Booking US domestic flights

Next year's trip now sorted, so excited even though it's near on a year away We've paid for S class PE to LAX and back from BOS & used miles to upgrade to UC - all done yesterday through a very helpful chap at Flying Club. Must admit I was surprised that, even though I booked right on the 11 month "earliest you can book" threshold, we still had to flex the dates to secure G availability in UC for the upgrade! Just a couple of questions which I'd appreciate guidance on:-

(1) The reason we're flying to LAX is that we'll be going straight on to Palm Springs, normally we drive but as we'll have been on the champers in UC best to fly! The only early evening flight I can find from LAX to PSP is United 6120 departing LAX at 17:40. Price on both united.com & expedia.co.uk comes out at £162. Anyone know of a better way of getting from LAX to PSP late afternoon/early evening, i.e. allowing sufficient connection time from VS007?

(2) After a few nights in PSP we'll head across the desert to Vegas for our usual five nights (Sun-Thurs of course to get the best rates!) from where we will fly to Boston for a week touring New England. I'm looking at Delta 1st class via ATL - DL so we can earn FC miles. This comes out at only £242 per person on both delta.com & expedia which seems very good value for 1st? Any thoughts or suggestions on a better way of doing LAS-BOS?

(3) What I can't work out though is that it seems impossible to actually book any of these fares on the airlines' own web sites. Both United & Delta allow you to get all the way through, including being allowed to pick United Kingdom for your address but at the very last step they say only credit cards with a US billing address can be used. I even then thought of going on to Delta's UK web site but that forces you to select a UK airport in the "from" field! I guess I'll be forced to use expedia unless anyone has any better ideas?

Finally, why didn't I ask the chap at FC to sort all this out? Well I did but the problem was the cheapest he could offer the DL 1st class LAS - BOS was £430 per person! I asked him if he was sure he wasn't getting his £ & $ mixed up (as the fare I found was $414) but he said no, definitely £430 each! I almost got him to tag on the LAX-PSP sector (as he could get this for £10 less per person) but he explained that would result in a paper ticket for the whole booking rather than e-ticket which I wasn't crazy on.

All advice welcomed, cheers

James

[honey lamb]

I haven't done it but I know friends who have booked United successfully by using their UK site

Thanks for that, I feel a bit stupid as goodness knows why I only tried out the Delta UK site & not the United one! Unlike DL's UK site UA's doesn't force you to select a UK airport and, lo & behold, the LAX-PSP fare comes out considerably less than on Expedia

Appreciate your help, that's why this site is so good, it really adds value & helps saves us all money

Seems that United 6120 (departing 17:40) is the only flight to PSP that works out nicely for our 14:50 arrival at LAX so I've gone ahead and booked that directly with United.

That leaves the question of getting ourselves from LAS to BOS on 6th Oct. We've decided we'll splash out on Business or First (seems that most US domestic services offer 1st as opposed to Business) and I've been trawling through web sites trying to get the best routing/deal. So far the best offer I can find is 1st Class on Delta booked through http://www.opodo.co.uk for £232 each incl. tax. It's £10 more on Expedia. Reasonable flight times as well, dep LAS at 09:00, arr BOS at 19:44. Am keen on Delta owing to abilty to earn VS miles

I'd like ideally to book this directly through Delta but, having gone to their UK web site it forces you to select an outbound UK airport, unlike United's UK site where I was easily able to book the LAX-PSP flight. I can't use Delta's US site as they don't allow non USA credit card billing addresses.

Also had this same problem with being forced to select an outbound UK airport on http://www.airline-network.co.uk/ and http://www.ebookers.com/

Any help/guidance appreciated, in a nutshell is £232 a good deal for 1st class LAS-BOS (I've never booked internal US flights before!) and does anyone know of a way I could book on-line directly with Delta?

Cheers, James

[Scrooge]

cant help you with the website issue,but the price is right,im getting a price of $663 on HP,so I would say grab it.

Thanks for that Dave. I've taken the plunge and booked DL (through Expedia in the end), although I was tempted by HP which Opodo are offering for £365 incl. tax - for a direct flight! Between us though we've saved £264 by opting for DL so hopefully done the right thing Even received DL PNR within 30 secs of booking being accepted on Expedia, accessed our reservation on dl.com and selected front row seats!

Now we just need to decide where to stay in Palm Springs, Vegas & Boston/New England....we fancy a change from the Wyndham in PSP for this trip so now doing loads of checks on tripadvisor.com!

[ChuckC]

Originally posted by Vegascrazy

Now we just need to decide where to stay in Palm Springs, Vegas & Boston/New England....we fancy a change from the Wyndham in PSP for this trip so now doing loads of checks on tripadvisor.com!

