Flying home from Amsterdam....please help

[preschool teacher]

we will cruise to Amsterdam next May 2020....want to fly home to Florida or Atlanta....

just checking prices and super expensive....also priced in Euros....

could our travel agency get a better deal...?

i also checked the cruise air...it was super $$ too.

Amy words of wisdom???

thank you......

[FlyerTalker]

Just what are these "super expensive" prices?  And just because they are in Euros doesn't mean they can't be converted to USD.

 

Same with cruise air...."super $$"?

 

And to get some perspective, what kind of pricing were you expectin?

[CruiseDigits]

Are you pricing a one way ticket, round trip, or open jaw?  I assume you're talking one way because the ticket is pricing in Euros but the starting point for your trip will help folks here on CC respond with ideas and options.

 

You also mentioned you have a travel agent, I don't know why they wouldn't be working this for you presenting options.

[Zach1213]

Yeah we need to know what price you're looking at...a lot of people come on here talking about their "shockingly high" prices, and when we find out what that price is, it's really fairly reasonable (just maybe higher than they were expecting).

 

One way international flights are usually crazy expensive, so I am guessing this is what you're looking at. But if you are able to provide dates and the price you're looking at, we may be able to advise if that sounds ridiculous or realistic.

[preschool teacher]

I will put some further info on later and I thank you for your reply’s....

[epixx]

Assuming you are referring to the 2 May 2020 Brilliance of the Seas sailing, I suggest you reserve the $299 Air2Sea BA flight from AMS to MIA, then either rent a car one way, take the bus, or book another flight from MIA to Tampa.  Most people would not think that $299 is expensive for this flight.

[preschool teacher]

I all....more info on my trip..

yea we will be on the May 2, 2020 trip on the Brilliance...leaving from Tampa and ending in Amsterdam....on Google flights I found fares from (in dollars) from 692.00 up to 2,962.00 on Delta...on the Delta website it is about the same amount but in Euros.

i did check the air2Sea flights and I don’t remember it being 299.00. I will check again right now and if so I can book that in a heartbeat!!!!

 

thanks again!!!

[CruiseDigits]

@preschool teacher you may also want to try to adjust to fly back one day later if your schedule permits.  Sometimes even a little timing flexibility pays big dividends.

[preschool teacher]

Hey all, thanks so much for your help..I had checked the Air2Sea program....but I checked to fly into Jacksonville or Orlando...  2,600.00..so I did just check flights into Miami and yes on Delta I can fly for 305.00(Dollars). Delta is my go to airline...so I will get some good miles on that flight.  (I’m assuming I can attach my FF #)...

 

special thanks to epixx and CruiseDigits......

[waterbug123]

On 7/1/2019 at 8:20 PM, preschool teacher said:

checked the Air2Sea program.... flights into Miami and yes on Delta I can fly for 305.00(Dollars). Delta is my go to airline...so I will get some good miles on that flight.  (I’m assuming I can attach my FF #)...

 

 

2 things: 

1.  While anecdotal reports seem to indicate that most, or at least many, 3rd party (that includes Air2Sea) tickets are eligible to earn miles, there have been reports of folks being sold tickets that do not earn miles because they are some kind of bulk fare.

2.  Assuming your $305 ticket is eligible for miles, you really won't earn that many miles.  A while back Delta changed the way miles are earned so that it's now based on dollars spent, not miles flown.... and $305 is an awfully cheap ticket for that distance of a flight.  If you don't have medallion status, you'll earn 5 miles per $1 spent, (assuming that the ticket Air2Sea sold you was a Delta-marketed flight, and not a partner-operated flight operated by Delta.)  Also, part of that $305 includes government imposed taxes and fees and you do not earn any miles for that portion of the ticket, only on the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.

[sumiandkage]

Here's Delta's rules for earning miles on exception/bulk fares:

 

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/exception-fares.html

 

When we used Viking's air program a few weeks back, the Delta ticket booked into a V fare bucket and earned 50% of mileage flown in terms of redeemable miles, even though we bought up Comfort+ seats after the fact and had a different fare class on those segments. Which may or may not be better than their usual dollar based multiplier for redeemable miles. 

 

They do give 100% Medallion-Qualifying Miles as the document says, which is nice if you're chasing status in a year. 

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, sumiandkage said:

Here's Delta's rules for earning miles on exception/bulk fares:

 

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/exception-fares.html

 

When we used Viking's air program a few weeks back, the Delta ticket booked into a V fare bucket and earned 50% of mileage flown in terms of redeemable miles, even though we bought up Comfort+ seats after the fact and had a different fare class on those segments. Which may or may not be better than their usual dollar based multiplier for redeemable miles. 

