I just checked and apparently you only need 45,000 EM and 78,000 EM for Business Class and First Class respectively.

Reality is, how often someone intend to visit UK by next month and still haven't booked his or her flight ticket by now?

exactly, it is not the first time MH giving these short notice promotion.

well u probbly pay back the premium on accom.

maybe someone with alot of pts can do return on first class lol

Haha I do and very frequently too, not to London but to NYC. I typically redeem my flights 2-3 weeks in advance for the most part, taking advantage of last minute availability on CX J or F. Have booked SQ F last minute too. Had to cancel this week's trip to NYC because of lack of availability, thanks to fellow AAdvantage members

Kinda tempting to do KUL-LHR on MH F, 78k miles one way plus ~RM700 fees only!

Guys, back to Asia Miles RTW redemption.

Is my plan workable for J redemption?

QR
SIN-DOH-ATH (transit at Doha so this is consider 1 transfer & 1 stopover?)
5696 Miles

Plan is to get to Santorini, then take a flight to Rome which I will visit a few cities by train and end up in Milan. Take a budget airline flight from Milan to London. Since my last stop was ATH & next departure from LHR, so considered 1 open-jaw?

AA
LHR-LAX (1 stopover; 1 open jaw?)
5456 Miles

Read some review and here that the BA A388 J suck? Seems AA's 77w is a better option?

Plan in US: LAX-LAS-SFO

CX
SFO-HKG (1 stopover)
HKG-SIN (1 stopover)
6927+1587 Miles

TOTAL 19,666 Miles (140k AM redemption)

Can i utilize LAX-LAS domestic flight into my plan? (236 Miles) This will bring the miles to just below 20k in total and total 5 stopovers. Then I just need to get another flight myself from LAS-SFO

Appreciate your comment especially seat availability issues

This post has been edited by bearbear: May 19 2016, 12:26 AM

Yes ATH/LHR would be considered 1 stopover and 1 open jaw. Don't forget the somewhat high APD in LHR when flying out on J/F.

I personally would not do LAX-LAS with all the hassles of TSA. If you're up for it, do a road trip LAX-LAS-SFO. I've done it twice already and would do it again! You will need a car ideally in Los Angeles anyway, unless you're happy to pay for Uber everywhere which can get expensive. One way car rentals aren't all that expensive.

Also how are you doing the mileage calculations? gcmap, webflyer and expertflyer all will give slightly different amounts, the only number that's valid is CX of course but at 19,666 miles you're far too close to the 20k limit and might not be able to squeeze that domestic flight in.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks!

How many days would you reckon is ideal for road trip for LAX-LAS-SFO? cause from google map total driving for both trips would be like 12 hours.

The mileage was computed with gcmap, will try with the others you mentioned.

Actual driving time as you've calculated is roughly 12 hours, 4-5 for LAS-LAX and 7-8 for LAX-SFO

Las Vegas to Los Angeles is a big empty desert, not so much to see even if you follow the historic Route 66. However the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam are both within driving distance of Las Vegas. Several ghost towns around the area too.

There are a few ways to go from Los Angeles to San Francisco. One way is Highway 1 aka Pacific Coast Highway, the other is the inland route that you can take towards Redwood National Park, Reno, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Death Valley etc.

I've done both routes, first time took 3 weeks, second time we spent about 2 weeks although both times we spent several days in the big cities as well.

Very good redemption to LHR, 78k em for first class. Anyone know when the promotion last?

Btw, anyone needs EM do pm me.

Thanks, i only plan maybe a week to 10 days in US thus was thinking of flight between the cities to minimize rushing here and there.

You have experience redeeming CX from SFO or LAS to HKG? Would it be difficult? The popular route is JFK?

If you don't have the time then definitely go for the domestic flights. I personally enjoy the road trips but it's not for everyone plus it does take time.

I last did HKG-SFO and LAX-HKG in December 2014, my last flight on CX last October was to EWR/JFK directly. LAX seems easier to get simply because there are 5 flights daily compared to 2 from SFO. I got my LAX-HKG-KUL on J about a month out, was on JL J (SAN-NRT) when I booked 6 months out.

