How I Find, Select & Book My Flights

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I’ve had a few emails recently asking for some specifics on how I search for the flights and hotels I book, what my thought processes are and what I look for when booking my various trips….so I thought I’d address these in a couple of blog posts – the first one, today, will concentrate on flights.

This post is aimed at those new to the miles & points game so, if you’re a veteran, this probably isn’t for you….why don’t you check out just how bad Virgin Atlantic’s A330 Upper Class product is? 🙂

None of what I write below is meant to be definitive or “the right way to do things”, this is just me saying what works for me and how I do and think about things.

While some of my methodology may appear to be very specific (like when I discuss oneworld airlines) it can all be adapted to everyone’s individual circumstances – just swap in whatever alliance works best for you or whatever airline you prefer to fly with.

Choosing The Airline When Paying With Cash

This year I’m still concentrating on earning top-tier status with American Airlines so my first thought when looking to find a fare is to check prices on oneworld airlines.

Flights with oneworld airlines can be credited to American Airlines AAdvantage and will earn me:

• Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) towards status
• Redeemable Miles (RDM) I can use for future flights
• Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) – a contribution towards the new minimum spending limits American Airlines has introduced this year for those aspiring to status in the AAdvantage program.

Once I already have enough travel booked to maintain AAdvantage status for next year I’ll happily explore other airlines…especially if there’s a good Amex offer I can use alongside my booking.

Choosing The Airline When Paying With Miles

 As I explained in a recent post, most of the points I earn through credit card spend are earned in the form of transferable currencies – Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points & Starwood Starpoints.

Because all of those currencies can be transferred into various airline loyalty programs I’m reasonably free to choose which airlines I want to fly – I’m not stuck with just one program – but because my highest balance is with AAdvantage those are the miles I look to use first.

Booking Long Haul Awards

Generally speaking I do not book long haul Economy Class awards as I can usually find a better use for my miles for my circumstances.

So, for Premium Cabin awards…..

Across the Atlantic:

I work hard to earn all the miles I do so I will go out of my way to avoid using my miles on airlines I consider to offer an inferior premium cabin product and airlines that impose high surcharges on awards – like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

For transatlantic Business Class I’ll look to book an award on American Airlines, Air France or Iberia and, if those aren’t available I’ll turn my attention to cash fares (both Business and Economy Class).

Iberia A330 Business Class

Generally speaking I will not use miles to book First Class fares across the Atlantic – Business Class is good enough for me

Across The Pacific:

Firstly I’ll look to use my AAdvantage miles on airlines like JAL and Cathay Pacific but, if those don’t turn up what I’m looking for, I’ll also delve in to my transferable currencies and see if I can find awards on the likes of Korean Air or Singapore Airlines.

JAL 787-9 Business Class Cabin

Europe To Asia:

With Qatar Airways usually offering great fares between Europe and Asia it’s not often that I use miles to travel these routes…..but recently there have been a few instances when I have.

Once again I wouldn’t use my miles to fly with British Airways but I have used miles to book First & Business Class fares on JAL, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Cathay Pacific 777 First Class

What each of the airlines I’m happy to use have in common is an excellent hard product (seat) – most offer great service too (with the obvious exception of American) but I value comfort over service and expensive champagne.

Booking Short Haul Awards

Just as I don’t book long haul Economy Class awards I don’t consider short haul Premium Cabin bookings to be a good use of my miles – I can handle an exit row in Economy Class for a short flight.

I also use one currency and one currency only for any short haul award bookings I make – British Airways Avios.

Avios is a terrible currency for long haul flights (high surcharges and a lot of Avios needed) but it’s a great currency for short haul hops as you need comparatively few Avios to book routes that can be quite expensive.

Intra-Europe and intra-US awards are my favorites to book and, in particular, I’ve saved a lot of cash by booking flights between the mainland and Hawaii using Avios (just 12,500 Avios each way from LAX).

Searching For Awards:

• For oneworld awards I use BritishAirways.com and the Qantas site
• For Star Alliance awards I use United.com or the Aeroplan site
• For Sky Team awards I use Delta.com and the Air France site

Finding Cash Fares

I generally use the ITA Matrix search facility for my searches but, as this can be a little temperamental, I also use Google Flights and Himpunk too.

