Todd, thanks and excellent thoughts! I didn’t realize that SPG partnered with KE. Do you know if they give the 25% bonus for every 20K transferred? The vast majority of our miles/points are with SPG.
And, I went to the KE website to check availability on my dates and they do have it for DFW to ICN. However, when I try to look for DFW to Vietnam (either SGN or DAD), it gives me “Schedule Not Found” on any dates and I know KE flies from ICN daily to both. Do you know if their awards are only per segment rather than all the way to your destination?
Edit: It does appear they charge per segment, so the flight from ICN to Vietnam would be an additional 70K points/miles if we did that.
It should be 75k from N. America to SE Asia (I had a hold on seats from SEA-SGN via ICN and they would have cost me 75k had I booked them). I would call them to clarify. You may have to book over the phone with an agent but they don’t charge anything to do that. SPG transfers to Korean do transfer with the 25% bonus…
I just did a quick search on Korean’s website (for March 10, FWIW) and it shows (at least) 3 seats available in business class on KE 032 DFW-ICN and 3 seats on two different flights the following day ICN-SGN, all for a total of 75k miles/seat.
Re: Korean Air Economy/Coach whatever. Not bad compared to some others. The planes I’ve been on are Triple 7s. The big downside in going to Seoul is that you are a long way from Vietnam; around 6 hours. It’s kind of a push to do that or get closer by absorbing the hassle of LAX. The last time I went to Vietnam I stayed a day in Seoul, then went to HCM City. That was easier and there are some things to see, like the DMZ.
FWIW, it’s a 777 to ICN then an A333 to and from Danang and SGN. And, yes, that 2nd leg is a long one and not to be discounted as a “hop”. We’ve done it with EVA via Taipei.
Todd’s helpful advice and guidance have us on the path to getting business class on KE, but there are a lot of technical details to fall into place to make it happen. But, the fact that I can see a pathway there is very encouraging. We’re diligently working on it.
Just a discussion point, but if a family has 2 seats in business and 2 seats in coach, will airlines allow the family to switch out on long haul so that each person gets some time to sleep? For us, I’m specifically asking about Korean Air.
We should end up with everyone in business but was wondering about alternatives if things fall through.
Well, my saga continues and I very much appreciate everyone throwing in their $0.02 (or, probably much more valuable than that!).
Using Korean Air miles. Outbound I can get business seats (well, 1 is in first, but I’ll endure). However, on the return, I was told tonight that no business seats are available with miles. Anyone have knowledge if the number of seats in business/first might change/increase as the flight times get closer? Or, are they fixed and when they’re gone, they’re gone? FWIW, return flight is on March 11th, 2016.
And, if this is helpful to anyone, signing up for the Family Plan with Korean Air took 1 day when I submitted the documents online yesterday. They claim a 1-2 week turnaround so that was a nice surprise, albeit useless if we end up not needing it and just purchase coach seats.
Just thought I’d update those that helped out here. We’re kinda split up, but using SPG points converted into Korean Air miles, we have our trip all set. 2 in business and 1 in first on the outbound and 1 in first and 2 in coach on the return. Korean Air certainly has some annoying steps to book the flights (copies of marriage license, birth certificates, passports, written requests for the awards, and they call you for the final payment for the taxes and fees), but it appears to be all set.
Thanks to everyone for help in this quest. We’ll probably still inquire again in January to see if they’ve opened up more business class tickets for the return trip.
Nice work, Chris! I view the annoying Korean Airlines policies as being useful, in that it’s likely that they have more availability because of the extra work involved. I’m not sure what Korean’s policy is in terms of releasing more award seats, but I would check fairly regularly and not necessarily wait until January. I’ve read conflicting comments regarding whether or not Korean has a waitlist for award seats. It might be worth a phone call.