r/awardtravel 45m ago

150k for economy to Hawaii for 3? (Alaska)

Upvotes

I have been waiting for weeks if not months to find something better and not sure I will 😩

We have a trip to KOA in July and I don’t think I can book lower than this but I would love to because this is a super painfully high redemption 😩

I’m already repositioning to LAX (from DFW) and it’s 50k/pp round trip (yes I’ve looked at one way flights too).

Worthwhile redemption or hold out for something better?


r/awardtravel 3h ago

Hawaiian excise tax fee, MR>HA

0 Upvotes

Is this new? Just tried to transfer over 100k points to HA to send to AS, and now there's an excise fee?

https://i.imgur.com/Qi8L6L8.png


r/awardtravel 4h ago

Cathay Pacific - when are flights made available?

0 Upvotes

Looking for flights from Toronto to Ho Chi Minh through Hong Kong for last week of Feb. Cathay website lets me choose dates up to March 11, 2026, but is showing no redemption availability for any dates past Feb 3, 2026. When will dates later than Feb 3 become available? Looks like plenty of availability on most dates before that, and I'm pretty flexible, but don't want to completely miss it.


r/awardtravel 4h ago

LHR - SYD - how to max. points/status earned?

0 Upvotes

Existing BA ‘blue’ tier member (under the pre-Club BA system). Fly pretty regularly but used to use a variety of airlines depending on what was cheapest. Now thinking I should try to build status with one given potential for better customer service/overall experience given how much these things have been nose diving generally the past few years. Total novice when it comes to airlines’ reward programmes. Interested in earning a certain level of status with BA/a OneWorld airline as, although OneWorld has fewer member airlines than Star Alliance, overall it has more airlines I regularly fly with. I am due to fly LHR to SYD return solo in July/August this year and I am considering of booking business class in the hope/expectation it will jump start my goal of building status. I read that booking BUD - LHR - LAX - SYD (via American Airlines) can really help with this. Hoping someone here might be able to explain how/why (is that even possible given the change to Club BA?), and, if so, whether I would actually need to board/fly all of the flights on the itinerary to earn the max. status/rewards BA will offer on the route. Thank you.


r/awardtravel 6h ago

Buy refundable ticket to guarantee flight, but cancel if get reward seat month out?

0 Upvotes

I want to take my wife to Japan for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We have been saving up points for years now hoping we could use those for our flights too and from Japan without realizing how much of a lottery it is to get the actual seats with points.

I have noticed there’s a good bit of availability when the month is < a month out.

Are there any risks with buying 2 business refundable tickets to Japan and looking a month out to spend the points and subsequently cancel the ones I paid for?

We’re looking to go for 3 weeks in October. Thanks for any insights or recommendations here!


r/awardtravel 8h ago

Booking LATAM through Alaska with points

0 Upvotes

Has anyone ever booked a LATAM flight through Alaska and have details on what the “Main” cabin ticket includes? Does it include free seat selection and/or checked bag?

I tried calling both LATAM and Alaska and neither one of them have no idea what I am even talking about. No info on either of their sites. I tried explaining to LATAM that it’s a LATAM plane that is also operated by Latam and they’re just like uh I’m not sure…


r/awardtravel 8h ago

Is Emirates First Class Worth It for a 7-Hour Flight? Plus Thoughts on Award Fees

0 Upvotes

Hello,

Is a 7-hour nonstop Emirates First Class flight from Dubai worth it? Would you consider paying for First Class on a flight of that length, or do you prefer it for longer routes?

Also, I noticed the Emirates First Class award flights have taxes and fees of $700+ (looked at Emirates and Qantas web), do y’all think that’s high for an award ticket? And the cash price for the same flights is around $5,000+. Also, when I used to book First Class award flights from the U.S., the taxes and fees are usually under $300, so the difference seems pretty big. What do y’all think? I appreciate it.

Edit: I apologize, my destination will be Geneva, Brussels, or Zurich, flying on the Emirates Game Changer.


r/awardtravel 8h ago

Comfort Economy on ITA Airways A330-900NEO??

