MA to Fort Myers
Mar 21, 2013, 12:51 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: New England
Posts: 1
We've purchased a vacation home in Naples, FL (we're based in MA). So we'll be making trips to the Fort Myers airport 3-4 times per year going forward. As far as I can tell, Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit are the only carriers that offer direct flights (which we want).
What's our best option for a FF program & credit card moving forward? Would like to start building up points with one carrier if possible. Or is it more cost effective to check for the lowest fare before each trip?
Looking for your thoughts! Thanks....
Something else to note...we can fly out of BOS, PVD or Worcester (when/if they open again)....
What's our best option for a FF program & credit card moving forward? Would like to start building up points with one carrier if possible. Or is it more cost effective to check for the lowest fare before each trip?
Looking for your thoughts! Thanks....
Something else to note...we can fly out of BOS, PVD or Worcester (when/if they open again)....
Last edited by EmailKid; Mar 21, 2013 at 4:10 pm Reason: Two back to back posts on the same subject
Mar 21, 2013, 3:48 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,712
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Welcome to FT!
I think that the answer
to your question depends in part on what you would like to do with the miles earned. If you just want to redeem for free flights to/from RSW on Southwest or JetBlue, then just join either or both of those programs. However, if you'd like to use miles for international travel, you can credit JetBlue flights between BOS and RSW to AA, and redeem AA miles on AA and its partners. (However, you cannot redeem AA miles for travel on JetBlue.)
The cost of flights on any particular date can vary widely from carrier to carrier, so you may just have to shop around for the lowest price. Note that Spirit charges for checked (and carry-on) baggage; JetBlue offers one free checked bag per passenger, while Southwest offers two.
And nonstop flights might -- or might not -- cost more than connecting travel.
Welcome to FT!
I think that the answer
to your question depends in part on what you would like to do with the miles earned. If you just want to redeem for free flights to/from RSW on Southwest or JetBlue, then just join either or both of those programs. However, if you'd like to use miles for international travel, you can credit JetBlue flights between BOS and RSW to AA, and redeem AA miles on AA and its partners. (However, you cannot redeem AA miles for travel on JetBlue.)
The cost of flights on any particular date can vary widely from carrier to carrier, so you may just have to shop around for the lowest price. Note that Spirit charges for checked (and carry-on) baggage; JetBlue offers one free checked bag per passenger, while Southwest offers two.
And nonstop flights might -- or might not -- cost more than connecting travel.
Mar 21, 2013, 4:45 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,506
Welcome to FT.
Note that while you say you want "direct" flights, you probably want "nonstop" flights.
A nonstop flight is a flight where it takes off from one city and lands at the destination with no intervening stops.
A direct flight is where an airline provides service between two cities with a single flight number, which may or may not involve stops (or even plane changes) along the way. An extreme example was the old Northwest Flight #11 from Newark to Beijing. It involved three totally different kinds of aircraft (EWR-DTW was a DC9, DTW-NRT was a 747-400 and NRT-PEK was a 747-200), but all three legs were part of Northwest Flight #11, so they could sell "direct" flights from EWR to PEK.
Note that all nonstop flights are direct, but not all direct flights are nonstop. And just like you probably wouldn't ask for a rectangle if you wanted a square, you shouldn't ask for a direct flight if you want a nonstop.
I now return you to your regular less-pedantic programming...
Note that while you say you want "direct" flights, you probably want "nonstop" flights.
A nonstop flight is a flight where it takes off from one city and lands at the destination with no intervening stops.
A direct flight is where an airline provides service between two cities with a single flight number, which may or may not involve stops (or even plane changes) along the way. An extreme example was the old Northwest Flight #11 from Newark to Beijing. It involved three totally different kinds of aircraft (EWR-DTW was a DC9, DTW-NRT was a 747-400 and NRT-PEK was a 747-200), but all three legs were part of Northwest Flight #11, so they could sell "direct" flights from EWR to PEK.
Note that all nonstop flights are direct, but not all direct flights are nonstop. And just like you probably wouldn't ask for a rectangle if you wanted a square, you shouldn't ask for a direct flight if you want a nonstop.
I now return you to your regular less-pedantic programming...