Advice from the Gurus for future trip to Rome
Aug 7, 2018, 10:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 38
Advice from the Gurus for future trip to Rome
Looking for advice for a few questions, so here it goes:
Im starting to do my homework for a trip to Rome in just over a yr. This is for my wife's 50th and my retirement so we want to fly business class. I have 150k points with AA, 100k with united. I know Ill have to pay with not having enough points for both of us.
1. We will fly out of Tampa, I have started tracking flights on google tracker from all the big east coast airports to see if I can narrow down to find cheaper. Would it be better to fly to one of them on a separate fare then book to Rome?
2. How do I use my points, and can I use my points for both of us? Do I have to go to the miles site and start from there or start to book normal and pay with points? Not only planning on using the 2 airlines that I have the points with, looking for the best price to fly business. If that makes since.
3. I did a test booking with AA points site for business, they wanted around 130k points. They were flying me the long haul on Iberia but it was showing Tampa to Miami business and Miami to Madrid economy, Madrid to Rome economy. Same on way home. So Im using all my miles for business seat for 45min flight?
Thanks for help, Im sure Ill have more questions. Lee
Im starting to do my homework for a trip to Rome in just over a yr. This is for my wife's 50th and my retirement so we want to fly business class. I have 150k points with AA, 100k with united. I know Ill have to pay with not having enough points for both of us.
1. We will fly out of Tampa, I have started tracking flights on google tracker from all the big east coast airports to see if I can narrow down to find cheaper. Would it be better to fly to one of them on a separate fare then book to Rome?
2. How do I use my points, and can I use my points for both of us? Do I have to go to the miles site and start from there or start to book normal and pay with points? Not only planning on using the 2 airlines that I have the points with, looking for the best price to fly business. If that makes since.
3. I did a test booking with AA points site for business, they wanted around 130k points. They were flying me the long haul on Iberia but it was showing Tampa to Miami business and Miami to Madrid economy, Madrid to Rome economy. Same on way home. So Im using all my miles for business seat for 45min flight?
Thanks for help, Im sure Ill have more questions. Lee
Aug 7, 2018, 12:40 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Land of 10,000 Upgrades
Posts: 9,465
Aug 7, 2018, 1:01 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
Hi, you have over a year, but need to start now. I'm going to comment on AA, here are some thoughts, others will chime in as well.
First thing is that you do not have enough points to get what you want, 2 roundtrip business seats. AA milessaver (when available!!!) is 57.5k miles per person each way, 115k roundtrip. UA is about 60K points each way, 120k roundtrip. You need to add up more points to your account, so do some credit card sign up to cash in on the bonus. Another option is to book trip as 2 one ways, If you see the outbound flight already, book it. Then when you get more points you can look for the return portion. Keep in mind that AA allows 5 day hold on award travel.
Second, AA has a really bad tendency to offer Business class awards where only the business seats are on the domestic portion ie. TPA-MIA/CLT and coach on the transatlantic section, not what you want. You need to play around to get the best product on that. Look for the transatlantic portion first then build into it or just buy the connecting segment separately.
Third, by all means avoid using BA for the "over the water/transatlantic" portion of the flight, the fees will be astronomical, must be AA metal.
Fourth find out where does AA offers non-stop service to FCO, I see that PHL is one of them, not sure how it will be next year, but perhaps a TPA-PHL-FCO will be a start.
Fifth, seeing that this is a special trip, certainly take into account that no matter how much you plan, things can go wrong, therefore add extra time in between segments to account for delays, heck maybe fly out the day before and spend the night in your gateway city, PHL in the example provided above.
Sixth, (and this is related to Fifth) AA allows you to do a layover under 24HRS, perhaps a TPA-PHL/MIA/ORD/CLT/DFW-LHR (spend 24hrs in LHR)-FCO. and do something similar in the return. This can give you the opportunity to see another city, granted short time, but if you play it well, you can see some of the highlights of the 2nd city. I think UA does the same.
Seventh, trains are great way to travel in Europe, also there are lots of LCC's as well if you want to visit other cities.
Finally, use a card that provides insurance, just in case.
Good luck, these are things that just came up to me while at my lunch break at work. Enjoy.
First thing is that you do not have enough points to get what you want, 2 roundtrip business seats. AA milessaver (when available!!!) is 57.5k miles per person each way, 115k roundtrip. UA is about 60K points each way, 120k roundtrip. You need to add up more points to your account, so do some credit card sign up to cash in on the bonus. Another option is to book trip as 2 one ways, If you see the outbound flight already, book it. Then when you get more points you can look for the return portion. Keep in mind that AA allows 5 day hold on award travel.
Second, AA has a really bad tendency to offer Business class awards where only the business seats are on the domestic portion ie. TPA-MIA/CLT and coach on the transatlantic section, not what you want. You need to play around to get the best product on that. Look for the transatlantic portion first then build into it or just buy the connecting segment separately.
