LukeRB

My girlfriend and I are going to Thailand (from SFO) at the beginning of November and looking to fly to BKK in F or C using our UA miles.

Looking on United.com, I see F availability on UA889 and CA986 (both 747-4s); What airline offers a better F product, and, separately, are either of their F products worth the 70,000 miles/each for the Saver award, or would we better saving the 37,500 miles/each and flying to BKK for 32,500 in Saver Economy?

On a related note, since we're nearing close-in (T-28 days), what are creative ways we can book high-quality F or C for Saver Award mile prices going to BKK (e.g. fly to HKG via a 6-day stopover in BKK, wait until T-14 days, etc.)?

Anything would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

rankourabu

CA F777 (out of LAX) > UA F > CA F 747

I would not spend the extra mileage required over J to fly UA F.
I would for sure spend the extra mileage required to fly CA F over CA J on the 777. That F cabin is excellent.

Chances are at T-14 SFO-FRA (or a variation of it) will open up on LH F. That would be worth a change fee.

cheltzel

+1

If you really want to go F, I would book CA F to PEK (out of LAX or IAH) and TG F from PEK to BKK. You should be able to get 2 F awards well in advance.

Then if you get late breaking availbility, go LH F to FRA and TG F to BKK.

LukeRB

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, cheltzel and rankourabu. Here's what I found searching United.com and ExpertFlyer:

Outbound: SFO-PEK in F on UA's 747-4 and PEK-BKK in C on Thai's A330 on 11/1. For those with access to KVS and/or EF, can you find better options departing from SFO/SJC/LAX on 11/1?

Return:
(a) BKK-PEK in C on Thai's 747-4 and PEK-LAX in C on CA's 777-3
(b) BKK-PEK in C on Thai's A330 and PEK-SFO in F on UA's 747-4, or
(c) BKK-PEK in C on Thai's A330 then PEK-NRT in C on CA's A321 and NRT-SJC in C on NH's 787-800

1. What better options, if any, are out there?
2. How does NH's 787 product compare, and (more importantly) is it less-than-ideal for couples to sit in C on the 787 with the divider between them?
3. You mentioned CA's 777-3 F is fantastic; How does C on CA's 777-3 compare to F on UA's 747-4?
4. For CA983, EF is showing 2 F seats available and 3 blocked; What chance, if any, do we have of being upgraded to F or having those seats made available before departure?
5. Is it worth the ~$60 one-way from LAX-SFO on 11/10 to fly CA's 777 C over UA's 747 F to SFO?

On a related note, I have 140,000+ miles and she has 350,000+ miles; Should we (a) book both our RT tickets using her miles, (b) book our respective RT tickets using our own miles, or (c) book both outbound tickets using my miles and book both return tickets using her miles? Does it matter for being upgraded, changing flights or in case of anything going wrong with our flights?

Thanks again for all the help,
Luke

rankourabu

Outbound: If you can find a CA 772 flight PEK-BKK, I'd take that over a Thai A330 on that route anyday. Just flew it in the summer, and the 772 had great seats compared to Thai.

Inbound:
I would only do a double connect if flying into SJC is more convenient for you
I would not pay extra miles to fly UA F over CA 77W J. Especially if there are 2 people flying, better to sit together. And UA F is not really F.

You have zero chance of being upgraded once you check in. You can however, monitor availability, and call United to make the change (with applicable fees)

Are there no award seats period (in coach even) between LAX-SFO you can tack onto the main trip. I'd probably still save the miles F->J and spend the $60 on a one-way ticket.

I think silvers got some reduction on fees, no?
It doesnt really matter where you book it from unless you plan on making changes.

xiKiNGix

I wish I could help, I just recently booked a similar award itinerary but in February. We chose to fly out in J via TPE because the flight times were much more preferable, but return in CA F.

I slightly lean towards (a) because it's nice to be on one record locator together, but, that's just preference. Whatever you do, do not do (c) unless you're both Plat's. Even then, remember the perk of flying a RT on UA is that you're entitled to a SO/OJs (e.g. "free" OW!).

