How should I use my miles/points?
Apr 11, 2013, 1:04 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2013
Programs: AA PLT, DL GM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 241
How should I use my miles/points?
I'm looking to take a trip August 2014 and want to start planning how best to use my miles/points and whether I should get more. I'm flexible on exactly where I go, but I'm thinking about some of these places:
I'd prefer to fly from NY or DC, but I'd consider other cities for better routings or better uses of miles. I don't mind Y and would rather fly to more places than fly in style. I also don't mind using low-cost carriers for relatively short trips (no more than 2.5 hours). At the time of the trip, no status except for Hyatt Diamond. With that in mind, my balances:
Any help or tips would be much appreciated!
- Russia (Moscow/Saint Petersburg)
- China (Lijiang/Kunming)
- Japan (Tokyo/Kyoto)
- India (Delhi/Jaipur/Hyderabad)
- Israel (Tel Aviv/Jerusalem)
- Egypt (Cairo/Alexandria)
- Eastern Europe (Prague/Budapest/Istanbul)
- Italy (Rome/Florence/Venice/Cinque Terre)
- Scandinavia (Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen)
I'd prefer to fly from NY or DC, but I'd consider other cities for better routings or better uses of miles. I don't mind Y and would rather fly to more places than fly in style. I also don't mind using low-cost carriers for relatively short trips (no more than 2.5 hours). At the time of the trip, no status except for Hyatt Diamond. With that in mind, my balances:
- DL 50K+
- UA 60K+
- US 60K+
- AmEx MR 50K+
Any help or tips would be much appreciated!
Last edited by lawyertalk; Apr 12, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Apr 11, 2013, 1:16 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,551
I'm not an expert on routings, but I can offer some general advice.
1) You have plenty of time to churn some credit cards and get more miles.
2) AA and UA miles will be much more useful, because they can be used for one-way trips. US and DL only book round-trip (with open jaws and sometimes stopovers). Note that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United and Amex to Delta.
3) It is unlikely that the US/AA merger will affect you much, but nothing is certain. Your US miles will become AA miles at some point, but it's not clear when.
4) It's a good idea to start looking for availability 11 months ahead, but availability ebbs and flows. Nothing about it is predictable.
5) Familiarize yourself with the stopover and open jaw rules on all the carriers. Call each airline at least twice, because many of the CSR's are completely clueless. Also look at the individual airline forums for threads on award bookings.
6) Validity of search results ranges from really really good (United) to a real joke (Delta) to "You're freaking kidding me, right?" (US). Getting and learning how to use a tool like KVS or Expert Flyer will be well worth the time and money.
7) Amex points can be converted to Aeroplan (Air Canada) and then (via points.com) to US at 84% of value.
There are people MUCH better equipped to help you on routes, but my initial impression would be to perhaps try for an open jaw or stopover to Europe on US or DL, and to continue beyond that on UA/AA.
1) You have plenty of time to churn some credit cards and get more miles.
2) AA and UA miles will be much more useful, because they can be used for one-way trips. US and DL only book round-trip (with open jaws and sometimes stopovers). Note that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United and Amex to Delta.
3) It is unlikely that the US/AA merger will affect you much, but nothing is certain. Your US miles will become AA miles at some point, but it's not clear when.
4) It's a good idea to start looking for availability 11 months ahead, but availability ebbs and flows. Nothing about it is predictable.
5) Familiarize yourself with the stopover and open jaw rules on all the carriers. Call each airline at least twice, because many of the CSR's are completely clueless. Also look at the individual airline forums for threads on award bookings.
6) Validity of search results ranges from really really good (United) to a real joke (Delta) to "You're freaking kidding me, right?" (US). Getting and learning how to use a tool like KVS or Expert Flyer will be well worth the time and money.
7) Amex points can be converted to Aeroplan (Air Canada) and then (via points.com) to US at 84% of value.
There are people MUCH better equipped to help you on routes, but my initial impression would be to perhaps try for an open jaw or stopover to Europe on US or DL, and to continue beyond that on UA/AA.
Apr 11, 2013, 1:28 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
You have far too long a list of places you want to go to get any kind of help with routings or planning. Narrow it down to maybe two or three. Right now it would take days to figure out the best use if that was all you did.
Apr 11, 2013, 3:18 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,664
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
In addition to offering one-way awards, AA also offers the distance-based Explorer award, that allows up to 16 flown segments on a single award. Redemption cost in miles varies depending on class of service and total flown miles. The Explorer award can provide exceptional value -- especially in Business Class -- if one wants to visit multiple cities.
In addition to offering one-way awards, AA also offers the distance-based Explorer award, that allows up to 16 flown segments on a single award. Redemption cost in miles varies depending on class of service and total flown miles. The Explorer award can provide exceptional value -- especially in Business Class -- if one wants to visit multiple cities.
Apr 12, 2013, 9:53 pm
#7
Moderator: Travel Buzz
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,101
If you travel in the off peak seasons, you already have enough points for at least 3 international trips. Using your MR points for BA, you can convert those 50K points to many domestic flights at 4500K o/w, so 5 trips at under your 2 1/2 hour mark on AA.