REDEEMING UNITED MILES
Mar 25th, 2007, 02:47 PM
#1
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REDEEMING UNITED MILES
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY HINTS ON HOW TO
ACTUALLY GET A SAVER AWARD TO EUROPE
AND/OR IF THERE IS A COMPANY ANYWHERE
WHO WILL, FOR A FEE, SO THE LEGWORK
FOR YOU. DEALING WITH MILEAGE PLUS
ON UAL THESE PAST FEW MONTHS HAS BEEN
THE EPITOME OF FRUSTRATION. MULTIPLE
DISCONNECTS, OVERSEAS PEOPLE WHO DON'T
REALLY SPEAK ENGLISH, AND NO SEATS
AVAILABLE. TKS
Mar 25th, 2007, 02:59 PM
#2
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Do not call them, use united.com website, pour yourself a soda or glass of wine, and keep checking dates and cities. I became either suicidal or homicidal, depending on the moment, when trying to get info from them 2 years ago.
Summer to Europe is often impossible to get ff tickets to unless you start checking 331 days prior to flight. It is important to remember that not every flight has any ff seats.
If you type in all caps, some people take it as yelling, rather than just that your caps lock key got stuck down - so I suggest you use lower case.
Summer to Europe is often impossible to get ff tickets to unless you start checking 331 days prior to flight. It is important to remember that not every flight has any ff seats.
If you type in all caps, some people take it as yelling, rather than just that your caps lock key got stuck down - so I suggest you use lower case.
Mar 25th, 2007, 03:13 PM
#3
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I haven't had trouble dealing with United Saver Awards, though my husband is in the 1K club and a million mile flier, so I might get better service. That said, I have found it harder and harder to find open seats, as the years have passed.
I am always patient and polite. I also call back if I don't find what I want. I call and I call. I sit at the computer and play on Fodors while I wait. Seat availability changes daily. I don't see how anyone could plan your frequent flier trips, as they require extreme flexibility regarding dates and routing.
The most recent European trip I have made frequent flier reservations for is coming up over spring break. It will be Easter week, so I had to drop my son out of the trip, as the only available seats were Tues-Thurs, and he can't miss school. My return flight is through two cities and will take a year and a half, but at least I am going.
You need to call enough in advance and be flexible re dates and flights. Some European cities are easier to get into than others on United. There are often seats available to London and Amsterdam from our home. Any holiday is difficult. Good luck.
I am always patient and polite. I also call back if I don't find what I want. I call and I call. I sit at the computer and play on Fodors while I wait. Seat availability changes daily. I don't see how anyone could plan your frequent flier trips, as they require extreme flexibility regarding dates and routing.
The most recent European trip I have made frequent flier reservations for is coming up over spring break. It will be Easter week, so I had to drop my son out of the trip, as the only available seats were Tues-Thurs, and he can't miss school. My return flight is through two cities and will take a year and a half, but at least I am going.
You need to call enough in advance and be flexible re dates and flights. Some European cities are easier to get into than others on United. There are often seats available to London and Amsterdam from our home. Any holiday is difficult. Good luck.
Mar 25th, 2007, 03:17 PM
#4
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Last summer we flew round trip from SJ to Munich with United FF miles. I think it was the saver award - the tickets were 50K miles apiece in July at any rate.
We originally had planned to go to Italy, but couldn't get tickets. Germany was our second choice.
I made the reservations online and it was pretty straightforward - I had to search around a bit, play with dates, to find something, but I was sucessful without much trouble. I think if you want open jaw, you have to call the airline, but if you are flying into and out of the same city, doing it online works well.
I wasn't able to get non-stops between SFO and either Munich or Frankfurt as no FF seats were availible. We had a connection each way in Chicago, which was a bit of a pain, but not terrible. Sort of a long layover each way, which came in handy on the way back since our flight from Munich to Chicago was really delayed and we still made our connection - LOL.
Our trip was in July and I think I made the flight reservations 10 months in advance. At that time, there were a fair number of options for flights to Germany.
So that was my experience - the only time I have used FF miles for an overseas flight. I don't know if I was lucky or what - LOL.
I am gearing up to do it again, but I will have to call the customer service people because we are purchasing 1 ticket and using FF miles for the other and trying to fly into one city and out of another. I hope I have better luck on the phone than you have had.
