Thanks Viajero.

Unfortunately your very good suggestions may not help me much here. As my name says, I am an infrequent flyer, and the first idea of -- my husband and I both! --flying to Chicago three times before March is impossible.

The second is a bit more likely, although I don't know when we'd be able to use those free tickets after our cruise. But if the freebies have a decent longevity it could make a lot of sense. Perhaps my strategy should be to use the WP miles if the seats are still available at booking time, and have the ATA option as a backup if not. Definitely something to consider.

Oh, and regarding the scheduling of a morning NW/CO flight for departure: there are seats available for early flights the day before and the day after I need it...

Thanks again!

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An infrequent flyer trying to change that by earning my miles via alternate methods!
and webmaster at http://www.RewardsLookup.com