Stgermainparis

I'm gearing up to do this for 5 pax. Have already established the family account for us all (I did not do family mileage pooling b/c I will transfer the full 125k points from my UR account to my KE account and book them all together...can be done, correct? That was what I understood family account to be...just checking b/c that pooling column gave me pause).

Couple of questions:

--Once you found the DL flights at saver level on AS or whatever and called in, could KE see the same flights? Or did you have to wait for a call back after they researched it?

--Once they found the flights, how long did they say they would hold them? I can do the transfer instantly (apparently UR-KE goes instant), but then we must submit the form, etc, so I'm wondering the lag time.

--One you submitted the form (I take it you have a booking # at this point b/c there is a box on the form for such), how long until you got confirmation of ticketing?

--Is there any chance they'd hold outbound for me until inbound calendar opens? I doubt it, but that would be nice.

--Can either of you confirm that flights must be on same airline (ergo DL metal not a mix of DL and AS)?

I'm very anxious that I will lose the tix (esp with 5 of us) with this protracted booking system. But you two give me hope.

mtkeller

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell online. I've seen AF/KL space available to AS and DL that isn't available to KE. The only way to know is to call up KE and leave a message for their SkyPass team to call you back. They will then see what space they can actually access.

dyrewolf31

Man, even having redeemed millions of miles in my life, I'm confused by this thread.

Like other posters here, I have a zillion UR points, and I'm trying to book LAX-???-AMS-???-LAX on DL (connecting in MSP/SEA/SLC/etc) and I'm intrigued by the SkyPass chart. Delta.com won't offer me mixed cabin options at lowest 62.5k price (domestic economy + int'l business), but AlaskaAir.com will. That makes me think partners can see this availability, but I guess I won't know until the infamous SkyTeam department calls me back.

I have booked KE awards on KE metal before, but this is a new one for me. To make it even more complicated, I need to ticket a lap infant on Delta metal. Why do I think this will be a tremendous ordeal?

Stgermainparis

Are all your segments on the DL? If they are mixed airline partners, it won't work. If all DL, it should, ultimately.

dyrewolf31

All the metal will be DL

dyrewolf31

I know KE is extremely generous with award changes, but any problem changing Skyteam partners? If I book LAX-XXX-AMS on DL and then KL opens up LAX-AMS award seats, will KE be helpful in rebooking?

dyrewolf31

OK I have all my ducks in a row, 4 flights on Delta metal (2 domestic legs in Y; 2 int'l legs in J), confirmed award availability via Alaska and Air France sites, but KE Skypass phone agent can't see the space. Any reason or is this a HUCA situation?

Stgermainparis

I'm wondering if this is because of the Y/J difference. Having similar issues trying to build a trip on ANA. UA will show trips with Y/J available on partners but ANA won't (domestic legs are the problem).

Maybe HUCA and see if you can get them to build it as multi-city?

dyrewolf31

That was my thought as well, mixed cabin awards are always a wrench

ladyjaneMN

I just booked similar flights. Make sure you can see the award flights on both Alaska and Delta and you shouldn't have a problem.

SK56

Any idea how long it takes Korean to call back for booking on delta metal? I called late on Friday and am still waiting for my call back

ladyjaneMN

My call back took only a day.

Make sure once you actually talk to someone and confirm your flights that you call back again to confirm the booking. I got an email saying they would call a few days before the flight to collect the fee, but they don't actually ticket your flight until you pay your fee so you'll need to call back to do that.

CrownRoyalForever

Has anyone added an infant in arms to a Skypass award in J on DL? I assume DL's policies apply and that babies are free on domestic flights, including Hawaii.


Cheers

jcm55a

Question about redeeming 2 J RT through KE on Delta metal in May 2017.

I found this route ATL-JFK-BCN that shows up as 62.5k/pp on both DL and AS websites and then found this route VCE-JFK-ATL that shows up as 62.5k/pp also on DL and AS websites (though surcharge rates very different?!).

Does that mean that if I call KE today and ask them to hold these routes (I guess assuming the agent can see the DL routes), I can transfer over 160k UR to book this RT for two? Also, what would be the tax on the way home? Delta website shows 281euro/pp while AS website says $66/pp....

Thanks in advance for your help!

EDIT: I should ask, can one-way awards for 40k/pp KE be allowed? Wondering if I have to take DL back bc if not, I prefer just to route TO Europe using KE but come back with a different plane. [EDIT2: ignore the first edit, looks like awards with partners require RT].

waterandwoods

I understand that Korean Air may not have access to the same award availability as Delta or even other partner airlines but I am having a ton of trouble getting the agents to find just about anything I'm seeing on Alaska's website.

I am wondering if you all have any tips for working with the agents to find what you are looking for.

For example, one leg of the trip I asked about was IND-OGG in May 2017. On Alaska's website I can see Delta availability on more days than not, with reasonable layovers. The agent today told me the only availability in May at all is on May 18, with a 9 hour layover at LAX.

Whenever I have tried schedule part of the trip with a stopover at LAX I seem to have much better luck with availability. This makes me wonder if they are able to see more options when they search each leg individually. If so, how can I get them do that on the non-stopover portion of the trip? I have tried feeding them exact flight numbers that I have found. One agent wasn't able to find any of them and another seemed unwilling to check.

I am trying to book for 5 pax and I know that makes it much harder but I am just confused as to why I can see so much Delta availability on Alaska's website that Korean Air can't see. Should I just keep trying?