Award Ticket Success - Post It Here
Aug 3, 2010, 2:51 pm
#1651
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 33
I took DenLoyd's method and applied a few of my own principles and came out a winner. The DL booking engine is moody but I have to say with a little patience and few variables here and there, you can get what you're looking for... aside from maybe the most saught after destinations.I went and booked 4 months worth of flights using my miles for some hockey and soccer games coming up in the near future and lucked out getting Y seating in all but one of my itineraries.
PBI - ATL - SVO/SVO -ATL -PBI 9/3-9/10 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - JFK - ARN/ ARN-JFK-PBI 9/30-10/4 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - LAX/LAX - ATL - MLB 10/15 - 10/18 "Y" 100K
PBI - ATL - YYZ/YYZ - ATL - PBI 10/29-10/31 "Y" to "J" return 70k
MLB - ATL - HFD/HFD - ATL - MLB 11/6 - 11/7 "J" 40k
MLB - ATL- JFK - SVO/SVO - JFK - PBI 11/20-11/26 "Y" 100k
PBI - ATL - LAS - GTF/GTF - LAX - ATL - MLB 11/30-12/2 "J", "Y" return 60k
FLL - ATL - TYO - SPN/SPN - TYO - ATL - MLB 12/22-12/28 "Y" 110k
Paid $50 per flight except for the SPN flight which was around $99
Last edited by amberdel; Aug 10, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Aug 5, 2010, 9:50 am
#1652
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,532
I took DenLoyd's method and applied a few of my own principles and came out a winner. The DL booking engine is moody but I have to say with a little patience and few variables here and there, you can get what you're looking for... aside from maybe the most saught after destinations.
I went and booked 4 months worth of flights using my miles for some hockey and soccer games coming up in the near future and lucked out getting Y seating in all but one of my itineraries.
PBI - ATL - SVO/SVO -ATL -PBI 9/3-9/10 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - JFK - ARN/ ARN-JFK-PBI 9/30-10/4 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - LAX/LAX - ATL - MLB 10/15 - 10/18 "Y" 100K
PBI - ATL - YYZ/YYZ - ATL - PBI 10/29-10/31 "Y" to "J" return 70k
MLB - ATL - HFD/HFD - ATL - MLB 11/6 - 11/7 "J" 40k
MLB - ATL- JFK - SVO/SVO - JFK - PBI 11/20-11/26 "Y" 100k
PBI - ATL - LAS - GTF/GTF - LAX - ATL - MLB 11/30-12/2 "J", "Y" return 60k
FLL - ATL - TYO - SPN/SPN - TYO - ATL - MLB 12/22-12/28 "Y" 110k
Paid $50 per flight except for the SPN flight which was around $99
I went and booked 4 months worth of flights using my miles for some hockey and soccer games coming up in the near future and lucked out getting Y seating in all but one of my itineraries.
PBI - ATL - SVO/SVO -ATL -PBI 9/3-9/10 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - JFK - ARN/ ARN-JFK-PBI 9/30-10/4 "Y" 100k
MLB - ATL - LAX/LAX - ATL - MLB 10/15 - 10/18 "Y" 100K
PBI - ATL - YYZ/YYZ - ATL - PBI 10/29-10/31 "Y" to "J" return 70k
MLB - ATL - HFD/HFD - ATL - MLB 11/6 - 11/7 "J" 40k
MLB - ATL- JFK - SVO/SVO - JFK - PBI 11/20-11/26 "Y" 100k
PBI - ATL - LAS - GTF/GTF - LAX - ATL - MLB 11/30-12/2 "J", "Y" return 60k
FLL - ATL - TYO - SPN/SPN - TYO - ATL - MLB 12/22-12/28 "Y" 110k
Paid $50 per flight except for the SPN flight which was around $99
Aug 5, 2010, 2:18 pm
#1653
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Denver,CO, USA
Posts: 846
After pretty much giving up on the idea of ever using up my DL miles, I was stunned to be able to book (using the award calendar) DEN-SEA-PEK-SEA-DEN in Y outbound and C return for 90,000 for late September. (The calendar is showing a lot of "low" dates in Y to PEK from SEA in September.) I tried again to duplicate my success the next day and it was giving me 150 for the same flights/classes.
