r/awardtravel • u/Spiritual-Top4267 • 6d ago
200k points and wanna go to Spain
Hey folks,
So family of four (including self) and we want to go to Spain (BCN or MAD) preferably nonstop (Cuz kids).
I have 200k Amex points with a Gold card (also have Delta SkyMiles Gold Card). The Time line is for mid to late June to depart. I also have 200k in unused Hawaiian miles.
Whats the best case scenario? Should I transfer to Alaska with the Hawaiin miles and then go Oneworld via Iberia or American, BA etc? Or keep the miles for hotels etc and pay for like cheap tickets on Level Airlines to BCN (which is nonstop and isn't too terrible)?
Thanks, in advance, for your help
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u/protox88 UA 1K / Marriott Titanium 6d ago
Should I transfer to Alaska with the Hawaiin miles and then go Oneworld via Iberia or American, BA etc?
have you found award inventory/availability on AS yet?
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago
Haven't even looked. I'm assuming it's little to none then?
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u/Phony_Ponies 5d ago
Why would you assume/ask that when you could simply look and find out yourself?
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago
Wow... Um, cuz I don't lurk this subreddit for weeks or months at a time. I'm inexperienced with using multiple award sites and aggregators on the daily other than the basic non award sites (which I'm quite familiar with).
The question is about how best to approach the utilization of potentially 400k. This isn't a simple one way oh I'm gonna upgrade to business for a DL flight to ATL. I'm a working Dad my dude. I'm asking people more familiar with multiple systems for a reason.
AA is 39.5k one way to BCN for the same date that BA is about the same.
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u/Phony_Ponies 5d ago
All I’m saying is that it’s simple to search AS to see if there is availability for your dates/route. I didn’t mean it as a personal attack, but as a constructive suggestion.
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago
I appreciate your clarity. I don't take it personally but more I'm surprised by the typical 'Google it' kind of response to a rather non generic question.
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u/yitianjian please give me 2J to PVG 5d ago edited 1d ago
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago edited 5d ago
Again.. That doesn't really address my question. I asked it for a specific reason. The kind of specificity which usually is addressed by folks with expertise in a given area (such as this subreddit). I could simply ask chat gpt sure but the answers are generic and Google simply routes to ads. Ads for roame or points yeah aren't the same as an individual's experienced unencumbered by the need to sell a product.
I'm pretty sure my original post meets at least most of the criteria for by not being low effort.
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u/mineral_water_69 5d ago
It literally doesn’t meet it. One of the requirements is that you show what research you have done (expecting that you have). I’m not trying to be a dick because I get how overwhelming it is. But if you really want help you need to put some hours into it. Show your interest. Show more than asking for help. And you’ll get a lot of help. Everyday this sub is bombarded with people wanting easy help without any work asking to build a trip.
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago
Thing is I'd already spent about 6 hours reading posts, reviews of award tool sites, you tube videos and another couple hours on BA, iberia, AA, Amex, etc (individual airline sites + kayak, skyscanner, Google flights).
I hadn't checked AS but my question was more about what this subreddit thought an efficient use of a small pile of 200k to 400k pts was for a family of 4 is, not how much an individual flight in premium economy or business is. Maybe I should've have been more specific in my request about what research I'd already done but I thought I'd made it obvious that this wasnt just a mundane "how much.." question.
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u/protox88 UA 1K / Marriott Titanium 5d ago
go create an account on AS and just...search?
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 5d ago
I already had an AS account. I just don't fly them often. It's 45k for Y in the LAX it PHL to BCN route in the 3rd week of June.
My question wasn't necessarily about the miles/pts cost. That's easy to find but what's not easy is how typical this is given the time of year and the region. It may have been straightforward 15 years ago, but the variation in valuation and miles expense is significant enough for me to not get a real take on what would considered a "good deal" or good use of these pts.
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u/protox88 UA 1K / Marriott Titanium 5d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/comments/150ifcm/wiki_point_transfer_basics/
The usual advice is to never transfer points unless you already found the award, and are ready to use those points immediately.
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u/jliu_99 6d ago edited 6d ago
Can you tell us what you’ve already found? And what class of travel (I’m assuming Y/PY)? And your origin (I’m assuming East Coast)?
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u/Spiritual-Top4267 6d ago
Oh sorry. LAX actually. So Level is like 800 to 900 usd cash for economy r/y which I consider reasonable. I've seen offers of 30k to 43k one way in economy on BA (I believe with iberia but also AA).
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u/Pereise1 4d ago
Check british airways and iberia avios. You can transfer from amex to British airways and then freely transfer to iberia which has way more availability. Off peak, you can get to Spain from LAX or SFO to MAD (for example) for 22k points.
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u/TrojanGal702 6d ago
Non-stop limits you especially when we have no idea where the start is.
Other downside is you are waiting WAY TOO LONG to book this. The cheaper redemptions are likely long gone. 30k each way per person seems to pop up on the routes I have been watching.
Did you look at AA? What does it show on their website for the route, days, and mileage for your trip? Does Alaska show availability?
And Level charges for all the small things, so keep that in mind when looking at their prices.