I’m headed to Rome and Munich in September with two choices and haven’t decided which is better:

Pay ~$1,550 for an economy class ticket with a few domestic upgrade chances and possibly a GPU chance (flying United), which ends up earning about 14,200 RDM. Adding my Premier Platinum bonus the total is 24,850 RDM. The EQM is of high value to me.

Redeem three one-way award tickets totaling just under 100K miles plus about $180 in taxes and fees. It’s almost the same itinerary except that the return routes via LOT’s 787 in business. As a Premier Platinum I can cancel this at any time without penalty. The ability to keep my plans flexible is of moderate value (i.e., eating the change fee for the paid ticket isn’t too much bother as I know I’ll be able to use the credit).

Compared to the time and money spent to do a mileage run, I’m now leaning towards booking a paid ticket vs. an award. How would you view it from a miles/economics perspective that you routinely do so well?

Sites like MileWise, which is no longer operational, tried to answer this question by comparing the cost of an award ticket to the cost of a revenue (paid) ticket. MileValue has his own calculator that you can use instead, with somewhat less clear instructions on what it measures. However, the math is pretty simple, and for reasons I’ll explain you should probably do it yourself.

Let’s take a look at Brad’s example. I’ll use my standard valuation of 2 cents per mile. I’ve reached this number because I can often find good redemption opportunities where I save more than 2 cents per redeemed mile when I book award tickets. It won’t be on every trip, but it will be on many trips. This is roughly comparable to booking a domestic economy award for 25,000 miles that would otherwise cost $500 (I go to some expensive low-traffic airports) or an international business award for 110,000 miles that I value at $2,200 (not the real cost, closer to $5,500, but a price I would be willing to pay if such a fare were offered).

Option A: Brad can buy a $1,550 ticket that will earn 24,850 redeemable miles. Those miles are worth $497 to me, though Brad may have a slightly different number. His net cost is $1,053.

Option B: Brad can redeem for a ticket that will cost $180 and 100,000 miles. Those miles are worth $2,000 by themselves, with a final cost of $2,180.

On the surface, you can compare these two costs and choose the one that is lower. In fact, it’s lower by about half, which makes the revenue ticket very attractive at first. There are a few other considerations I’ll discuss, but you can run similar numbers with any ticket, even if you are only looking at a short flight that earns 1,000 redeemable miles. This leads to our first important question: Will you ever be able to use those miles?

Discounting a Flight with Earned Miles

Brad buys enough revenue tickets and redeems enough award tickets that miles are always flowing in and out of his account. Whether I have 4,000 miles or 400,000 miles they are still worth 2 cents each — he’ll earn enough miles soon enough that he will be able to put that 4,000 to some good use.

If you don’t earn miles as easily, a small number of miles could languish and expire. Though there are plenty of ways to keep an account active, someone who does not expect to use the earned miles should not discount the price of a revenue ticket. For that person, the comparison would be between $1,550 for Option A or $2,180 for Option B, a much narrower gap.

This is one reason why many people find it reasonable to rely on award tickets for most of their travel needs. The award ticket is not that much more expensive, and may actually be cheaper if you earned the miles for free with a credit card bonus and don’t value them highly. But I hope you also realize that for frequent travelers like Brad and I who benefit from elite bonuses and the like, the cost of a revenue ticket offset by the value of earned miles can be more attractive.

Valuing Elite Status

And that leads to my second important question: Do you value elite status? I do, and so does Brad. That status is part of the reason he will earn almost 25,000 redeemable miles with an elite bonus if he books a revenue ticket and not the base 14,200 miles — an extra $213 value right there. He also pointed out that he can get some flexibility if he books an award ticket thanks to fee-free changes, normally $75 each or $150 for a redeposit.

Not everyone values elite status, and that’s fine. But those who do realize how difficult it can be to earn and maintain. You can’t just go apply for a credit card or manufacture a few hundred thousand dollars in spend to earn elite qualifying miles with most programs. Usually you have to actually sit in a plane. For that reason, elite qualifying miles are very valuable — I tend to value mine at 4 cents each, double that of redeemable miles.

If Brad chooses to use a similar valuation, that means he is gaining an additional $568 from the elite qualifying miles earned, and we need to subtract that from the cost of his revenue ticket, as well. This brings the net cost down to $485. If you don’t value elite status at all, or if you value those elite qualifying miles less, then you would settle at a higher number.

