SPG Flights

[Maui_ed]

Hi, all. I have received a few e-mails from Starwood touting the new SPG Flights service. I have looked at a few flight options; I guess I am not sure yet if it is a good deal or not. Anyone have any strong opinions on this service? Is it better than transfering SPs to a specific airline?

 

[DavidnRobin]

Not a good deal at a redeem value of 0.01 and 0.15 cents/SP - but it could have value (esp to those with ton of SPs) since there are no blackout dates and the interface allows for flight searches w/o restriction (vs. having to deal with FF mile restrictions)

 

[DeniseM]

I already have a round-trip reservation to Kauai for next summer that I made by transferring my Starpoints to Hawaiian Air. The exact same flights were more than twice as much if booked directly through the SPG website!

There is a thread discussing it here somewhere - Here you go: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80623&highlight=flights

 

[DavidnRobin]

FF miles is of course the way to go - the SPG flight are just w/o restriction so best to use if you need a flight in a pinch and would rather use SPs than cash.

I need to look into the best FF deals for SP transfers - either to HI or Europe - we are at the 12-month point. Any ideas welcome - FlyerTalk is too much to deal with since I am not a travel-flight pro.

 

[Ken555]

I need to look into the best FF deals for SP transfers - either to HI or Europe - we are at the 12-month point. Any ideas welcome - FlyerTalk is too much to deal with since I am not a travel-flight pro.

Are you planning on coach or business for Europe? If business, AA still has 90,000 mile awards for Europe this month, going to 100,000 next month under their new plan. You can reserve now for next year, though I don't think any program allows 365 days ahead (I think it's ~ 10 months or so). Personally, I find the Delta business class to be excellent to Europe, but all are better than coach.

Hawaii awards are also going up in FFP cost. Look quickly if you can book this month and you'll save.

I'm searching daily for a return flight in March from Hawaii now... plenty of availability throughout February to Hawaii but no returns at the discounted amount in the entire month or more - same is true on AA, Delta/NW, and Alaska.

 

[DavidnRobin]

After my experince with AA at STT - I said I would never fly AA again (I wonder if that will hold?).

How fast is the process to transfer SPG into FF miles - and can they be changed back if not used?

 

[stevens397]

If you are too late to get FF tickets from the airplane, and you have a #$%&load of points, it can be worthwhile. For most of us, who obsess about getting the most value, not a great deal. But again, this is in ADDITION to regular redemptions and now they can offer what other cards to in addition to what we already have. I think it was smart

 

[SDKath]

After my experince with AA at STT - I said I would never fly AA again (I wonder if that will hold?).

How fast is the process to transfer SPG into FF miles - and can they be changed back if not used?

Don't stick to that. We have flown AA to the Caribbean many times and have had some missed connections, weather issues, etc. Each time, they were incredibly nice and accomodating, often bending over backwards to help us out even when it was not their fault. We almost exclusively fly AA everywhere and I have never had a bad experience. You may have just had an isolated incident (although I remember reading the details and I don't blame you for being mad as heck!).

Katherine

 

[Henry M.]

I agree with Katherine. I've flown almost 2.5 million miles with American both domestically and internationally and have not had any really bad experiences. Hopefully what you went through was a single isolated incident.

Henry

 

[Cathyb]

DeniseM: Should be careful -- another tugger showed Hawaiian Air may go on strike.

 

[Henry M.]

The pilot's union is seeking mediation. If that fails they could strike. Here's an article about it.

 

[bizaro86]

Hi DavidnRobin,

I don't know what your policy is about connections in 3rd countries, and I have no idea what your dates are or where you're going. But Air Canada has pretty reasonably priced (in miles) business class service to Europe from SFO connecting either in Calgary(YYC) or Vancouver (YVR). I looked for July 1st to 15th (just for example) SFO-YYC-LHR in all business class, and it was 85,000 miles per person. (Economy would be 60,000)

And since SPG to aeroplan is 1:1 with the bonus, it might not be a bad deal.

(But don't tell everyone or post it on a public forum, because I might need those business class tickets to Europe from YYC (my hometown) for myself next summer! )

Michael

 

[DeniseM]

DeniseM: Should be careful -- another tugger showed Hawaiian Air may go on strike.

My trip isn't until next summer, but I did notice that!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hi DavidnRobin,

I don't know what your policy is about connections in 3rd countries, and I have no idea what your dates are or where you're going. But Air Canada has pretty reasonably priced (in miles) business class service to Europe from SFO connecting either in Calgary(YYC) or Vancouver (YVR). I looked for July 1st to 15th (just for example) SFO-YYC-LHR in all business class, and it was 85,000 miles per person. (Economy would be 60,000)

And since SPG to aeroplan is 1:1 with the bonus, it might not be a bad deal.

(But don't tell everyone or post it on a public forum, because I might need those business class tickets to Europe from YYC (my hometown) for myself next summer! )

Michael

Thanks for the info - right now we are looking at Europe in late August - and returning 3-weeks later. I just made our WPORV resservation this morning for 9/19/09 - we will be at WPORV for 2-weeks, then WKORV for 2-weeks.

No - this is not our normal vacation time - we usually get 3-week per year, but every 6 years we get an additional 6 weeks (they call this a sabatical, but it is not work related). This is my third sabbatical and Robin's second - luckily they line up. This is why we bought WPORV EOYodd.

It is a long way away - but luckily we have WKORV, WKV, and maybe WSJ (if I don't exchange or rent first) first. Too bad I didn't try and start my attempt to direct exchange earlier - I had some WKORV/N OF Owners interested, but they had already made plans for 2009. It could have been a win/win for both.

 

[Maui_ed]

After my experince with AA at STT - I said I would never fly AA again (I wonder if that will hold?).

How fast is the process to transfer SPG into FF miles - and can they be changed back if not used?

I recently transferred SPG into FF miles with Alaska. The process took about 2 weeks and is irreversible - points go in but they don't come back out! One advantage is that you get an extra 5,000 miles deposited for every 20,000 miles you transfer. There are limits on how many miles can be transferred at one time and limits on how many free 5,000 miles are allowed per transaction.

 

[DavidnRobin]

I recently transferred SPG into FF miles with Alaska. The process took about 2 weeks and is irreversible - points go in but they don't come back out! One advantage is that you get an extra 5,000 miles deposited for every 20,000 miles you transfer. There are limits on how many miles can be transferred at one time and limits on how many free 5,000 miles are allowed per transaction.

Excellent info - I am pretty light on FF miles overall - I used up our UA miles and our Delta/AA/HI miles wouldn't get us much. I guess it is time for me to check this out since we are at the 11-12 month point.