Advice on Israel for Lag Bomer Itinerary

[steve2]

Any advice for a cheaper car rental? that is the most convenient since I am on my own clock and I work near EWR so I would just take it to work and then return to EWR and pick up my car after work....

 Ok is it "Bring Your Wife to Work Day"? what will she do unless she also works at the same place

 You could also google for a car service and see what they want, they usually are alot cheaper then the reg cabs

 there maybe some Local places that would be cheaper but they wouldnt be open till say 8 or 9 am which KOs that idea and maybe not that much cheaper either

 keep in mind if you will be going with a # of bags they wont all fit into the trunk and no way would I want to leave my bags in view in a car all day long

[Mikeoracle]

Thats not a problem, the plan is to swing by Lakewood on the way to work to drop off my wife and the baggage.

[steve2]

Thats not a problem, the plan is to swing by Lakewood on the way to work to drop off my wife and the baggage.

 well that sort of kills what I found and kills anything but either getting a ride taking or cab to EWR and from PHL

Avis using Z903315 AWD# was $80 for a midsize plus .40 per mile and its 90 miles PHL-EWR up the I-95 onto the 1N. or apx $119

 mapquest the amount of miles PHL-Home then to work and EWR and see what you come up with, you might save alittle but if you go over 200 miles it will cost you more then what you found

 but 1st going to LW will probably make it more or close to the $160 you found

[Mikeoracle]

It comes to 120-130 miles so total $130-$140

[Dan]

There are corp codes for under $40 with tax and with unlimited miles...it just depends if you're feeling lucky enough to use them...

[Deal Guy]

Update,
I currently have on Hold EWR-TLV on 4/22 with CO and returning on US TLV-PHL on 5/2 all in Economy - the timing just worked out much better than trying to work it out on Business and since i couldnt make the whole itinerary work in business it was a shame to pay the extra mileage. Total cost is 60K ANA + $43 per person in fees.

 As per my last post this leaves me needing a one way car rental from PHL-EWR.

Thanks DAN, STEVE2, and MIKEORACLE for your earlier responses.
  Now, Mikeoracle, (or anyone) why did you book through ANA and not through US Airways itself for example?
 Is there something to be gained by doing it your way?

[Dan]

Thanks DAN, STEVE2, and MIKEORACLE for your earlier responses.
  Now, Mikeoracle, (or anyone) why did you book through ANA and not through US Airways itself for example?
 Is there something to be gained by doing it your way?

ANA charges 60k miles to Israel, CO charges 75K, US charges 80K.
Every airline has their own rates, it appears that ANA is the best for Star Alliance to Israel.
Plus ANA does not charge a fuel surcharge on award tickets for carriers that don't charge one themselves.

[queensdeals]

ANA charges 60k miles to Israel, CO charges 75K, US charges 80K.
Every airline has their own rates, it appears that ANA is the best for Star Alliance to Israel.
Plus ANA does not charge a fuel surcharge on award tickets for carriers that don't charge one themselves.

Dan- what would the breakdown be in business and First for those 3 carriers?

[Deal Guy]

ANA charges 60k miles to Israel, CO charges 75K, US charges 80K.
Every airline has their own rates, it appears that ANA is the best for Star Alliance to Israel.
Plus ANA does not charge a fuel surcharge on award tickets for carriers that don't charge one themselves.

thanks. Does ANA have the exact availability for 60k, as CO and US have for 75-80k?

[steve2]

Dan- what would the breakdown be in business and First for those 3 carriers?

 2 Carriers not 3 ANA a Japanese Carrier doesnt fly to TLV, but is apart of *A so you can cash in ANA miles for flights in this case on CO or US non-stop to TLV

 CO:is 75k Saver/140k EasyPass in Coach

         115k Saver/300k EasyPass Biz

 US: is Low 80k coach/120k Biz

         Med 120k coach/180k Biz

         High 160k coach/240k Biz

 I believe ANA is 60k coach/90k biz all yr for flights on CO or US to TLV

 

[Mikeoracle]

Queensdeals-ANA charges 60K in coach, 90K in business, 140 in First (when available)
US charges 80K in coach and 120K in business

Moefl- in my experience so far when ANA showed availability they were available on the others except it might not come up in a search online rather you would have to call them up.

The rule of thumb seems to be that when booking to fly on a US carrier (US, CO) ANA has the best deal (least mileage and low fees), when booking to fly on a non-US carrier (LH ,LX etc...) it is better to book  through CO or US to avoid the fuel charges that ANA would have passed on.

