jt71903

@RealHJ, These are the flights I found on the CI website, are they eligible for 70K (BNA-TPE is still 70K on Delta today)? If the agent tries to force it to ticket, am I obligated to purchase the tickets?

MSPeconomist

RealHJ

Check the flights on delta.com segment by segment (dullta.com is close to useless for Origin to Destination searches sometimes; then you have to come up with your own routing and check the availability segment by segment, then call to book if available). First you need to make sure that the award flights you want are available. If not, then pick alternate ones.

If the award flights are available, AND you mix in no DL flights, then yes, this will work as a through-fare. Here as you are mixing in DL flights, it may or not price properly - moment you throw in a DL flight, all logic goes out of the window, unfortunately. However, if the DL flights are available at the normal level (low chance of that), it has a good chance of working as a through-fare.

I suggest first do the CI flights, have it put together, confirm it works properly, then add on DL flights and see what happens.

MSPeconomist

jt71903

@RealHJ, These were the flights I found earlier from the Delta.com, basically they were the same from the CI website. Both results have DL flights in the mix, and Delta still priced it at 70K. Would this work?

RealHJ

Yes, this should work 99% likely (1% if it doesn't work would be if DL somehow has married segment logic to charge more for flights to HKG with this specific routing, but that is unlikely as they don't even show in any search).

DL has blocked its site, and the res system, from allowing you to connect in TPE on CI-CI. But, a good agent will know how to override and get you your connecting flights in TPE.

So yes, this is practically certain to work. If the agent doesn't know what they are doing, HUACA.

Keep in mind that there is a many years long standing bug that will show additive price (87.5K here). A good res agent will know to ignore that and that it will price out at 70K correctly (for valid connections, as yours are), and to proceed with putting the flights quoted into the reservation.

If you get a competent sounding agent who is not sure what they are doing, you can tell them the basic steps (DL doesn't train its staff too well, so most don't really know their way around the numerous serious bugs and design flaws in the DL agents res system):
* in Award Shopping tab input from and to cities and also specify the connection city (TPE) - this last part is a must or else it won't show
* then they need to click on More Options, then SkyMiles/Direct Access, and then Find (if they leave this last part out, and only click on Award, it will not work)

After all that it will quote the incorrect additive price. They should ignore that. When they sell the flights into the reservation, the entire itinerary will price correctly.