Newby Gold is begging for Delta expert advice on award ticket to Asia!
Nov 21, 2011, 4:08 pm
#61
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: South Carolina
Programs: Delta FO
Posts: 313
:-: Got a kick out of your online chat!
I don't think Delta lets you hold a reservation for an extended time. On tricky award tickets, the benefit is simply saving the itinerary in case you need to call back. I'd be particularly careful trying to hold if the itinerary involves a partner airline.
SIN would be the final destination because it is farther away. Valid itineraries have to satisfy something called MPM (maximum permissible mileage). A stopover in singapore would likely exceed MPM for a roundtrip flight US-China.
I don't think Delta lets you hold a reservation for an extended time. On tricky award tickets, the benefit is simply saving the itinerary in case you need to call back. I'd be particularly careful trying to hold if the itinerary involves a partner airline.
SIN would be the final destination because it is farther away. Valid itineraries have to satisfy something called MPM (maximum permissible mileage). A stopover in singapore would likely exceed MPM for a roundtrip flight US-China.
Nov 21, 2011, 9:33 pm
#62
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL PM, SPG Plat
Posts: 885
Federal Flyer I just got the dates I must be in Nanjing! 9 July to Friday, 27 July, 2012.
That means I'd like to leave NYC 30 June or 1 July (29 June is also possible) and return to NYC 28, 29 or 30 July.
The very ideal itinerary would be
JFK - NRT - SIN (5-6 nights here) - NKG(3 weeks here) - NRT(or whatever) - NYC
JFK-NRT and NRT-SIN are Delta operated flights
SIN-NKG (MU750) is a China Eastern direct flight
but I'm guessing this is way too much to hope for
That means I'd like to leave NYC 30 June or 1 July (29 June is also possible) and return to NYC 28, 29 or 30 July.
The very ideal itinerary would be
JFK - NRT - SIN (5-6 nights here) - NKG(3 weeks here) - NRT(or whatever) - NYC
JFK-NRT and NRT-SIN are Delta operated flights
SIN-NKG (MU750) is a China Eastern direct flight
but I'm guessing this is way too much to hope for
USA-SIN (I'd consider LAX-ICN-SIN on KE on July 2) with SIN as your destination.
Return is SIN-NKG (open jaw here for 3 weeks).. Take a train to somewhere nearby (XXX) then go XXX-TYO (stopover here) -LAX/SEA/MSP/DTW/ATL or whatever you can find. The ex-TYO may be the toughest leg to find. That and the legs to and from JFK.
Nov 21, 2011, 9:45 pm
#63
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PVD, GVA, BUD
Programs: AA ExecP
Posts: 830
I think it might make the most sense to look for the following:
USA-SIN (I'd consider LAX-ICN-SIN on KE on July 2) with SIN as your destination.
Return is SIN-NKG (open jaw here for 3 weeks).. Take a train to somewhere nearby (XXX) then go XXX-TYO (stopover here) -LAX/SEA/MSP/DTW/ATL or whatever you can find. The ex-TYO may be the toughest leg to find. That and the legs to and from JFK.
USA-SIN (I'd consider LAX-ICN-SIN on KE on July 2) with SIN as your destination.
Return is SIN-NKG (open jaw here for 3 weeks).. Take a train to somewhere nearby (XXX) then go XXX-TYO (stopover here) -LAX/SEA/MSP/DTW/ATL or whatever you can find. The ex-TYO may be the toughest leg to find. That and the legs to and from JFK.
Another option - don't forget to look at MH: LAX-TPE (MH)-XYZ (CI). I've had luck finding 2 seats for multiple dates on this routing. Takes a while to have an agent look as they have to long sell, but be patient.
CI has a decent amount of availability out of TPE, and TPE is a pretty easy transit point. Just another option if everything else dries up.
Agree on the ex-TYO. You could also consider a day trip out of TYO, and then take the NGO-DTW home.
Is NGO-SIN still offered, or am I mistaken this was once a DL route?
Nov 22, 2011, 1:10 am
#64
FlyerTalk Evangelist & Ambassador: China
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: DEN
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Posts: 17,421
Nov 23, 2011, 12:11 am
#65
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
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Posts: 4,928
What about AeroMexico
This could work well for you, if you are willing to make two connections in Mexico. With AeroMexico, you can fly JFK-MEX-TIJ-PVJ and there should be awards possible for redemption. I have read good reviews for the China and Japan flights; who would know?
