US Dividend Miles - Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[burmans]

I just think that AA miles can be used on better quality airlines than US miles: such as CX, Etihad, and QF, all of which seem to be largely bookable J and F class.

US has SQ but not much else at the top level.

Yes, well the discussion on quality is a difficult one but QF, really?. Have seen a number of *A airlines rated above QF, including Asiana and Turkish. Availability reports seem to be slightly better on *A, point costs are generally lower.

Will give AA the nod on one way flights and flights to US of course, but by no means think US points are "worse" than AA, just different. And for the moment you can have both.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, well the discussion on quality is a difficult one but QF, really?. Have seen a number of *A airlines rated above QF, including Asiana and Turkish. Availability reports seem to be slightly better on *A, point costs are generally lower.

Will give AA the nod on one way flights and flights to US of course, but by no means think US points are "worse" than AA, just different. And for the moment you can have both.

exactly. ANA, OZ, LX, TK. I wouldn't be counting QF in any special class of its own above those.

 

[anat0l]

Yes, well the discussion on quality is a difficult one but QF, really?. Have seen a number of *A airlines rated above QF, including Asiana and Turkish. Availability reports seem to be slightly better on *A, point costs are generally lower.

Some people may take you up on Asiana after the crash OK seriously it's not that bad...

For product alone from ground to air, QF is probably quite comparable to OZ, unless you believe caviar is quintessential for any F experience. As for J, line ball, assuming you get the best product of each.

QF vs TK in J...well TK's J lounge is one of the best, and their catering is reportedly excellent as well. Hard for QF J to beat that. I wish TK still kept their F service, as it was up there with some of the best, apart from perhaps their cold crew (but I put that report down to Western travellers being rather ignorant of cultural differences).

Of course, if you were predisposed to not like QF in the first place, no point.

As for quality F products that one can spend US DM miles on versus AA points, it probably favours AA more: for US DM*, there's TG, OZ, NH and UA; versus AA with EY, QF, CX, AA and BA. Availability and pricing is a whole another argument however.

* Yes, if you luck out or persist at last minute, you may get SQ, LH and LX.

 

[Nizar]

Yes, well the discussion on quality is a difficult one but QF, really?. Have seen a number of *A airlines rated above QF, including Asiana and Turkish. Availability reports seem to be slightly better on *A, point costs are generally lower.

Will give AA the nod on one way flights and flights to US of course, but by no means think US points are "worse" than AA, just different. And for the moment you can have both.

Lol I agree that QF is arguable so lets forget about that.

When I talk about availability I am talking about J and F availability on the top quality airlines, not the comparative across the board general award availability between the two programs. And from what I gather, there is much better availability on CX and Etihad in J and F using AA, then there is on SQ (in J and F) using USDM. Would you disagree ?

And yes at the moment I can have both but for the purposes of what I personally wanted to do, that is, fly QF F mel-lax for 2 pax at 145k miles each, knowing that USDM would convert to AA would have given me a window of opportunity to accumulate a much larger number of what will/may ultimately have become AA miles.

 

[anat0l]

When I talk about availability I am talking about J and F availability on the top quality airlines, not the comparative across the board general award availability between the two programs. And from what I gather, there is much better availability on CX and Etihad in J and F using AA, then there is on SQ (in J and F) using USDM. Would you disagree ?

Not the best comparison example. Everyone knows that SQ J and F is almost impossible to get on any FF programme except for SQ KF.

There are some noted exceptions, but they are still rare.

 

[Nizar]

Not the best comparison example. Everyone knows that SQ J and F is almost impossible to get on any FF programme except for SQ KF.

There are some noted exceptions, but they are still rare.

Actually it is the best comparison.
What other USDM airline compares to CX and EY in terms of quality besides SQ ?
Surely the fact that award availability is impossible on the best airline of the lot hands superiority over to AA ?

 

[anat0l]

Actually it is the best comparison.
What other USDM airline compares to CX and EY in terms of quality besides SQ ?
Surely the fact that award availability is impossible on the best airline of the lot hands superiority over to AA ?

Probably LX or LH. And LH F is supposed to be not possible to book on US DM by rule now.

But point taken, aside from the fact I still have no idea how "available" CX F or EY F is.

The way that TG F is prostituted in availability on US DM, however, almost trumps the rest of the AA-network F availability across the rest of the carriers.

 

[burmans]

Some people may take you up on Asiana after the crash OK seriously it's not that bad...

Well that depends if you believe the crash is a systemic problem. That sort of reminds me of the story about Surf Life Saving, they used to boast about the fact that noone had died while bathing between the flags, a great slogan until someone does.

Back to the subject, you may also get NZ on *A and SQ not as hard as some say, my sister just had SQ flights on a US booking. Having just flown TK the catering certainly beat QF for me, as does OZ.

