Award Ticket Success - Post It Here
Sep 17, 2010, 11:13 am
#1741
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Not sure if you mean my post two up from here.
I read dennolloyd's post -- the very first post in the "How to Search for biz Awards" sticky.
Yes, I know that once you get a list of one-way available coach award flights, you are stuck because there is no option at that point to change the fare class to biz.
I'm talking about the previous "search by calendar page". It seems to help to search on the calendar for coach and checking the "search by schedule" radio button. When the calendar updates with which days have available (or zip available) coach seats, click the other radio button for "First/Biz class". The calendar updates to show biz (maybe).
Then when assembling the entire trip segment by segment using the Multi-segment award option, for each segment there are two links allowing you to adjust the search for that one segment either one day forward or one day backward. Doing that can show biz availability that was not available just one minute ago in the calendar view.
I read dennolloyd's post -- the very first post in the "How to Search for biz Awards" sticky.
Yes, I know that once you get a list of one-way available coach award flights, you are stuck because there is no option at that point to change the fare class to biz.
I'm talking about the previous "search by calendar page". It seems to help to search on the calendar for coach and checking the "search by schedule" radio button. When the calendar updates with which days have available (or zip available) coach seats, click the other radio button for "First/Biz class". The calendar updates to show biz (maybe).
Then when assembling the entire trip segment by segment using the Multi-segment award option, for each segment there are two links allowing you to adjust the search for that one segment either one day forward or one day backward. Doing that can show biz availability that was not available just one minute ago in the calendar view.
1. I go to the Advanced booking page, click Schedule button, click the "Book Sykmiles Award Ticket" checkbox.
2. I enter the airports and the dates, click "My dates are flexible" checkbox, leave Cabin as Economy and click "Find Flights."
3. In the calendar view, I switch from Coach to First/Business for Outbound and Return. Very few if any Low awards.
Does that mean there aren't any Low awards available?
Even when I've seen Low awards in calendar view, they've always been on DL metal, not the AF flights you got which are 100k.
Sep 17, 2010, 11:40 am
#1742
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, etc.
Posts: 4,210
For the intra-Europe flights, Delta.com repeatedly gave me strange multistop flights while ignoring nonstops, which showed as "available" when looking at one-ways. Days for transatlantic travel, which the calendar showed as "unavailable" mysteriously become available when assembling the final multisegment booking (try the "search one day before and one day after" link on the multisegment page). No transatlantic coach availability shown in August, but business class suddenly appears on the calendar when clicking the radio button.
I'm very happy, but I feel like I passed some kind of intelligence test written by a sadistic madman.
I'm very happy, but I feel like I passed some kind of intelligence test written by a sadistic madman.
It took me a while to figure this out because it is so counter-intuitive and it's absolutely impossible with the bugs in the search to see your flights all come through until you figure out the right formula and hit that "show me the magic" button on the multi-city search.
Sep 17, 2010, 1:10 pm
#1743
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Romanian Riviera
Programs: Delta, Turkish Elite, American
Posts: 1,111
Just booked for second weekend in December:
Friday night: DCA-MSP-SLC
Very early Monday morning: SLC-(redeye)ATL-DCA
25,000 miles and $10
Gonna get some skiing in...don't have to take off work on Friday cuz the flight is late evening and will only miss a couple of hours on Monday morning. This ticket would have cost just under $400 otherwise...DC-SLC has been running in the $300-$400 range lately, so I'm happy. The SLC-BWI nonstop on Sunday night was available, but after using that last time, I will pass on arriving at BWI at 11:30PM with no affordable transport back to Virginia. I'll also get a full Sunday of skiing.
Friday night: DCA-MSP-SLC
Very early Monday morning: SLC-(redeye)ATL-DCA
25,000 miles and $10
Gonna get some skiing in...don't have to take off work on Friday cuz the flight is late evening and will only miss a couple of hours on Monday morning. This ticket would have cost just under $400 otherwise...DC-SLC has been running in the $300-$400 range lately, so I'm happy. The SLC-BWI nonstop on Sunday night was available, but after using that last time, I will pass on arriving at BWI at 11:30PM with no affordable transport back to Virginia. I'll also get a full Sunday of skiing.
