Frequent Flyer Miles are a joke
 

Does anyone actually get to use their frequent flyer miles? The airlines have raised the mileage thresholds, and to add insult to injury, now charging fees to book a FF ticket on line. I live in San Diego. My mother lives in Saginaw, MI. I can't even get a FF ticket for that flight in the winter, let alone a vacation flight to Hawaii, Europe, etc. The last time I actually cashed in any miles was 1999. I now have 275,000 miles on UA, 150,000 miles on NWA, and 40,000 miles on Continental. Almost every day I get an e-mail advert from one of them about how great their FF programs are. Bull-crap! Useless. I just may start to fly SWA instead.

Actually, I just used them to book a trip to Florida. Was able to get firt-class, round-trip tickets for 45K on American. I was happy.

I have booked many trips using Continental miles. Are your dates flexible? I have gone to Hawaii three times using miles. I live near one of their hubs so maybe that makes a difference.

Please, stop the melodrama. While it is annoying how difficult it can be to redeem FF miles, I just went to UA website, logging in under our account, and was able to find flights for 3 different RT dates in January on UA San Diego to MBS (Saginaw). Each was for 25,000 RT. Last one I checked was 1/11-1/18. Seems you can visit Mom 11 times this winter with your UA miles.

We just used FF miles for family of 4 Boston-Anchorage and then Vancouver-Boston in June. Booked Thanksgiving flight during "black-out dates" using 50,000 miles for dtr to come homne from college. Have found flights at Christmas for her as well, but have not decided if to use FF miles or pay.

I try to view FF miles as a nice bonus - if I can use them, great. If not, I try not to see them as an entitlement, since I was going to fly there anyway.

I've had my best luck booking American FF miles to the Caribbean and using my NWA/Delta miles within the US. There's only been one time that I recall where I wasn't able to use my miles when I really wanted to, and that was a last minute trip from Massachusetts to Mississippi.

I jut used mine to book 2 R/T tix to Cozumel from IAD - w/fees it came to $169 each. Yes, I had to pay something, they weren't entirely free, but that price made my last minute getaway possible. I wanted Biz/First class but there wasn't availability. Oh, well.

I booked online and paid the $25 per ticket, since I'm still new at all this and it was easier for me. But the Delta online booking process looked pretty straightforward and I will use that in the future.

I am thrilled, although I am the type that gets vilified on Flyertalk, as almost all my miles are from my Delta AmEx.

I'm in the middle of a difficult 16 segment trip. I used AA miles for business class ticket and so far I have flown to Egypt, Croatia, and Trinidad. I still have Chicago left on the same ticket in December.
I used British Airways, Iberia, and AA so far. I will fly AA to Chicago.

I'm just about to book a South American trip to Buenos Aires and Rio.

No, I don't think the FF miles are a joke.

We've used AA miles twice to St. Martin and Continental to Italy and Greece. The Greece trip was this june. We've always planned well in advance though.

I agree, FF tickets aren't that hard to obtain if you are flexible and patient. Maybe you leave it until too late? Maybe you just needed a rant. Nothing is free these days, so who cares if there is a fee - still costs less than a new ticket. We just used up most of our various miles for flights from Boston to Albuquerque and return from Salt Lake this month (Delta); Boston to Las Vegas, return from Tucson at Thanksgiving (UA); and Business Class Boston to Hong Kong, return Athens/Boston (AA) in conjunction with a cruise in the spring. I see you posted at 2:40AM - maybe you need some sleep. Keep trying.

My experience with CO has been great! I just snagged 2 roundtrip tickets to Hawaii from the midwest for January for a total of 70k miles+$20. I'm happy with that.

You do have to be flexible and ready to "pounce" when they show up.

Also, the live airline phone line is helpful also.

I just booked 2 tickets from Oregon to Paris for next summer on Continental. I was flexibile on the dates, but got what I wanted. Each ticket was 75k miles, and the fees for the 2 tickets combined was $169. So yes, we are pleased.

We also just booked a FF ticket for DH for a trip that was not flexible. That was on Alaska and was super easy.

