best way in award J to DAC (Bangladesh)

 
Old Jan 17, 2009, 7:06 am
  #1  
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best way in award J to DAC (Bangladesh)

I want to visit my father in Bangladesh in 3 weeks.

I figure if I'm going halfway around the world I should stop off at interesting places along the way there and back.

I am PLT with 140k miles. That seems to be sufficient for a J award ticket.

I've never tried to use an award ticket. Is this difficult?

Any suggestions on carrier? AA does not fly to DAC but BA and CX do. Perhaps I can fly CX there and spend a few days in Hong Kong on the way and fly back BA on the return and stay in London (though I'm sure it's a dreary wintery hell right now).

Is it possible to book an award J ticket on such short notice? Is it worth paying $1k to buy 40k miles so I can get an F award ticket?

If this is too much of a newbie question then please delete thread and ban user.

Thank you,
Rayfes
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Old Jan 17, 2009, 8:10 am
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Call AA. Your time is short so you will need to be flexible to have any chance. I would not get your hopes up for anything other than coach--and even that will be tough considering the short notice. To get seats up front on this type of itinerary you need to be booking almost a year in advance.
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Old Jan 17, 2009, 8:26 am
  #3  
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If you do the AA all-partner award to Indian Subcontinent (J is 135k), it stipulates transatlantic travel only, so that pretty much limits you to an AA/BA routing via LHR.

The best bet seems to be a oneworld award, where your required mileage is based on the actual miles you fly. See the sticky thread at the top of the forum or this page at aa.com for more details.

A quick check of the mileage shows you could do the routing you proposed on AA/CX/BA, something like AUS-LAX-HKG-DAC-LHR-DFW-AUS, for under 20k flight miles, which would cost you only 130k for J, less actually than the Indian award above.

However, as flyupfront mentioned above, you're biggest problem now will be finding availability, so you might not have many choices.
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Old Jan 20, 2009, 1:43 pm
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Thanks for the quick responses!

As suspected there are no award J class tickets available and only a handful of Y for 90k.

I was told that award inventory is released 330 days ahead of time so I'll try to catch the beginning of that window for my next trip. But I usually don't plan my travel anywhere near that far in advance. So it looks like all my overseas international travel will be in Y regardless of my status.

Rayfes
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Old Jan 20, 2009, 2:54 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by rayfes
Thanks for the quick responses!

As suspected there are no award J class tickets available and only a handful of Y for 90k.

I was told that award inventory is released 330 days ahead of time so I'll try to catch the beginning of that window for my next trip. But I usually don't plan my travel anywhere near that far in advance. So it looks like all my overseas international travel will be in Y regardless of my status.

Rayfes
Inventory is also released at other random points if flights are lightly booked. This is unreliable at best but by no means is the 330 day inventory a one shot deal.
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Old Jan 20, 2009, 3:13 pm
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Originally Posted by rayfes
Thanks for the quick responses!

As suspected there are no award J class tickets available and only a handful of Y for 90k.

I was told that award inventory is released 330 days ahead of time so I'll try to catch the beginning of that window for my next trip. But I usually don't plan my travel anywhere near that far in advance. So it looks like all my overseas international travel will be in Y regardless of my status.

Rayfes
Checking last minute usually yields better results than checking long periods in advance. If you can travel at less than a weeks notice then you'll likely be set for this.
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Old Jan 20, 2009, 3:39 pm
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Originally Posted by rayfes
I was told that award inventory is released 330 days ahead of time so I'll try to catch the beginning of that window for my next trip.
By the next time, there will no longer be a BA flight LHR-DAC (this service ends March 2009) so you will have fewer choices.
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Old Jan 21, 2009, 8:36 am
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Originally Posted by flyupfront
Call AA. Your time is short so you will need to be flexible to have any chance. I would not get your hopes up for anything other than coach--and even that will be tough considering the short notice. To get seats up front on this type of itinerary you need to be booking almost a year in advance.
Nonsense.
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Old Jan 21, 2009, 8:37 am
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Originally Posted by rayfes
Thanks for the quick responses!

As suspected there are no award J class tickets available and only a handful of Y for 90k.

I was told that award inventory is released 330 days ahead of time so I'll try to catch the beginning of that window for my next trip. But I usually don't plan my travel anywhere near that far in advance. So it looks like all my overseas international travel will be in Y regardless of my status.

Rayfes
Your status has no bearing here...
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Old May 12, 2009, 8:21 pm
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Originally Posted by kalia960
By the next time, there will no longer be a BA flight LHR-DAC (this service ends March 2009) so you will have fewer choices.
My trip was delayed because of some unexpected surgery so I'm trying to reschedule for late this year / early '10.

