manfurismojive

Hm...my taxes and fees actually came out to nearly $700 , which was a bit shocking, but I guess reading on it now seems to be about normal per person on a US to Japan flight. I ended up booking the business class back to the US because it would fly into a more favorable airport for my wife and I. Since this'll be the first time I'm flying anything higher than premium economy, I might as well experience the different levels in one go! haha

And yea, I'm going to be going for vacation for about 12-13 days. We're planning to climb up Mt. Fuji and spend a couple days in Hakone before heading northward to Hokkaido for a few days. A bit of a ways in between, but those were two things we wanted to do since Mt. Fuji opens starting July and Hokkaido is probably the only place I could handle during summer time! If you've got any recommendations in those areas, I wouldn't mind getting some suggestions

rl290

Hello all,

My first time posting in this forum - thank you for such a comprehensive thread! I just wanted to check a few quick things to make sure I'm not wildly off the mark before I make travel plans. My sincere thanks in advance for any feedback.

I need to travel from Beijing to Tokyo next year, and am planning to use Virgin Miles to book on ANA:

1. Can I use my miles to book flights for my wife and me, or do I need to do anything more complex (set up a Virgin account in her name and transfer, etc...)?
2. I understand that the redemption has to be a return, even though I only need a one-way. (I'm using a BA open-jaw 2-4-1 into Beijing and out of Tokyo...). I see from recent posts that I should be able to book a business fare for the first leg, and then an economy fare on the return, which I am not planning to use. This should price up as 50% of each return fare, I think?
3. Is there anything 'cleverer' I can do to make use of the return portion? In particular, is it possible to redeem for an open-jaw return ticket (e.g. Beijing - Tokyo , Tokyo - Sapporo)? This would allow me to enjoy both legs as part of my travel plans. If it is possible to do open-jaws, is it possible to add the return leg later? If so, could I add something like TYO - Singapore for much much later in the year (booking made before the first flight is taken, of course). Finally, if open jaws are possible, are there any restrictions? BA 2-4-1s enforce that the 'open' part must be no longer than the shortest segment flown. I assume that wouldn't matter much here, as the whole return would be priced at 50% of each return flight on the chart.

Thank you in advance for your help. I'm super impressed by Virgin's scheme and product, and the partnership with ANA is a huge bonus to me.

R

Field Walsh

Booked 2 in First Class on IAH - NRT - IAH for 240k points and $683 for early February for 10 days. First agent didn't know what he was doing and said couldn't book it. HUCA and the agent got it done no problem.

IndyHoosier

Just booked first class ORD-HND NRT-ORD. What a great deal for 93,000 Amex points + $342 each!

This was the first time I've called and spoken to VS phone agents. What a great experience. They were professional, competent and extremely friendly.

manfurismojive

@rl290 I can only speak to your first item, but you can book for both you and your wife from your account only. I asked this very same question to the agent I spoke with and she said I can do it all from my flying club account (my wife does not have an account).

I also agree on the great experience with the VS phone agent. This was the first time I've called and spoken to any airline club phone agent, and they handled my bumbling self with ease and made me feel comfortable about the process. There was a slight hiccup in that for the first leg of the flight I had marked from the UA search, they said they could not book it, which was a major downer. But, she said she'll try again and lo and behold, they were able to confirm it on the second try. I don't know what happened there, but I'm really glad it worked out in the end haha.

evotion

Hi folks, just FYI: I found availability for an open jaw back to SFO from Narita. I let go of my original booking on 5/10 on NH6. Capacity for 2. MOVE QUICK!

evotion

I believe you can only do an open jaw if it's the same region. I'm doing LAX-HND & NRT-SFO for example.

rl290

Many thanks. I'll let you know how I get on in a few days!

jamebond

I can answer only Q1. I have call Virgin Flying club to book my ANA F award when I finished my booking, I have asked the lovely lady agent who help me booking that in the future is it possible for me to booking for my wife & son by using mileage from my account. The answer is" Oh dear, you can booking award ticket by using your mileage for anyone you like" So. it look like no need to set up other account for your wife.

Hope it help.

milesforhire

I just booked exactly this. Just missed the promo but didn't want to miss out on such a great deal. 120k spent (mixed TYP and UR, both instant transfers) with the same $342 in taxes and fees. VS phone agents were awesome! (Both when holding the flight and purchasing)

VegasGambler

Is there a decent website to search for award space?

I find ANA's website difficult to use (the calendar always says "seats available", even when really there is only waitlisted stuff, so you have to click through to see each day individually to see if there is really space, making the calendar useless).
United is slightly better but it doesn't let you filter by airline, so I get a bunch of results from other airlines that I'm not interested in flying. Also changing dates resets your filters, so I get 70+ results per day to scroll through to see if there is actually ANA availability in the class that I want.

I've heard good things about the VS phone agents, but I think it's easier to do my own searches, if there's a decent tool.

My travel dates are completely flexible, and I have lots of UR points that I can transfer to VS... so I just need a way to find out which dates have availability.

rjruiz

So according to experflyer and ANA availability I can see from Nov 3 2018 to Oct. 25 2019. I assume when I call VS they can see availability on those exact dates or does it differ? I had tried calling yesterday but it was for a different question. Also, does anyone have a hard time understanding their accent? I know it's silly but I get scared to call them.

aquanine

No. VS can only see 330 days ahead. ANA releases seats to its own members earlier than it releases to partners.

AZ Travels the World

So usually, checking VS availability on United.com is consistent with what VS is able to book.

ElCaminoReal

Just wanted to share my data point on the T-330. I successfully booked an itinerary for 2 in F this morning with the return flight on Oct 15, 2019 which is exactly 330 days from today. United showed the outbound but not the return. Both segments showed available on EF.