If you have been following these posts on travel planning, and specifically air travel planning, you have seen that it can be complicated...which is why a lot of people dislike doing it. I'm going to conclude with (I hope) is some guidance to try to make the whole process easier. But first I want to touch upon the subject of trying to score free or discounted flights using miles.
This is a massive subject. There are tons of pundits and services that discuss this subject and I am far from an expert. I will say, however, that the game boils down to two considerations:
- How are you going to get the points?
- How can you use the points?
The first is done either by flying on airlines and being part of the loyalty programs or using credit cards that allow you to earn points. Optimizing either are a huge can of worms which I am not an expert. The second usually requires a degree of flexibility and quick decision making (deals come and go fast) that also does not fall into my area of expertise.
However, as I mentioned in my recent post on booking a flight to SE Asia, I do have one little hack that works pretty well for me. That is the use of United Airlines Cash & Miles feature. I made the decision to focus my travel with United Airlines decades and decades ago so I have lifetime status. While scoring fully free flights with miles is a real challenge, using the Cash & Miles feature, I can reduce prices substantially. And I can transfer points off my Chase Sapphire or Capital One Venture cards to United in a matter of hours to. I've managed to save a lot of money on both domestic and international flights this way.
CONCLUSIONS
In the end, it really is about knowing your own personal preferences and pain points. Given the amount of international travel I do, buying the lie flat business class seat is critical to wear and tear on my old body and allowing me to manage the jet lag problem. I doubt I could travel as much as I do internationally if I didn't fly business class. So for me, it is well worth the price. Your needs are probably completely different. That's going to affect your choices.
The more you travel, the more experiences you have which will influence your decisions. You remember me vehemently stating I would not fly British Airways or go through Heathrow. That comes from experience. There is no substitute for experience. However, if you use the process I've outlined for you, you will be able to cut down on the amount of time it takes you to determine your options.
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