Sep 17, 2010, 1:51 pm
#1744
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: HHonor PM; Hyatt Dia;Marriott PP; Delta PM
Posts: 26
Ticket Success-Post it Here
Most recent experience:
2 tickets--60,000 each.
XXX-ATL-SJO Jan 13 return SJO-ATL-XXX Jan23 in all in BusinessEilte
Booked in July for the dates we wanted. The connection outbound is not the best, but it works. Going back great connection.
AF from ATL-SJO-ATL.
2 tickets--60,000 each.
XXX-ATL-SJO Jan 13 return SJO-ATL-XXX Jan23 in all in BusinessEilte
Booked in July for the dates we wanted. The connection outbound is not the best, but it works. Going back great connection.
AF from ATL-SJO-ATL.
Last edited by aclar08; Mar 24, 2016 at 8:34 am
Sep 17, 2010, 3:54 pm
#1745
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Flying to a boat
Programs: DL DM/2MM, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 823
Just booked 3 of my kids from JFK, LGA and BDL to SFO for the Xmas/New Years holidays, all in Y at 25k RT each. Only a few flights on each route at Low, but the schedules worked out fine.
Sep 17, 2010, 5:57 pm
#1747
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: DL PM/MM, Hilton Silver, SPG+, Hertz PC
Posts: 7,899
one SFO-NRT r/t no-stop Nov3-10 in Y for 60,000. Tax: about 50 bucks.
Same itinerary goes for around $950.
Same itinerary goes for around $950.
Last edited by thesaints; Oct 1, 2010 at 4:13 am
Sep 18, 2010, 12:58 am
#1748
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Diego
Programs: IHG Spire Amb, HH Diamond, DL Diamond and 1MM
Posts: 3,610
Here's what I tried:
1. I go to the Advanced booking page, click Schedule button, click the "Book Skymiles Award Ticket" checkbox.
2. I enter the airports and the dates, click "My dates are flexible" checkbox, leave Cabin as Economy and click "Find Flights."
3. In the calendar view, I switch from Coach to First/Business for Outbound and Return. Very few if any Low awards.
Does that mean there aren't any Low awards available?
Even when I've seen Low awards in calendar view, they've always been on DL metal, not the AF flights you got which are 100k.
1. I go to the Advanced booking page, click Schedule button, click the "Book Skymiles Award Ticket" checkbox.
2. I enter the airports and the dates, click "My dates are flexible" checkbox, leave Cabin as Economy and click "Find Flights."
3. In the calendar view, I switch from Coach to First/Business for Outbound and Return. Very few if any Low awards.
Does that mean there aren't any Low awards available?
Even when I've seen Low awards in calendar view, they've always been on DL metal, not the AF flights you got which are 100k.
3. When you say "For Outbound and Return", I hope you are NOT doing a round trip search. That is wrong! Search for one-ways only and write down the dates that give you low availability. When you individually identify all of the segments that are available, THEN you do the multi-segment tab to actually do the booking.
2. First checking calendar's radio check box for economy is correct.
Checking the "My dates are flexible" checkbox does not appear to affect the result at all.
4. Could be that none are available. Very likely, in fact.
Try the segment-by-segment magic. It *might* make the AF flights appear. Or not. The calendar consistently gives inconsistent results!
Sep 18, 2010, 7:41 am
#1749
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
Programs: SPG Lifetime Plat, AA Gold, UA Gold, DL Silver, HH Gold, Vail Epic
Posts: 9,096
Sep 18, 2010, 7:56 am
#1750
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
Do not check 'My dates are flexible'. Flexible date searches only DL flights. Search by date. Or, as noted above, get ExpertFlyer if you want AF flights: a trial subscription is free.
Sep 18, 2010, 9:31 am
#1751
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 31,983
Sep 18, 2010, 10:05 am
#1752
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Only thing I could find is 7/2/11 for SFO-CDG. Then after 7/15, it doesn't return any results, not even "0" for CDG-SFO or vice versa.
Anyways, AF has cut out most of the awards for this route? Not even seeing anything in the winter months either.
Unfortunately, you have to search day by day.
