Originally Posted by
crimson12
Hey amolkold, I think booking UA would be more difficult for me because I have relatively few UA miles. But this is what I wound up doing.
1. EWR-HNL, nonstop, UA (40k)
2. HNL-SEA, 1 stop, AS (25k Avios)
3. YVR-JFK(stop)-LIM (30k AA)
4. LIM-JFK (????).
I need to confirm the Avios availability -- the website is glitchy and the customer service number is closed. But I was able to squeeze out the NA stopover with AA, at the sAAver level, by going from YVR rather than SEA. To me this is no big deal, because YVR is only a 3 hour drive, and my flight back is in J class on CX which sure beats domestic F.
I have some time to figure out how to get back from LIM. But here I think your suggestion might work (LIM-EWR(stop)-FCO-JFK), if I can get the miles there.
For EWR-HNL, look into transferring your AMEX MR points to Singapore Krisflyer, then use those to book on United. Instead of 40K one-way in business, it's 30K using SQ. The only taxes you have to pay are the same ones as on United. It's 10K saving, but it opens up your United miles for other redemptions.
HNL-SEA is either 12.5K Avios in Y or 37.5K Avios in F. Their front cabin is coded as First, not Business.
YVR-JFK(stop)-LIM is a wonderful redemption for 30K in J. ^