should i save my FF miles or $100 when buying a ticket??

[Disneyfun1]

Heres the problem. I have 12700 FF miles with delta airlines that will expire on dec 31,2005 if i dont fly with them this year. The only trip i will be flying on will be the trip to florida this year as i normally dont fly. If i fly delta which is about 240 rt right now, i will get more miles and they will be good for 3 years i believe.

Now my fiance has a ticket she didnt use last year valued at $200. She can apply the amount to a new ticket for a 100 change fee. the airfare last night was 178 rt, but today its 198 rt. So basically it would cost her 100 to get a rt ticket to florida.

Is it better to have her use her ticket, have me fly with her, and it would be about 300 total to fly.

or

should we fly delta, save my mileage-which i think when i hit 25000 is when i get a free flight so im half way there now before this trip-pay approx 450 for 2 tickets, but then have my miles?

She has to use her ticket by feb 28 or lose it and probably wont fly anywhere else either.

so its 300 or 450 and keep the mileage, i dont know what to do!!

 

[NotUrsula]

If miles can be used, then use them. The airlines tend to put so many restrictions on mileage usage that even when you earn a free ticket, you can't get it for any flight that is practical. There are literally TRILLIONS of FF miles out there going unused; people are saving up, but then finding that they actually can't use the points for flights they want.

The only mileage account I really care about is my SWA account, because it pays off in a predictable fashion. The others mostly buy me magazines.

 

[Disneyfun1]

i cant use the miles yet, i am still saving them, but if i dont fly on delta, i will lose them dec 2005, and i know i wont fly anywhere else this year.

 

[cruiseonmagic]

Hi,
I used to be a res. supervisor for an airline FF program. First of all--notursula, if you have trouble using your miles let me know. I can probably give you some tips. Being creative, I was once able to get 37 people to hawaii for a wedding using miles. I've helped literally hundreds get to see

Disneyfun1,
Save the cash. You need to add or deduct miles once every 3 years to keep it active. There are a bunch of ways to add miles--not just flying. Go to http://www.delta.com/skymiles/getmiles/index.jsp Take a look at "dining partners". Register one of your credit or check cards, do a search on restaurants in your area (or wherever you are going, incl. Orlando), go out to dinner and add miles. Car rental companies partner with airlines. Buy 1000 miles from delta (delta's miles cost a little more than ours did--I'd rather go out to eat )

Bill

 

[fam4jc]

I just had to trade in two Delta tickets and they charged me $50 per ticket. Are you sure the fee is $100? I agreee about using some other method to have activity on your sky miles account. I'd go for the cheaper tickets if the flight times meet your needs. cruiseonmagic, I may just pm you!