Basic question about using points
 

Hello,

So, I have about 200K points with United (which is a member of Star Alliance).

I've searched their site for flights for a trip I want to take. I told it to search based on using Award travel (points).

Not a lot came up. When I search on a site like Orbitz, I see other flights on other airlines in the same alliance.

Does the United website show all possible flights in the alliance I could use my UA points with? If not, how can I determine this? I want to use my UA points on any flight in the Star Alliance list of airlines.

Thanks in advance!

Steve

I see Star alliance partner flights when I try to book an award flight on the united website.

What is your route, and dates? What you see on orbitz may be the same plane but listed as a code share by other airlines.

I'm trying to fly from Newark to Zagreb, Croatia on 9/10, and Dubrovnik to Newark on 9/19

I'm trying to fly from Newark to Zagreb, Croatia on 9/10, and Dubrovnik to Newark on 9/19

You are flying on relatively short notice when it comes to using FF miles. On UA website I see one stop options EWR to Zagreb on 9/10 for as little as 30k miles. Seems like a good option to me, no?

And the return for 55k miles, one or two stops.

At this point in time you can't be a chooser.

There are loads of flights from any airline or alliance, but that doesn't mean that all flights have award seats available for your travel dates. Try being more flexible on the dates, and something else may pop up. Otherwise, call.

Are you signed in to mileage plus when you are checking ? Make sure the box is checked on the bottom to check all star alliance flights.

In a pinch you can call and speak with the international desk- it will cost to book but might be worth it.

So, if I was booking this a year out, I'd see lots of other alliance flight options in the search results?

Thanks!

You might or might not. Some seats open up at the last minute, others are available only a year out. I don't know the ins and outs of the Star Alliance, but availability of award seats varies dramatically according to the date and destination. Often, you have to pay with a higher point-value to get your preferred itinerary.

Croatia is still very popular in September. There are forums that specialize in helping you with award travel. You might want to throw out a wider net to see if you can get the answer you want.

But do follow newtome's advice about boxes to check when doing your search. I'm more familiar with American, and I have always had better luck calling directly, finding options that were not otherwise available. But you pay for that service.

We are flying to Croatia in September using UA miles. I booked ~ 8 months in advance, partly because I was looking for business class seats for 3 people. We fly using Swiss/Croatian Airlines/Lufthansa.

OK, thanks for the info!