Finding the cheapest ticket to Europe
Jan 13, 2008, 6:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: LH HON Circle, Premier M&M World MC, UA MP
Posts: 389
Finding the cheapest ticket to Europe
I have a 400$ voucher from US Air (is it true I MUST purchase on their website with their voucher as you can usually get things cheaper on Orbitz or the like...) and am going to Europe for a month (mid-August to mid-September) of 2008 and would like to know when is the best time to book my ticket, and how can I get the cheapest ticket (ie. hub, date, time, whatever). I am close to all NYC aeroports as well as Newburgh, ALB, and Logan. Where I land in Europe doesn't matter so much, as I'll look for either A) a discount airliner to go to one of my stops) or B) use airline miles to book a flight on BA or Lufthansa out.
Also, how hard is it to get an upgraded ticket (via miles or cash) before my flight, but without paying for the full price business class ticket? I know an international upgrade costs about 500, and I have 8000 or so miles now. I spoke with a Dividend Miles rep. and they told me after I book the flight (which will be about 8000), I can then purchase miles to get the upgrade available at 30k miles which is pretty much guaranteed if when I book the ticket in economy if I make sure there are business seats available before I press "confirm." (I would be purchasing extra airline miles if that is easier to get the business upgrade) I was also told if you call 72h before the flight, they can give you 'gate'-like upgrade prices, I don't know if that is true? Just trying to figure out what is best to do...
In review: looking for the cheapest possible way to get to Europe with my 400$ voucher and how best to upgrade to business after I purchase the ticket.
Thanks.
Also, how hard is it to get an upgraded ticket (via miles or cash) before my flight, but without paying for the full price business class ticket? I know an international upgrade costs about 500, and I have 8000 or so miles now. I spoke with a Dividend Miles rep. and they told me after I book the flight (which will be about 8000), I can then purchase miles to get the upgrade available at 30k miles which is pretty much guaranteed if when I book the ticket in economy if I make sure there are business seats available before I press "confirm." (I would be purchasing extra airline miles if that is easier to get the business upgrade) I was also told if you call 72h before the flight, they can give you 'gate'-like upgrade prices, I don't know if that is true? Just trying to figure out what is best to do...
In review: looking for the cheapest possible way to get to Europe with my 400$ voucher and how best to upgrade to business after I purchase the ticket.
Thanks.
Jan 13, 2008, 1:39 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: PHL
Posts: 3,113
I think others will be able to comment on when would be the best time to buy your ticket. From reading the forums and website, I can make the following suggestions:
(1) To upgrade with miles, your ticket will need to be at least $1,200 roundtrip. I think you can upgrade one way if your one-way ticket is at least $600. There will need to be availability in whatever bucket is used for Envoy upgrades. Availability in Envoy does not necessarily imply availability in that bucket.
(2) You can also upgrade with GoEnvoy for $500 beginning 30 hours before your flight, regardless of the original cost of your ticket, assuming there are open seats in Envoy. This would probably be a cheaper option if you are going to need to buy 22k miles on top of a $600 ticket.
(3) I am not sure what destination will be least expensive at that point -- to get into Envoy you're probably best off on an A330 which has 29 seats for sale as opposed to 17 on the 762s by next summer, which means LHR, CDG, FRA, FCO, or MAD. My guess is that MAD will be your best bet, but others who have actually upgraded will be more able to help you. The bonus is that flights from MAD within Europe are pretty inexpensive.
Hope this helps.
(1) To upgrade with miles, your ticket will need to be at least $1,200 roundtrip. I think you can upgrade one way if your one-way ticket is at least $600. There will need to be availability in whatever bucket is used for Envoy upgrades. Availability in Envoy does not necessarily imply availability in that bucket.
(2) You can also upgrade with GoEnvoy for $500 beginning 30 hours before your flight, regardless of the original cost of your ticket, assuming there are open seats in Envoy. This would probably be a cheaper option if you are going to need to buy 22k miles on top of a $600 ticket.
(3) I am not sure what destination will be least expensive at that point -- to get into Envoy you're probably best off on an A330 which has 29 seats for sale as opposed to 17 on the 762s by next summer, which means LHR, CDG, FRA, FCO, or MAD. My guess is that MAD will be your best bet, but others who have actually upgraded will be more able to help you. The bonus is that flights from MAD within Europe are pretty inexpensive.
