I recently got back from a trip to Italy on which for the first time in my life I used a free overseas ticket with ff miles on Delta (into Milan, out of Rome). <BR>I was advised by Delta to book it a year in advance (they wouldn't let me book MORE than a year in advance). and when I did book there were no ff seats on the original dates I wanted , so I altered my departure date, the length of the trip, and changed my return from Milan to Rome. <BR>We all know that there are very few ff seats available on oversears flights. I still have miles to use someday and I'm wondering if anyone has strategies for making the process easier, especially that don't involve making reservations a year in advance.

Elaine -- Precisely because of the difficulties you articulated so well, I use my frequent flyer miles for Upgrades. There are more upgrade seats available than award seats, thus I stand a good chance of getting upgraded (to first or biz) on most flights assuming I can plan well enough ahead (which I usually can do if it's a leisure trip). <BR> <BR>So far this year, I've managed upgrades for travel from the west coast to Philadelphia, Hawaii, Indianapolis, Houston and Tampa. <BR> <BR>I don't bother to use miles to upgrade on flights of less than 800 miles because it's usually just bearable to sit in steerage for a couple of hours but not a whole lot longer than that! <BR> <BR>Cheers, <BR>Kat <BR> <BR>

Well, I don't have any suggestions except probably the obvious -- choose some time of the year that is not so popular, if that was the problem. Or switch FF clubs. I have some Delta miles although it will take a while for me to get a free European ticket, which is all I want. I don't fly that much, so it takes me forever to save them and I wouldn't spend them on little things. Anyway, I just wanted to say that 2 yrs ago I used 50K FF miles for a RT to Paris on my TWA FF account and had no problems like this at all--I booked my FF seat for exactly when I wanted, in July (I only had to try within a day or two of when I wanted) and I booked it only 3 months ahead of time, in April. So, it sounds like Delta screws over their FF members by not having enough seats available for that use. I was surprised at how easy it was myself as I'd expected the seats to be sold out already in April for heavy tourist season--it wasn't, though, there were even some empty seats on the plane (I might add this was the ill-fated TWA flight 800, only two days earlier than the one that crashed) <BR>

I too have found it very difficult to use my FF miles for free tix when I want to travel. So i use mine for half off fares. It probably isn't the best way to use them since 25000 is a free ticket and 20000 is half off (USAirways domestic) but it is nice to be able to book any ticket I want and then say I want half off. Especially if i have to fly at a certain time and there are no sales going on or i can't book in advance. Food for thought.

I'm using American Airlines for my ff ticket next April 1999. The only trouble I've had is with some reps trying to give me grief about making a reservation prior to having inough miles. I assured them I'd have all the miles well before April and reminded them that, due to limited availablility, that I needed to get my reservation in early. And most reps have been very accomodating. Then, you just call in every 30 days to extend your reservation until you have the miles to ticket it. I first called in for my reservation in June and have since changed it numerous times with little or no difficulty. So, what I recommend is to go ahead and make your reservation as early as possible to guarentee your spot and then call back with changes as plans change. Hopefully, they can accomodate your changes, but if not, atleast you're guarenteed your initial spot, if it still is workable. If not, there's no penalty in cancelling altogher ( atleast on AA - find out ahead of time with Delta). Good Luck.

Try Northwest/KLM, if it works good for you. Northwest FF program has been good to me. Using my FF miles, I made a reservation 3 to 4 months in advance to go to Spain in December. When I inquired the availability to fly into Paris or Rome, they said they had. Yes,the time of the year to fly is critical, I guess. Northwest/KLM has a partnership with Alaska Airlines which we used to go to Mexico a few times. <BR> <BR>One thing I don't like about most FF programs is that they imposed an expiration date. If I remember correctly, a few years ago (maybe about 7 years ago) milage did not expire...

Welcome to the MACFAC Club -- Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen. This year we used Delta ff to upgrade to business class - booked a year in advance. This year we tried to book to Europ next July and there were no upgrades nor were there any coach ff. I know friends who have used ff to upgrade to Europe by booking at the last minute. <BR> <BR>Moral -- ff are not given by the airlines because they lose money on them. They can be valuable -- but book in advance. At least Delta does not forfeit your ff miles if you fly Delta at least once a year.

I am using Continental FF to travel from Newark to Rio de Janeiro this December and I made the reservations in May. The only problems I had was that my original dates of travel were during the holiday blackout period, so Continetal was going to charge double the miles to fly that time. Luckily we were flexible, and just set our travel back a few days.

Elaine, I guess I have a success story. I have taken many trips (Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, US) on FF tickets but it has required much diligence and flexibility. I have to make it a project. First, I ask the airlines what FF seats are available and when, then I plan everything else around that because I find my job, family, and I are more flexible than the FF programs. It really gets challenging when you want to use hotel points in conjunction with the FF points, hotel programs are just as bad. In June I started my project of "Europe in November". I finally found FF seats on Delta going in and out of Zurich. This works for me as car rental is inexpensive (Alamo $144 USD @ wk for mid-size, VAT tax isn't bad in CH) and Zurich is centrally located. <BR> <BR>Of course this story isn't over yet...while I have 3 RT tixs in my hot little hands, I never know what I will encounter once I get to the airport. The last Delta representative I confirmed with (I confirm monthly out of paranoia)was astonished at my return date--Thanksgiving weekend, a blackout date. She said that it was an oversite but she left it alone. I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. <BR> <BR>Good luck on your next trip.