Twenty years ago FF miles were a lot easier and cheaper to use. But, they were harder to earn too. You actually had to fly. The were also probably more expensive to earn (in inflation adjusted pennies per mile).

If you compare frequent-flyer miles to S&H Green Stamps, the similarities are eerie.

Using FF miles are not a BIG joke; but they are a true hassle. Why should a customer rejoice when they "snag" a tix 330 days in advance. It is a major effort to get a routing that you want with the exact day of travel you desire.
The original concept of FF was to reward loyal customers with a perk. It has strayed far from that in today's market.

my tickets were not hard at all to get, since they are with my credit card, nor were they hard to redeem. I misspoke when I said I got them online, I got them with a phone call. And, I got the flights that I wanted, on the days I wanted about 10 days before we want to leave.

<i>Using FF miles are not a BIG joke; but they are a true hassle.</i>

This is what it comes down to. You really have to do your homework to get the most value out of them. I will be leaving soon on my second long-haul business class trip paid for with miles, but I would be lying if I said finding the right combination didn't take a fair amount of legwork.

I can understand the frustration.

You have to be flexible and plan ahead. If you start looking in July for four business (or even coach) class tickets on the same flight to Hawaii, Europe, etc. in August...yes, you will likely be disappointed. I personally have never had a problem redeeming awards on United: I've used my miles to book biz class awards to Japan, lots of international upgrades, domestic tickets as gifts for friends and family, etc. I actually can't think of a time that I wanted to use miles and was unable to, with some flexibility. Most recently, I used 240,000 UA miles to book two business class tickets from DC to Nairobi, via Zurich this November. Yes, I had to do my homework, utilize flyertalk and expertflyer, research all the possible routings to suggest to the UA ticket agents, etc. and book about 300 days out. I can't say I think that's &quot;useless,&quot; given that the cost of those tickets if I'd paid for them would have been around $20,000, and even the cheapest coach tickets are pricing around $1600/each ($3500/ea for our exact itinerary).

I've been very successful using my UA miles. I've used them to fly to New Zealand from Singapore in Singapore Air's business class twice in the past two years. I've used them to upgrade from coach to business class from Asia to the US and back twice in 18 months, and I just got word yesterday that my upgrade from coach to business for my upcoming flight from SFO-NRT-SIN cleared.

Just thought I'd point out that everyone is talking about &quot;saver&quot; tickets. You can get an award ticket any time you want with a &quot;standard&quot; award. Granted, these are enormously expensive miles-wise and a terrible waste of miles, but they are available.

I did a last minute standard award, first class UA, from ORD to BKK, via NRT. I don't think it was a waste of my miles in the long run. I really wanted to make that trip, and had to decide rather at the last minute. I had the miles... and I used them!! Now, it's gonna take a while to build them up again, but I'm tryin'...

Carol, I think you got a good value for your miles, better in some ways than a saver award. You paid a premium, for sure, for first class. But you got the travel dates that you wanted, on booking dates of your choosing (last minute, not 300 days in advance), and you didn't have spend hours of research on routes, etc.

A business class ticket from LAX to BKK leaving tomorrow and returning two weeks later costs $7500. Spending $7500 gets me that ticket. Spending 200,000 miles, a standard award, gets me that ticket. Spending 90,000, a saver award, does not get me that ticket.

The 90,000 mile saver award is not worth $7500.

A large part of the price and value of that ticket comes from the flexibility of purchasing it when you want for the dates you want.

If I had time this morning I would compare the UA business class to Europe sale fare to a regular fare. The sale fare might be closer to the value obtained by a saver award. The sale fare and saver awards have a couple of things in common: it is not something you could count on getting, and you might not get the dates that you want.

I agree with other though, that getting awards - domestic U.S. in F or economy (including Hawaii) and international economy - is not that difficult IF you ae flexible. International premium saver awards (from the U.S.) have recently become even harder to get from UA.

&lt;&lt;Why should a customer rejoice when they &quot;snag&quot; a tix 330 days in advance.

