barbfam

Hi, I have over 270,000 US AIrways FF miles (earned through credit card purchases over the years, so I am not Chairman's Preferred or even silver or gold level...)in any event, i was trying to "buy" 2 first class tickets to fort lauderdale for the end of june, leaving from hartford or any NYC airport. Mysteriously, every flight every day from every airport was "sold out", which made me suspicious bc who wants to go to fort lauderdale at the end of june? (i am taking my son to swim camp...)when i went to reserve just one ticket, there was no problem, i could get on any flight any day any time first class, using 50,000 miles. and when i went to select my seat on any flight, virtually all of the flights had ALL first class seats still available (ie they had sold none and no one else had purchased them with FF miles), so obviously, US airways had limited FF seats in first class to just ONE per flight (but who wants to travel alone?), at least for my level of FF status. how bogus! and when i tried to call and speak to a real person, it took many tries, and when i eventually spoke to a real person, they were so dense, they kept saying that they had sold all the FF first class seats, despite me pointing out to them that i saw the actual seat maps for the first class cabins and NO seats had been sold (i understand that airlines want to limit the number of FF seats, but limiting them to one is just a scam). i tried calling back several times, and eventually one agent sort of understood my point and offered to check with the seat inventory people to see if they would release another first class seat for me to buy at 50,000 miles (answer was "no"). interestingly, i could go on any flight if i was willing to purchase the second ticket for 90,000 miles...but it just seems that i should be able to buy 2 first class tickets for 50,000 miles each almost 3 months in advance, to a very undesirable location for that time of year, when the first class cabins are all completely wide-open, particularly since i am willing to leave out of any airport, any time of day over a 3 day time period. any suggestions? thanks, karen

Intrepid1

I guess you are the only one who finds it an "undesirable location."

Suck it up and whine to the airline!!!

MelissaHI

Maybe call corporate relations at (703) 872-5100? I have never done that, but a friend of mine did that with another airline a couple of years ago and succeeded.

barbfam

thanks melissa, i will try calling corporate relations - i did not even know that existed. i know that i should not expect much, as FF miles have lots of limitations, etc, but I DID choose my VISA credit card based on the fact that I would be earning FF miles that I thought I could use somehow someday. i have tried to use my miles MANY times in the past several years, without success, and now i am just fed up after figuring out their scam with the first class seats. (alternatively, i guess i could have gotten an LL bean VISA and get free shipping for life or something!) but the fact is, i DID spend over $270,000 on my visa card over the years, charging private school tuition, (and paying off the balance every month), so I do feel a bit entitled to something....

karens

This is not a scam. The airlines only allow so many seats for FF awards. When they are gone, they are gone; however, sometimes airlines make more seats available closer to flight time. But there is no way to know this.

Actually, I just read a recent report that stated that frequent fliers had more success obtaining awards with USAir than any other airline. I think American was second. I forget which airline was the worst.

The secret to obtaining seats - book EARLY. I know some people cannot or do not want to do that. We've cashed in over 12 award seats in the past several years on USAir to all over the place, most recently to St. Thomas over Easter break. So they are available.

Patrick

Using FF miles (like collecting them) is all a big game. If you don't play by the rules (written and unwritten) then you lose the game.

We have never had problems cashing in our American FF miles. Why? Because we play the game. Our next cashing in will be for two Business Class tickets to Europe including two extra destinations in Europe for late May to early July of 2006. I'm already checking out the actual flights we'll want to take, and will soon calculate the actual days this year I must call (approximately 11 months before the flight date) to get the tickets we want. I will need to put the first leg of the flight on hold the first day they become available, then keep calling back as each additional leg becomes available until I have booked all four segments of the total itinerary. I don't anticipate many problems doing it that way.

But to be calling a couple of months before you want to cash in miles while other more "organized" people have had the past 7 or 8 months to already grab the available tickets, is not finding a scam, it's just not playing the game to your advantage.

