Best way to use US airways miles to fly to ISRAEL??

[Aussie]

Hi everyone! I have 197,000 US airways miles (From the starpoint 50% transfer bonus -Thanks DAN!) and want to use them to buy some of the tickets for our family's Pesach trip to Israel.

On US Airways site it says that it will cost me 120,000 miles (!!) roundtrip per ticket! But on that same post regarding the bonus Dan wrote that I can get a roundtrip to Israel for 80,000! 

Any advice on how to book a roundtrip flight to Israel for 80,000 US airway miles would be appriciated!!!

[Monsey]

You got to be consistent and check everyday until you find availability for 80k

[aussiebochur]

Hi everyone! I have 197,000 US airways miles (From the starpoint 50% transfer bonus -Thanks DAN!) and want to use them to buy some of the tickets for our family's Pesach trip to Israel.

On US Airways site it says that it will cost me 120,000 miles (!!) roundtrip per ticket! But on that same post regarding the bonus Dan wrote that I can get a roundtrip to Israel for 80,000! 

Any advice on how to book a roundtrip flight to Israel for 80,000 US airway miles would be appriciated!!!

What dates are you looking for?

BTW, love the name 

[Aussie]

Monsey27: Not working...It's staying at 60,000 each way

Thanks fellow Aussie! Would like to leave nyc 4/10, 4/11, or 4/12 and return from Israel on 4/27, (4/28 Thursday +7hrs, so only if early and direct), 5/1, or 5/2. It would be really awesome if you could find me something for those dates!

[aussiebochur]

Monsey27: Not working...It's staying at 60,000 each way

Thanks fellow Aussie! Would like to leave nyc 4/10, 4/11, or 4/12 and return from Israel on 4/27, (4/28 Thursday +7hrs, so only if early and direct), 5/1, or 5/2. It would be really awesome if you could find me something for those dates!

Am I assuming 2 seats in Coach?

[aussiebochur]

Am I assuming 2 seats in Coach?

Here's what I found,

Sun, 4/10 LH411, JFK-MUC 17:35-8:05+1
Mon, 4/11 LH688, MUC-TLV, 9:25-13:55

Wed, 4/27 A3929, TLV-ATH, 7:00-9:00
Wed, 4/27 LH1279, ATH-FRA, 13:30-15:30
Wed, 4/27 LH404, FRA-JFK, 17:00-19:40

Could possibly find a better return but thats what I found for 2 seats at the moment.

In general your best bet is calling USAirways and trying to find a nice agent to look for flights for you.
Or just post here
Partner flights have to be booked over the phone.

[kivabb]

I know US Air will reset your 3 day hold if you make any change in award reservation (is that true even if you switch right back? ), but once reseravtion is made and I find better route, will they allow me to change without penalty? Meaning I want to stopover in Zurich and Venice on way to TLV. I assume as dates get closer, I will have better options. Will US allow me to make those changes? Does US not care if I do Zurich- Venice - Frankfurt - TLV or if I do France - Venice - Zurich - TLV as long as I have only one stop over 24 hours and the rest under?

[Dan]

Any changes after ticketing are $150 with US.
No changes are allowed after departure.

[SuperFlyer]

Or swap with someone for CO miles (you will probably need to give a bit more US miles than you will receive CO), and save on fees.

[kivabb]

Any changes after ticketing are $150 with US.
No changes are allowed after departure.

Can you tell me when you planned your trip in May that you called every 3 days and made a change, how long did you play that for? One 3 day Yom Tov and you're finished?

[Dan]

Can you tell me when you planned your trip in May that you called every 3 days and made a change, how long did you play that for? One 3 day Yom Tov and you're finished?

IIRC it was over a month and even over a 3dyt.  I simply called in when yt ended to make the change.
Eventually an agent saw what I was doing and told me to ticket now or else she would cancel it out.

Worth noting that even when on hold, the Swiss Air segments disappear automatically after a certain amount of time and need to be put back in.

[SuperFlyer]

Yeah, LX is gone after 48 hours Puenktlich !!!

YM"SH (not to confuse with YMMV)

[kivabb]

Is under 24 hour stop over a shtick, or can I be straight up with operator?
Why is JFK- Zurich - Venice - Frankfurt - TLV considered just a stop over if I keep under 24?
I can fly all around Europe with less then 24 hour stop overs? When do they throw the book at you?
Not planning more then Zurich and Venice and then to TLV, just trying to understand before I get on the horn what I'm entitled to.

[aussiebochur]

Is under 24 hour stop over a shtick, or can I be straight up with operator?
Why is JFK- Zurich - Venice - Frankfurt - TLV considered just a stop over if I keep under 24?
I can fly all around Europe with less then 24 hour stop overs? When do they throw the book at you?
Not planning more then Zurich and Venice and then to TLV, just trying to understand before I get on the horn what I'm entitled to.

If its less then 24 hours its considered a connection as opposed to a stop over. Only one 24 hour + stopover is allowed.
Awards can't have more then 10 segments and although there are routing rules and MPM, US rarely enforces it. So, if you do find the right agent you can do lots of <24 hour stops.