Italy Airfare with FF miles?
 

Hi! First time poster trying to arrange honeymoon in Italy. We have enough FF miles through Alaska (partners with NW/KLM/ Continental/American/BritishAir) for one ticket. Any ideas on how to get the best price for the other ticket and still fly together (I mean it is our honeymoon). Thanks!!

Provided you can get the award ticket booked (which is not a given), you should be able to go back and book the very same itinerary on a paid basis for the other passenger. You can either do this over the phone or online, but if you both tickets on the phone at the same time, you will be on the same flight record tobegin with. You could book the tickets independently, with identical itineraries. Then just call in to have the records put together and select seats.

There is no one foolproof best way to go about this, but I would start with the simple tools like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and see which of those airlines has a published fare and routing that looks like what you are trying to find. With a city of origin and approximate dates, "we" might be better able to tell you what to anticipate.

But then, ultimately, I think you are going to have to go through the "partners" desk of Alaska - - and they in turn have to submit a request. Each request can take 20 minutes to 48 hours. I almost feel like I want to prepare you for disappointment - - unless perhaps your wedding is next (mid)-January.

Another very good resource for a question like this is Don on the Cheap flights forum of www.eurotrip.com - - he knows everything.

However it works out for you, congratulations on your new life in marriage.... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

Wow, typos! But you get the idea anyway: it's fine to book the tickets as singles on identical itineraries, but you need to call to put the two records together (because it will facilitate sitting together and also accommodate any potential changes in the schedule that could occur.)

I would definitely book the FF seat first, since your opportunities/options will be fewer...and do it the earlier the better. One word of advice: Be flexible as possible with your departure and return dates.
Then, start looking for the best deal on your paid seat.
Remember, should you not be able to work it out (i.e., book both tickets on the same flight itinerary) you still have time to cancel the FF reservation without a penalty.

hmmm...sounds like I need to book this asap. Planning to book the first of March once al our miles are in. For REX-we're leaving from SFO on or around 5/23. Does that change anything? Thanks!

Yes. It makes me very much more concerned that your chances are poor. The only tip I can think of, is that you should be prepared to ask for ANY gateway city in Europe. You can get to Italy from any other country cheaply.

And are you getting married on the 21st? or 22nd? If you have a rasonable shot at getting this award ticket, it might be on Tue or even Wed (25 or 26). It seems like Mon May 31 is Memorial Day - - or could you stay away two weekends? I cannot begin to guess when you may be able to find a return seat.

You need to have a plan for buying BOTH tickets, or putting off until fall.

WE tried to use our points for a May 13-25 trip..We started 3 months ago and finally purchased our tickets a couple weeks ago. For 1st class I suggest 8-12 months in advance. We were able to get free coach with points ( 13.5 hours of layovers). Instead, we saved the points and will start earlier next time.

I was able to get a ticket through American's partnership with Swiss Air.It has a few stopovers but isn't tooooo bad.I got the "off season" rate of 40,000 miles pp economy.