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And that's why it now takes twice as many miles to get a free ticket then it did 10 years ago. FF miles are devaluing like crazy - too easy to get points from credit cards and other programs.
Good luck with this guy trying to find a seat as well, airlines are limiting FF seat availability. Having points is one thing, using them is another.
Do people really have a hard time redeeming miles? We use Delta and last year, redeemed a ton of miles without a single issue. We went to Puerto Vallarta, Poland, Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos and many US cities using miles last year and didn't have a single issue redeeming them. We even got the dates we wanted, and TCI was booked less than a month in advance. Maybe on other airlines, but I've never had an issue with Delta and we were able to travel very extensively last year due to our miles.
And it's not that easy to get miles from cc....you have to spend quite a bit to get anything. Almost makes more sense to just buy the damn ticket.
Do people really have a hard time redeeming miles? We use Delta and last year, redeemed a ton of miles without a single issue. We went to Puerto Vallarta, Poland, Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos and many US cities using miles last year and didn't have a single issue redeeming them. We even got the dates we wanted, and TCI was booked less than a month in advance. Maybe on other airlines, but I've never had an issue with Delta and we were able to travel very extensively last year due to our miles.
And it's not that easy to get miles from cc....you have to spend quite a bit to get anything. Almost makes more sense to just buy the damn ticket.
I've had issues, on Delta. For me, I can redeem them but it takes lots of work and being flexible and taking complex routes and also knowing a few tricks with either the internet site or getting the right Delta agent on the phone. Going to Cairo involved me going from Orlando to JFK to Frankfurt to Paris and then to Cairo, all with lengthy layovers.
Now, these were done using the least mile option, and Delta never seems to have seats for those. You can always redeem alot more miles to get there "open" flying schedule. But who wants to redeem 100,000 hard earned miles for a seat to Toledo when you should be able to do it with 25,000 miles?
Last year I got 50,000 points, including 25,000 meddalion miles (mm), by transferring 25,000 AMEX points to the Delta program. That is a heck of alot of points and the mm almost bumped me up to diamond status (that's there topmost level super flyer status)! 25,000 mm alone gets one to silver meddalion status, which means one can get to silver on delta without spending a dime or flying one mile. Me? - I just rolled it over to next year to work on 2011 plat status.
Airline credit card earn cardholder's points or frequent flyer miles credits. The cardholder earns one point or mile for each dollar charged on the card. After accumulating points over time, cardholders can redeem the points for free air travel or upgrades from coach to first class.It's easy to get air ticket using airline credit card.
And that's why it now takes twice as many miles to get a free ticket then it did 10 years ago. FF miles are devaluing like crazy - too easy to get points from credit cards and other programs.
Good luck with this guy trying to find a seat as well, airlines are limiting FF seat availability. Having points is one thing, using them is another.
I have booked American Airlines to London in Aug, Hawaii in November and went to Switzerland in April this year all using up my Cathay Pacific Airmiles. The only flight I had to compromise dates with was the London one. It was a lot easier than I thought.... I just have to make a start on the 300,000 I have with Singapore air now
We retired a year ago from jobs which required a lot of travel. So now we are deliberately using up our miles and will be doing our second European trip - in business class - on them.
One thing we noted was that the options for using miles were much better if you have "status" (e.g. silver, platinum, etc) than if you did not.
One thing we noted was that the options for using miles were much better if you have "status" (e.g. silver, platinum, etc) than if you did not.
I agree! I have status on Delta and US Airways but not American Airlines. American Airlines is the only one I have had issues with redeeming miles. However, my coworker is an American Airlines lifetime platinum, and of course he never has issues with them.
I have booked American Airlines to London in Aug, Hawaii in November and went to Switzerland in April this year all using up my Cathay Pacific Airmiles. The only flight I had to compromise dates with was the London one. It was a lot easier than I thought.... I just have to make a start on the 300,000 I have with Singapore air now
Oh yeah, you can always get flights...for a price. You are talking to a Delta million miler, currently platinum. Yes I use my frequent flyer miles and have traveled just about everywhere in the world for free (when not traveliing for business), usually on first class.
20 years ago (I am aging myself here) on Delta you got 1,000 miles per flight segment and a US coast to coast ticket was 25,000 miles. Today you get 500 miles per segment (or actual miles) and a coast to coast free ticket could take as much as 60,000 miles using it's highest rate. Delta has 3 segments for using miles - low, medium, and high. So you book you award and yeah you can always find seats - at the high rate. I never see Delta seats open at the low rate, rarely at the medium rate. Now, using my math, it shows me in 20 year you may need 480% more flying to get a free flight.
Delta has already indicated that their curent frequent flyer program is unsustainable. Can you guess where it's heading to. Airlines frequent flyer programs have turned away from a program to award travelers, to a revenue enhancing program by selling miles to credit card companies, hotels, rental car companies, etc, who in turn use them for marketing. All this simply devalues, adds inflation, the frequent flyer program more and more.
If you have miles, use them up promptly, they will only grow less valuable. Your 300,000 miles may only get you a flight from Cincinnati to Toledo next year. Meanwhile I have 433,000 miles to use up.
If you have miles, use them up promptly, they will only grow less valuable. Your 300,000 miles may only get you a flight from Cincinnati to Toledo next year. Meanwhile I have 433,000 miles to use up.
Absolutely agree with this
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Airline Miles
