I’m not gonna lie, this hobby is overwhelming, so what you’re feeling is totally normal. You will “get most of it” eventually. Giving yourself less than two years planning makes things all the more stressful but not undoable.
@Haley R managed it with less than two years planning.
Please do not think for one second you are trying to go too big too soon. My very first foray into travel hacking wound up with me booking lie flat international first class seats. I was just as overwhelmed and many years later still am some days. The good thing about this hobby is that pretty much whatever you want to do, some blogger already did it and published a how to on it. The great thing about this hobby is that you have the support and help of the phenomenal group we have here on the DIS in this thread.
I always like to say have a pan A and a plan B. Let your UR points to purchase a flight through the UR portal in economy be your plan B. Plan A should be the UR to VS transfer to book ANA. When you see the availability on United, call VS and confirm it is really there and not phantom space. Have them hold the flight and transfer your miles and then book with a same day “ fake news return flight.” When your real return flight shows up call VS and change your “fake news” return to your “for reals” return.
Let me try to explain partner awards a bit here. Most airlines belong to an alliance, or group that partners with each other The big 3 are Star, One World and Sky Team. Some airlines don’t belong to an alliance but still partner with other airlines that may belong in different alliances. Alaska Air is one, which is why their miles are considered so valauable as they have good partners in different alliances.
Cash money, credit cards, UR, MR, TYP used as money in their respective portals allow you to purchase any flight on any airline with no restrictions as long as you have the money or points.
Each individual airline has their own individual form of “currency” in the form of miles. Each airline also sets their own “prices” in the form of miles for what they will let you book. Each airline will allow a certain amount of their seat inventory to be booked with their miles on their planes. The airline will also allow a certain number of seats on their airline to be booked by one of their partners.
Let’s say ANA has 8 first class seats on a plane. All 8 seats are available to be purchased with real money or points like UR, MR, TYP being used as real money via a portal. I can pay $22,757 on my credit card for one RT flight. Yes, that is how much it really costs. I can use 1,517,134 UR points with my CSR account on the UR portal, I can use 22,757,000 TYP or the same amount in MR and then get back 796,495 a few weeks later if I have the business Plat card.
Of those 8 seats that ANA has in first, they might make only 6 of them available to be booked with their own ANA currency miles through their own website platform or by calling them. ANA decides their price will be 150,000 ANA miles and their “store” opens at 355 days out to book. Of those 6 seats available for an award flight ANA may decide that they will allow 2 of them to be booked by their partners. Think of partner awards like seats that are “on sale”. The only way to know if there is a partner award or seats on sale is by checking a partner website or “store” that shows the availability. If I want to use the currency that belongs to a different “store” then I have to go to that “store” to book it. ANA won’t let me buy an award flight at their store with someone else’s currency.
The partners set their own pricing for whatever suits them. United and VS are both ANA partners. Their “stores”may not open until 330~ days out. So, even though ANA is giving them some “on sale” seats they can book I still have to wait until their stores open for business. I can book an ANA flight on United with United miles if ANA has made inventory available to partners. The same with VS. United may decide that an ANA flight will be 400,000 United miles and VS decides an ANA flight is 110,000 VS miles. Clearly, I want to use VS currency because it costs less. But VS won’t show me what is “on their ANA section and shelf” to buy with VS miles on their website. United will. So I search United for the ANA flight and then call VS to book it with them. It doesn’t matter what United is charging with their miles since I’m not buying it form them.
So think of partner airlines like different stores, selling their brand and some partner branded inventory that is “on sale”.
I hope this helps.
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safe to app for CIP2 now?
