US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

[bcworld]

Hmmm - now Im a bit more confused!

I thought TG was the only realistic way to redeem MEL-NRT J and was all set to concentrate on them but now it seems like SQ and NZ may also be possibilities. I've played around with the ANA tool for various dates and TG often comes up available but NZ and SQ J never do. Are they only available 330 days out and then quickly snapped up or are they released at different random times?

I'm not concerned about lounges, routes, distances etc - if it is an overnight flight (the BKK-NRT on TG part is) I'm most concerned with the most comfortable flat seat to get some sleep. Whats the SQ J 773 and regional seat like? I assume its not the ridiculously wide 380 J seat but is it full flat or angled?

What would be the best J seat out of TG, SQ 773 and NZ?

Thanks

Try searching ANA just for MEL-SIN...I'm confident it will regularly offer you 773 options.

SQ 773 = angled seat New medium-haul Business Class

TG 777s = angled seat http://www.thaiairways.com/thai-services/in-the-air/en/THAI%20Fleet%20PDF/B777-300.pdf

NZ 777 = lie flat bed Business Premier - Long-Haul Experience - Air New Zealand - Australia Site

 

[smit0847]

NZ J is fully flat. TG will be fully flat on their 77W equivalent only (which is a single daily service BKK-NRT).

Just break the itinerary down on ANA - so do MEL-SIN first, then SIN-NRT/HND. I think the transit time in SIN is a bit long (4.5 hours) to show as a connection on the ANA tool (in fact I just did a quick search and it doesn't seem to list anything for just MEL-NRT)

I got SQ availability 3 weeks out, so there shouldn't be too much of an issue. MEL-SIN was open (with more availability released about a week out) and SIN-HND was also available on multiple dates.

Thanks. It looks like the daily 77W BKK-NRT flight is a day-time flight (both ways). It seems unbelievably stupid to me to have your only full-flat J seats on day-time flights yet have your overnight flights angled-flat! Daytime flights Im not fussed about the seat recline - overnight flights I want the most comfortable sleep I can get.

I think there is a good possibility TG may use an A380 on the BKK-NRT route next year (as one of its 'premium routes' to a *A hub and jetabroad seems to think they will be doing it in a dummy booking for Jan 2013) which of course has the full-flat seats so provided they release some A380 seats to *A partners that would be a great choice.

NZ MEL-AKL-NRT would have tricky connections (a night in AKL or an awkward 3.5 hour overnight flight on quite possibly on a 738 with a cough J) and if SQ is angled (and MEL-SIN availability is day-time anyway) I doubt I will go through the hassle of trying to get it over TG when TG seems so much more available (and has neat connections). I do think NZ would have the best J product of the 3 carriers flying out of Australia and New Zealand to Asia.

Of course, I may just pay more (30K points) and do SYD-BKK-NRT TG all F - I've been reading up on the F ground services in BKK and many suggest they are among the best in the world (and the 4 hour layovers in BKK would be just about the perfect time to fully enjoy all the F Lounge and spa offerings IMO!).

Whats the best time to book TG (i.e. most availability) if Im looking to travel Jan/Feb 2014?

Hmmmm - #firstworldproblems!!

 

[StevePER]

I'm about to help a friend of mine book some flights with Dividend Miles. I assume that there shouldn't be any problem with SIN-IST-CMN return with a stopover in IST in one direction? (CMN = Casablanca) Or SIN-BKK-IST-CMN since there seems to be very limited availability on the SIN-IST flights.

 

[k3nnis]

Is AKL-NRT or AKL-KIX on the business premier fully flat J?

 

[travelislife]

Seems alright StevePer. I booked for a friend MEL-SIN-IST-BCN using SQ and TK about a month ago for flights in the peak in June/July and managed to get them in Business Class.

As a side point it will be interesting to see if TG's availability drops significantly when they introduce the A380, hope not but I fear it might happen. At the moment if you want to get to Europe from Australia in Business it isn't too hard at all if you don't start getting too picky.

 

[bcworld]

Is AKL-NRT or AKL-KIX on the business premier fully flat J?

I think AKL-NRT (772) is but not AKL-KIX (767 flights).

 

[laffer]

Many thanks for your assistance - I have read the rules and I think I understand them I'm just trying to work out the practicalities.

Just a couple more quick questions.

As far as I can gather, to Asia, the only way to get from AUS to Asia on *A is on TG (from PER/MEL/SYD/BNE to BKK), OZ (SYD to ICN) or NZ or SQ (if you can get the very rare availability)? Of those options TG has by far the most availability?

