• Reviews
    • Airlines
    • Trips
    • Hotels
  • Credit Cards
    • Personal Cards
    • Business Cards
  • About Miles/Contact
  • Disclosures/Privacy

Monkey Miles

  • Reviews
    • Airlines
    • Trips
    • Hotels
  • Credit Cards
    • Personal Cards
    • Business Cards
  • About Miles/Contact
  • Disclosures/Privacy
Home » Uncategorized » Playing award roulette – place your bets
Uncategorized

Playing award roulette – place your bets

Miles July 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Monkey Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. We appreciate you using our links!!!


Over the last several weeks I’ve been lining up, albeit quite loosely, a trip for my fiancee and I to Asia ( hence the ANA first class posts). Yesterday, I wrote about my success getting an ANA to THAI ticket in first class booked using email. Score..right? Yes, of course, but here’s the thing. I have one ticket, we leave within a week, and I’m completely gambling that ANA and Thai will release more first class seats. Because…I don’t have one. She does.

While some airlines, (Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines ) release seats according a relatively predictable schedule, neither ANA nor Thai exhibit the same such structure within this timeframe. Sure, if I were booking tickets next June I’d, more than likely, see 2 ANA first class seats available. But, I’m not, and close-in, ANA doesn’t reliably release with any sort of consistent pattern.  Thai, more so than ANA, seems to release a ton of space the closer it gets, and with a far higher liklihood will fill the cabin up with award seats. I’m not as worried about them releasing as I am the exact flight on the exact day on ANA to pair up with my fiancee.

Here’s the other thing. More than likely I won’t be able to book it myself because I’m looking to book with LifeMiles as well, and for whatever reason, space is getting messed up out of LA. While it’s a bit stressful, it’s also super fun. If you’ve followed this ANA debacle at all, then you’ll probably recall that we had 2 seats in First out of Houston. Oh…those were the days. The problem is a sudden conflict arose and we couldn’t use those flights, and within 3 weeks of travel the trip was torn apart.

I have alerts set and as soon as it opens I’m going to hop on it. Worst case…I’ll fly business, or even ( gasp ) route via another city that has first on the long haul, so I can review it, and then meet up with her in Tokyo before continuing on down to Bangkok. There are a few cities on the same day that have F space available, but it’d be nice to experience it all together. And as I said, worst case I’d fly in biz and she’d go first, but it’d be really nice to experience it all together. These aren’t real problems obviously, but who doesn’t want to fly the best for the least miles and most value?

The real anxiety…I’m waiting to book every single other part of the trip until the first leg, which is in less than a week, is locked down. We have 2 hotel nights booked, that’s it. It’s between 2 and 3 weeks long. It will be an absolute monsoon season of booking once that piece falls into place. Oh, and we can’t really delay leaving because we’re meeting up with friends part way through the trip. And, we need to be back by a certain time. I’ve often left on trips without any way of getting home, but this is different.

Anyways…am I crazy, or would you do something similar? Here’s the ANA cabin right now…fingers crossed!!!

All this…for this cubicle. And Krug.

ANA First Class – courtesy of ANA

Affiliate Disclosure

Monkey Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Monkey Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.


Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

A Monkey Miles favorite for beginners and point pros alike – a staple of our wallet that earns Premium transferrable Ultimate Rewards. $95 annual fee

♥ Earn 60k Bonus Points after $4k Spend in 3 months

♥Points are transferrable to over dozen partners, or redeemable for 1.25c in Chase travel

♥5x on travel purchased via Chase Travel and 2x everywhere else

♥3x on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out

♥3x on select streaming

♥ 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs 

♥ $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards. *New cardmembers can get this credit immediately – existing cardmembers get it after anniversary

♥ 10% Anniversary Point Bonus. Spend $10k in a year, get 1k bonus points.

 Learn more


 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Related

Previous Article Success getting a LifeMiles award booking ticketed that didn’t show on the website
Next Article Great Amex Offer with Peninsula Hotels – 10k Bonus points or $100

About Author

Miles

This Monkey didn't get the name Miles for nothing. I might look like an innocent little furball, but I am a Points and Awards BEAST!! Follow me around the world to see how I fly in lie flat seats and sleep in 5* suites for pennies on the dollar.

Related Posts

  • Your credit score may pop on July 1st – paid medical debt will be removed from your credit report

    June 24, 2022
  • Game Changer. Bilt Rewards has both United and American as transfer partners.

    March 16, 2022
  • Very Cool! Now use your Bilt credit card to pay rent via Rent Portal as an ACH

    Very Cool! Now use your Bilt credit card to pay rent via Rent Portal as an ACH

    February 1, 2022
  • I product changed via Amex Chat – quick and easy

    I product changed via Amex Chat – quick and easy

    January 21, 2022
  • Transfer American Express to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles with 20% bonus (One Time bonus )

    Transfer American Express to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles with 20% bonus (One Time bonus )

    November 8, 2021

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Popular Posts

  • Complete guide to Chase refer a friend bonuses [Leave your links] June 3, 2022
  • Buy Alaska Miles with up to a 50% Bonus ( 1.97 cents a piece ) June 16, 2022
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Sapphire Reserve June 15, 2022

Recent Posts

  • Over 50 of the Best ways to use Capital One Miles June 26, 2022
  • Beginner’s Guide – How to move Chase Ultimate Rewards between accounts June 25, 2022
  • Your credit score may pop on July 1st – paid medical debt will be removed from your credit report June 24, 2022

Social Media

Archives

Editorial Disclosure The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.

Comments Disclosure Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered

Monkey Miles is owned by BABA BOY, INC. This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.
 

Loading Comments...