I'll try to help you, James. I spend quite a bit of time in Palm Springs. The Wyndham is the nicest place in downtown Palm Springs. There's also the Riviera and if you want right along the main street, the Hyatt Suites (not my fave, however) but neither is on a level with the Wyndham. If you are willing to consider going "down Valley", to Rancho Mirage, for example, this opens up a lot of possibilities. Several Marriotts, a Westin are there. The Lodge at Rancho Mirage is the former Ritz Carlton. If you can give me a little of what you'd like to see and do, I will suggest some alternatives for you.

BTW as for you getting from LAX to PSP the normally 2-hour ride by auto is a 3 hour ride during rush hour. UA Express may still be your best bet, even though they are gouging you on the price.

Chuck-

Thanks Chuck, really appreciate your help! I agree that the UA flight is a bit of a rip off but, to be honest, on every prior occasion flying in to LAX on the 007 we have collected a rental car and the driven straight to Palm Springs in the middle of the rush hour, and it just about finishes us off! As we are now fortunate enough to be flying UC we couldn't possibly contemplate not having a few drinks that day, hence our "what the heck" attitude & booking a flight instead.

With regard to Palm Springs, we definitely like to be central so we can walk straight into town and enjoy the restaurants and nightlife. We've stayed at the Wyndham four times now but I must admit recent visits have seen a deteriotation in standards. I was also quite alarmed to read the recent negative reviews on Tripadvisor here

Do you know anything about Courtyard by Marriott? I've read dood stuf about this place and it is very central, close in fact to the Wyndham!

Thanks again, James

{mcuth: edited to shorten link}

[Scrooge]

just my 2 cents...both the Lodge and the the Meridien are way over rated..the company that took over the RC have ruined what was once my fav hotel in the world..if you've never stayed at a RC then it might be ok,but after the switch it was never the same.

Le Parker,well...what can I say...probably the most over rated hotel IN the Palm Springs area....bokked a deluxe room for a weekend get away..first room they offered had a view of an alley way[V]

second room had a wall doing a good impression of a waterfall[:0]

after going slightly ape with the hotel manager we ended up in "suite"..well to be honest not my idea of a suite..the words couldn't swing a cat came to mind..oh well lesson learnt.

also as a miles whore note..I was unable to earn miles on this stay,even after checking before booking the place that I could..Le Parker is not part of the LE Meridien chain...kind off..they are owned by the guy that set up Meridien and the co branded with Meridien...umm don't know how that works,but it's on the website,so i figure im due the miles[n]

[ChuckC]

Originally posted by Vegascrazy

With regard to Palm Springs, we definitely like to be central so we can walk straight into town and enjoy the restaurants and nightlife. We've stayed at the Wyndham four times now but I must admit recent visits have seen a deteriotation in standards. I was also quite alarmed to read the recent negative reviews on Tripadvisor here

Do you know anything about Courtyard by Marriott? I've read good stuff about this place and it is very central, close in fact to the Wyndham!

Thanks again, James

{mcuth: edited to shorten link}

James, the Courtyard is well run, clean, usually quiet, it has a pool, you can walk to town. If you need extra space, ask for a one-bedroom suite, which gives you a sitting room in addition to a bedroom. You can book the property on the Marriott website. Actually my little cubbyhole of a weekend place is a very short walk from the Courtyard, so you must give me a heads up if coming to town. We shall have a meal or coffee somewhere fun.

Best regards,
Chuck-

Thanks Chuck, appreciate that! Can definitely confirm that we'll be there the nights of 28, 29, 30 Sep, that's a Thurs, Fri, Sat. On the Sun we'll then be taking our well travelled scenic route to Vegas via Twenty Nine Palms, Kelso & Cima. Would be cool to meet up. Not sure about you but our favourite restaurants in Palm Springs are St James on the Vine & Shame On The Moon (at Rancho Mirage)...and for something simpler, but definitely "fun" - Blame It On Midnight!

Cheers, and thanks again for your advice.

James

[ChuckC]

Originally posted by Vegascrazy
Thanks Chuck, appreciate that! Can definitely confirm that we'll be there the nights of 28, 29, 30 Sep, that's a Thurs, Fri, Sat. On the Sun we'll then be taking our well travelled scenic route to Vegas via Twenty Nine Palms, Kelso & Cima. Would be cool to meet up. Not sure about you but our favourite restaurants in Palm Springs are St James on the Vine & Shame On The Moon (at Rancho Mirage)...and for something simpler, but definitely "fun" - Blame It On Midnight!

Cheers, and thanks again for your advice.

James

James, sounds great. Please PM me a few weeks out and I'll book one of these places for us. I know the folks at "Shame" and "Blame" is within walking distance of the Courtyard (isn't that convenient?!). Perhaps we'll have to have a spot of something to drink as well before dinner. BTW if you want to splurge a little one night, the owner of Johannes bistro in PS (near Hunters) is a friend, and the food is excellent. For lunch, have to recommend Tyler's Burgers; the place is legendary.

As for Jetwet's comment concerning the Lodge and the Meridien -- wow, I couldn't agree more. Would not recommend either place, actually. I mentioned the Lodge earlier as an example of what's out that way but am glad that you didn't go for it.