FF miles, which airline?

[disneyagain]

I know someone here will point me in the right direction.

we got pulled right into the free dining package and are planning another trip to WDW. We're trying to do this as inexpensively as possible (we did a DCL cruise last November and DH and I are going to San Fran for a week at the end of this month).

We've got our package booked, staying at POP. 8/13-8/19.

Now do we fly or drive. - We live in Upstate NY, so driving with 1 night hotel on way down and back would probably cost us approx $400-500 (gas, food, hotel). I'm thinking if we could find airfare in the $600 range (total), it would be worth flying. There are 4 of us.

I have enough Starwood points to transfer to an airline for 1 free rt ticket. Here's the clincher it says on their website that it takes 2-4 weeks for transfer to go through.....okay thats fine...but

Which Airline should I transfer it to? Once it goes, It's there.

USAir, AA, Delta, United and Northwest are the airlines that fly within a 1 hr radius of where we live....

Who normally has the best deals, and who's the easiest to get FF seats on?

THANKS!

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

I have seen a lot of people on these boards suggest www.flyertalk.com when someone asks just these questions.

I can tell you though the best one to get when you are simply acquiring airmiles is american airlines. I have found them very easy to use when getting non airfare items. Plus you can aquire airmiles very easily with out flying. If you sign up for american airlines you can get airmiles by renting a car from budget , staying at certain hotels, or if you sign up for Idine. The miles add up very quickly and are usually posted within a couple of weeks.
Just last november I redeemed 19000 miles for a 3 night stay during our last trip to universal.

You can also use your points to purchase a disney trip through there website. www.aavacations.com How great is that you can use your points to pay down your disney trip or pay off. (accomodations and packages)

I know this isn't what you asked but I would look into see which would benefit you most. Using your points for airfare or using them toward your (accomodations or packages)

Kimberly

 

[disneyagain]

Thanks....I'll check out flyertalk.

I'm leaning towards AA or USair at this point, but wondered if anyone had any good (or bad) experiences in redeeming their FF miles

 

[canwegosoon]

Do you have a FF number with each of those airlines? If so I would go in and check on each airline's website to check availbility. But personally I think with transfering points you are in a wait and see(what's left) position.

Have you tried www.itasoftware.com you can check all airports in a radius) or www.sidestep.com.

I also live upstate-Albany, and we have no good airfare too. But I would check Jet Blue or wait for the July sale on SWA(usually around July1)-you could buy tickets now on a DING or other sale, and get a lower ticket when they have the sale. Your fall back could be driving...also last summer there were Amtrak specials too.

I have had good luck getting great airfare out of NYC area.

 

[gw_lit]

Who normally has the best deals, and who's the easiest to get FF seats on?

THANKS!

Looking at your dates at Pop, I'm assuming you'd be flying down on a Sunday and back on Saturday. If that's the case, I would seriously doubt that ANY airline will have frequent flier seats available for weekend travel to Orlando 3-4 months out. If there are seats (or a seat) available, it will most likely be on a flight leaving very, very early in the a.m. or very, very late at night (likely getting into Orlando around midnight).

Personally, I'd use my Starwood points for a nice hotel stay (or stays) and hope to get a good sale for airfare.

 

[NancyIL]

We have a lot of American FF miles, but I agree that you need to tinker with your dates online first. If you can get FF flights that you like, put the seats on hold online - the reservation will be held for 2 weeks. Then call Starwood and transfer the points to your AA account. It really doesn't take 2-4 weeks - more like a few days for the miles to be transferred. Remember to transfer in increments of 20,000 Starwood points - since 20,000 SPG points = 25,000 airline miles on most airlines.

**Oops...just noticed you need FOUR tickets! That will be hard to come by - but maybe you could get 1 or 2 seats using miles and pay for the other seats.

 

[canwegosoon]

And not Delta. I have done FF with USAirways and United...no problem.

 

[disneyagain]

I didn't realize you could put seats on hold.....?

I'm only using FF miles to purchase 1 of the 4 seats, paying for the other 3. We could always tweek the dates a little, I'm sure we could suffer through a few more days at disney

I'm also looking at the auto/train.

I can transfer points for that also....

might be an option and an adventure!