west coast to ICN, UA, AC or OZ?
Sep 19, 2019, 10:36 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 464
3 hours on the Surfliner for $36 (or $56 for a reserved seat), and LAX Flyaway on the :30s anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on traffic for another $10.
Sep 19, 2019, 7:59 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NRT / HND
Programs: AA EXP, NH Plat, Former UA 1K
Posts: 5,665
On a US passport, it's a non-issue. I've done it several times both int-int and int-dom and had zero issues. Personally I prefer it on the inbound vs arriving at a US airport. US Preclearance in Canada seems way more pleasant to me, and I've not experienced any issues with the Canadian security screeners that some others seem to have.
Finding 5 seats in J on awards is always a tough one. A many airlines never release that many at one time. A more common pattern is releasing 2 or 3 then continue trickling more in as they see the revenue bookings.
When checking your flights (revenue), make sure for OZ you're checking both ex-SAN and ex-LAX. It is not uncommon for connecting flights to be cheaper than non-stops.
For the OP though that would be $36 + $10 x5 as opposed to $100 for a rental car. I can definitely see the advantage of driving.
While there is currently no J availability for the departing flight, I'm hopeful I can find 5 tickets if I book 330 days in advance. If not, then we fly Y.
If I decide to book 330 days out, would it be better to book outbound flight first as a one-way so I can snag 5 J seats together? Then book separate one-way for return flights. We are planning 2 week trip plus or minus several days so have some flexibility on return dates to choose award flight with least amount of stops/total travel time.
If I decide to book 330 days out, would it be better to book outbound flight first as a one-way so I can snag 5 J seats together? Then book separate one-way for return flights. We are planning 2 week trip plus or minus several days so have some flexibility on return dates to choose award flight with least amount of stops/total travel time.
When checking your flights (revenue), make sure for OZ you're checking both ex-SAN and ex-LAX. It is not uncommon for connecting flights to be cheaper than non-stops.
For the OP though that would be $36 + $10 x5 as opposed to $100 for a rental car. I can definitely see the advantage of driving.
Sep 19, 2019, 10:00 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: San Diego
Posts: 75
When I read the OP, I didn't realize you'd be tacking on SAN-LAX if you flew from LAX. But, since you would be, I'd say the YVR connection is much better, especially if you have lounge access. That having been said, some of AC's planes are miserable in economy, so this is an important consideration.
On a US passport, it's a non-issue. I've done it several times both int-int and int-dom and had zero issues. Personally I prefer it on the inbound vs arriving at a US airport. US Preclearance in Canada seems way more pleasant to me, and I've not experienced any issues with the Canadian security screeners that some others seem to have.
Finding 5 seats in J on awards is always a tough one. A many airlines never release that many at one time. A more common pattern is releasing 2 or 3 then continue trickling more in as they see the revenue bookings.
When checking your flights (revenue), make sure for OZ you're checking both ex-SAN and ex-LAX. It is not uncommon for connecting flights to be cheaper than non-stops.
For the OP though that would be $36 + $10 x5 as opposed to $100 for a rental car. I can definitely see the advantage of driving.
Finding 5 seats in J on awards is always a tough one. A many airlines never release that many at one time. A more common pattern is releasing 2 or 3 then continue trickling more in as they see the revenue bookings.
When checking your flights (revenue), make sure for OZ you're checking both ex-SAN and ex-LAX. It is not uncommon for connecting flights to be cheaper than non-stops.
For the OP though that would be $36 + $10 x5 as opposed to $100 for a rental car. I can definitely see the advantage of driving.
As mentioned earlier when searching J awards for 5 (July 2020 and August 2020), results for OZ and AC look promising. UA metal has J awards for 70k miles (SAN-SFO-ICN), but with a 15 hr layover in SFO. This could be promising with a positioning flight to SFO (and book SFO-ICN award flight) to take advantage UA-Metal Polaris and save 10k miles. But the savings would be used up on positioning flight SAN-SFO.
