Originally Posted by
heynow999
HI all. Im new here
What I would like to do is take my wife and two teenage kids to Europe next summer, specifically Austria. My grandparents were from there and it is next up on our list of places to visit.
I know I have a lot barriers, we need to go in July or August because of school, I need points for 4 people and I would like to fly direct if possible, and out of yyz. I believe I can get the points by December as I already have 100k+, Im signing my wife up for some cards, and I have a small business I can funnel cash through Amex>Paytm, sadly mostly taxes.
We would like to go for 3 weeks and would like to spend the majority of our time in Vienna and Salzburg, but as it is a vacation and we will rent a car, driving from another country is not out of the question. Basically we need to avoid the fuel surcharge from AC, and would like to spend as little time as possible in planes and airports. When you are a family of four these things are much more difficult
I see some options like yyz to brussels which puts us within a 10 hour drive of Austria, which can be its own little side trip.
Im looking for suggestions on what cities to fly to (to avoid the surcharge) when I would need to book, Thanks
Going mostly direct is going to be very difficult while avoiding surcharges - only AC and OS (via YUL) will allow that and both are high surcharge. Similarly LH via FRA is heavy surcharge. You mention BRU which would be on SN however the award availability for YYZ-BRU is quite rare.
You're mostly likely routes are TP via LIS, LO via WAW or maybe LX via ZRH (through YUL). TP and LO are releasing flights up to mid July 2020 so far so you'll have to watch for when they reach the days you want. Get them as soon as you can (and have the points) as 4 seats can be tricky! Also note that LO has *some* surcharge though it's typically not crazy so TP would likely be first choice. LX is the also great but having to go via YUL may put you off. Good luck!