FCF’s Daily Alert research shows premium fares have been on the rise since September, something we wrote about last month here. It’s long been our policy to only report on fares under the $2,000 mark from the East Coast and $2,500 from the West Coast (which otherwise cost $4,000 to $8,000), but we’ve had to relax that rule recently due to these increases.
So, while that’s obviously not great news, it’s not disastrous either because there are other strategies you can put into play. Also, for more about how airlines use unadvertised tactical low fares, see our report here.
Strategies for High-Fare Times: Miles / Points
Applying FCF’s Upgrade Mindset, when fares are trending higher, means thinking about using your miles/points first—or buying them if you don’t have any or enough.
It’s a symbiotic relationship—when fares are low, leave your miles alone because the value of each mile decreases relatively.
You should look at those routes where you can use your miles for free. (We have.) In our Daily Alerts section of the site, we’ve dialed up a lot of miles-friendly deals lately, so if you’ve been hoarding, it’s time to start rewarding.
Funny thing about miles: many are intimidated by them. They can feel complicated, with lots of rules, and they feel hard to redeem. FCF devotees, of course, know that we do all the hard work for you, finding miles-specific deals WITH saver (deeply discounted) availability.
Here are a few miles deals we’ve found to Europe. (There’s a load more to see in our Daily Deals section, just set your filter to miles and there they are.)
- Iberia Business Class to/from Madrid for less than coach.
- Air France Business Class to/from Paris for 5,000 more miles than coach.
- United Business Class to/from London for 5,000 more miles than coach.
- British Airways Business Class to/from London for less than coach.
- Lufthansa Business Class to/from Europe for 5,000 more miles than coach.
- Delta Business Class to/from London for 5,000 more miles than coach.
- American Business Class to/from Frankfurt for less than coach.
Opportunity Fares
Another strategy is to grab low-fare routes to a city that’s not your intended destination, especially in Europe. You save a lot, then fly to the intended destination cheaply on a separate ticket. For example, you might want to go Boston-Frankfurt, but the fare is $4,228, so consider going Boston-Amsterdam ($2,096) and save 50%. More on that approach here.
A few low-fare options our truffle hounds have recently found:
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,059.
- First Class to Europe from $3,732.
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,033.
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,097.
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,159.
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,346.
- Business Class to Europe starting at $2,400.
Lesser-Known Airlines
If you can’t be flexible with the route, look at low-cost airlines, such as Aer Lingus. For example, Washington, DC to Frankfurt on Aer Lingus is $2,207 with a connection in Dublin, versus $4,700 non-stop on Lufthansa.