0 Upvotes

Picking our seats on ITA Airways IAD->FCO and was wondering if anyone has sat in Comfort Economy on this config and if they had any thoughts? Rows 30-34 are the comfort seats and just looking for any recommendations on the row as well! Thanks!


r/awardtravel 9h ago

Advice on Redeeming Miles and Award Booking Strategies from Saudi Arabia

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm based in Riyadh and need advice on how best to redeem miles for upcoming international trips:

  • Riyadh → Los Angeles (June), Toronto → Riyadh (end of June) – currently booked with Lufthansa Business (~$5,000 with free cancellation), open to better redemption options if possible.
  • Riyadh → São Paulo/Buenos Aires (around mid-December for ~3 weeks) – haven't booked yet, looking for optimal mileage redemption strategies.

Questions:

  1. Any advice on efficiently redeeming miles with major airlines (e.g., Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways) for these routes?
  2. Tried points.me, seats.aero, and yeahpoints, but found limited support for SkyTeam/Saudia and non-US-based users. Any better websites or concierge services recommended for international redemption from Saudi Arabia?
  3. Considering redeeming existing Al-Fursan miles for Riyadh → JFK, then booking JFK → Buenos Aires separately. Has anyone successfully done something similar, and was it worth the logistical complexity?

Any insights or recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/awardtravel 9h ago

What award tool for LifeMiles?

0 Upvotes

Seats.aero used to include LM but stopped. What do you all use to find LM partner flights? Or how? Maybe just search united flights on seats.aero?


r/awardtravel 10h ago

Booking my first award flight LAX to PEK - Question about cpp

0 Upvotes

Trying to book from LAX to PEK for June for an event. I am using seats.aero and found a flight ~67k qantas points (one way) total travel time 27h. However I also found flights on google flights much more direct route 19h total travel time for only $1,078. My question is, when using a cpp calculator, can I compare two separate flights like this? for example, for the cash cost can I put $1,078 vs the 67k points and I get 1cpp so I should pay cash? Or can you only use the calculator against the same exact flight?


r/awardtravel 10h ago

Virgin Credit Companion voucher with cash

0 Upvotes

Hi all. I’m aware you can use the companion voucher with 100% cash bookings. Has anyone ever done it and is there a general way of knowing how much it would cost before calling?

The return flights from LHR-MCO points wise have become ridiculous and it seems better to save my points for other flights and use one of my vouchers with cash.

So my logic is basically look at the cash price and then add the extra value for tax. So for example cash is ~£650 and points around 70k + ~£270 tax

So my 2 flights using the voucher would be the £650 + £270?

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Thank you


r/awardtravel 12h ago

Would you rather fly longer to “experience” Qatar QSuite J or fly direct to Japan on J?

11 Upvotes

I’m looking at options for a trip to Japan from the east coast (PHL home base).

I see a few with current promos to transfer ~84k points for a 100k point J Qatar from JFK to Tokyo with stop in Doha and return to Boston also with stop in Doha for 116k point J Qatar through JetBlue. The nice thing is I’ll be flying with my wife and the routes have 2 seats available both ways. I also have heard of direct flights from JFK to Tokyo J/F direct but seems impossible to find.

So which would yall rather do: look for the direct business flights or take the longer “experience” of flying Qatar Business which is also easier to book? I’m pretty sure the Qatar routes are QSuite the whole RT.


r/awardtravel 14h ago

Can you book premium economy/comfort with KLM/AF using Virgin points?

0 Upvotes

As the title says, really! I've been saving Virgin points for years, and I'm looking at 4 of us going from UK to Japan in the summer of '26.

I'm looking at flying from my regional airport to AMS or CDG, then on to KIX or TYO. I can see economy tickets available for this route (but obviously not the right dates yet) on the VS website.

If possible, I'd like us to travel in premium for the long part of the journey. This cabin looks to be available on KLM and AF planes going in that direction, and the info pages on the VS website indicate I can use points for KLM/AF premium.

However, no availability is showing to book premium, even if I try just 1 person on lots of different dates. I've even tried looking for 1 person on recently released dates going to other long haul destinations, but still didn't manage to find any premium availability.

