Booking award tickets - Revision history

Editor: /* Checking the US Airlines / Alliances */

2021-08-12T23:08:58Z

‎Checking the US Airlines / Alliances

Editor: /* 4: Choose the best program to book the available award space */

2021-08-12T22:58:48Z

‎4: Choose the best program to book the available award space

Editor at 22:53, 12 August 2021

2021-08-12T22:53:33Z

Editor: /* 5: Make sure it is still worthwhile to use miles instead of cash */

2021-06-26T00:18:50Z

‎5: Make sure it is still worthwhile to use miles instead of cash

Editor: Editor moved page 105 to Booking award tickets without leaving a redirect

2021-02-21T21:53:07Z

Editor moved page 105 to Booking award tickets without leaving a redirect

Editor: /* 7: Finalize your reservation */

2021-02-21T20:46:51Z

‎7: Finalize your reservation

Editor: /* 6: Transfer your credit card points (if necessary) */

2021-02-21T20:44:35Z

‎6: Transfer your credit card points (if necessary)

Editor: /* 4: Choose the best program to book the available award space */

2021-02-21T20:38:13Z

‎4: Choose the best program to book the available award space

Editor: /* 4: Choose the best program to book the available award space */

2021-02-21T20:37:45Z

‎4: Choose the best program to book the available award space

Editor: /* 4: Choose the best program to book the available award space */

2021-02-21T20:32:14Z

‎4: Choose the best program to book the available award space

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 <li>'''But if you are going to use a partner program's points to book a United or Delta award, you may need to search elsewhere'''. For United partner availability, check '''[//www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html#/home:flight Air Canada’s Aeroplan]'''. For Delta partner availability, check '''[//www.virginatlantic.com/us/en Virgin Atlantic]''' because they often require far fewer points (or '''[//www.airfrance.us/US/en/local/process/standardbooking/SearchAction.do?MABT=true Air France / KLM's Flying Blue]''').</li>
-<li>'''If you know you want to fly on Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, KLM, United Airlines, or Virgin Atlantic, give [//www.seatspy.com Seat Spy] a try'''. This awesome tool will quickly show you availability for an entire year at a time in every class of service, but only for a single direct route on one of a few airlines.</li>
+<li>'''If you know you want to fly on Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Etihad, KLM, United Airlines, or Virgin Atlantic, give [//www.seatspy.com Seat Spy] a try'''. This awesome tool will quickly show you availability for an entire year at a time in every class of service, but only for a single direct route on one of a few airlines.</li>
 <li>'''For international flights, you should search on the best websites for finding award space on each alliance'''. With SkyTeam, you almost always need to search both Delta and Air France / KLM's Flying Blue, as a result of their dynamic pricing approach. For the other alliances, you would still ideally search two sites. Each site may uncover some options that another site doesn’t.</li>

@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''Option 1: If you used Juicy Miles to book your flight, they do a good job of helping you figure out which type of points to use'''. They show the mileage cost and estimated surcharges for many of the possible options for booking your award ticket and even factor in current mileage transfer bonuses. Unfortunately, you need to click through each program option on the left-side to find the lowest cost for booking the flight you want.</li>
+<li>'''Option 1: Manually check the likely options'''. Unfortunately, the only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly.
 <ul>
@@ Line 164: / Line 162: @@
 </ul>
-<li>'''Option 3: Search the web'''. An alternative approach (for uncovering which reward program to use) is to search the web using something like “best redemptions to asia” or “best redemptions to japan”. You are likely to find several blog posts that discuss various frequent flyer options. Just bear in mind that they are rarely comprehensive and typically somewhat out of date.</li>
+<li>'''Option 2: Search the web'''. An alternative approach (for uncovering which reward program to use) is to search the web using something like “best redemptions to asia” or “best redemptions to japan”. You are likely to find several blog posts that discuss various frequent flyer options. Just bear in mind that they are rarely comprehensive and typically somewhat out of date.</li>
 You can also check our collection of the best awards "sweet spots" where you can book award tickets for significantly less than the normal amount of miles. {{Link|great redemptions}}.
-<li>'''Option 4: Use an award comparison tool'''. Several websites attempt to help you compare your award booking options. While they can sometimes help you focus or narrow down your options, they sometimes don't do a good enough job of calculating the required number of miles (especially for distance based programs), checking all the options, and especially calculating fees to properly substitute for a manual search. But they are quick and easy. Use both [//www.awardhacker.com/ AwardHacker] and [//www.milez.biz/en/list_rates.php Milez].</li>
+<li>'''Option 3: Use an award comparison tool'''. Several websites attempt to help you compare your award booking options. While they can sometimes help you focus or narrow down your options, they sometimes don't do a good enough job of calculating the required number of miles (especially for distance based programs), checking all the options, and especially calculating fees to properly substitute for a manual search. But they are quick and easy. Use both [//www.awardhacker.com/ AwardHacker] and [//www.milez.biz/en/list_rates.php Milez].</li>
 <li>'''Don't forget about transfer bonuses'''. Any program that currently has a transfer bonus has a good chance of being the best option for your trip. The best listing of current transfer bonuses is Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page].

