Secrets to Redeeming Miles for Free Flights

Oct. 15, 2010— -- Dear Tim—

I am trying to find out the best way to use my Delta frequent flier miles to fly to Hawaii first class in October 2011.

I read your site every week, but I cannot find where this question has been asked or any place that can help me.

I am not very good at the computer looking things up. I was hoping that you could point me in the right direction for information about this topic.

Robin

Dear Robin—

The simplest solution is to redeem 180,000 miles for award tickets that are unencumbered by capacity restrictions or blackout dates. But that's a pricey way to go, with restricted Hawaii awards offered for just 75,000 miles.

Assuming you want to explore the lower-cost option first, try the following:

• Book early: Award seats first become available for booking 330 days prior to the flight's departure date.
• Book late: If a flight still has empty seats within two weeks of departure, the airlines often make more award seats available.
• Consider an upgrade: If award seats are not available at an affordable price, consider buying a coach ticket and using miles to upgrade to first class.
• Look into alternative airports -- You didn't specify either the airport you're flying from or which airport in Hawaii you'd like to fly to. There may be alternatives worth exploring. If you're having trouble finding award seats from New York's JFK Airport, for example, check to see if seats are available from Newark, La Guardia, or MacArthur Airport on Long Island.