Option award ticket, which companies allow it and how to do it
Finding the available place to detach an award ticket requires patience and dedication, and in order to complete the transaction, one must [...]
Turkish Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Lufthansa
Emirates
Cathay Pacific
Alitalia
Air France
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
Oneworld
Finding the available place to detach a premium ticket requires patience and dedication And, in order to complete the transaction, you must have the miles or points available on the appropriate frequent flyer program.
In this article:
Let's take an example with the most difficult prize ticket to obtain, around the world. To detach this type of ticket, you must first create the itinerary and possible alternatives, then choose the alliance, and finally look for free seats in the class you want and on the dates you need them. An experienced frequent flyer might take no less than a day but would still be in a precarious situation.
Award places, as we know, are few and far between. So when finding the perfect itinerary for our needs, it is good to book immediately and avoid surprises. There is one catch, however: if you do not yet have miles in your desired program and need to transfer them, for example, Through American Express Membership Rewards, you will need to complete this paperwork before you can finalize the transaction with the carrier.
This is where the problem arises; transferring miles can take a few hours, days, and more rarely weeks. How do you avoid seats being booked by other travelers in the meantime? You must hope that the company you have chosen will option your tickets while waiting for you to complete the transaction.
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It is a practice that is done by some companies, not all of them and not Alitalia, being able to put an option in place allows you to avoid transferring points for nothing, since once they are converted, they cannot go back into the original program.
Which companies allow you to option the seat
There are many all over the world, for obvious reasons we will focus on the most interesting ones for the Italian market. In case the airline you are looking for is not listed the advice is only one: call the call center and ask for information, it might work with Alitalia as well.
| Carrier | Option duration. | You can option partner flights | Free |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Up to a maximum of 3 days | Yes for KLM flights, depends for SkyTeam partners | No |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Up to a maximum of 3 days | Yes | No |
| Emirates Skywards | Up to a maximum of 3 days | Yes | Yes |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Five days | Yes all German group airlines and not guaranteed on Star Alliance airlines | No |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | It depends, even weeks. | No | No |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | Two days | Yes | Yes |
In all cases, one should proceed through the company's call center, explain the needs to the attendant and try to get the longest period so as to have plenty of time to make the points transfer.
