Things to Learn From My Booking:
1. Never Book One Way Without First Checking Round-Trip - Notice that on half of the six flights booked, the one-way ticket is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than the round-trip ticket. If you need to fly one-way and are purchasing tickets, make sure not to fall into this trap. If the round-trip is cheaper, just book the flight and no-show the return leg of the trip.
2. Always Book Early - Notice I booked over 9 months in advance. That’s how I scored first class tickets on Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa at Saver Fares. Those seats are amazing.
3. Domestic Travel is Devalued – Notice that the only two legs of the trip which did NOT have first class available for the Saver Fare are the flights on United within the continental United States. The US based airlines are cutting back on their domestic Saver Fares along most popular routes, even when you book 8-11 months in advance. You can get much better value by booking with an international partner airline. Just recently I used another 25,000 Continental miles to book an economy round-trip flight on Croatia Airlines from Athens to Dubrovnik. That ticket would’ve cost $1,254, netting me a fantastic 5 cents per mile! You’ll never get that value flying economy in the US.
4. Online vs. Phone - Always try both. I initially searched online through Continental’s website and was shocked to see how well they are integrated with their Star Alliance partners. I was able to pull up flights on Virgin, Lufthansa, United, and even Aegean Air. However, there was a glitch when I tried to book, so I called in. When I called in the Continental representative pulled up even more options for me. However, it was interesting that she couldn’t pull up the Virgin leg unless she did a separate search at my request. This is a great example of why you first do your own homework and then call in. You will find things online that the agent won’t, and the agent will find things that you can’t see online. If you end up booking through the phone, make sure you tell them that the website wasn’t working properly so you don’t get charged the phone booking fee.
5. The Option Value of Points – I’m a Gold Elite on Continental, so if my fiancée wises up and leaves me, it will only cost me $25 per ticket to cancel the reservation and put these miles back in my account. They even refund the $114 in taxes. Without elite status it would cost me $100. That is a small price to pay for the option of taking a trip worth more than $15,000. If you’re sitting on a lot of points and aren’t sure when you’ll get time to use them, go ahead and book a trip out there 10 months in advance. If you can’t make it, you’ll pay a small fee to get the points back. However, once it’s on the calendar you’ll probably find a way to make the flight and give yourself a well-earned vacation.
Great advice!!
ReplyDeleteHiya, you have such a cool site, it was impossible not to comment on it! And there is also one thing which I would like to ask you. Is this a paid theme that you purchase online or you turned to a default one?
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