Sep 18, 2010, 11:21 am
#1753
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: KKC/TPA
Programs: All statuses lapsed; now I'm just a free-agent, and loving it!
Posts: 1,245
Living in Thailand now, and I've wanted for a while to get a OW tpac sometime so I can start buying RT's originating in Thailand for my occasional trips to the States.
Going back about 5 years ago, I was getting frustrated with the lack of available "Perksaver" awards at NW for any tpac J class (up through 2005), and had a bad feeling about the service (and particularly) the way NW labor was treated during the bankruptcy. I studied Flyertalk carefully for alternatives and jumped to THAI. The ease at which I've gotten awards with them, when I wanted them, means a lot! The onboard experience is superior too. And THAI Premium Economy on the 17 hour flights is a great way to go (when I don't fly up front in J)
So over the years I've somewhat spent down my NW/DL miles, and I have an expiration on them looming in 2011. I wanted to close them out, and thought that trying to use them for a OW J class from the States to Bangkok would be a good way to do it. IF I could find a low J class award. Granted, it is a rip-off with Delta charging a RT price for a OW using SkyMiles (because this is not one of Jeff Robertson's priorities
), but I just wanted to get a final, decent use out of my miles and be done with Delta.
I'm coming back to the States in November on the last half of my THAI RT ticket, and I needed a OW back to Thailand, going back in early December. The Delta search engine is useless, but with KVS, over a span of about 10 days in early Dec, I found two (and only two) low tpac J awards to NRT. One was from Portland on a 767 (I'll take a pass on that) and one was from JFK on a 744. (I really wanted to catch the ATL>NRT 777LR, but nothing for low awards on that flight!) Starting with the JFK 744 as a base for my itinerary, I started to search for components (other legs) to put it all together. I started looking for something from TPA to JFK to meet that 744 NRT flight. No low awards the same day, to any of the 3 NYC airports that would make it in time. Looking a day prior, I found something into LGA (connecting via CVG). I can overnight in NYC and keep myself entertained. Looking for a NRT>BKK leg as a low J award, there was nothing (and I mean nothing!) So I looked at SIN and found a Low J! I'll go into Singapore, then get a Y flight on THAI up to BKK (from SIN) for about $150 -$175, so that's okay.
Interestingly, when I tried to let the DL search engine put this itinerary together, it always passed on the low domestic award, instead offering a middle domestic. As best as I could tell, when it does that it does not charge me the difference (+15,000 miles) for a domestic Mid Level, but instead goes a-la-carte and prices as a tpac PLUS a mid domestic. Seemed to be doing the same with only mid level NRT-BKK flights available. Anyway, it kept coming up with minimum prices of 200K, by letting the DL booking engine do it.
So I called DL. I gave the agent my desired flights. She put them in and kept telling me it priced out at 200K. The problem (she said) was with the domestic leg into LGA. We gave up and ended the call. I looked at KVS again, found some domestic alternative legs, including one into JFK, and called back. If nothing else, I wanted to know why award flights that are there (according to KVS) are not there according to DL. I got an agent this time that was much more cooperative and helpful, and we got the itinerary put together for 120K.
So my J-class itinerary is TPA>CVG (738 F), CVG>JFK (CR9 Y) <overnight> JFK>NRT (744 J) NRT>SIN (777LR J) <overnight> SIN>BKK (paid, on THAI) I leave on a Tuesday morning, and get back to Bangkok on a Friday morning. At least I get to try out the 777LR flat bed seats on the 7:50 flight to SIN (which is also the most tiring part of the trip.)
Really not a very good itinerary, and unacceptably too long for most. I do have some time, so this is not a problem. And it's not even to my desired destination! I have to buy my way from SIN to BKK! And it took an absurd amount of research and time to put this together. That's what it took to score a low tpac Business award.
Glad I won't be trying to put one of these together again with Delta! I'm outta here!