Nov 30, 2011, 1:01 pm
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: NYC
Posts: 57
Still working on approval at work and looking into options.
I guess my best bet is to splurge on KVS availability tool membership to have even a chance of booking this thing.
That Delta's one-way costs same as 2 way irritates me greatly. It would be so convenient and solve my miles shortage problem if you can book one way for the price of one way. There is an easy, no-hastle First Class Milesaver available for flight back from PVG on the date we want. Cheap and available, taunting me... Sigh.
Nothing is a low level award on Delta in July. We based our selection of airline to earn status on based on personal experience with on-time flights and and travel experience (which were horrible with AA) but now I think we made a mistake. AA, while late and inept when flying, has a much much easier award redemption.
I just booked our trip to Vail Eagle airport without even having to call anyone, on dates we wanted, for 25K pp roundtrip.
I guess my best bet is to splurge on KVS availability tool membership to have even a chance of booking this thing.
That Delta's one-way costs same as 2 way irritates me greatly. It would be so convenient and solve my miles shortage problem if you can book one way for the price of one way. There is an easy, no-hastle First Class Milesaver available for flight back from PVG on the date we want. Cheap and available, taunting me... Sigh.
Nothing is a low level award on Delta in July. We based our selection of airline to earn status on based on personal experience with on-time flights and and travel experience (which were horrible with AA) but now I think we made a mistake. AA, while late and inept when flying, has a much much easier award redemption.
I just booked our trip to Vail Eagle airport without even having to call anyone, on dates we wanted, for 25K pp roundtrip.
Nov 30, 2011, 1:13 pm
#67
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PVD, GVA, BUD
Programs: AA ExecP
Posts: 830
Still confused how you managed to get this to happen - I tried 10s and 10s of agents. Ultimately, I was able to book BOS-SLC-LAX-TPE-SGN, REP-NRT, NGO-DTW-BOS for 120k (2 tickets at that) without issue...but I would have preferred the EU routing.
Nov 30, 2011, 1:39 pm
#68
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I'm not sure which is the definitive fare basis to permit award routings, but DL's Y, JFF and JFFUS fares for BOS-SGN all have routings via the Atlantic with higher MPMs than the TPAC routings for other fare bases.
Nov 30, 2011, 1:43 pm
#70
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We based our selection of airline to earn status on based on personal experience with on-time flights and and travel experience (which were horrible with AA) but now I think we made a mistake. AA, while late and inept when flying, has a much much easier award redemption.
I just booked our trip to Vail Eagle airport without even having to call anyone, on dates we wanted, for 25K pp roundtrip.
I just booked our trip to Vail Eagle airport without even having to call anyone, on dates we wanted, for 25K pp roundtrip.
Nov 30, 2011, 2:07 pm
#71
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PVD, GVA, BUD
Programs: AA ExecP
Posts: 830
Hm - interesting. Are you saying the allowable MPM is greater, or the actual mileage exceeds the published MPM?
Nov 30, 2011, 2:22 pm
#72
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
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Posts: 4,550
I'm not an experienced international traveler, and to be honest did not take the time to read through the entire thread, but I am similar to the OP in that (a) have not flown international J before (b) booked a complicated trip to synch up with travel of my significant other (c) had one account with a lot of miles and the other with not enough.
In my case, S.O. was going RDU-OTP (Bucharest), then to CDG, where I meet her and then we fly back to RDU together.
My experience:
a) I could put her ticket on hold for 48 hours because she didn't have enough miles in her account. I booked her ticket, held it, then booked mine, going through various permutations, and eventually found an itinerary I was happy with, then went back and transferred enough Amex points to get her account up to where it needed to be.
b) We are flying Y in one direction and J in the other.
c) We are flying on partner metal. You cannot get interntional F tickets with DL miles, you can't get partner F and DL doesn't have F, only J.
d) Here's the biggie, I called over and over and over. I had one CSR give me flight options, then the next time I called I started to tell the CSR the flights I wanted her to look at and she told me "I can't look at anything in particular, I just have to search." I wound up making at least 5, maybe 6, calls in a 72-hour period. (At one point I made a chance in my wife's reservation, which extended the hold period.)
e) With enough persistence, we wound up with tickets for the minimum (30K to Europe in Y and 50K home from Europe in J).
As a rewind to last year, when Mrs. Redtop went to Europe (alone) I called DL and got the following mileage quotes for RDU-OTP: 92,500-120,000 depending on routing, then 200,000, then "nothing available," then 60,000 (the minimum).
