Air Canada Packages for 2007?

[McKiggan]

Anybody have any inside scoop when ACV will be releasing their Disney packages for 2007?

The ACV TA I spoke to said she had no idea when they would be released.

 

[Scratch42]

Why wait for AC Packages!?!

Do it yourself and it will be a lot cheaper!

j

 

[mbb]

Why wait for AC Packages!?!

Do it yourself and it will be a lot cheaper!

j

Ditto

You can call yourself and make your room reservations, easily.

Or...you can zip an email to Dreams Unlimited (they're a DisBoard sponsor), and they'll set *everything* up for you, including applying any discounts, tickets, your meal reservations, and whatever else you need too.

They can handle airfare for you as well, but take a boo at www.kayak.com Easy to use

HTH!! and like Scratch said, you'll save a ton of money

 

[wee-haggis]

Ditto X2
Half the fun is planning it yourself.
Its not that difficult and you'll save yourself a lot of money !
Lots of help on these boards if you need it.

 

[McKiggan]

I usually do book myself, but I was hoping to use my Aeroplan points to pay for some (or all) of our March Break trip.

Since Aeroplan is the world's most inconvenient rewards system, there are no flights available (on points) when I want to go (haven't been since I started trying to book in May this year).

Soooo, I either pay cash for the whole trip or I try to find some other way to use the points (by paying for part of an ACV vacation package).

 

[McKiggan]

MBB

Just used Kayak. What a GREAT site. Thanks for the link.

 

[amw]

Anybody have any inside scoop when ACV will be releasing their Disney packages for 2007?

The ACV TA I spoke to said she had no idea when they would be released.

I assume WDW is similar to DLR ... Disney won't be releasing their rates until sometime in the Fall. Hence, no package prices til then either.

 

[amw]

Since Aeroplan is the world's most inconvenient rewards system, there are no flights available (on points) when I want to go (haven't been since I started trying to book in May this year).

Soooo, I either pay cash for the whole trip or I try to find some other way to use the points (by paying for part of an ACV vacation package).

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I know aeroplan gets a lot of negative feedback on the board, but what you say is impossible. Aeroplan always has seats available. They only have 5 seats per flight at the 25,000 rate. Any additional seats can be "purchased" at the 40,000 rate. If you have extra points to use, you shouldn't have any problems booking

March Break is a really busy time to book with only 7 months out -- are you flexible with your dates? It's always easier to get mid-week to mid-week flights.

 

[Scratch42]

I usually do book myself, but I was hoping to use my Aeroplan points to pay for some (or all) of our March Break trip.

Since Aeroplan is the world's most inconvenient rewards system, there are no flights available (on points) when I want to go (haven't been since I started trying to book in May this year).

Soooo, I either pay cash for the whole trip or I try to find some other way to use the points (by paying for part of an ACV vacation package).

I was told that when using Aeroplan Points to book flights, you must book the flight 10 days after the date that you want to fly! Then there is still no guarantee that they'll have it!

j

 

[mbb]

I usually do book myself, but I was hoping to use my Aeroplan points to pay for some (or all) of our March Break trip.

Since Aeroplan is the world's most inconvenient rewards system, there are no flights available (on points) when I want to go (haven't been since I started trying to book in May this year).

Soooo, I either pay cash for the whole trip or I try to find some other way to use the points (by paying for part of an ACV vacation package).

Ahhh

*mentally calculating how many points you must have*
.
.
.
.
.
*carrying the one..++, {x=150}..plus the 85 million...*



Hello Friend!!!

Seriously, I wouldn't be able to save them up that long!! I get to 15,000 and I'm searching flights to, oh....Truro.



Back to your original question, though..the tour companies should have their packages together any time now - I would say that it's one of those cases of keep calling.

And yep, Scratch...350 days out is usually almost too late for popular times of the year, and forget about getting more than 1 or 2 tickets. For our trip this past Feb/06, I started looking while we were still in Florida/05.

I could get 3 tickets, but not 4 - at the 25,000 point mark, for our dates.

I'm too cheap to "spend" the 40,000 points!! LOL!

 

[McKiggan]

AMW

I have just shy of 100K points. There are no flights left at the 25K/ticket (100K total) level. To fly the 4 of us to Fla. at the "Avenue" (most expensive) level is 150K. However, booking online, there are no flights (at any point level) for the departure/return dates we want. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

ACV allows you to use 85K of aeroplan points to pay for part of the cost of one of their packages. But I don't don't know what the cash component of the package will be so I don't know if it is worth using the points.

I am trying to decide if I am better off paying cash for the whole trip using my CAA discount to book at S/D (50% off!) and then get a "cheap" flight through Continental/United.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[McKiggan]

MBB:

Truro? You must be a fellow Bluenoser. I am sure you can sympathize with the difficulty in getting flights from Halifax to Orlando.

I actually tried to book our March trip for '07 the day we got back from our March '06 trip. Unfortunately I was trying to book a few days too early. I got tied up with work and when I finally remembered to try and book a few weeks later all the 25K level flights were gone. Doh! Serves me right.

Aeroplan does allow you to use 24K points to book a night at the S/D. So I can get 3-4 nights "free" and then use my CAA to get the 50% rack rate (about $200/night) which will mean I will only have to pay flight (about $3K) and 3-4 nights at S/D at $200/night. So total will be about $4K for air and hotel. Not bad.

