Another question

[SoCalGal]

We want to use our FF miles for our river cruise Budapest-Amsterdam. I understand that we need to get our airline tickets 333 days prior to our departure. But how will that work if we haven't gotten the 2008 itineraries from the various cruselines by then?

[dlhamlten]

We want to use our FF miles for our river cruise Budapest-Amsterdam. I understand that we need to get our airline tickets 333 days prior to our departure. But how will that work if we haven't gotten the 2008 itineraries from the various cruselines by then?

 

 

Either I do not understand your question, or you have not interpreted the airline's policy correctly.

 

You did not say which airline Program for FF miles you would be using and policies and procedures may vary one from the other. My advice would be to call the specific airline FF Program. Ask them your questions directly.

 

You may be referring to the policy ( I know this from American Airlines AAdvantage ) that states you cannot book flights that are further away than 335 days in the future. This is different from your understanding that you need to get them 333 days prior to departure.

 

Also, if you are flying into one city and deaprting from another I am not sure if you can just use the same amount of miles for that kind of a trip rather than a round Trip.

 

It is true that there may be a limited number of Award Seats on any given flight and that would argue for booking as far in advance as possible, but it would seem that you need to know more about the specific cruise you are interested in. Have you called the cruiseline to ask them about 2008 Itineraries ? They may be available, but just not on theirs or TA Websites ? Once you have the cruise Itinerary, you may be able to juggle your Free Ticket Dates by getting there earlier or staying longer.

[cmthomas]

SoCalGal you sound like an experienced FF'er or someone who got good advice. It is truly a juggling act. You need to keep two balls in the air until you know that you can catch both at the same time!

 

I agree with the last poster about first trying to tie down the cruise departure date. That is a pretty regular itinerary for all of the cruise lines so they probably know now or soon what the dates will be. The job is to get them to fork over the info.

 

You are absolutely correct that the best time to score FF seats is when the books open - between 330 to 335 days prior to departure depending upon the airline. Even then, they don't always release the inventory for booking right away. It sure takes persistence to get the seats. It may involve checking daily. Now, with some airlines, you can check FF availability online. I know that United for one has that feature. But when it gets to the bottom line it is a case of luck in getting a pair of the few seats that they allocate these days. I know that it doesn't help much but they also open up seats closer to departure depending upon how full the plane may be. I speak from experience and it really feels good to snag those free seats!

 

One other thing, you CAN book an open jaw ticket with FF miles at no extra charge.

 

Clarence:)

[land lover]

Hi Clarence,

 

What is this about booking an OJ flight without a charge enlighten me please ?As I have been charged $15.00 thru AA, because one cannot book an OJ flight on-line but must use an agent. Do you know something that I don't know, can you do it on United?

[cmthomas]

Lori, possibly I wasn't as clear as I should have been. As far as I know an open jaw ticket does not require any additional MILES over a straight round trip. There may be exceptions such as using miles from a bank card but I don't think any of the U.S. airlines require additional miles.

 

As far as paying a fee to book a FF ticket online you are absolutely correct. However, I have found on several occasions that the agent on the telephone could come up with seats by using creative routing that could not be found online. Also, I have heard that the online sites for FF booking only get updated once a day whereas seats get released to the agents at all different hours of the day and night.

 

Since you only pay the fee once (when you actually book), not every time you call, it seems to me to be worth the few extra dollars to have someone to talk to. I have found that the best agents are the more senior ones who have found a way to work mostly day shifts and the ones on in the evenings and night shift are more interested in getting to the next call as they are monitored to see how many calls per hour they can handle.

 

Clarence:)

[land lover]

SOCALGAL.....just to let you know it is pretty hard for us here on the West Coast flying out of LAX or OC to hit a jackpot with FF miles at least with American in my experiences. I have seldom been able to use them with my cruises, only land vacations and Europe is really a crap shoot but it is certainly worth a try, you might be able to get one ticket as I was last Dec. for a OJ.....in June/July..... Rome/London.... If you are going in the winter/spring your chances are better....but recently when I was talking to a American rep about another situation she told me that during last summer the employees were blocked from to using their perks on European flights so I would think FF seats are at a premium as well. Maybe this year thay might not be.

Good Luck...I hope you are sucessful.

[DeniceRG]

I used United ff miles for my river cruise this past December. I booked the airline portion in September, with little problem. There was no additional miles used because we did an open jaw. We had a 7 day ticketing limit from when I booked the flights, so could make changes (which would then move the ticketing date up). I was told that after tickets were issued, we could change the date of the flights (using the same flights) for no charge. If we changed the flights itself and the date, then there would be a charge. Sorry I don't remember what that charge was. We did have to pay taxes on the itinerary. Not bad ... we paid something like $110.00 per person, but travelled business class all the way. This was for United, not sure if other airline programs are similar.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Denice

[DeniceRG]

I used United ff miles for my river cruise this past December. I booked the airline portion in September, with little problem. There was no additional miles used because we did an open jaw. We had a 7 day ticketing limit from when I booked the flights, so could make changes (which would then move the ticketing date up). I was told that after tickets were issued, we could change the date of the flights (using the same flights) for no charge. If we changed the flights itself and the date, then there would be a charge. Sorry I don't remember what that charge was. We did have to pay taxes on the itinerary. Not bad ... we paid something like $110.00 per person, but travelled business class all the way. This was for United, not sure if other airline programs are similar.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Denice

[land lover]

Darn, I lost a post.......just another quick thing on the FF miles from my understanding it depends on how much "revenue" the sold seats are showing if they are showing enough more seats become available for FF so no seats might show for the flight you want 9 months out but 2 months before 6 FF seats might be available. It changes all the time from what I understand so the early bird does not always get the worm.

 

Clarence...thanks for the clarification...You are correct about daytime staff being more helpful. Reminds me recently when I called my CC company...Citibank on a Friday night I spoke to three reps at an out sourced location...finally one decided to go against their training and sent me back to someone in the US who answer my question right away and because of my inconvience I got 1000. extra FF miles:D Sometimes open 24/7 doesn't provide the best customer service.

 

Enjoy your cruises everyone.......

[SoCalGal]

I guess my question was if we get the FF air 11 months in advance I was wondering if the cruiseline itineraries will be available that far in advance. Do you have to give the airline the dates you need when you request the tickets? I don't want to wait until the last couple of months and hope seats are available on Delta. Just thought maybe someone out there had done this. We want to get First Class seats. It has been a number of years since we've done this overseas and the rules have changed quite a lot. Last time we did this (on our way to London) in the mid 90's they tried to bump us to coach and my husband walked up to First Class and found several seats that were taken by flight attendants--we got our First Class seas that we had tickets for.