Why the game isn't as fun as it used to be (on the redemption side)...

@grace Not crazy! but at that point, Jeff Robertson has won! I say burn those Skypesos for Air France business (ugh) or V Australia business (not bad). And Vietnam Airlines, though when you're originating a trip outside the US there's the international origination surcharge..blech.

Ben, I agree that Swiss availability North America-Switzerland has become awful (and isn't even great in business, either). And that Singapore availability is pathetic, though it was never great. From 2006 - 2008 ANA First Class pretty much didn't exist, the same way that Singapore doesn't. But now in Winter months it's possible, so that's a gain.

Asiana first class is tough, though not terrible Frankfurt - Seoul, and still occasionally available LAX-Seoul though not every day like it used to be. The point of reference here, depths of the financial crisis, probably isn't a reasonable point of comparison. Big problem with Asiana is that the Chicago flight has gone 2-cabin. The JFK flight has become tough, I admit, to find more than 1 seat.

But oooh that wonderful Cathay availability ex-SFO and YYZ. Really incredible, and a really great product. And that's a huge win compared to the past.

Sure, BA redemptions are expensive. But the $1000 I just saw was on a South African redemption with LHR stopover, usually it's more like $700 (hah!).

And don't forget that Thai offers those Jet Airways 777s CDG-BKK with REALLY GOOD availability, especially going Paris - Bangkok (less good Bangkok - Paris).

For South America why not try TAM first class one direction using UA's new one-way partner awards? Alright, the availability's not great there either but at least you'll avoid American and try out a new product, if you've got the flexibility to play with it.

@Ben

I know mileage millionaires like you and Gary are usually in First or sometimes biz but a lot of us, myself included, are usually flying coach on our award tickets.

This post is about a 75/25 split between first/biz availability which I certainly find interesting but just not very relevant to myself (and many readers I would imagine).

I think it would be really helpful if you had a similar post that perhaps did a 75/25 split between coach/biz availability.

Spot on Lucky. Mrs Baggageinhall and I are off to NYC from London at the end of the month using our bmi miles. I assumed that we would take our usual favourite, LX First via Zurich but I struggled to find two seats on any reasonable date pairing.

So I redeemed 180k miles for two seats on Virgin in Upper Class.

BA might charge a fortune in YQ but at least I can get 2 F seats with a little bit of forward planning!

2 First seats are tough but I managed a booking last week. I booked 1 award using Dividend Miles and then added an award using Mileage Plus. I had lots of trouble with USAirways and eventualy opted for a simple open jaw.

ROC-DCA-LGA|JFK-IST-BKK-HKG || HKT-BKK-FRA-ORD-ROC all international segments in F on US, US, TK, TK, TG, TG, TG, LH, and UA. Phuket to BKK in C. I nearly matched the itineray with most international segments in F. The second itinerary is ROC-IAD-JFK-IST-BKK-HKG || HKT-BKK-FRA-ORD-ROC on UA, U, TK, TK, TG, TG, TG, LH, UA. Bummer --- the JFK-IST segment is in C.

As 1K can I simply change the TK C to TK F should it become available without risking the rest of the itinerary?

Dealing with US was awful. I practically give them the itinerary but when they go to price it they start claiming that there are too many stopovers, layovers, segments, etc. It took four calls with the first 3 lasting an hour each. I was disconnected on the first call and told the itinerary was invalid on the second. I think it's best to let them pick flights and dates so they understand better about layovers.

Called UA's 1K line was had great service ticketing the award. I did not encounter StarNet blocking.

Thanks to your blog and Gary's --- lots of info on getting the most for one's miles.

@RDimperio "As 1K can I simply change the TK C to TK F should it become available without risking the rest of the itinerary?"

Actually, anyone can.

As a 1K you can make fee-free changes as often as you wish. But any member without status can change the date and time of a segment but not operating carrier at no fee, and there's no fee to simply bump up from business to first on a first class award if O space opens up.

Noooooo! Redeem on Jet Airways or Emirates to an Indian destination like Kerala or Delhi. You won't regret it! Reply please.

I am also quite disappointed by the near-total loss of F availability between North America and Switzerland on LX. I'm based out of San Francisco, and while availability out of LAX is sometimes there, I have to say that I've not once seen a first seat available on the new SFO route. Maybe it's the strong high tech industry (which I'm sure where most of the first passengers work) but really...not a single seat, LX!?

UA lost thousands of dollars of clothing that I checked in (yes, stupidly) on SFO-LAX when connecting to ZRH earlier this year. Sigh.

I guess you guys on the East Coast can complain about poor LX availability being a new phenomenon, but out here on the West Coast, I've never seen a single seat in C or F on LX's LAX and SFO flights. Pathetic. That said, I really like LX when I flew their new A333 from ZRH to DEL in F. It was alittle boring being the only pax in the cabin though.

Thank heavens for LH's great availability.

With regard to BA's fees/taxes I personally don't have an issue with them. I don't do much travel, generally a couple of long haul trips each year and I've never had an issue getting availability with BA in either F or J using a companion voucher and paying significantly less in texes than I would buying a ticket in economy.