Delta Sky Miles tickets
 

Maybe someone out there can help me with this. I called Delta and tried to buy two round trip tickets and buy two round trips with Sky Miles from Orlando to Honolulu ANY two week period between May 1 and August 31. The agent searched and searched and finally came up with a 4 PM flight on May 2 and a 10:30 PM flight on May 18 that makes three long stops and ends up taking 18 hours. Which would put us into the third week of vacation, which we can't have. The agent insisted there was no way we could leave Hawaii one day earlier. <BR> <BR>Does anyone know if I should keep trying or if this is as good as it's going to get? We're still trying to get the days off, but it doesn't look good. Thanks!

We have had more trouble using Delta FF miles than several other airlines in the past. With curbacks on flights, I am sure things have gotten worse. Is it possible to book SkyMiles trip on their website (you can with some airlines and not with others). If so, try that. Or, call back and see if another Delta agent can do better.

I've had similar frustrations with other airlines (Northwest, most recently). I live in HI and know that it is often hard to get FF rewards to/from the islands. Recently I started buying tickets and just using miles to upgrade to business or first class. I know that isn't quite a good as getting a free ticket - but at least allows you to use miles and travel in greater comfort. I've seen some pretty good fares recently for Hawaii, so maybe upgrading is another approach you might consider.

Scigirl's approach makes a lot of sense. From a purely economic standpoint, upgrades may provide the very best value per mile exchanged and you're still earning miles on the flight under that scenario, too. Free "W" class tickets to Hawaii are very limited. Unless you're willing to pay the premium and exchange more miles for less restrictions, it's a tough row to hoe. If you don't want to upgrade or exchange more miles than the minimum award level, you should probably plan on using your miles for tickets to a destination that is less pressured.

I was able to get fairly decent flights only by choosing an alternate airport (SF instead of LA) and reminding the agent that United flights could be used, also. Try another call, another agent...good luck.

We are a family of six and have gone to Hawaii twice on "free" Delta Sky Miles tickets. Both times I have booked them 8 months ahead. I would have booked them further out but our dates changed so I lost a month. That month made a difference in terms of having to stay a couple of days longer, layovers, etc. Six seats are tough to come by so I was pleased anyway. I didn't know that Delta sky miles tickets can be used on United flights, is that really true?

I pleased to let you all know that Delta answered my e-mail question immediately and suggested I go to their new Awards section of the Delta Sky Miles website. I did and was immediately able to get the days I wanted. The website is great - instant answers!