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 === 2: Check major alliances / frequent flyer programs for availability ===
-'''If you want to make it easier to find award space, consider using [//www.juicymiles.com/ Juicy Miles]'''. It won't find every option, but it comes close. While it's user experience makes it a little hard to use than it should, it is still much easier than searching a bunch of different sites. An ongoing membership is $30 per month, but you can pay $10 to use the tool for five days. If you are able to find award space and book right away, it can be affordable to sign up for $10 each time you are planning a trip. But if you need to periodically check to see if award inventory has recently become available, the ongoing membership rate is pretty expensive. {{Link|premium award tools}}.
+You'll need to search on multiple airline websites to check for space on all your award options.
 ==== Checking the US Airlines / Alliances ====

@@ Line 188: / Line 188: @@
 <li>'''Adjust your initial estimate based on the details of your trip'''. Now that you’ve finished looking, you’ll know exactly how many points and dollars are needed to book your award ticket. Maybe the available award ticket has higher fees, requires more miles, or has a more inconvenient routing than you expected. If so, switch back to a regular airline reservation and save your points for later.</li>
-<li>'''Never use your Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, or ThankYou points to book award tickets when you would be receiving less than their "base values" per point'''. Below these values, you can spend fewer points by using them to buy tickets through the credit card company's travel booking site, rather than converting them into frequent flyer miles. The normal "base value" is 1.5 cents for Ultimate Rewards points (if you have the Sapphire Reserve), 1 cent for ThankYou and Membership Rewards points, 1.25 cents for Membership Rewards point if you have the Schwab Platinum Card, and 1.54 cents per point if you have the Business Platinum Card. When deciding what is best, you should lower the "cash" ticket price by factoring in the value of the new frequent flyer tickets you would earn. {{Link|fixed value}}.</li>
+<li>'''Never use your Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, or ThankYou points to book award tickets when you would be receiving less than their "base values" per point'''. Below these values, you can spend fewer points by using them to buy tickets through the credit card company's travel booking site, rather than converting them into frequent flyer miles. The normal "base value" is 1.5 cents for Ultimate Rewards points (if you have the Sapphire Reserve), 1 cent for ThankYou and Membership Rewards points, 1.1 cents for Membership Rewards point if you have the Schwab Platinum Card (1.25 cents until September), and 1.54 cents per point if you have the Business Platinum Card. When deciding what is best, you should lower the "cash" ticket price by factoring in the value of the new frequent flyer tickets you would earn. {{Link|fixed value}}.</li>
 You can also use any point balances you have from fixed-value reward programs.

@@ Line 218: / Line 218: @@
 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''To make the actual reservation, you may need to call in'''. Many frequent flyer programs won't let you book partner award tickets online (at least for some partners). Some don’t even support online booking for their own award flights. Even when online booking is available, you may not be able to book a more complicated routing through the website.</li>
+ <li>'''To avoid fees, book your ticket online (if possible)'''. Many frequent flyer programs charge a small fee if you book your award ticket over the phone.</li>
-</ul>
-{{Box|More Advanced Award Booking}}
+<li>'''Usually, it is better to book the award as a round trip or multi-destination flight, if you can'''. If you can book the entire trip with the same award program, you are usually better off booking it as a single award, rather than as separate awards for each direction. That way, if you need to cancel or change the trip, you’ll only need to pay one fee.  If there is a “close-in reservation” or phone booking fee, you’d only pay one of those as well. This is just about how you finally book your award; it is always worthwhile to search for award space one direction at a time.</li>
-'''Usually, it is better to book the award as a round trip or multi-destination flight, if you can'''. If you can book the entire trip with the same award program, you are usually better off booking it as a single award, rather than as separate awards for each direction. That way, if you need to cancel or change the trip, you’ll only need to pay one fee.  If there is a “close-in reservation” or phone booking fee, you’d only pay one of those as well. This is just about how you finally book your award; it is always worthwhile to search for award space one direction at a time.
+<li>'''However, when fuel surcharges are high, it can sometime make sense to book as separate trips in each direction'''. The surcharges FROM a destination can be different than the surcharges TO that destination. If there are significant surcharges on your tickets, make sure to price the trip as multiple one-ways, compare to the complete trip, and book whichever one is cheaper.</li>
 {{/Main|article}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:53, 21 February 2021
(No difference)

