Trip to Salzburg

[RTR]

Duration 10 days

Business or First

Flexible 9/15/16 - 9/24/16

AA Miles 600K
UR pts 800K
Starwood 150K
MR 67K but building rapidly
I've got a hodgepodge in various miles programs that are less than 100K each.

I'm not in a gateway city but ORD or ATL is convenient or any city on the East Coast. I'll find my own way to the departure city, just looking for help with the international leg. Don't mind flying into MUC or any other city that might be convenient.

Thanks

 

[aviator8]

I am doing a trip ATL to SZG in June 2016. With AA you can get the Trans Atlantic leg on Air Berlin. Then AB also for the hop to SZG from DUS or TXL, though those legs will be in coach as no business class is offered. With AA/OW partner awards you will be able to piece together the domestic, international and European legs for 1 award price. Business will be 100K and if you have one of the AA credit cards you can recieved 10K back as a rebate making it 90K RT for the first 2 awards if you split the awards across accounts and you and your partner have the same CC.

I had to split my itinteraies into 2 as i could not get 4 seats in Business on the same flights. and i did not do a RT as i will fly into SZG and leave from ZRH. My wife will take one kid and i will take the other and our routes look like this:

Me
ATL-JFK AA fist
JFK-DUS AB Business
DUS-SZG AB coach

return
ZRH-PHL AA Business
PHL-ATL AA First


Wife
ATL-MIA AA First
MIA-DUS AB Business
DUS-SZG AB coach

return
ZRH-JFK AA Business
JFK-CLT AA First
CLT-ATL AA First

start your search on AA, and exclude BA awards as hey will take you through LHR wih crazy taxes.

 

[FindAWay]

Look at xfer UR to UA or MR to AP and fly on OS, LO, and/or LX. As I described in this detailed trip report, my wife and I did the following in September, 2014 (we took a train from Vienna to Salzburg to Zurich):

Fri., August 29, 2014 - Sat., August 30, 2014
4:05pm-8:40am - ORD-VIE – Austrian (Tyrolean) Airlines #066 Bus. [9h 35m]
---Destination: Vienna---
---Open Jaw Return From: Zurich---
Mon., September 8, 2014
5:15pm-7:10p – ZRH-WAW – Swiss (OAW Helvetic) Airlines #631 Bus. [1h 55m]
---21h 20m Overnight Layover in WAW---
Tues., September 9, 2014
4:30pm-7:05pm – WAW-ORD – LOT Polish Airlines #003 Bus. [9h 35m]
---Long Stopover in ORD---
December 2014
8:20am-3:05pm – ORD-SJU – United Airlines #1688 First [4h 45m]
---Double Open Jaw Destination: San Juan---

The trick with OS is that they release business class award space exactly 90 days before each flight.

 

[Mountain Trader]

I am doing a trip ATL to SZG in June 2016. With AA you can get the Trans Atlantic leg on Air Berlin. Then AB also for the hop to SZG from DUS or TXL, though those legs will be in coach as no business class is offered. With AA/OW partner awards you will be able to piece together the domestic, international and European legs for 1 award price. Business will be 100K and if you have one of the AA credit cards you can recieved 10K back as a rebate making it 90K RT for the first 2 awards if you split the awards across accounts and you and your partner have the same CC.

I had to split my itinteraies into 2 as i could not get 4 seats in Business on the same flights. and i did not do a RT as i will fly into SZG and leave from ZRH. My wife will take one kid and i will take the other and our routes look like this:

Me
ATL-JFK AA fist
JFK-DUS AB Business
DUS-SZG AB coach

return
ZRH-PHL AA Business
PHL-ATL AA First


Wife
ATL-MIA AA First
MIA-DUS AB Business
DUS-SZG AB coach

return
ZRH-JFK AA Business
JFK-CLT AA First
CLT-ATL AA First

start your search on AA, and exclude BA awards as hey will take you through LHR wih crazy taxes.

How do you weave together all the legs into one AA/OW award on AA, which does not allow stopovers? Are you using another OW program's T&Cs?

 

[aviator8]

I am not doing stopovers

 

[jazzmailman]

Easiest way is taking LH Business/First into MUC and take the train to SZG (it's only ~40 min, way closer than VIE). Alternative you can prob take Austrian Airline (way better than LH business) into Vienna then take the train to Salzburg (2-3 hrs ride).

For AA miles you are pretty much stuck flying AirBerlin or AA or maybe Iberia (eh), all of which are uninspiring (AirBerlin's business class seat is especially lackluster).