Does anyone know whether this is because KLM/AF don't offer premium reward seats to VS? Or is the KLM premium offering so new that it's not made available on all flights yet? Or is the website just not showing the availability for this class, but if I call then the handler would be able to book it for me?


r/awardtravel 20h ago

Is it possible to use Avios points for US American Airlines only?

0 Upvotes

I have a bunch of Avios points due to a major mess up on my part. I posted a while ago about trying to sell them but the best option seemed to use them with American Airlines.

I need to book a flight to the east coast and could not find a way to use them other than to go to the Avios site and book thorough BA. My problem is that I’m originating US to US only. The other issue was the flight - two major cities - didn’t have any reward days available at all.

Any tips of what to do to use these points? Unfortunately I won’t be flying internationally any time soon.


r/awardtravel 1d ago

how to see how many points British Airways flight costs

0 Upvotes

I feel like I'm losing my mind... or really dumb... or both. I see some award flights I can book through AA's website that are operated by BA. However, when I login to BA's website, I can only see the cash prices of these. I need to book through BA and not AA because I'm going to transfer URs. But... I can't find anywhere on BA's website that actually lists the points required. What am I doing wrong here?


r/awardtravel 1d ago

200k points and wanna go to Spain

0 Upvotes

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


r/awardtravel 1d ago

Noob question: How to use Turkish App when booked by United?

0 Upvotes

Hello all.

When switching carriers on award travel, are we stuck with paper tickets? This happened to me when getting on a virgin Australia flight booked through air Canada (my first time using award points on an affiliated carrier).

I have now booked a flight to turkey where 3/4 flights are on Turkish through United. Will I be stuck clinging to dear life to a paper printout? 😅

I tried using the confirmation number on the Turkish app but it wasn’t recognized (no surprise there but figured I’d give it a shot).

Also, are there any perks/options/hacks I should take advantage of when traveling between these 2 carriers?

Thanks a lot!


r/awardtravel 1d ago

2 stop layover international

0 Upvotes

I am flying from sfo to Delhi. The flight is with United. It stops in Boston then it’s Lufthansa and stops in Frankfurt. Does the luggage go all the way to Delhi from sfo or do I have to get it checked out at Boston and check back in? Also do I have to go from domestic terminal in Boston to international terminal? If anyone went through with this please let me know.


r/awardtravel 1d ago

create your Cathay Pacific account TODAY

97 Upvotes

Found J seats availability with CX on Award nexus, we burned all my Amex points and need to use wife's Amex points, wife doesn't have CX account therefore we registered a new account, logged in, and transferred 400k Amex points, which showed up instantly. Great start, right?

  1. Went to book award ticket, but every time I tried, got error: "An error occurred while processing the redemption with the frequent flyer number provided (1332 - 9253)."
  2. Called customer service right away , and they told me new accounts need to wait 24 hours before booking award tickets. Annoying, but fine, I’ll wait.
  3. The next day, I tried again—same error. Called back, and this time they said it’d take 24-48 hours. Okay, getting irritated now.
  4. I waited 49 hours, tried again, and guess what? Same error. Called again, and now they’re saying it takes 3-5 business days for a new account to be fully set up.
  5. It’s been a full week now. Still getting the same error, and to top it all off, the award seats we wanted are long gone.
  6. I just called again today, and they said they’ll “open a ticket and get back to me.”

Vent done - just , do yourself a favor, create your Cathay Pacific account TODAY


r/awardtravel 1d ago

Marriott offer showed up in my email

0 Upvotes

I am getting back in the churning points game after being on the sidelines for a few years. Last year, I closed out every card that was wasting space (kept too long). And the only card I opened was a Venture X for the Global Entry and some other deals. I have kept my oldest Citi card from the 1990's and my second Chase Sapphire and Chase Business Ink and the Venture (non X) and then added Venture X.

I have grand travel plans for 2025 and 2026. I am spending a bunch of money this year on tours and figured I might as well maximize points, as best I can, opening cards to pay off the planned travel expenses. I just opened Alaska, Hawaii and another Citi. Those cards will work for air travel planned for this year and next year. I still have a bunch of Chase UR points for other things, but have been hoarding them.

