Originally Posted by
FlytheTail
United has an excellent award booking tool, so there aren't any tricks needed like there are for Delta. Also remember that summer is peak travel and so one has to be flexible to find anything available at the low-tier mileage rate, especially this close to travel.
Well, other than the fact that LO awards don't show up on UA's tool though they are bookable (via a call to UA), and IIRC there are a few other partner availability issues where the ANA tool + calling UA is the way to go.
Originally Posted by
Cyndiellen
Appreciate any advice on United award space and search tips. Ive joined ANA ff but cant figure out how to search for Star Alliance awards. I'm specifically looking for Aug 9 or 10 FCO to BOS; but also looking at FCO to EWR, JFK, PHL or IAD as alternatives to get back to the us.
Going to be a challenge... that's peak European travel season, and there are currently no saver awards at all on the 9th or 10th (or the 11th for that matter) that I see via a quick search--not J, not F, not Y. Space may open up as you get closer.
One thing you could do is search frequently as you get closer to the date of travel and book when something opens up. If you have particular flights in mind, you could use an Expert Flyer subscription and set up alerts for space (probably 1 seat at a time vs. 2--you may need to take separate flights if that's all you can get, then try to change the awards to the same flights if space opens up over time).