How to cash in frequent flyer miles ?

[lampy]

I have enough frequent flyer miles for two round trip flights to Hawaii. I am planning for a trip in 2002 or 2003 and want to know how this works. Can any experienced flyer help?

The miles are with Delta and I am a DVC member so I am trying to coordinate flights with an exchange with Interval International for a Hawaii vacation. I have heard that you should get the tickets as soon as possible (at the 50 week window).

How do you request the tickets? Are they for segments or the complete flight? How tough is it to get the flights and dates you want? Should I get the tickets first or make the hotel reservations first?

Any tips would be appreciated

 

[dvc_john]

That could be a little tricky, since both frequent flyer flights and II exchanges may require some flexibility.
On flights, you can usually book 11 months out. I've never done it, but some have reported that you can book the outbound at 11 months and have it held, then call back 11 months out from the return and complete the booking. I've always just booked at 11 months out from the return. I have ff flights to Honolulu for November booked 11 months in advance, and had to adjust the outbound by 2 days from what I wanted. (I also have ff flights to Europe for April, and got exactly what I wanted).
If you were paying for a hotel reservation, I would say book the ff air first, then the hotel.
But II exchanges also may require some flexibilty (you may be offered a different week than you wanted, or the week may start on a Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday), so it's difficult to say what to do. I know exchanging DVC will give you priority in the exchange system.

Good Luck!

 

[lampy]

Thanks dvc_john. This is what I suspected. I am thinking I will have to book the II exchange for the middle of the trip and may have to book hotels for each end of the trip.

Are the ff tix good for all the segments? or do I need one for each segment of the flight?

 

[ducklite]

The FF ticket is a r/t ticket. But, I am assuming you realize that HI is more points than the continental US. Generally double the points.

Anne

 

[dvc_john]

Yes, the ff ticket is round trip. But, if you are traveling to any other islands, it will not include inter-island airfare. However, you can fly into one airport, and leave from another.
If I do more than one island in Hawaii, I usually fly to one island from the continental US (eg Maui), and fly home from another (eg Honolulu). Then I only have to pay for one inter-island flight (Maui-Honolulu).

 

[lampy]

Thanks guys. I am starting to get the picture. I understand HI has different miles required vs continential US. How hard is it to get your dates? and is there any "fees" the airline charges to redeem ff tix?

 

[dvc_john]

I know there are some taxes that must be paid with a ff ticket for international travel. I don't recall ever paying any fees for Hawaii though.

As for dates, I've never had any real difficulty as I book early. But I always travel off-season (or as off-season as Hawaii gets). It may be different during the busy seasons.

 

[lampy]

Thanks for all the help dvc_john. You seem to know a lot about travel to HI. When is the "busy" season? We usually travel in March and October. I noticed the weather never really changes there.

 

[dvc_john]

Not really sure. I've been there in September, November, early December, and May. I think March may be a busy time. I know Christmas thru early spring is busier. And probably summer also.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

Hawaii is not international travel. its part of the 50 states!

Hawaii and vegas are the 2 that go first with FTP tkts. I would suggest booking them ASAP and also be flexible 2-3 days in either direction for booking. in fact if you don't get what you want on the first call. hang up and call back. and keep calling. see fi they will waitlist you too on what you really want. and keep in mind too the "standby" option as well. if you have a confirmed seat for say a monday but you reall want to come home on sunday and the flight is open(meaning they have seats available) then you can get on that flight on sunday instead.

 

[dvc_john]

Yes Beverly Lynn, I'm quite aware that Hawaii is one of the 50 states!!! Also, Alaska lol.
Actually, I'm quite good at geography, and have traveled extensively. And I know the difference between Iowa, Idaho, and Ohio too!

I was just remarking that sometimes there are fees (international for example), but that I couldn't recall there being any fees for Hawaii. After all, Hawaii has different mileage requirements for ff tickets, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for fees to be different either.

 

[dvc_john]

lampy:

Speaking of taxes, I believe that Hawaii has some sort of occupancy tax on timeshares. Sort of to replace the hotel/motel tax that hotel guests pay. Don't recall how much it is though.

 

[lampy]

My ff miles are with Delta. I also have a lot with NWA. Does anyone (Beverly) know if one is better than the other when trying to get the dates and times you want?

 

[travelcoupons]

Originally posted by Beverly Lynn
in fact if you don't get what you want on the first call. hang up and call back. and keep calling.

By the way, you don't have to monkey around with all that calling.
Just go to www.delta.com . Log in with your Skymiles # (in the box in the upper left hand corner)
Then click 'SKYMILES' , and on the next screen click on 'AWARD TICKET' and .....
you can check your dates for availability of FF tickets or book a FF ticket if you choose.

You can do the same for Northwest at https://www.nwa.com/cgi-bin/atrredir.cgi

I usually find better availability on Delta for my dates, but that can vary by where you are travelling to/from. Also keep in mind an award ticket to Hawaii from the Continental US is only 30,000 miles on Delta, vs. 35,000 on Northwest. This could lead to a more difficult time finding awards on Delta to Hawaii.

 

[Beckles]

If you can not find availability on Delta, you can also book an award on United using Delta miles, though I think their coach class award may be 5,000 miles more than Delta.

Similar situation for Northwest in that you can also use your Northwest miles to book an award on Continental.

When we went to Hawaii a few years ago (in early November), we were able to book two First Class awards on the exact days we wanted a few months in advance on both Delta and United using Delta miles (ended up taking United over Delta for unrelated reasons), so there are times of the year where there is plenty of availability.