Trying to plan Jenna's trip to Paris

[okarol]

Jenna is going to Paris, hopefully the end of Sept, to stay with a family friend for a couple of months. I say hopefully because I have had such a hard time booking travel. The issue is my attempt to use the 400,000 United Plus Miles I have accumulated over the last 10 years of using my credit card. I just cannot find any upgrades from coach to business on United to Paris or London.. I have now asked a travel agent to help, and even with flexible dates it seems impossible. I wanted to fly to London with Jenna, then take the chunnel train to Paris from there. We were able to find award tickets, but that would take over 200,000 of the miles, which seems extremely expensive, and that deal has now expired. At this point though I am beginning to wonder if these miles will have any value in the near future. Anyone else have any ideas?

[RichardMEL]

Ah the old Frequent Flyer shuffle. fun.

I am a member of United's mileage plus program also, with over 300,000 miles banked (from my pre-dialysis days). Are you trying from LAX or SFO? Upgrade seats (NC) are harder to find due to the reconfiguration of the fleet with the lie flat beds reducing the number of seats, also cheaper Business Class fares being offered to stimulate traffic mean a few more folks may actually be buying seats. Plus if you're not an elite FF member (eg: Premier, Premier Exec, 1K or UGS) - those folks have preference for upgrade waitlists. I used to be a 1K member and even then sometimes it was hard to find a seat, although I usually managed between Sydney and the US (thank God!!).

Have you called UA and asked about being put on a waitlist? or is the issue that you don't want to book a flight without upgrade space? It's always dicey. Also remember you need a specific fare type (upgradeable) as opposed to the cheapest one. Fares booked in Y B M H are upgradeable for trans-atlantic flights.

Looking to fly into London (LHR) is a good idea as UA flies the most to London and there would be more options for a seat(or two) but also consider Frankfurt or even Amsterdam(I think UA still fly there from Washington Dulles).

I think if you REALLY want those seats in Business Class rather than trying to play the upgrade game with many elites ahead of you in the queue you should just fork out the 200,000 miles - at least you're assured of the seat. Either that or pay for a Y ticket and get a seat in Economy Plus, which may be slightly more comfortable.

Good luck - let us know!

[okarol]

Thank you Richard, I appreciate the info!

[rose1999]

Just wanted to wish Jenna a safe journey and a wonderful, memorable trip 

And gosh isn't Richmel knowledgeable 

[RichardMEL]

I don't know about that but flying is a bit of an interest/passion for me, and prior to being grounded I used to fly 2 or 3 round the world tickets a year (did I mention I loved travelling?!!) so I've seen a few airports, played the system a bit, upgraded a LOT those were the days.. I miss them!!!!!

Also karol you might want to connect up with paris and alohabeth who of course knows Paris like the back of her hand so she might have some tips for a young woman en France to share!

I'm so envious and happy for Jenna she is doing this - all made to happen in part by the wonderful transplant she has received.

I hope she enjoys crusty french bread and coffee every morning!!! YUM! oooh la la !

[RichardMEL]

btw karol another thought for options is to try for a "Star Alliance award" - it would still be 105k pp for a Business Class award, but you could potentially find seats on Lufthansa, US Airways, or SAS in addition to United - and the service might be better

[Hanify]

Hey Richardmel - you never mentioned that you're rich!!!  Fool of a man.  You must know money is the way to a girl's heart.  They won't care about the dialysis stuff if you've got money honey!  2 or 3 world trips a YEAR!!!
Good luck with the tickets Karol.  I found the same thing when I tried to use frequent flyer points last year.  They didn't save me much in the end, and I had way more choice with other airlines.

[Rerun]

Good Luck to Jenna and carry her meds with her and not in her suit case just in case it gets lost.  Also a list of medications for the nosy airport people. 

I tried to use my Credit Card Alaska Air miles to go to LasVegas last year and I could get there if I wanted to spend 6 hours in Seattle.  NO!  It is such a rip off I'll never try to get air miles again.

[RichardMEL]

now now hanify dear. Rich is just the first 4 letters of my name!!!! Anyway I wouldn't want a woman to want to be with me because of any $$$ I may or may not have..... it should be for my charm, humour, personality... and roving hands 

I actually find it rather strange it is hard to get seats given the soft demand for air travel, and the end of sept isn't exactly a major peak time to travel to europe. Another tip I would try is to try to look to travel on Tuesday/Wednesday or Thursday - they are lower demand days in the premium cabins - might have more luck there to snag a seat. I was doing some looking the other day and could find some F class seats so they are out there.....

[Slywalker]

Great news that Jenna will hopefully get to go to Paris.  I can't help with frequent miles - my only miles are on my car and it doesn't give me any lip - but it also cannot cross an ocean.

Good luck getting the necessary tickets arranged.