LukeRB

All I see on EF for SFO/SJC/LAX-BKK/CNX on 11/1 is SFO-PEK in F on UA's 744 with PEK-BKK in C on TG's A330. What better options, if any, am I not finding?

SFO is far more convenient for us; I'm only considering the double connect into SJC for the chance to experience C on the 787 (NH). How does the 787 product (specifically NH's) compare to other options we have available, and is it worth double-connecting into SJC to experience the 787?

I can find LAX-SFO award seats, but they cost 10,000 award miles, so the $60 is a better deal. How, if at all, can I tack a LAX-SFO leg on for no additional award miles?

If availability on a better carrier and/or product opens up, we'll likely change. Change fee for Silver is $50 and $25 for Gold, so leaning towards booking with her miles to avoid additional fees.

Thanks for the info and suggestions! I'm Silver and she's Gold, so we definitely won't do (c). Other than the lower change fee I mentioned above, what other advantages are there to booking them using one account and having one record locater together?

When you say "'free' OW", what are you referring to? Are you talking about free one-ways intra-Asia, or are you suggesting that we can book this trip as a one-way with a SO/OJ in BKK/CNX?

xiKiNGix

You can tack this on for free, you will likely need to call and ask the agent to do this though as the web-based booking engines usually error out.

For domestic flights at least, if you're automatically rebooked due to delay/cancellations, you're booked on the same flights.

You could do a SO or OJ between BKK/CNX (no need to do both). If you were to do an OJ between BKK/CNX, you could use your SO at SFO, then continue on say to JFK at a later date for no additional miles (hence "free" OW). Do note, someone else can probably confirm this, but for UA at least, I believe the OJ has to be the shortest segment of your itinerary? So if you wanted to do an OJ between BKK/CNX, I don't think you could route from LAX-SFO on the way back. Also, only UA allows you to have both a SO/OJs, US only allows one of the two.

rankourabu

Thats the whole point. You can add domestic flights to your itinerary

You are paying fro USA->Asia... whether USA=LAX,SFO or MIA makes zero difference in mileage required

LukeRB

Thank you all for your help! After much research and reading, I know understand stopovers, open-jaws and "free oneways." ^ I booked SFO>NRT>PEK>BKK>CNX//BKK>TPE>SFO//SFO>ORD>CLE (4 segments each way) the other night.

I booked NRT>PEK>BKK so we could fly NH's 788 and, consequently, F on TG's 744; That said, I've heard horror stories about PEK and I'm now considering NRT>ICN in F on OZ's 744 or J on OZ's 772 and then ICN>BKK in J on TG's A330. A few related questions:

1. Is it a smart move to route through ICN (and save the 787 for another trip) to avoid PEK?
2. How does F on OZ's 744 compare to J on their 772?
3. If I change us to NRT>ICN>BKK, is it worth leaving NRT an hour earlier to fly F on OZ's 744 or are we better off getting an extra hour in Tokyo and flying J on their 772?
4. How does F on TG's 744 compare to J on their A330? Would we be really missing out, or would it be better to enjoy Tokyo for 2-3 more hours and not have to rush back to NRT in the morning?

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks again.

rankourabu

Thousands of people connect thru PEK on a daily basis. I have no idea what you read, but weather can happen anywhere. PEK may be more congested - but its not like its guaranteed you ll be delayed.

LukeRB

Great to know. A friend mentioned that flights are often delayed there and that we'd be best to avoid PEK/PVG, if at all possible. Thanks for reassuring me it isn't that bad.

Any thoughts or suggestions on my other questions?

• How does F on OZ's 744 compare to J on their 772?
• If I change us to NRT>ICN>BKK, is it worth leaving NRT an hour earlier to fly F on OZ's 744 or are we better off getting an extra hour in Tokyo and flying J on their 772?
• How does F on TG's 744 compare to J on their A330?
• Would we be really missing out, or would it be better to enjoy Tokyo for 2-3 more hours and not have to rush back to NRT in the morning?