I'm fairly certain this will be a 2021 trip now since that's when my mother in law has decided to retire and I would rather travel in June vs July/August.
Sep 19, 2019, 10:49 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: San Diego
Posts: 75
I noticed something interesting when searching for 5 J award seats one-way (SAN-ICN), looking to minimize total travel time.
On certain dates (July 2020) I can find 5 J seats on SAN-SFO-ICN for 70k miles on UA-metal, total travel time 15 hours (with a 54 min connection time in SFO).
On other dates (July 2020) the only 5 J seats on UA metal SAN-SFO-ICN for 70k miles included a 12.5 hr layover in SF for total travel time of 26 hours.
If I wanted to shorten the 26 hour travel time on this date, I can get around it by booking a multi-city itinerary on UA metal:
SAN-SFO for 15k miles and SFO-ICN for 70k miles for total award trip of 85k miles and total travel time of 15 hours.
The question becomes is it worth 15k miles per person to save 11 hours of travel time? Anyone with 2 small children may be tempted to say yes. 15k miles x5= 75k miles extra
Ideally I would like to book it for 70K one-way and avoid a multi-city booking for 85k.
How does J on UA metal for 85K miles compare to J on AC for 80k miles or J on OZ for 80k miles (assuming total travel time 15 hrs from SAN-ICN one stop for all options)? Of course if I could get J on UA metal for 70k, I would totally book that.
I think i would rank the choices (all in J class one-way SAN-ICN one stop 15 hr total travel time):
#1 ) OZ- for 80K
#2 ) UA metal for 85K
#3 ) AC for 80K
Or should I rank the 85K UA metal last since J class between the three may not be all that different. This is a valid hypothetical question if I were booking now for a trip in July 2020 as all options are currently available.
On certain dates (July 2020) I can find 5 J seats on SAN-SFO-ICN for 70k miles on UA-metal, total travel time 15 hours (with a 54 min connection time in SFO).
On other dates (July 2020) the only 5 J seats on UA metal SAN-SFO-ICN for 70k miles included a 12.5 hr layover in SF for total travel time of 26 hours.
If I wanted to shorten the 26 hour travel time on this date, I can get around it by booking a multi-city itinerary on UA metal:
SAN-SFO for 15k miles and SFO-ICN for 70k miles for total award trip of 85k miles and total travel time of 15 hours.
The question becomes is it worth 15k miles per person to save 11 hours of travel time? Anyone with 2 small children may be tempted to say yes. 15k miles x5= 75k miles extra
Ideally I would like to book it for 70K one-way and avoid a multi-city booking for 85k.
How does J on UA metal for 85K miles compare to J on AC for 80k miles or J on OZ for 80k miles (assuming total travel time 15 hrs from SAN-ICN one stop for all options)? Of course if I could get J on UA metal for 70k, I would totally book that.
I think i would rank the choices (all in J class one-way SAN-ICN one stop 15 hr total travel time):
#1 ) OZ- for 80K
#2 ) UA metal for 85K
#3 ) AC for 80K
Or should I rank the 85K UA metal last since J class between the three may not be all that different. This is a valid hypothetical question if I were booking now for a trip in July 2020 as all options are currently available.
Sep 19, 2019, 11:02 pm
#20
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
I think i would rank the choices (all in J class one-way SAN-ICN one stop 15 hr total travel time):
#1 ) OZ- for 80K
#2 ) UA metal for 85K
#3 ) AC for 80K
Or should I rank the 85K UA metal last since J class between the three may not be all that different. This is a valid hypothetical question if I were booking now for a trip in July 2020 as all options are currently available.
Sep 20, 2019, 5:51 pm
#21
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,639
All itineraries are similar. 1 stop from SAN (SAN-LAX-ICN, SAN-SFO-ICN, and SAN-YVR-ICN) and travel time is 15-16 hours. The direct non-stop flights would be LAX-ICN, but would involve renting one-way car rental to drive LA and that negates some of the cost savings (but may be worth it for return trip since many award flights from ICN-SAN have 2 stops and longer layovers (20+ hours of total travel time)