aspenedelen

Two part question here:

It seems flying out from either FSD or OMA next Tuesday, the 24th to ATL then flying out of ATL to either or is ridiculously expensive at $758.40 out of OMA and $1200+ out of FSD. Now, should I use use 67,000 miles flying out of OMA while FSD is 124k. I'm Delta only but at what point do you fly a different carrier or use MILES instead of paying cash or do you just say forget Delta and fly a different carrier which is half the cost out of OMA

3Cforme

Those mileage prices continue a practice (but not a rule) of offering about $0.01 in ticket value per SkyMile.

If you can get a competitor's routing equivalent in stops and travel time for $379 I don't understand the hesitation.

aspenedelen

The hesitation for me is that I am extremely loyal to DL but at what price point do you say enough is enough.

Appreciate the reply and the words of practice with SM as a value of the ticket.

pvn

Why are you "extremely loyal" to delta? The answer to that question will inform the answer to your question about when enough is enough.

TTT

I have about a $50-$100 loyalty premium for Delta, depending on the route as I find value in C+ seating, club access, and generally better treatment.

That said, if I was booking less than a week out my C+ selection would be greatly reduced so that portion of the value statement would be less. It would depend on seating options on the other carrier, Delta's seating options and then a judgement of whether the added cost of Delta is worth it

3Cforme

I'm a Delta Million Miler. I'm an AA Million Miler. To set the premium for what I will pay on Delta I will price in a free bag (if I expect to check one), the probability of a Comfort+ upgrade, and Delta's generally better on-time performance and baggage handling. For a short domestic trip like OMA-ATL-OMA that premium adds up to a hell of a lot less than $379!

xliioper

DL has a monopoly on the non-stop's on these routes and thus you can expect traditional legacy pricing with cheaper fares requiring a roundtrip purchase with a Saturday night stay. I'm guessing your trip does not include a Saturday night stay and thus does not qualify for the cheaper fare classes. Also, many cheaper fares have advance purchase requirements -- some might have a 7-day advance, and the cheapest X/V fares may often require 14 or 21 day advance purchase. There are tricks like hidden city where you purchase a one-way OMA-ATL-MCO fare and a return ATL-OMA one-way. These will generally be more than the roundtrip fares with a Saturday night stay, but may be less than a roundtrip without a Saturday night stay. It's also a violation of Delta's ticketing rules, although the general advise is that if you don't do it too frequently they will ignore it. You also assume the risk if there are IRROP's they will re-route you via another hub and you may have to buy a separate ticket to get to ATL.

aspenedelen

Unfortunately you are 100% correct with these smaller markets that Delta is in. There just are not other options and these legacy carriers know this. For the small guy this sucks. My itinerary is flying out on a Tuesday and then back in on Wednesday last flight of the day from ATL into OMA.

aspenedelen

That makes a lot of sense actually. Appreciate your feedback

aspenedelen

That makes sense. I've found a workaround with this flight schedule but I do agree with everything you stated especially the C+, club access and the the treatment as Elite

aspenedelen

That is a fantastic question actually and something that it seems I need to ponder

aspenedelen

I found a nice ending to this expensive business flight. Ended up booking a one-way flight to Sarasota via a nice stop in ATL for $246 then using 28k miles and $5.91 to book the return the return one way from ATL to OMA.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to give some phenomenal feedback.