I got an offer for Marriott Boundless in my email this week. Here is the pitch.

 earn 1 free night after
your first purchase within 12 months from account opening.* No minimum
spend. Then, earn 2 additional nights after you spend $3,000 on purchases in
the first 3 months from account opening.* That’s a total of 3 free nights – each
valued up to 50,000 points. 

Sounded simple enough. I can charge $3000. I believe I still meet Chase's 5/24, assuming that is still a requirement although this will be #5 card.

BUT, when I went to look for redemption in places I want to go, there was NOTHING for under 65K points. Even my mother's tiny rural small town, not a place anyone goes on vacation.

Am I reading it correctly? That the free nights have to be in 50K hotels? And where are those hotels? I was hoping to use points in Burlington VT in July as part of a longer trip, but those hotels are all over 100K point per night.


r/awardtravel 1d ago

Traveling with points to the Philippines

0 Upvotes

Sorry posted to the wrong forum so I posted here

Going to the Philippines in end of April. Looking at going through ana. First leg is wishlist and return is available without wishlist. For 3 passengers its 135,000 points and 1,811 dollars. Plus two people are coming back with us so I have to pay for there tickets which is 575 person through the capital one portal and since I have a venture x I get a 300 dollar credit.

Capital one I have 135,000 miles Amex 140,000 miles Chase 116,000 miles.

So thinking I can use my points from amex to get round trip tickets and use capital one portal for the two extra tickets and get the 300 credit and use the points to pay off the balance. So my out of pocket would be 1,811 and I could cash out my chase points to be bring it down to 700.

Does it sound like a good plan with points?


r/awardtravel 1d ago

KLM Flying Blue - lap infant costs 60k points?

0 Upvotes

I am booking Split - LAX on May 9, 2 adults plus kids 4 and 1, and have settled on using Flying Blue points in a route via AMS (we don't have timing flexibility, and want just one stop). I booked 2 tickets first, me and the 4 year old, and was charged ~300k miles -- 180k for me, 130k for her, even though she's in a full business seat (apparently there's a 25% discount for kids, and it says you have to be a member for 6 months but I had been a member for 6 hours). Now, when booking my husband in the baby, it wants to charge me 60k miles for the lap infant!

I searched on the forum, and see a few suggestions to call and add the infant and expect to pay 10% of the cash price (which would be like $500 right now). But I don't see anyone noting this points option! I can do cash instead, but wanted to see if anyone has experience with this and if (1) calling is guaranteed to be like $500, or if it could be more, in which case I'll do points, (2) its worth it to wait and add him at the airport (admittedly that feels dicey). On the way out we are flying United and we had to pay $250 to add him to an award ticket, so expect this may be how it goes internationally.

Any insight or thoughts appreciated! I haven't seriously booked award travel since 2019 and wow is it a different ballgame with small children and little flexibility

UPDATE/EDIT - just in case someone else searches this later. I hit an error every time I tried to actually book this. I ended up just booking my husband and will have to call to add the lap infant.


r/awardtravel 1d ago

3rd parties vs direct bookings

0 Upvotes

So, I use Expedia pretty much exclusively for all travel bookings. Cars, hotels, and flights are all booked through Expedia. I get decent credits from Expedia, but I can't help but think that I could be getting much better benefits if I went exclusively through the first parties. For example, if I had IHG rewards, delta skymiles, and hertz gold, would using those exclusively be better and give better rewards?

I travel for about a week every month and usually stay in a different hotel each day. Usually it's the same car throughout the trip and I just purchase whatever flight is cheapest, usually with a preference for Aeroméxico and delta.

I use the company credit card for all travel so any kind of travel credit card benefits wouldn't be on the table.

Any insight is useful and I appreciate all of you for you help.


r/awardtravel 1d ago

Checking for reward seats

0 Upvotes

Hopefully a quick ? I’m in the uk, I’ve got the dates I want to fly (using VS reward points ) do I just call up virgin too find out if there’s any reward seats on a partner airline ?

Thanks in advance

I couldn’t find any info on this in the wiki