eponymous_coward

Didn't say that on the *A SA page. Of course, this being US, who knows what you might get in Phone Agent Lotto?

arfgoblue

Can US Air miles be redeemed on Ethiopian Airlines?


Thanks

gleff

Not until Ethiopian joins Star.

arfgoblue

Bummer...I know one can redeem Lufthansa points on them, but I wasn't sure about US. Thanks

Tiki

OK, I did a lot of research and came up with this:

GOAL:
BNE-MEX arriving by 22 Apr
open jaw
LAX-BNE leaving pref 8 May
Business class (maybe F on the LAX-MEX segments)

OBSTACLES:
1. Most convenient routing-NZ won't open J class until closer to departure. Since we are connecting to a cruise in ACA 24 Apr, we can't take the chance. NZ is wide open in Y class but we have enough miles for J. We can get J BNE-AKL but not AKL-LAX but would have to pay the J class award and hope to upgrade when the flight opens which may be charged.
2. SQ seems to be hard to get J class.
3. TG hasn't loaded summer schedule yet-should be resolved in a week or so.

OBSERVATIONS:
1. For Trans-Pacific, OZ and TG usually are easiest to get in J class.
2. Without J in NZ, we MUST have a day layover in Asian hub due to flight schedules. ICN is first choice since we haven't been there before.
3. TG may not offer awards on Airbus, only on the 777 BNE-BKK.
4. Entire award ticket-max 8 segments.

ROUTINGS:

1st choice:
BNE-SIN
SIN-ICN (day layover)
ICN-LAX
LAX-PHX
PHX-MEX (destination/open jaw)
LAX-BKK
BKK-BNE (would have day layover if we can't use the Airbus)

2nd choice:
BNE-BKK
BKK-ICN (day layover)
ICN-LAX
LAX-PHX
PHX-MEX (destination/open jaw)
LAX-BKK
BKK-BNE (would have day layover if we can't use the Airbus)

3rd choice:
BNE-SIN or BKK
SIN or BKK-LAX
arrives too late for US connection so must use midnight flights on CO
LAX-IAH
IAH-MEX (destination/open jaw)
LAX-BKK
BKK-BNE (would have day layover if we can't use the Airbus)

For return flight, we don't care if it's TG or SQ, just don't think SQ will have J class. SQ's connection is more convenient.

Any words of advice from the experts? I assume I will need to spoon-feed the flight numbers to the CSR and will be watching the ANA tool daily for TG availability. So far, SQ doesn't have J BNE-SIN so I think we need to use TG to pull this off. I know it would be easier to get Y class but we have never been in J class on an international flight and really want to try it out!

babs

Firstly TG do not generally have restrictions on Aircraft type like SQ do so that should not be a problem

Okay I was thinking if you wanted to lock it in as soon as the ANA tool shows up until the 8TH May so you have to wait a week to check the return but the outbound I came up with this two ideas. Departing Sydney would be the best as shorter flight times overall

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Hi Tiki - just be aware that you can't have a stopover AND an open jaw on a ticket. You either have to have one or the other.

I was just a bit confused by your proposed itineraries, because it looks like you could do them without the open jaw - in which case you would be ok.

Hope that help

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Hi all - I have a question.

My sister has a PARTNER award booked through US Airways for travel on Thai.

She will need to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. NO travel has been undertaken.

I am confused by the Dividend Miles rules. Under one section it says you CAN cancel a partner award, but there is no redeposit of miles.

Under another section it says you can redeposit miles for a fee of $150.

I rang US to clarify and the agent said she could cancel and redeposit the miles, even for partner awards, but for a fee of $250.

Could someone shed some light??

Thanks in advance

lme etc etc

IMH

Assuming travel hasn't commenced, the ticket can be cancelled and the miles redeposited. The fee is $150, but some agents may still need to learn this -- it was $250 until early May this year.

gleff

Any recent experiences crossing one ocean each direction US-Asia?

As we know, an Atlantic or Pacific routing is permitted.

What I'm wondering is can I reserve an Atlantic crossing on the outbound, Pacific crossing on the return?

FTMucGer

There is one rule: there is no consistency. You might need to try several times, but there have been reports where it has worked.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Thanks! So how come the inconsistencty where it says awards can be cancelled but miles not redeposited? - maybe that is only referring to part travelled awards.

dracs

From US airways website:
"Award travel reissue/redeposit fee* $150"

chewy3

I've never had an issue with this -- in fact, one agent actually recommended it i one situation where availability wasn't exactly as I had expected.

Tiki

Do you mean where I said "Day layover"? I was using the term for lack of a better one to mean I arrive in an airport in the early morning like 0600 or 0700 and fly out the same evening, usually after 1800 so it means I have roughly a day to run around and see some of the highlights of the city. These are always less than 24 hours so don't count as a stopover. There are no stopovers in the itinerary I want, just the open jaw between MEX and LAX. We will need a one-way ticket from MCO-LAX but will use AA miles for that one or maybe a super cheap paid US ticket.