Korean Air Partner award booking?

[Matt]

Hey Guys,

I've mentioned in the past that I focus most of my time on UR>UA awards, but just saw the value for EU... am I right in thinking that Korean Skyteam RT from North America to Eu is only 80K?

If so, any thoughts/considerations/tips for booking with them? Wondering how to find award space the best way, since I guess it might mean flying on DL...?

I currently have about 160K UA and 160K UR, so could book 3x tickets RT in Biz?!

 

[steventravel]

I've been considering this as well.

Or an A380 trip from ICN to GRU

Its hard to commit to transferring into Korean though as I know their rules are strict and they could devalue at any time.

Remember they are really strict on booking for other people, so you really want a Korean account for each person traveling.

 

[Matt]

I've been considering this as well.

Or an A380 trip from ICN to GRU

Its hard to commit to transferring into Korean though as I know their rules are strict and they could devalue at any time.

Remember they are really strict on booking for other people, so you really want a Korean account for each person traveling.

Tricky as one seat would be for Dylan.. I would book me and him on that flight, and add the wife if we can earn a bit more in time... else put her on a UA award.

 

[italdesign]

Excellent price. Wonder how much YQ though. If a lot, AC might be still better (until Dec 15)

[edit] according to the comments YQ is $500-600 RT. Yuck.

 

[SanDiego1K]

I booked on Korean recently. Korean agents were lovely. I looked at booking Korean with AS points, but they could only get me to Seoul and not on the Korean flight to Tashkent, my destination. Then I looked at moving UR points to Korean. The agent put seats on hold for one month? two months? I've forgotten precisely, but it was much longer than I needed. This assured me of my seats before I moved any points. In the mean time, I needed to set up a family account. I had to set up individual accounts, then prove that we are married. This was the stickiest bit with them. They wouldn't accept passports, it had to be a joint tax return, a marriage certificate, or a house deed showing both our names. I had the latter. Then, although I had booked by phone, I was able to ticket online. This saved me their telephone fee.

 

[dukerau]

I booked on Korean recently. Korean agents were lovely. I looked at booking Korean with AS points, but they could only get me to Seoul and not on the Korean flight to Tashkent, my destination. Then I looked at moving UR points to Korean. The agent put seats on hold for one month? two months? I've forgotten precisely, but it was much longer than I needed. This assured me of my seats before I moved any points. In the mean time, I needed to set up a family account. I had to set up individual accounts, then prove that we are married. This was the stickiest bit with them. They wouldn't accept passports, it had to be a joint tax return, a marriage certificate, or a house deed showing both our names. I had the latter. Then, although I had booked by phone, I was able to ticket online. This saved me their telephone fee.

It seems they use indefinite holds on awards, as when I booked an award a few months ago for February travel, they were in no rush to formally book the held reservation "since it's so far away." I had to push them to go ahead and get it booked. They have a very regimented contact system wherein you cannot call and speak to an empowered agent. You call and speak with someone who takes down your information, and they queue you up for a call back from the award booking team. This applies even just to book a held reservation.

I also second they are very difficult with booking for other people. It's just a hassle, and with their generous holds it's not the end of the world, just a minor annoyances. But the minor annoyances in using Korean miles do pile up. If you can get the points in separate Korean accounts to book for each person individually, I think that would be preferred.

 

[Matt S NYC]

I also second they are very difficult with booking for other people. It's just a hassle, and with their generous holds it's not the end of the world, just a minor annoyances. But the minor annoyances in using Korean miles do pile up. If you can get the points in separate Korean accounts to book for each person individually, I think that would be preferred.

Are there any downsides to not having 2 pax on the same PNR? I am booking a trip for my mom and her husband in about a week and was planning to transfer all the necessary points into 1 of the accounts. I suppose I could do the tickets individually if it really is much less hassle.

 

[smittytabb]

I recently booked a business class seat on Korean. Here is what I did. I looked up the availability on Korean. You just log in and it is easy to search. I printed my desired itinerary. Then I called Korean in the US and put it on hold. They were willing to put it on hold for several months! Keep in mind I had zero Korean miles when I put it on hold. So when I was ready to make the reservation, I transferred UR points to Korean and they posted instantly. Since my reservation was saved in the system, I did not need to call at all! I just got online and booked the thing. It was great. Everyone talks about how hard it is, but this was certainly not my experience!

 

[italdesign]

Are there any downsides to not having 2 pax on the same PNR? I am booking a trip for my mom and her husband in about a week and was planning to transfer all the necessary points into 1 of the accounts. I suppose I could do the tickets individually if it really is much less hassle.

If IRROP, they could potentially get rebooked onto different flights. Less likely if they are on the same PNR.

 

[dukerau]

Are there any downsides to not having 2 pax on the same PNR? I am booking a trip for my mom and her husband in about a week and was planning to transfer all the necessary points into 1 of the accounts. I suppose I could do the tickets individually if it really is much less hassle.

It's really not that much of a hassle, and it's a one-time thing. Once you've officially added someone as a valid relative that you can ticket for, you won't have to do it for future bookings. But you do have to provide official documentation, like a marriage license for spouses. They say it takes some extended period of time to go through (14 days?) but it only took 1 or 2 for me. To your point, I don't know if there are any downsides of being on separate PNR, but there is downside to booking separately in the fact that you'd both have to call or you'd have to both be on the phone with them to book on the same call. So I retract my previous advice. Downsides to both ways.

 

[italdesign]

Other downsides to separate:
-if you need to change/cancel, you might have to pay more. Depends on the program policy. AA for example is $150 for first person, ~$25 for each additional on same PNR.
-probably won't matter in this case, but some benefits are only available to pax on the same PNR as the status holder.

 

[Matt]

Here is what I did. I looked up the availability on Korean. You just log in and it is easy to search

In my case, looking at Partner space, is this also accurate? I tried for spain and only got MAD (when BCN is an option on DL) and it wanted to route through Seoul.

 

[smittytabb]

In my case, looking at Partner space, is this also accurate? I tried for spain and only got MAD (when BCN is an option on DL) and it wanted to route through Seoul.

I think I cross referenced with Expert Flyer but I was just looking for Koren from Singapore to Chicago.