[Mod note: This thread/post moved from the flame-free Information Desk forum. Thanks for contributing respectful responses.]

...if you give me a pic of you and I keep it in my wallet on the way there. lol

Ok, joking aside, can I get advice where to get advice?

Or if you want to offer your expert opinion, the floor is open.

~Details~
Destination: Melbourne, Australia
Leaving From: Houston, TX (but flexible on this)
Dates: ~Oct 13 - Oct 22 (flexible & can be adjusted 1-2 days)
UA Mileage Points I have: only ~75K. So I am ~4K short with united AND I kind of need to book soon, hence the idea of going ANA.
Class of travel: Economy is fine. I would have like to do first class for such a long trip but, oh wellz. My long lost uncle just won't die and leave me a bunch of money so...
What assistance am I requesting? I would love to book award travel on either UA or ANA. Preferably ANA if that will allow me to save but right now, no dates are available for the outbound.

So, I guess my questions are:

A: is it advisable to book the outbound with UA @ 40K (with a stop in Hawaii for my own sanity) and then book the return on with ANA?

B:If so, would I book UA first and then make a call to ANA to complete the return booking?

C: Has any F/T member performed such booking scenarios with a TA and should I?

I remember my first big trip by myself was to Hawaii in the summer of 2001. Everyone thought I was crazy and stupid (my city has a small town feel and folk don't venture yonder past the old groc'ry sto'). lol Anyway, after that I had so much confidence in my ability to research travel. But its a whole new ball game now and I feel I do not know where to start to save the most on the plane ticket.


Anyway, just some background faq:

I would need to pay for my own hotel, unless I can somehow conjure up more points for the stay, which would not be enough for more than a couple of days anyway. So my hotel stay is getting the majority of my funds, my dinner will also need to be paid for by me, and of course, local transport. My breakfast, lunch, and transport to and from the airport are covered, along with tours ( I am attending a convention with members known worldwide and tours have been prearranged)

Why not pay for the airfare myself? Because:
1) I will need to worry about the hotel. I do not have any award points saved with hotels so this is out of my pocket. And since the list of hotels from which I can choose has been provided, I don't have many options outside of $148 to ~$250 a night.

2) The whole UA devaluation fiasco. I know its not really effecting all markets but at this point, I feel like I should use them while I can. Most were earned through CCs or other promos anyway & the whole 100K status scares me. *shivers*

Am I flexible with the outbound or return city? Yes, in a way. I initially wanted to do a cruise before or after the trip to Hawaii but from my understanding, I could always book the UA saver (if still avl) and request Hawaii for the layover, correct? But a cruise does sound SO much better. Then again, that would require a one way cruise to HNLl then fly to Melbourne and I am not even certain if I would be able to find one for that time of year.

Darn these champagne wishes & caviar dreams!

Anyway, if I am in the wrong forum, please guide me. In the meantime, I won't be able to see your responses because I'm going back to read FT until my eyes pop out.

Thanks!!

Edited to say that there are no outbounds from Houston (or texas market) to Melbourne on UAs saver for my dates. Dernits!!! Ok, bright ideas requested. You'll get college credit! lol

I know its bad form to talk to yourself in public but I just wanted to update my travel plans:

I see that UA offers the option to purchase the rest of my miles and I would pay ~$500 to do the Iah-MEL-IAH routing.

Since I was gonig to HNL anyway, I will just grab two one-way rewards one from HNL to Mel and then return Mel to IAH and pay ~122 in fees (plus the one way to HNL which from my market I can get great deals).

I think I am getting the hang of this because now I see that ANA does not allow one way award bookings, not to mention I can't transfer my UA miles to them anyway. See you live and you learn, and then you get luvs. lol'

So, while help and advice is appreciated, I think I am able to at least move forward and grab an award seat. Yay me!

Thanks Flytertalk!!!!! *this is the part where I jump and then freeze mid-air*