r/awardtravel

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole recently and figured I’d share this because it might help someone squeeze out an award that isn’t showing up online.

Over the past few years, there have been a handful of brand-new international airports that opened with entirely new IATA codes. In some cases, they replaced older airports nearby, and in others they just added capacity to a metro area. The catch is that a lot of airline award search engines still don’t seem fully synced with these newer codes, especially on partner bookings.

What I’ve noticed is that some partner sites will only recognize or prioritize the older airport code when you’re doing a search. So routes that absolutely exist and are bookable may show zero availability, even though the operating airline is flying them and selling seats.

A good example of how this can play out: you might find a flight directly on an airline like Vietnam Airlines that clearly has seats for sale, but when you try to search the same route through Delta or Virgin, nothing comes up. In those cases, if you call in and feed the agent the exact flight number, date, and routing, they can often see and price it out even though it never appeared online.

The reason this matters is pretty simple. If the search engines aren’t surfacing those routes properly, fewer people are looking for them. That can mean better availability than you’d expect, especially on newer routes tied to these newer airports.

Here are a few of the newer airport code situations I’ve been tracking that seem most relevant for this:

Siem Reap moved from REP to SAI
Phnom Penh is transitioning toward the new airport KTI (replacing PNH over time)
Goa added GOX alongside the older GOI airport
Rajkot moved from RAJ to HSR
Luanda is shifting from LAD to NBJ

There are others, but these are the ones where I’ve seen the most disconnect so far.

The takeaway is pretty straightforward. If you’re not finding what you expect on partner award searches, it’s worth checking whether a newer airport code might be involved. Search the operating airline directly, and if you find something that looks promising, call the partner program and have them look it up manually.

It’s a little extra work, but this is exactly the kind of edge that still works in award travel.

Curious if anyone else has run into this or has other airport/code mismatches that have worked in their favor.

My Top 10 List for airports opened since 2022.
Felipe Ángeles International Airport — Mexico City, Mexico Old code: N/A New code: NLU
Manohar International Airport — Goa (Mopa), India Old code: GOI New code: GOX
Techo International Airport — Phnom Penh, Cambodia Old code: PNH New code: KTI
Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport — Siem Reap, Cambodia Old code: REP New code: SAI
Tulum International Airport — Tulum, Mexico Old code: N/A New code: TQO
Maharishi Valmiki International Airport — Ayodhya, India Old code: N/A New code: AYJ
Rajkot International Airport — Rajkot, India Old code: RAJ New code: HSR
Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport — Luanda, Angola Old code: LAD New code: NBJ
Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport — Brașov, Romania Old code: N/A New code: GHV
Dhoho Airport — Kediri, Indonesia Old code: N/A New code: DHX

I bought a flight to Osaka via Abu Dhabi on May 11 before the war started. I've been waiting to see if Etihad will extend their refund window or if the flight will be cancelled/delayed but Reddit comments don't seem hopeful. Is there anyway Capital One will refund or credit the ticket because of the war? I know there's still some time for things to change but I'm trying to prepare for new finances and logistics now.

I’ve been monitoring award space for US → DOH in business all the way through April 4, 2027 using Qatar’s Privilege Club search.

Historically, the standard Peak savor rate has been 94,500 Avios one-way, but right now I’m seeing 140,000 Avios for EVERY date from April–April 2027. I cannot find ANY 94.5k rates.

Surely, their “peak season” can’t be this long all the time. Are these some higher tier saver awards that’ll be the new normal saver price going forward?

Is anyone else noticing this trend?

•Has Qatar tightened Saver/peaksavor (70k-94.5k) availability that far out?
•Or are they just not loading regular/peak Saver space much anymore?

Would love to hear what others are seeing or if this is part of a broader pattern of reduced Saver inventory.

So my rtw is coming up in a few weeks (YUL-LIS-DAC-SIN-PHK-self transfer-HAN-HKG-HND-LAX) all J except last leg and was hoping for t-14/30.

