SFO-Australia in premium class
Aug 21, 2013 | 8:33 am
#31
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA
Posts: 3,020
Aug 21, 2013 | 10:34 pm
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,186
Sometimes its hard enough find space to one destination, i ant imagine how bad it would be o find seat on numerous flights with various partners.
Looks like the best value would be for 14 k- 20k redemption for 130k in j or 180k in f.
The 10% rebate for having aa cc should apply too right?
Looks like the best value would be for 14 k- 20k redemption for 130k in j or 180k in f.
The 10% rebate for having aa cc should apply too right?
Aug 21, 2013 | 10:46 pm
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 34,998
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Yes, but the rebate is limited to a maximum of 10,000 miles per year per AAdvantage member.
Originally Posted by hqly2001
Sometimes its hard enough find space to one destination, i ant imagine how bad it would be o find seat on numerous flights with various partners.
Looks like the best value would be for 14 k- 20k redemption for 130k in j or 180k in f.
The 10% rebate for having aa cc should apply too right?
Looks like the best value would be for 14 k- 20k redemption for 130k in j or 180k in f.
The 10% rebate for having aa cc should apply too right?
Aug 23, 2013 | 2:29 pm
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 18,080
Having tried to do this myself without success using UA miles (but only for family of 2) I can tell you it won't be easy for 4. Here are some thoughts:
(1) Low season (summer in USA) is easier than high season (Dec/Jan). However I had a friend that visited Australia in August and complained about incessant rain. So if beaches are on your agenda (Sydney, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have some of the best) that may affect your timing.
(2) Consider splitting up 2/2 on consecutive flights. A friend of mine used to do this regularly and had good success finding 2 seats on the same flights (adult + child) - sometimes using different routing/carriers. If you are traveling for 2-3 weeks an extra day or two on either end won't mess up your plans.
(3) UA saver economy can sometimes be found when schedule opens, and additional inventory is often added for low season flights at different points 3-9 months out. Worthwhile to check daily. C/F is often impossible to find, particularly for high season, unless you are willing to wait until a week before travel. That doesn't work too well for most families.
(4) NZ premium seats are difficult from SFO/LAX-AKL but you may have better luck from other airports.
(5) I have read that you can find Delta award inventory at lowest redemption levels on Virgin Atlantic (possibly one of the best uses of DL skypesos). Qantas (with AA miles) is quite challenging as others have noted.
(6) As noted above, another potential workaround is to use UA miles on *A carriers of which there are many. This will take you on a significant detour but maybe of interest if you want to stopover elsewhere. Personally I prefer to get it all over in 1 shot with the 14-hour nonstops from CA to Australia, but YMMV.
(7) Economy space is generally easier to find than C/F but I personally won't fly this route anymore unless I have a lie-flat seat. However with a family of 4 you may not have that luxury depending on your mileage stash.
In terms of touring, I would recommend you skip Perth (which is somewhat remote) and consider SYD or BNE which are more interesting. I travel to Perth regularly on business - it's a nice city but not much of interest to tourists excepting the prison tour in Freemantle. SYD and BNE are also closer and provide a good launch point to New Zealand. Check the Australia/NZ forum for more touring ideas.
(1) Low season (summer in USA) is easier than high season (Dec/Jan). However I had a friend that visited Australia in August and complained about incessant rain. So if beaches are on your agenda (Sydney, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have some of the best) that may affect your timing.
(2) Consider splitting up 2/2 on consecutive flights. A friend of mine used to do this regularly and had good success finding 2 seats on the same flights (adult + child) - sometimes using different routing/carriers. If you are traveling for 2-3 weeks an extra day or two on either end won't mess up your plans.
(3) UA saver economy can sometimes be found when schedule opens, and additional inventory is often added for low season flights at different points 3-9 months out. Worthwhile to check daily. C/F is often impossible to find, particularly for high season, unless you are willing to wait until a week before travel. That doesn't work too well for most families.
(4) NZ premium seats are difficult from SFO/LAX-AKL but you may have better luck from other airports.
(5) I have read that you can find Delta award inventory at lowest redemption levels on Virgin Atlantic (possibly one of the best uses of DL skypesos). Qantas (with AA miles) is quite challenging as others have noted.
(6) As noted above, another potential workaround is to use UA miles on *A carriers of which there are many. This will take you on a significant detour but maybe of interest if you want to stopover elsewhere. Personally I prefer to get it all over in 1 shot with the 14-hour nonstops from CA to Australia, but YMMV.
(7) Economy space is generally easier to find than C/F but I personally won't fly this route anymore unless I have a lie-flat seat. However with a family of 4 you may not have that luxury depending on your mileage stash.
In terms of touring, I would recommend you skip Perth (which is somewhat remote) and consider SYD or BNE which are more interesting. I travel to Perth regularly on business - it's a nice city but not much of interest to tourists excepting the prison tour in Freemantle. SYD and BNE are also closer and provide a good launch point to New Zealand. Check the Australia/NZ forum for more touring ideas.
