Award Redemption to Australia
Aug 17, 2003, 2:25 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Posts: 52
Award Redemption to Australia
I've not yet participated in any deals seen here but have read many threads and am certainly in awe of the expertise this community provides. I seem to be having lots of bad luck lately. I was planning a trip to Sydney/Melbourne for this week, but my local county clerk's office improperly submitted my passport application and therefore am unable to fly until December (possibly not till next June). I decided to look into booking for December and noticed the redemption rates have suddenly jumped! Here are the economy class rates compared to a month ago:
delta: 80k->100k
united: 60k
AA: 60k->75k
Continental: 80k
USAir: 80k
Northwest: 80k
I don't have enough miles in all of these programs to earn one of these award tickets but I figure by december I could earn any remaining miles I require. I was planning on using AA miles originally (I have about 150k) but because of the increase, I now plan to use United's program, which only has a balance of 50k atm. My biggest concern is if delta and AA increased their rates 20 and 15k respectively, is it likely for united to follow suit in the next month? What brought about these large increases? Any chance of them returning to their former levels? Any advice for me in general?
TIA,
Avalon - the FT newbie
[This message has been edited by Avalon (edited 08-17-2003).]
delta: 80k->100k
united: 60k
AA: 60k->75k
Continental: 80k
USAir: 80k
Northwest: 80k
I don't have enough miles in all of these programs to earn one of these award tickets but I figure by december I could earn any remaining miles I require. I was planning on using AA miles originally (I have about 150k) but because of the increase, I now plan to use United's program, which only has a balance of 50k atm. My biggest concern is if delta and AA increased their rates 20 and 15k respectively, is it likely for united to follow suit in the next month? What brought about these large increases? Any chance of them returning to their former levels? Any advice for me in general?
TIA,
Avalon - the FT newbie
[This message has been edited by Avalon (edited 08-17-2003).]
Aug 17, 2003, 2:41 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Monterey, California
Programs: Affiliated with all, participate in some
Posts: 2,188
My prediction is that there will be an increase this year in many of the airline programs. I redeemed this summer for British Airways First class tickets for the US-London-Australia route because after July 1 the redemption cost increased from 150,000 miles to 420,000 miles.
I fully expect a 20 to 25 % increase above the current level for many awards. I am probably going to forego top status with airlines this year because I am trying to cash in a few hundred thousand of my miles while they are at a balance adequate for the current cost of business and first class awards.
I fully expect a 20 to 25 % increase above the current level for many awards. I am probably going to forego top status with airlines this year because I am trying to cash in a few hundred thousand of my miles while they are at a balance adequate for the current cost of business and first class awards.
Aug 17, 2003, 3:59 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,208
UA created Star Alliance awards and consolidated their award chart structure last year, so I doubt that you will see an increase in rates before this year is out. If all you need is 10K UA miles, then the easiest way to do that is to apply for a UA Mileage Plus visa card. The credit card sign up bonus varies from 5K to 20K miles, depending on what other goodies are also offered. Getting a 10K miles bonus shouldn't be too tough to find though, and the bonus miles post pretty promptly (say 6-8 weeks).
An alternative is to transfer your miles from a Diners Club rewards account. You can also do that with a Starwood preferred guest Amex card, but the rate was recently halved relative to other airlines so I wouldn't recommend it.
Finally, you could always open an Ameritrade account and get some bonus miles in the process (however, the best deal is to get the spg points through an Ameritrade account opening).
http://www.ameritrade.com/united/
http://www.ameritrade.com/spg
I should also add that December is peak season for travel to Australia. It will be very difficult to book award tickets during that period. Flexibility with dates and airline will be to your advantage. You may decide that booking the tickets with your AA miles may make more sense (although my guess is that there is even less availability to Australia in coach using AA miles than UA miles).
An alternative is to transfer your miles from a Diners Club rewards account. You can also do that with a Starwood preferred guest Amex card, but the rate was recently halved relative to other airlines so I wouldn't recommend it.
Finally, you could always open an Ameritrade account and get some bonus miles in the process (however, the best deal is to get the spg points through an Ameritrade account opening).
http://www.ameritrade.com/united/
http://www.ameritrade.com/spg
I should also add that December is peak season for travel to Australia. It will be very difficult to book award tickets during that period. Flexibility with dates and airline will be to your advantage. You may decide that booking the tickets with your AA miles may make more sense (although my guess is that there is even less availability to Australia in coach using AA miles than UA miles).
Aug 20, 2003, 3:43 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Ani Ichibanya
Programs: WWMFD
Posts: 6,292
Welcome to FT, Avalon!
Points aside, you might want to try a service to expedite passpost processing. Costs a few $$, but may be worth it if you want to "get out of Dodge".
This is one example of a service; I'm sure there are others.
Happy flying!
Points aside, you might want to try a service to expedite passpost processing. Costs a few $$, but may be worth it if you want to "get out of Dodge".
This is one example of a service; I'm sure there are others.
Happy flying!