Mileage Run
I am trying to obtain lifetime Platinum status with American Airlines by making a mileage run in the near future. Where is the best place to find the least expensive full-fare economy or Business Class seat from any city in the USA to any city in Europe. I would really prefer a trip such as O’Hare to Dublin.
Lawrence G. Roth, St. Louis, MO
One fare tool you might find helpful is ITA software, which can be accessed via the link on page 7. It requires a departure and destination city, but then you can request fares by class of service and by month. The fare request screen offers three fare types: Round-trip, one-way, and multi-city. For your preferred itinerary, put in ORD and DUB. For dates, click on “see calendar for lowest fares”, then select a travel month, length of stay, and number of people traveling. The next section offers fare/cabin choice and number of stops (best to choose “no limit”, so all fares show). There’s one last field—the sales city (same as departure city)—then click “search.” At a glance you can see the best fare options are for departure Nov. 21 through Nov. 25. Clicking on one of those dates and “show flights” will call up the options on that day.
As far as doing a year-end mileage run to Europe, we recommend going at Thanksgiving and Christmas to get the lowest Business Class fares (usually less then full-fare economy). Other good mileage run destinations for travel in First or Business Class are the Caribbean and Central America.
—MB