last ninute tickets
 

Had to get a 1 day advance ticket and was appalled at the cost--just fortunate it was on a weekend and a weekend netflyer destination. Any way to use frequent flyer miles for last minute tickets?

That is why I like to have a SWest Rapid Rewards ticket handy......no restrictions as to needing to stay a saturday night, no 7 days in advance, no limit to # of seats rewarded on a flight......only limited to number of seats available on the plane. Period. We have used them in family emergencies and it sure is nice not to be further stressed by airline policies.

unfortunately I live in central NC and SW doesn't fly here--any others? Think they go into Raleigh but it's a pain to go there and it'd be hard to build up miles.

Where in Central NC? Forget Charlotte, but you can find some deals out of Greensboro, where AirTran flys out of - Delta will sometimes match their rates to common destinations. AirTran is about the best I've found in western NC for last minute rates... Raleigh does have good options in NC for walkup or near walkup rates.. I think JethroJet - ugh, excuse me, MetroJet flies out there as well..

Welcome to the boards goodtogo. What fscher is saying, is to have a airline cert issued on your favorite (or whatever) airline in which you have sufficient RT miles in advance of any last minute trips and have in your possession in case of occurrence you stated. That way you can call for reservations using the freebie or even walk up to the airline counter w/o a reservation, present it and hopefully fly on.

Right now I carry DL, CO and UA certs. They are good for a year and as they get close to being outdated, I send them back for credit for a $25-$50 fee. A Nice insurance policy.

I have got UA and CO FF tickets, booked at the last minute as e-tickets using banked miles without any cost. If you do not have a certificate in hand, DL charges a fee for last minute tickets from your banked miles.

NW allows you to book tickets on their web site, they even have periodic promotions for a discount in mileage to use their web site for FF tickets. I believe, though have not done so myself, that their web site can be used for booking last minute FF tickets (for US members).

Among the hotels, Starwood is the only one I am aware of which will allow last minute awards without a certificate in hand.

[This message has been edited by PG (edited 10-14-2000).]

AA also charges a fee for "last minute" awards, which is pure extortion - anything less than three weeks costs $50, or $75 for same day ticketing. Yet they do the exact same work two days in advance as if you had booked two weeks in advance. (I'm assuming you go in to an AA office to pick up the award; admittedly the $50 fee includes express delivery).

UA doesn't charge a last minute fee so no need to have a certificate in hand (and risk the re-deposit fee a year later).

In fact, last night I booked a UA award for a friend in Seattle to fly to Houston tomorrow and visit his Mom. I went to a San Francisco ticket office today and signed for the miles; he can pick up the [e-]ticket tomorrow at SEA-TAC airport...and no fee even for that! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

A great thing that UA does is how they let you use awards at the last minute and if you don't use the ticket they'll redeposit the miles. Ditto for upgrades if you somehow aren't able to use them. This is nice!

AA ExecPlat members have the fees waived for expidited tickets from what I've read. Has anyone done this and does it work when returning miles to an account if not used in a year?

Delta's fee for mileage redemption at less than 72 hours out is $75.

MetroJet, JethroJet, GhettoJet, etc. ...

Here's one of my all-time fave threads on the Internet ... I snicker like an idiot everytime I go there http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif:


http://www.planebusiness.com/ubb/For...ML/000163.html


[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 10-19-2000).]