GOAL #1: Two round-trip tickets (coach) from New York to the Maldives, departing February 1 and returning February 14.

Expert's Feedback: "Travel to the Maldives will require at least 75,000 miles per ticket. Check for seats on American into Colombo, Sri Lanka, since flights to large cities sometimes have more availability. Sri Lanka has many cheap flights to the Maldives and makes a great stopover!"

Outcome: No seats to or from Colombo were available in February. The agent did, however, find a 33-hour, four-stop flight into Male using two partner carriers for 75,000 miles per ticket. No thanks!

GOAL #2: Two round-trip business-class seats from New York to Hawaii, departing August 1 and returning August 8.

Expert's Feedback: "American has many options to the islands, including using partner Hawaiian Airlines. If the island of choice is not available, always check flights to the other islands, which may have more seats open. Then use miles or purchase an interisland flight to reach the preferred airport."

Outcome: The agent found two American Airlines business-class seats from New York to Honolulu one week after the desired dates for 75,000 miles each. For a deal this good, Dunn changed her schedule.

Editor 2
Kevin Doyle

Mileage Balances
American: 60,000 miles
American Express Membership Rewards: 17,700
Delta: 160,000 miles

GOAL #1: Two round-trip tickets (business or coach) from New York to Bangkok, departing November 16 and returning December 2.

Expert's Feedback: "Delta has some great partners for travel to Bangkok (including Singapore Airlines) and Istanbul (such as El Al via Tel Aviv), but you need to ask specifically for these carriers because only certain agents can check availability."

Outcome: Found round-trip coach tickets on Singapore for a total of 160,000 Delta Skymiles. This itinerary was 27 hours and included two stops, so Doyle instead opted to pay $1,200 each for coach tickets on Thai Airways' 17-hour direct flight.

GOAL #2: Two round-trip business-class seats from New York to Istanbul, departing August 30 and returning September 9.

Expert's Feedback: "You may lack the miles that will be required for this request. If you do find that you're coming up short, consider purchasing the additional miles you need directly from the airline. This tactic can be pricey, though, and I recommend buying miles only as a last resort, and only after you have secured the itinerary that fits your needs. "

Outcome: There was no availability on Delta, and El Al was blacked out from July 1 to September 5. A Delta agent found two business-class tickets via Moscow on Aeroflot for a total of 160,000 miles—with flat seats in business. Da!

Getting Personal
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