Originally Posted by
MFMeow
On business: We don't have a specified travel policy, but the situations described in the quote above are about what I can "get away with" when spending company $$. The company recognizes the benefits to flying me on an airline where I have status and they will allow a bit of extra expense for me to fly DL without kicking up a big ol' beancounting fuss.
On personal travel, my loyalty buffer zone is about 20% above the lowest ticket price offered by another carrier -- BUT, I wouldn't pay that premium on every trip. I'll do it occasionally. Last fall there was a period of time when FL was consistently beating DL on some routes and I sucked it up and flew FL a couple times. (That was before I figured out that on Tuesdays DL usually drops their price to match FLs. At least that was the pattern throughout the late fall, winter, and spring for the route I was interested in flying.)
This suggests that even your company's threshold should be something (perhaps significantly) less than 20%. Honestly, if you aren't willing to pay the premium for your personal travel, then it isn't important enough for your business travel. Call it beancounting, but companies should only pay the premium when there is a documentable advantage (for the company) to flying carrier x over carrier y. If you wouldn't shell out your own money, then your company shouldn't either. Choosing a carrier for business when you wouldn't for personal travel is unethical.