Help on air for cruise next June departs Rome and ends up in Athens

I have exhausted everything I know and need some of your expert help! I would like to use either BA miles (Avios - can be Iberia or BA) - I Have 111K and also use AA miles - I have 65K. I also have some Chase Sapphire points too. The fact that these are one way tickets has proven extremely different. I need to be in Rome by June 12 (leaves 6/13/15) - we want to stay over in Athens for 7-10 days, so return anytime after 6/27. We live near DFW, but would even consider a cheapo SW ticket to get us to a better departure city. There are some great US Airways flights that leave Athens and go to Philadlephia, but they are not being released, I check every day. I can get to Rome on Iberia by flying to Boston on SW and then changing over to Iberia. HELP - it should not be this hard to use airline miles!

How many of you are travelling? You mention "we"....the miles you have should be enough to book you one ways in any class of travel with each FFP so lots of additional options but if there's more than one of you then it makes things a lot harder!

Avios are great if you're looking at First or Business class travel, but if you're looking at economy or premium economy then you're tied to limited availability and the Avios won't actually save you very much cash since with BA you still have to pay the taxes, fuel surcharges etc.

If you're looking at economy class then I'd just book for cash and save the miles for a different trip. Other option is to use the Avios for one person if you can't find two seats and then pay cash for the other one.

Why are they one-way tickets? Did you try just using the multi-city option?

I am so sorry - there are 2 of us. I prefer booking in economy with Avios, but I am finding everything thru London and the taxes are enormous. How can you do a multi city option when you need to end up back in Dallas? We will be flying to Rome to depart our cruise and then flying from Athens back to DFW after cruise is over. If I book for cash, one way tickets are soooo expensive. Am I missing something here?

I am so sorry - there are 2 of us. I prefer booking in economy with Avios, but I am finding everything thru London and the taxes are enormous. How can you do a multi city option when you need to end up back in Dallas? We will be flying to Rome to depart our cruise and then flying from Athens back to DFW after cruise is over. If I book for cash, one way tickets are soooo expensive. Am I missing something here?

"Multi-City" or "Multiple Destinations" is a way that most airline websites allow you to book essentially two one-way flights and bundle it as a roundtrip. So, for example, on BA.com you click on "Multi-City/Stopovers", and it brings you to a new page where you can enter DFW-Rome on XXX Date, and ATH-DFW on XXX Date. It would price it like a roundtrip rather than two one-way tickets, even though you are not leaving from the same city you are arriving in to. I do this regularly with both business and personal trips since I rarely limit myself to one city during my travels, and it's a wonderful tool.

"Multi-City" or "Multiple Destinations" is a way that most airline websites allow you to book essentially two one-way flights and bundle it as a roundtrip. So, for example, on BA.com you click on "Multi-City/Stopovers", and it brings you to a new page where you can enter DFW-Rome on XXX Date, and ATH-DFW on XXX Date. It would price it like a roundtrip rather than two one-way tickets, even though you are not leaving from the same city you are arriving in to. I do this regularly with both business and personal trips since I rarely limit myself to one city during my travels, and it's a wonderful tool.

This. I'm flying an open jaw this weekend because I'm traveling between two cities once I land.

Ok - tried that on US Airays, BA and AA - OMG - flights are almost $1800! It is cheaper to use Princess EzAir

I prefer booking in economy with Avios, but I am finding everything thru London and the taxes are enormous.

Honestly, I wouldn't book economy longhaul with Avios, you're tying yourself to limited availability and spending a load of "currency" to save just a few hundred dollars. They're far better used in other means.

As others have said you'll qualify for an open-jaw/multi city itinerary. Enjoy the flexibility and save your Avios for another time.

All AA mileage awards are now one-way, so no need to look for open-jaw routings if you're using miles. (Avios also offer one way at half the price.)

The "taxes" on the Avios/BA routes are not just taxes, they're fuel surcharges levied by BA on redemption tickets - basically profit. Try to use your AA miles for one direction, then transfer your Chase points to United (not BA) for a one-way redemption for the other direction. Avoid BA-operated flights using AA miles; AA passes through the fuel fines.

Avios are best used for US domestic flights on AA, where the redemption requirements are lower for most trips, and the fuel surcharges aren't added. They're also okay on short-haul within Europe; the fuel surcharges are still there, but much less than for longhaul/transatlantic.

Regardless, you're awfully early to be looking for award seats for June 2015. Airlines don't release many seats at the beginning of the booking window; they wait until they can see how the flights are selling (for money) before the computers tell them it's okay to release seats into award inventory. They're released throughout the 11-12 month booking window, often many appear just a few days/weeks before the flight.

