What would you do? Low fare vs. miles
 

Chicago-DEN.

$160 on United, earning miles plus 5,000 bonus for flying before 2/28 (6700 total miles).

OR

$100 on Southwest with today's Ding fare, earning 2 RR credits.

This is for my girlfriend, who is not a terribly frequent traveller but likes the idea of accumulating miles, and also likes to save money.

Depends on which airline she wants to collect miles/credits on and how she wants to use free trips. United offers more destinations.

Will she earn 16 RR credits within 24 months?

Somehow, every time I pay extra to get miles, I regret it later.:td:

First of all, if I were booking for a non-elite traveler, I'd book her on WN even if the prices were equal. Flying out of ORD as a non-elite on UA will not be fun. I'd rather fly WN out of MDW, knowing that I can print my own "elite status" 24 hours before the flight. OK, I know it isn't the same thing, but in all seriousness, I would much rather be on WN than any major on which I hold no status. If her WN flight cancels, she's on equal footing with everyone else. If her UA flight cancels, the trip is probably canceled altogether.

The $60 savings is gravy. This one's a no-brainer.

The only two things that might cause me to re-think it:
- If she does the UA flights, is there any chance she'll get the "bug" and finish the Fly3? Two well-placed, cheap MR's and you've got a Hawaii ticket. Possible romantic getaway there... :)
- If she lives in Schaumburg or Rosemont or whatever, the idea of using ORD isn't quite as unpalatable as it is for the rest of us. I guess flying as a non-elite originating at ORD is less risky than connecting there. She can always just go back home...

Even then, I'd be hesitant to recommend mileage runs to a non-elite. Maybe two quick MSP runs and some iDining (if 35k were the goal) is less risky and time-consuming than trying multi-segment itin.

Go Illini!

In no particular order, some factors to consider:

1. Does she live closer to ORD (UA) or MDW (WN)? Is there a large difference in convenience between the airport locations?

2. MDW is less likely to have delays than ORD.

3. Will the miles or RR credits help her reach an award threshhold? If she is 6700 miles away from an award on UA, or 2 RR credits away from an award on WN, then it may make sense to grab the award even if it costs a bit extra. The UA miles are easier to keep live (just have some activity at least once every three years to keep the miles from expiring) than the WN RR credits (each one expires after two years), so she may be able to gain a UA award through infrequent travel more easily than a WN award.

4. WN has a bit more legroom than UA standard economy. WN's open seating favors early checkin and airport arrival, while UA's assigned seating favors elites first, then early booking.

10 years ago, I would have said miles.

Now, I burn miles. I don't save them for a rainy day because I know the airlines will say "weather related (rainy day, heh?) you need triple the amount of miles for a free ticket". Seriously, everyone on FT knows that it's getting harder and harder to claim an award.

Now, my criteria is "no hard feelings, United...this is business." Didn't Guido use a similar phrase? The amount of miles is no where near worth $60.

She probably won't be flying enough to get a free WN ticket in the 2 year period.

We both live in Chicago on the north side, so both airports are about equally reachable.

I doubt she'll be taking any more trips before the promotion is over.

I recently got her signed up for the MP dining, so keeping her miles live shouldn't be a problem.

The flight times are a little better on UA, so we'll see what she decides.

Maybe trade in 1000 miles for a $25 certificate and book the flight, making it $135?

Cool - unless the flight times are significantly worse on WN, it's pretty clear-cut - save the $60.

What to do
 

Well, having flown from Chicago airports for years, I can chime in on the subject:

1. I avoid MDW like the plague. Primarly due to the nightmare of getting to and from MDW from the NW suburbs. But, if you are in the SE burbs or downtown, MDW would be more convenient.

2. The larger issue for me though is the miles. I should aask, where do you want to do with teh miles. If you say anything beyond our borders, then WN is a waste.

3. Hit CC and see if acquiring 2P status is available to you.

4. Avoid the cattle call. Check-in 24 hours in advance at united.com and pick your seat.

If you play the WN cattle call right (which is not hard to do), it usually yields a better seat than UA's assigned seats do for a non-elite. Mainly because the most desired seats at the front of the plane are either first class or economy plus that are not available to non-elites with economy tickets.

The only catch: you gotta do 3 if you want to do 4. (Bartering for status had completely slipped my mind.) With no status, you're probably going through security with a "departure management card" and getting your seat at the gate, unless the flight is somewhat less than full. I always hated that feeling when I flew UA without status. Standing there in the gate area, listening to calls for VDB's, lots of nervous people milling around... I knew logically that I was either getting on the flight or getting cash compensation if not, but I still hated it. It's much nicer to have status (any status will do - even 3P), book your seat ahead of time, and then if it comes to it decide to play the VDB game if you like.

Agreed - the WN cattle call always yields a better seat than a UA E- seat. You're usually talking about an aisle or window seat (whichever you prefer) in the first 8-10 rows of the plane - even if you just show up in time to board at the end of the A group. (In fact, on most flights, there is really no incentive camping in the A line. From MDW going either direction, there are probably through pax sitting in the exit rows by the time the first A boards.)

If we can agree that a UA ff miles is worth a penny -- and that your gf would actually USE those miles before they expire -- the two fares cost almost the same (price minus ff value) so it would seem wise to pick the flights that are most convenient (including the myriad of small but perhaps important differences between the two products already noted by our experienced braintrust).

I'm confused. I have no status on UA, but I can still choose my seat online. In fact, I've never been on a flight wher eI didn;t know my seat ahead of time (except on WN).