WCC1832

Hello,

I am trying to get first class tickets on points for my upcoming honeymoon. My point totals are below.

I am looking to do a multicity trip from JFK - Rome around August 28 and then fly back from London to JFK on ~Sep 11 (some flexibility with return date).

I currently have
400,000 amex MR points
150,000 delta
90,000 united points

I have never booked first class travel on points before (been saving all my AMEX points for years) and would appreciate any advice on the best way to do this efficiently. I am a total reward travel noob.

Do I get penalized for trying to book two one-way first class reward tickets with different airlines? (Does it require more points than it would for round or multi-city)? Is Delta the best airline to use for this type of trip or should I look at others?

Do any airlines still upgrade you to first if you show them you just got married (and you show them your marriage certificate)? Wasn't sure about this rumor.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Yoshi212

Upgrades because of your marriage are more of exception not the rule. Don't expect it. Also many airlines that fly your routes do not have first class. Delta has a first class redemption limit on which classes you can book into so you may be out of luck.

Each program is different with rules and redemption rates.

You may wish to spend a little by using an Award Booking service as you're new and want to maximize your redemption. Award booking services - a list and some reviews

Also know that premium class redemption flights carry a large tax on flights out of the UK so you may do better flying into London and out of Italy. Even if you fly Italy-UK-USA in a premium the taxes will be less than on a UK-USA ticket.

84fiero

I don't think you need to waste your money on an award booking service, this is a really straightforward redemption. All you need is to spend some time becoming familiar with your options based on the miles and points currencies you have.

Delta Skymiles can't be redeemed for international first class and as noted above many of the airlines you could choose may not offer first on those routes. However the business class options may be perfectly suitable (IMHO they certainly are for such short trips as NYC to Europe).

I'd suggest looking at the MR transfer partners and then perusing the forums for those programs on here including how to look for availability as that is really the key. For most, including DL, you simply search on their website for award seat availability and how many miles they want.

You can definitely mix and match one-way redemptions in most cases (not too many airlines preclude one-way redemptions and half the miles of a roundtrip right now).

Being on your honeymoon won't get you anything more than a "congratulations" by the gate agent so forget about that rumor (along with dressing nicely, slipping the agent a $20, etc!)

javabytes

I'd probably suggest looking into transferring Amex MR to ANA. It will require 88k MR, round trip, for each passenger to fly Business Class. Compare to Delta, which will require a minimum of 140k SkyMiles. Being a member of *A, ANA has a lot of partners that service Europe very well, whereas AF/KL and in many cases AZ are very stingy with premium cabin inventory.

For example...

8/29:
LX015 JFK-ZRH 21:00 - 10:50 +1
LX332 ZRH-LHR 12:05 - 13:00

9/12
LX1727 FCO-ZRH 09:40 - 11:20
LX014 ZRH-JFK 12:55 - 15:45

...shows availability for 2 passengers in Business Class at the aforementioned rates (88k per passenger, round-trip = 176k total). And as Yoshi212 mentioned, flying into LHR and out of FCO avoids the hefty UK APD for premium cabin travel.

ANA does require either a round trip or open jaw though, so you cannot book one way flights.

If you book one ways involving Delta, be aware that they charge massive fuel surcharges for one-way travel originating in Europe (for parity with AF/KL). If you go this route, use SkyMiles to get to Europe, then another mileage currency to get you back home.

trooper

Just to add.... if you are basing the First Class plan on domestic flight experience... you will be MORE than satisfied with Business class on most good airlines....LX (Swiss) included...

jbeans

I second the ANA suggestion above for max bang for your buck/point. Just keep in mind in order to book for 2, you need to submit marriage certificate in advance to prove your relationship.

javabytes

Also, be sure to check the taxes and fees carefully. ANA does impose fuel surcharges on award redemptions, but they vary wildly from partner to partner. They might be $50 round trip if one carrier is operating the flights, and $400 (or even much more) for a different carrier. So be sure to check out which operating carriers come with the lower fuel surcharges. While I posted an easily found example above, I believe Swiss Air is one of the higher fuel surcharges. Lufthansa is high. United is lower. Don't know about the rest - you'll have to research. Try to get at least across the pond on an airline with lower fuel surcharges. If you can get there entirely on United, it will probably be less than $200. If you can get across the pond on United and then the rest of the way on LX/LH/etc., you might add $40-50 each direction you do that. If you fly LX/LH across the pond, you might add $500 each direction - steer clear. Play with it a little to find the best routings. Even if you're paying 88k miles + $200ish in fuel surcharges, I still view that as a big win compared to 140k SkyMiles.