delta skymiles

I thought it was 330. Roughly 11 months

Have you tried calling Delta and asking them?

Thanks for the info. Taking the lazy way out by posting my question on the helpline....

american airlines is 330 days

I think it's 330 days out to complete travel, so your return must be 330 days or less from the time you book.

Susan, I'm just down 459 from you... Liberty Park. We did this a couple of years ago and booked over Thanksgiving weekend for a trip to Rome just after Christmas, so you don't always have to book so far in advance. (May have something to do with your silver/gold, etc status with Delta). Just don't be shocked by how many of your miles it will eat up. We are headed back to Italy this year and can't wait. Unfortunatly, didn't have enough miles for a freebie this time, but hubby is attending a conference so at least his is covered. :) Hope you have a great trip and enjoy your year of planning. It's almost as much fun as going, and you will get lots of good advice on this helpline.
Nancy

I'd recommend looking at available miles options on a regular basis even before the dates you want to travel are available. That way when you hit your "window" you are prepared to make a quick decision, especially if using Saver fares instead of standard (or at least that's what United calls them) I don't know about Delta, but on United, when you use miles to reserve a flight, you have 72 hours from the day you reserve until you have to book your flights. Allows "everyone" to confirm time off from work, etc. You also may need to be a bit more flexible with your arrival/departure cities and dates. We booked our flights using miles in Oct of 2010 for our Sept 2011 vacation. We decided to fly in/out of Frankfurt and figure everything else out later.
We are now planning our next trip to Europe in spring or fall of 2013. So providing the saver fares are available in about a month (for early to mid May), we'll chose our arrival and departure cities based on availability/flight times and shuffle our itinerary accordingly. In order to protect money out of pocket since you are booking well in advance, I'd suggest travel insurance.

I would have a plan and then check frequently so when you find something you like you can act quickly. Generally, you can reserve 331 days in advance and when we find what we want we reserve immediately. Since 2005 we spend a month in Italy every year and we fly on Delta. Also, I have a Delta American Express card and use it for everything to earn miles. They even have a Skymiles dining program at certain restaurants and you can earn additional miles. As far as buying airline tickets, the rule of thumb is when you find something you can live with buy it and stop looking. Buon viaggio,

My plan when booking is that I have dates I must travel on - kid's spring break usually. I have a bunch of destinations / departure / arrival cities I plug in and then decide my vacation itinerary. I also wait for super saver so I really never ca get my heart set on a destination until I find the flight. After years of doing this I am finally getting myself to Italy but of course I am flying into Munich and out of Milan and in winter.