nonmoll

Hey all,

I've flown a bit in the past, maybe a few times per year; but it's been very disorganized, without utilizing frequent flier programs.

However, I am starting college in the Los Angeles area so I am now looking to minimize transportation costs for flying back and forth around 5 roundtrips per year.

Does anyone have any experience with picking a particular airline? It seems, at first glance, that American is a good choice because

1)They have fairly cheap fares
B)I could redeem a free transcon flight after around 5 roundtrips
C)I have the chance of making Gold status

But I'm also overall not a huge fan of American, and have enjoyed jetBlue much more.

Thanks!

lo2e

Welcome to FT, nonmoll. We have a forum called TravelBuzz! that might be a better place to ask your question, so I've alerted a moderator to move this post there.

I've also noticed you've posted the same question in the Los Angeles forum, so I will alert mods to delete that one (since cross-posting is prohibited except in rare circumstances) so that any information garnered can stay in one place.

Good luck with finding the answer to your question.

lo2e / New England Ambassador

reft

Some airlines, including AA allow you to challenge for status -- if you know you are going to fly a certain number of times this fall (with in 3 months), you might see if these flights would get you enough EQP to complete a challenge for status. A challenge does have a nominal up front fee associated with it, and you do need to have enough travel by the end of the status year to retain your status the following year, but you'd have status sooner. Challenge rules are inflexible - do your research up front.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-platinum.html

On the other side, remaining 'disloyal' but booking your flights in advance may get you the best bang for your buck. I would guess the 5 times of the year you plan to fly, so does everyone else, so prices will be high. Looking 11 months out is not the best price, neither is 11 days. You need would need to work at it. Even if you decide to be loyal, you probably want to do this anyway.

mr27

Stick with JetBlue or give Virgin America a try since they offer daily non-stops
between BOS-LAX. Though their loyalty program may not be your best bet.

JerryFF

Most of the time the airlines match each other's fares. It is just a matter of when you buy the ticket and the availability on any given flight. It's not like American has lower published fares than United or Delta. However, I agree with above comments that you are more likely to find lower fare availability on JetBlue.

octr202

For a college student, you will likely have a lot of "must fly now" trips (i.e., schedule dictated by classes). For someone with that impact but traveling on your own dime, JetBlue's fare difference credit might be worthwhile. If the airfare drops after you book, you can get a credit for the difference (sometimes can be done online, other times need to call) which is good for one year. So if it's a time when you need to fly, you can go ahead and book anytime you're willing to pay the fare at that date and still know you can get it back (in a credit at least) for a future flight.

dnwaldmann

Depending where you are "in Boston", it wouldn't hurt to at least look at MHT. Fares are likely to be higher, but depending on your mode of travel to/from BOS, the easy and possibly cheaper access to MHT could tip the scales.

BearX220

Not too much (if any) price advantage to MHT since Southwest came to Logan; MHT traffic has been dropping like a rock lately, too, and it's not that easy to reach from Boston without a car.

If your roundtrips are only going to add up to 4 or 5 annually, and you are bound to fly on certain dates (when semesters end, holidays, etc.) in all honesty you are perhaps better off just booking the cheapest ticket you can each time, with less regard for loyalty and miles. I'd put JetBlue at the top of the list if I could, but not if AA, etc. was $50 cheaper each time.