Realizing those releases seem to have dried up and getting nervous, I started looking at other ways home. Found JAL for 70K/pp that worked. Boom, perfect!

Ok now what. Started thinking how to use the rtw flexibility to my advantage and decided to just move them into next year.

Looking for married segments and stopovers as far east as I could.

…I kinda go where the points take me.

Found Qatar qsuites from MIA and F on the A380 to BKK for 90K +≈$300/pp. snagged that instantly. Since ANAs calendar opens up a few days later I was able to play the phone game over a few days and get the NRT-LAX in biz from the original rtw booking.

Then had to figure out a main destination. After back and forth with Philippians and Indonesia. Decent award space from BKK and Jakarta to TYO and overage points from the original rtw stuck in ANA. I chose the latter for 10 days.

200k points per person. I know it could have been a little cheaper but taking the long way and J+ everywhere so I’m still happy with the redemption.

Want to see Raja Ampat and both sides of the Wallace line so if anyone has any experience island hopping and liveaboards down there, I’d love to hear.

Tl/dr: This is just me stoked and ranting because I never thought I’d be doing rtw once, much less twice!

i've never used it because I'm always trying to plan 2+ months out, but i'm so curious! If anyone is open ... looking for SFO to LHR and back, July 27 and Aug 7. I have capital one miles and citi points. Sorry if this isn't allowed! Appreciate it!

Aiming to travel aug / sept 2027 to Greece & would love to know when the availability pops up specially in JAL website ( will aim round trip if not one way is fine! )

Sorry in advance for the long post! Just a bit unsure what approach to take so would really appreciate the advice.

I’ve amassed about 130k Avios points (household account), and currently have about 30k MR points in my own amex account.

With family opening a new amex gold card and the current bonus, that’s about another 45k MR points (under a family member’s name since its their account, but who is part of the avios household).

I was wondering what the best option for converting the points would be, as I am closing my amex before renewal and will need to move the points to one of amex’s partners, otherwise they’d be wasted.

We dont really fly long haul flights, and given that we’re based in the uk, it doesn’t make sense to use the points on short haul/europe flights either.

We may potentially visit countries in Asia like Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, or America later down the line (maybe in the next year or two?). I’d say Asia sooner than America.

What would you suggest converting the points into? I wouldn’t want the points to expire so I suppose the safest option is Avios? (But then again it can be difficult securing those Japan reward flights using Avios)

Ideally would like something that offers the best redemption rates (no current dates in mind) or a business class cabin that is actually worth it for a decent rate

I’ve used seats.aero before and saw some flights to Japan from London (with a stop in Doha) going for about 150k points return, and this seems worth it considering it’d be cheaper than BA and Qsuite is better I’ve heard. That said, I’m not familiar with other airlines such as JAL, ANA, Finnair etc

Trying to book Qatar Airways Qsuite from JFK to Maldives (MLE) for Feb 2027 using Avios, but only seeing availability at 170k points one-way.

I’ve been checking consistently for the past month, and saver/classic awards (~70k) haven’t shown up at all.

At this point, I’m debating whether to keep waiting it out and hope saver space opens, or just lock in the 170k before availability gets worse.

For those with experience booking Qsuite awards, do saver seats typically drop later, or is this a sign they won’t release much for these dates? Would you wait or just book now?

Appreciate any advice 🙏

Straight to the point.

I see on the Aeroplan chart that a flight from North America to the Pacific (zones) should be priced 115.000 when the distance is above 11,000 miles, since Aeroplan allows 6 flights in a one-way itinerary (including stopover)

A flight from North America to Europe is priced at 70,000 in a partner airline. If I want to make a couple of flights within Europe, these are priced at 15,000 points each, then I want to include a stopover of 5,000 points, then continue to the Middle East at 30,000 points, then to Asia at 30,000 points

The total distance of stops is less than the entire trip, so I should be okay there. When I put all these together, the total comes to 165,000, but according to the chart, it should be 115.000k?

