Flight Intel
- What are the fees and surcharges that travelers needed to pay in order to book their award flight?
- How was the availability of a given route(s) when it came to booking the award flight?
- Are there tricks that program members used in order to optimize their redemption?
- Which specific flights were used for the award ticket? Are some flights better than others?
- How does this award ticket compare to other programs and how does it compare to a ticket bought with cash?
- Are there specific sweet spots in the award tables that one should try to take advantage of?
- Are there exceptions to the award tables where our calculations are not accurate?
- What was your overall experience with a particular award ticket?
- Was it worth cashing your miles in for a given flight?
Charlotte (CLT) to New York (JFK) with Avios from [OLD v2] British Airways Executive Club / oneworld
Short-haul US trips can be great deals for Executive Club members. Charlotte to New York is such an example. An added bonus is that these US flights do not incur fuel surcharges.
1 November, 2014
New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv (TLV) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
According to travelisfree.com the Flying Blue redemption from North America to Israel (zoned in Europe 3) is one of the best ones around. One-way flights with Delta Airlines cost about USD 23 in surcharges and the availability is pretty good too.
Here is the article: Unveiling Flying Blue (Air France + KLM) Miles 101 and Best Uses
27 October, 2014
Cancun (CUN) to New York (JFK) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
Mexico is part of the North America zone in the Flying Blue program. This means you can travel to Cancun (CUN) for only 12,500 miles one-way in economy. The surcharges are about EUR 36.
See the article on travelisfree.com.
27 October, 2014
New York (JFK) to Honolulu (HNL) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
The Hawaii to North America redemption is low compared to other programs. A routing from JFK through LAX to Honolulu incurred EUR 5 in one-way surcharges.
Unveiling Flying Blue (Air France + KLM) Miles 101 and Best Uses
27 October, 2014
Los Angeles (LAX) to Papeete (PPT) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
Air France has a direct flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti and there seems to be pretty good award availability on it.
Unveiling Flying Blue (Air France + KLM) Miles 101 and Best Uses
27 October, 2014
Madrid (MAD) to Tenerife (TFN) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
The Canaries used to be in their own zone but now they are zoned in Europe 3. A direct round trip flight from Madrid with Air Europe has very reasonable taxes of about EUR 43.
Unveiling Flying Blue (Air France + KLM) Miles 101 and Best Uses
27 October, 2014
Los Angeles (LAX) to Noumea (NOU) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam
Interesting pricing for Los Angeles to Noumea (Tahiti) through Sydney in the Flying Blue calculator. No additional cost is added even if the flight connects in Australia. The one-way surcharges list as about EUR 70.
http://travelisfree.com/2014/10/27/unveiling-flying-blue-air-france-klm-miles-101-and-best-uses/
27 October, 2014
Cologne (CGN) to Marrakech (RAK) with Miles from Miles & More (Lufthansa) / Star Alliance
There are not many flights worth redeeming within Europe and Miles & More, due to the high fuel surcharges. Germanwings flights, however, incur relatively low surcharges and are worth looking into. The example from Cologne to Marrakech has fees of about EUR 32 for the round trip.
See the article here on meilenoptimieren.com [in German].
21 October, 2014
New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO) with Miles from Miles & More (Lufthansa) / Star Alliance
Try using United's business class "Premium Service" for this trans-continental flight. One-way fees are less EUR 2! This needs to be booked by phone.
Here's the article:
Miles & More Tutorial Teil 1 – Top 16 Miles & More Prämienflüge
21 October, 2014
Warsaw (WAW) to Chicago (ORD) with Miles from Miles & More (Lufthansa) / Star Alliance
LOT has direct flights from Poland to Chicago and New York. These can be booked with Miles & More miles and fees are very reasonable at EUR 117 for the round trip.
Here's the article:
Miles & More Tutorial Teil 1 – Top 16 Miles & More Prämienflüge
21 October, 2014