Good luck and I hope you find a flight that will work for you.
We originally had planned to go to Italy, but couldn't get tickets. Germany was our second choice.
I made the reservations online and it was pretty straightforward - I had to search around a bit, play with dates, to find something, but I was sucessful without much trouble. I think if you want open jaw, you have to call the airline, but if you are flying into and out of the same city, doing it online works well.
I wasn't able to get non-stops between SFO and either Munich or Frankfurt as no FF seats were availible. We had a connection each way in Chicago, which was a bit of a pain, but not terrible. Sort of a long layover each way, which came in handy on the way back since our flight from Munich to Chicago was really delayed and we still made our connection - LOL.
Our trip was in July and I think I made the flight reservations 10 months in advance. At that time, there were a fair number of options for flights to Germany.
So that was my experience - the only time I have used FF miles for an overseas flight. I don't know if I was lucky or what - LOL.
I am gearing up to do it again, but I will have to call the customer service people because we are purchasing 1 ticket and using FF miles for the other and trying to fly into one city and out of another. I hope I have better luck on the phone than you have had.
Good luck and I hope you find a flight that will work for you.
Mar 25th, 2007, 04:21 PM
#5
You can search online at united.com but you are better off calling since the agent can search lots of options and include partner airlines.
I called about three weeks ago and got a ticket for my sister to Poland in business class on United and LOT. Those seats had not been available a few weeks earlier (or that agent was not as skilled at searching).
You can enroll in the ANA Mileage Club and then you would be able to use their online search that includes search Star Alliance availability. I did this last year, October I think, and found first class award seats available on Singapore Airlines from LAX to Bangkok just before Christmas. Then I called United and told the agent the specific flights/dates.
You should calm down and stop shouting.
I called about three weeks ago and got a ticket for my sister to Poland in business class on United and LOT. Those seats had not been available a few weeks earlier (or that agent was not as skilled at searching).
You can enroll in the ANA Mileage Club and then you would be able to use their online search that includes search Star Alliance availability. I did this last year, October I think, and found first class award seats available on Singapore Airlines from LAX to Bangkok just before Christmas. Then I called United and told the agent the specific flights/dates.
You should calm down and stop shouting.
Mar 25th, 2007, 04:27 PM
#6
J Correa, you do have to call to book an open-jaw ticket.
After you book your ticket, and you have a connection, you can call back to try to get a nonstop. Sometimes seats open up. This won't help for your trip where you are also purchasing a ticket, of course.
After you book your ticket, and you have a connection, you can call back to try to get a nonstop. Sometimes seats open up. This won't help for your trip where you are also purchasing a ticket, of course.
Mar 25th, 2007, 04:32 PM
#7
Oh, my DS is traveling in April. Her previous itin was on a USAir coach award and the best should could get was Boston - Munich - Krakow - Munich - D.C. Thing is, she lives in Pittsburgh. Now she has one stop in Chicago each way from Pittsburgh to Krakow.
Mar 28th, 2007, 07:56 PM
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Another suggestion is to check on all the partner airlines and their schedules before you call a customer service agent at UAL Mileage Plus. See all the possibilities on those airlines. I've had luck flying Air New Zealand to London, then connecting on British Midland to Dublin. This summer I'm flying on a Lufthansa ticket to Frankfurt, returning from Prague back to the USA. I flew SAS to Copenhagen, etc. Gee, I've never flown UAL internationally. Try the partner airlines! You need to know what's out there and then the CSR will be able to help more. Good luck.
Mar 28th, 2007, 08:22 PM
#9
www.star-alliance.com would help to that end
Mar 29th, 2007, 08:22 AM
#10
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It is frustrating, but you just have to call until you get someone who is willing to spend the time to help you investigate all the routing possibilities. It also helps to get someone with an American accent, because they tend to know how to bend the rules.
On-line only covers United flights, not their partners, like Lufthansa, Austrian Air, and US Air, so that isn't of much use to Europe.
Last May I used Mileage Plus to fly into Rome and home from Nice. You have to be flexible on dates and cities. Once you get something you can work with, go for it. Then keep calling back to fine-tune it. That's what I did to get better connections on my open-jaw trip. It was worth all the trouble, because the ticket would have been $1500 last May. I used 50,000 United miles to get it.
