FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Definitive "How To Search for Low Tier Business Awards"
Old Jan 25, 2012, 3:52 pm
  #851  
ffI
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: AA EXP2M, DL 1MM DM ext, UA PP <=> HH G/Marr PE/Hyatt G/IHG P FT RA ( Recovering Addict)
Posts: 4,596
Originally Posted by mnredfox
They can't help anymore than US agents. Just Skype in your PM.
Originally Posted by craig44485
I have been trying for days now to book 2 First?Business Class low level award tickets for my parents from PIT>MNL. I have found low level available on June 11th returning June 28th, but when I click on find flights it only shows medium level awards. So, I have called the PM line and have gotten different stories each time. Only one agent could find a low level, that was in May departing from DTW, if she added the PIT to DTW on then it went to 200K.

I have called 3 times tonight asking to find availability and I am even looking right at the awards calendar when I call, and the agents all say there is no low level awards at all in June, yet I see all kinds of availability. What is going on?
Any suggestions on how to go forward with this?

Thank you
Read the first post again and then,
book segment by segment either online or with the agent

Remember
low PIT-DTW (biz or eco)
low DTW-LAX (biz/economy)
Low LAX-ICN
Low ICN-MNL and back in low = 120 k miles

low PIT-DTW 22.5
Med DTW-LAX 40
Med LAX-ICN 100
Low ICn-MNL 30
is actually 4 awards! so price will go up to 200k just for outbound

If DTW and back to MNL is low in C and PIT-DTW is med = 80k miles extra
You can try to book saver economy for the PIT-DTW segments (that will not increase the price of a saver C award.

The trick as PM is to book that at once and then KEEP changing
"game the system" till 72 hrs before the flight

There is no best answer.
US charges 160k to Asia for me in F for a segment that had NYC-FAR in F rest in C out and back in C with 1 segment in Y
The price did not go down at all due to ONE segment

AA does not allow many stopovers (except gateways)

CO may soon be the best
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