Originally Posted by
Kacee
IMO far and away the most valuable Plat benefit.
If all my changes and cancels had cost $50 per ticket, I would have incurred something like $500 in change/cancel fees so far this year.
And as others have commented, it's not just the money, it's about the award booking strategy. With free changes, I can book what's available now and then continually seek to upgrade the itinerary with better / more convenient flights. If I know changes are going to cost $50 each ($100 for a 2 pax itinerary), my entire approach to award booking gets revisited.
We are on exactly the same page. Not just the savings, but the lack of stress, especially because it's my family that uses my award miles, not me, and I can work around whatever life throws at me/them. And it's always a nice surprise for my wife if I can get her into C due to a last-minute saver award showing up... something that I can actually keep secret until we're at the gate.
Seriously though, it's a big weight off my shoulders because these are really tough times for brick & mortar retail, and it would have bordered on irresponsibility to force 75k PQM this year. I'm only at 22k right now, and should have two long-distance trips remaining, one with my daughter (to a place that's physically demanding and a bit challenging) and one with my wife (which needs to be the exact opposite). I can average 15k out of each of them easily. Getting that last extra 20k would have meant a gnarly mileage run, something I haven't had to do in several years. Convoluted routes to MNL or SIN in my past. Too many hours without a shower!!!