Comparison to Mileage Runs

I am going to take a short pause here to compare Brad’s trip to a mileage run, which he is trying to avoid. I normally look for mileage runs that cost 4 cents per mile or less, and as a Premier 1K I earn a 100% redeemable mileage bonus. Using the numbers above, where a redeemable mile is worth 2 cents and an elite qualifying mile is worth 4 cents, you would expect that I would be willing to book a mileage run that costs 8 cents per mile, double my normal target.

The difference is that a mileage run, by definition, excludes any purpose to the trip. It costs me time and energy and creates conflicts with my schedule at home. I also don’t see any reason to earn miles at the exact price that I’m willing to redeem them. There’s no “profit” in such a scenario. The intangible costs of a mileage run mean I want to pay half those prices at most, and that’s how I arrive at a mileage run target of 4 cents per mile.

Brad’s trip will allow him to earn these miles in the course of ordinary travel, visting actual destinations for more than a few hours in the airport. For that reason, I used the full value of redeemable and elite qualifying miles in his calculations.

Intangible Benefits

Finally, we get a host of non-financial benefits that distinguish Brad’s two options. If he books a revenue ticket, he might get upgraded but has no guarantee. If he books an award ticket, that upgrade is confirmed. Brad’s a young guy who can survive economy class, but he’s also used to getting his company to buy him business class tickets for work. He’ll have to decide for himself how important this is based on his own standards for comfort and the odds of his upgrade clearing.

Brad is also looking at slightly different itineraries. How does Brad feel about the difference between United’s business class and that on LOT Polish? How important is the opportunity to fly on the 787 Dreamliner? Are the arrival and departure times and the number of connections significantly more convenient for either one? I’ve been known to book tickets for cash even when award tickets were available because only the revenue option allowed me to pick the specific carrier and departure time I wanted.

Update: Brad reminded me that he also places some value on lifetime miles (which he can only get on a paid fare traveling on a United-operated flight) and EconomyPlus seating (which is a reasonable backup if his upgrade doesn’t clear).

Conclusion

If I were Brad, I would pick the revenue option and apply a systemwide upgrade. The cost of the ticket is fairly low, I’ve already traveled on the 787 before, and the redeemable and elite qualifying miles earned are quite tempting. The price isn’t low enough to qualify as a mileage run, but for a trip he plans to take anyway that will allow him to avoid two or three domestic mileage runs at a future date, it seems like a good deal. For that, I would be willing to pass on the confirmed business class seat offered by an award ticket.

The post Pay or Redeem? How I Compare Ticketing Options appeared first on Hack My Trip.

When people ask me where’s a cheap place to visit, I might suggest Bangkok as one idea. Sure it’s expensive to get there, but once you arrive everything is pretty cheap. Contrast this with Las Vegas. You can drive from Southern California, but many of the fancier hotels (and everything is moving upscale there) can cost $200-300 a night on weekends. If you don’t pay attention to all the costs of a particular destination — and how to avoid some of them — you might pass up on a truly great opportunity.

Skip to the bottom and I’ll explain how I avoid some of these costs.

Parking at the airport? I pay under $5 a day. Taxes and fees are about $10 per visit regardless of the length of stay. I don’t think I’ve ever paid $75 for parking.

Books, magazines, food, and water are things I would buy without traveling. But getting an upgrade on a regular basis does provide free food and entertainment.

Baggage is free for me as an elite member at United. I can ship up to three 70-lb bags per person on my flight, and I’ve only gotten close to that threshold once.

I paid for hotel WiFi once when I was young and stupid. Now I get elite status via promotions, hotel stays, or credit cards. Check out this list for major chains.

Resort fees are sometimes discounted if you have elite status, but this is not always advertised. The Hyatt Regency Waikiki waives fees for Diamond members.

If self-parking is full, I can sometimes get a discount when forced to valet park. But it’s a good way for the hotel to add 10-20% to your bill in busy locations.

Finally, who’s complaining about the cost of neck pillows? Most frequent travelers don’t carry them, yet on almost any redeye flight there is an infrequent traveler who brings a full-sized pillow and blanket. This is unnecessary. Please do not follow Hipmunk’s advice and bring your own from home.

The post What’s Your Total Cost of Travel? appeared first on Hack My Trip.

p993: I have 220,000 Membership Rewards points and would like to use them to fly to Santorini. We are open to making a stop at another country and spending a day or two. We would appreciate your recommendation on which airline and route to book.

