous.
Nice to see the miles show up right away and available for booking.
If u want a stopover, u do have to call the KE phone desk as the online tool doesnt seem to be able to handle stopovers(at least, none that I can find).
Edit: U can view availability on the Koreanair website, via Skypass/Award Booking/Bonus Award availability/International tab.
Need IE browser for the International tab.
I looked at tix for this year (7/20-8/5) IAD-ICN-DPS and same return in business and it said 105,000 points. It didn't say it was unavailable, but it also didn't say it was available.
Chase transfers are instant from my experience (amex could really improve here!), but I'm guessing you could hold the flight anyway. Even with the $400 fees/taxes mentioned in a prior post, still seems like a great deal.
If availability was tight, we could always go out of New York if need be.
I'm going on Delta this winter to Israel, so I think I'll put those miles to my KE account.
I am considering using Chase points to book domestic award seats on Garuda. Is it feasible to be on the phone with KE, book the flights and then transfer the points once I know they have seats? I just don't want to waste the Chase points if they can't get the Garuda flights.