@@ Line 195: / Line 195: @@
 === 6: Transfer your credit card points (if necessary) ===
 You may already have enough miles in the desired frequent flyer program to book your award tickets. More commonly, you’ll need to transfer Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, or other points into your desired frequent flyer program first.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''Once you transfer the points, you can’t transfer the back again'''. For example, once you transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to United airlines, you are pretty much stuck with a bunch of United miles. You can’t transfer them back to Ultimate Rewards, you can’t transfer them to one of the other Ultimate Rewards airline partners, and you can’t transfer them to another of United’s airline partners.</li>
+<li>'''Before you transfer points, call and make sure that the award tickets are truly available'''. There are several reasons why you might believe that award seats are available, when they are not. To avoid all these problems, simply call in to confirm.
-If you make a genuine error when transferring your points, you might be able to quickly call in, and get the transfer reversed.
+<li>'''When points will transfer instantly, the safest way to book is to transfer them while you are on the phone with the frequent flyer program'''. Once they make your reservation, ask them to hold on for a moment and transfer your points using your computer or phone. You can follow a similar process using two browser tabs. Start booking your award in one window. Once you've selected your flights, transfer the points in another window, and then continue with the reservation. Doing it online is more convenient, but there is a slight chance that the award space is not really available when you try to complete the booking. </li>
-<li>'''Before you transfer points, make sure that the award tickets are truly available'''. You need to call the frequent flyer program and confirm the availability with a sales representative! You don’t want any hiccups that would cause you to transfer your points and then not be able to use them to book your tickets. When you call, be prepared to provide the representative with the information about the individual flights where you found award availability.</li>
+<li>'''Not all transfers happen instantaneously'''. While most Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards transfers happen nearly instantaneously, that isn’t true for every airline partner and there can occasionally be delays. Many ThankYou and Marriott point transfers take days, and a few Marriott transfers can take weeks, to conclude.  {{Link|transfer times}}.</li>
-{{ImageX|PersononPhone.jpg}}
+<li>'''For non-instantaneous transfers, try to put the reservation on hold'''. When you have the representative on the phone to double-check availability, ask them about holding the tickets.</li>
 </ul>
@@ Line 220: / Line 212: @@
 '''If you might transfer Marriott points, make sure to consider a Hotel + Air package'''. If you are acquiring 100,000 miles, you can get a 7-night Category 4 certificate for the normal cost of 3 peak-period hotel nights. If you are acquiring 50,000 miles, you can get the certificate at 75% of the normal price for 7 peak-period nights. Discounts are lower on other category hotels or non-peak travel periods. {{Link|Marriott packages}}.
-'''When transferring Marriott points, consider transferring exact multiples of 60,000 points'''. Marriott will give a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer. But you won’t earn the bonus on any additional points above a multiple of 60,000. If you stick to chunks of 60,000 points (25,000 miles), you’ll get the maximum miles from your points. The downside is that you are likely to wind up with extra miles in the frequent flyer program, that you will need to save for later.
+'''When transferring Marriott points, consider transferring exact multiples of 60,000 points'''.  If you stick to chunks of 60,000 points (25,000 miles), you’ll get the maximum miles from your points. The downside is that you are likely to wind up with extra miles in the frequent flyer program, that you will need to save for later.
 {{/Box}}

