Best way to book award travel from YYZ to AMM?
 

Hi all,

I certainly have to do my homework on this to figure out how to redeem 2 business class tickets from YYZ to AMM, but I thought I'd post here to get some guidance/opinions from you experienced members!

I'm considering converting my Marriott Reward points (I hate doing this because I know this severely undervalues my points) but I have no choice because I don't have enough miles for 2 tickets.

I'm trying to figure out which airline would give me the best value for the Marriott points as well as which airline/route would be the most comfortable and enjoyable experience.

I expect the points conversion to Delta, AA, and United are all the same...I'm platinum on AA, and silver on both Delta (cross-status from my platinum SPG) and United (cross-status from platinum on Marriott).

Also, I saw a great BA business class flight which is the shortest route in both directions, so I'm considering converting points to AA and redeeming on BA.

Thoughts? TIA!

I know nothing about converting Marriott reward points to airline miles, so I can't help with that part of your question. But using AA miles for award travel on BA is not a good idea, since BA imposes very heavy surcharges on award travel. I suggest that before you convert any points you look for availability of two award seats YYZ-AMM on AA, DL and UA and their various partners (except BA) on the dates when you wish to fly; award flights on some partners will be displayed online, but others (such as IB, a partner of AA) require a phone call.

Good call, thanks for your response. I am doing my homework to compare the mileage required on each airline...I know AA is 135k miles round trip on biz class and MR conversion rate is 200k points to 50k miles so I'd be looking at using around 600k points which really sucks because I would have loved to save those points for some great value at luxury hotels in Europe but I also want to take care of my mom, who's traveling with me on this trip!

I know you want to do this.... but what a major devaluation. Those Marriott points are worth so much more than 150K AA miles.

What is the cash cost for this trip?

Do you have any other miles in any program to help with this endeavor? Might make sense to do some quick credit card signups to get the miles.

Marriott's hotel and air packages will give a much better value starting at 270K points for a week's hotel stay and 120-132K miles.

Click through to check the surcharges on BA vs AA/RJ via ORD - due to surcharges and LHR fees BA is going to run ~$380 more per person, each way, while giving you two flights that are too short to really get much sleep on.

Cash cost in economy is $1.2k per person. I feel further guilty because I checked the fares a month ago and they were $830. Now I'm paying $400 more pp plus I'm hoarding my points vs generously spending them to give my mom a very comfortable experience. I have 185k in AA, 900k Marriott, 300k in SPG, 60k in Amex. So maybe if I convert some SPG and Amex I can take less of a hit in Marriott but I prefer using my SPG points for free nights because those count towards status while Marriott is just a burn. I'd only start using Marriott points for hotel stays once I've achieved 100 nights in SPG and 75 nights in Marriott, which I only just make each year.

Thx Kenny, I did see that package from Marriott but I'm not staying a week. Due to some constraints on my mom's travel I can only leave as early as Tuesday June 9 and have to be back by Sunday June 14.

What a total waste of a situation! Lol I'm kicking myself as I type in this thread.

Your week hotel stay does not have to be related to this trip. You are simply redeeming for a certificate and a miles transfer which you can use as you wish. Throwing away a day or two of the certificate, or giving the entire week to a friend, may be better than simply transferring at a much worse ratio.

Unlike many one-way paid tickets, one-way award tickets on AA/UA and their partners cost half the amount in miles that a RT award ticket costs. (AA actually considers all award tickets one-way, though both flights can be booked together.) That means, among other things, that you can use AA miles in one direction and UA in the other. I don't know if that's of any help in your situation, but sometimes it opens up additional possibilities. This summer I'm using UA miles to fly IAD-VIE-INN on OS, and AA miles to return MUC-PHL-DCA on US.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Do you have any miles currently in any airline FFP?

Unfortunately, you just missed a great sale on AA miles, which would have enabled you and Mom to each purchase upwards of 100K AA miles for about 2.1 cents apiece!

From YYZ to AMM, the best single-connection routings using AA miles would be YYZ-AUH-AMM on EY; YYZ-JFK-AMM on TAM/RJ (if RJ's YYZ-AMM through-fare permits use of TAM); and YYZ-JFK/ORD-AMM on AA/RJ. (You'd have to check the connecting times on all of these options; I have not done so.)

For single connections with AA miles, you mentioned:

YYZ-AUH-AMM EY/EY
YYZ-ORD-AMM AA/RJ
YYZ-JFK-AMM JJ/RJ
YYZ-JFK-AMM AA/RJ

Additionally one could fly:

YYZ-AUH-AMM EY/RJ
YYZ-LHR-AMM BA/RJ
YYZ-TXL-AMM AB/RJ

Plus a host of double connections.

Some might consider positioning to YUL and then flying YUL-AMM on RJ nonstop.

Have you looked at the YUL-AMM direct flight on RJ?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

RJ also flies DTW-AMM, but I don't think the service operates daily. DTW is a little closer to YYZ than YUL is. (Whether the drive would be any shorter would depend on how long it took to cross the border.)

In other news, AA just announced a "flash sale" on AAdvantage miles that ends next week: you can buy 100,000 miles at a 35% discount. @:-)

Just as an update--thank you all for your prompt and detailed replies! I got saved from having to convert any Marriott points or use my other air miles by buying 2 roundtrip economy tickets for travel on EgyptAir (I know, not the best) for $867 each. I called their ticket office and they said it's $900 to upgrade to business class per person at the airport, but we'll see if that's actually the case. Hopefully there will still be some seats left to sell at a discount.