Good luck.
>-
On-line only covers United flights, not their partners, like Lufthansa, Austrian Air, and US Air, so that isn't of much use to Europe.
Last May I used Mileage Plus to fly into Rome and home from Nice. You have to be flexible on dates and cities. Once you get something you can work with, go for it. Then keep calling back to fine-tune it. That's what I did to get better connections on my open-jaw trip. It was worth all the trouble, because the ticket would have been $1500 last May. I used 50,000 United miles to get it.
Good luck.
>-
Mar 29th, 2007, 09:13 AM
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I have also had better luck on the phone than I have online. Especially when trying to check the Star Alliance partner flights. I agree with the others-- just call until you get someone who is patient and willing to try different combinations for you. Also, be as flexible as possible.
You might also try Saver awards in business class if you have enough miles. I've had much better luck finding BC seats than economy. I think it was 90k miles per ticket last summer (LAX-Munich), but soooo worth it!
You might also try Saver awards in business class if you have enough miles. I've had much better luck finding BC seats than economy. I think it was 90k miles per ticket last summer (LAX-Munich), but soooo worth it!
Mar 29th, 2007, 09:30 AM
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To expand on the advice you have received..
Try alternate airports for both departure and destination.
Instead of looking for a flight to Rome....try booking to Florence... or to Venice.
Depending on where you live, it might pay to depart from an airport that is a couple of extra hours from home.
Try alternate airports for both departure and destination.
Instead of looking for a flight to Rome....try booking to Florence... or to Venice.
Depending on where you live, it might pay to depart from an airport that is a couple of extra hours from home.
Mar 29th, 2007, 09:52 AM
#13
My experience has been the same that others have shared, research Star Alliance schedules, be flexible about dates and connections and call, call and keep calling. I live on the East Coast and found calling in the middle of night East Coast time has often gotten me agents who will work with me to find a routing to get me to where I want to go. Re biz class tixs, suprisingly of late I've found them more difficult to get. Coach class seats have been available, but the biz class have taken a lot of effort to get. Good luck!
Mar 29th, 2007, 10:44 AM
#15
Dick -- I fly out of the DC area so its usually IAD -- maybe just a fluke with the difficulty booking biz class seats on the last 2 ff trips I booked. Will be trying again shortly, so hope you're experience will hold true.
Mar 29th, 2007, 05:00 PM
#18
I just tried IAD - EZE for November 16-24, when the jacarandas will be blooming in Buenos Aires.
No problem for those dates in economy.
Search for business class and the united dot com search engine didn't find available (United) seats on either of those dates. But it showed on a calendar that seats were available for departure on the 15th and 17th and seats available for return on the 23rd.
On February 13, I called MP to book a trip for Christmas. I wanted to go from LAX to Penang, Malaysia in business class and I wanted to get there on Singapore Airlines with one stop, connecting in Singapore. The LAX-SIN nonstop was not available on Dec 21, but Dec 20 was available so I took it (the connecting flight SIN-PEN is also in SQ business class).
Wanted the return to be on the SQ nonstop from Singapore to LAX on January 6. That date was not available, but January 7 was.
No problem for those dates in economy.
Search for business class and the united dot com search engine didn't find available (United) seats on either of those dates. But it showed on a calendar that seats were available for departure on the 15th and 17th and seats available for return on the 23rd.
On February 13, I called MP to book a trip for Christmas. I wanted to go from LAX to Penang, Malaysia in business class and I wanted to get there on Singapore Airlines with one stop, connecting in Singapore. The LAX-SIN nonstop was not available on Dec 21, but Dec 20 was available so I took it (the connecting flight SIN-PEN is also in SQ business class).
Wanted the return to be on the SQ nonstop from Singapore to LAX on January 6. That date was not available, but January 7 was.
Mar 30th, 2007, 04:53 AM
#19
mrwunrfl--that's good news. I haven't used the online booking web site yet, so I'll have to play with it. What about when you want to book 2 seats using 2 different ff accounts? Is that doable on the online site or must the tixs be from the same ff account? I guess I could always open 2 windows and push the "buy" at the same time if i had to. thanks
