UpAt40k

I am looking at taking a spontaneous trip with my miles and have always wanted to show up at the airport and buy a ticket somewhere.

I'd love to use my miles to do this (to eliminate the unknown cost of last minute fare purchase), but also because I have enough for business on a number of airlines.

Does anyone have experience doing this? Theoretically I could show up and nothing would be available that day, so it's a little risky.

How long before departure do most airlines top releasing miles seats? 24 hours, or less?

Taoyuan

There's a thread somewhere about a guy planning to show up at the airport and have an employee or random person choose a random location...was a fun thread, sounds like it would be a good adventure.

MSPeconomist

At a couple foreign airports, I've seen what appear to be cheap travel agent or consolidator desks near the entrance that advertise cheap same day tickets to a variety of destinations, sometimes in packages including hotel, ground transportation, and even some tourist activities.

You pick the destination rather than signing on for some opaque surprise so at least you can plan clothing based on where you're hoping to go.

ibrandsguest

I have done this several times, usually due to having to book a ticket for immediate travel due to a problem with a flight that I already had a ticket for. I wouldn't recommend it. The last time I did this, I booked the ticket but it took some time for the ticket to actually be issued, so I almost missed the flight that I booked with miles while at the airport. There's no reason why you can't do this before getting to the airport particularly as you are already thinking of doing it.

Viajero Millero

Yes, it depends on the airline.

With Avios at LHR I have bought an extra ticket on the spot after missing my original flight.

OTOH, using AAdvantage miles for a flight departing on 2-3 hours on something like Cathay or Qatar can be rather traumatizing.

But yeah, it's kind of a thrill if you're just doing it for fun!

TravelerMSY

Don't tempt fate by pushing it too close. Call or make the res online and then check in. You'll need to get them to push it to the front of the queue for immediate ticketing if the departure is within an hour or two. Otherwise, you'll be sitting at the gate with a reservation with no ticket and get left behind, with the phone staff and airport staff blaming it on each other.

UpAt40k

Great input. Did not consider the issue of non-immediate ticketing. It's going to be an adventure, I'll be sure to report how it goes, but I think I will purchase day before, just to be safe.

TravelerMSY

2-3 hours is plenty, unless it's something exotic involving partners.

jantaoYVR

Same here, twice in the last 4 months. The first time, I had initially booked a 12-hr connection in LON to see friends, but plans fell through, and I booked a separate award from the BA arrivals lounge to my final destination.

The second one, I busted a connection in IST, and had separate tickets the next day, so I had to rebook onward connections on my Aeroplan points. Booked the flight I wanted online (~3hrs before takeoff) - and because it was a last minute, international one way ticket, I had to call in to confirm my CC details. Waited on hold for 67 mins, and almost missed the ticketing deadline for that flight. Wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, and if you can avoid - I too would suggest planning from home, even if booking for the same day.