EstherS12

Hi everyone. I'm looking to go to PTY and SJO in the winter with my family (2 adults, 2 kids) and ideally want to do it on points. I started pricing things out now so I can get a head start on applying for credit cards and having the points post to my account in time. After checking paid/award tickets (only checked for one adult and just multiplied that rate by 4), I don't know how much sense it makes. Here's what I put together. Dates will change somewhat based on my kid's vacation schedule which I don't have yet.

If I would fly United economy using the Excursionist perk, I get the following
1/17 EWR - PTY: 9.5k miles + $6.85 taxes
1/22 PTY - SJO: 0 + $70.11
1/24 SJO - EWR: 17.5k + $61.29
Total for 4 people (assuming the miles are worth 1 cent) = $1,663

When I tried just switching to searching a paid ticket, United said it can't find it so I just looked on Kayak for one way tickets and found the following:
1/17 EWR - PTY $168 basic economy on United (or $101 American with a short layover in MIA)
1/22 PTY - SJO $341 on Copa
1/25 SJO - EWR $248 basic economy on United (or 182 on American with a short layover in CLT)
Total for 4 people (assuming I do nonstop) = $3,028

The last thought I had was to do the Copa Stopover Program which would require me to go to JFK - annoying but not the end of the world. With those dates I get $1,603 total but basic fare

Using the Excursionist perk is slightly more expensive than flying with Copa but at least luggage should be included as it's a regular economy fare. $553 in taxes just seems like a lot to me but that could just be because I'm relatively new to this game

Do you think it makes sense to sign up for a United credit card? I currently have some Chase points and would consider applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred so I can redeem at 1.25.

As an aside, I would also want to stay at a Marriott in PTY (didn't look into SJO yet). This doesn't apply to the United thread but something to consider if I should be signing up for a United card or stick to Chase so I can transfer/book the hotel too.

Thank you!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Just a word of warning - if you try pricing with 4 passengers, you might get significantly different (i.e. higher) costs (mileage and cash) than you do when pricing for one passenger. There might be fewer seats available at the mileage or $ levels you see than you need. Pricing for one and multiplying by four often results in disappointment/surprise, especially if one is scrambling to accrue miles towards a goal that might be far short.

Ancillary to that, it can be cheaper to break the reservation to match the number of seats available in the lowest mileage or fare bucket. If you ask for 4, UA will automatically search upwards in cost for the first mileage level or fare bucket that can accommodate 4 passengers.

EstherS12

Thanks for the warning - good to know! I'll definitely look into this.

EstherS12

Ok, so I tried with 4. All flights the same aside from the last one which doesn't have any good options. Came out to 103,600 miles plus $548 in taxes.

Does this seem to make sense though? A trip like this should cost this amount in taxes and fees?

Should I consider signing up for a United card or would something like the Chase Sapphire Preferred make more sense?

angetenar

What does the rest of your travel look like? CSP/CSR are generally useful at a wider variety of places, but if you primarily fly UA, then a United card can work.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Seems reasonable, but prices aren't static. Tomorrow might have different prices. And next week. It's hard to say to go for something when the real target isn't known until you actually have enough miles in your account. Example - say you do what you need to do to get 103k miles, and when you finally do, the tickets you want are 130k.

The Sapphire card makes sense if one travels a lot.

EstherS12

I don't travel much at all. 1-3 trips a year. Mostly within the US or close by. EWR is my closest airport which is a hub for United so maybe I should just go with that card

True. But I figured with planning now I can get a rough estimate of what I need. To be on the safe side I should probably aim to accumulate at least 150k. I see the United Explorer card offers 60k SUB with the $95 annual fee waived the first year so I can open one and my husband can open another. Then we can transfer remaining points from Chase (albeit not at a good rate since we only have Freedom Unlimited now)

angetenar

It seems to me like the best thing for you to do is to be a free agent, given that you won't be traveling enough to earn any noteworthy status. In this respect, the CSP is probably a better choice because the annual fee is relatively low, you get good earnings on a wide variety of things, and you get a lot of different travel partners. The CSP also has pretty good SUBs.

EstherS12

I can do the CSP but why not the United Explorer Card too? I can cancel/downgrade after a year since the fee is waived for the first year and in the meantime accumulate points and get free baggage.

angetenar

Sure, a year of the United Explorer Card won't hurt you, but the CSP is going to get more points than the United Explorer Card on everything excluding United purchases, so the Explorer card is not going to get you that many points.

WineCountryUA

It is expensive to transfer UA miles from one person to another. So you need to plan on purchasing tickets separately

Bear96

If you are willing to fork over the money, then yes these prices make sense.

rkaradi

Wondering how much the taxes are on a purchased ticket? $125 ish per ticket seems high but compare that with flying coach to london and it’s a bargain. As for what card to get I don’t know. I have a CSR, Amex plat and AA and love them all. Amex transfers to UA too so there’s lots of options.

angetenar

Amex transfers to UA???

Artpen100

Being concerned about this, I have sometimes pulled up multiple ua.com (or other airline) windows and booked each ticket separately until the last "purchase" button, and then clicked them each in quick succession. I've never had that cause a repricing, though I have no idea whether it would have had I not done it. Perhaps I will call my blog "The Paranoid Flyer."