Your Ticket to a Quick Getaway
Sometimes it comes down to “just book it.” That’s the case with the fares you’ll find in this article. No multi-step strategies to follow, no mileage-partner back-flips to do. Just get great fares while they last.
Sample Premium Fares Under $973 R/T From Major U.S. Cities to Vacation Destinations
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How to Calculate What Amounts to “Free” and “Low-Cost Upgrades” On Many Routes
When Business and First Class fares are this low, it’s interesting to figure out which fares offer the most for your money. Just do a “cost-per-flight-mile” comparison. Simply divide the fare by the flight-mile distance to find out how many miles you get per dollar. The lower the cost-per-flight-mile, the better the deal, especially if you’re earning for miles and elite credit. This winter, the difference between economy and Business Class will be as low as 8¢ per mile.
Take Miami-San Jose, Costa Rica, on American, which is 2,246 flight miles round-trip, and has an EasyUp Business Class fare of just $622 round-trip. That yields a cost-per-flight-mile of about 27¢.
The lowest economy fare on this route at the moment is $422, a cost-per-flight-mile of about 19¢. For only 8¢ more ($200 round-trip), you can book Business Class—that’s just $100 one-way or about $33 per-flight-hour.
After you figure in all the fees economy class travel can involve (checked bags, meals/drinks, and preferred seating/early boarding), the cost to
can often be close to zilch. That gives you an idea of just how low many Business Class fares are now. In addition, you earn 25% bonus miles and are allowed same-day flight changes (on economy tickets, same-day flight changes cost $75).
Cost-per-Flight-Mile Comparison on American: *Miami-San Jose, CR
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Flight Changes?
Why would you change your flight on the day of departure? Because you may have booked a flight to lock in the lowest fare, rather than to get your preferred travel time. (For example, late evening flights often offer the lowest fare, but are not always the most desirable flight.) Business Class fares allow the change for free based on availability—so economy could cost you even more than Business Class round-trip.
Forget About Using Free or Upgrade Awards
: Because the value is only about 1¢ per mile, given that American charges 60,000 miles round-trip for a Business Class award to Central America. You get much more value by using awards for higher priced destinations, such as Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, and international First Class. In general, think about using miles for free award tickets when premium cabin fares are at least $5,000+, so you get at least a 4¢ return on miles (more or less), a bit more than the replacement cost.
: Because buying an economy ticket ($422) plus paying a co-pay ($150) can come to almost the same as a published premium fare on many North American routes, especially once you add in the replacement value of the miles used for the upgrade. For Business Class upgrades, you have to do the math to see if the lowest economy fare + co-pay + cost of miles is lower than the published fare on the route.
Don’t Bother with 2-for-1 Premium Fares
Don’t waste your money and a mileage-earning opportunity on a 2-for-1 ticket, which Delta offers to Mexico and the Caribbean through American Express’ International Airline Program. Only the paid ticket earns miles and the “applicable fares” are now often much higher than Business and First Class fares. Think about using 2-for-1’s if the alternative is paying a full Business or First Class fare for long-haul international flights, which happens if you miss the advance-purchase deadline or can’t meet the minimum-stay requirement.
Forget Elite Upgrades
They’re a lose-lose strategy when First Class fares are this low. If you’re flying American, the cost with the co-pay can be close to that of a paid First or Business Class fare—and
. Why play elite-upgrade roulette when low fares are a sure bet?
Think about using elite upgrades when upgrading isn’t very important—for example, a short flight—because generally the likelihood of getting one is low.
It’s a Good Time for an Elite-Status Run
is not a big believer in this ritual, but with fares this low, those of you who are intent on renewing elite status have a great opportunity. For example, a San Francisco-Belize City EasyUp fare (connection in Miami) costs only $912 (inclusive) round-trip in Business Class on American and earns 150% Elite Qualifying Miles (or Elite Qualifying Points), which equals 10,053 EQMs. That’s 40% of the EQMs needed for elite status (25,000 for entry level).
Don’t See Your Route Listed? No Problem
The ten destinations listed in the chart on page 1—the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cancun, the Caymans, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Jamaica, and St. Thomas—are also low-fare regions