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I'm a Southwest frequent flyer (since 2006) and have cashed in thousands of miles/points for free flights all over. Flying my brother and his son over from Sea-Tac this summer to see us. Trip was free.
I just wish I could sell mine. After building up several hundred thousand miles due to business travel, the last thing I want to do is get on a plane for pleasure.
We usually drive to our vacations spots. So, my miles just sit there and challenge me not to let them expire every 18 months.
All my Hilton points expired. That stunk! So much for my loyalty over the years with them. But, it was my error to let them expire. Now I fret over making sure my airline miles don't expire.
I just wish I could sell mine. After building up several hundred thousand miles due to business travel, the last thing I want to do is get on a plane for pleasure.
We usually drive to our vacations spots. So, my miles just sit there and challenge me not to let them expire every 18 months.
You can't sell them without violating the program rules, but many airlines allow you to donate them to charities. If you truly don't want the miles, that would be a good use of them.
The post in question referred to "Sky Team redemptions" without mentioning Delta or any other airline. Of course you can redeem Delta SkyPesos on partner flights.
For all the 'Sky Peso' reputation, I have a lot easier time trying to use them than United miles when starting from one of our local airports. Want to redeem for a ticket to Paris? Suprisingly large number of redemption options for 70K or less. Want to redeem some United miles? Well it's an outstation served by United Express Barbie Jets and has roughly 0.5 low level award seats per flight if you don't have status or their credit card, so the first leg so you can connect in Houston is going to cause the ticket to price to 50K for about 98% of the continental USA destinations and routings you try to search. (Well that and United's service recovery in IRROPS situations has made me promise the Spousal Unit we'll never have to fly on That Awful Airline ever again, and so I just keep those alive in hopes I can use them on a European partner at some point.)
I'm also not a fan of Southwest's dollar-based redemption system- I feel like you get the best value with traditional frequent flyer programs where you can arbitrage an expensive last minute ticket for a reasonable amount of miles, and once the Wanna Get Away fare buckets are gone for a flight, you need some stupid number of points to cover a $700+ last minute ticket on Southwest.
tldr; there is no one most awesome frequent flyer program that's best for everyone- it depends on your travel patterns, home airport, and favored destinations. It can take some time to dial in which program is best for your needs, but that time can be very well spent and result in some very nice travel bargains.
For all the 'Sky Peso' reputation, I have a lot easier time trying to use them than United miles when starting from one of our local airports. Want to redeem for a ticket to Paris? Suprisingly large number of redemption options for 70K or less. Want to redeem some United miles? Well it's an outstation served by United Express Barbie Jets and has roughly 0.5 low level award seats per flight if you don't have status or their credit card, so the first leg so you can connect in Houston is going to cause the ticket to price to 50K for about 98% of the continental USA destinations and routings you try to search. (Well that and United's service recovery in IRROPS situations has made me promise the Spousal Unit we'll never have to fly on That Awful Airline ever again, and so I just keep those alive in hopes I can use them on a European partner at some point.)
I'm also not a fan of Southwest's dollar-based redemption system- I feel like you get the best value with traditional frequent flyer programs where you can arbitrage an expensive last minute ticket for a reasonable amount of miles, and once the Wanna Get Away fare buckets are gone for a flight, you need some stupid number of points to cover a $700+ last minute ticket on Southwest.
tldr; there is no one most awesome frequent flyer program that's best for everyone- it depends on your travel patterns, home airport, and favored destinations. It can take some time to dial in which program is best for your needs, but that time can be very well spent and result in some very nice travel bargains.
Agree 100% that one size doesn't fit all.
My brother - who flies a lot on business on Southwest Airlines - loves his Southwest "companion pass". It seems to be a really good deal (for some people):
I'm in the same situation you are with United. Flying out of JAX on those "Barbie" jets. Don't much care for the experience. But we had a bunch of United miles. Wound up using most of them for 2 first class (not business class) "saver" tickets from JAX to Singapore. Pretty long trip - 30+ hours (JAX/ORD/NRT/SIN). But flying first class on a 3 class plane was a very nice experience (as was using the first class international lounges in ORD and NRT). And we enjoyed our visit to Singapore.
BTW - the easiest way I've found to keep United miles from expiring (assuming you have no other options) is by donating 500 miles to a charity.
FWIW - things have changed in the last couple of years IMO. At least on Delta (which we use for most of our travel). Because it has had sales on international business class tickets (especially to Europe) for about $2k or so. If you buy the tickets far in advance (if you buy the tickets a little bit in advance - coach will cost you almost as much as these business class tickets). And the price of those tickets in miles has gone way up. So you're essentially getting less than a penny a mile for your points. Not a good deal. I'm finding that I'm getting better deals on points redemptions for things like first class domestic tickets (say JAX to Los Angeles).
Note that this is a pretty good (free) newsletter for anyone who is interested in points and miles and similar (covers many airlines/hotel chains/credit cards/programs):
United's also got a smartphone shopping app for bricks and mortar stores, and I'll use that for a purchase about once a month at Barnes & Noble to keep my miles with them current. It's too bad they're IMO only a bare step about Spirit because it's quite easy to pick up miles for non-flight activity with them.
You can't sell them without violating the program rules,...
Yes, I am aware of this. Thanks.
That's why I said "I wish" I could sell them. Selling them and putting the proceeds into the family coffers would be of more value to me than having all those miles just sitting there. But rules are rules.
Selling them and putting the proceeds into the family coffers would be of more value to me than having all those miles just sitting there. But rules are rules.
And they are always changing -- invariably to screw the customer.
You have to plan way ahead. I would only buy a few miles but not 30,000 miles.
Yes - you do have to plan way ahead. So - if your schedule is prone to change - it's probably not the best way to travel. OTOH - the miles can usually be re-deposited (often for a fee). And - my experience with Delta has been that it will waive the fee if there's a hardship. For example - last year I thought I might have to cancel a trip because of an illness my father had - and Delta was willing to waive the fee - assuming I canceled more than 72 hours in advance. My father's condition was stable at just a little more than 72 hours - so we didn't cancel. Delta seems to be pretty strict in terms of its 72 hour rule (you lose everything if you cancel less than 72 hours before a flight). OTOH - I don't know what Delta would do if we tried to cancel in less than 72 hours. If - for example - I had a heart attack 24 hours before a flight. Or our house was blown down by a hurricane. Or some similar catastrophe (wouldn't think of canceling a trip for some small issue). Always figured that if something like that happened - the mileage redeposit would be the least of my problems.
Buying 30000 miles can sometimes make sense. The list price on Delta is $1050 (and I think the miles sometimes go on sale). Say you're 30000 miles short of a business first ticket to Asia that would cost $5-6000 in cash. Paying $1050 for the miles to get the ticket would make sense. At least for me. Robyn
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