Originally Posted By Mr X Okay, well it's hard to know where to begin here, but basically I want to redeem frequent flyer miles for 2 people (married, but with different FFM accounts on 2 different airlines (Delta and Northwest, to be specific) to get from point A to point B nonstop (within the U.S., Boston to Miami to be exact). Funny thing is, both people GOT their miles from a 3rd airline (Continental) through a skymiles program and have always flown together. Now, they COULD fly seperately on Delta and Northwest (or Continental maybe? I dunno how FFM works really) easily, BUT that involves both of them having to change planes and take a long time to get down to Miami AND they have a cruise ship to catch. Now this FOURTH airline (American) seems to be the only one so far that has NON-STOP flights from Boston to Miami, which would make the whole trip a lot easier. So, if couple A wishes to reach points a to b and, at a later date points b to a, involving carriers 1+2 and possibly 3, subtracting the value of carrier 4 which is of the greatest value, what should couple A do? Solve for A.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Delta, Northwest, and Continental have reciprocal FFM programs. You cannot combine miles from accounts with different airlines or with accounts of two people even if married, but if a single account on any of those airlines has enough miles to redeem a free ticket, then that ticket can be redeemed on any of the three airlines and in any passenger's name. So, for example, Boston-Miami could be done on Delta connencting through Atlanta, and you could get one ticket from a Delta account, and another ticket on the same Deltas flight using miles from the Northwest account. You could also fly Continental and connect through Newark using your Delta and Northwest accounts. A NW flight would likely require a connection through Detriot, Minneapolis, or Memphis, so it would be a bit more out of the way, but if that's what is needed in order to get two free seats on the same flight, then it's not a bad option. It sounds to me that between the three carriers, you should be able to get two seats on the same flight, even though the miles are coming from two programs. American would be the most convenient flight-wise because of the non-stop, but it's FFP is not affiliated with the other three that you mentioned.
Originally Posted By Mr X SuperDry...I owe you a coke. Thanks for breaking down the problem...I pretty much thought so (though it still sucks that American is not an option...though, of course, we could always just shell out and buy it!). Amtrak!? ForGET it! I actually DID suffer through a round trip Amtrak purgatory from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale (round trip...I'm a masochist what can I say!?). All I can say about THAT is, never again.
Originally Posted By Mr X lol. yeah, I know. could be LOTS worse (I've done something similar to Greyhound cross country as well!)...BUT, the non-stop flight thing just makes the day a heck of a lot easier (not to mention that the couple in question is going to be in the air (talking actual airtime here...not just what it says on the ticket!) for the better part of two full days over a one month period!).
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>American would be the most convenient flight-wise because of the non-stop, but it's FFP is not affiliated with the other three that you mentioned.<<< One more question, SD, since you obviously know alot about these programs...is there ANY airline associated with the first three that DOES fly non-stop to Miami that you know of? Also, one other option for the couple is to fly Delta (as you mentioned) and plan a super long connection in Orlando...thus hopping off the plane for a few hours of Disney fun.
Originally Posted By SuperDry It looks like AA is the only carrier that flies Boston-Miami non-stop. But I think you picked up on another good option: Delta flies between Boston and Miami with connections either in Atlanta or Orlando. Delta awards appear to allow a stopover, so you could even stay overnight in Orlando at no extra charge on the way to Miami.
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe any way to convert those miles to another point system that is general? Maybe Amex points or something? Than you could just use those to fly whatever airline you would like. (disclaimer: not a FFM or Amex card holder or member of any point system save Best Buy so my knowledge is small in this area)
Originally Posted By Mr X That's a good point, Joe. I'm not sure about it, but it's worth looking into I think (SD will hopefully chime in with the real facts...).
Originally Posted By SuperDry The short answer is that they are already in the best place they can be if the purpose is to use them for free flights.
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger What's bad about Amtrak? I took a train from Seattle to L.A. a few years ago and found it comfortable, if a bit long. But I was looking recently and discovered that a sleeping compartment would run about as much as airline tickets, so my wife and I were considering the train for our next cross-contry.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda A few years ago when I was living in Boston, I took the train round trip from Boston to San Diego. It was something I had always wanted to do, see the country by train. Due to costs, I decided not to get a sleeping compartment. First off, the positives: The views were amazing. I took one of Tom Clancy's epic novels with me and only made it through about 1/4 of it. The food was as good, if not better, then some 4 star restuarants I've been in. The negatives: As I was traveling alone, I wasn't allowed to pick my own seat on the Chicago to Los Angeles segment. This train was a double deck train, and I was seated in the middle of the car, directly opposite the staircase to downstairs where the bathrooms were. So, I had to deal with the noise of people walking up and down the stairs all night as well as the light over the stairs. The seats, while they did recline farther then coach airplane seats, didn't recline far enough to be comfortable On this trip there were several families with young children, who were noisy. I spent most of the daylight time in the observation car. The coach cars did not have showers, so had to sponge bathe using the bathroom sinks. I've heard that the newer cars now have showers. The sleeping cars did have showers, but coach passengers were not allowed to use them. Would I do it again? Yes, I would... but I would try to get a sleeping car space.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 X, I don't know if you've noticed this or if it's helpful to you, but... NorthWest is running a pretty good miles/cash sale right now. Your couple's point of origin and their destination city are both within "Zone A" of the US, so roundtrip tickets would be $119 and 10,000 miles apiece. In my experience, it can be difficult to get a flight into Miami on NWA at certain times of the week, since so many people fly from the north to Miami to catch their cruises. Still, using the cash/miles option might open more seats to you than using miles alone, and the NWA on-line "book your flight" service is easy to use. It might be worth checking out. I assume you'll be able to try this yourself, if interested. But if you want me to forward you the promo email that NWA sent, let me know!
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Mr X, please don't faint or anything, but... I just sent you an email.
