Is it really that bad?
 

I think it was 2011/2012, Amex was doing some kind of promotion where i got 30% more miles transferring to delta. Booked two first class tickets pdx to ams, i remember it being like 90k per ticket. When on the website today, wanted to try to go to ams in Dec before Christmas. Looks like i can get two tickets for 400k miles or so, are they kidding, tried to play with their calendar, is delta really that bad now? I have around 300k miles with them, is there anywhere i can go?

Business awards during the holidays will be hard, although I was just looking at LHR-PDX round trip for myself in December and found plenty of Level 1 Award pricing (70,000 each way) left.

If you want to be sure of getting Level 1 D1 awards, book when the schedule opens. I was looking at PDX-LHR tickets for my parents in D1 today and there was plenty of availability next May for 2 in D1 at Level 1.

What dates are you looking?

9th, 12th, 14th departing, 17th, 19th, 21st, 22nd returning, all have seats at 140,000 R/T in J.

Currently 140,000 appears to be the lowest.

If only they had a published award chart.

The Level 1 awards are not difficult to ascertain.

Not true. On some routes, sure, it may be possible, but on others practically never. It is highly dependent on the route. On HNL-ATL A330 LMK how many days over the next 331 days you can find the normal price J (sorry, "F") award.

Seems that you've been very selecting reading (or not reading) FT. Everyone is constantly reporting that the connecting flights are often the hardest to get at the normal level.

Searching 330 days one by one and finding very few, and often no, availability at the normal price is "not difficult"? The FT readership is not as dumb as you think to believe what you say. :rolleyes:

Yeah, if you aren't flexible on dates, it is quite difficult.

I am lucky that I am almost always flexible on my dates when I travel, but I feel for the people that have to use their hard earned miles for very specific travel dates. Even with my flexibility, it can get extremely difficult to find saver award space.

archive.org shows that low-level awards to Europe in J where 100K RT in 2011/2012. The increase (from 90K) actually took place back in 2008. Coach awards went from 50K to 60K at the same time. As others have indicated it is basically 140K RT these days. DL has been running monthly 48 hour flash sales for the last year or so (typically announced mid-month) and those have included a couple D1 awards sales to Europe (one for 99K RT and the other for 110K RT). But don't expect the sales to cover peak travel periods. Ultimately, as an MS'er, I'd say you're better off focusing your spend on other programs.

Yes, key is to be flexible, as in +/-5 months...most domestic routes I check (connecting flights like HNL-ATL, HNL-LAX) are either N/A from T-1 to T-331 days out entirely (HNL-ATL), or at best are available only a few days per quarter. And of course when one segment of the flights are available, most likely the other flights are N/A. To get a total O&D trip together, if you have to fly DL, is very difficult, to say the least. More like it requires a lot of luck. Loss of AS has been a major blow for sure, as it used to be that AS was the only at least sometimes available domestic connecting flights.

Then again, AA flight availability is just as bad if not even worse...so it's not just DL.

Agreed. I just resign to paying for the final connecting flight to get me to ATL on my own, and if I can get it included on the award then I am pleasantly surprised.

That said, I find United the easiest to accomplish this one. Chicago, Houston, Wash DC, and/or Newark all do pretty well on saver to Atlanta with some slight flexibility.

...this is a work in progress
 

Didn't say book, said the award levels can be ascertained in reply to award chart complaint. Maybe tone down the DL hate, and follow own advice to read.

Last year it was pretty easy to find D1 RTs to Europe in the summer for 105,000 miles during the flash sale.

This. We get it. DL awards have gotten more expensive and low-level awards are harder to find. Doesn't need to be repeated like a broken record in every single award thread. AND, those who don't frequent the forum also miss the context that folks are often only searching the routes that matter to them. Tightening up TPAC inventory doesn't necessarily mean doing so to the same degree TATL or domestic.

The one upside to all of this is that ironically PWM is now sometimes cheaper than an actual award ticket, and you collect MQM as you pass go (if those matter to you). OP shouldn't overlook that option if he/she has or is willing to get a DL Amex.

Two years in a row I've been able to find RT low availability to EU leaving right after xmas and returning Jan 1-3. We purchased in October and November for December/January travel. Key is being flexible on dates. We had to get creative with the return last year, but found LHR-PHL available and added a $100 PHL-ATL on the back side.

We've also had no problems finding cheap flights during flash sales. Went to Italy for 105k last summer, direct from ATL, leaving Thursday returning Saturday.

Europe isn't bad if you are flexible.