I’m planning a 10th anny trip for May 24. It’s our first time to Italy. I have enlisted the help of a travel agent which goes against every fiber of my being since I normally love planning our itineraries. This one was just overwhelming me!
Anyway, our trip guide has us flying into Venice and out of Naples (Venice, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi, and Capri) to make the most of our time. That’s typically how I would plan. But when I tried to book flights, the upgrades with miles were astronomical! 5 years ago, I upgraded to delta one round trip for 133,000 miles total. This one was going to be 323,000 miles for one leg of one flight! Is this the new norm?? We reserve our miles for this specific purpose but somehow it’s still not enough.
Also, I may be trying to book too far out. I usually book inside of 6 months from travel and this is closer to 9. Can anyone give me input, opinions, or suggestions to help with flights?
I was planning on leaving (as I did before) on a Friday afternoon and take a red eye knowing I could sleep on the flight. Is there a better day to fly?
Any help would be appreciated!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14605 posts
If you are not tied to Friday then sometimes on Delta the flights on Tuesday and Wednesday are sometimes better priced. What Delta hub are you flying out of? Although I am not sure that makes a difference. I live in Idaho, fly out of Spokane to Seattle and to Europe from there.
I have a slew of Delta miles but I've just been purchasing Delta One tickets because I could never get things to work out using SkyMiles. I've done Delta One on the last 2 trips to Europe.
The ground has shifted a lot since Covid in relation to airline fares. This year was a catch up year for many as people returned to International travel and I think next year is going to be very busy as well. IF you do go ahead and book now with Delta if there is a price drop you can call the SkyMiles line and they can rebook and will deposit your miles back into your accounts.
PS Editing to add....Welcome to the forum!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14605 posts
Well, for heaven's sake....I keep thinking of things...perhaps I should slow down!
Is your time restricted by having to return to work or are you all retired? Asking because depending on what international hub you are flying thru, you might be able to use a cheaper intra-European flight from Naples to .... say Paris or Amsterdam, layover there for a night or two and then get a less expensive flight from that hub back home.
Posted by
Paris
7269 posts
The 'dynamic' pricing for miles tickets and upgrades is often completely wacky. I would wait a bit since May is far out, and I would play with dates!
Posted by
4836 posts
Congrats, late May is usually a great time to be in Italy (not this May, but let's hope that was an outlier!).
Airlines are getting quite stingy with the miles and upgrades.
We don't know where you are flying from. Sometimes you have to fly on Friday for leave reasons, but I have started trying to fly out on Thursday or even Wednesday, as even if not cheaper it seems to be a little less hectic and maximize the time off.
How long is your trip? I would want at least three weeks for that list.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Is this the new norm??
Yes. Airlines have continually devalued their miles/points currencies. Delta is considered one of the worth for this, and their SkyMiles are sometimes referred to as SkyPesos, a play on the high inflation of Mexican currency.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15899 posts
When I fly using FF miles, I generally have to use Milan and/or Rome because they are the largest airports and have more flight options, including with Delta. Naples is not a good option if using miles because the choice of flights is more limited and Delta does not fly there, while their SkyTeam partners (ITA and AirFrance) have very few flights.
You should change the ground itinerary as follows
VENICE > TUSCANY > AMALFI COAST/CAPRI > ROME
With the following flight itinerary:
Going: US to Venice or Milan (which is not horribly far from Venice)
Returning: Rome (FCO) to US.
Depending on where you fly from, you might have one or more layovers, especially if mileage award seats are not plentiful on certain routes.
I understand that having to back track to Rome will require some extra time, but it's not too bad. Besides flying from Naples would still require you to sleep the last night in Naples, since from Amalfi to Naples airport is not a short trek.