cashcow

Hi all, the wife and I are looking to visit Bangkok sometime between the new year and January 18 to celebrate our marriage. I've never been out of the country, and haven't had much experience booking more complicated award tickets, so I could use a little help.

Really need suggestions on booking an award ticket. We are pretty open and flexible inside that time frame I mentioned. Would prefer to fly a biz/first product, but would likely accept economy one way. LBB is the home airport, but it's rather small and we have to connect for anything international.

I'm sitting on almost 1 mil AA miles, 100,000 Chase UR that can be transferred, about to have 110,000 Delta miles, and could possibly obtain some United miles if needed. We can connect in North America using our companion pass and Southwest miles if need be.

I'm relatively new to booking award tickets on partner airlines. I've researched quite a bit and it seems the most common routing to BKK is through Tokyo or HKG via Cathay or Japan Airlines?

I'm seeing basically nothing through DFW. But Am I allowed to fly LBB-DFW-SFO/LAX on the same award ticket at no extra charge if I can't get something out of DFW? I see a little more availability through LAX and SFO on JAL, but almost nothing at all on CX from any airport.

And it also seems that I can't book Qatar/Etihad because it's counted as 2 awards which would be more than 2x the miles required on the CX/JAL routing, correct?

What am I missing? Should I be looking at any airlines that can't be searched on BA's award tool? Any suggestions are welcome, and I'm not afraid to read or learn. Could just use a little help here.

And if that weren't enough, any suggestions on what to do besides eat?

TIA

Tchiowa

Downside to using points to get to BKK is it's almost impossible for find Saver awards so you end up with the high priced award tickets. IIRC United is about 350,000 miles each R/T for business class. Assume AA is similar so you can get business class with your million miles.

Qatar/Etihad are much, much, much longer routes so the prices are higher.

I'm a UA flyer so I can't speak to what AA will do. Best bet is to talk to them on the phone. LBB/DFW/BKK should not be a problem. Award levels aren't based on number of stops. It's region to region so North America to South Asia is the same whether you're going from Lubbock or Portland to Bangkok or Singapore.

You really need suggestions on what to do on your honeymoon?

cashcow

^

arlflyer

Some might argue that this should be in the AA forum, but...

Keep it all on one alliance. Less to worry about in case of IRROPS. Oneworld is strong to Asia and you have tons of AA miles.


From North America and on oneworld, that is correct, yes. There is also AA metal to the Asian hubs, but I wouldn't recommend that.


Yes, and I would advise it. You could also go to ORD, JFK, YYZ, YVR, etc. too.


Sure, you can book whatever you want. You're correct, though, that it's going to cost a lot more. But, if you're sitting on a million AA miles, well, the ME carriers are quite nice...


Etihad if you're willing to part with the miles, don't mind the distance, and are finding poor availability with the Asian carriers. Awards have to be searched on Etihad's site.


Note that if you're using BA.com, it's best to search leg by leg. Try to nail down a TPAC leg first, and then work backwards from there. Check all possible origins!

cashcow

So there is nothing I'm missing with regards to routing? It's simply that CX and JAL availability is pretty weak 6 months out, and only possible through a few select airports?

Thanks for your answer as well.

arlflyer

Yes, 6 months out is probably the worst time to book a premium transpacific award ticket with these two airlines. The airlines tend to release fairly predictable numbers of tickets when the window opens (330-ish days) and then also can release more close in (2 weeks to 2 days, most often). Generally speaking there is not much action in the middle there. Of course there are always exceptions (people cancelling, putting tickets back into circulation, etc.) and the rules can always change.

CX and JAL fly to a number of airports in the US and Canada, off of the top of my head one or the other serves...JFK, EWR, BOS, YYZ, ORD, YVR, LAX, SFO, SAN. That does not include JAL's service to Hawaii.

cashcow

So I've found one instance on BA's search tool for CX Biz class through HKG. I'm also seeing some availability on JAL on Biz and First. It seems the JAL flights sometimes use a 777, and sometimes a 787. Do all of these now have the "Sky Suites" or are some still old angled products? I've read mixed travel reports online.

Share experience on these various products?
1) CX vs. JAL products
2) Biz vs First on JAL
3) 777 vs 787 on JAL?

cashcow

Also, how to domestic connecting flights work? There is basically no saver availability on AA flights in early January. Can I book non-saver seats and have the total award price out the same? Such as DFW-ORD or DFW-YVR then ORD/YRV-BKK and still price the entire award at 55,000 Biz or 67,500 First?

eponymous_coward

Lots of good threads in the AA forums that are good for addressing questions regarding booking AA flights. Here's some samples:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ility-177.html

Perhaps you might focus your AA questions there in a place where it's on-topic for that particular forum?

Well, are you into temple tours? Nightlife? Shopping? Elephants? Cultural events? Cooking classes? Culinary tours? There's quite a lot to do in Bangkok. Have you got a place in mind to stay and a comfort level/budget in mind? What made you decide to pick Bangkok for your marriage celebration, given that you don't have a lot in mind for what to do there? If we knew some answers to those questions, it might be easier to answer a question like that (which is a very on-topic question for the Thailand forum).

cashcow

Attracted to Thailand/SE Asia for many reasons, none too uncommon. Food, culture, markets, nature, etc.

Not huge on nightlife, wouldn't mind something relaxing. Yes to temples, elephants, nature, cultural events, cooking/culinary tours.

We will be staying at the Radisson Blu most of the time, and possibly the Radisson Suites or Soi location. Club Carlson is set in stone.

cashcow

Another thing relevant to this forum. We will have 14-16 days to spend, not including flight time. I'm looking at either splitting my time between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, or possibly flying into KUL and spending 3-4 days in Malaysia in addition to the 2 Thai cities.

Any recommendations? Is 7-8 days needed in each Thai city, or is KUL worth seeing as well?

And finally, how much of a day will be burned flying from KUL-CNX? I've never traveled internationally, so wondering how much time it takes to transit from Malaysia to Thailand? Seems like no Visa's required, but still crossing an international border.

eponymous_coward

I'd probably pick Penang over Kuala Lumpur if you're interested in food and culture, unless you're a big city type. The Club Carlson options in Penang might be limited, though. The E&O is right smack in the middle of Georgetown.

I'm not sure cutting Bangkok to 4-5 days from 7-8 is all that bad. Only so many temple tours you can take, I suppose. I thought the Jim Thompson House was a fine place to visit in Bangkok, and it's easily accessed via the canals.

Tchiowa

How about history? Siamese history? WWII? A lot of day trips from BKK to Ayutthaya, Kanchanburi (River Kwai), etc.

But for a first time, I think your comment about a week in BKK and a week somewhere else is a good idea? The "somewhere else"? Hiking, beaches, mountains? What are your "druthers"?