Which route/airline did you book and which class?
MUC LH (I) YYZ AC (I) YHZ [stopover]
YHZ AC (X) YDF [destination / open jaw]
YYT AC (I) YYZ [stopover]
YYZ LH (I) FRA LH (I) MUC
How many pax and how many award miles?
3 pax (2 adult, 1 child), 112k miles, €603 p.P. (no companion award and child discount possible because it's a mixed LH & AC award)
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
11 months
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, except for the following two segments:
YHZ-YDF: there are two flights per day. I would have preferred the daytime departure, but there was/is no award availability, therefore I had to settle for the evening flight.
YYT-YYZ: I had to pick a flight 3 days earlier than originally planned in order to avoid a 5 a.m. departure in economy. This way we can depart at 4:30 p.m. and in business class with the positive side effect of getting a 3 day stopover in YYZ on the way back.
Since we are tied to very specific dates I am extremly happy that I could get this itin booked.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)? How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
I did research all the flights using the M&M homepage (which is a big PITA) and Expertflyer. I did call in to make the reservation.
1st call (Canada call center) - the connection got dropped while booking the last flight of the itin.
2nd call (Canada call center) - agent was able to reserve all the flights and put the reservation on hold.
3rd call (South Africa call center) - agent was able to change YYT-YYZ from X to I, but was struggling to finalize the reservation (I was on hold for approx. 30 mins). Agent offered to finalize everything and call me back. Which she did.
4th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back as promised and she got the reservation ticketed.
5th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back again (voluntarily) to offer to make seat reservations.
Overall the agents in Canada and South Africa have been really helpful and great, given the rather complex nature of this redemption and the fact that I needed an award for 3 pax. As stated above the M&M homepage is a disgrace and the fact you can't really book open jaw / stop over / mixed class itins online is really frustrating.
The agent of the 2nd call had to use the SEN waitlist to get seats for the YYZ-MUC portion of the itin, despite the fact that I could see availability for the same flights online. Given the fact that I made the reservation 11 months out, the WL cleared instantaneously.