Price increases, legs, CC rewards, runs... oh my
Jun 4, 2014, 11:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 4
Price increases, legs, CC rewards, runs... oh my
I'm looking to buy a RT ticket from CLE or CAK to SMF on 8/6 arrival before 3pm with a late return flight on 8/17 (11:30pm 8/17 is fine).
2 weeks ago I was seeing tickets for $430, those same tickets are now over $700 with some over $1000.
Should I wait for prices to fall again or will they just keep rising?
I fly maybe 2 or 3 times a year and only have a Discover IT card.
At this point the only reward points I have are 7,511 miles on UA MP program.
Is it worth it to try and get a new CC before my flight to try and use some reward points?
Thank you ^
2 weeks ago I was seeing tickets for $430, those same tickets are now over $700 with some over $1000.
Should I wait for prices to fall again or will they just keep rising?
I fly maybe 2 or 3 times a year and only have a Discover IT card.
At this point the only reward points I have are 7,511 miles on UA MP program.
Is it worth it to try and get a new CC before my flight to try and use some reward points?
Thank you ^
Jun 4, 2014, 12:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,309
Price increases, legs, CC rewards, runs... oh my
It is highly unlikely that any credit card you get today will yield sufficient points to assist with a booking for travel in early August. It typically takes at least one billing cycle for signup bonuses to post, and award travel for the summer is generally booked months in advance.
Unfortunately, Flyertalk is not a crystal ball, so we can't predict whether the fare you want will go up, down, or sideways.
Unfortunately, Flyertalk is not a crystal ball, so we can't predict whether the fare you want will go up, down, or sideways.
Jun 5, 2014, 4:41 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 4
I suppose it would be better to get a card and buy the ticket with it, rather than try to use reward points? Are there one or two cards that are recommended the most?
Kayak is telling me there's an 80% chance prices will go down so I'll probably wait and see.
Kayak is telling me there's an 80% chance prices will go down so I'll probably wait and see.
Jun 6, 2014, 3:57 am
#4
Suspended
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, AS, DL, BA, F9, IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, SPG Gold, MR Silver
Posts: 1,786
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...scription.html
Jun 6, 2014, 4:10 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
Keep in mind, though, that the "advertised" miles for a round trip on credit cards are not available for anywhere near every flight, and at this point, even if you had miles, you'd very likely need to use about double the miles (for an "anytime", rather than "saver" award) to fly with miles, especially with as little flexibility as you seem to have with your date/time.
(Airlines like AA and UA have two kinds of awards: "saver" awards which cost fewer miles but are capacity controlled, and then "anytime" awards which cost about double the miles but allow you to book just about any seat on that airline's own flights -- though not on codeshare flight actually flown by other airlines.)
The key to being able to get both good fares and to use "saver" miles is to book further ahead and/or have much more flexibility with your travel dates/times.
FWIW, Southwest has slightly lower fares from CAK to SMF at the moment, but it doesn't have flights at the times that you want, just at other times on those days. Keep in mind that Southwest flights can only be seen on southwest.com, not on third-party sites like Kayak or Orbitz.
(Airlines like AA and UA have two kinds of awards: "saver" awards which cost fewer miles but are capacity controlled, and then "anytime" awards which cost about double the miles but allow you to book just about any seat on that airline's own flights -- though not on codeshare flight actually flown by other airlines.)
The key to being able to get both good fares and to use "saver" miles is to book further ahead and/or have much more flexibility with your travel dates/times.
FWIW, Southwest has slightly lower fares from CAK to SMF at the moment, but it doesn't have flights at the times that you want, just at other times on those days. Keep in mind that Southwest flights can only be seen on southwest.com, not on third-party sites like Kayak or Orbitz.