Third, by all means avoid using BA for the "over the water/transatlantic" portion of the flight, the fees will be astronomical, must be AA metal.
Fourth find out where does AA offers non-stop service to FCO, I see that PHL is one of them, not sure how it will be next year, but perhaps a TPA-PHL-FCO will be a start.
Fifth, seeing that this is a special trip, certainly take into account that no matter how much you plan, things can go wrong, therefore add extra time in between segments to account for delays, heck maybe fly out the day before and spend the night in your gateway city, PHL in the example provided above.
Sixth, (and this is related to Fifth) AA allows you to do a layover under 24HRS, perhaps a TPA-PHL/MIA/ORD/CLT/DFW-LHR (spend 24hrs in LHR)-FCO. and do something similar in the return. This can give you the opportunity to see another city, granted short time, but if you play it well, you can see some of the highlights of the 2nd city. I think UA does the same.
Seventh, trains are great way to travel in Europe, also there are lots of LCC's as well if you want to visit other cities.
Finally, use a card that provides insurance, just in case.
Good luck, these are things that just came up to me while at my lunch break at work. Enjoy.
Aug 7, 2018, 2:21 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,585
Think about flying just one way, and taking a westbound Transatlantic repositioning cruise from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Florida. Those cruises can be dirt cheap if there are unsold cabins two months before sailing. 
Aug 7, 2018, 7:37 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Looking for advice for a few questions, so here it goes:
Im starting to do my homework for a trip to Rome in just over a yr. This is for my wife's 50th and my retirement so we want to fly business class. I have 150k points with AA, 100k with united. I know Ill have to pay with not having enough points for both of us.
1. We will fly out of Tampa, I have started tracking flights on google tracker from all the big east coast airports to see if I can narrow down to find cheaper. Would it be better to fly to one of them on a separate fare then book to Rome?
2. How do I use my points, and can I use my points for both of us? Do I have to go to the miles site and start from there or start to book normal and pay with points? Not only planning on using the 2 airlines that I have the points with, looking for the best price to fly business. If that makes since.
3. I did a test booking with AA points site for business, they wanted around 130k points. They were flying me the long haul on Iberia but it was showing Tampa to Miami business and Miami to Madrid economy, Madrid to Rome economy. Same on way home. So Im using all my miles for business seat for 45min flight?
Thanks for help, Im sure Ill have more questions. Lee
Im starting to do my homework for a trip to Rome in just over a yr. This is for my wife's 50th and my retirement so we want to fly business class. I have 150k points with AA, 100k with united. I know Ill have to pay with not having enough points for both of us.
1. We will fly out of Tampa, I have started tracking flights on google tracker from all the big east coast airports to see if I can narrow down to find cheaper. Would it be better to fly to one of them on a separate fare then book to Rome?
2. How do I use my points, and can I use my points for both of us? Do I have to go to the miles site and start from there or start to book normal and pay with points? Not only planning on using the 2 airlines that I have the points with, looking for the best price to fly business. If that makes since.
3. I did a test booking with AA points site for business, they wanted around 130k points. They were flying me the long haul on Iberia but it was showing Tampa to Miami business and Miami to Madrid economy, Madrid to Rome economy. Same on way home. So Im using all my miles for business seat for 45min flight?
Thanks for help, Im sure Ill have more questions. Lee
I'd also suggest searching from nearby alternate starting points for award availability - MCO, RSW for example. And as also mentioned above trains in Europe are great as are LCCs, so if you find award availability to another city in Europe with convenient access to Rome via one of those methods, that could be another option that also adds a stop in some other interesting city too.
2. AA and UA don't offer cash-plus-miles redemption options (aside from purchasing "extra" miles), which I think is what you're asking about here. So you either have to buy a "cash" ticket or a redeem for an award ticket. With both programs you can search award options on their websites, click the "Award" or similarly worded box when using the flight search feature. You could in theory buy a ticket for one person and use miles for the 2nd person, though whether the cash fare on the same flight would be a good value or not isn't guaranteed.
I can't really add more to what arollins said about things to watch out for with AA in particular.
Good luck and have fun!
Aug 7, 2018, 10:30 pm
#7
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
For American Airlines miles use, I’d recommend reading HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance, particularly the Wikipost at the top of the page. There’s a lot of useful information and there are resource links to other threads and outside resources.
You do have to look out for those horrible mixed cabin awards, but you can find Awards using AA and partners, such as Iberia, Finnair, etc.
Aug 8, 2018, 12:07 am
#8
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 104
Very good advice
Hi, you have over a year, but need to start now. I'm going to comment on AA, here are some thoughts, others will chime in as well.
First thing is that you do not have enough points to get what you want, 2 roundtrip business seats. AA milessaver (when available!!!) is 57.5k miles per person each way, 115k roundtrip. UA is about 60K points each way, 120k roundtrip. You need to add up more points to your account, so do some credit card sign up to cash in on the bonus. Another option is to book trip as 2 one ways, If you see the outbound flight already, book it. Then when you get more points you can look for the return portion. Keep in mind that AA allows 5 day hold on award travel.
