CO Stopover/Routing Question
 

Hi all!

I'm hoping one of you knowledgeable folks can offer me some advice on an upcoming award flight I'm taking. I'll do my best to keep it simple.

I currently am booked Toronto to Kauai, returning Maui to Toronto (AC/UA flights).

I'd like to make two changes and will incur the fee to do so.

1) I want to replace Toronto with Montreal as the starting/end points. There is no longer availability on either of the California to/from Hawaii UA flights, but there is availability to/from Montreal that would allow me to connect to my current UA flights to Hawaii. Is it safe to assume this can be done?

2) On my return flight, I'm currently flying Maui - SFO - Toronto [Montreal, hopefully]. I now have the time and would love to visit my folks living just outside of Vegas. Could I feasibly change my return from Maui to Vegas (via SFO), stop there for a few days, then continue on from Vegas to Montreal (there's even a nonstop on AC that's available)? In other words, could OGG-SFO-LAS-YUL with a stopover in Vegas qualify as acceptable routing?

I figured I'd ask for wisdom here, as I find it's always more successful when you call CO to have dates and flight numbers that appear available online ready to go. Thank you so much!

Yes.


Yes.


Be sure to make both changes at once (one fee), and I would start with the Vegas change first, as that's the one that's most variable (you could get an agent that says it's not allowed and you'd have to call back -- and we wouldn't want the first change (the straightforward one) to be done first).

Re #1, I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but if your question is can you change your outbound there shouldn't be a problem assuming there is availability. So you basically want to do a R/T from Montreal to Hawaii?

Re #2, you're allowed one stopover and one open jaw. If I understand open jaw correctly, you should be able to do what you want (open jaw in Hawaii, stopover in LAS).

I would definitely research availability before calling and be armed with your desired flights.

As long as you don't change both origin AND destination, you don't need to pay the fee for the change.

refer this page.
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...s/rewards.aspx

Fee is waived for reward changes 21 days or more in advance, as long as there is no change to the origin and destination.

The OP is changing the origin, as well as adding a stopover, so either of those would incur the fee.

A stopover is a new destination.

Thank you all for the prompt feedback; it proved to be the encouragement I needed to maintain my confidence.

It took 45 minutes, but I ultimately prevailed. First I was told the routing was simply unacceptable as LAS was not on the most direct route back to Canada. I pressed the agent on this point for several reasons, and ultimately she said she was certain it could not be done but would check with a superior. While "waiting on hold" for the supervisor herself, the agent then suggested that there was not availability between SFO and LAS even if it were possible. I stressed that I, in fact, saw availability and gave her the flight numbers. After speaking to the supervisor, she said that my flight already had "too many" stopovers. Apparently, the overnight layover I had no choice but to accept for my award on the outbound seemed to qualify as a "stopover." I emphasized that this was hardly my preference and that I would be happy to do away with my "stopover" night in LA for a same-day trip to Hawaii and instead go ahead with my "stopover" in LAS as desired. Same-day availability to Hawaii did not exist, of course, so she let that go. The return connection in SFO was similarly long, and again out of Continental's "availability" necessity, not my preference. Finally, when I assumed all hope was lost, she said, "Alright, I'm going to do this, but you cannot change your layover in SFO to be any later than it is before going to LAS." As wasting hours in SFO is not on my ideal vacation activity shortlist, I affirmed that this will likely not prove to be an issue. :)

Interestingly, she had no problem changing my outbound flight to originate in Montreal. I point that out as curious simply because I asked for a connecting Air Canada flight from Montreal to connect to my original flight from Toronto to LA (selfishly, so I can meet my spouse in Toronto for the trip). Per the agents strict adherence to the "most direct routing" rules, I'm surprised I got away with it so easily, particularly as YUL-YYZ-LAX didn't even show up as available; I simply piecemealed the flights together myself. Maybe I was so successful because we did this first. (Though, as Channa recommended, I explained my whole purpose first -- though naturally, it was not until we started to do it that it suddenly became impossible.)

Anyway - success in the end, with as few fees as possible, and a trip to see the folks after a trip to Hawaii; hardly anything to complain about. Thanks all. Happy New Year!

Glad you got it sorted!