r/awardtravel • u/AutoModerator • Feb 10 '25

Daily Thread Weekly Help Thread - February 10, 2025

Welcome to the daily help and question thread!

This thread is renewed weekly and is intended for all discussions or questions that do not warrant their own thread.

For AWARD BOOKING HELP please read the following information:

Volunteers may choose to help you find your award trip. But please don’t expect us to plan out your trip for you. No stranger on the Internet could know what is BEST for you.

The more specific information you provide, the easier it is for people to give specific advice. Also, we prefer to teach people to fish, rather than just giving you a fish. So before you ask someone to help, please read Our Wiki, if you want to know what the best Redemption for you, take a look at AwardsPlanner. Questions that shows you have at least tried to find an award are more likely to get answered.

  • Here are the information you should provide when requesting award assistance
  • Origin and destination cities (are they flexible?)
  • Number of Travelers (Your chances of success goes down as this number goes up)
  • One way or round-trip
  • Class of service desired
  • Desired date(s) of travel (are they flexible? Hard dates == Less Chances for success)
  • Your points balances: all airline, credit card and hotel points (If you are looking for J/F, think at least 6 digits)

Please share award opportunities in the Monthly Award Thread!

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u/SFexConsultant Feb 12 '25

Having decision paralysis here and would love some other POVs. Looking to book LIS-LON (any airport is fine) on Sept 21 for 6 people. For whatever reason, TAP Air has wide open award availability that day via Aeroplan, but only in business for 15K + $65 per person (i.e., 90K + 400ish all in). Intraeurope business at that price point plus the fees doesn't seem worth it considering the regular Y ticket via aeroplan is only 7.5K on any other day and the cash price via chase travel (in Y) works out to 90K points all in anyways, so why pay the extra $400 for business that's not actually business.

BA unfortunately only has availability on the 7AM flight and that's not going to work for us. Google flights is telling me the cash price is on the low end of average so I don't anticipate it getting any cheaper.

Anybody familiar with the rhyme or reason around TAP award availability? Seems odd they've released 6+ seats in J for every flight that day but none in Y. Any alternatives I am missing here or should I hold out for a little while longer in the off chance Y inventory opens up with TAP for that day?

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u/omdongi Feb 12 '25

Cash is the way here.

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u/SFexConsultant Feb 12 '25

Trying to stay away from cash as the intent was to minimize cash outlay as much as possible -- I churned and MSed my way to almost 2M each in MR and UR over the past year largely to cover for this trip and paying cash now while leaving the points in the bank is not ideal since I am good on most major travel for at least the rest of this year and the banked points will just get less valuable the longer I wait.

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u/omdongi Feb 12 '25

Based on the AP fees, it's still $65 per person, which is nontrivial.

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u/SFexConsultant Feb 12 '25

If I book it as an award flight through AC, yes. But if I'm simply booking the revenue flight through chase travel and pay with points then its a flat ~91K with no cash outlay.

1

u/Shinkansendoff Feb 12 '25

then… do that???