Hello all, I'm trying to book 2 RT economy award seats to DR in August for my gf and I and I was wondering if I could get some advice/help.

I've narrowed my options to the following four:

1.) 80k UR points - EWR to POP (preferred airports)

2.) 65k UR points - JFK to STI

3.) 130k Delta SkyMiles + $200 - JFK to STI

4.) 40k BA miles (transferred from UR/MR) + $300 (via AA)

I've concluded that my best option is #4 but there seems to be no availability for the dates I'm planning on going.

Is there a chance 2 award seats will become available or does no availability mean no availability with the BA online tool. And if there is a chance, should I use ExpertFlyer to alert me of a BA flight or an AA flight - I've never used ExpertFlyer before.

Thank you everyone in advance.

There is always a very good chance the award will become available, but you need to keep checking AA super-saver rates (not BA tool, it's like pulling teeth) every day. Do go with option #4 since everything else is a horrendous waste of miles on a flight that doesn't cost all that much to begin with.

If RT award does not become available, one way award might. Consider booking an award flight either way and paying or use different program for the other one-way. So many ailrines are flying to DR, you shouldn't have a problem.

Btw, what are those $200 and $300 - taxes?

Okay, I'll take your advice and check the AA site daily. Thanks!

Yep, taxes and fees.

I think we could be of more help if you gave a list of airports you'd be willing to fly to, the dates you want to travel, and if those dates are flexible (if so, give a date range). AA has great options for flying to the Caribbean, so that will probably be your best option. Also what mileage balances are you working with? Sounds like you have some Chase UR points, AMEX MR points, and some miles in various airline programs.

When you say UR points, is that using the UR points to just pay for the travel, and not transfer to an airline FF program? Since you'd have to pay $300 in taxes/fees with BA miles to book on AA, you're nearly at a breakeven compared to spending 80k UR points to get to your preferred airport. Plus those should earn miles, compared to the award earning you nothing.

Southwest is now a redemption partner of Chase UR, and their aquisition of AirTran provides new international routes to the Caribbean. I don't think the two airlines are integrated to the point yet where you can use your Rapid Rewards points to book travel on AirTran, but keep an eye on it. Others would know more than me, and the WN forum would be a good place to snoop around.

Expertflyer will let you set up up to 30 flight alerts that will check for award availability on your selected flights and email you when something pops up. That would save you a lot of time every day from searching the various combinations.

I see a lot of Business MileSAAver availability from NYC-area airports to POP, have you considered business on BA?

I'd like to fly Aug 17-22. Those are the dates I booked with the resort so they would also be the most ideal dates to fly. However, I suppose I could be flexible +/- a day - assuming the resort will be flexible as well.

EWR to POP is preferred but I'm willing to fly into STI and out of JFK/LGA/PHL.

My mileage balances are as follows:

Delta - 27.5k with potential to be 87.5 (spend 10k in 6 mos.)
SW - 68k with 50k on the way
US - 40k
MR - 75k on the way
UR - 85k

80 UR points would be from purchasing the tickets directly from the UR website and not transferring. I just assumed 40k BA miles + $300 at less convenient airports was a better deal than 80k UR points at my preferred airport..but I guess not?

Thanks for the heads up on the AirTran possibilities. I'll be sure to check the WN forum.

40k BA miles sounds pretty decent, but I thought there wasn't availability for your dates?

Also, are the rates you quoted per person or for the two of you?

40k BA miles + $300 taxes/fees seems to be the rate it would be if the seats were made available. I picked some dates in May and that was the rate so my assumption was that that rate would be the same for August as well. $40 k BA miles + $300 is for award 2 seats.

Also, thanks for the tip! I checked Business class availability on the BA site and there is availability for exactly my dates. The rate is doubled so it would come out to 80k BA miles + $300. I suppose that beats out option #2 of 130k Delta Sky Miles + $200 since I can transfer from both UR and MR (and hope for some MR transfer bonuses) but I'm still not sure how it stacks up against 80k UR points from my preferred airports. Is $300 (+additional costs for transportion from STI to Puerta Plata and back to STI) worth it in order not exhaust all of my UR points?

I should mention that I'm trying to stretch my miles/points as much as possible (think quantity, not quality) being that my projected rewards balances will hit a wall in the not so distant future due to plans to apply for a student loan for grad school in 2-3 years.

What about a revenue ticket. Domestic style first/business class seats and short haul flights are hardly a wise use of miles...

This is how I see it, please correct me if I'm misinformed though:

I understand that the best value of miles is from redeeming for international flights but given my current income and career path (<30k/taking classes to go back to grad school) I'm trying to spend as little as possible at this juncture of my life, even if it means sacrificing what would otherwise be a greater value in the future. Also, I was under the impression that short haul flights were where BA Avios shined.

Depends on the individual case. Let's compare the two AA options:

1. Using 65k UR points: Value = 1.25 cents per point so tickets must cost around $812 total.

2. Using 40k BA & $300: Cost = 40k BA + 3.6k AA (mileage earning foregone) + $300. Value of points = ($812 - $300)/(43.6k miles) = 1.17 cents per mile/point

Looks like you're not going to do better than the 1.25 cents per point unless you place significant value on either the convenience of the preferred airports or on first class.

As shown above, this is actually not the case even if there were availability.

The breakdown is much appreciated, that makes perfect sense. However, considering I have some time couldn't I wait around to see if there is an Amex transfer bonus in the near future? Assuming it'd be 30% at the minimum (and my math is correct) I could get 1.49 cpm making the BA more lucrative.

Using 40k BA & $300: Cost = 30.7k MR (30.7k+30.7k(30%)=40k) + 3.6k AA (mileage earning foregone) + $300. Value of points = ($812 - $300)/(34.3k miles) = 1.49 cents per mile/point

That would help make the points usage more lucrative if there were award seats available. That's a big if considering there are none currently available (at least for the non-stop flight that you'd need to do the 20k work) and you want to fly during peak summer travel season.

Very true, that strategy is a big 'if' considering I need both award availability AND an Amex transfer bonus. Probably won't hold my breath for that one.

Good news though, I actually found a Delta Business class ticket JFK-STI for 60k + $100 that would be $990 otherwise. I calculated that to come out to ~1.39 CPM which I can't complain about. And if there's an Amex transfer bonus to Delta that'd make it even sweeter. The only thing is that when I search for 2 business class award seats the cost skyrockets to 100k + $100 per seat.

Could I purchase 2 business class tickets separately at $60k + $100 per seat or is it safe to say that the second seat won't be available at the price after purchasing the first seat?

it's safe to say that the second seat will be the higher price.

you would of course find more options if you were flying to PUJ. I guess a bit far from your final destination though

AA , only 1 daily to POP and 3 to STI. 2 of which make a stop.

the non-stop AA JFK-STI is a 763, so if you book in J, you get angled lie-flat