"Frequent Flying for Dummies"?

[DiznEeyore]

My dh and I have finally earned enough NWA miles for free tickets.

However, I have no idea if there are any "tips and tricks" to getting flights for the dates we'll want to travel...is there anywhere online I can go for a "Frequent Flying for Dummies" course?

TIA!!

 

[safetymom]

www.flyertalk.com is a great website for using and maximizing your frequent flyer miles. You might want to ask your question in the forum for the airline you will be using.

 

[seashoreCM]

Try booking 332, 331, 330 days in advance.

Be flexible with flight times.

Be prepared for different family members to be on different flights, there might not be enough frequent flier seats for the whole family on one flight.

Check back every couple of weeks or so if you did not succeed the first few attempts.

Book only cancellable ressies for the other parts of your vacation such as hotel and car. More frequent flier seats may be allotted at any time, maybe 2 weeks before your planned dates, and if not then you want the ability to cancel it all.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Brian Noble]

Be warned: for certain trips, NWA FF tix are nearly impossible to get. Plan to be booking those flights AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Last year, the family took a Disney trip in Feb from DTW. The MCO, TPA, MLB, and other nearby florida airports were gone within a day or two of opening up, if not hours. SNA was much easier to get, so we went to the Land instead of the World.

Also, here's a great tool for efficiently checking the NWA frequent flyer calendar:

http://usr.v7.com/wpaa/

 

[LuvTigger]

Ditto everything seashore said...I booked my flight to Orlando on United using FF miles (leaving this Saturday) sometime back in Februry or March, just to give you an idea of how far in advance you might need to book. And even then, I actually wanted to leave on Friday, but it wasn't available, so I took Saturday.

Also, check to see what the rules are for changing your flight if you end up getting a flight that isn't exactly what you were looking for. For example, I could have kept checking back to see if a flight became available on Friday, but it would have to be the exact route (flying thru Chicago on the way there).

One of my friends used to work in reservations and she said basically that the more popular destinations (such as Orlando, Las Vegas, etc.) book quickly, and to book very early if I was going to use FF miles for those destinations. They only block off a certain number of seats for individuals using FF miles, so even if there are seats available, it doesn't mean there are FF seats available.

Good luck!

 

[gw_lit]

We used FF miles to fly into Orlando last May and booked the flights about 10 months in advance. Your best bet is to try to fly at off-peak times, like Saturdays or mid-week, and either late at night or early in the morning.

As mentioned before, call as far in advance as possible, have an idea of flights that you'd like to take (and then have some back up choices) and be flexible. I usually try to print out the flight schedules for the days I want to fly, so I have something to refer to when I'm trying to book the flights.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Thank you everyone!! This advice is *very* helpful. We're planning to travel next December, so I will plan to start checking towards the end of this December. There are only 3 of us traveling (dh, ds and me) so I need to get us all on the same flight. Hopefully I'll be able to swing it!

Thanks again!!

 

[rsschneck]

Are all the major airlines about the same as far as using your FF miles. We have enough FF miles on Delta for a trip to Hawaii. We would like to go over Christmas of 2005. I would need to book this coming January/February for next Christmas.

Do you think I am nuts to think we can get Hawaii using FF miles for Christmas of 2005?

 

[Brian Noble]

You won't know until you try, though "Mele Kalikimaka" (Hawaiian Christmas) has to be one of the more popular routes...so book them the instant you can. It is worth calling in advance to find out the earliest possible time you can try. Think of it like getting a CRT PS, and you'll have your best shot.

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

Once or twice a year NWPerks Visa (not sure if you have one) mails out a "miles off" coupon along with your monthly statement. It saved us 8000 miles off our two tickets, so this was worth using. I was thrilled that I actually found tickets that were 25000 FF miles each(from DLH Duluth MN to MCO). Most of them popped up at 45000-50000 each. Then low and behold I got one for 50000 miles for two tickets with the 8000 miles off coupon=42000 miles. Not bad at all. Check often. The miles on the rewards chart shot up and then back down, so I booked when it was low (like playing the stock market game, I guess).

I booked in August for our November 2004 trip, not as far out as others have booked.

Good luck and if the miles charts seem to be too high, keep checking often and hopefully they'll drop for you!

Have a great Disney day and I want to know if the sun will ever shine again in Minnesota?

 

[Chicago526]

Originally posted by rsschneck
Are all the major airlines about the same as far as using your FF miles. We have enough FF miles on Delta for a trip to Hawaii. We would like to go over Christmas of 2005. I would need to book this coming January/February for next Christmas.

Do you think I am nuts to think we can get Hawaii using FF miles for Christmas of 2005?

Christmas is almost always a blackout period, you won't be allowed to use miles for free tickets at all. Double check with your carrier, but this is almost always true. Sorry to burst your bubble!

 

[lampy]

How about getting First Class (FC) upgrades instead? Is that an easier thing to do than getting FF seats?

We have enough miles (DL) to go to Hawaii too but I was thinking it maybe better to pay for tickets and try to upgrade to First Class.

Great ideas for a FF newbie.