Hope this helps.
Jan 13, 2008, 2:49 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: LH HON Circle, Premier M&M World MC, UA MP
Posts: 389
Thanks for the tip. I did a search for MAD and it would be double what flying into FRA costs - I did another search today and after 8.17, flights drop about half to 537 to FRA from a local airport that flies into PHL. So, I think my best bet is FRA and then the train or whatever I can find on BA or Lufthansa.
What is "GoEnvoy"?
And to get preferred status, if I were to say, open a Visa Signature card and if I were to pay my AmEx Gold 25,000, would I be given preferred status? And when is that given out? Is it actually worth it? I rarely fly US Air like I said and don't plan on flying with them again after I use this voucher.
And one other thing, why is it cheaper flying out of another airport into a hub like PHL rather than flying right out of a hub, say PHL? PHL->FRA is ~650 whereas ALB->PHL->FRA is 539.
What is "GoEnvoy"?
And to get preferred status, if I were to say, open a Visa Signature card and if I were to pay my AmEx Gold 25,000, would I be given preferred status? And when is that given out? Is it actually worth it? I rarely fly US Air like I said and don't plan on flying with them again after I use this voucher.
And one other thing, why is it cheaper flying out of another airport into a hub like PHL rather than flying right out of a hub, say PHL? PHL->FRA is ~650 whereas ALB->PHL->FRA is 539.
Jan 13, 2008, 2:53 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: LH HON Circle, Premier M&M World MC, UA MP
Posts: 389
Oh, BTW, these are on A333 - how many Envoy seats do they have?
Jan 13, 2008, 4:29 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Thanks for the tip. I did a search for MAD and it would be double what flying into FRA costs - I did another search today and after 8.17, flights drop about half to 537 to FRA from a local airport that flies into PHL. So, I think my best bet is FRA and then the train or whatever I can find on BA or Lufthansa.
What is "GoEnvoy"?
And to get preferred status, if I were to say, open a Visa Signature card and if I were to pay my AmEx Gold 25,000, would I be given preferred status? And when is that given out? Is it actually worth it? I rarely fly US Air like I said and don't plan on flying with them again after I use this voucher.
And one other thing, why is it cheaper flying out of another airport into a hub like PHL rather than flying right out of a hub, say PHL? PHL->FRA is ~650 whereas ALB->PHL->FRA is 539.
What is "GoEnvoy"?
And to get preferred status, if I were to say, open a Visa Signature card and if I were to pay my AmEx Gold 25,000, would I be given preferred status? And when is that given out? Is it actually worth it? I rarely fly US Air like I said and don't plan on flying with them again after I use this voucher.
And one other thing, why is it cheaper flying out of another airport into a hub like PHL rather than flying right out of a hub, say PHL? PHL->FRA is ~650 whereas ALB->PHL->FRA is 539.
You would not be given preferred status with any credit card. However, if you spend $25,000.00 in one year on either US card you get 10K preferred miles.
I've often wondered myself why it's sometimes cheaper flying into a hub (PHL) rather than from that hub. I've been thinking that it might be to divert security checks and check-ins away from PHL since PHL has always been a difficult hub. But, that's just my thought.
abcxyz, there are a lot of posts on this forum that would be helpful to you. You can find them by using the Search feature
. BTW, welcome to FT.
Bobette
Jan 13, 2008, 4:32 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Jan 13, 2008, 4:35 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: LH HON Circle, Premier M&M World MC, UA MP
Posts: 389
Wouldn't it be better to upgrade right after the booking since GoEnvoy is 24h before at the aeroport and I assume the chances are slim I'd get anything?
Jan 13, 2008, 5:00 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Well, yes, if you knew the upgrade was guaranteed. Read Phudnik's post again, in particular #1. Just because the airline seat map shows availability in Envoy doesn't mean there is availability for upgrade.
Bobette
Jan 13, 2008, 5:08 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: LH HON Circle, Premier M&M World MC, UA MP
Posts: 389
Ah, yeah, forgot the ticket needs to be at least 1200. Guess I am stuck in economy - or shell out 3k for envoy (which isn't worth it on US Air).