Frequent-flyer ticketing strategies
Apr 2, 2015 at 3:06am Edited
Apr 2, 2015 at 3:27am Edited
The trick your husband used was more effective for business travel that did not include a weekend stay. I'm not sure if it's still the case, but it used to be significantly less expensive to book travel that included a Saturday night stayover. These days, I think it's more important to travel on a Tuesday during a full moon that is visible between 5:50am and 6:01am in months that have an R.
if you are up for spontaneous visits i have found great deals by signing up to united weekly specials - the only catch is the departure dates are fri/sat and return dates are monday/tues
much less expense than using miles which i use for holidays when deals are not available ( ie we book my sons tickets for christmas in August )
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/booking/specials/default.aspx
much less expense than using miles which i use for holidays when deals are not available ( ie we book my sons tickets for christmas in August )
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/booking/specials/default.aspx
Can one even buy an open-ended round-trip ticket anymore? I thought the airlines had really tightened up or even eliminated that? One possibility: doesn't Southwest offer more flexibility than the others?
Open ended tickets, if you can even find them, tend to be much more expensive than a regular ticket. Probably even more than a last minute ticket.
@new207040, you have a good point. I think I will look into the frequent flyer programs as well.
We have oodles of United miles but we use those miles for international travel.
Maybe the discount airlines have a "buy 10 trips and get one free" promo ;-)
We have oodles of United miles but we use those miles for international travel.
Maybe the discount airlines have a "buy 10 trips and get one free" promo ;-)
southwest is more flexible than United et al if you need to change, also get free baggage checked. I believe you can earn free flights fairly quickly on their FF program. Good fares if you book well in advance OR last minute.
One caveat--if you want nonstop be sure to check that you don't have a layover. I forget the terminology but can be misleading.
One caveat--if you want nonstop be sure to check that you don't have a layover. I forget the terminology but can be misleading.
Jet blue uses "points" instead of miles. The value of these points varies all the time. For instance I was able to snag a flight to vegas for 20,000 points. The flight home would have been 69,000 additional points. Other times I've seen the same flights for 9,600 points each way. I'm flying to vegas on jetblue and flying home on another carrier (jet blue is also great for flying out of certain airports 1 time a day, at night, to east coast desinations like boston, ewr and jfk)
Congrats on the college selection!
I agree that the United specials can be a great deal. They come out on Tuesdays on their website for the following weekend. So if you ever did need to go last minute, take a look at that first. Yes, the return flight home is on a Monday, but sometimes you can snag the first flight home and get here pretty early (depending on where you're coming from, of course!).
I agree that the United specials can be a great deal. They come out on Tuesdays on their website for the following weekend. So if you ever did need to go last minute, take a look at that first. Yes, the return flight home is on a Monday, but sometimes you can snag the first flight home and get here pretty early (depending on where you're coming from, of course!).
Things we've learned having 2 kids in colleges across the country:
If you cannot get a "reward" ticket using your points on a specific airline, it is good to know about the Amex "pay with points" program. This allows you to buy tickets with your Membership Rewards Points, without blackout dates, on most domestic airlines. If you have an Amex Platinum card, you get a 20% bonus (a 20% discount) on number of points used. We have found this very helpful when trying to book tickets for college age kids to come home for Thanksgiving, when the fares always seem to be awful.
It is also helpful to get a United Visa card, which waives baggage fees, if you are flying United and paying for ticket with that card.
Thanksgiving: Fly the kids home on Tuesday after classes. Even if professors say there will be class on Wednesday, we found it invariably would be cancelled at last minute, and kids would be incredibly unhappy if they had to wait a day to fly home.
Xmas vacation: we have found it impossible to book those tickets very early. Kids needed to have classes finalized so that exam schedules would be set, and then needed to find out if (as sometimes happened) professors would be giving take home exams that could be completed early, or no final at all. Trust me, they do not want to be there longer than they have to at that time of year, because you booked a ticket assuming the exam schedule dictated when they could leave, especially if their high school friends are home earlier.
Freshman Parents weekend: our first child in college had a very late parent weekend - Nov. 9 - after starting school at a very large university across country in mid-August. If it's not a small school, the parent programs offered will not necessarily be so earth shattering that it is worth waiting that long to see your kid (and it may make it easier to get hotel reservations as well)!
