Originally Posted by
ryman554
mitchmu -- there is one other thing to consider... the lack of change / close-in fees as a 0P vs 1P. That, in itself, "effectively" opens up a huge additional chunk of award space and flexibility "for free" (as opposed for $150). I don't know how much you value fixing travel dates well in advance, but if you don't (like me), then consider that as a positive.
Not sure I'd fly an extra 25k miles for that.... that's a lot more $$ than a single award change fee is.
I have considered that point. But, for me, a typical flight is $500-$1,200 plus ground transport, accommodation, and so forth. If I take even one unnecessary flight to gain status to avoid the fees, I'll spend orders of magnitude more than what I'd spend on the extra change and close-in fees. The flexibility to book, change, and cancel with no fees as a PP is awesome. I've used it heavily recently. But, not worth spending $2,500 to spend 10 hours unnecessarily flying to save $400 in fees and that's how the reality of the math works out for me. The other thing is that the refund functionality doesn't work consistently, so for one who aspires to be PP or 1K to book and change and cancel frequently without fees will also have to invest significant personal time in tracking each transaction then following up to fight for refunds due but not given then tracking and following up on those communications. For someone that values their time, there is a cost to this as well.