New to the forum and first time attempt to use my miles. Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this kind of question.
I have 62000 general Delta SkyMiles and can book a return ticket from SEA to DCA (economy class) for 40k miles. Is 40k miles a worthwhile use for such a distance or should I keep accumulating miles for an international trip or get an upgrade to business? Tickets are about $550 which I'd rather not spend but can.
Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by meja
New to the forum and first time attempt to use my miles. Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this kind of question.
I have 62000 general Delta SkyMiles and can book a return ticket from SEA to DCA (economy class) for 40k miles. Is 40k miles a worthwhile use for such a distance or should I keep accumulating miles for an international trip or get an upgrade to business? Tickets are about $550 which I'd rather not spend but can.
Wrong place for this question, but yes, most people would not ever consider redeeming 40 K miles for a domestic coach ticket. I guess it depends how much you're wanting to save the full fare. I personally wouldn't do this.
Other option to consider: Check NWA award availability (you can transfer DL miles into NW Worldperks free of charge) and you may find something for 25,000 miles, the standard domestic coach amount. NWA also has a nifty cash+miles option, where you pay half the mileage amount needed, then the one-way fare for the other segment.
Generally, DL award availability is lackluster and annoying. Try NWA before resorting to a poor use of your miles.
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
New to the forum and first time attempt to use my miles. Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this kind of question.
I have 62000 general Delta SkyMiles and can book a return ticket from SEA to DCA (economy class) for 40k miles. Is 40k miles a worthwhile use for such a distance or should I keep accumulating miles for an international trip or get an upgrade to business? Tickets are about $550 which I'd rather not spend but can.
I'd say 40K is pretty high for a one-way ticket. But it all depends on what you have at the moment, money or miles. Its worth ultimately depends on you.
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, UA 1K, MR Plat, HH/SPG Gold
Posts: 17,763
If $550 is truly the lowest possible fare into WAS from SEA and you really need to make this trip, then I wouldn't say it's an awful use of miles. I'd definitely do a lot of digging to make absolutely sure there are no other options. (And I'd look to see if regular F awards are available for 5k-10k more...)
But if you've truly sniffed it out well - no workable cheapie flights into BWI, no flexibility to go one day earlier or later, etc. - then redeeming for 1.4 cents in real cash today is actually not too bad.
The resistance you get from most FT'ers is that most of us hoard miles for int'l premium cabin. (There is no "real" cash value on these awards for me because I don't otherwise buy those seats with my own money.) We tend to look at a domestic coach award as a setback from our next "big" award.
But I've pulled the trigger on some 1.5 cent redemptions before...especially if it's an airline where I know I'll never rack major miles.
Location: Exit 117 - 30 min from EWR, 70 min to PHL
Programs: CO Gold, HHonors Gold, *wood Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 606
Quote:
Originally Posted by meja
New to the forum and first time attempt to use my miles. Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this kind of question.
I have 62000 general Delta SkyMiles and can book a return ticket from SEA to DCA (economy class) for 40k miles. Is 40k miles a worthwhile use for such a distance or should I keep accumulating miles for an international trip or get an upgrade to business? Tickets are about $550 which I'd rather not spend but can.
What are your dates of travel? That helps factor in the pricing versus use of miles, and possibly any award travel fees.
personally i would check out other options like IAD or BWI and use the miles to go someplace exotic. You have enough miles to go to a bunch of intl destinations.
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, UA 1K, MR Plat, HH/SPG Gold
Posts: 17,763
Other questions that could impact your decision:
- Are you an elite-status passenger on DL/NW?
- Do you continue to accrue lots of DL miles? In other words, were you kind of hoping to grow that 62k for some larger award that would either yield a higher real return or an experience you'd otherwise not buy (e.g., int'l J/F)?
- Are you flexible enough to try something like Priceline? I've personally never done this for flights, but my friends who hold no elite status on any airline (and have time flexibility) have gotten good value from it. The reason I'd consider it on SEA-WAS is that I imagine for that route your slot-range of departure times is somewhat known unless Priceline assigns red-eye flights. I don't know how Priceline handles coterminals - whether you can start bidding DCA proper (only Reagan National flights) and then expand to WAS (including the whole area - IAD and BWI) if you keep getting rejected.
