Maximizing *A award using EB points
 

SIN-xNRT-xICN-TAS(point of turnaround)-xICN-xPVG-SIN
x(no stop, transfer only)

Day 1:
SQ 12
SIN 09:45 NRT 17:35
Duration: 6h:50m

Day 2:
OZ 103
NRT 15:25 ICN 17:50
Duration: 2h:25m

Day 3:
OZ 573
ICN 17:30 TAS 21:10
Duration: 7h:40m

Day 10:
OZ 574
TAS 22:30 ICN 08:50+1
Duration: 6h:20m

Day 11:
OZ 365
ICN 14:10 PVG 15:00
Duration: 1h:50m

Day 12:
SQ 825
PVG 14:30 SIN 19:45
Duration: 5h:15m

45000 EB points in Biz is not bad at all! ^
It's much better than using 40000 EB points for Sweden-Europe2 in Eco.
I'm surprised that there is no requirment of most direct route etc. Only requirement I heard was "no stopover" and "max 3 flights each way"

It was very hard to find Biz award on SQ12. I don't know why.
Total tax was 1082 SEK, it seems SAS doesn't charge fuel surcharge for Award ticket. Have anyone any info of it?

I'd always like to see oasis cities like Samarkand and Bukhara. Now, the time to apply Uzbek visa. :D

nice one. my best one is Per - akl - ppt, and back. 40000 EB points in business is a bargain. some 14 hours each way. downside is loooong transfer times in akl, but then again, you get to visit friends there as well.

looking into SIN - KIX - GUM with ANA, sohuld be 40000 in buz as well, but i need to get my company to fly me into SIN first... ohh... we have a branch there you say... hehehehe

guam here i come. (allthough kix gum is an all Y flight :( ), maybe i'll as for sq one way and ana the other... but yeah, no point in using SK points in europe...

What city is TAS?

I have also looked at the intra-Asian awards which are really good value for money (points).
I might be doing an RTW later this year so was thinking about combining it with an award trip in F within Asia.

When are you travelling? How early did you book?
I'm also thinking about SIN-Japan.

No stopovers and maximum three flights each way, are those the rules?

TAS is Tashkent in Uzbekistan.


4 months ahead.


My old SAS EuroBonus member's Guide says:
Star Alliance award:
* A bonus trip may not comprise more than 8 flight segments.
* Time between transit flights may not exceed 24 hours.

But when I told with SAS lady over the phone, she told me that "3 flight segments each way" and my Member's Guide is old.
(I couldn't insist as my Member's Guide still says: SK bonus trip must be booked at least 7 days prior to departure. and I know this rule is not valid anymore.)

Woow! how do you do that? if i try replicate the result is astronomical!

One advise, use ANA's Online *A Award Booking System and check Award seat availability BEFORE you call to SAS. It saves your time a lot!
(You must be a member of ANA Mileage Club, but you needn't have enough miles to check itinerary. :))

The ticket would have cost nearly 40000 SEK all-in if I bought it. Of course I would never pay that price. ;)

Fuel Surcharge on SK metal award flights
 

I raised this a few months ago and since then have booked an Aeroplan award ticket with several SK segments (EWR-CPH-OSL) and there was no fuel surcharge as SK now includes this in the ticket price, not as an add-on like most other carriers. This means the STAR partner does not have to tack this fee onto an award ticket. That, plus the lowering of the charges associated with entering Europe at CPH, made the total cost of my award ticket less than U$100, a rarity these days. (I have two AC segments which have a fuel surcharge, plus US INS/customs fees and security charges, and two OS segments which I don't believe have fuel surcharges either.)

Aeroplan limits its STAR award tickets to 10 segments.

Wow!! Great!!
Thanks for the tip...

I'll join ANA Mileage Club straight away... :)

Thanks for a great tip! I just joined ANA :D

Is the award availability the same for all members of all *A FF-programs?

For example does a member of NH Mileage club have the same chance/possibility to successfully book an SK award ticket as an EB-member (and vice vera)?

At least NOT for UA MileagePlus. :td: I have experience of it.

I suspect UA limit their members to use his/her miles on another *A partner. (Because then UA have to pay some kind of compensation to their *A partner. Which they don't want to do.)

AFAIK, LH/SK/AC/NH have same availability for their *A partner award when I checked with ANA's Online *A Award Booking System.

sin kix gum
 

Hi,
The SIn KIX GUM with ana has biz to KIx then it has the all y class to GUm except that the flight is operated by a subsidiary of ANA (think its air japan from memory) and the forward seats are old biz type seats. Star Gold gets you one of these seats but meals are same as Y. In fact its a cold snack of seaweed rice rolls and western sandwiches plus kit Kat and drinks.
Flight is pleasant though and so is Guam and the Chamorro people..
cheers

That itinerary is just brilliant ^ Let's see what the friendly ladies at SAS Singapore have to say when another nutcase calls 'em up to book exactly the same award :D

What exactly was your experience? One should have the same access to award seats on STAR flights with UA/MP as we do with other programs. It is true that UA charges you less than many other programs for the same trips, and that it does have to pay STAR carriers, whereas it only does an internal transfer for seats on its flight, but I've never faced the problem with Aeroplan and often find it is easier to get award seats on STAR carriers flying to the same destination that it is getting seats on AC flights.

wow, iget tired just looking at it!