I'm thrilled to get a ticket 330 days in advance, and I plan our trips early to do so. We always know when spring break is (the week before Easter), so we know when that trip is, no big deal.

We flew PHL-Munich and then ZUR-PHL this summer with FF tix, 50,000 miles each. it wasn't the most convenient itinerary (one stop v. non-stop) and the tickets cost $100/each with fees and taxes. But when those tickets would have cost about $1,000 each, I'm not complaining about that charge!

We got 4 tix to Costa Rica for 45,000 miles each for next spring. Those fares are about $750 for the regular price ticket. Great deal, I think.

I am trying to get to Seattle for next summer, and am having problems using USAir miles, but United has a ton of availability. USAir seems to have stopped offering any miles on its direct flights (out of PHL).

We have been to Europe (2x), St. Thomas, SF, Colorado (several times), and San Diego all using miles.

garybear - you have a ton of miles, so you could double up to get a seat on the flight you want. I would have a field day with all your miles!

Good luck with using your miles. I have found you just have to know the rules and use them to your advantage. I just booked SAN/AMS and CPH/SAN for next summer using my UAL miles, by calling them up. Yes, I had to pay $25, but that's the only way to get an open jaw ticket... with taxes, I paid $50. I don't travel for work, so my miles are accumulated from credit card use and mypoints, etc. It can be frustrating, but so worthwhile if you can work it to your advantage. Good luck!

For what it's worth, I've never booked an award ticket or upgrade a year in advance - there's just no way I can book that far out. I usually book a couple of months in advance and I've always gotten saver awards, never standard.

Just learned that my miles upgrade on one leg of tomorrow's flight (s) from DEN-SFO-NRT-SIN is on a different flight than I was originally ticketed on, therefore it's a different flight than my spouse, who's traveling with me.

United has also advised me I'll have to pay $75 for the flight change, which I didn't even make. Seems someone at United put me on two separate wait lists, for two separate flights, and the one that cleared wasn't the one I was booked on.

Unusual circumstances for sure, but I'll happily pay $75 to fly in Business class on a 10.5 hour flight, even if it's a different flight than my spouse (our flights now leave about 90 minutes apart, but we'll meet up in NRT).

I have gone to Australia five times and South America three times and only paid for the taxes because I used FF miles for all trips. I've also had stopovers or longer visits to New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii. In South America I usually go from JFK to Santiago and then to BA. It's been amazing.

This summer I went to Argentina and it was the first time I actually had to pay for a ticket. I was bummed but it wasn't the end of the world. I've gotten heaps of miles from opening credit cards (not a lot but 2-3 when I started a business and switched cards) and putting stuff on the card. I almost have enough for another trip to Australia.

I also used to travel in the US summer which is winter time in the Pacific, so that helped, and I've also been really flexible with dates and such. I can't complain! Oh yes I can=what's up with these new fees? I didn't mind paying taxes but now this??? Oy vey.

I'm an American living in Taipei and have been flying UA back to the States two or three times a year. Since I fly reasonably often, I qualify for Premium Economy seating, which means I can usually get a bulkhead aisle seat, so the flight is bearable.

An economy ticket costs $1300+, but to qualify to use my miles for an upgrade to business, I have to pay $1900. Quite a steep requirement, don't you think?

UA's fares are more reasonable than AA or Cathay, although their schedule is the poorest. I feel stuck.

I feel your pain jgmc. I'm an American who until three weeks ago lived in Indonesia (moving to Australia tomorrow).

United quoted $3,900 for an upgradable flight from SIN-NRT-SFO-DEN-return and close to $2,000 for coach. I ended up booking through an agent in Jakarta and got the flight for $1,600, which included a Garuda flight that usually runs about $250.

The outbound flights weren't eligible for upgrades so I flew in Economy Plus (I'm also a UA PE member). For some odd reason, the return flights are upgradable, so I was able to get on a waitlist for an upgrade, which finally went through.