Avios may be your best bet. Through June 7 you can transfer Membership Rewards to Avios points with a 35% bonus. That means every 1,000 Membership Rewards points becomes 1,350 Avios points. The caveat is that Avios uses a distance-based award chart that prices per segment. If you need to make multiple connections to get to Santorini, this coud get expensive quickly. It’s worth noting that flights to Santorini are limited, so you may need to fly on Aegean via Athens — and Aegean is not an Avios partner. But Iberia does fly from Madrid to Athens, so you could get at least that far with your Avios points and then book a separate ticket either with some United Airlines miles or with cash.

Avios also imposes high fuel surcharges if you book through British Airways. To get around those fees, you might try transferring Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios first, then transfer them on to the Iberia version of Avios. Many of the rules are the same, but there are no fuel surcharges for flights ticketed on Iberia.

To give you an idea of cost, lets suppose you fly from New York (JFK) to Madrid to Athens on Iberia using Avios and take care of the onward journey to Santorini separately. JFK-MAD is 3,589 miles (40K Avios in business class one way) and MAD-ATH is 1,481 miles (20K Avios in business class one way). The total cost would be 240,000 Avios for two people traveling round trip. With the current 35% bonus, that requires transferring 178,000 Membership Rewards points. Any taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges (depending on your booking method) will cost extra.

Other options exist on Star Alliance. You could transfer Membership Rewards points to ANA and book a Star Alliance Partner award all the way to Santorini. This would require a routing such as New York to Frankfurt to Athens to Santorini, about 10,268 miles round trip (ANA only cares about the total distance, not per segment) and requiring 85,000 ANA miles per person in business class — so you would transfer 170,000 Membership Rewards points. You could also look at Singapore’s KrisFlyer program, but it would be even more expensive and would cost 260,000 Membership Rewards points.

disqust101: What is the best redemption opportunity to fly Cathay or Singapore from San Francisco to Thailand? I’d be willing to fly one each way and have 280K miles with American Airlines, 1MM miles with United Airlines, 300K points with Membership Rewards, and 200K points with Ultimate Rewards. I’ve been recommended not to use my Membership Rewards points for Singapore Airlines, saving them for a redemption to Australia and New Zealand, and instead tough it out in United Airlines’ first class. Is there a way to leverage the current 35% bonus on Membership Rewards transfers to Avios to get Singapore Airlines in first class for a reasonable redemption?

For starters, you can’t use Avios to book award flights on Singapore Airlines. Some other options, like transferring Membership Rewards to Virgin America, just don’t make sense because the award availability that Singapore releases is not any better than what it gives United, and you would be better off using your United miels for travel on Singapore Airlines if at all possible. The advantage to booking directly with KrisFlyer is that availability is significantly improved despite the added cost.

And you want to fly on Singapore Airlines, because it’s really, really awesome! I would take Singapore’s business class over United’s first class any day. So we get to your question about which trip you should book with Singapore and which you should book with United. Barring a miracle, you are not likely to see Singapore release partner award space to United for either one.

I am inclined to say that you should fly on Singapore Airlines to Thailand and on United Airlines to Australia and/or New Zealand. United operates nonstop flights to Sydney from San Francisco and may reconsider its plans to operate the 787 Dreamliner from Houston to Auckland (currently shelved). Singapore Airlines would make you route through Singapore on either trip, and Singapore is not exactly on the way to Australia. Meanwhile, it is very close to Bangkok, so you would get maximum sleeping time en route vs. flying United and stopping in Tokyo-Narita. Basically, do anything you can to avoid flying United to Bangkok.

I haven’t flown on Cathay, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but I’ve heard good things. In summary, you should consider either Cathay and Singapore Airlines to Thailand and you’ll enjoy both, but save United for something else.

Olivia: What redemption strategy would you recommend to get to the United Arab Emirates (either Dubai or Abu Dhabi) in business or first class? We have American Airlines miles, United Airlines miles, and Membership Rewards points and can find our way to any suggested originating airport (preferably HOU or JFK).

Etihad is not a oneworld member, but they are an American Airlines partner. This would be the ideal choice as they are based in Abu Dhabi and have a large global network including a direct flight to JFK.

