Originally Posted by
pmr123
Looking for some advice on flying a family of 3 from DC to Sydney in December. We have miles scattered across multiple accounts, some of which are difficult to transfer between.
Amex: 330k
Delta: 100k
United: 150k
United seems to have the best availability currently but we are short on miles there. Potentially we could transfer to Royal Orchid Plus and combine amex and united miles. Has anyone had success with this? We're a little overwhelmed with all the possibilities.
Ok, here was my strategy - transfer Amex points to Delta. Then redeem 150K Delta miles per person for business seats on Virgin Australia from LAX to Australia. If you can find connecting seats from DC to LAX in a low award (coach or first) then you can get these for free as well.
You would only need 20K more miles in your Delta account but you want to verify that the seats you want are available before you transfer any points over. Taxes/Fees on my business tickets were about $200.00 each.
In the delta forums you can learn lots more about how to search and find the flights you want. Keep in mind they call delta miles skypesos because they make you Manuel search for the reward you want (and they can be somewhat worthless unless you are willing to do the digging).
Good luck,
Nissan