FF programs all acknowledge that there are limited seats and blackout dates. After a geat deal of experience (read: getting jacked around mercilessly) with several airlines, I have "come home" to Continental. In addition to the best ff program I've seen, the staff have been amazingly helpful and - wonder of wonders! - the information I get is pretty consistent from one agent to the next. It probably helps that I'm so pleasd with Continetal overall that it's become my airline of choice, so I accumulate enough mileage to qualify for elite level ff. Even without the elite status, though, it's been the smoothest experience. <BR>

Yesterday, I called American and reserved two seats to Lima, Peru from Dallas/Ft. Worth for our spring break (mid-March). I had to change our departure date by one day (and it's is working out better since it's a night flight) and we got our requested return date (on a Sun). We had absolutely no problem and we're only using 40,000 miles each. This is my second time to request an award, had no problem the first time either. Guess American just runs a better program!

Has anyone obtained a confirmed business class upgrade from Delta to Europe? They told me they would not be able to confirm an upgrade until flight time for any flight anywhere. Thanks.

Marija: I got a confirmed business class upgrade for next May, but it was a hassle. First, call the Delta "Partner's Desk" at 1-800-625 2050 and tell the representative what you want to do. If there are upgrades open on the flights you want, they will sell you a full price coach class ticket and lock in the upgrade. You then have to request the upgrade certificate. Be sure you ask the representative what number certificate to ask for - the Delta request form is very misleading as it says to ask for a D731 certificate for Europe. However, if you travel on a partner airline, the certificate number may be different - I had to pay $140 to exchange my first two certificates. When you get the certificate, you have to go to an airline ticket office or counter in a terminal to exchange the coach ticket for the upgraded ticket. I started working on this in July and just got my upgraded tickets last month. <BR>

I haven't had too much trouble with either AA or TWA. I agree with the advice to book any date and try to change it later. That has really worked for me. My husband and I recently flew TWA to Israel for its 50th year jubilee. We had to keep negotiating but finally ended up on the same flight oneway, on two different flights the other way. It seemed easier to negotiate in person at a TWA office if there is one nearby. That also allows you to book an exit row seat which may be more comfortable. <BR>

Re: Chris on American Airline. I can't believe that American wil let anyone make a ff reservation without having already earned the miles. No wonder those of us with banked miles about to expire can't get on a flight, if all the seats are tied up by people who may or maynot ever earn the right to go. I'm sorry but I can't vote for this strategy. It seems grossly unfair to others even though it may be personally benefitial.

No one has mentioned the United Airlines Mileage Plus FF program. I'm hoping to cash in some miles for a ticket to London, can only tell me what to expect when I call reservations? <BR>

Regarding United Mileage Plus, I just book 2 tickets from Washington to Frankfurt on United (50K each) plus 2 between Frankfurt and Italy on Lufthansa (20 K each). The agent was very helpful, even allowing us to regains some "expired" mileage for a small fee. We got the dates we wanted. <BR> <BR>One warning however: you still have to pay the taxes, about $85 each. <BR>

I know this sounds horrible and selfish, but since it's so hard to obtain ff seats, why would anyone share their secrets? If everyone knew the best ways, then it would become impossible. <BR> <BR>

I've had great success with American, and usually only book 6 months in advance. They seem to get the best agents to work the FF desk. Last trip we booked (Grenada in December) was proving to be a bit difficult, but the agent was creative. We ended up paying for the first class upgrade to get FF tix in 1st class; yes, the upgrade cost $300, but the regular fare was about $850, so its still a hell of a deal for the 30,000 miles it cost. And, they only had one seat available for one of the legs, but the agent got his supervisor to free up a second seat for my husband. <BR> <BR>Also, flexibility with dates helps. As well, we live in the DC area, so could fly out of BWI, DCA or IAD.

I remember seeing an article a while back in either Conde Nast Traveler or Consumer Reports Travel Letter that ranked the major US airlines in terms of how available FF seats were. It varied a lot by destination, e.g., an airline that was relatively good for FF seats to Europe could be bad for domestic US flights, etc. They're all cutting back overall, however. And the alliances are a double-edged sword -- sure, I can now use my United miles on Delta, which would seem to give me more chances to use them. But so can everybody else, which means more competition for the Delta seats. <BR> <BR>In my experience, flying from the west coast, it's a *lot* easier to get an FF seat on a domestic flight than on a flight to Europe. If you fly coast-to-coast, depending upon the time of year, the sales, etc., it may also make economic sense to use 50K for 2 domestic flights rather than one European one. But there's that psychological block -- it just doesn't seem as much fun to get two free visits to family back east as to get one freebie for a real vacation in Europe.