This post has been edited by tishaban: May 20 2016, 10:02 PM

I agree with Tishaban. No point flying to Vegas. Connecting domestically involves clearing immigration then re-checkin again.

The last time my friends visited me, they flew in from SFO-LAX and i met them at the car rental at LAX. From there drive to Vegas with them trailing behind my car. Takes about 4hrs (~280 miles one way). At least with driving to Vegas, there's a few outlet centers you can stop at in between the journey (Tangers, Primm, Las Vegas South/North).

CX availability is really dry on SFO-HKG. LAX is much more open in comparison- that's how I nabbed my F upgrade

I suggest flying into LAS on BA even if the seats aren't the most luxurious (it does its purpose of lie-flat and decent rest). But the mile savings help. LAS-SFO-LAX on Virgin America (midweek departures are cheap), and then LAX-HKG... on CX.

Domestic TSA at SFO doesn't suck. Very civilized- unless you fly UA.


p.s. I would suggest against arriving into LAX. Customs at LAX-Bradley are pretty much the worst. Ironically it's one of the nicest terminals to depart from instead, with newly renovated fixtures and also the Qantas F lounge.

This post has been edited by X.E.D: May 21 2016, 09:17 AM

thanks for the heads up guys, BA to LAS seems to be another option althought its on the old 747 but the business class only cabin on the upper floor look interesting.

I will keep the option open and appreciate all your comments. Worse case scenario will cut SFO off. Fly into LAS, drive out to LAX and fly off to HKG with CX.

Or who knows, maybe BA will upgrade planes into SFO then it would solve my problem

This post has been edited by bearbear: May 21 2016, 01:05 PM

Hi Tishaban, sorry to reply to such an old post from you. I'm curious, I used to have a SSN when I was a student in the US 15 years ago (since I was working part time for the university) but I can't find my SSN anymore. Do you know a way for me to get the SSN back? I often travel to the US to meet customers but don't have a working visa (just a business visa B-1). Is there anyway I can ask to find out my old social security number next time I'm there?

Thanks!

Sorry I honestly don't know how to look up a SSN. Back in the day, some universities used SSN as the student ID number so it could be on your transcript possibly. Otherwise google up some options?

Hi All,

After reviewing the routes, below is my planned redemption

SIN-DOH-ATH (QR T1; L1)
MXP-LHR-SFO (BA OJ1; T2; L2)
SFO-LAS (AA L3)
LAX-HKG (CX OJ2; L4)
HKG-SIN

4 OW carrier is allowed? Based on the redemption chart;

This awards chart is applicable when you redeem a round-trip award ticket with an itinerary which covers:

Two oneworld alliance airlines, where Cathay Pacific or Dragonair is not included; or
Three or more oneworld alliance airlines when Cathay Pacific or Dragonair is included.

Total estimated miles 20,908 which i am unable to avoid touching the 20k miles mark, unless i take out MXP-LHR & SFO-LAS but i would just like to transit in LHR to cut down the total days. Unless I have my own 'transit' if I take budget airline but a little silly considering how tough the UK border can be.

I' tried researching where else AA fly their new 77w but seems like the only europe city they fly into with these is London. From Italy they only fly into JFK mostly with 772. Domestic transfer will be the regional planes only which we try to avoid.

Also where can i get an estimated tax amount for my redemption?

You should be able to get a rough estimate from ITA Matrix. For example your first leg is roughly S$300 per person YQ + fees while your second leg is more than €500 per person YQ + fees

The trick is to figure out which airline will hit you with YQ and which won't. I think QR and BA does both on Asia Miles, so you're already looking at quite a large chunk to pay up for that segment of your flight already. The rest should be minimal.

How tough is the UK border? I barely go to the UK in my travels.

Thanks, getting it now. So CX is the generous one? Even getting out of SIN there is no YQ.

They usually asked alot of questions and want to see alot of things (your tickets, money)