I was told that they can only search 5 days, i.e. if you want to go in one direction on a given day, they can search that day, then search returns in a 5-day window.
Anyway, that was my experience - mostly about persistence.
In my case, S.O. was going RDU-OTP (Bucharest), then to CDG, where I meet her and then we fly back to RDU together.
My experience:
a) I could put her ticket on hold for 48 hours because she didn't have enough miles in her account. I booked her ticket, held it, then booked mine, going through various permutations, and eventually found an itinerary I was happy with, then went back and transferred enough Amex points to get her account up to where it needed to be.
b) We are flying Y in one direction and J in the other.
c) We are flying on partner metal. You cannot get interntional F tickets with DL miles, you can't get partner F and DL doesn't have F, only J.
d) Here's the biggie, I called over and over and over. I had one CSR give me flight options, then the next time I called I started to tell the CSR the flights I wanted her to look at and she told me "I can't look at anything in particular, I just have to search." I wound up making at least 5, maybe 6, calls in a 72-hour period. (At one point I made a chance in my wife's reservation, which extended the hold period.)
e) With enough persistence, we wound up with tickets for the minimum (30K to Europe in Y and 50K home from Europe in J).
As a rewind to last year, when Mrs. Redtop went to Europe (alone) I called DL and got the following mileage quotes for RDU-OTP: 92,500-120,000 depending on routing, then 200,000, then "nothing available," then 60,000 (the minimum).
I was told that they can only search 5 days, i.e. if you want to go in one direction on a given day, they can search that day, then search returns in a 5-day window.
Anyway, that was my experience - mostly about persistence.
Dec 1, 2011, 2:10 am
#73
Join Date: Jul 2010
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There are often extra fares filed from coastal cities to Asian destinations, so that one has the TATL MPM and the other has the TPAC MPM. What's frustrating about this is that people have a horrible time routing SEA/SFO/LAX-India via the Pacific, even though DL publishes fares that route that TPAC, and JFK/WAS/BOS-Asia via the Atlantic when AF/KL clearly have fares published on those routings and sometimes DL even has them. I think the success stories we've seen for routing Asia via the Atlantic or India via the Pacific have been 100% on partner metal so that a published fare from that partner is checked for the routing. A definitive statement (rather than deadening silence) from DL on this would be nice.
Dec 1, 2011, 2:21 am
#74
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 22,778
Just to add to previous poster
Right now DL has a November promotion for 100% bonus miles for transfer.
If you have the cash to spare it will help get you up to J class if you transfer 150K miles of his miles to your account would give you 300K miles to play with. I think it is easier to make it happen this way. You of course need to sign up for it and read the T&C first.
Middle of summer is a tough time to fly because it all depends on availability. You are much better off, if you are willing to fly other partner airlines. But also be aware they may slap a Fuel Charge at the airport on you.
Right now DL has a November promotion for 100% bonus miles for transfer.
If you have the cash to spare it will help get you up to J class if you transfer 150K miles of his miles to your account would give you 300K miles to play with. I think it is easier to make it happen this way. You of course need to sign up for it and read the T&C first.
Middle of summer is a tough time to fly because it all depends on availability. You are much better off, if you are willing to fly other partner airlines. But also be aware they may slap a Fuel Charge at the airport on you.
Dec 1, 2011, 2:57 am
#75
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 22,778
You are very lost..... let me construct some trips for you to illustrate what a round trip is.
Return trip from BKK to JFK:
1)BKK - NRT - JFK - CDG - BKK
2)BKK - NRT - JFK - NRT - BKK
3)BKK - CDG - JFK - NRT - BKK
4)BKK - ICN - JFK - ICN - BKK
5)BKK - BOM - BRU - LHR - JFK - LHR - BRU - BOM - BKK
All of these would price out at 120K miles if you can find the inventory with the correct airline(s) (meaning not just delta). These are off the top of my head.
YMMV.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-holidays.html
try reading up what this guy did as an example.
Return trip from BKK to JFK:
1)BKK - NRT - JFK - CDG - BKK
2)BKK - NRT - JFK - NRT - BKK
3)BKK - CDG - JFK - NRT - BKK
4)BKK - ICN - JFK - ICN - BKK
5)BKK - BOM - BRU - LHR - JFK - LHR - BRU - BOM - BKK
All of these would price out at 120K miles if you can find the inventory with the correct airline(s) (meaning not just delta). These are off the top of my head.
YMMV.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-holidays.html
try reading up what this guy did as an example.