Originally Posted by
jpeslis
Just when I thought I was doing good, you guys are worrying me. Here's what I am trying to do:
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We need
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We need
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We need
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I want to use all those points to purchase / defray the cost of the four tickets.
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What I found was KLM flying out of JFK on 7/23 at 6pm direct to AMS, then KLM flying out direct to ATH on 8/2 at 9:30am and finally KLM flying back to JFK via AMS at 6:30am. Price is $1800.
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Judging from your posts, there are restrictions on using points to pay for tickets? Is that correct? Do you see other issues with my plan? Do you have a better way to utilize those points since I have no other use for them and I do not do much traveling on a regular basis?
Thanks for everyone's input.
Jim
If you are comfortable using all your miles and spending a bit out of pocket, then it works. You have very specific dates / flights that you want to be on. This limits your flexibility in saving $$ and points.
In general, if you can handle a non-stop or fly in a day earlier or later, you will be able to use less points. Even though you have no plans to use them in the future, it is always good to have some available.
Just be sure to reserve your tickets
before transferring as you cannot change your mind. If KLM has no seats and you transfer the miles . . . you are up a creek. Sign up for a trial on
expertflyer and play around with the DL options to get you where you need to go, or try dummy bookings, leg by leg on the DL skymiles site (as DL and KLM are both SkyTeam). You may get the seats you want. Put them on hold and transfer the miles.
Also try exploring other airlines that may be able to fly where you want to go, consider booking two sets of flights JFK-AMS-JFK and AMS-ATH-AMS on different airlines.