eugenetooms

Hello...I currently live on the west coast, but we (two adults & two kids) are planning to relocate to the NE coast early next year. I will need to fly back out to the west coast 3-4x per year, to visit aging family members/attend holiday gatherings/etc. We would ideally bring the whole family each trip. I'm really concerned about the cost of all this traveling. Can anyone recommend points programs/credit cards/airline passes, etc. that could make this more affordable? Would need to be with an airline that does coast-to-coast nonstop/1 stop flights (like JetBlue, United, Delta, etc.).

Thanks!

guv1976

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Which part of the East Coast, and which part of the West Coast?

There are a variety of credit cards that can be useful for this, and you (and your spouse) might want to get more than one to take advantage of generous sign-up bonuses. Some cards will give you miles; others will give you points that can be used as cash towards travel purchases; yet others will give you points that can be used as cash or converted to miles in some frequent-flyer programs.

If you're willing to take one-stop connections, AA can offer some very attractive mileage redemption rates between the NYC Metro area and SoCal. Here's one example:



Similar options from Boston to SoCal:





But you should not expect low redemption rates like that if you'll be traveling over peak-demand periods (like school holidays).

Here's a great deal for a credit card with a big AA miles sign-up bonus:

https://www.applyaviator.com/

Good luck!

Mwenenzi

eugenetooms Welcome to FT

NE to west coast 3-4x per year is not really frequent flying (by FT standards). So more like you need some benefits from frequent spending (~credit card).
What freq flyers programs are you all members of now?

Is the west coast destination Eugene OR (based on your screen name)? [Or Xfiles]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Airport
As above, the exact destinations will/can make a big difference.
A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

eugenetooms

Wow thanks for this great info! I will look into the AA options further, as well as the credit cards. We would be flying out of Boston or Hartford, but for a great (or free) deal we could probably make another nearby airport work. We would be flying into LAX/Burbank. We currently live in the Bay Area, but the family we would be visiting are in LA.

Thanks again for the screen shots and suggestions!

eugenetooms

We don't do a lot of flying currently, so we aren't part of a frequent flyer program. We have a cashback rewards card through BoA and that's it. We do spend a lot though, and we use that card as much as possible. We are actually in the Bay Area, but have no family here. The family we would be visiting are in LA and we anticipate flying into LAX (although Burbank would be sweet if we could afford it).

guv1976

Starting from where in the Northeast? NYC? Boston? Providence? Philadelphia?

If the best deals for the routes and dates you want come from redeeming miles rather than paying cash, then there is no reason for you and your spouse not to join one or more frequent-flyer programs (it's free to join), and then take advantage of the lucrative credit-card sign-up bonuses. Note that AA miles can be redeemed for flights on Alaska and JetBlue, as well, but only when those carriers make award seats available to AA.

angetenar

Getting award flights for 4 people is going to be difficult

guv1976

The screenshots I posted in Post #2 were for four travelers. Here are the details for one of the redemption options:

eugenetooms

Weird, I really thought I replied to your reply with the screen shots! Thank you for sharing that info about AA - super helpful! We would likely be flying out of Boston, but could probably make Hartford or Providence work. Of the three, I have found Boston to have the most direct flights to/from LAX and SFO. I know Frontier just released an annual pass for 1299, but they have pretty limited flights. I was hoping JetBlue or another major airline would have something similar.

guv1976

I think that AAdvantage miles would serve you well flying out of BOS. As you can see, if you're willing to make connections on AA, you can sometimes get very good redemption rates. And redemptions on AS or B6 -- when available -- would cost 12.5K AA miles one way in Economy.

If you get the AA credit card, everyone in your party would also get a free checked bag, but only when flying on AA itself.

angetenar

Frontier's flight pass will probably not serve your needs. UA, AA, and DL all serve BOS-LAX so you'll be spoiled for choice. Have you considered just picking the cheapest for whenever you need to travel?

Mwenenzi

May be the best value option. With 4 pax the costs will quickly add up.
Awards for 4 pax at affordable ff mile cost may not always be always be available at the times/dates you want. Can be many people looking for awards/cheap flights around school vacation time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_...tional_Airport

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_An...tional_Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Burbank_Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontari...tional_Airport

A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

guv1976

I think that the OP and spouse will each need to get both a frequent-flyer credit card (the Barclays AA is probably best for their situation) to take advantage of cheap redemption rates when they are available, and a card like the Capital One Venture X, US Bank Altitude Reserve, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred whose points can be used as cash for airline tickets when necessary. They are looking at 16 roundtrip tickets annually. Even two cards apiece are not likely to cover that, but could make a significant dent in their air-travel costs for at least one year.

imbisibol

If you�re going to align yourself with AA, I�d recommend Barclay Red Aviator for you and your wife. 60K or 70K bonus each right now, I believe. If you have a business, there�s also a business card flavor of that. Around 60K or 70K bonus as well.

In think Barclay Red Aviator also still gives a companion certificate.

While you�re at it, get the Citi AA-co branded cards too. These come in business flavor too.

With 8 cards total, you�ll be able to stockpile around about 480K miles.

ericcheung

If you are flying as a family, the companion certificates are amazing. They come with the credit card (Barclays aviator silver is my recommendation for aa, apply for the red and product change). Buy one ticket at regular price and get two additional tickets at 99+tax each.