Anyway you cut it, $150,000 is a decent chunk of change. Most people won’t spend that much traveling in an entire lifetime. Then again, why should you be most people? The only thing better than actually having $150,000 to travel the world with, is not having that much money and still being able to travel the world for free. Here are just a few of my greatest scores using frequent flyer miles for free travel. If you stay diligent and start racking up the miles, you can takes trips like this as well.
$7,500 Round-Trip First Class from San Diego to Buenos Aires on American Airlines
I purchased 2 of these tickets for 120,000 miles each for a great value of over $.06 per mile. The way the seats are laid out, you can actually use the footrest as a temporary seat for your traveling companion. That way when they pull the dinner tray out, you can have a very nice dinner for two as if you were at a fancy restaurant. I took full advantage of this and proposed to my girlfriend right after desert. It was free champagne the rest of the way to Argentina!
$6,500 Round-Trip From LAX to Singapore in the All Business Class Plane on Singapore Airlines
I got this ticket by transferring my AMEX points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. KrisFlyer gives you a 15% point discount on online bookings, so the tickets cost me 102,000 each instead of 120,000. Before taking this flight, I had never even heard of an All-Business class plane. It was amazing. The fully reclining seats are bigger than most first class seats and you’ve got a 17-inch screen in front of you. The service on Singapore is also second to none. There is a reason they are routinely named one of the world’s top airlines.
$7,000 Round-Trip First Class from New York to London on Virgin Air
I cashed in 100,000 miles for this ticket for a nice value of $.07 per mile. I think everyone should take this flight at least once in their life. Virgin really is the coolest airline. The first class cabin has its own sit down bar and they offer massages mid-flight. Not to mention the lounge at London Heathrow is cooler than most country clubs. They actually call it the Clubhouse because it feels more like a member’s only club then an airline lounge. They’ve got a top shelf bar in one area, a fantastic restaurant, a hair salon, spa, pool table, and multi-screen monster TV in the den. All of the services are included for free. I actually got my haircut there during the layover. I’m thinking of booking a flight right after the Super Bowl just so I can hang out and watch the game there!
$20,000 Round-Trip First Class Tickets from LAX to Sydney on Qantas
This was the grand-daddy of all mileage deals and I challenge anybody out there to beat it. I snagged two of these tickets for 135,000 miles each at an incredible value of almost $.15 per mile. In order to get these tickets, I used Continental miles and called the day the calendar opened 331 days in advance. I think I called six days in a row before I could get the tickets, and I was flexible with my dates. Since then they’ve upped the mileage requirements for these tickets which is unfortunate because Qantas first class is the best I’ve ever had. They give you high end pajamas and make the beds as comfy as they are at home. If someone offered me to take that flight there and back without ever leaving the airport, I would do it just for fun.
Over $15,000 Miles for my Honeymoon on Assorted Star Alliance Airlines
I used 125,000 Continental miles each to book these two itineraries at another fantastic rate of over $.12 cents per mile. The ticket wouldn’t normally have been that expensive, but I specifically tried to work in another Virgin first class flight and I wanted to fly Lufthansa first class for the first time because I hear that it’s amazing. There were a lot of great lessons I learned when booking this multi-city itinerary, and I share them with you in the blog “12 Cents per Mile for my Honeymoon“.
$1,200 Round Trip Economy Class from Athens to Dubrovnik on Croatia Airlines
I throw this one in the mix because I got these tickets for just 25,000 Continental miles each. That’s almost $.05 cents per mile, which is unheard of for a coach class ticket within the United States. This just goes to show you that even if you fly Economy, you’re often better off using your miles with a partner airline.
No comments:
Post a Comment