Airmiles ticket - is it a good value?

[mernin]

I collect airmiles but don't really know what is a good value to redeeming them. I have 6000 right now so thought maybe it would be worthwhile to redeem for two adult 5 day base tickets for a future trip. Is it a good use of airmiles?

 

[Donald - my hero]

While the thread has become daunting in it's size (and i've been neglecting to update the first post with the most current offers, oops!) the Airmiles Alert thread has often been focused on this very question. Most of us who hunt deals on that thread tend to redeem for Park Passes and now that they are offering the discounted rate it's even better deal. I am NOT an expert with Airmiles math but @ottawamom tends to have an excellent grasp on that!

 

[mernin]

Thanks @Donald - my hero. I did go through some of that thread but should no deeper.

 

[alohamom]

I am repeating what Donald - my hero just said but I honestly think the Air Miles Disney Tickets are a very good value right now because of the Canadian Resident discount offer.

 

[mernin]

Thanks @alohamom.

 

[ottawamom]

Here we go, Saturday night math class. Using 5 day base Adult ticket at WDW, 2950AM = 2950/95x10 = $310 Cdn (after tax). A 5 day base Adult ticket (Canadian offer) on the Disney website is $271.58US (after tax). Using 1.38 conversion $374Cdn. The difference is likely even greater when you look at the 7 day tickets.

The only time I would caution, because I don't know the answer yet, is if you think you will be upgrading the AM tickets to park hoppers or park hopper + tickets. You may loose the discount when this is done. If a base ticket is all you want, the Airmiles tickets are a great value and you're not out of pocket any cash. There's some new question on another thread about the expiry of these tickets. The Disney website is no longer showing that they don't expire. That's potentially something else to consider if you're not planning a trip until 2019.

Edit to correct my US ticket price I originally entered the park hopper price. Our US neighbours pay $394.05US for the same ticket or $543Cdn.

 

[mab2012]

Another way of looking at it:

5 day: USD 271.58 / 2950 = USD 0.092 / pt * 1.347 (current spot rate) = 12.4 cents / pt
7 day: USD 295.54 / 3250 = USD 0.091 / pt * 1.347 = 12.2 cents / pt

So the 5 day is actually a marginally better "value". Both are better value than, say, cash miles ($10 / 95 = 10.5 cents/pt). And the value is better still when you consider a typical USD "buy" rate rather than the spot rate. But there are better "deals", for example:

Universal 2-day park to park: USD 271.56 / 2425 = USD 0.112 / pt * 1.347 = 15.1 cents / pt

Of course, this only really matters if you're trying to decide between different tickets that you would actually buy otherwise. No good getting a great deal on Universal tickets if you really want to be at Disney!

The old Air Miles WDW tickets were actually a better $/pt value than the new discounted tickets, because the cost of tickets without the Canadian Resident discount was so much higher. Air Miles failed to pass on about 20% of Disney's discount, and these discounted tickets can't be price-bridged. But as long as you're happy with 5 or 7 day base tickets, then you're still getting them at a far lower absolute cost than you would have a few months ago.

 

[mernin]

Thanks @ottawamom & @mab2012. I'm not a big user of airmiles so want to make sure I was getting a good deal, if you were.

 

[mernin]

Does anyone remember how many miles were needed before the Canadian resident promotion for a 5 day adult base ticket?

 

[Donald - my hero]

Does anyone remember how many miles were needed before the Canadian resident promotion for a 5 day adult base ticket?

Just checked my account .. it was 3,550 for a 5 day adult pass in July 2016

 

[mernin]

Just checked my account .. it was 3,550 for a 5 day adult pass in July 2016

Thanks