xarantine

Hello!

I have a feeling the answer to this will be "nothing to do", but I want a sanity check on what I've done so far from the FT hive-mind.

What I want
Return LHR-HND for 2, outbound 14/11/24, inbound 29/11/24 (or say 24h either side each way).
Outbound CW, inbound at least PE.
(To be honest, the situation doesn't change much even if I flex dates quite a lot - and these are what Ms Xarantine has landed on )

What I have
2-4-1 "premium", bunch of Avios, bunch of Amex MR points

Of course, reward availability on such a route even 8 months out is essentially non-existent, so we'll have to get creative.
Luckily I have managed to get LHR-HND in CW on the 14th, booked with the 2-4-1, evidently out of the extra I-class inventory they make available for 2-4-1 redemptions.

The problem is now getting the return flight, and it's here I could do with some sanity-checking.

There's no I-class availability I can see for 29/11 or the dates around it, which makes sense as none showed up when I made the original redemption. There's also no standard reward availability in any class either...
I could of course just pay cash for the return ticket, which is my default and likely next step, but that means paying the one-way premium (works out at around ~£1k pp for PE vs ~£650 as part of a return).
There are multi-sector options - e.g. via HEL or FRA - that could work... I'd love that, but Ms Xarantine is less enthusiastic about hopping about.

What I've done

• Set up a SeatSpy alert for my target date +-1 day for reward availability
• Got ExpertFlyer to keep an eye on I-class availability - I know you need I8/I9+ and even then it's a crapshoot, but it's better than nothing.
• Checked NH availability (could move MR to Virgin?) but as expected absolutely nothing.
• Checked whether booking return in PE cash and then UuA-ing to CW on the outbound works - fails owing to lack of reward availability on the outbound. Suppose I should SeatSpy that too...

I know that if availability appears I'll need to call to add the extra sector, that's no problem.

Can anyone see anything I might have missed?
Long shot: can I call up to book a cash return as part of the same PNR as my redemption outbound, thereby avoiding the one-way penalty? I am almost certain the answer is "no" - I recall C-W-S saying that "redemption and cash bookings are essentially chalk and cheese" - but worth an ask!

jerry a. laska

You could also search for avios availability for HKG-LHR using your 241 and then book with avios or cash a separate one way HND-HKG.

c1223

The loads for BA6 and BA8 on 29th looking pretty bad... Either side isn't too bad but there's only BA8 so harder to find availability.

I think you'll be better off ignoring your 2-4-1 and buying a premium economy LHR-HND return. The extra YQ for the inbound upgrade is £41.50. So total cost is £1536.89 (for rtn ticket) plus £41.50 plus the 36000 Avios (per person).

Obviously there won't be any availability for the upgrade (either outbound or return) right now, but it may open up in the future.

You may get a POUG offer, or alternatively at the airport you could do an AUP (if available and the price is right).

I assume you're not a Gold member/don't have any GUF voucher.

xarantine

Thanks both!

Not Gold, just lowly Bronze! 😅

Booking PE return for cash and monitoring reward availability is a decent idea. I should have mentioned that I also have a Barclays Upgrade voucher (tho Avios aren’t really the problem, availability is!!).

Of course as you say I could always upgrade for cash if it comes to it, and this would earn us TP and Avios too…