Also, when I search YYZ to ZRH, the flight stops lets say, at MUC, since this is a default stop, does it count as a segment? So 2 segments (YYZ-MUC-ZRH) or just a segment as originally searched (YYZ-ZRH)?

If this is true, why should you pick a flight to Europe that costs 90,000 instead of a total trip that won't cost more than 115.000 (plus stopover)

Of course, this should be done by phone.

My child is going to be doing her first international trip. DEN-LAX-Manila. What are the best options for this route where I can sit in the middle seat and put the entire wall down so I can lay next to her? Not like Delta D1 suites where you can only put half of the wall down. I'm hearing ANA and EVA are good options? What about Philippine airlines?

I have amex and CSR points. Thanks!

I booked a First Class flight from JFK to Abu Dhabi for mid-May using 140,000 Etihad Guest miles and $600 in taxes and fees. The miles were transferred from my Amex points. I made the booking about a week before the Iran war began. I called Etihad and they told me a 25% penalty would apply and I would receive my refund mostly in Etihad miles.

Given the current situation, I have a few concerns:

- Is it safe to transit through the UAE right now? My original plan included a three-day stopover in Abu Dhabi for sightseeing, but I’m willing to skip it if necessary.

- Is there any way to transfer Etihad Guest miles back to Amex points, or otherwise reclaim the original points?

- If reversing the transfer isn’t possible, can I use my Etihad miles to reroute to another destination (maybe Etihad had some codeshare flights that I am unaware of)? My final destination is Singapore or Mumbai (either is fine), and I’d ideally like to adjust my itinerary accordingly.

I’d appreciate any advice or recent experiences, thanks in advance!

Hey guys, I am trying to get some flights in (IAH to BCN) for a Western Mediterranean cruise, departing from Barcelona sometime in January-March 2027. Unfortunately, the ship I'm eyeing is stuck in Dubai due to the ongoing war. I am thinking of going with some sort of points program that can allow flexibility in refunding miles in case the ship is still stuck in Dubai. I think that it'll be Alaska Air as it says it is refundable even in Economy. Its about 55K. I can also build up pts throughout this year if I apply for an Atmos card. I am open to any suggestions you may have.

I have the following: 500K Amex (Plat), 400K UR, 100K Alaska, 20K American, 80K United, 110K Delta.

Hi Reddit,

I'm wondering what the secret is (or if there is one) to booking US domestic carriers' (eg. Delta) international flights using reward points from an alliance member (eg. AirFrance/KLM)? I have a boat load of miles on my Capital One Venture X card that I am hoping to use on award travel for business class airfare to Europe. I can check for flights on Delta's site, and there is plenty of availabilty in the business cabin if I am willing to pay cash. But when I find the same flight through the AirFrance/KLM reward travel portal it says that only coach class is available. Travel dates are in November 2026. Am I just too early? TIA.

I know this might sound a little confusing but relying on experienced hotel stayers and travelers here. When you’re booking a luxury hotel stay using points or status perks, do you usually:

A) Book a suite or club-level room outright to lock in the space, lounge access, etc.

or

B) Book a standard room and rely on things like upgrades, breakfast, property credits, and late checkout through status or programmes like Amex FHR / Virtuoso?

I’ve done both and I’m not sure anymore which one is better value for money. For example on a recent London trip I noticed that some properties offer club lounge access, evening drinks, and breakfast if you book the higher category room, but if you book the base room you might still get breakfast and upgrades through status anyway. So the question becomes whether the guaranteed lounge access and extra space are worth the extra points or cash.

I'm flying business with work to LAX in a few weeks and they've just sent over the flight confirmation and its a Boeing 787-9. I've heard lots of negative things about this layout (coffin-style seats, awkwardly close together, directly looking at the person opposite you?)

Would love any advice or thoughts from people who have flown upper class on one of these more recently!