Finnair/AY award/redemption booking/ticket thread
Dec 25, 2022, 3:56 pm
#436
Join Date: Mar 2022
Programs: AY+ Plat, ASMP MVP
Posts: 26
Is it really the case that there are never two USA-HEL J award tickets on the same flight? Have searched from DFW, ORD, LAX, JFK for most weeks in the summer and there is only ever one ticket max. Is it worth it to book one J award ticket and hope I get the other seat upgraded with a voucher?
Also, why is it the case that there are 2 J tickets on HEL-JFK-HEL but no J tickets when originating in the US. Is it possible to call CS to book the JFK-HEL-JFK route? Or is this routing not available.
Dec 25, 2022, 4:51 pm
#437
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Santa Barbara, CA, Park City, UT
Programs: AA EXP, Delta Plat, Marriott Plat,Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat
Posts: 902
Is it really the case that there are never two USA-HEL J award tickets on the same flight? Have searched from DFW, ORD, LAX, JFK for most weeks in the summer and there is only ever one ticket max. Is it worth it to book one J award ticket and hope I get the other seat upgraded with a voucher?
Dec 25, 2022, 6:42 pm
#438
Join Date: Mar 2022
Programs: AY+ Plat, ASMP MVP
Posts: 26
How long did the upgrades take to clear? Did it show upgrade availability or was it waitlist? Also, are you Plat or Lumo?
Dec 25, 2022, 11:15 pm
#439
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Santa Barbara, CA, Park City, UT
Programs: AA EXP, Delta Plat, Marriott Plat,Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat
Posts: 902
Dec 27, 2022, 1:25 pm
#440
Join Date: May 2021
Location: ZRH
Programs: AY Plat, Swiss SEN, Hertz Gold, HH Gold, Marriott Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 82
Dec 30, 2022, 8:38 am
#441
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 37
I've put a first time award waitlist in for a few separate times with rather full flights, hoping that something would clear.
I put the award waitlists in via Platinum whatsapp CS, should the waitlisted flights show somewhere in my bookings / finnair app or is it just wait and see + havign to remember myself what dates I've waitlisted for?
I put the award waitlists in via Platinum whatsapp CS, should the waitlisted flights show somewhere in my bookings / finnair app or is it just wait and see + havign to remember myself what dates I've waitlisted for?
Dec 30, 2022, 9:21 am
#442
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: AY+ Platinum / FlyingBlue Gold
Posts: 836
I've put a first time award waitlist in for a few separate times with rather full flights, hoping that something would clear.
I put the award waitlists in via Platinum whatsapp CS, should the waitlisted flights show somewhere in my bookings / finnair app or is it just wait and see + havign to remember myself what dates I've waitlisted for?
I put the award waitlists in via Platinum whatsapp CS, should the waitlisted flights show somewhere in my bookings / finnair app or is it just wait and see + havign to remember myself what dates I've waitlisted for?
Dec 30, 2022, 1:42 pm
#443
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: LEJ
Programs: BA GGL IHG PlatAMB HH Dia
Posts: 345
Dec 30, 2022, 2:29 pm
#444
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,758
Only if you are confirmed in Y and are waitlisting to a higher cabin.
If the whole booking is a waitlisted one without any confirmed segments, it will not show up on the app or on the website. However, the reservation does have a booking reference and it can be obtained from CS, after which you can use the booking reference to pull the booking up on AY.com.
Note that the booking may look strange and a regular award booking in Y might have the text "Your upgrade is waitlisted" even if that is not true.
If the whole booking is a waitlisted one without any confirmed segments, it will not show up on the app or on the website. However, the reservation does have a booking reference and it can be obtained from CS, after which you can use the booking reference to pull the booking up on AY.com.
Note that the booking may look strange and a regular award booking in Y might have the text "Your upgrade is waitlisted" even if that is not true.
Dec 31, 2022, 8:24 pm
#445
Join Date: Mar 2022
Programs: AY+ Plat, ASMP MVP
Posts: 26
Is it really the case that there are never two USA-HEL J award tickets on the same flight? Have searched from DFW, ORD, LAX, JFK for most weeks in the summer and there is only ever one ticket max. Is it worth it to book one J award ticket and hope I get the other seat upgraded with a voucher?
So it seems like award tickets only show as confirmed when using 80k points per seat? I am able to find multiple dates with 2 J award tickets from US cities-HEL (award availability as Plat is actually pretty good), but I would like to use upgrade vouchers. When I look at days when multiple J award seats are available, the upgrade tool says waitlist. Is this the type of waitlist that usually clears instantly?
Jan 1, 2023, 2:28 am
#446
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,183
So it seems like award tickets only show as confirmed when using 80k points per seat? I am able to find multiple dates with 2 J award tickets from US cities-HEL (award availability as Plat is actually pretty good), but I would like to use upgrade vouchers. When I look at days when multiple J award seats are available, the upgrade tool says waitlist....
If you don't want to gamble, you need to ask CS to check and process the upgrades.
In general, waitlists never clears immediately.
Jan 3, 2023, 6:46 am
#447
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: DUS
Posts: 34
If you are looking for something specific the time may has come.
I was able to (randomly) find award spaces to Asia (HND, BKK, HKG, SIN) with rather good availability.
When I checked I primarily was looking for fall 2023 already, but I had no problems finding awards (and upgrade availability by using vouchers) for earlier dates in the year.
I was able to (randomly) find award spaces to Asia (HND, BKK, HKG, SIN) with rather good availability.
When I checked I primarily was looking for fall 2023 already, but I had no problems finding awards (and upgrade availability by using vouchers) for earlier dates in the year.
Jan 3, 2023, 7:38 am
#448
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: HAM
Programs: AY, Accor, Hilton - Gold
Posts: 387
So it seems like award tickets only show as confirmed when using 80k points per seat? I am able to find multiple dates with 2 J award tickets from US cities-HEL (award availability as Plat is actually pretty good), but I would like to use upgrade vouchers. When I look at days when multiple J award seats are available, the upgrade tool says waitlist. Is this the type of waitlist that usually clears instantly?
Award space seems to be better nowadays.
Got 2 to HND.
I'm only missing seoul
Jan 4, 2023, 10:25 pm
#449
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: TLL
Programs: AY Platinum
Posts: 66
Two more questions:
1. What other OW carrier booking search engines should show the same or similar award availability for partners as AY has? E.g., should I be able to book the same AA award space I see on BA with AY?
2. Is it possible to string together AY award segments that only show up separately in booking search? E.g., Many dates have both USA-HEL and HEL-TLL available for awards separately, both they won't show up on the same USA-HEL-TLL booking. Is this some IT quirk that can be overcome over the phone or are there married segments involved and adding segments that only show up separately incurrs additional AY points?
1. What other OW carrier booking search engines should show the same or similar award availability for partners as AY has? E.g., should I be able to book the same AA award space I see on BA with AY?
2. Is it possible to string together AY award segments that only show up separately in booking search? E.g., Many dates have both USA-HEL and HEL-TLL available for awards separately, both they won't show up on the same USA-HEL-TLL booking. Is this some IT quirk that can be overcome over the phone or are there married segments involved and adding segments that only show up separately incurrs additional AY points?
An update to Q.2 above, I've also noted there is possibly an IT glitch with the award booking system when trying to get TLL as the start / end destination as it's happened to me at least twice.
For example, a recent 2=1 award booking BKK-HEL-TLL showed zero award availability on my dates, but when searching award availability BKK-HEL and seperately HEL-TLL on the same dates showed availability. So after a chat with Plat WA the tickets were issued within a few hours.
So advice for those looking for award space it may be useful to search seperately for married segments when using HEL as a point of transit.
Jan 4, 2023, 11:38 pm
#450
Join Date: Mar 2022
Programs: AY+ Plat
Posts: 495
An update to Q.2 above, I've also noted there is possibly an IT glitch with the award booking system when trying to get TLL as the start / end destination as it's happened to me at least twice.
For example, a recent 2=1 award booking BKK-HEL-TLL showed zero award availability on my dates, but when searching award availability BKK-HEL and seperately HEL-TLL on the same dates showed availability. So after a chat with Plat WA the tickets were issued within a few hours.
So advice for those looking for award space it may be useful to search seperately for married segments when using HEL as a point of transit.
For example, a recent 2=1 award booking BKK-HEL-TLL showed zero award availability on my dates, but when searching award availability BKK-HEL and seperately HEL-TLL on the same dates showed availability. So after a chat with Plat WA the tickets were issued within a few hours.
So advice for those looking for award space it may be useful to search seperately for married segments when using HEL as a point of transit.
