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Flight Intel


To ensure that Milez.biz users are always well-informed with the latest industry intelligence and our site boasts the most up-to-date data possible, we collect anecdotal material about award flights, organized by destination pairings and frequent flyer program. We’re always looking for the following type of information:
  • 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?
Let us know if you have intel you would like to share. We’d also be more than happy to link to your trip reports and sources, too! Click on the "comment" button for any of the miles calculations or email us through the contact page.

Dublin (DUB) to Boston (BOS) with Avios from Aer Lingus AerClub

The distance between Dublin and Boston is only 2,985 miles and the cutoff in the distance based award chart is at 3,000 miles, so theoretically the DUB-BOS award ticket should cost fewer avios. However, this particular route is an exception to the normal charts and the avios price is calculated with the next higher rate.

The same applies to the Shannon - Boston redemption.

25 January, 2017

Los Angeles (LAX) to Duesseldorf (DUS) with Miles from American Airlines AAdvantage [oneworld / Partners]

This route is served directly by airberlin and can be booked with AAdvantage miles. Read a trip report here:
http://www.mightytravels.com/2017/01/air-berlin-business-class-review-los-angeles-lax-to-dusseldorf-dus-a330/

20 January, 2017

Ottawa (YOW) to Varadero (VRA) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

Aeroplan miles can be used to book flights to Cuba. Air Canada has a direct flight from Ottawa to Varadero. The round-trip fees for the direct flight are approximately CAD 127

18 January, 2017

Montreal (YUL) to San Diego (SAN) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

The fees and surcharges to get from Montreal to San Diego vary depending on the carrier chosen. Flights will be either with Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge or with United Airlines. One-way fees with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights are between CAD 130 and CAD 163. If the entire YUL to SAN itinerary can be flown on UA then the one-way fees to San Diego drop to CAD 70. Even better on the flight from San Diego, where an all-UA itinerary can be as little as CAD 7.30 in fees!

Flying from Burlington (BTV) may be an interesting option for Montrealers as a round-trip can be redeemed for as little as CAD 14.60 total fees.

17 January, 2017

Burlington (BTV) to San Diego (SAN) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

Flying from Burlington (BTV) may be an interesting option (instead of flying from Montreal) as a round-trip can be redeemed for as little as CAD 14.60 total fees.

Booking flights from Montreal (which may include Air Canada flights) may incur surcharges and fees of approximately CAD 200 for the round trip!

17 January, 2017

Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL) with Miles from Qantas Classic Awards [QFF]

According to pointshack.com.au this redemption is not a great use of your points, mainly because it is difficult to find business class seats through the Qantas engine.

Full report here: http://www.pointhacks.com.au/reviews/latam-787-dreamliner-auckland-sydney/

17 January, 2017

New York (LGA) to Indianapolis (IND) with Avios from [OLD v2] British Airways Executive Club / oneworld

Make sure you book the direct flight between La Guardia and Indianapolis in order to redeem the flight for the lowest award fee. If you book with a connection (for example in CLT) you will get charged for two individual flight segments.

Fees in either case stay the same, i.e USD 5.60.

13 January, 2017

Zurich (ZRH) to Hamburg (HAM) with Miles from Miles & More (Lufthansa) / Star Alliance

There is a direct Germanwings flight from Zurich to Hamburg that can be booked with Miles & More miles. The surcharges for a one-way segment are approx CHF 40-50. This is a reasonable fee for a Miles & More redemption but the the actual cash cost of Germanwings  is also quite low, starting at about CHF 70.
Zurich seems to be considered domestic for this miles calculation on the Germanwings website, the one-way miles fare shows as 12,500 miles.

12 January, 2017

Edmonton (YEG) to Paris (CDG) with Miles from Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan [Icelandair Partnership]

Alaska Airline Mileage Plan members can use the Icelandair partnership to get to Europe from a number of cities in North America. The round-trip fees between Edmonton and Paris, however, are relatively high at USD 370.

Source: http://milesopedia.com/programmes-aeriens/alaska-mileage-plan-programme-favori-chasseurs-de-miles-2017 [in French]

12 January, 2017

Montreal (YUL) to Los Angeles (LAX) with Miles from Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan [AA Partnership]

The fees for the round trip award ticket on American Airlines with Alaska miles between Montreal and Los Angeles are about USD 80. Delta flights can also be used for roughly the same fees but the partnership between Alaskan Airlines and Delta is due to end in April 2017.

Source: http://milesopedia.com/programmes-aeriens/alaska-mileage-plan-programme-favori-chasseurs-de-miles-2017

12 January, 2017