The following are listed
for the SAVER award levels and are for round trip prices.
There are some other awards that can be used
for Saver award levels, but I just don't trust American's Saver award space at the moment to redeem for those certificates.
Not exact matches
While Delta SkyMiles can be tough to use
for booking
award flights to Australia because of incredibly high redemption rates, your miles can be useful if you find
saver level award space.
Note: You are looking
for award space at the
SAVER level.
Availability
for those
saver -
level awards is usually plentiful, and, at peak summer travel season when cash prices are extremely high, that can get you a value of more than 2 cents per SkyMile.
First, by carrying a Chase United card (even the fee - free version) you have access to more
saver level domestic Economy
award availability (HT: bluecat who correctly points out the availability extends to international flights on United metal) I haven't found the difference that noticeable
for the most part, but while doing some research
for an upcoming Brandon Asks post I noticed it was quite useful
for positioning flights.
Assuming
Saver Economy
level awards were available, United's
award chart indicates that this trip should be doable
for a mere 65,000 miles per passenger through United and its partners.
However, if you can find
award space on Virgin Atlantic and a separate
saver level award for a connecting flight, there is a way to make this work.
They are free
for round - trip
saver level awards, and you can add extra stopovers
for around $ 100.
Saver level economy
award tickets
for domestic flights can offer good value
for your miles, but they may be difficult to find.
If Global Services member books a cash ticket, she or he may bring along a companion
for the cost of a
saver level award ticket.
While this is a very poor use of points (you should always look
for saver level awards), the ability to book an
award seat at any time can be very useful in a pinch.
I remember just a couple years ago flying my family of 4 to Maui
for spring break on AA BOS - DFW - OGG on
saver level awards.
If you happen to find
saver level award space on American Airlines, Avios are also great
for short flights within the U.S.
There is no
saver level award availability on American on the four days preceding the game, or the three days following the game
for the return flight.
It is true you may have to spend more miles to fly on a peak date than an off - peak date, but it can be done, and if you use some strategy you can sometimes fly home
for the holidays at the lower,
saver award level.
In theory, Delta charges 50,000 miles
for business class
awards from LAX — JFK at the low
saver level.
As an example of how one program works, United normally offers its
saver award seats in the lower 48 states at 12,500 miles each way, but when a
saver award isn't available, those with a United co-branded credit card or United elite status typically can secure an
award seat at the 25,000 - mile standard
award level each direction, as long as seats are still available
for sale with cash.
Since the cost of
award tickets are based on the price of the Value fare, you'll get the same 2.89 cents per point
for any route unless the cheapest
Saver level fare is available.
These can be as low as 20,000 miles each way
for a Super
Saver award, but you will find much better availability at the
Saver level for 30,000 miles.
~ 13,000 points
for two tickets is a much better deal than 50,000 miles
for award seats on United (which didn't have any
saver -
level award space, that day or the next).
For local airline partners that are basically an extension of SAA — Airlink and SA Express — the previous MileageKeeper (like a
saver fare) and AnyDay
award pricing
levels remain in effect.
Cardholders receive access to extra
saver level awards for economy class and guaranteed standard
level awards as long as a seat is available
for purchase.
Miles earned on your Platinum Delta SkyMiles card can be redeemed
for a variety of
awards, but the best value is realized on
saver level award tickets.
Here's what's happening
for saver level award fees:
None of the changes to
award fees can be classified as good news
for travelers, especially if you're booking
saver level awards — why would you do anything else?!
It appears that there are practically no changes in the
award chart, although I can't
for the life of me understand the need
for two
Saver levels (like I said before, I couldn't care less about Anytime
awards).
For example, a round - trip
saver level award within the continental U.S. costs 2,000 points, an Admirals Club day pass is 300 points, and AAdvantage Gold elite status is 2,400 points.
We'll skip most of the interesting parts, like AF creating a class of
awards that can be redeemed
for 25 % above the
saver level that partners can't access.
Saver level award availability
for flights is almost completely non-existent and the flight times are challenging enough as it is even when paying cash.
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Low
level saver award is usually 35,000 originating from the USA but it wasn't available, so I had to settle
for the medium
level award which was 47,500.
This compares favorably to United Airlines itself, which charges 45,000 miles
for saver -
level awards on the exact same flights.
For those who enjoy puzzles, Delta.com can provide days of enjoyment while you try to piece together a
saver level award.
For instance, from the US to Europe, a
saver United
award is 57,500 miles one - way in Business Class, whereas a low -
level Star Alliance
award in Business Class should be 70,000 miles one - way.
Please Note: This is an extremely popular route
for award flights, and there is limited availability on each flight at the «
saver»
level where you can book
for 25,000 Avios.
Award availability on Alaska matches what you'll see on Alaska's own website (
for redemptions at the low /
saver level).
Now, Delta is notoriously bad
for award flights, because they often don't make anything available at the lowest
level saver tickets.
Since posting Singapore Airlines Suites Class Available at
Saver Award Level on KrisFlyer, I've been getting questions about redeeming
for Singapore Suites on Singapore Airlines, and thought it would be helpful to answer these in a post rather than individual emails.
However, United said it will continue to offer MileagePlus domestic
Saver awards (which are subject to capacity controls) at
levels of 10,000 or 12,500 miles one - way
for economy class seats, depending on distance.
It is important to know how to look
for American Airlines
award space at the
saver level.
United will continue to offer MileagePlus domestic
Saver awards (which are subject to capacity controls) at
levels of 10,000 or 12,500 miles one - way
for economy class seats, depending on distance.
Here's a predicament I find myself in
for a summer trip to Hawaii: Megan and I are going to Kauai and Maui, there is
saver -
level award space
for only the outbound portion of our journey, we're both trying to get status with Alaska's Mileage Plan, and the tickets are ridiculously expensive (Scenario 1).
* You can also use Delta's website to search
for availability but keep in mind that in order to book a Delta flight with either of the Ultimate Rewards Skyteam partners, there must be
award space available at the
saver level on Delta.