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?
Accra (ACC) to Windhoek (WDH) with Miles from American Airlines AAdvantage [oneworld / Partners]
Due to the fact that flying from Accra (Ghana) to Windhoek (Namibia) cannot be done wholly within Africa, the AAdvantage Africa-to-Africa does not apply. A recent article on MightyTravels.com points this out; just a one-way redemption is actually 60,000 miles in economy, plus USD 400 in surcharges! The same destination pair can be redeemed much advantageously with United Mileage Plus.
6 December, 2016
Cape Town (CPT) to Plaisance (MRU) with Miles from American Airlines AAdvantage [oneworld / Partners]
The Cape Town to Mauritius destination pair is one of the few intra-African routes that can be redeemed for the 20,000-mile round trip fare advertised in the AAdvantage award charts. Sadly this flight only operates once a week. Read more in this article from MightyTravels.com. Surcharges for this flight are USD 300.
6 December, 2016
New York (JFK) to Milano (MXP) with Miles from MilleMiglia Alitalia
Surcharges are very reasonable with Alitalia - just around $300 all-in for a US - Italy in business class. See the article below on this redemption and how to leverage the Amex points bonus.
http://milecards.com/1588433346/alitalia-business-class-for-58k-amex-points-with-40-bonus/
28 November, 2016
New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance
One of the best ways to enjoy Lufthansa's first class product, especially since United Mileage Plus does not pass on fuel surcharges.This is also a great opportunity to visit the First Class Terminal (FCT) in Frankfurt. You may need to wait until late to book this as the seats become available only a short period before the travel date but you can book the itinerary one-way for half the cost in miles.
Source: https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-united-mileageplus-miles-for-max-value/
27 November, 2016
New York (JFK) to Bangkok (BKK) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance
In order to use Star Alliance partner Thai Airways first class cabin you need to connect somewhere in Europe (for example Zurich or Milan) as Thai does not fly to the USA.
Source: https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-united-mileageplus-miles-for-max-value/
27 November, 2016
San Jose (SJC) to Tokyo (NRT) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance
San Jose to Tokyo is an example for using All Nippon Airways (ANA) to get to Japan from the USA. Try either first class or business class to get the full ANA experience.
Source: https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-united-mileageplus-miles-for-max-value/
27 November, 2016
Beijing (PEK) to Nandi (NAN) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance
According to upgradedpoints.com getting from China to Fiji is a great use of your United miles. A round-trip in economy is only 30,000 miles!
Source: https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-united-mileageplus-miles-for-max-value/
27 November, 2016
Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance
Try to find an award seat in Air New Zealand's premium cabins, this is an excellent way to spend your miles!
Source: https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-united-mileageplus-miles-for-max-value/
27 November, 2016
Montreal (YUL) to Johannesburg (JNB) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance
There is a great article on traveling from Montreal to South Africa with Aeroplan miles on MilesOpedia.com [in French]. Here are some highlights:
- The key is to avoid the high Air Canada and Lufthansa surcharges, which will easily be more than CAD 700 for this itinerary.
- Use Swiss through Zurich (ZRH) to get to Johannesburg (JNB). Total fees for a one-way with Swiss are only approximately CAD 75
- Another inexpensive (ie. low surcharges) option is to travel through Toronto (YYZ) and Addis (ADD), using Ethiopian Airlines. Fees for this route are also around CAD 75.
- A good option for the return trip would be United Airlines via Washington Dulles (IAD). Fees here are about CAD 85.
21 November, 2016
Miami (MIA) to Dublin (DUB) with Avios from Aer Lingus AerClub
According to Head for Points Aer Lingus is adding a new route between Dublin and Miami in September 2017. AerClub avios can be used for this new route but the flights must be booked via the British Airways call centre. Fees for this flight will be around GBP 75 for the round-trip. Apparently off-peak prices are not available for this destination.
Source: http://www.headforpoints.com/2016/11/16/aer-lingus-launching-miami-flights/
16 November, 2016