Congratulations!
If you cannot get a "reward" ticket using your points on a specific airline, it is good to know about the Amex "pay with points" program. This allows you to buy tickets with your Membership Rewards Points, without blackout dates, on most domestic airlines. If you have an Amex Platinum card, you get a 20% bonus (a 20% discount) on number of points used. We have found this very helpful when trying to book tickets for college age kids to come home for Thanksgiving, when the fares always seem to be awful.
It is also helpful to get a United Visa card, which waives baggage fees, if you are flying United and paying for ticket with that card.
Thanksgiving: Fly the kids home on Tuesday after classes. Even if professors say there will be class on Wednesday, we found it invariably would be cancelled at last minute, and kids would be incredibly unhappy if they had to wait a day to fly home.
Xmas vacation: we have found it impossible to book those tickets very early. Kids needed to have classes finalized so that exam schedules would be set, and then needed to find out if (as sometimes happened) professors would be giving take home exams that could be completed early, or no final at all. Trust me, they do not want to be there longer than they have to at that time of year, because you booked a ticket assuming the exam schedule dictated when they could leave, especially if their high school friends are home earlier.
Freshman Parents weekend: our first child in college had a very late parent weekend - Nov. 9 - after starting school at a very large university across country in mid-August. If it's not a small school, the parent programs offered will not necessarily be so earth shattering that it is worth waiting that long to see your kid (and it may make it easier to get hotel reservations as well)!
Congratulations!
One more tip - when I went to school across the country, my parents used a rewards card to make tuition payments. That helped us rack up mileage points pretty quickly!
For the college student, at least, join the Southwest FF program and try to use them whenever possible. They don't charge cancellation fees and they only charge the fare difference if you have to change a flight. (And if the change is to a less expensive flight, they put a credit on your account for next time.) My college daughter flies exclusively on SW these days for these reasons. All that being said, flying home for Thanksgiving (especially the flight back on Sunday) is expensive unless reserved a long time ahead. My kid's school has a day off on the Wednesday before, so she flies either Monday night (same logic as soresident mentioned above about Tuesday) or sometime Tuesday.
For you, the United specials may work. I always see those, but they have never yet worked out schedule wise for me. Otherwise, Southwest may be good for you also.
Since airline tix are not like bus/train tix, you can't just buy a bunch at a discount and then use them when you want, unfortunately. That's why Southwest's additional flexibility can be very helpful.
For you, the United specials may work. I always see those, but they have never yet worked out schedule wise for me. Otherwise, Southwest may be good for you also.
Since airline tix are not like bus/train tix, you can't just buy a bunch at a discount and then use them when you want, unfortunately. That's why Southwest's additional flexibility can be very helpful.
The United card or similar could also be a good way for your college student to begin building a credit history of her own - used very carefully, of course!!
It makes no sense ( nor can you even do so anymore), to "pre-pay" plane tickets. They have to have a start and end date and then any changes incur fees. They are also only ever valid for one year from issue. No one will have any kind of promos for multi- ticket packs. The best you might find is a senior discount from some airlines ( if that would even apply).
The best plan is to each open a cc on the airline you'll use most often to get the 10 or 20,000 sign up miles and the free checked bags.
Watch the sales and if you have a specific weekend you definitely need to be there ( especially if it overlaps with peak travel such as she is going to school in Orlando and you want to go for Easter break), book it early so you aren't disappointed.
And I agree that unless she is going to the west coast, the prices you will see for flights are generally far cheaper than the value of using miles for those trips.
The best plan is to each open a cc on the airline you'll use most often to get the 10 or 20,000 sign up miles and the free checked bags.
Watch the sales and if you have a specific weekend you definitely need to be there ( especially if it overlaps with peak travel such as she is going to school in Orlando and you want to go for Easter break), book it early so you aren't disappointed.
And I agree that unless she is going to the west coast, the prices you will see for flights are generally far cheaper than the value of using miles for those trips.
You probably know this, but re-deposit penalty for tix booked in advance via United FF have historically been not that bad (esp if you have Elite status). I am not up to speed on all the new policies for 2015.