Going back about 5 years ago, I was getting frustrated with the lack of available "Perksaver" awards at NW for any tpac J class (up through 2005), and had a bad feeling about the service (and particularly) the way NW labor was treated during the bankruptcy. I studied Flyertalk carefully for alternatives and jumped to THAI. The ease at which I've gotten awards with them, when I wanted them, means a lot! The onboard experience is superior too. And THAI Premium Economy on the 17 hour flights is a great way to go (when I don't fly up front in J)
So over the years I've somewhat spent down my NW/DL miles, and I have an expiration on them looming in 2011. I wanted to close them out, and thought that trying to use them for a OW J class from the States to Bangkok would be a good way to do it. IF I could find a low J class award. Granted, it is a rip-off with Delta charging a RT price for a OW using SkyMiles (because this is not one of Jeff Robertson's priorities
), but I just wanted to get a final, decent use out of my miles and be done with Delta.I'm coming back to the States in November on the last half of my THAI RT ticket, and I needed a OW back to Thailand, going back in early December. The Delta search engine is useless, but with KVS, over a span of about 10 days in early Dec, I found two (and only two) low tpac J awards to NRT. One was from Portland on a 767 (I'll take a pass on that) and one was from JFK on a 744. (I really wanted to catch the ATL>NRT 777LR, but nothing for low awards on that flight!) Starting with the JFK 744 as a base for my itinerary, I started to search for components (other legs) to put it all together. I started looking for something from TPA to JFK to meet that 744 NRT flight. No low awards the same day, to any of the 3 NYC airports that would make it in time. Looking a day prior, I found something into LGA (connecting via CVG). I can overnight in NYC and keep myself entertained. Looking for a NRT>BKK leg as a low J award, there was nothing (and I mean nothing!) So I looked at SIN and found a Low J! I'll go into Singapore, then get a Y flight on THAI up to BKK (from SIN) for about $150 -$175, so that's okay.
Interestingly, when I tried to let the DL search engine put this itinerary together, it always passed on the low domestic award, instead offering a middle domestic. As best as I could tell, when it does that it does not charge me the difference (+15,000 miles) for a domestic Mid Level, but instead goes a-la-carte and prices as a tpac PLUS a mid domestic. Seemed to be doing the same with only mid level NRT-BKK flights available. Anyway, it kept coming up with minimum prices of 200K, by letting the DL booking engine do it.
So I called DL. I gave the agent my desired flights. She put them in and kept telling me it priced out at 200K. The problem (she said) was with the domestic leg into LGA. We gave up and ended the call. I looked at KVS again, found some domestic alternative legs, including one into JFK, and called back. If nothing else, I wanted to know why award flights that are there (according to KVS) are not there according to DL. I got an agent this time that was much more cooperative and helpful, and we got the itinerary put together for 120K.
So my J-class itinerary is TPA>CVG (738 F), CVG>JFK (CR9 Y) <overnight> JFK>NRT (744 J) NRT>SIN (777LR J) <overnight> SIN>BKK (paid, on THAI) I leave on a Tuesday morning, and get back to Bangkok on a Friday morning. At least I get to try out the 777LR flat bed seats on the 7:50 flight to SIN (which is also the most tiring part of the trip.)
Really not a very good itinerary, and unacceptably too long for most. I do have some time, so this is not a problem. And it's not even to my desired destination! I have to buy my way from SIN to BKK! And it took an absurd amount of research and time to put this together. That's what it took to score a low tpac Business award.
Glad I won't be trying to put one of these together again with Delta! I'm outta here!
Sep 18, 2010, 11:36 am
#1754
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: AA EXP2M, DL 1MM DM ext, UA PP <=> HH G/Marr PE/Hyatt G/IHG P FT RA ( Recovering Addict)
Posts: 4,596
Sep 18, 2010, 11:46 am
#1755
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 31,983
Hmm, interesting. That tool is showing very little inventory.
Only thing I could find is 7/2/11 for SFO-CDG. Then after 7/15, it doesn't return any results, not even "0" for CDG-SFO or vice versa.
Anyways, AF has cut out most of the awards for this route? Not even seeing anything in the winter months either.
Unfortunately, you have to search day by day.
Only thing I could find is 7/2/11 for SFO-CDG. Then after 7/15, it doesn't return any results, not even "0" for CDG-SFO or vice versa.
Anyways, AF has cut out most of the awards for this route? Not even seeing anything in the winter months either.
Unfortunately, you have to search day by day.