Read it and Weep...
Nov 24, 2004 | 8:07 am
#16
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Ashburn, VA (IAD/DCA/BWI)
Posts: 2,757
Originally Posted by GUWonder
It is quite tragic how ill-informed people are about their consumer options. When the currency is not cash, people have a harder time understanding their options and the best returns/value.
Nov 24, 2004 | 8:41 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: San Francisco
Programs: Four Seasons Aviara (owner), Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, Hertz President's Circle, United MP 30+ yrs
Posts: 1,259
Originally Posted by PremEx
Hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but she could have flown First Class on those flights for even fewer miles.
That's because United has had an "Award Sale" on flights of under 750 miles for several months now, thru the end of the year:
That's because United has had an "Award Sale" on flights of under 750 miles for several months now, thru the end of the year:
Nov 24, 2004 | 8:44 am
#18
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 444
Originally Posted by yanxfann
I'm far from perfect on my Airport Identifiers but as I interpret the above it deciphers as:
Lihue (Kauai, Hawaii) - Los Angeles - Miami - LIMA PERU - MIA - LAX - LIH
If the above interpretation is true I must have missed something. Is there an AA reduced mileage sale/promotion going on where one can go from HI to South America for only 35K miles?
Lihue (Kauai, Hawaii) - Los Angeles - Miami - LIMA PERU - MIA - LAX - LIH
If the above interpretation is true I must have missed something. Is there an AA reduced mileage sale/promotion going on where one can go from HI to South America for only 35K miles?
Now that's a good value for your miles.
Originally Posted by Marathon Man
What of the person at the airline who so willingly took her miles and didn’t even inform her of better, more economical options? I know some would have but not that airline!
WOW!
what a scam![/B]
WOW!
what a scam![/B]
I also know from some of the postings on FT, that one does not have to have 80 years in order to have a little resistance to logic, etc.
Nov 24, 2004 | 8:48 am
#19
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: BDL
Programs: NWA Platinum, HHonors Diamond, SPG, YX, AA
Posts: 5,354
My In-Laws take about 2 trips a year, one to Vegas and one to a NACAR race. I've been booking their tickets for the past three years, and when I found out they didn't have ff# the first time I set them up I signed them up and just shook my head over all the miles lost over the years. To top it off, I was told by my father-in-law that it was a bad idea; now the airlines were sending him credit card offers and other junk mail. 
Maybe he will see things differently when they both have 25K in miles after their trip next month to LAS. For them, just getting them to use a ff account was a small victory, it will still be a while until they understand the value of a mile!
Maybe he will see things differently when they both have 25K in miles after their trip next month to LAS. For them, just getting them to use a ff account was a small victory, it will still be a while until they understand the value of a mile!
Nov 24, 2004 | 9:24 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Fort Worth, Texas USA
Programs: AA Executive Platinum 5 million miles
Posts: 1,007
Last year, my boss (a reasonably intelligent man but with little frequent flyer savvy) was so excited because he redeemed two 25,000 miles awards to travel from DFW to Albuquerque for a long weekend. He booked well in advance so of course that same weekend, DFW to ABQ was a netsaaver at about $129 per ticket.
I mentioned that he could fly from DFW to Anchorage with a free stopover for the same number of miles (Alaska is one of his dream vacations) and he just gave me a puzzled look. He gives me the same look when he finds out that I flew to Paris for the weekend for the experience and for the miles.
Thank goodness for FlyerTalk and its great group of people who understand!
I mentioned that he could fly from DFW to Anchorage with a free stopover for the same number of miles (Alaska is one of his dream vacations) and he just gave me a puzzled look. He gives me the same look when he finds out that I flew to Paris for the weekend for the experience and for the miles.
Thank goodness for FlyerTalk and its great group of people who understand!
Nov 24, 2004 | 10:17 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: SFO - UA Lifetime 1K, HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 418
The general perception of award tics is they are "free tickets". Consequently, non-FT flyers assign no value to these tics and as such I am sure we will continue to see people using award tics for no reason other than to feel that they got a "good" deal.
Nov 24, 2004 | 10:59 am
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 19,523
That [Award Sale] occurred to me too. Not sure what happened; she got the ticket in October. I was too busy trying to keep from crying to ask questions
Next year we will buy her ticket for her. To think that there is a flight to Maui that could have been had ..... 
Remember...He who has the most miles when his program dies, is the loser!
Nov 24, 2004 | 1:13 pm
#24
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Florida
Programs: MR PL, Hyatt GP Diamond, HH Gold, UA Silver, WN A-LIst, National EE
Posts: 881
There are some non-obsessive people out there who really believe that these tickets ARE free. They acquired the miles through credit card spending or some such and thus attach no perceived dollars spent to them. I know of many folks who would cash in 25k miles for domestic awards (and I, too, fly out of LCC heaven, MCO) and take the $200 and spend it on something that they cannot get with FF miles.
Stevekoe
Stevekoe
Nov 25, 2004 | 12:20 am
#26
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: GSP (Greenville, SC)
Programs: DL Gold Medallion; UA Premier Executive; WN sub-CP; AA sub-Gold
Posts: 13,393
I wouldn't worry about people who don't use miles in the best manner.
Redeeming miles is a zero-sum game. Every person who finds out how best to maximize their miles is one less award seat on that long flight to LIH for the rest of us.
I strongly encourage everyone to tell their friends and co-workers to not hesitate burning miles for DFW-ABQ and BUR-SFO round trips.
Loose lips sink ships.
Redeeming miles is a zero-sum game. Every person who finds out how best to maximize their miles is one less award seat on that long flight to LIH for the rest of us.
I strongly encourage everyone to tell their friends and co-workers to not hesitate burning miles for DFW-ABQ and BUR-SFO round trips.
Loose lips sink ships.
Nov 27, 2004 | 11:14 pm
#29
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
I dont' agree. My guess was she was probably using my logic, of what I have more of, cash or miles. I have hundreds of thousands of miles, I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars. I've taken flights using miles when I knew I could have been going someplace way different, but it was because I had the miles at the time, and not the cash.
The value of the miles isn't in how far you can go with them. The value in these miles was that she used them to spend Thanksgiving with her family. Then again, you probably can't put a value on that at all.
You can't fault somebody for using miles to visit the family for the holidays, no matter how silly of a trip that was.
The value of the miles isn't in how far you can go with them. The value in these miles was that she used them to spend Thanksgiving with her family. Then again, you probably can't put a value on that at all.
You can't fault somebody for using miles to visit the family for the holidays, no matter how silly of a trip that was.
Nov 28, 2004 | 9:08 am
#30
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: MSY
Programs: NW Gold and now Delta Gold
Posts: 3,072
impressed!
If you can tell me how to do this, or even just how to get to PTY this cheaply in miles, I will be forever in your debt. I originate from MSY.
Originally Posted by civicmon
yikes.
I spent 20k on CO and went from TIJuana, Mex to EZE with stops in PTY and MEX
I spent 20k on CO and went from TIJuana, Mex to EZE with stops in PTY and MEX