Milnio87

I just did it, after lots of learning to use ITA Matrix and keeping a regular eye on things I just bagged my first ever EX-EU fare in CW for September. It is all thanks to this board on FT - so a huge thank you for opening my eyes! My wife thinks it is quite strange, but when I show her the difference in price she soon warms to the slightly odd sensation of taking an alternative route!

So we have booked for September:

AMS - LGW - TPA - LGW - LHR - AMS (conveniently the airport change at the end might mean I get lost and end up at home...)

Booked this with combined hire car for 8 days and it worked out at £1,610 per person. Comparable booking direct from LGW was £2,550 - so a nice saving. We take a positioning flight the night before to AMS from LGW in ET which cost £59 each.

My only failing was that this part was not booked using an avios redemption in CE, but I did just spend all the household avios on an F redemption to BOM, so not all bad.

So, my only questions are thus:

1) Does anybody know any decently positioned hotels at AMS?
2) How easy is it to transfer at LGW? Our flight from AMS has a connection time of 1 hour 20 mins which BA was fine with - I'm sure this won't be an issue, but any experience shared would be welcomed

Thanks again FT - not only an informative and entertaining board, but also a real money saver!

Cheers,
Alex ^

V10

I'm not sure that I can provide any insight into your specific questions but now I'm ideally positioned to take advantage of travel ex-BRU, I too may be looking into this sort of thing in more detail in future.

Milnio87

Well, the savings are well worth it in my opinion!!

Looking at some old threads the transfer time at LGW shouldn't be an issue.

windowontheAside

There are tons of airport hotels at Schipol. I generally go to a comparison site and see what's available and at what price on the date I need.

I tend to favour citizen M as it's easy walking distance from the terminal and the quirky rooms amuse me. I also favour the no-nonsense DIY check in and well stocked cafe ... but it's probably a little too 'bijou' for a couple.

BotB

Great to hear Milnio87 ^ , ex EU trips are very good value and I am sure you will be hooked on them once you try it...

I can answer your first question to a degree and certainly others will come and answer the second (and add to the first I am sure!)

Hotels with easy access at AMS for a next day return:

in the terminals themselves (involves collecting bags then going back through customs to the departures area and then in the morning going back out again and checking your bags to go back through customs yet again to departures...entertaining if you are staying the night anyway...)

Mercure
Yotel

In the immediate airport area (attached or within a 5 minute walk):

Sheraton (attached)
Hilton (attached through parking garage but still a 5 minute walk)

I've stayed at the Yotel (good to try out and inexpensive for such ex EU trips IMO), the Sheraton (nice but expensive) and the Hilton (okay but not brilliant and soon to be replaced)...

Hope this helps, enjoy your trip and the saved money!

Cymro

Maybe you could still POUG the positioning flight if you want the extra TP, although this will just barely get you into bronze if you're starting from scratch - the difference between 330 and 360 TP for the trip is unlikely to make a huge difference.

Milnio87

Thanks! The hotels within departures sound interesting - I like Yotel so that could well work!

Certainly will enjoy the saved cash - makes all the repeat searches on ITA feel well worth it! Was very surprised when they finally came in at a great price and at sociable times today!!

Milnio87

I have a CE booking to MLA in June which gets me 160, add in the 330 for this gets me to 490....now to find an excuse to fly somewhere to get to Silver!!

BotB

Something to whet your appetite and give a few Yotel AMS pictures is here (from my last ex EU trip)...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ort-sorts.html

Seat64A

I'm a Citizen M fan. The Sheraton is just too expensive whilst the reviews for the Hilton are mixed. I suppose they stopped investing in the Hilton once the new one was on the cards.

The Yotel, too, suffers from some negative reviews, especially in relation to corridor noise if I remember correctly.

It is, however, cheaper than the Mercure Terminal. A big drawback of the Mercure, tho', is that you can't check in until 8pm. No good for those departing early who need their beauty sleep!

Johnnie W

Based on a stay last August, earlier check-in is possible:

1) if the room us unoccupied in the previous 'block' of four hours during which it could otherwise have been booked as a dayroom

and

2) if you are prepared to pay the cost of the four hour block (which I was)

Can't now remember the price, but I do remember it made the whole thing feel pretty costly.

A big plus was avoiding the huge Security queues - travelling through for a 7h Zurich departure with LX earlier this month was quite an experience...

JW

Globaliser

You know that flying the fourth sector would probably get you the cheapest 40 TPs you'll ever earn?

chris1979

Am staying in citizen M in May for positioning flight. Looked "hip" ish and was good value whilst being very close to the airport.

I tend to position on quite late flight and eat in GF and then just hit the sack.

flibbly

If I do an ex-AMS I prefer a hotel in the city centre so that I can make the most of my night there rather than hanging around the airport (but then Amsterdam is one my favourite cities). I generally go for the cheap but clean, newly renovated and central "WestCord City Centre". Only a couple of minutes walk from the Centraal train station.

Filthy Monkey

...and if you buy a return CE fare from LGW to AMS for probably around £150 each, added to your planned points for this trip and the trip to MLA, you will hit silver.