I kn ow it's tough for chronic early-birders like cruise patrons to wait, but that's the best way to deal with award seats.

Ok - tried that on US Airays, BA and AA - OMG - flights are almost $1800! It is cheaper to use Princess EzAir

So use EZAir. Just read the sticky on this page first, please.

When do you see the airlines start to release seat for mile redemption? I have always tried to book 330 days in advance. Thanks for all your help.

When do you see the airlines start to release seat for mile redemption? I have always tried to book 330 days in advance. Thanks for all your help.

1-330 days in advance. In other words, there is no set time frame. On some flights they NEVER release mileage seats.

When do you see the airlines start to release seat for mile redemption? I have always tried to book 330 days in advance. Thanks for all your help.

But here's the deal - you have plenty of time. Prices (as in money) for flights change over time too. You might think that buying a ticket far in advance would get you the best price, but in reality that's often not the case. Airlines don't have crystal balls and so things like the price of fuel can shoot up over the 11-12 months the booking window is open. They don't know when/if that might be at the outset, so they often "hedge" by setting initial fares high enough to cover their butts should their own costs go up. Later, when the short-term future is a bit more foreseeable, the prices can come down - sometimes dramatically, sometimes not so much.

You have PLENTY of time to look for award seats without any great risk of the cash price for seats shooting up in the meantime. For travel in June 2015 I personally wouldn't even start looking until September/October this year, probably later.

And also remember that your airline miles can be used with partner airlines that might not even be shown on the on-line award redemption screens, such as Iberia using AA miles. You have time to do some homework, too.

Thanks Gardyloo - any other matches that I might use for my Avios or AA miles? I also wonder when US Airways will combine with AA to make it easier?

Normally for one way I suggest cruise air for best value but using points you will need to go through a airline or travel site direct

May need to make as separate booking to get best deals also

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Thanks Gardyloo - any other matches that I might use for my Avios or AA miles? I also wonder when US Airways will combine with AA to make it easier?

They aren't going to begin combining US and AA miles together until 2015--and if the US/AW merger was any indication, don't expect a seamless transition.

Have you considered using the Avios to cover the cost of the hotels pre-and post-cruise? Just shuffle the cash around and use it for the air instead of the hotel.

Unfortunately with the Avios, BA and Iberia will be your only reasonable options.

As someone else pointed out earlier, you're going to pay the huge fuel surcharge/taxes using BA. I recently booked two r/t tickets to London through US on BA, and got hit with almost $800 in charges on each. although that was still less expensive than paying out of pocket for the tickets by about 50%.

When we flew PHL>FCO ATH>PHL a couple of years ago, I booked about three months out and got the best price on US (used upgrade certificates but paid cash for economy seats to start.) Both flights were direct and non-stop.

When do you see the airlines start to release seat for mile redemption? I have always tried to book 330 days in advance.

1-330 days in advance. In other words, there is no set time frame.

You are trying to go to/from two major tourist areas in the middle of the summer tourist season. Of course the price is going to be high and award seats hard to find. Try the same routing in Feb for example and you will prob find both cheaper flights and award space. No airline is going to release a lot of seats during high demand times when they know folks will pay a premium for those tickets....and after all, they (the airlines), are in business to MAKE money.

and after all, they (the airlines), are in business to MAKE money.

No no, you're quite wrong. Trust me, they're around for our convenience. They should lose oodles so that I can fly across country for $99, or to Europe for $200.

No no, you're quite wrong. Trust me, they're around for our convenience. They should lose oodles so that I can fly across country for $99, or to Europe for $200.

NOW you are getting into the CC air spirit!! ;)

No no, you're quite wrong. Trust me, they're around for our convenience. They should lose oodles so that I can fly across country for $99, or to Europe for $200.

Sounds like 2000-2002 to me....

Sounds like 2000-2002 to me....

I still miss when my friend and I found round trip Chicago to Dublin tickets for $300 including taxes back in college (2005/2006). Even back then I knew I'd never see anything like it again.

You are trying to go to/from two major tourist areas in the middle of the summer tourist season. Of course the price is going to be high and award seats hard to find. Try the same routing in Feb for example and you will prob find both cheaper flights and award space. No airline is going to release a lot of seats during high demand times when they know folks will pay a premium for those tickets....and after all, they (the airlines), are in business to MAKE money.

If you are trying to get air for a cruise you cannot choose the dates or be flexible.