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Is 1.8 million Skymiles DTW to JNB R/T a good deal for 2 passengers?

Is 1.8 million Skymiles DTW to JNB R/T a good deal for 2 passengers?

Old Aug 23, 2018, 5:49 am
  #76  
 
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Originally Posted by flyerCO
Give it up.
No worries, I gave it up long ago ^
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 7:03 am
  #77  
 
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Is it sad that, after having read all of this and experiencing it first-hand personally, Ill be getting back on a Delta plane tomorrow... and next week... and the week after that... ?

Is this the definition of masochist?
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 8:17 am
  #78  
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Originally Posted by TheHorta
Is it sad that, after having read all of this and experiencing it first-hand personally, Ill be getting back on a Delta plane tomorrow... and next week... and the week after that... ?

Is this the definition of masochist?
I am right there with ya....I have a flight from DTW to STR in October and I am trying so hard to fly Lufthansa but I just can't...it is a disease. Actually the only thing that may sway me is taking a flight on the 747...
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 8:44 am
  #79  
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Originally Posted by TheHorta
Is it sad that, after having read all of this and experiencing it first-hand personally, Ill be getting back on a Delta plane tomorrow... and next week... and the week after that... ?

Is this the definition of masochist?
I have been saying I am going to become a free agent for years. Sadly, I doubt it will ever happen. Delta offers the best flight choices out of my location and they treat me pretty well. I like to think of skymiles as just a nice added benefit for what I have to do regardless(travel). Company pays for 98% of the traveling I do, so its not like I am paying for these miles. I have found that if you are extremely flexible you can get pretty good value for D1 flights. Now if I was actually paying for these miles on my own dime I would not be to pleased at all with the sky high redemption levels.
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 9:01 am
  #80  
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Originally Posted by ethernal
Agreed that UA is more stingy out of their hubs (as is Delta of course) but there's still a huge difference between UA and DL miles on non-saver awards. UA is really good about having availability at their "everyday" rate on almost all routing assuming you book at least month or two in advance (and also some great last minute availability). I may have to pay 300K to get to SFO to Europe on a regular award, but that gives me a ton of flexibility. Want to book Monday to Friday and connect to EWR or IAD in Polaris? UA says "sure, go ahead!"
Yes. While value can be found in both programs, at the end of the day, UA is considerably better for redemptions than DL. I'd probably be pretty frustrated if all my miles were sitting in a DL account.
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 9:04 am
  #81  
 
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Just for laughs I looked at pricing for D1 MSP-SYD RTin April and that lists 980,000 miles and the only 1 stop is 11 hours in LAX. But what that really amounts to is an IT default for a route that really isn't for sale in any practical sense. It probably used to be that ticket was just not available. There are other routes and dates that are actually not outrageous if you work at it. On the other hand I am booked to SYD on another airline in J for a rate that is acceptable. FYI one could book AAnytime miles on that MSP-SYD route for 350,000 many dates and some SAAvers can be found, also if you work at it. You can do MSP-JNB RT for 150K in AA J except it turns out it books Y from MAD-JNB because the AA search engine is glitched with phantom availability. It might be nice if AA would even give you the option of spending a lot of miles to fly J on a route like that.

Last edited by CALlegacy; Aug 23, 2018 at 9:32 am
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 9:43 am
  #82  
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Originally Posted by CALlegacy
Just for laughs I looked at pricing for D1 MSP-SYD RTin April and that lists 980,000 miles and the only 1 stop is 11 hours in LAX. But what that really amounts to is an IT default for a route that really isn't for sale in any practical sense.
I don't understand this comment. People from the twin cities don't visit Australia? LAX is the traditional Australia routing from anywhere in the US except Hawaii, and that's how DL will route you if you search for revenue flights (and with a very reasonable connection at LAX, I would add).

I searched for UA awards MSP-SYD random dates in April and there's actually mixed cabin saver J space available, so 160k RT, with the domestic segments in Y. 400k would be the RT everyday price in J, routing via SFO, IAH, or LAX.
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 9:59 am
  #83  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
I don't understand this comment. People from the twin cities don't visit Australia? LAX is the traditional Australia routing from anywhere in the US except Hawaii, and that's how DL will route you if you search for revenue flights (and with a very reasonable connection at LAX, I would add).

I searched for UA awards MSP-SYD random dates in April and there's actually mixed cabin saver J space available, so 160k RT, with the domestic segments in Y. 400k would be the RT everyday price in J, routing via SFO, IAH, or LAX.
It is not for sale in the sense that the price in miles is so high that for practical purposes the mile redemption should be considered unavailable. That is what I meant. Obviously if you buy a ticket at any reasonable price LAX would be the normal connection point or also Hawaii. Another option is DFW on AA/QF. That is available in J for 80,000 RT except it isn't because the QF leg is actually in Y and virtually never available in J on saver awards. You can book Delta MSP-SYD in Y for 80,000, but that is a ticket you can buy for $1060 or about 1.3c/m value, which is sneered at here. But the issue under discussion is how/why such ridiculous mileage prices are even posted. It is about what are they thinking and what is the point and who would actually select that offering.
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 12:25 pm
  #84  
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Originally Posted by CALlegacy
It is not for sale in the sense that the price in miles is so high that for practical purposes the mile redemption should be considered unavailable. That is what I meant.
Got it. Raises the question whether DL might be better off just not displaying availability over a certain price . . . from a customer relations perspective, is it better to show 900k RT, or "not available"?
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Old Aug 23, 2018, 3:22 pm
  #85  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
Got it. Raises the question whether DL might be better off just not displaying availability over a certain price . . . from a customer relations perspective, is it better to show 900k RT, or "not available"?
I guess it is reassuring to see a price because that means they acknowledge that awards and routings do exist. You don't have to ramble around trying to figure out if "not available" means the calendar is broken, you put the dates in wrong, that routing isn't valid for some reason, there is a partner airline glitch, there is an IT glitch, etc., etc. It's better than phantom availability too. Working with the AA and BA award tools can be really frustrating sometimes even though AA for the most part is a pretty good tool. You should see the limbo AA puts up if you try to fly TPAC from SFO and it connects you through LAX but if you try to start in LAX it routes you through SFO, but at least it routes you.
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