daffy_traveller

I am trying to get 4 mileage tickets to Vietnam or anywhere in the general Southeast Asia vicinity in December but it is taking twice the number of miles that they claim. I know it's a holiday season but I've been trying since January.
I have tried expertflyer.com but I'm not sure if I'm using it right :/
Any hints on getting 4 people over to SEA on miles?
Thanks

whataboutit

What kind of miles?

Craig

and where are you flying from?

Hanuman

Try getting flights with your miles to a major city in SEA and then fly with a low cost airline to and from Vietnam. December is a peak month!

lcuy

Try doing two people on one flight and two on another. Four is a lot to hope for unless you use the higher miles type ticket.

rhkkmk

my best results are had calling the airline direct and paying the small extra fee..

i live in boston and i often find that flying from nyc makes for more availability, but not always, then i just buy jet blue to and from jfk.

i also call about 330 days in advance.

depending on who your miles are with i specifically ask about flights on partners...like with delta miles i ask about korean flts and american miles i ask about finn air.

VN has few flts from usa if that is where you are coming from.. try bangkok or hong kong as a destination and then pay from there...

in other words go from major airports to major airports..

crosscheck

Which airline? Business or coach? Are you flying from the US? I have a lot of experience using miles for four passenger at the last minute (okay, I'm obsessed - a weird hobby), but need more info. The good news is that on many airlines, low mileage tickets DO open up for December.

Hanuman,lcuy and bob all gave excellent advice.

Other ideas:
- If some legs are available, break up your trip.
- You can book one-way (or multiple leg) mileage tickets and buy the return (some Asian airlines offer refundable tickets). I just did this for a trip to India in September.

Re: Hanuman's advice - A few years ago, we reserved four AA business tickets from LAX-Tokyo in November for December with the idea of buying discount tickets to BKK from NRT. But the mileage gods were smiling on us - we didn't have to do this because the BKK routing opened up. Once you have something booked, it's easier to change than to start anew.

Re: Bob's advice - did an extreme version of what he suggested for an Africa trip (but would work for Asia as well) - Used mileage to leave from Boston instead of LAX, returned to NY, bought domestic flights. We also broke up our trip, airline-wise. Used mileage from one airline to London and another from LHR to Nairobi.

Re: lcuy's advice - sometimes I hold tickets for 2 and 2 on different flights, then call and change.

And..There are also people you can pay to use mileage to get for you.

crosscheck

Oops, bad typo at the end. But I do know of a guy who my friend found on flyertalk. He specializes in using Amex points, but is a mileage genious. Not sure how much he charges.