Full reward flight. Best way to book

Half way through our holiday and planning for next year.
With upgrade reward rates going up I'm considering full reward flight for next year.
I already have enough miles and expect Mrs D will soon.
So the question is: Should I book the outbound leg as soon as it is released, or rather as soon as any Upper seats are released and then wait to book the return. Or should I wait and book both ways?

In the past with upgrading I've always booked a return flight as soon as the home leg was released.

I'm planning to do LHR to ATL this time.

Dick D

How long are you planning on being away? This matters because if you are going for a month you might want to snag the outbound right away rather than leave it for a month to get the return.

How flexible are you on dates?

depends on return flexibility I guess & what you are prepared to do if the return upper does not become available

How long are you planning on being away? This matters because if you are going for a month you might want to snag the outbound right away rather than leave it for a month to get the return.

How flexible are you on dates?

Our holiday in South Carolina is a month but this year and last we have added a night on our drive back to Orlando to get an Upper reward upgrade. I don't really want to add much more as it would be living out of a suitcase.
If all else fails we'll fly PE

Dick D

[buns]

The ATL route is becoming increasingly popular as it is a good way to get down to Orlando when prices/rewards on the direct flights from Gatwick are full.

That said, the route is currently being operated by 330s, so there are far more UC seats than on the LGW 747s.

My strategy is to book a return flight, and if UC is not immediately available then book PE and then constantly watch and when UC becomes available get on the phone asap

The Carolinas may feature in our future plans so we will definitely use ATL

buns

My strategy is to book a return flight, and if UC is not immediately available then book PE and then constantly watch and when UC becomes available get on the phone asap

buns

That's the way I've always done it buying upgradable economy, I just wondered if there was any advantage/disadvantage when doing it completely on miles.

This is our 6th trip to South Carolina, absolutely love it here.

Dick D

Dicky, sorry not actually answering your question but giving you something to think about.

Before deciding on Florida for this year, we thought about the Carolinas too and rather than flying to Atlanta we was looking at flying into JFK as there's usually good upgrade/reward availability. We would then travel down into Charleston SC or Charlotte NC on Delta as it's less than 2hours from nyc
Have you considered that option for next year?

Dicky, sorry not actually answering your question but giving you something to think about.

Before deciding on Florida for this year, we thought about the Carolinas too and rather than flying to Atlanta we was looking at flying into JFK as there's usually good upgrade/reward availability. We would then travel down into Charleston SC or Charlotte NC on Delta as it's less than 2hours from nyc
Have you considered that option for next year?

The first twice we came here, Hilton Head Island, we flew to Atlanta then on to Savannah. It was OK but a lot of hanging around at the airport.
We then tried Orlando and drive up and found it works well: Land, spend a night in the Hyatt Regency in the airport and drive up next day refreshed.
We have thought about JFK but the weather in February/March is unpredictable and can cause some flight disruption.
Also Mrs D is not keen on the idea of landing or taking off in sub zero temps even if they are flying.
Thanks for the thought, but I think next year it's ATL and drive.
It's a shorter drive than from Orlando but we haven't done it before because the fare to ATL was quite a bit higher than Orlando. A full reward fare, however, is currently less.
Dick D

I'd also add that car hire from ATL is a right pig from the international terminal, as it's NOT on the train - so you end up with having to get a mini-bus to the hire terminal, then upstairs to the desks to get a car.

That equals up to 30 min bus at peak times (worst for me has been 45) to get to the car hire terminal as you both leave and arrive + up to 15 mins in queue if you not hertz 5 star or equiv. I don' t have much choice with my business each summer being ATL based. Then you have ATL traffic in the centre to get most places, which can be awful.

Orlando is a far more pleasant place to hire a car in comparison - leave airport, walk to car, get in, assuming you have 5* status. Zero traffic worries.

We're using the ATL route quite soon. I'd assumed (wrongly?) that car hire was on the airport, or is it just that you have to go to a different terminal???? We're overnighting for the first night and then taking the courtesy bus back to get the car, so imagine that won't be an issue. On our return thought, will have to drop off the car (it's Dollar) and then get the minibus from there to the terminal, is that right? Is it a courtesy minibus????

There's an automated people mover that connects the rental car centre to the domestic terminal but not, unfortunately, the international terminal at the other end of the airport. So yes, there's a courtesy bus between the rental car centre and the terminal.

Thanks gumshoe. Forewarned is forearmed

If I were you, I'd check on the tax difference between booking singles and booking a return.

We discovered can be a substantial difference in booking a return from LHR vs. booking singles.

On a recent trip to HKG we booked the flights separately as we were waiting for more UC seats to be released. By doing so, we realised that we save a fair amount in taxes and surcharges. See taxes outlined below for the different trips:

LHR-HKG-LHR : 120,000 miles plus £491.65 taxes

LHR-HKG: 60,000 miles plus £332.15 taxes

HKG-LHR: 60,000 miles plus £15.35 taxes

Therefore the difference is £347.50 vs £491.65 = £144.15 saving (30%)!