Questions and Answers

I’m trying to book a last-minute redemption from the US to Southeast Asia, departing around Dec. 16 and returning around Jan. 3. I can’t depart earlier than Dec. 16, and the return needs to be between Jan. 1 and Jan. 4.

I realize this is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and even though it’s unlikely, I’m hoping to snag two awards. I’m open to any airline and any class of service, departing from any major U.S. city., to any city in southeast asia. If I can find an award for the lounghaul flight(s) I’ll figure out how to book the short legs (probably cash).

I’ve checked Star Alliance on United’s site, Oneworld on BA/Qantas’s sites, Singapore, Korean, Etihad, and Emirates, but I can’t find a single seat available on any flight from any city after December 14. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Hi Arthur–if you want someone to book flights for you, you can try award booking services. The link to PointsPros is at the top of this page under the Award Help section but there are many others. You should pick one that you are comfortable with.

If you are searching by yourself there is no secret other than to keep searching. You might try an alternate search tool like Aeroplan for star alliance but can’t think of anything else. This is very busy travel time and you’re looking at some pretty prime dates unfortunately. You might have better luck closer in but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The other catch to consider is that if you get a close in outbound ticket, are you willing to travel without the return locked in?

If you’re willing to contend with the slight possibility of not going then just keep searching, if you’re willing to take slightly different flights than your wife that get in at the same general time then your chances of getting a seat go up a bit. Of course, the 2 other possibilities are to overpay for a standard award (something we don’t like around here) or go somewhere else (go where the seats are)

Or you can just pay for a revenue ticket

Hi Artur! I don’t think you’re missing anything, sadly. We’ve been fielding dozens of requests a day from people in similar situations, and the reality is that there just isn’t much out there right now, particularly for that first week in January.

The best advice I can give is to keep after it — space could open up closer to departure, or you might decide standard awards/paid tickets make the most sense for you on this trip.

Good luck!!

[USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] Any idea on what the chances of SQ releasing standard award space for JFK-FRA-SIN in J the first week of January might be?