Hi all,
We're planning our first family trip to Europe for next summer (4 of us, planning for the adults to be in business/first and kids in economy). I'm here asking for some advice on how I should go about this planning. I want to learn as much as I can about using the available tools out there to use my miles/points to their fullest and to make a great vacation.
All I know for certain is we're planning to visit Paris and Rome. We're planning to go 2-3 weeks with dates that are completely flexible between early June and end of August. More destinations are likely and I have interest in all sorts of other places (Croatia, Czech Republic, London). I'm thinking we'll hit other areas based upon award/routing availability during the time we go.
Based upon what I've read - United/Star Alliance seems to offer the most generous routing (with stopovers and open jaws) and I'm thinking that is the route we'll eventually take. I've read Drew's United routing rules, but I'm not quite sure when/how to go about building a complicated itinerary - or when/how I should be looking for award space.
I have plenty of currency available to me so that I could book a pretty awesome itinerary using anytime award space, but my goal is obviously to maximize what I have (Currently around 1MM UR, 550k AA, 175k MR).
What suggestions could you experts out there give to me for where to learn? Should I buy a pro expert flyer subscription? What else should I be reading?
TIA
We're planning our first family trip to Europe for next summer (4 of us, planning for the adults to be in business/first and kids in economy). I'm here asking for some advice on how I should go about this planning. I want to learn as much as I can about using the available tools out there to use my miles/points to their fullest and to make a great vacation.
All I know for certain is we're planning to visit Paris and Rome. We're planning to go 2-3 weeks with dates that are completely flexible between early June and end of August. More destinations are likely and I have interest in all sorts of other places (Croatia, Czech Republic, London). I'm thinking we'll hit other areas based upon award/routing availability during the time we go.
Based upon what I've read - United/Star Alliance seems to offer the most generous routing (with stopovers and open jaws) and I'm thinking that is the route we'll eventually take. I've read Drew's United routing rules, but I'm not quite sure when/how to go about building a complicated itinerary - or when/how I should be looking for award space.
I have plenty of currency available to me so that I could book a pretty awesome itinerary using anytime award space, but my goal is obviously to maximize what I have (Currently around 1MM UR, 550k AA, 175k MR).
What suggestions could you experts out there give to me for where to learn? Should I buy a pro expert flyer subscription? What else should I be reading?
TIA