<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by vizslahound:
Planning a trip to AK next summer and am wondering the best way to get the maximum stops on an award ticket....
Finally, considering a trip to the Cairns via Guam on Continental using 60,000 AS miles and wondering how a side trip/stop in Yap or Truk might be secured.</font>
Viz, you should check the MP Member Guide for details on stopover rules.
http://mileageplan.alaskaair.com/images/MemberGuide.pdf
Continental's info is on p. 19:
"International awards allow one enroute stopover plus the final destination OR an
open jaw. Stopover must be in the routing guide."
Hence, you could stop in HNL or GUM or LAX (one only). Maybe Yap and Truk are possibilities, or maybe you would have to buy a separate roundtrip from HNL or GUM to use during your stopover there.
I looked into the 60K award to Cairns and didn't find it feasible. First, GUM-CNS only runs twice per week, hence risk of stranding. Second, LAX-HNL-GUM-CNS is a miserable way to get to Australia compared to LAX-SYD. Third, Continental didn't have any available for 4 months into the future. They are notorious on that issue. Maybe not if you checked 300+ days into the future.
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by South of the Border (edited 07-31-2002).]