Frequent Flyer Miles to Italy
 

Ok, I'm planning my first solo trip to Italy (been there twice before with my husband) for May 2007 and I've been getting lots of really great advice and ideas on how to go about planning it all.

One piece of advice was to fly into one airport and fly out of another so I don't back-track. Originally I was going to fly into Rome and drive up to Tuscany, stay a week and then drive back down to Rome to fly back home. I think the idea of flying into Rome and out of Florence/Milan is great but, is it possible to do that if I'm using Delta's Frequent Flyer Miles? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
~Ahissa

Open jaw makes sense when you are starting in one city (Rome) and ending in another (Venice). It keeps you from backtracking. If you are only going to Tuscany, then I would stick with flying in and out of Rome. Milan is further away. You might consider Pisa's airport also.

Several people in my office tried to get Delta ff flights to Italy last year and could only get flights in and out of Zurich.

Yes, it's called an "open-jaw" award and it's easy to book using any FF plan.

Yes you could do the open jaw tickets but you MUST start trying to get them ASAP as the flights only have so many frequent flyer mile seats. Delta flies to Rome,Milan and Venice all nonstop out of Atlanta and JFK. There are also nonstops to Rome out of the Cincinnati airport. So figure out what days you want to go and apply for the seats today as you have a better chance on those seats a year out. Good luck!

I just booked an open-jaw flight into Rome and out of Venice on Delta with frequent flier miles. It definitely can be done, will cost you 100,000 miles from the U.S. to Europe plus taxes (about $45). You can even book open-jaw FF tickets on-line which is what I did. Delta opens up FF seats 360 days in advance of the flight date so the earlier you try the more likely you are to get what you want. You can get potentially better times and routings on the phone with them because then you have access to SkyTeam partners (Alitalia, Air France, etc.).

With Delta awards, you have a choice of either one stopover OR an open jaw. The first day you can start checking for award availability is 331 days (not 360). That doesn't mean that every flight will have award space on that date. Award inventory can get added at any time though it's a good idea to start checking as early as possible.

For one ticket, it will cost you 50,000 miles in economy, 90,000 miles in business, or 100,000 miles in Continental's BusinessFirst. Speak with an agent at the partner award desk and they can check availability on all Skyteam carriers for you. Good luck!

I've done open jaw using Delta SkyMiles without a problem. Last time at into Venice, out of Milan.

Unless Delta's recently changed their policy it does not take more SkyMiles to use the open jaw option, and 50,000 will suffice if you choose the SkySaver option (in which case availability is limited). If you choose the SkyChoice option (which does require 100,000 miles) then you can go anytime and anywhere you'd like so long as you're flying entirely on Delta equipment (and this is no problem for flights to Italy).

I agree with advice upthread, though: if you're not headed any farther north than Tuscany you may as well fly in and out of Rome.

Watch out with Delta because they will want to charge you 100,000 miles instead of 50,000. Be flexible. Be willing to fly in and out of any airport in Europe. You can book a cheap flight with another airline to fly for example from Berlin to Rome.

And yes, do this 11 months in advance.

As long as you're flexible, getting an economy award for 50,000 miles shouldn't be a problem. There are enough partners (Continental, Northwest, KLM, Air France, Alitalia, Czech Air) which combined with Delta produces over 100 transatlantic flight options a day. Therese is correct in that adding an open jaw doesn't change the mileage requirement.

Don't be reluctant to book a FF ticket far in advance of your planned trip. I used 50,000FF Miles to go Rome through Atlanta, spend 3 days in Rome and then those same 50,000 miles got me on an Alitalia Flight to Bologna and then a return trip out of Bologna. Now, because FF seats are not plentiful, some of the days and times may be a problem, so be flexible. Since, you are planning on going in May, you may not encounter too much of a problem. I am flying out on June 17 and returning on July 3rd. Because that is deep into the summer season, I had to be flexible in when I could fly.