Re- deposit and change penalties on miles tickets are now in line with cancel fees. It is around $150 now on United, for example.
I also saw a pop-up last night for 30000 bonus miles with a new United card
I also saw a pop-up last night for 30000 bonus miles with a new United card
The United Explorer card is a phenomenal deal. You get XX,XXX miles (varies - we got 50,000 when we signed up), plus no foreign transaction fees, two club passes annually, first checked bag free, forget the other perks
touba said:
The United Explorer card is a phenomenal deal. You get XX,XXX miles (varies - we got 50,000 when we signed up), plus no foreign transaction fees, two club passes annually, first checked bag free, forget the other perks
All true, but do note that the card has an annual fee after the first year.
unicorn33 said:
touba said:
The United Explorer card is a phenomenal deal. You get XX,XXX miles (varies - we got 50,000 when we signed up), plus no foreign transaction fees, two club passes annually, first checked bag free, forget the other perks
All true, but do note that the card has an annual fee after the first year.
Yes you're right but the cash value of say 50,000 miles is $1250 (@2.5 cents per mile) plus the savings from the other perks are in the hundreds also. So an annual fee afterwards of $79 is insignificant. Plus you can always cancel the card after the card after the second year. You shouldn't allow a small annual fee to deter you from otherwise what is a great deal.
Barclays had a great deal a few months back also with Lufthansa. Basically enough miles with sign-up for a RT ticket to Europe. Not sure if they are still offering this incentive.
Apr 3, 2015 at 5:32am Edited
touba said:
unicorn33 said:
touba said:
The United Explorer card is a phenomenal deal. You get XX,XXX miles (varies - we got 50,000 when we signed up), plus no foreign transaction fees, two club passes annually, first checked bag free, forget the other perks
All true, but do note that the card has an annual fee after the first year.
Yes you're right but the cash value of say 50,000 miles is $1250 (@2.5 cents per mile) plus the savings from the other perks are in the hundreds also. So an annual fee afterwards of $79 is insignificant. Plus you can always cancel the card after the card after the second year. You shouldn't allow a small annual fee to deter you from otherwise what is a great deal.
And, you or your daughter will likely be checking luggage, an expense which will be offset by the card fee.
krnl,
You're right, one checked piece of baggage these days pretty much wipes out the annual fee. I'm amazed that some people will go through such lengths to avoid paying annual fees, even though the benefits clearly outweigh the fee itself. I have several friends in my circle who have this attitude, never quite understood it.
You're right, one checked piece of baggage these days pretty much wipes out the annual fee. I'm amazed that some people will go through such lengths to avoid paying annual fees, even though the benefits clearly outweigh the fee itself. I have several friends in my circle who have this attitude, never quite understood it.
touba said:
unicorn33 said:
touba said:
The United Explorer card is a phenomenal deal. You get XX,XXX miles (varies - we got 50,000 when we signed up), plus no foreign transaction fees, two club passes annually, first checked bag free, forget the other perks
All true, but do note that the card has an annual fee after the first year.
Yes you're right but the cash value of say 50,000 miles is $1250 (@2.5 cents per mile) plus the savings from the other perks are in the hundreds also. So an annual fee afterwards of $79 is insignificant. Plus you can always cancel the card after the card after the second year. You shouldn't allow a small annual fee to deter you from otherwise what is a great deal.
How did you figure 2.5 cents per mile? I've always figured a penny a mile.
(Also, I believe you can cancel the card after the first year.)
Yes, you can cancel the card after the first year. You probably can't get another one right away with the "sign on" bonus from the same airline, but you don't have to wait TOO long in my experience.
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The airlines with non-stop flights available to us include JetBlue, American, Delta, United and Southwest.
Do any airlines offer "multi-pack" ticket purchases at a savings?
I would love to pre-pay for one or two R/T tickets just to have on hand in case of emergency and to avoid getting burned by having to buy an expensive ticket at the last minute.
"Back in the day" for work my husband would by a series of back to back, open-ended round trip tickets from Miami. He used Miami as the home base and Newark was the destination. There was some trick involving a one-way ticket. I am not sure if these strategies are still effective for cost savings.