HowardR

People seem to use the word "scam" rather freely--and recklessly--too often on this board.
Because you don't like the rules or restrictions doesn't mean it's a scam.
Further, as other have pointed out, to wait until only 2 months before your planned trip to attempt to use FF miles means that your chances are slim. Period. It's a simple as that;

P_M

You were given some very good advice on how to play the FF game when you posted this in the airline forum, and the advice here is also good. The bottom line is that you must plan ahead. Like Patrick and every other knowledgeable FF traveler, I book my ticket many months in advance. I recently booked a ticket for Jan. 2006, and of course, I got exactly what I wanted. It just doesn't work booking 2 months in advance, especially during a busy travel month like June.

jill777

I did use my united miles to Maui, a very poipular destination, they told me, I had to reserve it the day, and I mean the day it became available, which was 1 year in advance. When I called 1 year and 1 day later it was no longer available, and so we had to move back our vacation 1 day later. these frequent flyer miles seats are sold the day it comes out, so unless you plan way way way in advance forget about it.

Patrick

By the way, you would also be wise to hide your ignorance and not keep calling Fort Lauderdale "a very undesirable destination" in June. Boy, do you not understand. That is a very busy time in Florida as schools are out and families are in full vacation mode. Where do you get your information?

Dick

Limitations yes...scam no.

I used USAir FF miles to get 2 first class tickets to Italy for end of May travel.

As others have said, you need to understand the rules.

Samsaf

With Delta, you can hold tickets for two weeks without actually getting a ticket, so lots of seats are on old at any given time. If you don't get the flights you want, keep calling back.

We were able to get 5 FF seats to Hawai for June

Brian_in_Charlotte

Booking early works, but you can also often score those FF seats by booking late (start checking 3 weeks out) as the airline will release more seats if they haven't sold them yet. I know that's not always convenient, but it's a strategy that sometimes works.

Dan

I love USAirways for their frequent flyer redemptions. I can almost always find the seats I need on the dates I want!

doc_

Not only must you plan ahead, but you must be flexible. Try Miami or West Palm beach. Try a day ahead of time.

Recently, we tried booking flights to Aruba with AA, all flights unavailable with FF miles, so we tried Cabo and had no problem. I try to unload these miles any chance I get so be persistant.

tinathetoad

Freq. Flyer miles are really hard to get on ANY airline. They need to be booked far in advance and being flexible helps. I have tried to use them myself.

It is not a scam, it is reality......

starrsville

This is not a scam in any sense of the word.

You did not "earn" any mileage points by flying. Why should airlines fighting for survival in these economic times honor your cc points when they are trying to sell seats to stay afloat?

I was a FF for years - but knew to book VERY early to redeem airline points for "free" trips. I've spent hours on the phone with very kind and patient agents to find days and times I could fly in and out of my preferred destinations on FF miles - and then I planned my trip accordingly. I've booked these trips anywhere from 9 to 12 months ahead.

It's just not realistic to expect to receive free seats two months out - especially given these were cc points and not airline (flights flown) points.

You have more than enough points to "buy" two seats - the first at 50,000 miles and the second at 90,000 miles. I'd jump on that in a second.

If that's not satisfactory, then "buy" one or two tickets the old fashioned way.

Sorry you are frustrated - but there is no scamming of any type involved here. Let's hope they sell those seats to someone so the airlines will still be flying so you can redeem your remaining points in the future.

need2travelasap

Many people fly in and out of FLL for cruises, therefore, it may be extremely hard to get 2 first class FF tickets or any FF tickets as FLL is a most desirable destination for cruisers as well as summer vacationers.

For some airlines, there are two types of First Class Seats: The airline has first class seats for people who actually purchase a first class seat or purchase a fare that will automatically upgrade them to first class. Next the airline has first class seats that are available for their frequent flyer members as well as their Elite Members who are automatically upgraded to first class when purchasing a full fare ticket or for some Elite members when they purchase a non-refundable ticket. So there is generally limited seats for non-paying first class seats. The airlines are not out to Scam anyone, the consumer must be more aware and as others have post, know how to play the game.

jimmyk64

Why must the seats be First Class, barb?

travels77

Why don't you complain to your credit card company? Charging $270,000 to your credit card did not help US Air so why would they make an exception for you? Sure, they made a little bit of money when they sold their miles to the credit card company, but they are not going to go out of their way for someone who admittedly doesn't even fly on a regular basis (unless it is "free"). Seems to me like you are barking up the wrong tree...of course, there is nothing the CC company would be able to do to assist so you are probably out of luck unless you are willing to part with a few extra miles. You might also want to think about sitting in coach, 1st class isn't all that special anymore anyway.