Thanks for the responses. Let me add some context:
The trip to D.C is for vacation as I have the time to travel and can use the airmiles to score a free ticket. Additionally, the miles expire Aug 2010, I no longer accrue as much as I used to, and I might not get another chance to travel before they expire. I'm flexible on dates but want to travel this August.
I checked flights into IAD and BWI - also 40k airmiles.
I also changed my travel dates from Tue(dep) - Sun(ret) to Thur(dep) - Tue(ret) but there was no difference in air miles either.
Priceline has tickest for $450 which is reasonable. I'll consider this some more.
The comments on intl travel have got me thinking...
Newbie questions:
Can I redeem the miles on Skyteam partner airlines such as NWA that may offer a better deal? How is this done?
FYI i see availability for 25K on Aug 25-31th. Also to add there's availability to Hawaii for 35Krt during August...a real vacation if you're interested lol.
and I might not get another chance to travel before they expire.
With Delta, any activity in your account whatsoever will reset the expiration clock. Next time you're looking at buying something, from shampoo to a socket wrench set to a home theater system, check out http://www.skymilesshopping.com and begin your shopping through that website. The miles you earn there will count as activity, and you'll have another 18 months (or whatever it is DL gives you--18 months is pretty industry standard now) to use your miles before they expire. So all you have to do to keep your account alive and your miles from expiring is buy one thing from one of those stores every year and a half. Of course, we all hope you'll be traveling MUCH more than that (on cheap fares posted in the Mileage Run Deals forum here) and on your way to a nice international business class splurge trip!
(Unlike pinniped, I am perfectly happy to assign a value to my international redemption even though I'd never drop the cash on one. I redeemed at the incredibly stellar rate of 18 cents per mile on a trip in British Airways' First Class last fall 3/4 of the way around the world--LAX-London-Singapore-Sydney and back. Would've cost me almost $30 grand to buy that!)
Can I redeem the miles on Skyteam partner airlines such as NWA that may offer a better deal? How is this done?
At Delta's website, you can select the option for "SkyMiles Award Ticket" under "Book a Trip." Award trips on both Delta and Northwest should appear on the display. However, Delta miles are also redeemable for travel on Alaska Airlines, which is a Delta partner but not a SkyTeam partner, and Alaska offers nonstop service between SEA and DCA. I believe that you have to call Delta to book an award trip on Alaska. Ask Delta to check award availability on Alaska for the dates in which you are interested. You may even find that you can fly nonstop in one or both directions for a 25,000-mile roundtrip redemption.
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, UA 1K, MR Plat, HH/SPG Gold
Posts: 17,763
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackal
(Unlike pinniped, I am perfectly happy to assign a value to my international redemption even though I'd never drop the cash on one. I redeemed at the incredibly stellar rate of 18 cents per mile on a trip in British Airways' First Class last fall 3/4 of the way around the world--LAX-London-Singapore-Sydney and back. Would've cost me almost $30 grand to buy that!)
Nice! The best I can claim is 13 cents per mile on a *A F award to Europe. The stopovers I threw into the mix jacked up the total cost in Orbitz to $16k. (I also went out of my way to ensure LH metal and nice layovers in FRA both ways. I tried to replicate this for a trip we recently took to MUC but got Starnet blocked.)
Even though I would never buy that fare, I do always look...just for grins. (Yes, I realize that the vast majority of international paid J/F is sold through corporate portals with negotiated discounts, not through Orbitz. But still... )
meja, just wanted to add that the date on which your miles expire is not the date by which you must complete (or even commence) your award travel. It is simply the date by which you must redeem your miles for an award ticket. The actual award travel can be as much as 11 months after the date when you redeem the miles for an award ticket.
The best I can claim is 13 cents per mile on a *A F award to Europe. The stopovers I threw into the mix jacked up the total cost in Orbitz to $16k. (I also went out of my way to ensure LH metal and nice layovers in FRA both ways. I tried to replicate this for a trip we recently took to MUC but got Starnet blocked.)
(Yes, I realize that the vast majority of international paid J/F is sold through corporate portals with negotiated discounts, not through Orbitz. But still... 
