canabiz

Folks, my wife recently redeemed her Aeroplan points for flights from YOW-ICN and back, for next summer. I don't have enough Aeroplan points so I need to buy the ticket out of my own pocket.

I checked AC website and a couple of travel agencies and was given a quote of $2K for the same flights. I know that's the high season (July departure and August return) but would like to explore other options before committing to buy.

In your opinions, should I wait a bit and see if the price will drop and/or see if there is any promo I can use to knock the price down a bit? I checked the seating plan for said flights and availability is not an issue as of now but who knows what will happen in a couple of months.

I can save some money by taking another flight through the States that will arrive on the same day and within the same time but it is quite a hassle for a few hundred bucks.

Thanks.

Tax Dude

It's pretty early to lock yourself in and it doesn't sound like that price is a bargain. I'd keep my eyes open for a sale or promo code. Set a price that you'd be happy to pay and then book it if it shows up. In the meantime you can work on building up your Aeroplan balance! Maybe you need a few more credit cards or a new CIBC bank account.

briantoronto

If there is reward availability, I would look at buying US Airways points. For about 1350$US you can get a r/t flight to ICN in J.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...is-back-again/

Brian

Stranger

Indeed question is, is it worth the hassle for a few hundred bucks. I would just pay the $2000.

Of course, there is always divorce.

MrFurious96

Best timeframe to look for seat sales or (just good prices) for International flights (Asia, Europe) is 3-4 months out. Maybe 5-6 months at the earliest. Any earlier and they're trying to take advantage of your need to be confirmed. Much later and the seats start to fill up. You can usually do OK until about 2 months prior though. (That said, I recently got burned on an ICH booking - 2 days after my boss booked a good fare, the plane was nearly full and I had to fly through NRT)

Braindrain

Yeah, it could go down but it'd be just a few hundred bucks at most.

If you want to be sure to get the same flights as your wife (if that's what you really want), then buying them now could save a headache later on.

canabiz

Folks, just an update on my situation. Since I last posted, i have managed to accumulate enough points to redeem for a round-trip ticket from YOW to ICN.

Unfortunately, there is no more Aeroplan seat for the flight that my wife will take. We have come to an agreement that we will take separate flights to get to ICN and to come back to YOW. The money that I could save (as opposed to buying the ticket outright from Air Canada) is well worth it because we do plan to visit another Asian country and the saving will definitely come in handy then.

I am planning to put the charge (I have to top up about $100 + $300 for taxes and fees) on my National Bank Platinum Mastercard that comes with built-in trip cancellation insurance. 2 years ago, I used this card to book a flight to Europe and was able to get my money back after we cancelled the trip due to a medical emergency.

My question to you folks is: Is the trip-cancellation insurance valid in this case when I only use the credit card for a partial amount (and the rest redeemed through Aeroplan). Thank you.

Plumber

I doubt it- though you should check the T&Cs of your cc company. Usually you are required to charge the entire cost of the ticket to the card.

Yukonprince

In my case - Aerogold Visa - paid all my expenses for a cancelled trip when I flew on an AP reward ticket.

I think something to do with earning AP points on the card.

BTW - I submitted the claim by mail on a Wednesday and received the cheque ($1,225) 10 days later the next Friday - impressive service!

Braindrain

Aerogold is the only known Cdn CC to cover Aeroplan reward trips.

Even the Amex Aeroplan CC is vague. I've been told an outright "not covered" by Amex agents but now they backtrack a bit for rewards redeemed through their own MR program.

Point blank: Call up your CC company and ask them to point out in the T&C's where reward trips are covered.

KyRoamer

Usually just your loss is covered. On reward tickets I've been told any non-refundable fees plus redeposit fees are covered. value of ticket is not covered because you get your points back when you redeposit.