Airlines

[QUOTE=Artisttyp]I tried inputing some dates for Medellin. I could get there with my miles but the problem would be coming back! After looking at one way fares on avianca and american I realized that it would be cheaper to book a roundtrip ticket.

Does anyone know a trick to getting one way fares at a good price?[/QUOTE]Yes, I know quite a few tricks. If you're looking to use an award for one way, and buy the trip back, then that's pretty difficult for most international travel.

One of the best tools is still:

[url]http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego[/url]

For dates in August, I checked one way MDE-NYC, best fare was over $700. For a RT originating in NYC for the same dates, I see an AA flight (with connections in lovely Miami) for $365.

$365.70 in US Dollars.

1 adult @ $365.70

Show booking details.

This ticket is non-refundable.

Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.

Airport legend:



JFK: New York J F Kennedy.

MIA: Miami Int'l.

MDE: Medellin JM Cordova Int'l.



New York, NY to Medellin, Colombia: 2477 miles 8 hrs 45 min.

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA1291 on an Airbus A300 (jet) in coach class.

(food for purchase)

Departs New York, NY (JFK) Wed, Aug. 19 5:45a 3 hrs 4 min.

Arrives Miami, FL (MIA) 8:49a.

Layover in Miami 2 hrs 26 min.

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA919 on a Boeing 737 (jet) in coach class.

(lunch, movie)

Departs Miami, FL (MIA) Wed, Aug. 19 11:15a 3 hrs 15 min.

Arrives Medellin, Colombia (MDE) 1:30p.



Medellin, Colombia to New York, NY: 2477 miles 8 hrs 15 min.

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA924 on a Boeing 737 (jet) in coach class.

(breakfast, movie)

Departs Medellin, Colombia (MDE) Wed, Sept. 9 8:20a 3 hrs 20 min.

Arrives Miami, FL (MIA) 12:40p.

Layover in Miami 1 hr 40 min.

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA902 on a Boeing 757 (jet) in coach class.

(food for purchase)

Departs Miami, FL (MIA) Wed, Sept. 9 2:20p 3 hrs 15 min.

Arrives New York, NY (JFK) 5:35p

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]Yes, I know quite a few tricks. If you're looking to use an award for one way, and buy the trip back, then that's pretty difficult for most international travel. [/QUOTE]I appreciate the time you took to respond. Thank you. It seems like the rewards for one way tickets are very similar to what round trip tickets used to be minus the 12k restricted one way.

I think it might make more sense to wait until you get a free RT domestic and use that to make your international flight cheaper (ie. Go through miami) Even still timing might be an issue and you will find yourself with a long layover.

These miles programs are more of a nuisance than anything else. I believe there has to be more of a benefit to AA versus the customer. Most promotions for anything these days are questionable.

You are better off doing it the other way around. Buy the ticket out, and use your awards to come back. For some reason it's cheaper to buy tickets in the US, then when you are outside the US. E who is always at Mad, ask me too look for a one way ticket from EZE to NY and I notices there was a 200 dollar difference in price. If you start in NY it was cheaper, then if you start in BA. This was back in March. Even on round trips. Don't know why. My guess would be there is more competition in the US then outside. Plus back then, most 1 ways tickets where the same price as round trips.

[QUOTE=Tessan]You are better off doing it the other way around. Buy the ticket out, and use your awards to come back. For some reason it's cheaper to buy tickets in the US, then when you are outside the US. E who is always at Mad, ask me too look for a one way ticket from EZE to NY and I notices there was a 200 dollar difference in price. If you start in NY it was cheaper, then if you start in BA. This was back in March. Even on round trips. Don't know why. My guess would be there is more competition in the US then outside. Plus back then, most 1 ways tickets where the same price as round trips.[/QUOTE]That's the problem with many programs. They severely restrict awards to the general public. That is another big benefit for being top tier elite (and sometimes mid level) is that they open more awards.

One of the most common problems in using award tickets is that people take what the website says as gospel. There are often different ways to get to your city, that the website doesn't show, and that most agents won't check.

Always check for partners. AA has a lot of them. You'll generally have to call to use them. Sometimes they may charge you a phone fee for booking, but you're usually better off in the long run.

If you're only willing to fly direct, you're missing out on a lot of opportunities. I burned some miles last year to come back from Indonesia. This was after the merger was announced and trying to get a biz class seat out of NW was nearly impossible. I checked other cities in SE Asia, and finally found that if I did a one day stopover in Japan on the way there, and will stop in Seoul on the way back. Not the best way to do it, but a one day stop in these interesting cities won't really hurt me either.

As for our friend E, he learned the hard way about watching his frequent flyer account. Airlines like Delta are some of the worst at changing the expiration dates of the miles, and all of a sudden, "poof", they're gone.

There are ways to get to EZE for about $500-600 in Biz class, one way, but the method takes a lot of patience, and it's not something I'll publish how to do.

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]There are ways to get to EZE for about $500-600 in Biz class, one way, but the method takes a lot of patience, and it's not something I'll publish how to do.[/QUOTE]Does it involve a gun and mask?

[QUOTE=Daddy Rulz]Does it involve a gun and mask?[/QUOTE]Not in the least. I know a number of people who basically fly business class, wherever they want, for free or at a very low cost. Not buddy passes, not airline employees flying for free.

