A couple of suggestions:
You can download a Delta timetable for your Palm or Pocket PC from the Delta website. If not, you can pick up a complete timetable at the ticket counter.
Many destination resorts sell travel insurance directly. If your hotel offers this, they’ll be happy to sell it to you because they usually make a sales commission. It’s been years since I worked in a hotel, so I don’t remember what the limitations are on when you can purchase travel insurance; it seems like you had to purchase it within so many days of booking, or perhaps when final payment was due.
If it looks like you’ll need to cancel your hotel reservation, call the hotel directly. The earlier you cancel, the more likely they’ll cut you some slack on the cancellation policy. If they tell you they’re sold out, call back to the front desk. Ask them if they have rooms available, and get the clerk’s name. If they’re lying to you, ask for a manager.
And let me second chestnutmare’s suggestion to call the airline’s reservations desk, rather than walk back to the ticket counter and wait in line. If your flight is cancelled, there’s a whole planeload of passengers competing for the limited number of seats on the next flight out. The sooner you get to a ticketing agent, the better your chances.
For what it’s worth, take some comfort in the fact that your Atlanta layover is early in the day. Flight delays tend to snowball as the day progresses, so you’re more likely to be delayed or cancelled in the evening.
Finally, I do see that Delta has a 6:05 flight from Cincinnati to Atlanta. Since you’re paying for the flight with miles, and since the travel is months out, maybe Delta will let you take the earlier flight. It’s a little less sleep the night before, but it buys you another hour and a half margin in Atlanta.
Great advice to have a timetable for other airlines. I’ll definitely do this.
SuperNelson, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, we’re traveling out of Indianapolis since all the FF seats from Cincinnati were sold out. I’ll check but I’m not sure how flexible Delta will be in changing flights at this point.
Avabeth, if you’re serious about going to Hawaii for your honeymoon, you need to be really organized. Flights to Hawaii using FF miles are hard to come by since they are so popular. Call your airline today and ask how far in advance you can book the flight. (Delta’s is something like 330 days.) Mark that day in your calendar and call the airline on that day, as close to midnight as possible. It will give you the best chance of getting a seat on a flight you want.
Note that Delta has two types of FF tickets: SkyChoice and SkySaver. The former, which are better in terms of time of departure and total travel time, were 60,000 points. The latter were 30,000 points. If you only have 60,000 points your options will be more limited, so be prepared to be flexible.
Also, note that with Delta you need to know your and your fiancee’s FF number AND PIN in order to book the flight via the phone or on-line. I knew my FF PIN because I’ve booked on-line before, but didn’t know my husband’s and they absolutely refused to book his flight without it. Delta will not give out a PIN over the phone or via e-mail. You have to wait for it to come in the mail. And they’ll only hold your flight for 2 weeks, so in order to avoid a nail-biter, my advice is to get the PIN situation handled ahead of time OR be prepared to book the flight in person at a Delta counter.
I would also advise calling hotels at least 6-9 months ahead of time and seeing if they participate in travel club programs (e.g. Entertainment). I got ocean view at a 4 star hotel for $215 a night, which beats any other rate I’ve seen by $100/night. Entertainment rates are like FF seats. They book up early. You can usually cancel up to 3 days before arrival, so I call as soon as I know I’m traveling and secure an Entertainment rate at the nicest hotel I can afford. I’ll then check back once a month to see if I can find a better rate. Most hotels let you cancel up to 3 days prior to arrival. And note that you don’t have to actually have an Entertainment card (or AAA card) in order to secure that rate. Only buy the book if you decide to use that rate.