Frequent Flyer Miles vs. Cheapest Flights

[edost]

I've recently joined a frequent flyer program. The big miles come from the trips abroad to see my parents, which I doubt I would do more than once a year. However, I'll also be taking domestic flights every few months to see my sister (flights that are worth about 500-800 miles, depending on the connecting city I choose). Now here's the big question: for domestic flights, should I stick with the one program or choose the cheapest flights? What would save me money in the long run?

[bdexicon]

Nice try, NP-hard traveling salesman problem.

But in all seriousness, I always go with the cheapest coach flight I can find. Which airline did you sign up with for the frequent flyer miles? I think that makes all the difference.

[TMP]

Try to stick with Star Alliance airlines- there are a lot of them and they do go abroad. But I would take the cheaper airlines like Jetblue or Southwest over any Star Alliance. The price tag is noticeably different unless you wind up booking too late. But also consider this: how many 500-600 miles trips are you going to take? Your parents' country must be at least 6,000+ miles away, that's worth 10 of those trips to your sister's.

[TakeruK]

Star Alliance airlines are good because if you are elite status in one of them, you will have elite status in all of them (and they're everywhere!) -- but that doesn't mean points from one airline will transfer to another though!

If you really want to rack up points though, I recommend getting a credit card that allows you to get points for an airline that you'd use.

In the US, I also know that US-government funded grants can only be used for travel on American airlines (not the proper noun lol), but as long as it's coded as an American airliner (e.g. United Flight XYZ operated by Air Canada, on Air Canada planes), it will still count. So, you should pick an airline that is both American and will fly to your parents' country. Then you can use points you rack up in work travel for personal travel Again, Star Alliance is a good choice because they tend to code-share a lot so you can actually fly on other airlines on code-shared flights as long as you book it as a United or Delta ticket.

If you fly enough to get elite status, then I think it's worth it to stick to one program. Otherwise, I'm not sure if the rewards are really worth it. I guess you could compute how many miles are needed for a free flight and find out how many domestic flights it is to equal one free flight. Then divide the cost of the flight by the number of trips and compare how much money you get from redeeming points vs. how much money you save by just booking a cheaper airline.

[edost]

The airline is US Airways, which is a Star Alliance member. I chose it because its hub is Philadelphia, which is where my sister lives and there are flights from there to Israel. Thanks to my international travels this year, I'd need five or six more domestic round trips to get one free. It would probably take me two years to achieve that. As long as each round trip is no more than $40 more expensive, I'd probably still be saving money when I get the free flight in two years. Then again, if I fly home to my parents next year then that round trip would by itself be worth more than six domestic round trips.