Ok, I figured it out (well, part of it). When I'm not logged in I can't see the flights I'm looking for. DH said he was logged in and couldn't but I think he somehow got kicked out.
If you want first class you have to be more strategic with the timing of the release of the seats because they go very quickly. Biz class seats tend to linger for a few days.
Flying from SFO non-stop (with LAX as a backup). Looking mostly for first but also checking Biz. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but it's much harder than expected.
Yep I figured it out looking at seat guru. Oops! That explains a lot.Just thought to check if the SFO-TYO routes even have first and they do not! LAX-HND has an F cabin and I can see 1 seat availability at schedule end.
Hope you all get some sleep and have a wonderful trip.Well we made it to Tokyo but it was not fun Ds has decided to enter this insane phase of screaming and hitting and decided the end of the flight was a good time to do that. He screamed during the whole descent because he didn’t want to wear a seatbelt and his ears were hurting which he’s never had happen before. He didn’t eat any food on the entire 11 hour flight. He’s so sleep deprived and coughing. He was up at 2:30 am at the SFO hotel. I feel bad because I know he’s out of sorts but dh and I just don’t know how to calm him down in those situations. On top of all of that, I left my carry on on the plane. Luckily a flight attendant brought it to baggage claim for me. I’m hoping we can all get a good night sleep tonight and start fresh tomorrow. Traveling with a preschooler is no joke
oh wow ok. So if I have both cards, can I use only one at a time for a visit? I'll be traveling with a group of 7 others on an upcoming trip, it would be fun to 'treat' them all to a visit! The Hilton biz, it's 10 visits and then done, correct?On the CSR PP, you can do yourself plus 2 guests. On the Hilton biz PP, it's 10 visits, so you can do yourself plus 9 guests if you wanted to. You don't need to be on the same ticket or airline.
I think that JAL only releases 1 first class seat early on. But I have read reports that you can get another seat on points a few weeks or even a few days before the flight. I'd book 1 in first, another in biz, then try closer to the date of the trip to get another, as long as 1 of the party is okay with a seat in biz.Curious if you've ever seen 2 in first? I think that's what @mmmears is looking for.
BA releases the seats at 7PM central time inI am looking at SFO to "Tokyo" which usually shows both Haneda and Nartia. I've been little to no biz and no first at all (was really looking for first since it's such a long flight). Do you know what time they update over on BA? Thanks for your help. I realize I may have to try for J class instead.
Flying from SFO non-stop (with LAX as a backup). Looking mostly for first but also checking Biz. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but it's much harder than expected. BA is showing NO non-stops on 4/29 from SFO (I'm not willing to fly through LHR which they are suggesting) and that's even searching for a cash flight in any class of seats.
I really appreciate all the help.View attachment 858895
Well we made it to Tokyo but it was not fun Ds has decided to enter this insane phase of screaming and hitting and decided the end of the flight was a good time to do that. He screamed during the whole descent because he didn’t want to wear a seatbelt and his ears were hurting which he’s never had happen before. He didn’t eat any food on the entire 11 hour flight. He’s so sleep deprived and coughing. He was up at 2:30 am at the SFO hotel. I feel bad because I know he’s out of sorts but dh and I just don’t know how to calm him down in those situations. On top of all of that, I left my carry on on the plane. Luckily a flight attendant brought it to baggage claim for me. I’m hoping we can all get a good night sleep tonight and start fresh tomorrow. Traveling with a preschooler is no joke.
ETA: I forgot to mention they changed planes on us so our seats ended up being in different spots than we booked which was a big deal with us having a 4 year old. They were very helpful and able to get us in a somewhat better spot but we lost our window seat by moving
Southwest is pulling out of IAH. HOU is a Southwest hub. If they pulled out of there -- the airport would basically shut down.We are in the same area as you and went to Costa Rica a couple months back. We flew JetBlue out of BOS (originally flying through FLL but we rebooked to MCO as prices dropped closer to the flight. We overnighted at the MCO Hyatt so we could arrive earlier in the day) to SJO. Flying home we were flying out of LIR. We stopped in ATL on the way home, though. We originally were booked direct to ATL on Delta but ended up rebooking on Southwest through HOU. I think I saw that Southwest is pulling out of HOU though, so not sure what the timing is on that.
oh wow ok. So if I have both cards, can I use only one at a time for a visit? I'll be traveling with a group of 7 others on an upcoming trip, it would be fun to 'treat' them all to a visit! The Hilton biz, it's 10 visits and then done, correct?
ETA..... so at SFO it lloks like the 3 lounges are all in terminal A- so (according to google) it appears my flight will prob. land in Terminal 2 ,but our next flight goes out of G....so that sounds like it won't be accessible since I won't have a ticket to get past security of term. A.....(?) not sure how the rules work
Yep AMEX recently made big changes to the Hilton Biz card, including ending the 10 PP visits. Also, no FNC after $15k spend. Plus they doubled the annual fee.I tried to use the CSR and the Hilton biz PP for an extra person before and was told no. Hilton biz is 10 visits per calendar year, so it'll reset next year and you can use it again before March 31 when the benefit goes away (assuming you registered between July 2023 and June 2024).
He did pretty well for the majority of the flight and even slept for a 3-4 hour chunk (we hoped he would’ve slept longer though). I think at the end his ears were really bothering him and he didn’t know how to process it so he was trying to unbuckle and get off the plane. Dh had to awkwardly reach around the middle divider to hold his seatbelt on.Oh goodness, that sounds like you're off to a bumpy start. If it makes you feel any better some of my best trips have been the worst in terms of flights. So I hope things improve. Do what you need to do to get everyone rested and fed. Take deep breaths.
Hope things start to settle and improve soon!
Thanks so much for this suggestion. It does look like it'd be perfect for us. Bummed it's not bookable with Hyatt points anymore.I didn't realize/forgot there was a change. However it does look like Los Altos is bookable through the Chase portal.
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We're having major Japan withdrawal (we were there exactly 1 year ago, and all the "memories" are popping up on our phones, social media, etc.). Makes us want to plan a trip back, so please share pics! and have a great time!He did pretty well for the majority of the flight and even slept for a 3-4 hour chunk (we hoped he would’ve slept longer though). I think at the end his ears were really bothering him and he didn’t know how to process it so he was trying to unbuckle and get off the plane. Dh had to awkwardly reach around the middle divider to hold his seatbelt on.
I will say, once we got here, everything went really smoothly. He was able to calm down and we got everything done in the airport quickly. We got money out of an ATM, welcome PASMO cards, and booked a limousine bus to get us to Shinjuku station. Getting through Shinjuku station with all of our luggage was easier than expected and ds kept up the whole time.
Earplanes worked for my kids when they had ear pain while flying.I think at the end his ears were really bothering him and he didn’t know how to process it so he was trying to unbuckle and get off the plane. Dh had to awkwardly reach around the middle divider to hold his seatbelt on.