ScubaAddict

Ok, I've used points in the past to pay for my flights. Never to transfer or use them wisely to get upgraded airfare. Sorry for the different options but I am looking to get from DEN to EITHER:
MLE (Maldives)
NAN (Fiji)
or Australia w/access to the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne).

Timeframe: March 21-April 4th 2015 (10-14 day total trip)

I am tall and need first class or business. I have about 170K (possibly 220K in the next month) Chase Rewards points, and about 140K in CapOne No hassle rewards, 50K Barclay points, and cash. This is for 2 people (my wife and I)

Can some very smart person @:-) nudge me in the right direction - I don't even know where to start in trying to get the best deal on flights. I can use cash+points, but don't want to spend thousands++ to get the business class I need. I gave several destinations because I know sometimes some are easier then others in getting good deals.

I know this is a lot of work to ask someone to do, so any advice (no matter how little) from the experts here is appreciated.

Chad
ScubaAddict

p.s. DEN doesn't need to be the origination. I can figure out how to get to a hub (LAX, ATL, etc) I just need First/Business for the long haul.

Mwenenzi

ScubaAddict Welcome to FT
Getting 2 business awards is a tough ask with fixed dates. Easter (3, 4 5 & 6 April) is a peak travel time
Purchasing an economy exit row or premium economy may be more practical.
Note that Melbourne is some distance away from the barrier reef (read expensive)

There are several threads on award fights to Australia
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...air-miles.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...lia-miles.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...australia.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...d-booking.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...alia-trip.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...ia-2014-a.html

Airlines that fly USA/Canada to Australia (most from LAX) are
- United [Star Alliance]
- Qantas [OneWorld Alliance] (AS partner)
- Delta [Skyteam Alliance] (VA & AS partner)
- Virgin Australia (DL partner)
- Hawaiian, via Hawaii (AA DL & VA partner)
- Air NZ, via AKL [Star Alliance]
- Fiji Airways, via Fiji (AA & AS partner)
- Air Tahiti Nui (last segments on codeshares) (AA & DL partner)
- Air Canada [Star Alliance]
And others via Asia & Middle East

nux

Firstly you need to determine the airline programs you can transfer your points to.

Then, look at their award charts to determine how many miles you will need to those destinations in business/first. If you won't be able to transfer/earn enough then strike them from your list.

Also look at whether they allow one-way awards. You may be able to book one-way through one program and the return one-way on another. This will increase your options.

For each program you have identified you need to identify the partner/alliance airlines you can travel on. For example, if you transfer to AA you can book any oneworld airline and several other partner airlines.

Look at each destination you want to go to and see which airlines fly there. NAN only has a few options, so that will limit your routings and which programs you could potentially find award space with.

Finally, you need to start searching for award space across the programs and airlines you have identified.

macdonaldj2

Korean Air flies from ICN-MLE and is a transfer partner from UR, but I would look at award availability before moving miles over

ScubaAddict

Thank you for the replies! Definitely some great info to get me started - I appreciate it!

Is there a way I should be checking "Award Availability"? How is that done?

nux

Depends on the airline/alliance you are looking for, and sometimes which mileage program you want to use.

For oneworld airlines the best options are aa.com, ba.com, JAL.com and Qantas.com. You will need an account for the latter three. They each can search for a subset of oneworld airlines. The mileage program you use to redeem with, the airline you fly on and the website you use to search for availability do not need to be the same. For example I will often use AA.com to search for certain oneworld partners and redeem with BAEC avios.