Anyone else have problems with FF miles?
Jan 16th, 2003, 12:03 PM
#1
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Anyone else have problems with FF miles?
I currently have my trip to Frankfurt booked with US Air using my FF miles...got an Envoy class seat for 80,000. We are set to travel Sept 18 (thursday) and I return on Sunday September 28th.<BR><BR>I decided to go back to school in the fall and would miss 2 Saturday classes and a friend's (recent announcement) wedding if we go.<BR><BR>JUNE is the only other month we can really fly but US AIR says they haven't released SEATS yet with the exception of PREMIUM awards for double miles (100,000 coach).<BR><BR>DOES anyone know of a way around this?? They claim they don't have seats to Europe released for June, July or August because it is PEAK time but according to their website SO is SEPTEMBER ???!!!???<BR><BR>I hate to give up more miles for coach on such a long flight ;-)<BR><BR>Know any tricks? Ways for me to convince the customer service people to switch my flight?<BR>
Jan 16th, 2003, 12:09 PM
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Nope!<BR><BR>But let me say I just booked to RT flights into Rome out of Paris with USAir (80,000 for 2 seats) and had a very positive customer experience. I had originally booked online (I love their new FF booking engine) but it only allows you to book RT into/out of a single city. <BR><BR>After thinking about it I decided to fly into Rome and out of Paris. Gave them a call and they quickly changed everything around. BTW, you can check to see if there are any availble seats using your FF Miles online.
Jan 16th, 2003, 01:03 PM
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I just went to US Airways website and logged into my account....there is a link to redeem miles AND the main page also showed the link as well and details/help.<BR><BR>It was pretty easy.<BR><BR>Unfortunately for me....all the dates I picked in June and July show SOLD out between PIT and Frankfurt...so much for flying in/out of a not as popular city.<BR><BR>I am going to have my husband call because his status is higher. We only need the FF miles for his flight because his company is flying him over for work after our vacation. Thought that would help me...but doesn't seem to make a difference. <BR><BR>
Feb 2nd, 2003, 12:26 PM
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I booked London for the first week of August using USAirways Dividend Miles and Marriott Rewards. Had no problems securing the airline dates I needed, and in Envoy Class, no less! The Marriotts were likewise easy to book.
Feb 2nd, 2003, 01:19 PM
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Shannon, one trick that might help you is to make multiple phone calls until you get an agent who's willing to work with you. If one agent says there's no availability, just politely terminate the call and try again. There was a post on the board earlier today by someone who had success doing this. I'll see if I can find it for you.
Feb 2nd, 2003, 01:57 PM
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Shannon, I had trouble using FF miles--called several agents, but no luck. Then my husband got on the phone and made the same resevation I was trying to get with no problem at all. It might have just been a coincidence, but if you can't get what you want, have your husban/s.o. give it a try. <BR><BR>Good luck.
Feb 2nd, 2003, 02:21 PM
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My husband and I have frequent flyer miles with Northwest (~70K each) and I tried booking tickets to Paris since last September for June 2003 tickets and there were no seats available. I called NWA and the customer service rep said that she is looking at the same website as I have and if I don't find any seats then she won't find one too. Its really frustrating with Northwest to the point that I just want to use my FF miles ANYWHERE!! I tried booking Chicago to San Diego last week for every single day in August 2003 and there were no seats available!!BTW, I am talking standard awards not the Rule Buster awards. I don't know what to do!!!
Feb 3rd, 2003, 01:07 AM
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During the winter and spring, free trips to Europe are often easy to get. During the summer, I wouldn't be surprised if only 1 seat was available (so that they could say "some" are available)
Feb 3rd, 2003, 01:37 AM
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The availability of FF seats certainly varies by season/destination. I'm sure that at certain times of the year, minimum level award seats are essentially non-existent on some flights. JoyC, if you want to e-mail me ([email protected]), I'll share a technique with you for finding seats on Northwest that can save you some time. (It is specific to NWA).
Feb 3rd, 2003, 03:55 AM
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One thing is for sure about FF programs,tons of red tape. I think upgrades are the most difficult to cash in on. For the most part,you need to purchase the highest published fare to get an upgrade,at least that is what I find. I just purchased tickets to paris on delta and the "upgradable" fare is $950. I'd rather fly coach and use the miles to earn a free ticket later. I find the Delta skymiles the most difficult of all programs.
Feb 3rd, 2003, 05:02 AM
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Everytime I read these threads I am so glad that my FF miles are with American. Although it still takes planning way ahead, I have never had a problem cashing them it -- and they have some of the most liberal policies around, including upgrades on their cheapest tickets, not just full fares. I've mentioned elsewhere the great trip I'm getting for 90,000 miles this summer -- First class from Ft. Lauderdale to New York with a stopover, then Business Class to London for a couple of weeks, then BA business class to Berlin. And a return Business Class from Paris to Miami, all on one free ticket. We had originally ticketed this to spend a month at the beginning in NYC, but budget has cut us back to only a brief three day stopover. I called to see if I could change the dates expecting to pay a lot for the change and it was done for free with a cheerful attitude. They don't even charge if you change your free FF tickets!!
Feb 3rd, 2003, 05:24 AM
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I just booked four tickets with Delta using skymiles. I called Delta and Continental the beginning of January for travel in June and got lucky with Delta. Each agent I spoke to on the phone was very helpful. I used points from american express which I put into the Delta skymiles account.