Have you tried EVA? I've heard good things about them from fellow expats in Asia. I seriously considered flying them when booking my flights, but was unsure about going through Taipei. The extra UA miles, the good deal I got and the good connections finally convinced me to fly UA.

EVA has an Executive Economy section (not sure what they call it) and it was considerably less than than flying SIA Premimum Economy when I last checked (which will be discontinued in Sept anyway).

Have a friend who lives in Thailand who uses Eva to fly to visit the states. He is very pleased with them.
I've used FF miles in April on USAir to Madrid. No problem.

I've had great luck using my AA miles. Booked two tickets (75,000 each) for LAX to Nairobi in 2006. In 2007, booked a ticket (75,000) for SFO- Delhi, India and just this year in March booked a ticket (40,000 miles)Fresno to Cusco,Peru then La Paz, Bolivia back to Fresno. All were booked about four months in advance and always got the dates I wanted.
Good luck!

I've redeemed about 800,000 United miles and 150,000 American miles in the last 5-6 years--all for saver international awards, international upgrades and a few long-haul domestic upgrades (e.g., Chicago-Hawaii). A few times I've booked close to 330 days in advance (e.g., Australia), but usually not anywhere close to that. I agree it is becoming more difficult to find certain saver awards...but with proper research and some flexibility, it hasn't been that hard to redeem miles.

I haven't tried EVA yet for two reasons: they are not part of Star Alliance or OneWorld, and they fly into Newark, not JFK, which is less convenient for me. However, I may change my mind and start accumlating miles with them. They have a good reputation, unlike China Air.

I'd hoped Cathay would be the answer, but their flight was $2700 -- and AA's was $3100,....When one has to pay United $600 to be eligible for an upgrade from coach to business, the miles are less useful than one would like.

When I have bought an upgrade, I usually get it if I allow enough lead time, at least 4 months. TPE - JFK is a long flight and business is better, but the price is getting too dear.

For me the key to using FF miles is to be flexible, and to start looking well in advance. I also try to have several vacation spots in mind. Sometimes you just have to keep searching. I usually travel alone....that makes it easier.

Melnq8 were you upgraded on all three legs of the DEN-SIN trip?

I have used my miles on the last 5 trips I have taken on both US Air and AA. That includes 4 trips to Vegas and 1 trip to Hawaii. All it takes is a little of my time to research, flexibility and patience. I actually book the first thing I see and then constantly check for something better. I am going to Vegas again on miles in November. I also have used miles to go to Italy twice in 2001 and 2003. It's not that hard.

I take at least one overseas trip per year using FF miles, often two trips per year. I don't always get what I want but I do always get something workable. The key is to either book ahead or be very flexible with your travel dates.

I used Delta miles to fly to Johannesburg in April. I booked the tickets approximately 6 months before departure. There weren't many open FF spots when I booked.

I accept the hassle, and since I think flying these days is ALWAYS a hassle, I don't think it is worse when I use FF miles.

Last night I booked two award tickets to Paris in Feb., for 35K each. Good connections, but high fees. The fees came to 130 USD each. The way I see it is no way would I be going to Paris for 130 bucks.

In May, we went to Italy in biz class, using standard awards.

I actually mind the hassle of flying less when using FF awards, because less of my money is going to an airline for the pleasure of having them jerk me around.

Everytime I mention going anywhere on award tickets, someone always tells me how impossible it is. This is usually when I have confirmed award flights. It hasn't been that much of a hassle or expense for us. In fact, we wouldn't have gone to have the places we've been without using our miles.

we used our AA miles for a trip this past Nov and Dec. A OneWorld award combined AA, Cathay and Qantas legs. STL to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific (AA to LAX connect), stayed for several days, then to Melbourne Australia (couple of weeks) on Qantas. Then back on Qantas through LAX/AA to STL.

About 6 weeks between award booking and trip start.

Used to have UA miles, from an old travel job, but never was very successful at using them.

USAir has changed the terminology of its premium awards (no restrictions, 2x the miles of saver awards) to &quot;standard&quot;.

Just another step in the depreciation of FF miles.