[queensdeals]

2 Carriers not 3 ANA a Japanese Carrier doesnt fly to TLV, but is apart of *A so you can cash in ANA miles for flights in this case on CO or US non-stop to TLV

 CO:is 75k Saver/140k EasyPass in Coach

         115k Saver/300k EasyPass Biz

 US: is Low 80k coach/120k Biz

         Med 120k coach/180k Biz

         High 160k coach/240k Biz

 I believe ANA is 60k coach/90k biz all yr for flights on CO or US to TLV

Only question is...what's in ANA's availability? Prob only get access to CO and US on their saver/lowest mileage award tickets...right?

90k year round business would be great!

Also, is this true from west coast (stopover in EWR/PHL) too?  Mileage costs are the same?

[steve2]

Only question is...what's in ANA's availability? Prob only get access to CO and US on their saver/lowest mileage award tickets...right?

90k year round business would be great!

Also, is this true from west coast (stopover in EWR/PHL) too?  Mileage costs are the same?

 Yep if theres no Saver avaialble on CO then you shouldnt see any availability on ANA

 Dont know enough to comment if you can have a stopover say in NY , but if cashing in CO miles I believe you are entitled to 1 stopover either direction. US dont know

also the miles I listed for US was straight off their site, I dont know when L or M or H applys and I would think ANA will be when its Low on US. Does anyone know if US changed to it being 80k/120k all yr and simply didnt change their website?

[Mikeoracle]

Only question is...what's in ANA's availability? Prob only get access to CO and US on their saver/lowest mileage award tickets...right?

90k year round business would be great!

Also, is this true from west coast (stopover in EWR/PHL) too?  Mileage costs are the same?

They only get access to the saver awards- that is always the case when booking with a partner airline.

From LAX-EWR-TLV it would be 65K in coach and 105K in Business. their awards are distance based so LAX falls into the next level. here is their chart (i hope it comes out clear);
Total itinerary distance
(the sum of all basic flight segment mileages)    
Distance               Economy  Business    FIRST
0-600           14,000    28,000       45,000
601-1,600         17,000     33000        55,000
1,601-2,000    20,000    38,000    60,000
2,001-4,000    22,000    43,000    70,000
4,001-7,000    38,000    63,000    90,000
7,001-9,000    43,000    68,000    100,000
9,001-11,000    55,000    85,000    120,000
11,001-14,000    60,000    90,000    140,000
14,001-18,000    65,000    105,000    160,000
18,001-20,000    75,000    115,000    180,000
20,001-22,000    85,000    125,000    200,000
22,001-25,000    100,000    145,000    220,000
25,001-29,000    120,000    170,000    260,000
29,001-34,000    140,000    200,000    300,000
34,001-39,000    160,000    220,000    340,000

[steve2]

There are corp codes for under $40 with tax and with unlimited miles...it just depends if you're feeling lucky enough to use them...

 Dan do you know any case where the person was Carded and thusly couldnt use that code, and tried to use another usable code and they wouldnt let them get acar unless they paid the going rate?

 I ask for 2 reasons 1- if I was under a time restriction and had to get somewhere Id be less likely to play the game, and 2- if a person looks like a Rabbi  or a Religious Jew Id hope they wouldnt take a chance and roll the dice, least they get carded

 when not under any time constraits Id simply make a backup res with another company and simply head back to the Term and get on the other shuttle van, but then I dont dress or look like a Rabbi/Religious Yid. B"H never carded yet, but I know plenty that have been

[Deal Guy]

SO BASICALLY IF YOU WANT TO FLY TO ISRAEL, THEN IT PAYS TO BANK all YOUR AIRLINE MILES OR SPG POINTS TO 'ANA'?
  Are there any drawbacks to doing so?

[Dan]

 Are there any drawbacks to doing so?

Yes, read what I wrote about them in the ANA thread.
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=1196.msg16109#msg16109

[Mikeoracle]

SO BASICALLY IF YOU WANT TO FLY TO ISRAEL, THEN IT PAYS TO BANK all YOUR AIRLINE MILES OR SPG POINTS TO 'ANA'?
  Are there any drawbacks to doing so?

The drawback is that there arent always available award seats on US carriers and the good connections are flying with LH or LX- in those cases you would pay $500+ in fees on ANA which might not justify the mileage you saved than if you would book through CO or US and spent some extra miles but avoided the fees.

That said if you bank your points in SPG then you cant transfer to CO (2-1 exchange) so you are left with US (or UA with the downside of starnet blocking). Also if you can be flexible enough and keep part of your itinerary on US carriers, i.e. connect in ZRH but fly there on US or CO etc... and the same on the return, that significantly reduces the taxes and fees when booking through ANA.

[Mikeoracle]

Here is the link to the ANA partner award chart and rules;
https://www.ana.co.jp/eng/amc/reference/tukau/teikeiair_1.html

[Mikeoracle]

Will my Sprint BB curve (8330) work in israel?