Originally Posted by
guv1976
KGB , I just priced a CLE-SLC roundtrip in Economy for random dates in January (14-22). For the Delta nonstop in each direction (or for connections), you would pay 50,000 Delta SkyMiles plus $11.20.
I don't want to go down the hidden city rabbit hole (including all of the inevitable warnings), but it's pretty much common knowledge that you can beat the monopoly pricing by searching for competitive routes (e.g. CLE-LAX) that include options on the desired segment. AA isn't much different from DL in this regard.