spark

Hi,
I'm trying to goto places in Canada where no other carriers seem to fly (Charlottetown, Churchill, or St John's). No preferences on where to visit, but I'd love to visit at least one of them (have seem some amazing photos about them). My question is how to get a free ticket on AirCanada.

I have enough miles for two tickets (for me and my husband) on AA, USAir, Delta, and NW, but NOT United. My options seem either (1) apply for United credit card and use them or (2) use starwood points. I don't like both options much since I have several fee-based cards already and I'm saving my starwood points for unexpected mileage needs.

Even with the agreement between Delta and United, I don't think I can use Delta for free tickets on StarAlliance partners, can't I?

I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions. Thanks.
--Sun

Andrew Yiu

No, you can't.

If you don't like the Starwood and the UA credit cards, you can consider the MBNA Aeroplan card. You get 5K points for signing up and then 1 AE miles/$1 USD spent.

YHZ

I can offer a suggesstion for Charlottetown.This is doable if you fly into Halifax and drive. It's a 3.5 hr drive but does take you across the 14 km long Conferderation Bridge.

Halifax (YHZ) is served from Boston by Delta and Detroit (seasonal until Sept 30) by Northwest.

St. John's won't work unless you buy and AC ticket from YHZ.

Good Luck.

YYZC2

Is there a reason you want to fly directly into Charlottetown? Are you or your companion able to drive? If so, I would fly into Halifax and drive from there.

NW flies into Halifax in the summer, and codeshares on CO year-round, and DL flies into Halifax and Fredericton, New Brunswick year-round. Halifax is a great place to base a Maritimes vacation from, and there is no better way to see the region than with your own vehicle.

The drive from Halifax to Charlottetown is 3-4 hours if I remember correctly. You can also purchase a relatively cheap ticket from Halifax to St. John's on CanJet to incorporate Newfoudland into your vacation as well.

The Canadian Maritime region is not very big, geographically speaking. The three provinces that comprise the region share a single telephone area code.

Rental rates for a compact run about $125 US a week for a compact. As an added incentive, most rental car agencies in the region allow you to drop off your car anywhere in the Maritimes without a fee, so if you were to fly into Halifax on Delta, you could fly out of Fredericton without backtracking.

Goldmember

Depending on when you are planning to go, your USAirways points may be redeemable on STAR Carriers. I would expect that USAirways will be fully within the Star Alliance fold within the next 8 months.

MapleLeaf

Only PEI and NS share an area code, NB has their own. As does NF, but they are in the maritimes, only Atlantic Canada.

While it is not big, geographically speaking, to go from Souther NS to Edmunston, NB, or even the tip of Cape Breton can be in excess of 8 hrs of driving. Given some of the breathtaking scenery, you should count on 2 days to do the drive, otherwise it all becomes a blur.

YYZC2

Right you are, ML. My mistake.

spark

Thanks all for great suggestions. I did look into using NW miles for CO flight to Halifax (direct flight from EWR--my homebase). They don't seem to have any availability for this summer's dates, unfortunately. We both think four hour drive is doable, and it would be quite an experience to drive that long bridge we saw in the pictures. If we decide to take on the trip next year, USairways would be handy.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. We really appreciate it.
Happy traveling,
--Sun

jral

In talking to my friends in management at the Halifax Airport Authority recently, there is a fairly good chance that US Airways may start a (RJ?) service within the next year or so: PHL-YHZ...so that might also work (when and IF it happens), should you want to plan for next summer.

As others have stated here, I'd also reccommend the DL, CO, or NW options and then drive to PEI - bridge (or ferry from Pictou). PEI is amazing in the summer!