Help: Tips for booking Redemption Tickets
 

Hi All,

I'm trying to book CX Companion Award (Business Class) tickets for my wife. I thought the trick is to look for available flights by checking the Economy to Business class upgrade availability. I called MPC to booked flights that where available as upgrade but was surprised to hear that my wife is on waiting list (as companion) for those flights. I use to do this trick when looking for availability. has anything changed?
I would want to check availabilty 1st before doing my own booking (CX system requires you to have a booking before you can check companion award availability).
Thanks for all the help and inputs.

I also think that booking companion ticket will be easier, but it seems not in your case. My suggestions:
* Buy upgradable tickets (YBHK) and upgrade both of you. It will be much less expensive but require a lot more miles.
* I assume your wife does not have a MPC Gold status. Buy your wife a business class ticket and get yourself a companion ticket. It should be much easier getting a companion redemption for yourself with your MPC Gold status.

Of course, it is wise checking redemption availability first before ticketing the non-redemption one.

Thanks for the suggestions cxfan :)
However, these are my comments:
1. It will cost me more miles 75,000 vs 140,000 (2 x upgrade)
but cost only US$630 cheaper :( (Trip to Europe, BTW)
2. My wife is Silver but only has a few miles in her account. If my wife is the "paid ticket holder" and she gets me a companion award, isn't it required that the miles will be coming from her account?

I used my miles to upgrade my wife on her trip. So I thought that you could use your miles with her ticket to get a companion ticket for yourself. However, you may be right. You can give MPC a call.

Just confirmed with MPC, for a companion award ticket miles must be taken from the "paid ticket" member and not from the companion (companion doesn't have to be MPC or asiamiles member, BTW)

Also clarified about priority waitlist, since I am Gold, my companion gets the same gold member waitlist priority regardless of his status. (Unless he is Diamond of course! :D)

in fact, to push this a bit more, if I remember right in fact the companion doesn't need to be on your redemption group list at all either - so using companion awards won't use up slots on your 5-member-max redemption group.