How Easy Is It To Use Your Airline Miles?

[Frankly Rich]

On both American and United, I have lots of miles. I am paper rich. It's when I try to use them that I feel poor. Rather than reduce mileage award levels, the airlines have made them harder to use by giving you itineraries that are unacceptable.

 

Why should I have to spend the night in Charlotte, NC, when I fly to Rio? It used to be a more direct route without an overnight stay in an unfamiliar city. Flying to Europe takes with it a substantial co-pay, sometimes nearing the price of a coach ticket. Want to fly to the Orient in First Class? Be prepared to get acquainted with some Chinese airlines as United won't fly you there on their planes.

 

And domestically, if I wanted to fly first class to NYC, I'd be spending the entire day doing it what with all the stopovers.

 

So far, coach seats are easiest to get. Recently I got a coach seat for 33,000 points when the actual fare was $484. That was good, but then, my friend dilly-dallyed buying his ticket, so the price was up to $700- to North Carolina! I usually fly to New York for between $300 and $350.

 

All prices seem to be up. It is, after all, the summer flying season. But trying to buy a ticket for a period past summer still gets me higher fares.

 

Bottom line: My Airline award credit cards are becoming less useful. Is it time to switch to cash-back cards?

[Diverdan]

I usually don't try to redeem upgrades or free tickets on line. I find I have a much better experience by calling and talking to an agent. I you have a lot of miles, you probably have one of their special lines and won't have to pay the extra charge for not booking on line. I fly UA most of the time, and I frequently check out flights on line for times, etc., and when I go to upgrade, it says the upgrades are not available. However, the seat maps show there are plenty of seats in both business and first class available. So, I pick my preferred flights and then call my special number, and almost all the time I am able to pay the lower fare and use my miles to upgrade. There are sometimes that it does not work, but it is worth the extra time and trouble.

 

Also, if you know far in advance of your international travel, it is easier to get upgrades then (seats and configurations are available just short of one year in advance). Also, even if you book in coach, be sure to have your name on the wait list for upgrades, as depending on your status, that may come through 96, 72 or 48 hours in advance of the departure.

 

I have no experience with the cash back awards, but have decided to get one and do some comparisons.

 

Good luck and keep trying.

[down_to_business]

A lot of this depends on the airline, but yes, I agree with you in general. Airlines cut capacity over the past few years and the result is fuller planes, higher prices, and seriously downgraded miles perks. Most airlines have changed their programs for the worse and now really only cater to the full fare business customer. For the discount flyer, Southwest Airlines was downgraded, but is still the best of the worst. Southwest's Visa card does not give any additional perks, but you can often snag a 50,000 mile bonus if you sign up at the right time for the card. After you get the one-time bonus- there really isn't any reason to renew the card.

 

I did switch over to cash back from miles cards, although I still keep my Chase United card which gives me a free bag check on United flights and priority boarding (and 2 one-time use club passes each year). I rarely use the card otherwise and do grumble a bit when annual fee time comes along. I don't know all the deals on cards, but there are some good websites that follow them. I would recommend keeping an airline card like this if there is one prominent airline you fly and the baggage fee savings will more than make up for the annual fee. With some planning, I can usually find a flight that will work for me on United using miles - but not always. It isn't always the most convenient times or routes. I can almost never find a flight on Delta that works for me. That may be a function of geography more so than a knock against Delta. if I lived in Atlanta, Delta might work just fine for me.

 

If you shop at Costco, their American Express card gives you 2% cash back on travel (some restrictions). There is no annual fee either (as with many of the cash back cards), but you must maintain your Costco membership.

[Frankly Rich]

If Airbus has its way, you may not even want to use those miles! According to the LA Times, they have applied for a patent on bicycle-like seating:

 

http://www.trbimg.com/img-53c31904/turbine/la-fi-airbus-seeks-patent-for-bicyclelike-airl-003/750/16x9

 

http://www.latimes.com/business/travel/la-fi-airbus-seeks-patent-for-bicyclelike-airline-seat-20140711-story.html

[Lankypeters]

I'm surprised to hear posters have good results from United. I've found upgrades on that airline hard to get and I've heard complaints about United from many others, particularly those of us who were with Continental, which was much more generous with upgrades and awards. If you haven't heard, next year United will change their award system so that points will be based on the cost of the fare, awarding one mile for each dollar spent, rather than on the distance of the flight.

[Diverdan]

Your post about bicycle style seating reminds me of the story, allegedly true, that some of the Japanese airlines were considering a "standing room" section at the rear of the plane. You would be buckled in and have a slight recline, but would be basically standing the entire flight... designed for "short" flight times no doubt. I understand the negative reaction was so strong and immediate, that no further work was done on the concept.

 

Flying is certainly not what it used to be, and in the "good old days" when the customer was well treated, the airlines made money because fares, etc. were all regulated. Deregulation started the decline, and it was suppossed to improve customer service and lower fares. How wrong those advocates of deregulation were!