In Only 11 More Minutes . . .
As we announced in a First Class Flyer alert on Sept. 17, US Airways extended its 100% bonus mileage promotion (both buying and gifting) until Nov.15. Which led me to wonder just how easy it is to score the big prize, an $800 First Class ticket for travel anywhere in the U.S. except Hawaii.
So I set up an account as though I were new to US Airways (in fact, I’m not) and kept track of the time I spent getting started, buying the miles, and then booking an award ticket in First Class from Monterey, CA to Philadelphia this November. In the end I got it for $774, instead of the published fare of $1,877, a 59% ($1,103) savings. But was it worth my time?
Time trial: 11 minutes to load your bullets
Step 1: I created a Dividend Miles account
No sweat—took me about six minutes.
Step 2: I bought 25,000 miles for $774
For a domestic First Class ticket, US Airways requires 50,000 miles. Given the 100% bonus, only buy or gift 25,000 miles, which cost $774. The process took five minutes and the miles showed up in my account instantly.
But watch out for step 2B when buying miles. On the left side of the screen there should be a box headed “number of miles,” and on the right the number you are buying and the bonus. Thus, 25,000 miles should appear as “25,000 = 25,000 bonus.” If it does, click “Continue Purchase”; if not, read the fine print, chances are you might have missed something.
Book award travel
Use the drop-down list under “Dividend Miles” and choose “Book award travel.” Fill in each box: From and to, travel dates, and number of passengers. In the “Fare option” box, click on “First”; under number of stops, click on “nonstop”; and under “search for” click on “Calendar – My travel dates are flexible”. This will allow you to see a travel calendar showing what dates are open in a given month on your route. That makes it easy to go through a few months quickly.
The left side of the screen shows the departure dates, the right side the return dates. The box color of a given date indicates the award cost level: Green means low (50,000 miles; zoom in on it), beige is medium (80,000), and purple is high (100,000).
I was somewhat flexible with my dates and quickly saw the best travel date.
Clicking on the dates you want brings up the total cost in miles (50,000 in my case) in a space beneath the calendar. Whoever designed this aspect of the site did a good job: My total booking time, including booking seats and paying $35 in taxes and fees, came to 14 minutes; arguably the same amount of time it would take to book any other kind of ticket.
Quick First Class super strategy math on my Philadelphia booking:
First Class through the buy-miles strategy is $774 for a discount award. Medium is $1,182.50 and an unrestricted award is $1,478.12.
Monterey to Philadelphia First Class fare with a 7-day advance: $1,877 (no-advance is $2,063.)
Cash savings through the buy-miles strategy: $1,103 Total time invested from start to finish: 24 minutes, only about 11 more than a normal method.
Savings per minute: $100.27
Now, we all know that the time it takes to book award travel depends on many factors, among them being able to book online versus calling the reservations department (something many airlines still require), and how long it takes to get what you want or can settle for. (Starting in 2011, US Airways will offer some partner awards online.) Each one of us puts a different dollar amount on his time; saving $100 a minute satisfied me that it was time well spent.
A few points to remember before you get started:
- Remember: You can redeem your US Airways miles for travel on Continental and United, along with 24 other partners.
- Anyone can check award space inventory. You only need a US Airways mileage number to book space, so start with step 3 and see if it’s worth going through the full process.
- Always compare the published First or Business Class fare on your route to the cost of buying miles. On some routes and during certain seasons a published fare is lower than the cost of buying miles—the current holiday Business Class fare promotions to Europe are a good example. A Business Class ticket from Philadelphia to London is $1,575 (including taxes and fees), and you earn redeemable and elite-status miles. The cost to buy the miles is $1,478, and you receive neither miles nor elite status.
- Check blackout dates first. It could save you time.
- US Airways offers off-peak award travel in Business Class.
- If you need more than 100,000 miles (50,000 + 50,000 bonus), have a good friend or relative gift you 50,000. With the bonus, you net 100,000.
- Want someone else to use your miles? No problem. When booking online, just insert the traveler’s name in the space where your name is displayed. You do not have to transfer your miles to that person.
- Examine the booking fees. US Airways charges an award-processing fee ($25 for U.S., $35 for Latin America, $50 for Hawaii, Europe, Middle East, and South America); add on $30 (domestic) and $40 (international) if you book by phone; and tack on $75 for awards booked within 14 days of departure. There is also a reissue fee of $150 if you change your dates after 24 hours from booking, and a redeposit fee of $150 (miles are returned almost instantly).
- Remember, you still have to pay taxes on an award ticket.
- You must have an account for 12 days before buying miles.
- The 100% bonus is valid on only the first 50,000 miles bought or gifted.
- Miles purchased do not count toward elite status.
- Mileage purchase for this promotion must be done online and cannot be combined with any other offer.