Originally Posted by
roguetraveler
Thank you all for your suggestions and calculations on how to figure this out. I really appreciate it.
I will try to find a cheaper ticket, but so far, because I fly from small (and expensive) market MFR, I can't find anything under $1050 to FRA - but then I still have to get to MUC, so that will add at least $100 by train. My miles are on Mileage Plus.
If I can't find a ticket cheaper than $1200, I'll go ahead use the miles.
What dates are you flying in April? Kayak.com (great search engine!) has a new "flex month" feature instead of just +- 3days and I punched in a 6-9 day stay from MFR to MUC and there's lots of dates in April for less than $1,000 round trip:
http://www.kayak.com/flights?fid=&tr...calendar-6to10
That said - don't let anyone make your mileage decisions for you. Saving $900 on airfare is still a FANTASTIC deal out of your miles, as it's $800 in savings or so (after taxes for the award). Your call.
I understand the small airport thing, living in Iowa. The nearest airport with more than one airline is 90 miles away. Looks like your 5 hours from Portland and 4+ from Sacramento. Pretty brutal drive to do a long flight. Been there, done that - spend the extra money or miles. Worth it to me.
Personally I'd still burn them, b/c I don't pay for flights
but you should make your own decision.