The Definitive Guide to Booking a SkyMiles Award

@huge: you might want to consider making CDG-AMS or vv the open jaw, thus rearranging the order. This is an easy and pleasant train trip, under four hours, so it almost makes more sense not to fly this unless you're connecting.

IIRC SLC also has some non stops to Europe, on DL metal. Also look at PDX on DL and YVR on partners AF or KLM. SFO should also have service, but award seats could be harder to get.

+1

Had wonderful flights in KE J on FRA-ICN-MEL as part of a DL award.

I'm flying the KE 380 next month. My domestic connectors only in Y, so I called in to see if F available. Got a helpful, but clueless DL agent. Said any F segments would increase the mileage (on AS). I explained that biz mileage had already been paid. As I recall, AS is available at low, or not at all.

I said it should be the same mileage. She came back in a couple of minutes crowing that she had fixed my ticket. Oh, oh. Said she had to transfer me to intl reissue. Got transferred, and then find out that my ticket is all muffed up. Sigh. Hoping that my intl Skype connection won't drop me.

Working on the return domestic leg, this agent tells me that all the AS morning flights have been cancelled PHX-SEA. I look on the AS page, and see them all listed. Then suggests I fly DL metal through ATL, including a red eye. The flight is long enough, without this nonsense. Suggest she recheck AS flights. Still nothing. Suggest SLC connection. Finally has a tight connection. Then, amazingly, she finally figures out AS. End up spending an hour to get it sorted out. Back on my same original flight.

I tried calling Chisholm direct, but of course didn't get them. I find the other centers deficient in knowledge, certainly.

Any sort of work around??

Nope, and I seem to recall reading at least one report of someone getting an agent to reserve a seat on a flight during DL's blackout dates for KE (since it wasn't a flight KE actually had blacked out to partners on that date) and it being cancelled during the ticketing process.

just went through this process for about 4 hrs today, just trying to book a simple ticket for the family from PIT - FLL. the site kept either freezing or telling me "sorry just sold out" when i knew that flights were not sold out. tried so many different scenarios before finally getting the tickets confirmed using miles.

fwiw, i did try the "look for one way" options, then did the full ticket, then reverse one way, ugh! it should NOT be so difficult to book using miles. i hate to walk away from DL(NW), but giving away loads of miles and then hoping people (can't) don't use them is nuts.

i really wish they would FIX the dern booking engine. i keep hoping it will come true one day. mainly b/c my mom keeps telling me how she has enough miles "saved" for a flight to visit. sadly, i know there is no way she will actually get to use those 25K she has saved up b/c she won't be able to find a flight and/or book it with DL.

Call in the reservation -- after it is made via agent get cfm# , have them hold ur resv and you ticket immediately while on the phone if they will not hold -- no charge to "make" reservation with agent , only a charge to write the ticket

There's a phone agent who posts on TOBB, and she indicated that this trick doesn't always work, as the system codes the reservation when they start it so that it will charge the fee even if you do it online. Now whether the IT actually does what it's supposed to in that case, I don't know.

I did it a few times -- why not call and b4 "they" ticket mention it to the agent

I'm PM, so now way for me to test it out. I tend to need such bizarre routings on revenue tickets that I call to make them, too, but no fee because of status.

KE business (Prestige) award inventory is now showing showing in ExpertFlyer and KVS for flights from 1 MAR 2012. This will be booked in O class, just like with AF/KL, and some on TOBB have reported calling and checking with DL about availability and what they see matches what's in EF. Still have to beware the blackout dates, as EF shows O > 0 when DL has KE blacked out, but it appears we can finally see award inventory and KE reps have told EF and/or KVS that this is the inventory made available to partners.

I'm curious if anyone has any experience booking awards on VA with SM originating in OZ? I've done the other way around using tips from TPG and TOBB. I searched for availability on VA's site, found the dates and called DL to see how bad the surcharges were going to be. The agent had no problems finding the seats and priced Z inventory out at 100,000 miles and $104.09. Is this possible?? She insisted it was biz class. That's 50,000 miles less and about $400 less than the tickets I booked going the other way (VA LAX-MEL).

I've always seen things about DL awards having high surcharges for originating outside of the US. Has anyone here booked a DL award out of OZ? Could this possibly be accurate?

Sounds like you may be running into this: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...w-redeem-your-skymiles-va-business-class.html

100k is coach, not biz.

Thanks, I found that shortly after posting. I'm still curious about the surcharge only being $104... sounds awfully low. Not that I'm complaining!

Re: The AF site for booking award travel. This trick from thepointsguy has served me well a couple of times to Europe. I was able to get two biz class for travel 1/29-2/04 to/from ATL-LHR less than sixty days out this way for the minimum 100k each. OK, flexibility was required as the routing was ATL-MIA-LHR outbound on DL, return LHR-AMS-ATL return on KL. Trip duration wasn't an issue so this worked out just fine. No, KL doesn't have lie flat seats but it was the 16:55 flighrt from AMS where they give you a long cocktail service, a decent dinner, mid-flight snacks and a pre-arrival meal so with a couple of movies thrown into the mix the time passed easily. Now, if I can just get the Asia award travel handled half as easily with the input posted here I'll be really happy.

Yes. Fly another airline and collect miles that mean something.

They have fixed the booking engine. Very well. Stock is trending up. You get the idea?

VA has different inventory sometimes for Oz origins vs. NA origins. Would not surprise me if they charge the YQ differently just like they price LAX-SYD-LAX differently than they price SYD-LAX-SYD.

Well, I was shocked today when searching for availability on Delta.com for a very difficult award to Huatulco (Mexico) and it's showing me availabilty on AeroMexico from MEX-HUX. Viva la Skypesos!

Ok, so I have a question on a Delta booking since I seem to get different answers when I call Delta, depending who the wheel of fortune connects me to... once upon a time ago I made a RT award reservation, SJC to DCA...I made the return far in advance (really was looking for a 1-way ticket, but figured I'd use the return at a future date). I completed the first leg, SJC to DCA. I realize there's a change fee for changing the return, and that there may be an increase or decrease in award miles related to that change, those are NOT my questions/issues.

Sometimes now when I call Delta, I'm told I can change the date of the return, but I still must fly from DCA to SJC, my original booking. Other agents tell me no, I can change the return to any segment I wish, eg PDX to DCA or whatever.

Assuming a definitive answer exists (and for my own comfort level when I finally do figure out how I wish to use that return segment), what is the answer...????

Thanks!

You can change one end, but you couldn't for example, make it FAR-STL via MSP. Basically, since you flew SJC-DCA, you either need to do DCA-XXX or XXX-SJC. Furthermore, the unflown distance (XXX-SJC or DCA-XXX, respectively) needs to be less than the flown portions (SJC-DCA and whichever of DCA-XXX and XXX-SJC you're flying).

Thanks... interestingly I called Delta, twice this afternoon. Each time I was told (this time) that there was absolutely no restriction whatsoever in changing the return as regards what two cities you wish to travel, realizing that it depends whether seats are available, paying the change fee, and that the miles may differ.

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Well, yes, you could change them to whatever you want, but then you'll be charged for two one-ways at r/t prices. To avoid that, you need to make it a valid open jaw as I described.