The SkyTeam Playbook: Charting Your European Summer Vacation

[["<b>Booking Option<b> ","<b>Air France or KLM Miles<b>","<b>Alitalia Miles<b>","<b>Delta Miles<b>","<b>Upgrade Option Summary<b>"],["<b>Upgrade Using Cash and Miles<\/b>","<strong>Elites:<\/strong> Think twice because this option only earns partial MQD credit: W fares net 25% and Y, B, and M fares 20% of the fare paid. \n\n<strong>Everyone Else:<\/strong> Use miles for a free award because upgrade and free space are pulled from the same inventory and the applicable fare for an upgrade is very expensive, often more than a Business Class ticket.","<strong>Elites:<\/strong> Almost the same story as Air France \/ KLM: P fares earn 25% MQDs and T fares only 15%.\n\n<strong>Everyone Else:<\/strong> Resort to only when there are no Business Class fare deals. Then, this is a reasonable option because Alitalia upgrades are usually plentiful (I booking code) and the upgradable fare is reasonable. JFK-Milan upgrades from economy (T class) are 70,000 miles\u2014yes, kinda high, but a low upgradable fare, $1,439 in summer. Business Class is around $3,578 (but we have seen fare deals from $1,750 to $1,850). Premium Economy upgrades (P fare) to Business Class are $2,842, $1,000+ more than economy, but mileage cost is only 25,000 round-trip.\n","<strong>Elites and Everyone Else:<\/strong> Forget about upgrades. Upgradeable fares are high and the lowest ones require 120,000 miles (crazy). Plus you'll be on a waitlist unless you're super lucky. New York-Paris cost is $2,422 in economy plus 60,000 miles.","<strong>Elites:<\/strong> Only if you\u2019re desperate for the MQDs.\n\n<strong>Everyone Else:<\/strong> Forget about upgrading on Air France, Delta, and KLM. Alitalia is an option when Business Class fares are high, since the upgrade often saves some money and the miles required are low when upgrading from Premium Economy.\n"],["<b>Booking Option:<b>","<b>Delta Miles<b>","<b>Multi-Airline Currency (MAC) Miles \n (Amex Rewards, Chase, Citi ThankYou, and Starwood)<b>","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<b>Miles<b>","The odds that a free saver award ticket will be available on your exact route and dates are very low\u2014like lottery low. If your Delta account is fat, it's probably because you've never been able to use the miles.","You can get lucky, given the many airlines available through these cards. Check free award space first and remember to check FCF's newsroom sweet redeems. Keep in mind that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koreanair.com\/content\/koreanair\/global\/en\/skypass\/flight-award.html#cta-large=\/global\/en\/skypass\/flight-award\/award-ticket\/skyteam-bonus-north-america.html\" target=\"_blank\">Korean Air<\/a> offers the lowest cost for partner flights, 80,000 round-trip, which you can get through Chase and Starwood. Another option is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alitalia.com\/content\/dam\/alitalia\/files\/EN\/millemiglia\/Tabella_biglietto_premio_EN.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Alitalia<\/a>, which charges 80,000 miles for its own flights to Italy (partners: Amex Rewards and Starwood). Second best: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.virginatlantic.com\/gb\/en\/flying-club\/partners\/airlines\/delta-air-lines.html\" target=\"_blank\">Virgin Atlantic<\/a> (95,000 to 135,000 miles). It's not a SkyTeam member, but a close partner of Delta (100,000 miles for Delta flights). The chances are decent using Air France\/KLM miles, which you can transfer or buy from Amex Rewards. The downside: high taxes.","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<b>Cash<b>","<strong>Need certainty? Or, not flexible on dates or routes?<\/strong>","<strong>Somewhat flexible or lite risk-taker?<\/strong>","<strong>Aggressive upgrade gamer?<\/strong>","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","<strong>Advice:<\/strong> See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclassflyer.com\/when-truly-is-the-best-time-to-book-your-next-european-vacation\/\">FCF's When, Truly, is the Best Time to Book Your Next European Vacation<\/a> ","<strong>Advice:<\/strong> Grab a published EasyUp fare, even if it\u2019s not to your destination in Europe and not on your preferred carrier or alliance. Recently at around $1,750+, EasyUp Anomaly fare sales are often the best deal, but they don\u2019t last long (often only days or less). Over the last month, we have seen SkyTeam offer such summer fares starting at $1,750 to $2,000 from the East Coast, $2,000 to $2,400 from the Midwest, and $2,000 to $2,500 from the West Coast. Stay on top of Flash EasyUp fares through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclassflyer.com\/daily-alerts\/\">FCF newsroom daily fare alerts<\/a>.","<strong>Advice:<\/strong> Have a back-up plan, perhaps using miles for a sweet redeem, then look for an amazing fare right up until departure (and just redeposit\/save your miles for the next trip). Finding an EasyUp Fare requires aggressive patience and knowing when to spring for another option as departure date nears. This is what FCF refers to as \n<strong>The Upgrade Two-Step:<\/strong> Lock in something, likely an award, and then wait for an EasyUp fare to come along (ideally one that is upgradable to First). If it doesn\u2019t, you\u2019re still covered.\n","#colspan#"]]