Originally Posted by
Brocks
Hoping to get some help with booking last minute First/Business award flights from New York to Southeast Asia (23 Nov to 4th Jan) for two people (our honeymoon trip). We're flexible on what airport we start our trip in (Singapore, Bangkok, Chang Mai etc) and I have miles across AMEX (300K), Chase (450K), BA (120K), Marriott (300K) but trying to find award availability on anything other than some of the lesser recommended airlines has been really tough. I've been accumulating these miles but have never really been able to figure out the best way to use them. Any advice on the the best way to go about this given where my miles are based?
Regarding "lesser recommended airlines"...certain carriers get much of the buzz within some circles, particularly many of the more well-known blogs. I'd just be careful of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Which is a good principle for award redemption in general. While there are some carriers (or usually some particular aircraft type at those carriers) with say, and outdated business class seat...with rare exceptions, most of what you will find is likely going to still be very nice and a much more comfortable experience than dragging across the pacific in economy.
Award booking services will of course do the legwork for you for additional cost, but obviously can't open up availability that doesn't exist and they don't use any tools that aren't available to everyone. So on the "teach a man to fish" principle if you want to do more in-depth research on your own... AwardNexus is a good tool for searching availability across multiple options simultaneously. Login with your FlyerTalk login for free usage.
https://awardnexus.com/user/login?url=%2F
You can set award seat availability alerts for many airlines using the paid ExpertFlyer subscription - $9.99/month and you can cancel once you're no longer using it. This can help you get a jump on new availability.
https://www.expertflyer.com/
Many programs permit one-way awards at half the roundtrip price. So don't forget that you could redeem from one mileage program for a flight on airline A on the outbound, and redeem from the same or a different mileage program for a flight on airline B for the return trip. (I know that's probably stating the obvious but I've found many beginners haven't realized this, so wanted to mention it.)
Some mileage programs' websites don't show all partner award availability online, meaning you'll have to either search on another partner's site first and then call to try and book, or just call straight away (though it's usually best to have checked on another partner's site first). That's where AwardNexus can help, too. Also check the FlyerTalk forums for the airline programs that are transfer partners of Chase, Amex, and Marriott where there are often threads with booking info and tips.
Good luck and congrats!