@@ Line 126: / Line 126: @@
 === 4: Choose the best program to book the available award space ===
-Once you’ve found award space, the next question becomes which program is the best one to book your award. If you have transferable credit card points, you usually have the choice of booking your award ticket using several different frequent flyer programs. Each frequent flyer program requires a different number of miles for the same flight and also has different routing rules and fees. And the difference in fees between different programs can be more significant than the difference in miles, especially for flights to Europe. {{Link|fuel surcharges}}.
+Once you’ve found award space, the next question becomes which program is the best one to book your award. If you have transferable credit card points, you usually have the choice of booking your award ticket using several different frequent flyer programs. Each frequent flyer program requires a different number of miles for the same flight and also has different routing rules and fees. And the difference in fees between different programs can be more significant than the difference in miles, especially for flights to Europe.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''Option 1: If you used Juicy Miles to book your flight, they do a good job of helping you figure out which program to book with'''. They show the mileage cost and estimated surcharges for many of the possible options for booking your award ticket and even factor in current mileage transfer bonuses. Unfortunately, you need to click through each program option on the left-side to find the lowest cost for booking the flight you want.</li>
+<li>'''Option 1: If you used Juicy Miles to book your flight, they do a good job of helping you figure out which type of points to use'''. They show the mileage cost and estimated surcharges for many of the possible options for booking your award ticket and even factor in current mileage transfer bonuses. Unfortunately, you need to click through each program option on the left-side to find the lowest cost for booking the flight you want.</li>
 <li>'''Option 2: Manually check the likely options'''. Unfortunately, the only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly.
@@ Line 138: / Line 138: @@
 <li>'''Eliminate any programs you don't have points for'''. For example, if you only have Ultimate Rewards points, there may be only a few programs you can use to book a specific ticket</li>
-<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Assuming you don't want to use Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
+<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Unless you're thinking of using Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
 <ul>
@@ Line 163: / Line 163: @@
 *{{Transfer|Etihad}} [//www.etihad.com/en/plan-and-book/book-redemption-flights/ Etihad]
 *{{Transfer|VirginAtlantic}} [//www.virginatlantic.com/us/en Virgin Atlantic]
 </ul>
 <li>'''Option 3: Search the web'''. An alternative approach (for uncovering which reward program to use) is to search the web''' using something like “best redemptions to asia” or “best redemptions to japan”. You are likely to find several blog posts that discuss various frequent flyer options. Just bear in mind that they are rarely comprehensive and typically somewhat out of date.</li>
-You can also check our collection of the best awards "sweet spots" where you can book award tickets for significantly less than the normal amount of miles.
+You can also check our collection of the best awards "sweet spots" where you can book award tickets for significantly less than the normal amount of miles. {{Link|great redemptions}}.
-<li>'''Option 4: Use an award comparison tool'''. Several websites attempt to help you compare your booking options. While they can sometimes help you focus or narrow down your options, they don't do a good enough job of calculating the required number of miles (especially for distance based programs), checking all the options, and especially calculating fees to properly substitute for a manual search. But they are quick. See our list in {{link|award options}}.
+<li>'''Option 4: Use an award comparison tool'''. Several websites attempt to help you compare your award booking options. While they can sometimes help you focus or narrow down your options, they sometimes don't do a good enough job of calculating the required number of miles (especially for distance based programs), checking all the options, and especially calculating fees to properly substitute for a manual search. But they are quick and easy. Use both [//www.awardhacker.com/ AwardHacker] and [//www.milez.biz/en/list_rates.php Milez].</li>
 <li>'''Don't forget about transfer bonuses'''. Any program that currently has a transfer bonus has a good chance of being the best option for your trip. The best listing of current transfer bonuses is Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page].
-<li>'''Particularly for flights to Europe, several popular programs offer promotional rates for different routes.''' It can be worthwhile seeing if any of these promotional rates apply to your trip, as the promotional prices usually require the fewest points of any option. {{Link|promo awards}}.</li>
+<li>'''Particularly for flights to Europe, several popular programs offer promotional rates for different routes.''' It can be worthwhile seeing if any of these promotional rates apply to your trip, as the promotional prices usually require the fewest points of any option (but typically have hefty fuel surcharges). {{Link|promo awards}}.</li>
-<li>'''Other considerations'''. The program that requires the fewest number of miles  and the lowest fees may not be the best overall deal. For example, you’ll often want to spend more points to {{Link|fuel surcharges|avoid fuel surcharges}}, you sometimes want to spend more points to get a {{Link|free stopovers|free stopover}}, take advantage of low-priced change fees, book a less common itinerary (that is only allowed with some programs), or use up some of your less flexible points. For more details and additional options, see our guide to {{Link|award options}}.</li>
+<li>'''Other considerations'''. The program that requires the fewest number of miles  and the lowest fees may not be the best overall deal. For example, you’ll often want to spend more points to {{Link|fuel surcharges|avoid fuel surcharges}}, you sometimes want to spend more points to get a {{Link|free stopovers|free stopover}}, take advantage of low-priced change fees, book a less common itinerary (that is only allowed with some programs), use up some of your less flexible points, or avoid a difficult-to-use program. For more details and additional options, see our guide to {{Link|award options}}.</li>
 </ul>