I fly a great deal for business and pleasure, and like many of you, have accumulated gobs of frequent flier miles. I also have one of those airline credit cards and acquire miles that way as well. Unfortunately, the airlines have been systematically devaluing those miles in recent times.
Many frequent or casual fliers have reacted to that devaluation by no longer sticking to one particular airline for the bulk of their air travel. The percentage of U.S. online leisure travelers who consider themselves brand-loyal, including those enrolled in airline loyalty programs, has plunged by 19 percent, from 31 percent in 2006 to 25 percent this year, according to a recent survey by Forrester Research Inc.
We read all the time about airlines raising the cost of award travel and reducing the availability of their cheapest award seats. This has forced travelers to expend many more miles than previously anticipated to score those “free” seats in exchange for frequent flier miles, thereby dramatically reducing their value.
Think about it this way. If you spend 25,000 miles for a $500 economy ticket, you’re only getting 2¢/mile for those miles being sucked out of your account.
What’s more, some airlines have added fees and surcharges to your “free” ticket when you use miles to purchase it, further eroding the value of your miles. US Airways charges $25 to process a domestic award ticket.
In previous years, many airlines would grant a minimum of 500 miles for any flight, no matter how short. Earlier this year, airlines such as United and US Airways eliminated that minimum. If you took a short trip, you only got the miles flown. I guess that was one of those proverbial straws that broke the camel’s back, as both those airlines reinstated the minimum again, at least for their elite level frequent fliers.
So, what can you do to get some real value out of your miles? In a word — upgrade!
One of my best friends and neighbor, Mel, travels to Thailand regularly. For years, he’s first flown to Detroit, then from there to Bangkok. That Bangkok flight’s a very long one, about 23 hours. Years ago, he told me if I wanted to get the most out of my frequent flier miles, I should use them to upgrade. By flying business class, he flies far more comfortably and arrives much more rested, and ready to go, than those shoe-horned into economy for those 23 hours, and he’s laid out the same cash as those in the “back of the bus.”
I think he’s right. Upgrades are the way to use miles.
I have family on the west coast who I visit as often as possible. If today I purchased a seat on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in March, an economy ticket would cost about $450 round trip. A first class ticket would cost about $2,250 round trip, a difference of $1,800. The non-stop direct flights take about 6 hours to LA, and 5 hours back to Philly. I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s a long time to be cooped up in a smallish seat in economy, with little legroom and little opportunity to walk around, and only food and drink for purchase, plus $15 for a checked-in bag.
For long flights, four hours or over, my rule of thumb is upgrade, if the economy fare, plus any upgrade fees, fit within your budget. Purchase the economy ticket and use 30,000 of your miles to upgrade your seat to first class domestically. I also believe in upgrading for international flights, if they’re over four hours duration. (The actual miles needed on any specific airline may be different than my example, and may vary according to the route, fees and award seat availability.)
Let’s do some math. If you used miles to purchase the economy seat on US Airways it would take 25,000 miles. At a price of $450, the value of those miles would be 1.8¢/mile. If you used your miles to upgrade, the value of those 30,000 miles would be 7.5¢/mile, more than 4 times the value of miles used to purchase the economy seat. By the way, if you purchased a first class seat outright with miles, that would be 50,000 miles or 4.5¢/mile.
Be warned: Some airlines, such as American and Continental have upgrade copay fees, which can be substantial. American charges a copay minimum of $350 (non-refundable). United has announced plans to add these “copays” too. Nevertheless, it would appear that the value of the upgrade on a cost per mile basis will still remain higher than purchasing an economy award seat. Plus that upgrade will make your flight far more comfortable and enjoyable.
You know as well as I do, that the romance of flying is gone and air travel isn’t easy these days, so consider pampering yourself by upgrading. Maybe we’ll meet in first class on our next transcontinental flight.
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
Upgrading using miles for transatlantic flights on some airlines is the best way to use those miles, but US Airways (and perhaps others) requires a minimum fare of $1400 before you can use miles for upgrades. This is usually at least $600 more than the economy fare, again severely lessening the value of those miles. Add the “processing fees” and the value goes down even further.
Upgrading using miles for transatlantic flights on some airlines is the best way to use those miles, but US Airways (and perhaps others) requires a minimum fare of $1400 before you can use miles for upgrades. This is usually at least $600 more than the economy fare, again severely lessening the value of those miles. Add the “processing fees” and the value goes down even further.
One warning and I have been caught by this …
At least two airlines, Delta and Continental, still consider the upgraded seat as a economy ticket so if you are delayed or your flight is cancelled you are headed to the back of the bus. Your “upgrade” for your rescheduled flight has to meet the same rules as the initial ticket (must be booked 24 hrs in advance and the seat class must be available). I’ve been caught twice. Never again.
One warning and I have been caught by this …
At least two airlines, Delta and Continental, still consider the upgraded seat as a economy ticket so if you are delayed or your flight is cancelled you are headed to the back of the bus. Your “upgrade” for your rescheduled flight has to meet the same rules as the initial ticket (must be booked 24 hrs in advance and the seat class must be available). I’ve been caught twice. Never again.
Hi MJH,
Thanks for your comment.
You’re correct about US Airways $1,400 minimum for flying to Europe or the Middle East from the US. As it turns out, that minimum is no problem for US Air’s only Middle East stop served directly by the airline, Tel Aviv (Philadelphia to Tel Aviv service starts in July).