Most I won't disclose, for fear of ruining them. Some simple ones are: Citibank has an American Airlines credit card. They have offers from 25k to 35k mileage, once you spend $750. You can do two at one time, so you've got 50-70k plus your credit card spend. You can repeat this every two months or so (you must wait a bit over two months from the time the accounts were approved) Keep the card for a couple of months, and then cancel them, usually right after you're approved for for the new ones. You can get over 300k in free miles a year doing this. That's 3 free RT to EZE in Biz class every year, for very minimal effort.

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]Not in the least. I know a number of people who basically fly business class, wherever they want, for free or at a very low cost. Not buddy passes, not airline employees flying for free.

Most I won't disclose, for fear of ruining them. Some simple ones are: Citibank has an American Airlines credit card. They have offers from 25k to 35k mileage, once you spend $750. You can do two at one time, so you've got 50-70k plus your credit card spend. You can repeat this every two months or so (you must wait a bit over two months from the time the accounts were approved) Keep the card for a couple of months, and then cancel them, usually right after you're approved for for the new ones. You can get over 300k in free miles a year doing this. That's 3 free RT to EZE in Biz class every year, for very minimal effort.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the tips Jimmy Carter,

Your travel tips are far greater than were your Presidential policies.

Thanks again,

Jack

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]Not in the least. I know a number of people who basically fly business class, wherever they want, for free or at a very low cost. Not buddy passes, not airline employees flying for free.

Most I won't disclose, for fear of ruining them. Some simple ones are: Citibank has an American Airlines credit card. They have offers from 25k to 35k mileage, once you spend $750. You can do two at one time, so you've got 50-70k plus your credit card spend. You can repeat this every two months or so (you must wait a bit over two months from the time the accounts were approved) Keep the card for a couple of months, and then cancel them, usually right after you're approved for for the new ones. You can get over 300k in free miles a year doing this. That's 3 free RT to EZE in Biz class every year, for very minimal effort.[/QUOTE]JC (Idont mean Jesus Christ)

Great idea to get miles, if it works. Pretty bad for your credit rating!

B.

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero] You can get over 300k in free miles a year doing this. That's 3 free RT to EZE in Biz class every year, for very minimal effort.[/QUOTE]Sr. Cartero,

While I definitely admire your style and certainly flying for free beats the shit out of paying, FF programs don't always work out for some of us.

I generally fly between BsAs and either California or France 4-5 times per year with approximately 2 weeks notice and usually have to fly on specific dates. Any tips for getting the most out of my flying dollar?

-S

[QUOTE=Bizzie]JC (Idont mean Jesus Christ)

Great idea to get miles, if it works. Pretty bad for your credit rating!

Be.[/QUOTE]Not really. You might take a hit of 5 points or so for some of the hard pulls. If you apply for both AA cards on the same day, it only counts as one. I know guys who have been doing this again and again for years.

[QUOTE=Schmoj]Sr. Cartero,

While I definitely admire your style and certainly flying for free beats the shit out of paying, FF programs don't always work out for some of us.

I generally fly between BsAs and either California or France 4-5 times per year with approximately 2 weeks notice and usually have to fly on specific dates. Any tips for getting the most out of my flying dollar?

-S[/QUOTE]Just pick an airline that you can get good benefits from. If you're using Flying Poo, er, Flying Blue (AF / KLM) then they've axed their frequent flyer program as of April this year. Reduced mileage earning tickets, and upped the amount of miles you need.

Usually American Airlines or Continental are my favorite FF plans. I can't say that I really fly AA a lot, but their miles are some of the best.

The most important thing you need to determine is what you want. Do you want free upgrades, free trips in coach, free trips in Biz / FC? Whatever you do, you should be at least Gold status, and possibly Platinum, with the amount you're flying.

If you're buying revenue tickets, and flying on short notice, you may end up paying through the nose. In some cases, you can actually find a RTW in Biz or Coach that is cheaper than paying the normal fare.

Right now RTW trips are cheaper in certain countries. There are forums on [url]www.flyertalk.com[/url] that talk about specifics. That's where I get 75% of my info, and you can find out most stuff by just cruising the forums there.

For what it's worth, I tried applying for a second credit card from United Airlines a couple years ago on an offer that included first year fees waived and 25K miles, right after I cancelled my previous card which was up for renewal. They let me have it for no annual fee, but wouldn't give me the bonus miles. Apparently, they keep track of multiple accounts for the same person.

United Airlines is offering reduced mileage award trips to BA this summer for 40K miles (usually 55K) The promo is until 8/31 for trips booked by 5/24. This is a great deal for people flying from DC since UA has a non-stop flight from IAD to EZE. Also, you can get additional UA miles by applying for thier buisness and gold class cards.

[QUOTE=BA Luvr]For what it's worth, I tried applying for a second credit card from United Airlines a couple years ago on an offer that included first year fees waived and 25K miles, right after I cancelled my previous card which was up for renewal. They let me have it for no annual fee, but wouldn't give me the bonus miles. Apparently, they keep track of multiple accounts for the same person.[/QUOTE]Did I mention a United Airlines credit card? Each airline and bank that issues the credit card is different. I gave very specific details.

This is the special offer I'm taking advantage of to make this trip to Buenos Aires. Sweet deal. Took awhile to decide between Buenos Aires, Rio de Janiero and San Paulo.

I think I made a great choice.

Others should take advantage of this opportunity.

[QUOTE=Tequila Tim]United Airlines is offering reduced mileage award trips to BA this summer for 40K miles (usually 55K) The promo is until 8/31 for trips booked by 5/24. This is a great deal for people flying from DC since UA has a non-stop flight from IAD to EZE. Also, you can get additional UA miles by applying for thier buisness and gold class cards.[/QUOTE]