Have done the search for info on a calender that shows what the date is 331 days from today. Anyone know where one exists?

Appreciate the help. Trying to book flights but keep getting the message....too far out!!

Thanks,

Magic

This same question was recently asked on TUG. The response was to use
www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html. Use the form to simply subtract 331 days from your proposed flight date. Good luck. Note that the online booking doesn't show 331 days out most of the time, usually it's behind by about two days (United, anyway). I always call at the exact time the flights are released to try and get the high demand flights.

If you would otherwise be using Excel, =today()+331

does this, like, work?
I mean, do all flights have at least a couple FF seats? And if you call and are the first one in on the 331 day, would that mean that technically speaking you really should be able to book a seat using miles?

Standard awards?

And if not, who do we complain to?

MM

No ... I just read yesterday (forgot where) that there are indeed some flights that have 0% award availability. The folks at Load Control (or whatever they call it) determine that.

E.g. -- try to book an award LAX-SYD on QF

And this is exactly why sometimes I think it is totally ok for me to try my hardest to scam or abuse the system... Now I know how that sounds, but I think we can all attest to the fact that they started the fire...

You cannot book awards... with miles you "paid" for thru whatever long ongoing marketing or promo means you participated which gave them or their partners business and money. YOu have these miles, cannot use them and that is a scam. Thus, the only way to fight back to this is to do what we sometimes do in here, which is to find holes and scams on them.

It sounds silly, and should not be this way, but it is. I have had luck redeeming miles but it does take lots of work and experience. And had it not been for forums like these and a real affinity to find the ways to make things work that should work, I may be stuck--like so many other customers who are blindly falling victim to all these promos and scams that basically sell them nothing they can ever use. And the airlines know it. That's the sad part. Why ARENT they making money then? Cant figure it out.

Oh well.

MM

To each his own, but I think that creative methods combined with knowledge gained on FT = intelligent procurement and use of miles. I, as long as I play by the rules, in no way find this a "scam" or an "abuse".

agreed.
and yeah, sometimes I do not play 100% by the "rules"...

If you want a trip in the future I presume that you need to wait until your return flight is 331 days away? Is there anyway to lock in the outgoing flight before the award seats are taken before the return date for booking arrives?

Most airlines will hold the departing reservation for 2 weeks. Are you asking how to hold that outgoing reservation if the return is more than two weeks later? If so, one strategy is to wait until almost the end of the original two weeks and then ask for an extension on the outgoing reservation for another two weeks. Most airlines will do this but no guarantee. If you are asking about something else, please clarify.

For example:
Trip is for Dec 26-Jan 5
Do I have to wait until 331 before Jan 5, 2005 to redeem my award? If yes then the award seats available for Dec 26th my be gone because other have had two weeks to redeem their award miles. Does that make sense?

Care to dig a black saab out of a snow bank in the Back Bay for miles?
(That seems to be what's on the docket for this guy tomorrow)

As stated before you do not have to wait untill 331 days as from your example of the return Jan 5th, most airlines will hold the first leg for two weeks and then you can call back within the 2 weeks and add the return if the original was booked say 329 days out or alternately request an additional two days so the return falls into the 331 days. I did exactly that very recently for a Dec trip to CPT on SAA (Delta partner)

mike

lol, wow