 

[Stoday]

If you get to Paris, don't miss what the British would call a monumental cock-up (which the French keep a secret). You won't find this information in a guide book.

Stand at Cleopatra's needle on the Place de la Concorde and look up the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe, which is 3km away. In the arch you can see the Grande Arche de la Défense, another 6km away. They should, of course, be in line, but they are not. They are about one metre out of line and you can easily see this standing at the Needle.

Incidently, there are three Needles: of the other two, one is in New York and the other in London.

[okarol]

They are offering 2 business class seats (OUTBOUND: United, INBOUND: Lufthansa)
Cost is 105,000 United miles each plus $232 in taxes each.
We have to fly out LAX/WASH,DC/PARIS Sept 27
and return PARIS/FRANKFURT/LAX to fly home (Me on Oct. 13 and Jenna on Dec.18)

This sounds similar to what you had mention Richard.

I think if we fly to Paris we would take a train to London, stay there 5 days, then back to Paris by Oct 3.

After my trip to NY I am a little reluctant to fly again - I had so many hours of delays and it was exhausting.
But flying business class would sure make it easier (once you finally get on the plane.) 

[Hanify]

The best thing about flying business class is that you don't have to queue.  They have special queues for rich people lol.

[RichardMEL]

Did you snap up the tickets karol?

Lufthansa (LH) is not too bad. Their business class has angled lie flat seats which are OK, but you can sometimes slide down a little bit. The food is better than on United, the service is.. well.. German.. (cooly efficient). United is hit and miss. If you get a reconfigured 767 or 777 on the trans-atlantic flight - that would be sweet. The new lie flat seats are good, and in general european based crews on United are younger and friendlier (specially those out of London) than the US based ones, and can be all the difference between a bad and good flight (I once had a stunning English F/A treat me very well on a flight to London. She brewed me my own china pot of tea it was sensational.... OK it's true that was in First ).

That deal is probably about the best you can do so I would take it.

Enjoy your flights! I'm envious I wish I was flying anywhere!!!! 

 

[pelagia]

Oh, I'm so jealous!  You will have an amazing time.  Flying business class is a real treat.

I love this website for learning about things you wouldn't know to do in big cities:  http://gridskipper.com/

[Stoday]

return PARIS/FRANKFURT/LAX to fly home (Me on Oct. 13 and Jenna on Dec.18)

My dad took a day return flight to Frankfurt. Didn't land; just flew there and back again.

It was 1944.

 

[paris]

One thing I carry with my important papers when I am in a different country, is a paper with all my info, contacts, med, etc but I have it translated into the local language.  Then, when I am hit by a bus ( )  they don't have to translate, they can contact my local address and immediately know of a serious medical condition.  If I am unconcious, at least someone will know I have crappy kidneys!     I am very excited for Jenna. Great experience and adds to ones sense of independence.   

[okarol]

Yes, got the tickets - now we are committed!
Good idea paris - thanks for the tip!

[RichardMEL]

Sensational Karol! You will both enjoy the trips and I am sure Jenna will have a sensational time En France!

[kitkatz]

Excellent!  Jenna will have loads of fun and new experiences!

[okarol]

The only down side of this is that the dates we were given for free tickets prevents me from attending the IHD Las Vegas trip. I have had such a blast at the last two and I am sad to miss this one!

[Wattle]

    Yeah for Jenna!! I am so excited for her. Where in France does your friend live?

I am soooo jealous you get Jenna back for Christmas Okarol. Hayley and Jenna will be there at the same time.  Hayley will hopefully have a cold white christmas while we swelter without her!


Oh.... and the second thing I learnt on this tread...... Richard is now my official travel agent!!! I have no idea what you were talking about with all that flight talk!!   

[okarol]

Our friend lives in Paris.
Originally Jenna was going to gone until January, but since her sister will be home from college for Christmas it made more sense for us all to be together. So Jenna will be gone nearly 3 months - which will be a good experience I think.
I know you'll miss Hayley - wish you had some frequent flyer miles to buy a ticket. 

[RichardMEL]

ty Wattle hun. you're welcome I love to travel... well.. used to... oh.. you know what I mean!!!

I keep planning various trips I want to do if/when I get my own little bean... singapore, Hong Kong, London, Seattle, Vegas(of course!), New York.... to start!!!!!!

I used to do all kinds of crazy trips for experiences(and miles?!!) like going to London via Hong Kong and Delhi, going to Russia in 1996(fantastic) and being able to go on a road trip through the Canadian praries..... and many other things.

And that's one of the main reasons I wish to take the risk of a transplant. I want to get back to enjoying all those things (oh and doing it all in the pointy end of the plane!!!! ).

Singapore Airlines First Class - the best I've ever experienced

So Wattle now that you're on the road to your new life perhaps we can help with that travel thing! How exciting!!