There are many other options using American Airlines miles and British Airways Avios points (and you can easily transfer Membership Rewards to gain additional Avios with a 35% bonus through June 7). British Airways flies to Dubai via London, and Royal Jordanian operates flights from JFK to Jordan, from which you can connect to either Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

United has a direct flight from Washington-Dulles to Dubai, though it does not fly to Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, it no longer partners with any Middle Eastern carriers. Departing Houston or New York, I recommend looking for an MileagePlus award on Lufthansa and connecting via Frankfurt or Munich.

The post Answers to Reader Questions: Recommendations on Award Travel appeared first on Hack My Trip.

We are alternating every month between Seattle and the Eastside, so this month is on the Eastside at Monsoon East, near Bellevue Square. The exact address is 10245 Main Street, Bellevue, WA. Happy “Hour” runs from 3-10 PM and I will show up around 5 PM.

There’s no real plan, private room, or any of that. Think of it like this: I’m getting a beer. You know where I’ll be and you’re welcome to join me. And if you can’t make it this time, there’s always next month. (Next month, by the way, will be in Capitol Hill. I’m still settling on a location.) Check out the Meetup page for more details.

The post Third Thursday Tomorrow at Monsoon East appeared first on Hack My Trip.

Why am I canceling? I like having access to the United Club. I like it enough that I am willing to pay for it. But my Club membership is good through July 31 even if the credit card has been cancelled. And I have no domestic travel booked after that. As a Premier 1K and Star Gold member, I can get free access anyway on international itineraries. I live in Seattle, Alaska’s home base, and can access their Board Room using the Priority Pass Select membership that comes with the American Express Platinum Card.

The United Club normally costs up to $500. As a Premier 1K, I can get a discounted membership for $400. The annual fee on the MileagePlus Club card is $395, so I automatically save $5 and get other benefits. Or do I? When the representative on the phone asked me if I was canceling because of the fee, I told him “no.” I was not canceling because of the fee. I was canceling because absent Club access I didn’t really need anything else the card offered.

Premier Access for a faster route through the airport and quicker boarding?

I already have that.

Up to two free checked bags when you use your card to book? 

I can get three bags per person, regardless of the payment method.

No foreign transaction fees?

The Hyatt Visa offers the same benefit, and a bunch of others I actually use.

No close-in award booking fees? 

Again, I have that.

Complimentary Premier Upgrades on award tickets?

I don’t book domestic awards for myself. I book revenue tickets for me so I continue earning status and award tickets for friends and family. If I do book my own awards, they’re international and in premium cabins.

Complimentary Platinum status with Hyatt Gold Passport and Avis First status?

I have Diamond status with Hyatt. Anyone with the aforementioned Hyatt Visa also gets Platinum status. My American Express Platinum Card offers Avis Preferred status, which is lower, but it also provides status with Hertz and National, which I prefer. (The one great benefit this card used to have was Avis Presidents Club status, but that was downgraded.)

Basically, anyone with elite status in the upper tiers of MileagePlus and who doesn’t need United Club access can get many of the MileagePlus Club card’s secondary benefits and more by signing up for two other cards: the Hyatt Visa and the American Express Platinum Card. The $75 annual fee of the Hyatt Visa is more than fair for the free category 1-4 night each year. The $450 annual fee for the Platinum Card is offset by the $200 airline fee credit. Even if there’s no Alaska Board Room near  you, there may be other lounges that accept the Priority Pass Select card, like the Airspace Lounges at JFK and Baltimore.

In fact there are only two reasons I ever considered keeping the MileagePlus Club card without needing club access. First, you get 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases. Compared to a card that earns only one mile per dollar, a 50% boost would require me to spend $40,000 a year to make up for the annual fee. Second, you get primary auto insurance when you use the card to reserve your rental. But I rent a car for maybe 10 days a year and already have great insurance with a low deductible. In fact, I was speaking to a Chase representative recently who admitted that this very unusual benefit was so difficult to explain that they don’t even bother to mention it in advertisements. They don’t really talk about the upgrades on awards either — that’s only something I’ve seen United mention.

So at the end of the day, what’s the point of keeping a card with a primary benefit I won’t use, a host of secondary benefits I already get, and a few stragglers that don’t really matter? My Hyatt Visa and American Express Platinum Card already keep me covered. And if I really need access to a United Club, I can still use one of several other options to get access for free or at least not too much. At least the MileagePlus Explorer still offers some useful perks to people who don’t have status. I just wish there were something for people like me, elite members who want a great United card that doesn’t duplicate what we already have.

