Airline travel awards: vary over time?
 

Hi,

I know that an airline can decide what kind of award travel to accept
for a given flight, so this isn't a rant but have a question. I have
over 25000 award points on two different airlines (AA and Delta).
I've tried to find a way to get the minimal award round-trip, which
requires 25000 points, on both of them for a trip from California to
Vancouver, BC, Canada. Both airlines required more than the minimum,
like 37500 points. Although I would guess that the closer the desired
flight date gets, the fewer award seats will be available at all, is
there any likelihood that an airline would switch as the desired
travel date approaches to require fewer points for award travel? I
know they don't have to, but I just want to know before I go and buy a
ticket from a totally different carrier than these two.

In that regard, does anyone have comments on Air Canada versus other
carriers like United, American, or Delta? Thanks.

Airline travel awards: vary over time?
 

"OccasionalFlyer"

In that regard, does anyone have comments on Air Canada versus other
carriers like United, American, or Delta? Thanks.


Delta miles and schedules are structured to effectively make it impossible
to get a 25k award. OTOH, you could try a trip to BLI (Bellingham,
Washington) and then shuttle to Vancouver. Delta also has a 'pay with
miles' program that is available for many itineraries, but it may be tied in
with the Skymiles AMEX card...I cannot remember. You can find out by doing
a standard booking for your flight. It will tell you as you select your
flights and times the price and if 'pay with miles' is an option.

Have you checked to see if Alaska Airlines will take Skymiles? They serve
LAX-YVR and claim to be a partner airline to Delta.

No comment on AA.

Another excellent resource here is www.flyertalk.com .

Airline travel awards: vary over time?
 

In that regard, does anyone have comments on Air Canada versus
other carriers like United, American, or Delta? Thanks.

I like it. There are actual 25K awards available, although the add on
fees can be kind of high. You also only need to fly 35K EQM in a year
to be gold elite and get free access to all the Star Alliance clubs.

You used to be able to fly all 35K on partner airlines, but this
year at least 10K of those miles or five segments have to be on AC.

Regards,
John Levine, , Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly