FlyerTalk Forums - What to do with the miles

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- MilesBuzz (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz-370/)

- - What to do with the miles (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/3831-what-do-miles.html)

What to do with the miles

hi!

i was considering how i could consolidate and use my miles optimally.
i am currently in the US, and travel mostly for leisure. travel within the US/europe or between us/europe is done...

a look at my approx mileage balances:

delta: 43500
swissair: 31500
turkish: 31500
northwest: 11500

for delta i have taken the amex delta card (10k) and am currently with MCI. but need to get this total to 50k for a free tic to europe. any ideas ????

what do i do with the NW miles ??? any chance of getting that upto 20/25k in the next few months ?

the TK miles are a bonus (transfer from SR), and i can use them for a free ticket in the US on AA, or a business class in europe.

your ideas on using/spending the above miles etc plz....

regards
IaLTO

IaLTO,

Sign up for the Northwest 10k mile promotion:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum35/HTML/001149.html

[This message has been edited by AndrewShih (edited 02-13-2001).]

i am not sure how i could complete the 5 transactions, unless i am travelling somewhere...

it almost appears that i will need a couple of hotel stays to be able to make the 5... very unlikely..

Get a Diners Club card and use the 12K promo to top off Delta and add to others.

For your NW miles: Do you have a cell phone with Sprint? If so, ever $1 is a mile. Consider enrolling in the NW Sprint program for your long distance service. It is 10,000 spread out over 6 months. (They have an 18K & a 20K but its not advertised. I only found out when I called) Apply for a NW visa. Its 5,000 when approved and 2,500 for your first purchase. (I bought a stick of gum & a newspaper) Then they match mile for $1.

If you see any discount NW flight that you need to take, buy it online for 4,000 bonus miles.

I registered for the program last spring. I've never flown NW in my life, don't rent cars under my number or anything else. Just the Sprint program & the visa. I now have 40,000 miles without trying.

Just some thoughts.

Here's the link to the 20,000 miles Sprint offer as well as an Earthlink offer in case anyone needs them.
http://nwa.com/mall/communication.html

KiraNarise thanks... do you happen to have a URL for the worldperks visa ? the one on the site refers to a 4000 miles bonus only. i got one in the post yeterday, but that said 3000 miles...

IaLTO

You've been given a lot of good suggestions. But the best suggestion is to think about picking one program to focus on rather than spreading yourself so thin across so many different ones.

This might not help your current situation, but it could help you avoid getting into a similar one in the future.

------------------
/swaggie

Yes, but with all of the great tips that you can pick up on FlyerTalk http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, it doesn't hurt to broaden your base.

I was one of the lucky ones who got the sprint 25000 miles in 6 months about 6 months ago.I am currently over 25k just with that.For the nw 10000 promotion.,it is very easy if you do not want to switch carriers for your phone etc.Just sign up for the dining for miles with northwest-you just call the 1800 number link the credit card you would like linked to it-it is activated for you to use the program within 24 hours.then you just have to eat at 5 different restaurants in the next couple months.number is 1-800-818-2040------within a week I received a book that gives you all the rest in the program all over the country.there are over 80 within 20 miles of me in PHX from very cheap on up.Do not think there is an easier way to get the miles

It seems that the real value for your Delta miles, when you reach 50K is for two tix in the USA, especially long distance trips. You don't even have to stay the usual Sat night. Consider the cost of BOS to LAX or some other similar trip. Travel to Europe is relatively cheap during most of the year, except, of course, during the peak summer period. Try getting a seat in the summer. The accumulation of miles is only one part of the FF game, getting the most value for those miles is the real challenge.

WNF

IaLTO

Read the info carefully about the NW 10K bonus. You do not necessarily have to travel to earn the 5 credits.

Switch to Sprint
Dine for miles
Point to mile transfer
etc

with ref the delta miles... which is better - 2 free tix in the US or 1 to europe (considering taxes/charges etc) ?
i should be upto 46,000 in a month....

more generally.... what is the 'best' way to redeem miles ?

regards
IaLTO

I would use the miles for 2 RT tix in US/CAN rather than 1 to Europe, you stated earlier travel to/from europe is done (i assume you meant you've already done that and it's not at the top of your want-to-do list). Taxes and fees will be higher for the two tix vs one int'l- but you will allow yourself two Round-trips rather than one or take along a friend/compainion for free.

If I understand your question correctly for the "best" way to redeem miles: many people suggest using them for upgrades

[This message has been edited by ASCJSTEP (edited 02-18-2001).]

Quote:

Originally posted by IaLTO:
more generally.... what is the 'best' way to redeem miles ?

There is no generally recognized best way to redeem miles, in my opinion. It depends on your own travel patterns and what you would normally expect and be willing to pay for tickets on the routes that you travel, based on the amount of lead time that you have to make reservations. Frequent flier miles give you an alternative currency (vs. good old cash) with which to purchase travel, but you should be prepared to continue to spend cash when that makes sense. (In this context, cash doesn't literally mean just greenbacks, I just mean anything denominated in normal currencies.)

You'll find numerous past threads on FlyerTalk arguing about exactly how many cents each frequent flier mile is worth, and those threads will demonstrate why coming up with a hard & fast number which can be applied to every type of traveler is nearly impossible. However, it is probably worthwhile for you to come to some rough understanding of your usual travel patterns. That better understanding is what will help you spend more wisely in the future, whether you're spending dollars or miles.

For example, here are my itineraries from last year, and how I paid for them.

(1) SJC-SEA-SJC (cash)
(2) SJC-BOS-SJC (cash)
(3) SFO-BWI-SFO (cash)
(4) SJC-PIT-SJC (miles)
(5) SFO-ANC-SFO (voucher)
(6) SFO-SEA-BOS-SFO (miles)
(7) SFO-LAX-SFO (cash)
(8) SFO-PIT-SFO (company paid cash)
(9) SFO-PHL-SFO (cash)

Last year reflects my travel patterns pretty well, actually. I mostly fly to the East Coast seaboard or along the West Coast. Flights along the West Coast are generally so cheap thanks to Alaska, United Shuttle, and Southwest keeping each other honest that I don't expect to ever redeem hard-earned miles on those routes. For flights to the East Coast seaboard, if I can get advance purchase tickets at or under $350, I'm usually probably doing pretty well. I think I paid about $350 for my ticket to BOS, and something like $225 for my ticket to BWI, thanks to Southwest's sale fare and United's decision to match the sale. The published fare for my ticket to PHL was around $300, but I applied a $100 voucher which was going to expire soon. That can certainly be a factor for the savvy frequent traveler -- making sure that they used up their vouchers, travel credits, etc., before expiration. Airlines love it when they issue travelers voluntary denied boarding compensation vouchers which then sit in a desk drawer forgotten until they've expired.

As for the two trips last year for which I did redeem miles, the first was a case of last minute decision to go to a friend's wedding. Given that PIT is a fortress hub for US Airways, the unrestricted coach fare was a cool two thousand dollars. Well, there was no way that I would have been willing to spend two thousand dollars, but I was willing to spend 30,000 miles. (30,000 miles is a funny total. Basically, Northwest allowed me to spend 10,000 miles for one direction, since this qualified as their "off-peak" season and there was still "cheap" FFP award inventory available, then 20,000 miles for the other direction to waive capacity restrictions.)

As for the second trip, I had plenty of advanced notice, but could not price a open-jaw SEA-BOS-SFO ticket for less than $750, and it was important to me to get back to San Francisco sooner rather than later, so I didn't want to do SEA-BOS-SEA-SFO. But United's rules allowed them to issue me an open-jaw for the normal 25,000 miles. The lesson to take away there is that individual FFP's have different rules and regulations, and sometimes, one of them will be able to take care of your travel needs while another one won't be able to (or would cost a lot more miles). So it can be worth making a few extra phone calls to different airlines and see which program would be cheapest.

Lastly, somebody earlier in the thread recommended that you consolidate all your mileage earning activities into a single program. My take on that is that while you do want to pay some attention to concentration, you don't want to be exclusive. It's true that you'll benefit from being able to take advantage of more interesting awards which are only available once you've accumulated six digits of miles in a single program, and if your concentration allows you to earn elite status in that FFP, you'll definitely benefit greatly from the elite status, both in terms of how pleasant your flying experience will be and in terms of your mileage earnings. But, you cannot take advantage of the different in's and out's of different programs if you're only earning miles in one program. And sometimes there are such generous bonuses only available for certain programs that it would be foolish not to consider participating in the bonus offers. For example, I haven't flown a revenue Northwest flight in ages and ages, but I had plenty of miles accrued from Sprint's bonus Northwest WorldPerks miles offers. And I've never flown a Delta flight in my life, but depending on how some program-specific bonuses pan out this year, I may reach a six digit balance in the Delta SkyMiles program.