FF Award Tickets

[ventura43]

We are booked on Insignia for Apr 27, 2005. I decided to take a credit for air and book business class tickets since we had enough miles. I'm having a very difficult time and so far have not been able to book anything originating in my home city. Looks like we'll have to fly to Atlanta or Boston on our own to commence the FF travel. We're flying Delta.

Any have any experience with booking FF business class? I'd love some pointers.

Judi

[cmthomas]

It is a little late to mention this to you now, however the "books" open for FF reservations 330 days in advance. So, if you add two months to your departure date and back up a year, that is the day you should be calling for seats. The alternative (which is not very attractive) is to wait until close in - within a week or two of departure - and often seats are opened up. You may wish to review the Flyer Talk BB that has specific sections on Delya and SkyTeam, its alliance, at [url="http://www.flyertalk.com/travelfr_bc.shtml"]http://www.flyertalk.com/travelfr_bc.shtml[/url] for some other hints and suggestions. You may be able to get there on partner Air France as an example. Since you didn't say where your point of departure is I can't come up with any other suggestions at the moment other than to keep trying Delta. Things change day to day. It is a pain but a free ticket is a free ticket! You may be able to get an economy ticket and be wait listed for Business Class. That would, at least, give you assurance that you will get there. Clarence:D

[cmthomas]

Sorry. The link I gave you above takes you into the Travel & Dining Section. It might be easier to go to [url="http://www.flyertalk.com"]http://www.flyertalk.com[/url] , click on forums and scroll down to Global Alliances for SkyTeam or specific airlines for Delta. You can get some truly GREAT hints on FF flying from this BB. Clarence:D

[ventura43]

Clarence, Thanks for the link. Great site.


I live near Jacksonville, FL but the best tickets I can come up with are out of Atlanta. In fact, we end up on Air France to Athens and come back on Alitalia out of Rome.

[joan24]

Judi,
We use Delta Business Elite upgrades every year to Europe. This year I tried to book upgrades 300 days in advance and there were no upgrades available. We were able to book 2 days earlier than we had wanted but and extra 2 days in Venice was o,k. Delta also has a discount Business Elite for $400 pp extra without having to give up any miles. They are easily available.
Joan

[digby]

Are you using only FF miles for the tickets? I had no problem buying an economy ticket to South America from San Francisco and then using FF miles to upgrade to Business Class on American Airlines. Did the same last May for a trip to Europe on UAL.

[Gardyloo]

Most frequent fliers will always use miles to upgrade from cheap to biz, rather than buying biz outright. Way more efficient on a dollar saved/seat mile basis.

Also remember most European airlines' short-haul business class seating isn't particularly deluxe, and you're seldom on the plane long enough for it to really matter. It's the transatlantic legs that really matter.

[ClaudiaF]

[quote name='ventura43']Clarence, Thanks for the link. Great site.


I live near Jacksonville, FL but the best tickets I can come up with are out of Atlanta. In fact, we end up on Air France to Athens and come back on Alitalia out of Rome.[/QUOTE]
Air France biz is great as is Alitalia.. would do that.

[meow!]

Welcome back, we missed your postings for a while!

[Jane110]

I'll disagree with those that say buying a coach seat and then using miles to upgrade is a better idea. It might be better for those of you who never have to change or cancel plans.

Once you buy your coach ticket, unless you've paid a fully refundable fare you can't change anything. Want your pre-cruise stay a day early or a day later? You can't w/ purchased seats. You have to cancel, pay a fee and then reticket - often at a higher price IF they let you cancel and refund the fare.

By using all miles, I can move my dates (as long as there are FF seats) for no cost. If we have to cancel the cruise, there's a fee to put the miles "back in the bank", but we're not with tickets we can't use.

I use the "buy coach and use miles to upgrade" method when a flight I'm booking is close to date, but when booking 6-12 months in advance, as many cruisers do, I need more flexibility.

Neither one is better than the other, it's a matter of what's better for YOU in a particular situation.

Ventura, you never mentioned where you were flying to or from in your query, so we can only answer you theoretically.

[ClaudiaF]

"Jane"
If you buy a coach class ticket say on Delta and then use miles to upgrade..you do it at the time you are making the resy..you have to buy full fare ticket -but you use alot less miles then to use just all miles..
Does that make sence?

[ASmith]

[quote name='Gardyloo']Most frequent fliers will always use miles to upgrade from cheap to biz, rather than buying biz outright. Way more efficient on a dollar saved/seat mile basis.

Also remember most European airlines' short-haul business class seating isn't particularly deluxe, and you're seldom on the plane long enough for it to really matter. It's the transatlantic legs that really matter.[/QUOTE]

I have to disagree on the upgrading to biz vs buying biz issue, at least when it comes to Delta Airlines. Delta's upgradeable coach fares have gone up so much that I find that it no longer makes sense to buy M class or higher fares and upgrade with miles. I've been checking the difference between buying M vs I class (discounted business) from the west coast for next spring, and the difference is only $500. Granted there are many restrictions to the I class fare like 7 night minumum stay, etc. but most leisure travelers fit this profile. For a $500 difference, I'd rather save my miles, earn 50% more miles that I can use later, and 25% more miles toward medallion qualification. I think American is one of the few carriers that allows upgrades on any published fare. But the last time I tried to upgrade with miles on American, they didn't have any seats available for the dates I needed. I do agree that intra-European short haul biz is nothing to write home about. Some domestic routes don't even offer it.

[meow!]

While we have not been on a business class seat on an intra-European short haul flight, we have seen (by walking past them to the economy section) enough of them (on British Airway, Lufthansa and SAS) to know what they are like. Unlike in North America, on intra-European short haul flights, business class seats are identical (not wider, not longer, not better furnished) to economy class. Often they only use a removable marker overhead to distinguish which row is in front and which row is behind the line. The sole difference is in the meal and the free drinks, and often you'll have to pay more than double just to be in front! So, whatever you do, spend your money/points on the trans-oceanic upgrade if you can afford it, forget about the intra-European portion unless it is given to you for free! Am I right, or am I missing something? Thank you.

[Jane110]

Meow,

I agree. Buying a Biz Class seat for an intra-Europe flight is not worth the extra money. Also the flights are usually short.

However, when booking the flight to Europe from the US, often the short hop within Europe is included in the overall fare, so you get the Biz Class seat for the short segment.

However, for those buying a separate intra-European ticket......

One thing to consider is that often the luggage allowance is alot more lenient with a Biz Class ticket than with a coach tkt, so for cruisers who often overpack, make sure to figure in the cost of excess baggage charges to that coach ticket, thus making the purchase of a Biz Class ticket seem a bit less pricey.

Jane

[meow!]

Good point, Jane ... may be because we usually travel light, I haven't thought of the luggage overflow issue!

[ClaudiaF]

[quote name='meow!']Good point, Jane ... may be because we usually travel light, I haven't thought of the luggage overflow issue![/QUOTE]

I think about it every time the agent puts that HEAVY tag on my suitcase
;-)