Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a proliferation of fare deals to Europe and Asia that would make me think twice about a coach class redemption to either destination. They seem to show up everywhere from, Flyertalk’s Mileage Run forum, blog posts, secretflying.com, on Facebook groups and I even saw one recently mentioned on the evening news.
There is just so much competition and seat availability. The use of miles, specifically on coach itineraries, seems like a waste of a valuable resource.
Finding cheap international flight deals
Being an “old guy” I just checked the Mileage Run forum and the Good Deals thread on Flyertalk, in particular for opportunities in the last month. The U.S. to Asia fare for under $500 and the U.S. to Europe readily available in the $300’s round-trip makes it tough to plunk down 60,000 miles to Munich or 65,000 miles to Japan on American.
JFK to Barcelona was recently advertised at $255 round-trip. A mid-week September JFK to BCN flight was 60,000 miles. And I don’t think it just my imagination that more origination cities are now in play as well. Dallas to Iceland in the $300’s? Yup!
West Coast or East Coast just don’t seem to be penalized going in either direction either. But that transcontinental coach fare can be a steep one. Or, maybe the 25,000-mile domestic award is the answer when needed?
Getting value out of miles
I know at times it’s tough for newbies and those financially struggling to see the world, to think about using cash or stepping up to the front of the plane for more comfort and a better quality redemption.
But if you aren’t getting a minimum of at least 1 cent per mile on that international coach redemption, I think you’re overpaying in miles. It’s too bad I can recommend selling a few miles to pay the fare. But we all know that’s against the airline’s policy
You may be better off using a 25,000-mile domestic redemption to pay for your positioning flight to the origination city of the international fare and paying these cheapo fares across the ocean.
One of my favorites was 25,000 miles roundtrip coach from Traverse City to Baltimore and then $64 round-trip Baltimore to Iceland on Iceland Air. That was a few years ago but illustrates the possibilities of combining a domestic award and cash international purchase.
Final thoughts
The naysayers say the hobby is dying. I’m going to continue believing it is just evolving and we need to keep up and share the information we have and ideas we hear.
Are you monitoring the sites and blogs suggested? Are you interacting with your fellow hobbyists and sharing the info you hear and see? Have you joined a travel hacking group? Or considered attending a travel hacking seminar where ideas and concepts are thick in the air?
Some of you may say: “Hey this is a manufactured spending blog”. But I submit that most of you are collecting miles as well, and deserve to get the most out of your efforts as possible.
I’d love to hear your breakeven point on paying cash or using miles. I’ve got more miles saved up then I may ever use. But still cringe at the idea of getting less than 1 cent per mile on any ticket, domestic or international.
How about you?
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