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I've always felt that if you pay for your own tickets, it is overall cheaper to go with the lowest fare and forget about any accrued miles. Unless you always fly to the same destination. It also doesn't seem worth the effort to jump through all the hoops.
I've always felt that if you pay for your own tickets, it is overall cheaper to go with the lowest fare and forget about any accrued miles. Unless you always fly to the same destination. It also doesn't seem worth the effort to jump through all the hoops.
I took the attitude early on that you should sign up for all of them because "you never know". When employers were paying for my travel I made darn sure I didn't book something more expensive to rack up points with a preferred airline so I joined all the major ones. The first time I racked up enough miles for a freebie I took DS, who was 12, to a conference with me in Bermuda. I was hooked!
And member that the cost of the loyalty programs are "baked in" so you may as well get the benefits.
I've always felt that if you pay for your own tickets, it is overall cheaper to go with the lowest fare and forget about any accrued miles. Unless you always fly to the same destination. It also doesn't seem worth the effort to jump through all the hoops.
I've always felt it better to pay the lowest fare AND get miles. You don't get cash rebate if you book without being a miles program member. But I don't jump through hoops opening and canceling cards, taking unnecessary routes and flights, or calculating absolute best miles per dollar.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia
I've always felt it better to pay the lowest fare AND get miles. ....
When programs changed to $ spent, rather than miles flown (about 10 yrs ago) the value of mileage programs and getting tier status became nearly impossible to attain.
So....gone are the days of really good deals, like buying $1000 of pudding, getting lifetime Gold status, then donating the pudding to a homeless shelter for a tax write-off.
Funny you should mention chasing status. I somehow ended up with permanent God status with Hilton and now they tell me that, thanks to greatly- relaxed standards and hoping to attract leisure travelers, I have only 8 more nights to Diamond. I've never been Diamond. So- on the short road trips I've taken with BF (all precautions, masking regardless of local regs, takeout only, etc.) we've used Hamptons. Same with the 13-hour road trips to SC where Dad is in LTC and my siblings live- overnight each way. I'll get there.
In the US it will get me a few extra points per stay and preferred parking but if I get to Europe tis year or next year (I hope, I hope) the Executive Lounges there are pretty sweet.
The perqs from AmX Platinum have been worth it for me, especially when traveling for work to 40% (consulting) in 2017 and 2018. Fees are high too, though, so one must take care.
I made heavy use of Delta's lounges and various other related things RE the card. Delta also has a Platinum AmX, I went with the non-Delta version for various reasons.
No travel in 2020 for obvious reasons, and not much in 2019 either in-fact. 2021 probably not so much, until about Thanksgiving assuming I get both doses of a vaccine by then: that's a good bet. I'm probably losing money on it at this point all-considered, or at best breaking even. Needs to be managed, actually, on a rolling basis to establish value based on your particulars.
I happen to love AmX's travel site as one-stop shopping for personal and (formerly) business, and a couple years there I was definitely a notch up on Hilton, National, and Delta's respective clubs, groups, tiers, etc.
Funny you should mention chasing status. I somehow ended up with permanent God status.....
Oops. Too late to edit my post above but I'm merely "Gold" with Hilton.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondebaerde
I happen to love AmX's travel site as one-stop shopping for personal and (formerly) business, and a couple years there I was definitely a notch up on Hilton, National, and Delta's respective clubs, groups, tiers, etc.
Not a fan of Amex- they're not very friendly to small business so I always had to carry another card for businesses that didn't accept it more even smaller local businesses that did, but I knew would pay a lower % on another card. Right now, having frozen my credit years ago after a major data breach, I've found that un-freezing it to apply for a card can be a PITA even though I kept scrupulous notes about PINs, passwords, etc. One bureau wanted me to snail-mail a copy of my driver's license to prove who I was. It would take me a lot to change credit cards to get loyalty program benefits now.
Twenty years ago yeah, maybe a decade ago. But the airlines have significantly devalued the worth of airline miles and made them harder to both earn (via moneterizing how you earn them) and use.
This really started by the airline practice of selling frequent flyer miles to the credit card companies, and letting them earn miles based on customer sign up and how much you spend. It doomed frequent flyer programs, which included not only earning miles but perks such as upgrades and special services. Now you can earn miles with little "butt time" in an airline seat. That works for everyone except the frequent flyer, which really means it works for no one as they are so devalued to the general public. The public don't care, they don't know better.
Being a Delta million miler, and a Delta Plat for years in a row due to business travel, I used to play the frequent flyer game. Now? Not even worth the time.
When programs changed to $ spent, rather than miles flown (about 10 yrs ago) the value of mileage programs and getting tier status became nearly impossible to attain.
So....gone are the days of really good deals, like buying $1000 of pudding, getting lifetime Gold status, then donating the pudding to a homeless shelter for a tax write-off.
I don't try to chase status. I get a free flight about once a year with my other paid flights and card purchases. It's not a life-changing savings but I'd otherwise be paying for that 3rd or 4th flight.
Chase Sapphire. You can get points with SWA or United.
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