As quoted, BA no longer flies to DAC but CX and JAL do. However I called AA and was told they could not book an award ticket to DAC through them. They could get me to Delhi, Dubai, Singapore, or Hong Kong and I'd be responsible for booking the rest of the way. That seems odd but I'll call back and I'll try calling OW.

Just wanted to give an update since FT was so helpful last time I investigated this. Now that I've got more time (and more miles) I'm going to try to snag an F award ticket.

I see plenty of 180K F availability from AUS-ORD-DEL for November right now.
So at worst I can book that and buy a separate ticket on JAL for DEL-DAC.

Thanks again,
Rayfes
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Old May 12, 2009, 8:42 pm
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Thanks for the follow-up

Originally Posted by rayfes
My trip was delayed because of some unexpected surgery so I'm trying to reschedule for late this year / early '10.

As quoted, BA no longer flies to DAC but CX and JAL do. However I called AA and was told they could not book an award ticket to DAC through them. They could get me to Delhi, Dubai, Singapore, or Hong Kong and I'd be responsible for booking the rest of the way. That seems odd but I'll call back and I'll try calling OW.
Thank you for following up. ^ Bangladesh is somewhere I'm very interested in going so your results are of particular interest to me.

I would definitely call back and try another agent. If partners fly there, you should be able to get a ticket -- provided there is availability.
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Old May 13, 2009, 5:27 am
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The real issue is probably that the "good" connections (in HKG) don't really exist. Try

AUS 0845 ORD 1119
ORD 1250 NRT 1535
NRT 1700 HKG 2045
HKG 2225 DAC 0030
May not apply in your travel period or days - I used Jul 09 dates
It's about 600 mi further than AUS-LAX-HKG-DAC which is likely to need a 20+ hours connection in HKG.

Booking engines and TAs don't like that many connections
Start by asking if there is availability on those flights.

Happy wandering

Fred
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Old May 18, 2009, 7:08 pm
  #13  
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Thanks for the tips Fred!

I called again and got a hold of a wonderful AAgent named Jim Haas.

I've got a horrid 15 hour connection in HKG but only in one direction since I am staying in Hong Kong to visit a friend on the return. This is what I have on hold right now with flight number, cabin and times:

19Jan2010
AUS to LAX AA flt 427(Z) 1850 to 2010
LAX to HKG CX flt 881(U) 0005 to 0730
HKG to DAC KA flt 110(U) 2235 to 0100

29Jan2010
DAC to HKG KA flt 111(U) 0200 to 0740

05Feb2010
HKG to LAX CX flt 882(Z) 1625 to 1255
LAX to AUS AA flt 2246(Z) 1900 to 2350

I am concerned about the DragonAir flights since they show cabin booking code U as economy though U shows business on Cathay Pacific. I'll call back and confirm since I'd like be in business or first the whole trip. I believe this was booked as 3 one-way award tickets for a cost of $116.70 + 82.5K miles.

Next thing I need to do is determine what kind of lounge access I have as PLT flying in business. I know my Diner's Club card gives me access to some lounges in HKG. With 13 hours there I need to check if there's a transit hotel too. I stayed in one in Singapore which was great.

I need to verify the costs if I change dates. I believe I only have to pay a fee if I change the routing. If my sick Aunt's

I appreciate FT's help and advice! Hopefully someone else will find this information useful too.

Thank you,
Rayfes
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Old May 18, 2009, 8:14 pm
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As a Plat, you have access to OneWorld Business Clubs... check the list http://www.oneworld.com/ow/ffp/lounge-access/search
at HKG... there seem to be 3 CX Business Class lounges, a BA/QF and also a JAL lounge...

At LAX, since you are flying CX, you can access the British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas Joint Lounges (First and Business Class)

you might want to Priceline a hotel at HLG if you want to sleep... or just lounge hop, or even head into the city for a few hours...
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Old May 19, 2009, 8:18 pm
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Thanks jfkeze for the information about lounge access. It looks like I am set there.

Even though aa.com shows cabin booking class U as economy on the DragonAir flights another AAgent has stated that this is a business class. I'd like to get confirmation online or from other source but I think I'm ok.

I did find out that the total miles required for this award travel is 67.5k + 90k = 157.5k. I guess this is because I am business class on the departure and first on the return. Although on the return I'm only in first for the CX flight from HKG to LAX not on DAC to HKG or LAX to AUS. The CX portion shows 747-400 as the equipment. Any opinions on whether first is that much better than biz in this case? Being in first on this segment is an extra 22.5k miles.

Thanks again,
Rayfes
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