 

[smit0847]

I think Aa and OW has, overall, slightly better carriers however USDM and *A have a much, much larger alliance which means far more routes, carriers, options and most importantly, availability.

I think there are comparable carriers in each -
TG and MH
SQ and CX
LH and BA
UA and AA
A3 and IB
NH and JL
OZ and QR

 

[smit0847]

Not the best comparison example. Everyone knows that SQ J and F is almost impossible to get on any FF programme except for SQ KF.

There are some noted exceptions, but they are still rare.

SQ regional J is freely available in partner programs. I've had no issues booking it.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Actually it is the best comparison.
What other USDM airline compares to CX and EY in terms of quality besides SQ ?
Surely the fact that award availability is impossible on the best airline of the lot hands superiority over to AA ?

already answered, plenty of star alliance airlines that compare or better CX and EY (even excluding sq). there's at least four.

 

[anat0l]

Well that depends if you believe the crash is a systemic problem. That sort of reminds me of the story about Surf Life Saving, they used to boast about the fact that noone had died while bathing between the flags, a great slogan until someone does.

Which is why I tacked on the double take.

Mind you, we all know exactly what you've said is reasonable. The general public... well, God help some of them...

Back to the subject, you may also get NZ on *A and SQ not as hard as some say, my sister just had SQ flights on a US booking. Having just flown TK the catering certainly beat QF for me, as does OZ.

Ah yes... NZ J. Not too bad if you don't mind the 763 flights, or some of the China flights, but try and get NZ J on their premier 77W. It's not impossible, but you better have a cunning plan. Certainly in my experience, unless you are lucky or plan far ahead, near impossible. The older 777 routes may be better in this regard, but... it's the old product.......

Which kind of SQ flights? Except as smit0847 mentions below, and some SQ F or J between Australia and Singapore, the newest SQ J product on longhaul (A380, 77W) is near impossible to book. (772 and booking a 772 service that is subsequently subbed out for a 77W doesn't count).

SQ regional J is freely available in partner programs. I've had no issues booking it.

I knew I forgot to cover my bases somewhere. Yes, that's also been known for a long time, and thank goodness for that!

already answered, plenty of star alliance airlines that compare or better CX and EY (even excluding sq). there's at least four.

Start listing them?

If UA F is better than CX F or EY F, I'll eat a hat. TG F only beats CX F on the ground; in the air, different story.

And as I said, LH F is no longer bookable under US DM; LX F barely if ever.

Finally, since when did 'four' constitute 'plenty'?

 

[Nizar]

already answered, plenty of star alliance airlines that compare or better CX and EY (even excluding sq). there's at least four.

What were the the four again ? Lets say TK, OZ, NH and LH.

An issue I have with these airlines is that they don't leave from MEL. Asiana is a top 5 airline but its not the most convenient thing for me to have to leave from Sydney.
And does TK/LX/NH even fly to Australia ?

It all depends on what you want to do you.
Not everyone is looking for complex, multi-route global itineraries.

If you are looking for simple MEL-Asia returns or MEL-Europe returns, CX and EY will do that for you, in J and F, with sufficient availability out of my home port.

 

[burmans]

What were the the four again ? Lets say TK, OZ, NH and LH.

An issue I have with these airlines is that they don't leave from MEL. Asiana is a top 5 airline but its not the most convenient thing for me to have to leave from Sydney.
And does TK/LX/NH even fly to Australia ?

It all depends on what you want to do you.
Not everyone is looking for complex, multi-route global itineraries.

If you are looking for simple MEL-Asia returns or MEL-Europe returns, CX and EY will do that for you, in J and F, with sufficient availability out of my home port.

Yep, if you have specific flight needs (e.g. ex MEL or to US) then each program suits different people.

Actually just compared the two forums and wondered why the US thread(s) have so many more posts than the equivalent AA threads, and people like yourself and anatol01 are hanging around here if you prefer AA, whats the attraction. Realised I may have missed the one big advantage of US.

Maybe its the fact that rather than the 90K or so points you could buy on AA per year you can buy 600K plus of US Air points? Or is there some other reason you are hanging around here if you feel that AA is so much better?

 

[Nizar]

Maybe its the fact that rather than the 90K or so points you could buy on AA per year you can buy 600K plus of US Air points? Or is there some other reason you are hanging around here if you feel that AA is so much better?

Didn't realise I need a reason to hang around here or that I needed to justify it to anyone lol
To be honest I'm still a newbie so I'm here mainly just to learn the ways and see what's available.

But yes at the moment I'm a member of USDM for no other reason than to accumulate for the sake of AA transfer but will wait a while to see how the merger pans out.

 

[anat0l]

Yep, if you have specific flight needs (e.g. ex MEL or to US) then each program suits different people.

Actually just compared the two forums and wondered why the US thread(s) have so many more posts than the equivalent AA threads, and people like yourself and anatol01 are hanging around here if you prefer AA, whats the attraction. Realised I may have missed the one big advantage of US.

