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I would love to see a study of whether it is more cost effective to be loyal to an airline and collect miles or to just always buy the cheapest flight. I imagi

I would love to see a study of whether it is more cost effective to be loyal to an airline and collect miles or to just always buy the cheapest flight. I imagine that the occasional free flight on non-blackout dates doesn't make up the cost difference of always choosing the cheapest flight but I have no data to back it up.

idlewords 12y ago
If you just want to maximize travel for your dollar, it may not be cost-effective to chase miles. But a lot of people collect miles so they can enjoy perks (like hotel suites or first/business class travel) that would otherwise be completely out of reach.
panarky 12y ago
Yes, I'd love to see evidence one way or the other. I've had endless hassles converting miles to flights. It always seems that there are no seats available for mileage redemption for the routes and times I want to fly. So I've concluded miles are worth a lot less than cash. I now buy the cheapest ticket regardless of carrier and use a cash back credit card. No more miles, no more loyalty. If your time has value, and if you're spending your own money (not your employer's), is it worth the effort to juggle all the programs, deals, miles and terms? Or is cash the better option?
- saryant 12y ago
  When I was flying weekly as a consultant, I was loyal to United. I was only in the job for six months but in that time I racked up about 150k United miles. I redeemed them for a first-class ticket on Lufthansa from Denver to Berlin and Zurich. I also churn credit cards for the miles and hotel points. Next month I'm flying to Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines in first class and Eva Air in business, staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and Conrad Hong Kong. Then in January I'm flying to Vietnam, again in first class on Cathay and JAL, with free stops in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo.
hoverkraft 12y ago
Collecting miles isn't necessarily focused on earning free flights. The tiered statuses offered by most airlines include a variety of other perks that can make them attractive, and that couldn't readily be achieved via lowest-bidder flying: dedicated lines at airport security, advance boarding, free upgrades, free bags, waived fees, greater flexibility to change a ticket, dedicated customer support numbers, etc. While some of these can be purchased as one-offs, the cost of doing so would probably offset the "cheapest flight" approach, and the convenience of receiving them automatically has some value on its own. The cost/benefit might still not be there, but it's not as straightforward as the ticket savings vs. free flight savings question you put forward. You have to also bear in mind that many miles hunters are logging some (or most) of their travel on an employer's dime.
- mindslight 12y ago
  Those "benefits" basically amount to an easing up of the legacy airlines' prison-camp style. Why would one want to reward that instead of simply choosing the airlines that treat you more like a person to begin with?
cdr 12y ago
It's about comfort, not cost. Mileage runs are generally done for status. Air travel is miserable, and the extra perks that come with status are almost priceless. Also, there's another huge benefit to sticking with a single airline - you learn that airline. When I used to fly 2 weekends/month, it was very disconcerting when I had to use a non-United airline and deal with the subtly to vastly different quirks.
prostoalex 12y ago
You generally collect miles on a corporate dime, and redeem them for personal vacations.

idlewords 12y ago

If you just want to maximize travel for your dollar, it may not be cost-effective to chase miles. But a lot of people collect miles so they can enjoy perks (like hotel suites or first/business class travel) that would otherwise be completely out of reach.

panarky 12y ago

Yes, I'd love to see evidence one way or the other. I've had endless hassles converting miles to flights. It always seems that there are no seats available for mileage redemption for the routes and times I want to fly. So I've concluded miles are worth a lot less than cash. I now buy the cheapest ticket regardless of carrier and use a cash back credit card. No more miles, no more loyalty. If your time has value, and if you're spending your own money (not your employer's), is it worth the effort to juggle all the programs, deals, miles and terms? Or is cash the better option?

saryant 12y ago
When I was flying weekly as a consultant, I was loyal to United. I was only in the job for six months but in that time I racked up about 150k United miles. I redeemed them for a first-class ticket on Lufthansa from Denver to Berlin and Zurich. I also churn credit cards for the miles and hotel points. Next month I'm flying to Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines in first class and Eva Air in business, staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and Conrad Hong Kong. Then in January I'm flying to Vietnam, again in first class on Cathay and JAL, with free stops in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo.

hoverkraft 12y ago

Collecting miles isn't necessarily focused on earning free flights. The tiered statuses offered by most airlines include a variety of other perks that can make them attractive, and that couldn't readily be achieved via lowest-bidder flying: dedicated lines at airport security, advance boarding, free upgrades, free bags, waived fees, greater flexibility to change a ticket, dedicated customer support numbers, etc. While some of these can be purchased as one-offs, the cost of doing so would probably offset the "cheapest flight" approach, and the convenience of receiving them automatically has some value on its own. The cost/benefit might still not be there, but it's not as straightforward as the ticket savings vs. free flight savings question you put forward. You have to also bear in mind that many miles hunters are logging some (or most) of their travel on an employer's dime.

mindslight 12y ago
Those "benefits" basically amount to an easing up of the legacy airlines' prison-camp style. Why would one want to reward that instead of simply choosing the airlines that treat you more like a person to begin with?

cdr 12y ago

It's about comfort, not cost. Mileage runs are generally done for status. Air travel is miserable, and the extra perks that come with status are almost priceless. Also, there's another huge benefit to sticking with a single airline - you learn that airline. When I used to fly 2 weekends/month, it was very disconcerting when I had to use a non-United airline and deal with the subtly to vastly different quirks.

prostoalex 12y ago

You generally collect miles on a corporate dime, and redeem them for personal vacations.