Originally Posted by
holland
I've got some UA miles I'd like to use over the Christmas holiday while the kids are out of school. I can travel any time between 12/20 - 1/5, and would prefer about a week someplace warm with a beach. We don't particularly care WHERE.
When I search common destinations like Cancun or Cozumel, all it comes up with are 60k mixed coach/business flights, or connections like Kansas City -> Denver -> Dulles -> Cozumel with 14 hours of layover somewhere along the way....
Has it really gotten this hard to use miles? Is there a better search engine I can use to find flights that are reasonable to take with a family of 5 (i.e. no overnight stopovers, minimal connections, etc)?
Thanks,
rich
You have chosen the most expensive time of the year. For many destinations, those dates are sold out. This is not a fault of the mileage program. Your best bet is to pick a business oriented route with no holiday leisure travel. But, in the last 2 years, I've noticed they cancel those flights rather than fly empty.
Your odds of getting saver inventory on those dates are very slim. Like, really close to zero. If you fly 2 weeks earlier or later, you will find space.