My son's starting college this fall, however, I'm taking a different approach. He's had status for many years and I think it's even more important for him now since the airports will be packed on many of the days he'll be traveling. The benefits will save him time and will help with irregular ops, so I'm buying his tickets. (And we like to use miles for international F as opposed to domestic awards.) It also helps that he chose a school that's about as far away as it can be while still being in the US. (Contrary to some FTer's thoughts, when it came down to the school that was 300 miles away or the one that was 2400 miles away, I didn't try to persuade him to go to the further one solely because of the miles; it was the difference in the equipment on the two routes as well .)

One thing I've found so far in booking some of his travel is that one-way tickets can work out well (what the OP noted in his last item). So many lower-priced tickets require return travel within 30 days. That doesn't work well for a college student, so I started looking at one-ways. I was pretty surprised to find they're pricing out at just a small amount more - and sometimes even lower - than the roundtrips.

His last semester final will likely be Dec. 22. If I have him come home Dec. 23 it's considerable more than if he comes home Dec. 24 and most coupons are valid on Dec. 24, but not the 23rd. (Of course, coupons also tend to require a roundtrip.)

A few of my thoughts so far, but I'd love to hear what other parents have done.