Originally Posted by
susiesan
I have accounts on both BA and JL. I have tried dummy bookings at BA to look for flight availability. I can't get anything to show up if I put in MCI as the origin city. I have to use DFW, where we usually connect through, or LAX/SFO as gateway CX cities. I do see J availabilty TPAC on some dates 11 months out.
Susie,
You do NOT search from your departure airport especially it is not a gateway.
You search the gateway cities to HKG - then figure out how you get to the gateway.
This is the BASICS of award search - whether it is AA, UA, or DL - yes, DL is not really SkyPesos if you KNOW how to work the system.
Originally Posted by
susiesan
I can't figure out how to do partner searches on the JL site. Which site, BA, JL, or QF is better for looking at award calendars?
JL is very easy to use - I dont know why you have problems. On the side bar you have options of what type of awards to look for - choose the using partners and it would bring you to the screen where you choose the region - from which region to which region - it is all drop down menu, so I have no idea why you have issues.
JL is the most reliable and easiest. BA is the most cumbersome to use, most glitchy, but is also very reliable. QF can give phantom availability. If you find something on QF, you need to verify it with JL or BA site, so why do double work? But of course if you are looking for QF flights, nothing can beat its own search engine.
Originally Posted by
susiesan
My problem is going to be getting award seats on AA flights that connect to the CX flights. I may see award space on one of the CX flights to HKG or DPS, but nothing even in coach on AA. If I lock in the TPAC flight and then add the MCI to gateway city segment later I will have to pay extra. I am not EXP with AA, only Gold.
You have to find the TPAC portion first, until then you cannot figure out what routing should be for your MCI-XXX portion because the XXX must be determined first.
Originally Posted by
susiesan
I'm thinking the best strategy might be to book the first award routing I can get MCI-DPS on an arbitrary date, then get the return award either BKI-MCI or DPS-MCI on another arbitrary date, and then spend the next 11 months searching for the dates I really want and changing it. It's a lot of work. If I have to do it this way I will get an EF subscription.
EF is not going to help you if you dont know how the basics of how to search the award.
Remember, search the most important segment all by itself - in this case, it is the TPAC. Once the TPAC is found, the rest can work out with some creativity.