I am hoping I can do better than that by using my points to pay for (part of) an ACV package.

Whew, another long post.

 

[Figment's friends]

I am assuming you mean ten days before you fly. Otherwise your flight would be gone.

I was told that when using Aeroplan Points to book flights, you must book the flight 10 days after the date that you want to fly! Then there is still no guarantee that they'll have it!

j

 

[McKiggan]

Figment:

I think Scratch meant 354 days before you fly (a year less ten days).

 

[Scratch42]

Ok, this is the way it was explained to me................

I want a flight for August 18, 2007........

I have to phone August 28, 2006 to get my flight.........That is when AC releases Aeroplan Seats.

 

[amw]

AMW

I have just shy of 100K points. There are no flights left at the 25K/ticket (100K total) level. To fly the 4 of us to Fla. at the "Avenue" (most expensive) level is 150K. However, booking online, there are no flights (at any point level) for the departure/return dates we want. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

ACV allows you to use 85K of aeroplan points to pay for part of the cost of one of their packages. But I don't don't know what the cash component of the package will be so I don't know if it is worth using the points.

I am trying to decide if I am better off paying cash for the whole trip using my CAA discount to book at S/D (50% off!) and then get a "cheap" flight through Continental/United.

Sorry for the long post.

Have you thought about using your points for WDW passes? You could get 2 adult 7-day premium passes? I know it seems like a lot of points, but if you're not going to use them to fly...

http://www.aeroplan.com/use_your_miles/gifts_and_indulgences/search_results.do

Sorry, it won't let me link. Access aeroplan.com. Go to "Use Your Miles" then "Gifts & Indulgences" and select "Disney tickets" for more info

I did the whole countdown thing for my March break trip to California next year. We were able to get our 4 seats no problem, but I know that's not a convenient booking method if you're not an anal pre-planner like me

In fact, what I liked about aeroplan was that it was the same points to go to California as it was to go to Florida. So, we thought we might as well try it out.

Edit: Here's the info from the site:
7-Day Magic Your Way Base Ticket with Park Hopper Option - Child -- 35,000 Miles
7-Day Magic Your Way Premium Ticket - Child -- 40,000 Miles
7-Day Magic Your Way Base Ticket with Park Hopper Option - Adult -- 42,000 Miles
7-Day Magic Your Way Premium Ticket - Adult -- 47,000 Miles

 

[casper_jj11]

I'm flying down on points in August. I booked in May. There was nothing available online and I called 4 times and talked with people. Got 4 different answers but one asked about flying into Tampa and I said no. She told me the flight availability anyway and for some reason, I jotted it down. I decided after to do it and called back. The agent had no idea and til I gave the flight numbers, couldnt figure out where the flight was and kept saying it was already full. finally, we found out that it wasnt full, it was US Airways from Ottawa to Tampa with a stop in Phili and because it was star alliance, we only had to use 25k pts per person. It worked out great. We're renting an SUV for the full duration for $223. The moral: keep calling back and giving different routes (ie: thru phili, thru Washington, etc)... & look at US Airways website (and maybe others... not sure) to get flights and numbers to see if you can fly it on points. To this day, if you go on AC website or aeroplan, those flights arent listed because they're strictly US Airways flights yet we have our tickets on points despite that.

Joanne

 

[Ontmomof4]

AMW

I have just shy of 100K points. There are no flights left at the 25K/ticket (100K total) level. To fly the 4 of us to Fla. at the "Avenue" (most expensive) level is 150K. However, booking online, there are no flights (at any point level) for the departure/return dates we want. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

ACV allows you to use 85K of aeroplan points to pay for part of the cost of one of their packages. But I don't don't know what the cash component of the package will be so I don't know if it is worth using the points.

I am trying to decide if I am better off paying cash for the whole trip using my CAA discount to book at S/D (50% off!) and then get a "cheap" flight through Continental/United.

Sorry for the long post.

What does SD stand for.I am looking to plan a trip and need to use all discounts as I can to be able to book a trip for 6. Thanks

 

[mbb]

What does SD stand for.I am looking to plan a trip and need to use all discounts as I can to be able to book a trip for 6. Thanks

Hello! and Welcome to the Dis!!!

S/D stands for Swan/ Dolphin - on of the onsite hotels at WDW Resort...they're not run by Disney, they're Sheraton/Westins, IIRC.

Feel free to post a whole thread/new post, Ontmomof4 We'd all love to help you plan a discount trip to WDW! Give as your dates, who's going and what you're thinking about - it's what keeps all of us "dreamin' of Disney" between our vacations!!

Excellent suggestions for points use, Joanne and amw

 

[McKiggan]

AMW:

Yeah, thought about using points to by my passes, but the points/value ratio is pretty low. 40K points for an adult 7 day ticket that costs about $260 seems a bit stiff (when compared to 45K points for a flight to Fla that would cost me $900-$1000).

Last year I used points to pay for our room at POFQ for 8 days. That was great! Wish Aeroplan would do it again.

As I menioned above, I am leaning toward using the 24K points/night deal to pay for 3-4 nights at the Dolphin. (Usually $300 + /night)

My CAA discount (or starwood points) will give half the rack rate for the other 3-4 nights