Originally Posted by
LikeVines
Hello, I've just started collecting points and miles and things, so I still don't really have a good sense of how they can be used.
I'm looking to fly as cheaply as I can from the East Coast (Washington or New York) to Scotland (Glasgow or Edinburgh) from June 14-17.
My points/miles are not very extensive (I'm working on it!), so I'm not sure if they can be used at all, but I was hoping they might be able to be used to pay for part of the ticket? Maybe?
Delta: 57K
Mariott: 50K
AmEx Reward: 50K
US Air: 37K
If anyone has any suggestions/tips/helpful advice, I'd be very grateful! Thank you!!!
Very tough given the short lead time and the time of the year you're flying. Add in that the airline miles you've accumulated are in programs that charge you a roundtrip price in miles even if you're just flying one way on them, and it becomes a more difficult task.
But, it can be done. You've almost got enough Skymiles to get to GLA on an award booking from JFK: 60K is required plus a cash cost of $180. Amex MR is a transfer partner with DL so you can get enough miles by making a transfer to DL (there's a 7.5% transfer fee) and then making your booking. Needless to say, if you're going to follow this route, act quickly as there's no guarantee seats will remain available for long.
Checking US for those dates from DC, there is availability in coach, but only at a miles cost of 125K Dividend Miles plus a cash payment of $195. US isn't a viable transfer partner with MR (there's a roundabout way, but it's inefficient and won't get you the number of miles you need anyway).
Marriott has one property in Glasgow and three in and around Edinburgh, all category 5 hotels, that will require 25K points per night. Marriott is not a transfer partner with MR, however, so you won't be able to get additional points that way. MR points will transfer to Choice, Best Western, and Hyatt. Some Best Westerns are available during your dates for 20-28K points, Choice has no hotels for your dates, and Hyatt has no properties in the vicinity of EDI or GLA.