The rules say I can have 1 stopover at a hub city. Can I have it on the way back rather than the way there? (i.e. MEL-BKK-NRT (dest), NRT-BKK (7 day stop)-MEL) (the whole way with TG and maybe some NH)? I'm guessing the only way to get to SGN on my stopover would be to buy a separate ticket BKK-SGN-BKK and duck over there during my BKK stopover?

Could try PEK with China Air?

 

[kamchatsky]

Could try PEK with China Air?

It would be waste of redemption ticket if you can use SQ/NZ/OZ and TG instead. CA is still miles behind the competition in terms of services, as their model is to move millions of Chinese at cheapest possible price.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It would be waste of redemption ticket if you can use SQ/NZ/OZ and TG instead. CA is still miles behind the competition in terms of services, as their model is to move millions of Chinese at cheapest possible price.

and yet their fleet will have far better seats than either TG or SQ for award seat services to AU?

 

[trooper]

Meant to be... My "US mile" trip in May/June will get me home from PEK-SYD on CA... and it is scheduled currently to be the latest (lie flat) product.. which looks pretty good to me... We'll see...

 

[Flashback]

I saw a mention of NH about, FT suggests NH flights can be very difficult to get.

Anyway, here is how my miles posted from the hotels bonus promo:
[TABLE="class: viewmiles"]
[TR]
[TD="class: oddrow"]3/14/2012[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]04/17/12[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]HOTEL POINTS CONVERSION 50% BONUS[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]47,499[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I transferred 94,999 from SPG so not a bad bonus.

 

[neon_crossing]

There has been tons of availability in SQ J on the 77W and A380 for some routes particularly to Australia and intra-Asia.

With US Airways miles??

Where and how ? Can't find any.

 

[neon_crossing]

Hi All,

I can never find availability on NZ on the long haul aircrafts. Can anyone else find? How far out does NZ release award J seats? e.g. AKL-LAX or AKL-HKG or even LAX-LHR and vv

I pretty much check on a daily basis for the last 6 months and anything long haul to north america AKL > LAX / SFO / YVR is basically obsolete now, they don't release them.

Spoke to Air NZ the other day and the lady mentioned that a heap of people have been calling up with the same query and to complain.

As mentioned by other people the only long haul NZ J availability tends to be AKL > PVG/KIX/NRT on 772/763

 

[bcworld]

I saw a mention of NH about, FT suggests NH flights can be very difficult to get.

Anyway, here is how my miles posted from the hotels bonus promo:
[TABLE="class: viewmiles"]
[TR]
[TD="class: oddrow"]3/14/2012[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]04/17/12[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]HOTEL POINTS CONVERSION 50% BONUS[/TD]
[TD="class: oddrow"]47,499[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I transferred 94,999 from SPG so not a bad bonus.

NH flights aren't difficult to get. NH code shares operated by Air Japan are virtually impossible to book although the common tools show them.

 

[k3nnis]

So you mean no one can book J award on AKL->LAX/SFO/YVR on NZ? Do they actually sell out using cash ?

I pretty much check on a daily basis for the last 6 months and anything long haul to north america AKL > LAX / SFO / YVR is basically obsolete now, they don't release them.

Spoke to Air NZ the other day and the lady mentioned that a heap of people have been calling up with the same query and to complain.

As mentioned by other people the only long haul NZ J availability tends to be AKL > PVG/KIX/NRT on 772/763

 

[travelislife]

So you mean no one can book J award on AKL->LAX/SFO/YVR on NZ? Do they actually sell out using cash ?

So a few months ago (maybe 4-5) Air NZ availability in Business Class was pretty consistently coming up at 3 months (90 days) out from the travel date. Now a few things have changed with Air NZ in that period of time, one of the biggest ones being the rejigging of their own FF programme and the introduction of the OneUp bidding process. Now my feeling (this is a hunch only) is that they have significantly reduced their Star Alliance availability in the hope that they can make some extra cash out of the OneUp process, as since this has been introduced I haven't been seeing any seats released at 90 days out.

Anyone else have any theories or think I could be on to something?

 

[k3nnis]

I even check 30 days out and nothing, even 10 days out nothing, it's like they don't release any at all !

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I even check 30 days out and nothing, even 10 days out nothing, it's like they don't release any at all !

they must be doing ok with revenue bookings considering qantas no longer flies the route.

 

[travelislife]

they must be doing ok with revenue bookings considering qantas no longer flies the route.

Or as I was saying, selling the seats at a discount through their own OneUp program. Some cash is probably better than what they get through the miles system.

 

[Foreigner]

Reading few posts in this thread after long time. While many miles are required for say SYD-BKK?

And how many miles SYD to Europe?

Both for return trips.