Segment-by-segment searching for award travel? t
 

It's been a while since I redeemed miles for air travel, and I'll admit I don't keep up with the latest news on program changes.

Still, I have been dismayed by my inability to put together award tickets using the old segment-by-segment approach. All of the programs I look on -- AA, Delta, and United -- seem to price each segment separately if I try to search via this method; I have access to the fewest-mile redemption only through itineraries selected by the airline.

Is this the way it is now? Or am I doing something wrong?

Nice randon "t" in the title....

...and nice typo in "random" -- I'm going back to bed.

The old-fashioned telephone can be helpful in sorting out complicated awards itineraries.

If you want to tell us where you are going we might be able to help.

The major airlines' FF programs have all gone to one-way awards rather than round trips, and don't allow en route stopovers (meaning more than 24 hours for international routes, less for domestic ones.)

When you use their websites and ask for award seats between, say, Los Angeles and Switzerland, their computers will look to see which of the eligible airlines (partners as well as the FF airline itself) have seats available in the exact same award "bucket" (fare class) for the whole journey. So if, say, AA has seats available to London but can't find the same fare class (say, "U") for a connection to, say, Geneva, it won't show the London seat in the first place, because the computer wants to get you all the way to Geneva. Hope that makes sense.

Where do you want to go, when, in what cabin (coach, business) and with which airlines do you have points or miles?

Thanks for the replies.

After compromising a bit on routes and dates, I have the flights now.

I was just frustrated by the inability to get creative with options, and I wondered why the segment-by-segment search doesn't seem to work any more on any of the sites where I have eligible miles (AA, Delta, or United).

Someday, I want to use money for overseas flights. It is much easier than miles, especially when you need 3 seats.

It's all designed to make it difficult, if you ask me. I've been searching flights for next summer at UAL.

Here's what makes me nuts.
If i search, say, vienna to sfo it may route me with a stop in zurich. there may even be several choices with that option.

but if i say, oh... i'll just get my own self to zurich and spend some time... then fly that same listed nonstop from zurich to sfo... NO ! It isn't listed. No flight zurich to sfo. maybe there will be a flight zurich to sfo stopping in some other city.

it's like they don't want you to fly nonstop.