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NW FF Miles Redemption -- 330 days?

citymouse0_1

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Do all airlines use the 330 day in advance rule, or does it vary by airline? I will be checking on Northwest.

Also, if I book my outbound flight 330 days in advance, how do I go about booking my return flight (since it would be more than 330 days out). Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,

Chris
 

Darwin

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NW only allows you to book both in and out together. And, yes they use the 330 day rule. So you would need to wait 330 days from your return to book your flight.

Darwin
 

SherryS

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My experience has been that NW FF tickets are available 352 days in advance. We have always booked our Hawaii outbound tickets with a false return date. Then when your actual desired return date is released (352 days in advance), we pay the $50 apiece change fee. Remember, you can also book Continental (352 days in advance) and Delta (331 days in advance) with your NW miles. You can also now do this online. I think if you change your return flight on Continental or Delta (using your NW miles), you must do by call a NW FF agent.
 

Poobah

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Chris,

You might look at Delta. They have a nonstop SLC to HNL. NWA has gutted the Hawaii service :mad: . There is only one non-stop and everything else is a connection through LAX, SEA, SFO, PDX (Portland). If you are going inter-island on the same day, you have only three choices from MSP: the nonstop, SEA, and PDX. Everything else gets in too late, or is a bit risky if NWA is late.

Maybe next year they will add back the second non-stop.

You might look into an upgradable fare and using your miles to upgrade. Be advised that the phone at res starts ringing a 12:01AM 3 whatever hundred days in advance.

Cheers,

Paul
 

Jwerking

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SherryS said:
My experience has been that NW FF tickets are available 352 days in advance. We have always booked our Hawaii outbound tickets with a false return date. Then when your actual desired return date is released (352 days in advance), we pay the $50 apiece change fee. Remember, you can also book Continental (352 days in advance) and Delta (331 days in advance) with your NW miles. You can also now do this online. I think if you change your return flight on Continental or Delta (using your NW miles), you must do by call a NW FF agent.

Sherry was a great help to me in using my NWA FF miles for Hawaii. Based on my limited experience with them, their FF availibility is very limited. I checked everyday for our Hawaii seats in the 352 to 33o window and they would periodically load a few seats - but mostly for first class or anytime award seats (takes twice the miles) and for weekdays, hardly ever for weekends.

They do partner with Delta who faithfully loads their seats at midnight 330 days out. So I called NWA and had them book the Delta tickets at the 330 day window (you have to tell specifically to check Delta availability - they do NOT do so unless you ask). I then booked them with a false first leg (i.e. some Hawaii to DCA FF seats avail from NWA). Then at the 330 Delta window for my return, I called NWA again and had them grab the Delta seats and re-issue my ticket for a fee of $50 each.

If you wait for the NWA rule to have both legs available before you book - all the seats will be gone. So it is worth the $50 change fee.

Thank you, Sherry, for teaching me how.

Joyce
 

SherryS

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Hi Joyce!....The best new thing with NW is that you CAN reserve Delta FF seats on line through the NWA website. I love that feature and plan to use it for our Feb. 2008 Hawaii trip.
 

JudyS

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Thank you, Sherry and Joyce, for the information. I don't really understand how to do the "false return" thing, though. Suppose I want to fly from DTW (Detroit) to HNL (Honolulu.) I check NW's website at 352 days out. Let's say that I get lucky and they have the ticket to Honolulu that I need. At that point they won't have any frequent flyer seats on subsequent days coming back from HNL, will they? So, what do I book? Do I just book a return flight for the same day?
 

SherryS

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Same day, or reverse it and search from HNL to DTW and use you actual depart day as your false return! (I've done that with some of my tickets already.)
 

citymouse0_1

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It sounds like it is important to call at around 12:01 the day FF tickets are released. This is probably picky, but is that Eastern Time? I live in the Central time zone.
 

SherryS

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I believe the correct time is 12:01 am Eastern. I think this has to do with what time zone the base-city of your choosen airline is in (Delta headquarters is Atlanta in the Eastern Time Zone). Northwest, on the other hand, has been known in the recent past to release its FF tickets in groups and not exactly on the 352 days out date. So, I wouldn't count on the midnight 352 days out for NW FF tickets. Just plan on being diligent when trying for NW!
 
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