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Hi there, thanks in advance for help on this question.
I will be using FF miles to fly from Houston to St Thomas, the only problem is Continental in their divine wisdom wants me to spend the night in New Jersey or New York before continuing the next morning to St Thomas. I really value my little vacation i do get , nothing agaisnt NY or NJ but Id rather not waste a night there waiting for my flight to STT. My only other option is direct flight Houston to Puerto Rico, then buy my way to St Thomas, I really dont want to do this since i feel the airlines is getting away with something here, but like i said, Id rather not waste a day. Does anyone know of the best airlines to fly from Puerto Rico to St Thomas. I did find caribbean sun airlines for 159.00 round trip, not sure if that a good deal or not, thanks for your help.
We flew Cape Air usinf FF miles on Continental from Houston. They are a partner so I would press for them unless They may not have any FF seats on the flight you are trying to get so ask the FF desk for days when you can get both.
We were not able to get back the same way, but the FF travel desk used Delta connection on the return from STT to Atlanta. You and try that route coming and going as well.
american eagle, affiliate of american airlines, flies several flites per day b/w San Juan and STT.
Thing is i didnt want to use more than the standard 35,000 im afraid they might take another 25,000 to get me from Puerto Rico to St Thomas, knowing the airlines Im sure they would be more than happy to do so.
The 35,000 is from initial to destination airport (i.e. IAH to STT) so you should not be charged additinal miles uness you ask to stay in SJU for awhile, in which case they treat it as two separate trips. This would be the same for your Newark trip. Stay an extra day in NY and they will charge for two trips.
Call the FF desk and tell them you want IAH to STT using your miles. Cape Air and Delta are partners so they should be available options to get the deal done. The only issue is if they can't find FF allocate seats on the days you need them.
We needed 4 RT tickets. Used miles to get 2 of us from IAH to STT via SJU using Cape Air but Cape Air did not have any more FF seats on that flight so we had to buy 2 one ways from SJU to STT. As mentioned, they booked us on Delta return from STT to IAH via Atlanta.
You may have to be flexible with days of travel, but it can be done.
Thanks for your help, i didnt know Cape Air was a partner...so i assume then your saying fly continental or delta to SJU then have Continentals partner Cape Air fly me from SJU to SST,, great this atleast gives me an option, its nice to know, since if you know how Continental is ,they wont offer up any information to make your travel plans any easier,,they feel, that if your using miles, its our way and out of the way or nothing.
Bear in mind you are very limited to what any airline wants to give you when using FF miles. Actually, it has been my experience that Continental is much better than others about offering FF mile seat allocation.
When you call the FF desk, keep asking them about using Delta or Cape as an option to arrive on or near the dates you want. Some ticket agents accept the first thing the computer spits out rather than thinking 'outside the box'. For instance, if you look at the Continental web site for avaialble flights, they will default you toward Continental flights to insure they have numbers on their planes rather than show other partner airlines. It's just the games they all play to keep people on their planes.
It is really important to be flexible on your days of departure and return. We had to select a different villa and stay a day extra in paradise to make it work.
Darn that Continental 🙂
