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Factoring Miles
Cheap Charlie · December 3, 2001

Several readers have sent me e-mail complaining that my "lowest fares" aren't low enough based on percentages and frequent flier miles. Well, let's take a look at reality of when cheap really is cheap.

I start with a quote from last week's column, "... this system is only for those with 'lowest-fare' as their goal."

That obviously begs the question, "What else matters?"

You can have schedule convenience as your main criteria. Perhaps a passenger only feels safe flying with a specific airline. Another lower fare might be available for someone willing to drive an additional hour or so - from Boston to Providence, RI, or to Manchester, NH; or from Chicago O'Hare to Chicago Midway; or to Oakland rather than San Francisco - in order to save a few bucks.

I admit that I didn't make detailed calculations about those factors.

But, there is another factor that may make a real difference and that many travelers ignore in their quest for the lowest price - frequent flier miles.

My fuzzy memory recalls an old article regarding analyzing the value of frequent flier miles. I think I settled on about 1¢ to 1.5¢ per mile. I still use those calculations when buying an airline ticket.

Priceline and Hotwire do not offer frequent flier miles. Though then offer very low fares, these prices must be mitigated by the loss of frequent flier miles.

When you use Priceline and Hotwire for fares within seven days of departure or for fares not including a Saturday night stay, they offer much greater savings and any question of frequent flier miles goes out the proverbial window.

I just went online (Monday, December 3, 2001) and checked BOS to DFW. Depart 12/18. Return 12/27. A 14-day advanced purchased ticket with Saturday night stay. Here are the results:

Orbitz $189 + $5 service charge = $195
Hotwire $174
Expedia: $206
Travelocity: $209.50
Priceline: ??? (maybe $160 or so)

Round trip mileage Boston/Dallas is about 3,100 miles. Making the value of frequent flier miles between $31 and $46.

Best deal in this case: Maybe Orbitz ... maybe Priceline. (Go with Orbitz. You'll know your schedule up front).

I then went online and checked BOS to DFW. Depart 12/11. Return 12/16. A 7-day advance purchase with a Saturday night stay. Everything stayed basically the same.

Finally, I checked for BOS to DFW. Depart 12/11. Return 12/15. A 7-day advance purchase with no Saturday night stay.

Orbitz $379 + $5 service charge = $384 on Delta
Hotwire $214
Expedia: $280 on Delta
Travelocity: $341.50
Priceline: ??? (maybe $195 or so)

Round trip mileage Boston/Dallas is about 3,100 miles. Making the value of frequent flier miles between $31 and $46.

Best deal in this case: Definitely Hotwire or Priceline (depending on whether you get your bid). With no Saturday night stay, the published fares skyrocket.

Again, here is the same lesson with a twist. Check all the Web sites. The differences in prices can be surprising small or amazingly significant. If you are lazy checking airline prices, you may end up not getting the bargain you were bargaining for when you first tapped in the original URL.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.