Travel package questions

[fleming4]

I have several questions about using Marriott's hotel/air packages:

1. I want to use a package to give my step-son (different last name) and his fiancee a honeymoon in Paris next summer. Can I get a travel package in his name using my points? Do I get the package in my name and transfer it to him, and if so, how?

2. Since it takes 6 weeks to get the FF miles credited to the FF account, I am a little worried that the flights currently available under the FF program will be gone. Can I get the miles credited quicker?

3. What is the process for using the travel package's FF miles to upgrade to business class? Do I have to pay for coach class seats looking for the lowest fare I can find, then use the miles to upgrade? Or is there a different way? Coach class seats to Paris aren't cheap. My stepson has no already existing miles in a FF account, so the mileage under the travel package (120K) doesn't cover business class.

Thanks.

 

[pvangordon]

Not sure about the first question, but here has been my experience with the second two:

2. In the two times I've redeemed packages, I had the points credited in about 2 business days. I think there's an express service you can also request, but I've never needed it. However, I plan exactly 330 days ahead for my flight bookings, so I knew exactly when to make my package redemption. You might even be too late for next summer, especially if dates aren't flexible; verify with the airline first to make sure there are award seats for the dates you want.

3. This may vary by airline, but in most cases, for upgrades, you need to buy a full-fare base ticket first. For example, I used miles to upgrade to Club World (biz class) on BA a few months ago. Not only are there two grades of economy on BA, but there are different fares within each (lowest, full, etc.). So I paid full fare for the second economy tier, then used 25k miles to upgrade to biz. Again, make sure to check with the airline to see what their policies are. Some folks here may have more insight on this process; also you might want to visit FlyerTalk.com's forums.

Good luck!

 

[andrea t]

I recently redeemed points for a travel package. After holding the tickets on Delta, I called Marriott to transfer the miles into my ff account. I mentioned to the advisor I would like to expediate the transaction. He said no need, and he was right. The miles were in my account within 2 days. Good luck.

 

[MikeM132]

I did this a few months ago. As you've read here, the first thing to get is the FF reservation direct from the airline. You do this BEFORE you deposit your points into that airline through Marriott. You have about 2 weeks for your points to go in (they hold it for you). It only takes a day or two for your FF miles to get to the airline. We used American, as many have said getting an FF ticket is easier there (I found this to be true). Check out flyertalk (antother BB online) and they have many discussions about upgrades. I think American implemented a system for upgrades where it is difficult to upgrade a FF ticket using more points without an additional cash fee (something like 250.00 per ticket). You can check this out on flyertalk or at the airline website. The "easier" part of the travel package was the hotel, although our Marriott guy said this was simple and in fact we had a problem with one of the Marriott hotels after we got the flights for the week. We had to pay $40/night extra to get the hotel the week we wanted. I believe that, in general, getting the flight first and hotel after is the correct order of things. FF flights are not easy, not flexible and you can work the hotel around what you get. I don't imagine you'll have a problem putting the tickets in some else's name. This kind of thing is common.
I had never done this before this past May, and was very nervous about screwing it up, as we are going to HI for a 25th anniversary and I wanted to be there for at least a certain window of time (not super-restrictive, but not really all that flexible). I got a lot of good info on flyertalk about FF reservations. If you ever use American, pay the extra money (not much) and call them up. They have FF operators who will remind you of what good customer-service was like long ago. I think I called at least 3 times and got a "pro" each time. They are helpful, friendly, knowlegeable and worth the $5 per ticket (think that's what it was). I guess you could do it on the web if you really know what you're doing, but that is not my case!
Also, check around for rental cars if they'll need one. The 25% off cert you get for Hertz with your Marriott package is not always the best deal, even with Hertz! I tried 2 different ways with Hertz for Hawaii, then ditched my reservation and went with "not exactly" for about half price for each of the two weeks we'll be there (half of the best Hertz price including the Marriott discount). Same exact car.

 

[pwrshift]

You can order certificates in any person's name you wish from Marriott and the airline will put the tickets in any person's name you want too. Upgrading someone to business or first class just takes more frequent flyer miles so you might need more Marriott points to get more than 120k miles in the airline account. This can be done by getting two packages, both with 120k miles, even if the second package is for a Category 4 hotel certificate. The air and the hotel do not have to be part of the same trip but you must order both at the same time. Tranfer of points to the airlines takes a couple of days. If you order the certificate in your name and want to have it changed later, you will have to send the physical certificate back to Marriott before they will replace it.

In arranging air&hotel packages you have to do some planning ahead of time. For instance, some airlines don't have non-stop service from your home to where you're going, and some might. I do most of my airline planning on Travelocity searching for non-stop flights - that tells me which airlines I might want. If they are 'foreign' to us here, they are probably a 'partner' with one of our airlines - for instance UA partners with Air Canada and a bunch of others. Delta partners with other airlines. That means if you want to fly Air Canada, your points must be with one of the partners...if they are with Delta you can't fly Air Canada or UA as they are not part of the same alliance. As I live in Toronto most of my flights are AC - but I have my miles with UA - they handle it all for me, very professionally.

Another advantage of 'partner flying' is that many airlines in the US only have first and economy seats - but AC has Business Class which costs less miles and those seats on a 'two class' flight are nicer than on a 'three class' plane.

You can usually purchase a limited number of extra miles to have enough for your flights if necessary.

Once you know what airline you want to use you will have to join their flyer club - it's free. Now select the hotel that will accept points book it online - just make sure you can change it later if you can line up the airline dates. Then call the airline points division and tell them where and when you want to go, even telling them the flight number you found on Travelocity. They check to see if there are any 'FF' seats available on their partner airline and if so will give you a few days to get the points there. If the airline doesn't have FF seats ask them to check to see what days they do have them either way, and request time for you to check with the hotel to see if that part aligns up. If you do this 330 days before your flight out, you shouldn't have any problems but there are few point seats available on each flight so you might need some flexibility in days - or in number of plane changes to get there. If the flight is overseas they allow one free stopover in your routing ... such as flying from NYC to London (stay a week) and then to Paris (stay a week) and then home without any more stopovers even if there are 3 plane changes. Plan ahead.

Takes a little work and planning, but the savings are huge, especially if you are flying business class.

Brian