Second, AA has a really bad tendency to offer Business class awards where only the business seats are on the domestic portion ie. TPA-MIA/CLT and coach on the transatlantic section, not what you want. You need to play around to get the best product on that. Look for the transatlantic portion first then build into it or just buy the connecting segment separately.
Third, by all means avoid using BA for the "over the water/transatlantic" portion of the flight, the fees will be astronomical, must be AA metal.
Fourth find out where does AA offers non-stop service to FCO, I see that PHL is one of them, not sure how it will be next year, but perhaps a TPA-PHL-FCO will be a start.
Fifth, seeing that this is a special trip, certainly take into account that no matter how much you plan, things can go wrong, therefore add extra time in between segments to account for delays, heck maybe fly out the day before and spend the night in your gateway city, PHL in the example provided above.
Sixth, (and this is related to Fifth) AA allows you to do a layover under 24HRS, perhaps a TPA-PHL/MIA/ORD/CLT/DFW-LHR (spend 24hrs in LHR)-FCO. and do something similar in the return. This can give you the opportunity to see another city, granted short time, but if you play it well, you can see some of the highlights of the 2nd city. I think UA does the same.
Seventh, trains are great way to travel in Europe, also there are lots of LCC's as well if you want to visit other cities.
Finally, use a card that provides insurance, just in case.
Good luck, these are things that just came up to me while at my lunch break at work. Enjoy.
First thing is that you do not have enough points to get what you want, 2 roundtrip business seats. AA milessaver (when available!!!) is 57.5k miles per person each way, 115k roundtrip. UA is about 60K points each way, 120k roundtrip. You need to add up more points to your account, so do some credit card sign up to cash in on the bonus. Another option is to book trip as 2 one ways, If you see the outbound flight already, book it. Then when you get more points you can look for the return portion. Keep in mind that AA allows 5 day hold on award travel.
Second, AA has a really bad tendency to offer Business class awards where only the business seats are on the domestic portion ie. TPA-MIA/CLT and coach on the transatlantic section, not what you want. You need to play around to get the best product on that. Look for the transatlantic portion first then build into it or just buy the connecting segment separately.
Third, by all means avoid using BA for the "over the water/transatlantic" portion of the flight, the fees will be astronomical, must be AA metal.
Fourth find out where does AA offers non-stop service to FCO, I see that PHL is one of them, not sure how it will be next year, but perhaps a TPA-PHL-FCO will be a start.
Fifth, seeing that this is a special trip, certainly take into account that no matter how much you plan, things can go wrong, therefore add extra time in between segments to account for delays, heck maybe fly out the day before and spend the night in your gateway city, PHL in the example provided above.
Sixth, (and this is related to Fifth) AA allows you to do a layover under 24HRS, perhaps a TPA-PHL/MIA/ORD/CLT/DFW-LHR (spend 24hrs in LHR)-FCO. and do something similar in the return. This can give you the opportunity to see another city, granted short time, but if you play it well, you can see some of the highlights of the 2nd city. I think UA does the same.
Seventh, trains are great way to travel in Europe, also there are lots of LCC's as well if you want to visit other cities.
Finally, use a card that provides insurance, just in case.
Good luck, these are things that just came up to me while at my lunch break at work. Enjoy.
Aug 8, 2018, 9:22 am
#11
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Home
Programs: AA, Delta, UA & thanks to FTers for my PC Gold!
Posts: 7,676
I say avoid mileage brokers...
Anyone ever booked with "Luxury for Less" (FLYL4L.COM) before?
You still have to time to build up your mileage bank before finalizing your plan if aiming for business class travel. Follow the good advice upthread from arollins. When you have enough and ready to make the best of your miles/points for Rome trip, I would encourage you to consider award booking services. You can find expert FTers to save you time and show you your options:
Award booking services - a list and some reviews
Good luck!
Last edited by lin821; Aug 8, 2018 at 9:39 am Reason: clarification
Aug 8, 2018, 9:26 am
#12
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
Be very careful with these services. Without knowing the company names, I can only presume that they are air miles broker. They buy and sell airline miles, which is illegal as per the terms and conditions of most airlines, and book tickets on behalf of others looking for Business/First travel to some exotic destination. Basically a third party "buys" miles from someone with a high mileage balance for $XX.00, and then books an award travel on behalf of a buyer willing to spend $XX.00 + $$$. At some point the airline sees some sort of discrepancy and cancels the flight, bans the seller, and you are stuck in the airport with no ticket to your destination. The broker/third party, has collected money from you and will be very difficult to get a hold of, since all your communication with them was done mostly via email.
Last edited by arollins; Aug 8, 2018 at 10:00 am
Aug 13, 2018, 12:03 am
#14
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
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Depends on how long and your city pairs. Sometimes short checking is allowed. And there are time limits (and airport restrictions) on how long they'll keep baggage. Generally international is under 24 hours- but post specifics and we can help you out.