V-Flyer

Hello all
I'm getting a little confused as to the best way to approach my next booking
We will be flying in to one airport and back home from another
Here's what I want to book
LGW - MCO in PE
LAX - LHR in UC
We have enough miles to cover both flights entirely but I am wondering if I would be better to book our outbound PE flight with miles, and then pay for a return PE flight and use points to upgrade?
Just not sure what the best way to approach this in order to get the best value.
If I book a PE and upgrade, I'd still earn TPs and miles right? That's why I'm wondering if that's a better option
Finally, I intend to grab the outbound flight as soon (if) I see reward availability and then ring the flying club to book my more complicated 2nd flight
Would love to hear your opinions of this as I'm sure many of you have actually done this
Sorry for the long post!

I was up at 5.30 this morning to book my return flight from ATL to LHR as today was the day the flight was released.
I had already booked my outbound using miles LGW to MCO when that flight was released a month ago.
All done using miles.
I have previously paid for up-gradable Economy tickets then hunted for upgrades. Yes you do get miles and tier points doing it that way and don't for a pure reward flight.
With the recent rise in the miles charged for upgrades it made sense for us to go down the all miles route.
50k for the Orlando leg and 40k for the Atlanta.
It now costs 40k for an upgrade from E to Upper to Orlando.
Another advantage of all miles was being able to book each leg separately which meant snapping up the Upper reward seats as soon as they were issued.
If you have the miles I'd suggest using them. They've already devalued for upgrades and may well devalue for full redemption.
Dick D

Yes, up until a month or so ago the best use of miles was undoubtedly to buy an Economy or PE cash fare and upgrade with miles.

But the number of miles required to do that has risen substantially so it's no longer anywhere near the decent value it was.

If you've got enough miles to book both legs outright that may now be the best option - although remember there must be reward seat availability in the cabin you want, which is often scarce - particularly in UC on night flights back from the US. With patience and persistence, though, it's usually doable as Dick will testify!

Thanks both!
This is really helpful and I now have a plan of attack!
I will use miles for both sectors and I'll be on-line as soon as possible when my flights are released
Dick D - you mentioned 5:30am, is that the usual sort of time? I'm happy to set the alarm to secure flights!

Linda671 wrote:Thanks both!
This is really helpful and I now have a plan of attack!
I will use miles for both sectors and I'll be on-line as soon as possible when my flights are released
Dick D - you mentioned 5:30am, is that the usual sort of time? I'm happy to set the alarm to secure flights!

Things keep changing, but I was up early the other day and saw flights were released so today I got up and sure enough 5.30 a.m. and 25th March 2017 was available. I immediately got on the phone and had my flights booked by 5.45
But reward seats can appear at any time of day and can also disappear just as quickly. I have been known to check as many as six times a day.
If you start checking a month early you may see a pattern emerge.
Best of luck.
Dick D