LeonSays

Hi pentiumvi,

I'm just coming with a routing that I'd like to fly.

Initially I just randomly picked MLE as I know I wanna go there sometime soon and use some Marriot points (since Marriott is going to change their reward structure to dynamic pricing this year as well..)

And based on MLE I then looked up via Good Flight on which *A airlines (without AC) would fly there (with 1-layover only), and it only came down to be Lufthansa/Eurowings via FRA, Etihad Airways via AUH, or Turkish Airlines via IST.

I don't consider the L/E connection via FRA as I have visited Frankfurt in the past already.

The EA connection is too short (~6 hours) for me to get out of airport and browse the city a little bit.

The TA connection is long enough (~11 hours) so that's my best option. However, personally I don't like the seating of Boeing 777-300ER cuz it's 2:3:2 for its business class instead of 1:2:1 which I prefer the most.

Smiley90

As I mentioned above, I'd recommend just looking at what's available on your dates first. If your dates are more than a year out, then look at what's available ~330 days from now to get an estimate/feel for which routes might have good availability. Until then it's all theoretical.

LeonSays

Gotcha! I'll play around with the routing and make my plan before I actually pick up the phone and call Aeroplan.

YYZ1313

Would IAD-AUH (stopover)-LHR-HND-SYD be a valid routing? Seems borderline to me but it would allow me to fly in F on all flights except the HND-SYD segment.

friedablass

This is my first time booking with Aeroplan and I'm glad I ran into this thread because of a question I had unrelated to stopovers so I was reading the last 10 pages on this thread without finding an answer. However, I did become aware that I most likely need to call in to book my itinerary or I'll be (slightly) overpaying for my award, so now I have a question about that too.

It's a pretty simple booking on EY. Routing is JFK-AUH (stopover)-MLE in J. When I price it without the stopover it's 100k miles. When I do multi-city with a stop of several days in AUH it prices at 85k + 25k = 110k. Is it worth calling in to book to save 5k miles per ticket? Will I also save on taxes and fees? If I book a multi-cabin award in J and Y and pay for the whole itinerary in J, will they allow me to upgrade the Y segment if J opens (like AA allows you to do)?

My original question was as follows and applies if I choose to book online: The flights I would like JFK-AUH are available in J but the AUH-MLE segment is only available in Y on the specific date I'm looking at. If I book J the following day will I be able to switch to J on the previous day if/when it becomes available? If yes, will there be a fee and how much is the fee? If J doesn't become available I'm thinking that it might be fine for me to keep the following day but I'd like to keep all my options open.

Alternately, I can book Y on the specific date I want, then my question is if I book the more expensive Latitude award will I be able to upgrade to J for just the fare difference with no fee? Because when I go through to the last page it tells me that "When fare types are combined, the most restrictive cancellation policy will apply to your entire journey." I know this isn't canceling but I just want to make sure that it's worth booking the more expensive Y award and I won't be hit with fees because my J segment is a saver award. I'm really hoping that J will become available on the second segment and then I'll just pay the difference in points and there will be no fee to upgrade.

I hope my questions aren't convoluted and I thank you for taking the time to read and answer this as I'm completely new to booking on Aeorplan and would love to learn and then hopefully help others!

ChrisA330

I think that depends on how much you value your time.


No


Yes before departure



Yes. Changes are $75 of more than 60 days before departure, or $100 otherwise. https://www.aircanada.com/content/da...-policy-en.pdf

However if you book before the end of March, you’ll have one free change from April 1 onwards. https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...ovid-19.html#/

I’m not following this, but rather than get complicated, you’ll have one free change, as per above,

friedablass

Thanks so much for your quick and concise replies! I really appreciate it.

I'll try to rephrase that last question more simply.

When you book online it allows you to select between Standard Award (with fees for changes and refunds) or Latitude Award for more miles (with no fees for changes and refunds). So I just wanted to know if it was worth paying the more miles as not to have to pay a fee to upgrade/change to J but your response saying I get 1 free change from April answers this question because I can book the Lowest/Standard award and still get 1 free change regardless.

Thanks again.

bambinomartino

I spoke to an agent today and she didn't know much, if anything, about stopovers. I have read a fair(?) amount, although to be fair, I've been sleep deprived lately. Stopover to me implies a 2+ leg bookable itinerary into which one adds a number of days at one (or more?) of the connecting cities. But I have been wrong before.

Scenario of two one-way itineraries that can be booked as follows:

AAA - BBB - CCC in J = 25,000 + $100 leaving April 1 (hypothetical)
AAA - BBB - CCC in J = 25,000 + $100 leaving April 3 - identical times/flight numbers

Would that mean, given what looks like very similar availability throughout those dates, that an agent can turn this into:

AAA - 2 days to fool around BBB - CCC in J = 30,000 + $100?

If I am not understanding this correctly, what should I ask the agent in order to be able to get that 2-day break in the connecting city for just an extra 5,000 points?

The actual dates and cities are VAR - IST - CDG, leaving May 28 (the original itinerary had an overnight already), on to CDG on May 31

Thanks!

friedablass

One more question: can I make a date change just for segment 2 online or does it need to be done by phone?

applex

You have to call to make the change.

oneeye4u76

Hi,

I'm flying on an award ticket MEL-SYD-YVR- ORD in a couple months. Can I add a segment ORD to TPA (same day - 3 hour connection) at the rate shown on the AC site of 10K plus fees or will it reprice my entire ticket? I'd like to be on the same ticket to be protected if I'm late to arrive in ORD. I feel I have plenty of time to circle the airport if needed and recheck but that is a hassle I would like to avoid.....

Thanks!

Jasper2009

Unfortunately the entire itinerary will be re-priced based on current award availability / costs.

Quarantine

Hi everyone,

I'd like to book this one-way flight using Aeroplan:

KUL → BKK (layover)
BKK → SYD (stopover)
SYD→ LAX (layover)
LAX → JFK

1. If I were to fly in J, would this be theoretically 105,000 miles + 5k miles for the stopover?
2. Interestingly enough, the agent I spoke to wasn't able to find J availability for SYD -> LAX on UA. United's website did show availability for 200k miles, and I assume that's not Saver and therefore not available to partners. Is that right?
3. For LAX-> JFK with UA, the agent furthermore could not locate this direct flight, even though I could see this on United's own website. Would anyone know why this is?

rankourabu

It needs to be in "I" class. It is very unlikely you will find this route available to partner bookings.
Its rare enough to see it in "IN" class for United elite bookings, nevermind regular saver price.

kalderlake

Yes, 105+5

The easiest way to search is to use the tool located here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-...a-cowtool.html

It requires registration but it's free and it's highly efficient.

Plug in each leg of your trip, find availability that meets the rules re layover length, etc then call in and see if it works.