Being a road warrior and traveling internationally once/twice a month, I rack up some serious miles. Add to this the airline club card ($525 annual fee) which generates a lot of points as well. A group of frequent flyers have a chat group and this subject has become a major talking point amongst us. What do you do with these miles? (excluding PQP miles)
USE THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN…why? Because they do nothing other than look good in your account. They do not add to status, or get you a better deal when you buy tickets. They in fact lose value due the shifting nature of airline tickets and after playing around on the airline app, I find that my Award Travel cost more when I have more miles…hmmm, interesting how this happens. Understand that Awards Travel is considered non-revenue travel by the airline. If there is a seating issue, you are gone first.
I am married with 2 teenage boys, so the boys and the wife get all the upgrades and business class travel they want. But, there is an important issue to understand, you have to book the Awards Travel early. 3+ months before the flight to get a decent Awards Mileage Price. Otherwise you are at 120K to 180K miles for Business Class to Europe the closer you get to summer. Summer months are a nightmare to Europe, the airports are slammed, missed connections due to Immigration delays and crowding at the E gates. If you have a less than 2 hour connection in and around Europe, you are not going to make it. It’s that simple.
What important to you? The price of the ticket or the reward miles and price? If you want the cheapest price, buy your ticket on a European website by using a VPN. You can save some serious money during summer. But, if something goes wrong, missed flight, delays etc, you are seriously stuffed…That is the gamble you take. Another point, if you buy the cheapest ticket on a cheap European airline, you hand luggage will cost you 60 euros. Their hand luggage has a weight and size limit that is similar to a Barbie doll bag. And finally, when dealing with airline employees, BE NICE! Being a loud American in a European airport gets you Nothing! More topics coming.