Before I even begin searching for a fare I already have a good idea of what I’m prepared to pay for the routes I’d like to fly and my parameters are set based on previous experience and the fares I’ve seen offered in the past.

For example, I generally won’t pay more than:

• $1,800 – $1,900 for a roundtrip Business Class fare between the US and Europe.
• $1,500 – $1,550 for a roundtrip Business Class fare between Europe and Thailand
• $1,800 for a roundtrip Business Class fare between Europe and the rest of Asia

Although I predominantly book with oneworld airlines I always check to see what other carriers are charging for the routes I’m looking to fly – I’m happy to pay a little more in order to maintain my status for another year but I’m not prepared to be fleeced by the likes of American and British Airways.

If oneworld airlines don’t have good fares I’m more than happy to book Air France’s 777 Business Class

It’s Not All About The Fare

While the first stage of a fare search is finding a good price that’s not my only consideration.

Excluding positioning flights I will not book a fare that involves more than one stop – layovers add far too much time to a journey and my time is too valuable (to me) to waste in yet another airport lounge.

The type of aircraft I’ll be flying in is another big consideration when choosing a fare.

Not all Business Class cabins are equal (not even if you’re looking at what one airline offers) so I’m happy to pay a little bit more ($100- $200) to avoid older-style or more densely arranged cabins.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Finnair regularly offers what looks like a great Business Class fare between Helsinki and Dubai……

….but if you take a close look at the aircraft being employed on this route it turns out to be a narrowbody aircraft from the Airbus A320 family….

…..and Finnair doesn’t offer lie-flat Business Class seats on these aircraft.

The seating in the front cabin on these aircraft is just a standard short-haul cabin…..

Finnair A320 Business Class

…and even though Finnair blocks the middle seat I’m not prepared to pay $1,000+ to sit in a cabin this basic.

With that knowledge in hand the deal goes from looking very good to very unappealing in a staggeringly short space of time 🙂

Even with airlines as great as Qatar Airways I find myself being careful which routes I choose to fly and on what aircraft.

While the airlines’ Dreamliner offers a fantastic Business Class cabin, the Qatar Airways Airbus A340’s (for example) are no more than average in comparison.

Qatar Airways A340 Business Class

SeatGuru.com is a reasonable guide if you’re not sure what sort of cabins an airline’s aircraft offer but there’s also a simple rule you can employ if you can see a seatmap on the airline’s own website.

If the Business Class cabin I’m thinking of booking has one seat on either side of the aircraft I know that I’m almost certainly looking at a newer product that should be pretty good…like this one offered by Air France on its 777’s:

But if I see a long haul Business Class cabin with a 2-2-2 layout, like this one from Qatar Airways’ A340’s……

…I know that I’m probably looking at an older product that will not be amongst the best I can find.

If it’s an older cabin on offer it won’t necessarily stop me from booking a good fare…but it does readjust what I consider to be a good deal – I’ll pay more for a Qatar Airways Dreamliner, for example, than I will for a Qatar Airways A340 for a similar length flight.

Booking Flights

Although I generally prefer booking directly with airlines I always check to see if clicking through to one of the online travel agents (OTA) via TopCashBack.com (or topcashback.co.uk) will net me any meaningful rewards.

Often the decision of which site to book through is decided for me – one site may show a fare I’m looking for while another will not.

Paying For Flights & Award Fees

First and foremost I make sure I’ve used up the $300 travel credit that comes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and then I make sure I’ve used up the $250 airfare credit that comes with the Citi prestige card.

Once those credits have been spent I use…..

• My American Express Platinum card when booking directly with an airline (5 points per dollar spent).
• My Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card when booking through a third party site (3 points per dollar spent).

Bottom Line

I take quite a bit of care when choosing what airlines to fly and what specific flights to book but I find that the time I take usually pays off. I usually manage to avoid paying for the poorer Business Class cabins (unless they’re a great deal) and I do a good job of making sure I fly in as much comfort as possible for the smallest possible outlay.

Hopefully what I’ve written above will have given you an idea of how I plan my flights as well as giving you ideas for what you should be thinking about and be on the look out for when booking your trips.