Aug 5, 2010, 3:36 pm
#1654
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA
Posts: 2,065
Booked Wednesday, August 4, 2010:
$10.00
60,000 miles
Friday, August 6, 2010
940a - 1031a
IND - MSP DL 3268
125p - 220p
MSP - DLH DL 4133
Monday, August 9, 2010
520a - 615a
DLH - MSP DL 4120
1000a - 1235p
MSP - IND DL 2390
$10.00
60,000 miles
Friday, August 6, 2010
940a - 1031a
IND - MSP DL 3268
125p - 220p
MSP - DLH DL 4133
Monday, August 9, 2010
520a - 615a
DLH - MSP DL 4120
1000a - 1235p
MSP - IND DL 2390
Aug 5, 2010, 4:24 pm
#1655
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,532
I hope that this is at least a F itin. Otherwise, sad, sad, sad.
Aug 5, 2010, 4:58 pm
#1656
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nashville, TN - BNA
Programs: Hilton Gold, WN RR
Posts: 1,818
BNA - BON, 8/28 - 9/4 in Y - 35,000 SM
I realize it's low season, but usually any Caribbean destination is 1,000,000,000,000 points, or thereabouts.
Got a stopover in ATL (leaving BNA the night before) to avoid the 5:30 AM departure out of BNA - ^
I realize it's low season, but usually any Caribbean destination is 1,000,000,000,000 points, or thereabouts.
Got a stopover in ATL (leaving BNA the night before) to avoid the 5:30 AM departure out of BNA - ^
Aug 5, 2010, 5:09 pm
#1657
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MN
Programs: Lots of programs, dirt on all of them!
Posts: 11,938
Aug 5, 2010, 5:46 pm
#1658
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
On AA:
NA-SVO(DME)-NA 80K in Y 100K in J
N.A. - SPN(actually GUM)- N.A 70K Y 110K J
with an easy and cheap connection to SPN from GUM
In these 2 examples you would get J instead of Y on AA for the same miles! A huge difference on these very long flights.
Last edited by Paulchili; Aug 5, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Aug 5, 2010, 6:13 pm
#1659
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: A3 *G, AA exePlat, AS MVP 75k Gold, JL sapphire, UA silver
Posts: 4,035
Despite some past frustrating experiences, kudos to Delta this time for giving me friendly and knowledgeable CS reps and for not making me wait on hold to talk to a representative. ^^
I originally wanted to fly PVG-HAN-CAN, then take the train to HK. Delta found everything for 40K but was still searching fron the PVG/SHA-CAN leg when I saw that the flight was just $340 on the CZ website, so I told the agent to forget about it. Of course, then when I clicked through on CZ's site, their booking system was down.
Called SkyMiles again and decided to try doing CAN-HAN-CAN. (I bought SHA-CAN on my own for $125.) She found it on Vietnam Airlines with the exact dates I wanted, and even better found me a flight that takes me all the way back to HK direct.
I originally wanted to fly PVG-HAN-CAN, then take the train to HK. Delta found everything for 40K but was still searching fron the PVG/SHA-CAN leg when I saw that the flight was just $340 on the CZ website, so I told the agent to forget about it. Of course, then when I clicked through on CZ's site, their booking system was down.
Called SkyMiles again and decided to try doing CAN-HAN-CAN. (I bought SHA-CAN on my own for $125.) She found it on Vietnam Airlines with the exact dates I wanted, and even better found me a flight that takes me all the way back to HK direct.
so intra-asia is not always 20K anymore as pvg - han-can was being found for 40K.
i suppose wont tell us even why it is 40K. did the pvg -han- can involve delta metal?
Last edited by pbd456; Aug 5, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Aug 5, 2010, 9:46 pm
#1660
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: A3 *G, AA exePlat, AS MVP 75k Gold, JL sapphire, UA silver
Posts: 4,035
And this qualifies as a "success" story?
On AA:
NA-SVO(DME)-NA 80K in Y 100K in J
N.A. - SPN(actually GUM)- N.A 70K Y 110K J
with an easy and cheap connection to SPN from GUM
In these 2 examples you would get J instead of Y on AA for the same miles! A huge difference on these very long flights.
On AA:
NA-SVO(DME)-NA 80K in Y 100K in J
N.A. - SPN(actually GUM)- N.A 70K Y 110K J
with an easy and cheap connection to SPN from GUM
In these 2 examples you would get J instead of Y on AA for the same miles! A huge difference on these very long flights.
i did
hkg - nrt - spn - nrt (stop) - pvg for 20K + tax. i think this is called success.
Aug 6, 2010, 11:23 am
#1661
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 958
Low J award to Asia w/ stopover
Finally was able to find a low J award to Asia with 1 stopover. Pretty cheap taxes too...
