edymsn

Sorry for being a noob at redeeming miles. I wonder if anyone has any insight into the best way to go about this:

I am looking at travelling STL-FCO in November 2015; the dates are going to be fairly rigid since I'll be going on a cruise out of FCO. Looking to get 3/4 people there on miles, 1/4 on revenue. Questions:

1. Is my best bet to camp out when the window opens (I assume November 2014) and keep checking until I find a deal on miles?
2. Are there any recommended ways to automate looking for deals (I know you can set up an alert for revenue deals, but never seen one for miles)?
3. Anyone have any suggestions for getting the miles flight and revenue flight on the same plane? For some reason, I've found that low award redemptions and cheap revenue don't seem to line up well.

Any help people can suggest would be greatly appreciated!

howtofreetravel

Use award nexus it can camp it out for you

3Cforme

If FCO is your destination don't overlook Alitalia award inventory. One needs to call to book it.

roknroll

I know Alitalia flies out of Boston, Chicago, JFK, and MIA so you could look at trying to get to one of those cities, or even buy a paid fare to get you there. Also think they fly out of YYZ.

MSPeconomist

Whatever you do, make sure that you are scheduled to arrive at least one full day before your cruise departs.

Whether you want travel insurance is debatable as I suspect that you could board your cruise at the next port at your own expense if needed.

MSPeconomist

There should be a lot of flights and cheap fares from STL to ORD/MDW including AA and WN. On DL, it's probably all MSP or DTW connections.

BOS/JFK/MIA would be awkward connections on DL (is there DLConnection service between STL and JFK for TATL connections?) but there should be good service on AA, albeit this would mean purchasing a separate and fairly expensive ticket (hub to hub on AA without much competition).

3Cforme

Delta's STL-JFK could be handy connecting to AZ JFK-FCO. It's presently recognized as a valid (and time efficient) connection.

MSPeconomist

Please read the next paragraph of my post, the part that was omitted from the quote.

Are the flights you mention between STL and JFK mainline or RJ? IIRC they would require a terminal change at JFK, so it's not the most convenient option, but AZ at ORD would use the T5 separate international terminal.

edymsn

You guys are awesome; thanks for all the advice!

SCEflyer

While that may be true, please remember that your departure is more than 15 months away, and I believe schedules are not even loaded until 330 days or so before departure.

Additionally, schedules are always subject to change at any time, as is substitution of aircraft. If you book 11 months out, there is a very strong likelihood that you experience at least one change in both directions.