 

 

I don't believe C+ gets any additional multiplier.  The multipliers are for pax who have varying levels of medallion status.  Otherwise, it is simply a matter of dollars paid.

In the OP's case,  I would guess that that $305 ticket is almost certainly a bulk fare.  And the base fare is definitely something less than $305.  I have no idea what the assorted taxes and fees are on it, but for argument's sake let's just say the base ticket price is $250 and it's a bulk fare and the OP is not a Delta medallion member.  The OP will earn a whopping 625 redeemable sky miles.... 250miles x 50%bulk fare = 125 miles x 5 = 625.

Given how rare it is to see a domestic round trip sky miles ticket available for fewer than 20,000 miles, I wouldn't get very excited about earning a 625 miles. 

[sumiandkage]

It's distance flown as stated on that web page; I can verify that based on  recent flights. The fine print on that Viking Air ticket regarding redeemable rewards in my account activity log notes:

 

"Reward Method Description?

D = Mileage earned based on distance flown" 

 

Compared to:

 

"Reward Method Description?

R = Mileage earned based on ticket price" 

 

That shows up for a ticket purchased normally on the Delta web site. 

[preschool teacher]

I didn’t know anything about the miles I would earn for this flight..the info you gave me is confusing...I’ll just call and ask...Happy 4th...

[waterbug123]

20 hours ago, sumiandkage said:

It's distance flown as stated on that web page; I can verify that based on  recent flights. The fine print on that Viking Air ticket regarding redeemable rewards in my account activity log notes:

 

"Reward Method Description?

D = Mileage earned based on distance flown" 

 

Compared to:

 

"Reward Method Description?

R = Mileage earned based on ticket price" 

 

That shows up for a ticket purchased normally on the Delta web site. 

 

All I can say is good luck with that.  As Viking isn't the one who issues the reward miles, I'd hesitate to take what they say over what the actual airline says. 

[sumiandkage]

8 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

All I can say is good luck with that.  As Viking isn't the one who issues the reward miles, I'd hesitate to take what they say over what the actual airline says. 

 

It's not Viking saying that; it's Delta's web site itself and FF miles were credited to my account as such after flights booked via Viking Air as travel agent and flown.  Viking's IT system cannot even track where their own ships are at any given time much less play nice with any airline web site.

[waterbug123]

On 7/5/2019 at 1:58 PM, sumiandkage said:

 

It's not Viking saying that; it's Delta's web site itself and FF miles were credited to my account as such after flights booked via Viking Air as travel agent and flown.  Viking's IT system cannot even track where their own ships are at any given time much less play nice with any airline web site.

 

Sorry, my bad.  There is an exception with Delta for cruise and other 3rd party fares, where mileage is based on distance flown rather than dollars spent.  That said, "based on distance" doesn't mean 1 mile = mile.  The cheapest fare classes will only earn 1/2 the miles.

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/exception-fares.html

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by waterbug123

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Sorry, my bad.  There is an exception with Delta for cruise and other 3rd party fares, where mileage is based on distance flown rather than dollars spent.  That said, "based on distance" doesn't mean 1 mile = mile.  The cheapest fare classes will only earn 1/2 the miles.

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/exception-fares.html

 

 

And, there are DL fares that specifically exempt the earning of FF mileage in their fare rules.

 

But, since you often can't find out the fare rules that apply to your ticket.

 

Caveat emptor.

[snookerrich]

On ‎7‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 2:14 PM, waterbug123 said:

 

2 things: 

1.  While anecdotal reports seem to indicate that most, or at least many, 3rd party (that includes Air2Sea) tickets are eligible to earn miles, there have been reports of folks being sold tickets that do not earn miles because they are some kind of bulk fare.

2.  Assuming your $305 ticket is eligible for miles, you really won't earn that many miles.  A while back Delta changed the way miles are earned so that it's now based on dollars spent, not miles flown.... and $305 is an awfully cheap ticket for that distance of a flight.  If you don't have medallion status, you'll earn 5 miles per $1 spent, (assuming that the ticket Air2Sea sold you was a Delta-marketed flight, and not a partner-operated flight operated by Delta.)  Also, part of that $305 includes government imposed taxes and fees and you do not earn any miles for that portion of the ticket, only on the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.

Look up TAP Airlines,did a return flight from Amsterdam last may after a   B2B one stop and finalled at Miami then a rental car airport two airport to Tampa. Good luck