You selected these flights:
Departs Arrives Stops Travel Time Flights & Cabin
Price per passenger (USD):
View fare rules and baggage policies
View Award Travel Rules & Conditions
Type
Base Fare
120,000 Miles required
Taxes/Fees
+ $ 87.50 Taxes/Fees
Redemption Fee
Price per passenger
= $ 87.50 Total
Total
Detroit-Wayne County, MI (DTW) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on 08 Mar 2011
3:50pm
DTW 5:50pm
LAX Nonstop 5 hr 00 min Delta 1619
Boeing 777-200LR
In-Flight Services First
View Seats
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) on 09 Mar 2011
11:55am
LAX 4:55pm
NRT
Arrives 10 Mar Nonstop 12 hr 00 min Delta 283
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) to Hong Kong, China (HKG) on 10 Mar 2011
6:55pm
NRT 11:20pm
HKG Nonstop 5 hr 25 min Delta 639
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Hong Kong, China (HKG) to Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) on 16 Mar 2011
8:00am
HKG 1:05pm
NRT Nonstop 4 hr 05 min Delta 638
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) to Honolulu, HI (HNL) on 22 Mar 2011
9:00pm
NRT 9:05am
HNL Nonstop 7 hr 05 min Delta 646
Airbus A330-300
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Detroit-Wayne County, MI (DTW) on 22 Mar 2011
6:30pm
HNL 9:15am
DTW
Arrives 23 Mar Nonstop 8 hr 45 min
You selected these flights:
Departs Arrives Stops Travel Time Flights & Cabin
Price per passenger (USD):
View fare rules and baggage policies
View Award Travel Rules & Conditions
Type
Base Fare
120,000 Miles required
Taxes/Fees
+ $ 87.50 Taxes/Fees
Redemption Fee
Price per passenger
= $ 87.50 Total
Total
Detroit-Wayne County, MI (DTW) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on 08 Mar 2011
3:50pm
DTW 5:50pm
LAX Nonstop 5 hr 00 min Delta 1619
Boeing 777-200LR
In-Flight Services First
View Seats
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) on 09 Mar 2011
11:55am
LAX 4:55pm
NRT
Arrives 10 Mar Nonstop 12 hr 00 min Delta 283
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) to Hong Kong, China (HKG) on 10 Mar 2011
6:55pm
NRT 11:20pm
HKG Nonstop 5 hr 25 min Delta 639
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Hong Kong, China (HKG) to Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) on 16 Mar 2011
8:00am
HKG 1:05pm
NRT Nonstop 4 hr 05 min Delta 638
Boeing 747-400
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) to Honolulu, HI (HNL) on 22 Mar 2011
9:00pm
NRT 9:05am
HNL Nonstop 7 hr 05 min Delta 646
Airbus A330-300
In-Flight Services Business
View Seats
Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Detroit-Wayne County, MI (DTW) on 22 Mar 2011
6:30pm
HNL 9:15am
DTW
Arrives 23 Mar Nonstop 8 hr 45 min
Aug 6, 2010, 12:30 pm
#1662
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ireland, UnderH20, AUA, Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Charter KM, DM180, RW, DM, SC, SkyBonus; HH Diamond, IHG Plt Amb, Global Ent, TWIC
Posts: 2,191
For the first time ever on an award ticket, I did not get LOW but rather MEDIUM.
But I am not arguing.
ROC -AUA 2/17 to 2/26 3 seats all in F with no overnights for 100K each.
Next best was 85K but required overnights in ATL.
For me, the 15K per seat extra was worth the ease of booking rather than hunting and waiting as well as the hassle and cost of overnighting.
But I am not arguing.
ROC -AUA 2/17 to 2/26 3 seats all in F with no overnights for 100K each.
Next best was 85K but required overnights in ATL.
For me, the 15K per seat extra was worth the ease of booking rather than hunting and waiting as well as the hassle and cost of overnighting.
Aug 6, 2010, 1:28 pm
#1663
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,532
For the first time ever on an award ticket, I did not get LOW but rather MEDIUM.
But I am not arguing.
ROC -AUA 2/17 to 2/26 3 seats all in F with no overnights for 100K each.
Next best was 85K but required overnights in ATL.
For me, the 15K per seat extra was worth the ease of booking rather than hunting and waiting as well as the hassle and cost of overnighting.
But I am not arguing.
ROC -AUA 2/17 to 2/26 3 seats all in F with no overnights for 100K each.
Next best was 85K but required overnights in ATL.
For me, the 15K per seat extra was worth the ease of booking rather than hunting and waiting as well as the hassle and cost of overnighting.
Aug 6, 2010, 2:43 pm
#1665
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Washington DC
Programs: UA Plat, Delta Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Four Seasons By Invitation, SPG Gold, #1 Club Gold, AmEx Plat
Posts: 127
Last month I was about to score a 120k RT in J JFK-NRT-SIN. I was quite shocked when it came up and I was actually able to book it without any glitches.
