rankourabu

Booked for 2
YYZ-WAW-KRK (LO/LO) stop
KRK-ZRH-SIN (LX/LX) dest
SIN-BKK-HKT (TG/TG) stop
HKT-IST-LIS-YYZ (TK/TK/TP)

$327 tax pp (incl minimal LO/TG YQ)
$33.90 booking fee pp

Very happy to avoid the USA, and having to fly any AC.

Tifosi

This is in Feb/Mar 2020. NH space was difficult to find. SQ was really hit and miss in J for any longer segments, though short hops within Asia/Ocenia or longer flights in Y were widely available.

maverikbc

I'm not going to cross 2 oceans, but leaving from YVR, I could fly a lot for only 115k miles in J, and I'm happy with my redemption. I wanted to book this before the September deadline, I'm glad I was able to meet the deadline. I originally wanted to travel next month, but I didn't find any J award spaces TATL with low YQ carriers leaving west coast. TK MEX/CUN route's availabilities were good, but it really adds to MPM, poor transfer experience in Mexico, and poor J experience between YVR and MEX/CUN, so it went out of my consideration. I then looked at going thru TPE with BR, but it's over the MPM. Thru PEK may be within MPM, but it's also out, with poor connecting experience at PEK including poor CA lounge, mediocre CA J experience, and not so low YQ.

I happened to find sporadic availability of UA Polaris TLV-SFO in spring, as well as SK J SFO-CPH. While I was tweaking the routing, SK seat was gone the date I wanted to leave, so booked LX J instead.

Link to the map: Great Circle Mapper

YVR-SFO UA Y 11 hrs layover
SFO-ZRH LX J 77W
ZRH-LJU JP J 15 hrs overnight layover
LJU-TGD JP J stop 1 week
TGD-WAW LO J 22 hrs overnight layover
WAW-LWO LO J stop 2 weeks
LWO-IST TK J 6 hrs overnight layover
IST-BUS TK J destination 1 week
BUS-IST TK J 14 hrs layover
IST-TLV TK J 12 hrs layover
TLV–SFO UA J 77W 13 hrs layover
SFO-YVR AC J
Cost: 115k miles, $434 taxes and fees, booking fee

Why I like my itinerary:
* If I stayed in TLV for more than 24 hours, it would've costed me 165k instead of 115k!
* Wanted to check out Polaris lounge: the closest to me is at SFO
* Nice to have access to Polaris lounge after a 15-hr flight from TLV and being able to take shower and refresh before heading to SF. And it may be even possible to have dinner before heading home?

Remarks:
* united.com showed more flights than aeroplan.com for YVR-SFO and IST-TLV, I couldn't choose the flights I wanted. The rep told me the mismatch between those 2 sites happen about half the time, and I was lucky.
* I picked LX and UA for TATL, and avoided LH, etc, but taxes and fees were higher than I guessed.
* I couldn't see any seats with A3
* I don't find any partners' booking references in my confirmation, so I'm glad that I wrote down.

CanadianMike

Just to clarify, award space that appears on UA is bookable when calling into AE?
Or have there been issues with "phantom" availability that you / we can see on UA but the AE agents can't?

maverikbc

All of the legs appeared on united.com were bookable with Aeroplan, except YVR-SFO and IST-TLV.

For YVR-SFO, united.com showed more UA flights, while aeroplan.com and ana.co.jp showed less flights and seemed identical. It's understandable if UA releases more seats for its own members.

For IST-TLV, united.com and ana.co.jp showed same results, while aeroplan.com and the rep told me a lot less flights were available that day.

Phantom space? I have no idea.

aznfreak007

ist-tlv is closed to each other, the mpm for aeroplan must be low and few star alliance in the region making choices are less. other frequent flyer plan might still allow published routing, meaning if it's a published route, one can go over the mpm.

rankourabu

From 120k RTWs in F, through Aeroplan mistakes (China as domestic, J for Y miles goof, and 30k J RTWs ex-Asia), to battling to avoid YQ, Credit card signups and points have paid off handsomely over the years. Now Aeroplan accounts finally sit empty.

Booked my last personal multistop for me and wife before the Sep.1 deval for travel next July.

First, had two agents refuse to book by segment, one said "we are only allowed to offer you what the system gives us searching A to B" (sign of things to come?)
But finally found a competent one.

There was no way to make JNB and DPS work from Toronto within MPM, could not find any JNB-SIN space, never mind 2 seats, but a JFK departure (and IAD) was just below it, even with a PER or ADD routing.

All segments in J

JFK-JNB (SA A340) stop
JNB-PER-SIN-DPS (SA A340/SQ A350/SQ 787) dest
DPS-IST-VIE (TK 787/TK A330) stop
VIE-CAI-YYZ-LGA (MS 737/MS 777/AC)

155k x2, CAD182.50 x2 tax, $34 x2 booking fee

RIP Aeroplan minirtws

canadiancow

Out of curiosity, are you starting in NYC because you want to, or because you were unable to find a YYZ-NYC flight?

rankourabu

because YYZ-DPS via JNB is over MPM. JFK-DPS via JNB is within (as is IAD).

YYZ would work if JNB-SIN nonstop was ever available)

canadiancow

I swear I read your whole post before asking that, and you'd already answered, sorry

rankourabu

Its weird, because online JFK-JNB(stop)-PER-SIN-DPS(stop)-TPE-JFK was pricing at 150k

crimsona

If one were willing to give up Europe stop, setting Perth as destination out of YYZ would have made everything else a piece of cake

rankourabu

*IF* one was to give up Europe - it would have been easy to return PER-SIN-DPS(stop)-TPE-YYZ. But Europe was needed.

Also, one is not allowed to go WAW-ORD-YYZ-LGA apparently. Something about cabbage.

canadiancow

I've NEVER had trouble booking something like that through Aeroplan, and I've done it many times. I've often needed placeholders like EU-USeastcoast-YYZ-SFO until LH F opens up.

Cabotage would be flying ORD-LGA via YYZ. You're flying WAW-LGA.

The only issues are at check-in. Especially in BOS.

rankourabu

I know you are right, I ve done it too, but two agents said system wont let them book it, so I said F it.