Anyone Have A Preference.....

[omegaet]

mountie.....thinking of Argentina...just in case you don't already use this card, you might consider their current offer, especially if you will be spending $1,000 during the first three months following activation:

Citi Cards

Regarding the upgrade, you should be able to snag a 'relatively' low cost coach ticket (be sure to check with AA to confirm it is an approved fare for award upgrade usage)....use 25K AAdvantage miles plus $350 co-payment (it is nonrefundable).

If you are flexible with your travel schedule, you can facilitate the in and out matrix of upgrade seat availability.

p.s. bonniejoy is correct, MIA-SCL (don't forget: Blogs - Recipe for a Perfect Layover - Community Forum | Luxury Link ) is the simple way to back door into Argentina via MDZ.....gotta spend a few days there exploring wines.

[Mountie]

-O-, if I upgrade to Business Class I can take a shower in Santiago.

[kapper]

Yes, kapper, you correctly interpreted my convoluted question.

At least for us, it seems like with the passage of time and the consolidations of airlines, has introduced more and more challenges to secure award seats aboard alliance partners.

We are working on just such a situation right now and although somewhat complicated (due to restrictive travel dates and hotel expiration dates), there is hope.

The absorption of Continental's OnePass into United's Mileage Plus has caused us some minor anxiety, but thanks to helpful res agents at the alliance partner (a foreign carrier), we may have solved the riddle and actually have the opportunity to use Saver Awards rather than Standard Awards. If the submission goes through, we are looking at saving a substantial (think thousands) amount of miles.

So, we were just wondering if others in the Lounge/Community are seeing similar situations in their award travels?

Good, I'm glad I understood your question. I am pleased the initial migration has occurred with OnePass into Mileage Plus and our family accumulated frequent flier miles have remained intact. I have been doing some on-line searches through United Airlines - Airline Tickets, Vacations Packages, Travel Deals, and Company Information on united.com and it appears their award booking process mirrors the former OnePass system. At least at the point, it appears to be fairly simple.

[omegaet]

A big round of applause to TAP Portugal, a Star Alliance partner, who came though with two BIZ Class seats for r/t MIA-LIS, using Saver Award miles through United's Mileage Plus. This cooperation represented a 50% savings in mileage usage vs the normal amount required.

OK, so TAP Portugal only has angled lay-flat seats in their BIZ Class, rather than fully lay-flat seats.....all in all, seems like a great travel opportunity rather than being crunched in coach seating for the trans-Atlantic journey.

Right now, Star Alliance is looking pretty strong to me!

Now we just need to confirm the Luxury Link hotels stays.....and we can really tie a bow on this trip!

[kyshel]

I often get the almost flat biz seats and they are ok--DL has refitted lots of long-haul flts with them.
I still get the older 767ERs with the normal angled squared seats (not curved pods) and I manage to sleep somehow (I suspect alcohol may be involved)
I'm sure you'll be very comfortable and still have miles left for another LL adventure.

[jmbklj]

A big round of applause to TAP Portugal, a Star Alliance partner, who came though with two BIZ Class seats for r/t MIA-LIS, using Saver Award miles through United's Mileage Plus. This cooperation represented a 50% savings in mileage usage vs the normal amount required.

OK, so TAP Portugal only has angled lay-flat seats in their BIZ Class, rather than fully lay-flat seats.....all in all, seems like a great travel opportunity rather than being crunched in coach seating for the trans-Atlantic journey.

Right now, Star Alliance is looking pretty strong to me!

Now we just need to confirm the Luxury Link hotels stays.....and we can really tie a bow on this trip!

o, how many miles per seat did it take for these BIZ seats?

[omegaet]

o, how many miles per seat did it take for these BIZ seats?

jmbklj...r/t 50K, plus $49.20 vs 100K normally. The ATP Portugal res agent was especially helpful in directing me to best travel dates and I booked on-line through United.com.

[omegaet]

o, how many miles per seat did it take for these BIZ seats?

jmbklj...r/t 50K, plus $49.20 vs 100K normally. The ATP Portugal res agent was especially helpful in directing me to best travel dates and I booked on-line through United.com.

p.s You photos of Portugal have inspired us to go and explore.....of course, we are attracted to the Douro Valley and will investigate some Quinta for still reds and whites.

[bonniejoy03]

Yeah O! Have you been to Portugal? When do you plan to visit? I thought you didn't want to go back to Europe? Portugal will be lovely! You are very fortunate that you had an agent assist with business class. Hope you can visit Sintra. Beautiful castle outside of Lisbon. Have fun!

[jmbklj]

jmbklj...r/t 50K, plus $49.20 vs 100K normally. The ATP Portugal res agent was especially helpful in directing me to best travel dates and I booked on-line through United.com.

p.s You photos of Portugal have inspired us to go and explore.....of course, we are attracted to the Douro Valley and will investigate some Quinta for still reds and whites.

Wow, that is a GREAT deal! Congrats!

I too would like to visit the Douro Valley. We didn't have enough time when I was there with my SIL. I'll look forward to hearing about your trip. I've been thinking about a river cruise there but the properties you've mentioned in other posts look fabulous, so maybe the river cruise won't be the way I go. Have you come across any shorter river trips in your research?