Maybe its the fact that rather than the 90K or so points you could buy on AA per year you can buy 600K plus of US Air points? Or is there some other reason you are hanging around here if you feel that AA is so much better?

Also didn't realise I needed a reason to stay here.

The AA programme was fairly understated but is known as a good option for a while. When US DM started selling points like crazy, it was thrust into the spotlight. Of course, in the heyday LH and LX F were easily available for booking, plus the agents were dumb.

Of course I'm here for the better price of US DM vs AA - no one can doubt that but the above argument was not strictly about price. In fact, I don't even know where I said that the *A F products were bad. The argument was simply about the range of premium products available to US DM versus AA. I didn't know that preferring the other team meant disqualification.

One thing if any with a counterpoint is that if US DM merges with AA, it's not all doom and gloom, even if we have to immediately pay more for awards (with more restrictive routing rules).

 

[wittont]

Hi Everyone,

Newbie here

In need of some advise. Have been trying to book an awards flight today with limited success. My first attempt was trying to do a SYD - BKK - NRT - YVR (Destination), Cruise Alaska, then depart from Anchorage to Amsterdam ( stopover, for 4 nights) then back to Syd. This was a bit to cheeky I think for a newbie but I thought I would give it a go. Anyway after I was told by two agents that it was considered an RTW fare and it would be 300,000 miles I decided to go for "plan B".

Plan B, I thought was a no brainer but I've still had issues, the flights from SYD-BKK-NRT-YVR was fine however when it came to the new portion from Achorage to Las Vegas, which I thought would be considered a stopover ( I was thinking 3-4 nights) has been put on to a second PNR together with a flight back to Vancouver. So the trip which is now on hold looks like this -

#1 PNR

May 20th SYD-BKK-NRT-YVR
June 11th YVR- SYD

This booking is being costed at 110,000 each which consists for SYD-BKK in F and the rest in J

#2 PNR

June 5th ANC-DEN-LAS
June 11th LAS-YVR

This booking has been costed at 50,000 miles all in J

So my question/s is is this right ? Should I just take the first PRN now while the bonus milage promo is on and book the second PNR when another mileage promo is no as they are internal flights and availability may be easier and I could potential pay for just 25,000 miles and get some bonus miles, rather than pay from 50,000 extra miles now with no promo ( I will buy the maximum 50,000 during it promo so anything after that will be at regular price) ???

Any sugestions / advise will be grateful

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi Everyone,

Newbie here

In need of some advise. Have been trying to book an awards flight today with limited success. My first attempt was trying to do a SYD - BKK - NRT - YVR (Destination), Cruise Alaska, then depart from Anchorage to Amsterdam ( stopover, for 4 nights) then back to Syd. This was a bit to cheeky I think for a newbie but I thought I would give it a go. Anyway after I was told by two agents that it was considered an RTW fare and it would be 300,000 miles I decided to go for "plan B".

Plan B, I thought was a no brainer but I've still had issues, the flights from SYD-BKK-NRT-YVR was fine however when it came to the new portion from Achorage to Las Vegas, which I thought would be considered a stopover ( I was thinking 3-4 nights) has been put on to a second PNR together with a flight back to Vancouver. So the trip which is now on hold looks like this -

#1 PNR

May 20th SYD-BKK-NRT-YVR
June 11th YVR- SYD

This booking is being costed at 110,000 each which consists for SYD-BKK in F and the rest in J

#2 PNR

June 5th ANC-DEN-LAS
June 11th LAS-YVR

This booking has been costed at 50,000 miles all in J

So my question/s is is this right ? Should I just take the first PRN now while the bonus milage promo is on and book the second PNR when another mileage promo is no as they are internal flights and availability may be easier and I could potential pay for just 25,000 miles and get some bonus miles, rather than pay from 50,000 extra miles now with no promo ( I will buy the maximum 50,000 during it promo so anything after that will be at regular price) ???

Any sugestions / advise will be grateful

the first PNR with a combination of first and business should be 140,000 miles not 110,000.

the use of 50k miles for PNR 2... would it not be better to buy the fare outright?

you cannot have an open jaw and a stopover. that is why there is a second PNR required.

 

[wittont]

Many thanks Mel_Traveller - clearly a newbie being too greedy and thinking they can run before they can walk

Yes, I also thought it would be cheaper to buy the second PNR outright. Looks like this is the best outcome and way better that economy. I did double check with the last agent and the Sydney - Bangkok leg was in first, granted on a 747 and he quoted 110,000 miles, will check again when I confirm payment.

Thanks again.

 

[burmans]

Also didn't realise I needed a reason to stay here.

I wasn't suggesting you "need" a reason but rather assuming that you were rational people and therefore there would be one, apologies if that assumption was wrong.

As you have both now explained, indeed there is a reason.