You can apply for these and other cards using this link, and I may get a referral fee if you’re approved. Your support is greatly appreciated. If you still need access to the United Club, check to see if you’re targeted for a full $395 fee waiver.

The post Time to Cancel the MileagePlus Club Visa After All appeared first on Hack My Trip.

You should still check other discounts like AAA, AARP, and COSTCO to see if you can obtain a similar savings. Many of those discounted codes provide refundable rates, while the 48 Hour Sale provides only nonrefundable rates. Read the terms and conditions at the end of this post for more information.

Participating Hotels

Andaz Savannah
Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead
HP Charleston Airport/Convention Center
Hyatt Deerfield
Hyatt Escala Lodge
Hyatt Green Bay
Hyatt House Atlanta Cobb Galleria
Hyatt House Boston Waltham
Hyatt House Dallas Richardson
HYATT house Sacramento/Rancho Cordova
Hyatt house Salt Lake City Sandy
Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa
Hyatt Lisle near Naperville
Hyatt Place Austin North Central
Hyatt Place Charlotte Arrowood
Hyatt Place Coconut Point
Hyatt Place Cranberry
Hyatt Place Dallas Park Central
Hyatt Place Delray Beach
Hyatt Place Dublin/Pleasanton
Hyatt Place Fair Lawn Paramus
Hyatt Place Fort Myers
Hyatt Place Fort Worth Cityview
Hyatt Place Fort Worth Hurst
Hyatt Place Fremont
Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale
Hyatt Place Grand Prairie
Hyatt Place Greenville Haywood
Hyatt Place Lake Mary
Hyatt Place Lakeland Center
Hyatt Place Minneapolis Eden Prairie
Hyatt Place Nashville/Brentwood
Hyatt Place New Orleans Convention Center
Hyatt Place Orlando Airport NW
Hyatt Place Orlando Convention Center
Hyatt Place Orlando Universal
Hyatt Place Phoenix North
Hyatt Place Phoenix/Gilbert
Hyatt Place Roanoke Valley View Mall
Hyatt Place Sacramento Roseville
Hyatt Place San Antonio Airport/ Quarry Market
Hyatt Place San Antonio Northwest/Medical Center
Hyatt Place San Antonio Riverwalk
Hyatt Place Santa Fe
Hyatt Place Sarasota Bradenton Airport
Hyatt Place Scottsdale
Hyatt Place Tampa Busch Gardens
Hyatt Place Tempe/Phoenix Airport
Hyatt Place Topeka
Hyatt Place West Palm Beach
Hyatt Regency Austin
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
Hyatt Regency Cleveland
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Hyatt Regency Dallas
Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
Hyatt Regency La Jolla
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay
Hyatt Regency Monterey
Hyatt Regency New Orleans
Hyatt Regency O’hare
Hyatt Regency Phoenix
Hyatt Regency Pier 66
Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
Hyatt Regency Sarasota
Hyatt Regency Toronto
Hyatt Regency Wichita, KS
Hyatt Rosemont at O’Hare
Hyatt Westlake Plaza
Hyatt Woodlands
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
The L.A. Hotel Downtown

Terms & Conditions

Offer valid for bookings only between 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday May 14th and 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday May 15th Central Daylight Time, for travel between Friday May 24, 2013 and Tuesday August 27, 2013 at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Park Hyatt and Andaz properties in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Reservations are subject to availability and must be made in advance. Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking. Offer is for a limited time only. Simply request offer code C48MAY when you book your reservation and pay the 48 Hour Sale rate. Discount is off the Hyatt Daily Rate for the room type requested at time of booking. Rate is per room, per night, excluding service charges, taxes and other incidental expenses. Rate is based on double occupancy. Additional guests may be subject to additional hotel charges. Additional charges apply to room-type upgrades. A limited number of rooms are allocated to this promotion. Full, non-refundable, Prepayment due at time of reservation. No changes, amendments or cancellations allowed. Changing to a different property is considered a cancel and re-book, and is non-refundable. Canceled reservations and no shows will forfeit the full prepayment. Promotional blackout periods may apply due to seasonal periods or special events, and normal arrival/departure restrictions apply, including, but not limited to, minimum length of stay and day of week restrictions. Offer may not be combined with other offers or discounts. Hyatt reserves the right to alter or withdraw this program at any time without notice. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® encompasses hotels managed, franchised or leased by subsidiaries and affiliates of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The trademarks Hyatt®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House™ and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. ©2013 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

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