On the other hand, US Airways restricted economy fares to such cities as Paris, London, or Rome, are considerably less than the minimum. What’s happened here is US Airways has essentially instituted a copay like American and Continental. I think this is going to become SOP for all the airlines by the end of 2009, for many if not all long distance international flights to and from the US for locations in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
US Airways upgrades within the US, and between the US, and Canada, the Caribbean, Central America or Mexico don’t require the minimum.
As mentioned in the article, the miles, fees and seat availability vary between the airlines and the routes taken.
Hi MJH,
Thanks for your comment.
You’re correct about US Airways $1,400 minimum for flying to Europe or the Middle East from the US. As it turns out, that minimum is no problem for US Air’s only Middle East stop served directly by the airline, Tel Aviv (Philadelphia to Tel Aviv service starts in July).
On the other hand, US Airways restricted economy fares to such cities as Paris, London, or Rome, are considerably less than the minimum. What’s happened here is US Airways has essentially instituted a copay like American and Continental. I think this is going to become SOP for all the airlines by the end of 2009, for many if not all long distance international flights to and from the US for locations in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
US Airways upgrades within the US, and between the US, and Canada, the Caribbean, Central America or Mexico don’t require the minimum.
As mentioned in the article, the miles, fees and seat availability vary between the airlines and the routes taken.
Hi John,
You’re absolutely right about potentially loosing that upgrade. It’s happened to me too. The thing is though, I don’t understand how you lost an upgrade due to a delayed flight, unless you chose to rebook to a different flight. If you’re still on the same flight, your status should not have changed. On the other hand, if your flight is cancelled, all bets are off.
Fortunately, it only happened once to me, and that’s because I couldn’t wait and rescheduled to a flight on which there were no first class seats available for upgrade or purchase. I needed to be at a conference, and couldn’t wait for an evening flight, on which I could keep my upgrade, to replace my early morning flight.
It might not work all the time for anyone, and I’m sure that having elite status with the airlines didn’t hurt, but the few other times I had to change flights due to delays or cancellations, a call to customer service preserved my upgraded status to first class. This was true on both US Airways and Continental. Some rules were no doubt broken, but customer service has the ability to wave many regulations to assist its customers.
The one time I couldn’t keep my upgrade, my miles were redeposited back into my US Airways account by the next morning, as they should have been.
I’ve personally found the airlines’ customer service departments understanding and responsive, if you approach them “quietly” and respectfully, but firmly. On the other hand, they won’t listen at all or give any kind of a positive response to irate passengers, especially if they use foul or abusive language. You know what Mary Poppins said about a “spoonful of sugar.”
Hi John,
You’re absolutely right about potentially loosing that upgrade. It’s happened to me too. The thing is though, I don’t understand how you lost an upgrade due to a delayed flight, unless you chose to rebook to a different flight. If you’re still on the same flight, your status should not have changed. On the other hand, if your flight is cancelled, all bets are off.
Fortunately, it only happened once to me, and that’s because I couldn’t wait and rescheduled to a flight on which there were no first class seats available for upgrade or purchase. I needed to be at a conference, and couldn’t wait for an evening flight, on which I could keep my upgrade, to replace my early morning flight.
It might not work all the time for anyone, and I’m sure that having elite status with the airlines didn’t hurt, but the few other times I had to change flights due to delays or cancellations, a call to customer service preserved my upgraded status to first class. This was true on both US Airways and Continental. Some rules were no doubt broken, but customer service has the ability to wave many regulations to assist its customers.
The one time I couldn’t keep my upgrade, my miles were redeposited back into my US Airways account by the next morning, as they should have been.
I’ve personally found the airlines’ customer service departments understanding and responsive, if you approach them “quietly” and respectfully, but firmly. On the other hand, they won’t listen at all or give any kind of a positive response to irate passengers, especially if they use foul or abusive language. You know what Mary Poppins said about a “spoonful of sugar.”
Obviously, using miles for an upgrade looks like a better use of miles than using miles to “purchase” a coach ticket. However, I think this is more of a rationalization based on this artificial environment created by the fare structure (where there is a huge difference in fares between first/business class and coach). I have no idea if the inherent “value” (if such a thing can be measured in any way) of an upgrade is really as high as $1,800. Yes, it would be a good deal if you were planning to fly first/business class anyways. But for most of the “average” domestic traveler, using miles to take even a short trip and/or to using miles to book a hotel room is not a bad idea, especially if we can’t afford to take a vacation otherwise.
Obviously, using miles for an upgrade looks like a better use of miles than using miles to “purchase” a coach ticket. However, I think this is more of a rationalization based on this artificial environment created by the fare structure (where there is a huge difference in fares between first/business class and coach). I have no idea if the inherent “value” (if such a thing can be measured in any way) of an upgrade is really as high as $1,800. Yes, it would be a good deal if you were planning to fly first/business class anyways. But for most of the “average” domestic traveler, using miles to take even a short trip and/or to using miles to book a hotel room is not a bad idea, especially if we can’t afford to take a vacation otherwise.
Good article Ned. One thing to note about Continental (I don’t know about other airline programs regarding this rule) is that domestic mileage upgrades for discount fare tickets are not available to non-elite passengers. To upgrade some of the deeply discounted fares, the miles must come from a OnePass elite member’s account. Certainly a perk for showing brand loyalty and traveling enough to make status.
Good article Ned. One thing to note about Continental (I don’t know about other airline programs regarding this rule) is that domestic mileage upgrades for discount fare tickets are not available to non-elite passengers. To upgrade some of the deeply discounted fares, the miles must come from a OnePass elite member’s account. Certainly a perk for showing brand loyalty and traveling enough to make status.