Buy ticket or Use miles?

[akshatp]

6 Month anniversary coming up and I want to take the wife to Las Vegas. I can get non-stop tickets from Newark-Las Vegas for Standard Economy 25,000 miles each and $5 fee, or I could buy the ticket for about $300.

Should i save the miles for a pricier ticket? I find that usually pricier tickets dont have the "Standard" option and cost 50,000 miles each.

Any travel aficionados that can help me?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

For only $300 I would buy the tickets. That way you'll still have whatever miles you have, plus at least another 5000 for your proposed trip. As far as pricier tickets costing more miles, my understanding is that the cost in miles is not based on ticket price but on how many seats they've got left at xxx miles per ticket. So it's based on luck more so than ticket value. Also, higher mileage balances usually let you travel overseas on a free ticket and that's also worth saving for IMO.

 

[akshatp]

True.. But I have 50k miles on British Airways, and I found that on overseas flights when you want to use miles, they publish the fare VERY low and hit you with crazy surcharges/fees/taxes/etc. I tried to book a ticket to the UK for December, the price to buy it was $386 incl all tax and fees, and if I were to use my miles for the "free" ticket it was costing me $254 + 50k miles. Their "loophole"

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Geez... that sucks. How about partner airlines?

 

[akshatp]

Havent tried... Was kind of miffed at the outrageous fees and didnt look much further...

 

[j00fek]

save the miles!