AIRFARE PRICES

[kyshel]

not sure what the deal is with AA but as long as you keep your skymiles account active within 18 months your miles will not expire.
I made one purchase for ink on the shopping site and linked the buy to my mom's account. She hasn't flown for years but her miles won't expire any time soon!
It's good to watch these programs--I wonder if rocket scientists use FF miles?

[bonniejoy03]

Hi K...I always say 12 months but know I really have 18 months. (just a cushion I use.) I updated my resume to include "knows how to Manage Fequent flier points" Great skill to have and most rocket scientists probably wouldn't have the patient to do all we do. I have been told I am obsessive but I just look at it as a game! I am not good as most but I sure try!!!

[omegaet]

bonniejoy03 and kyshel....it appears capacity is up and PAX are down....at least in the markets I use for air travel...better fares are popping up and there even appears to be some movement in the areas of FF mile usage. Just our recent experiences.

[shygirl724]

Curious about something I saw in a news report on airfares this morning. It was reported that the best day to find low airfares is Wednesdays. The reason given is that airfare sales are usually startedby an airline on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the other airlines joined in. Does anyone know if this is true?

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi Kyshel,



You wrote: "I made one purchase for ink on the shopping site and linked the buy to my mom's account. She hasn't flown for years but her miles won't expire any time soon!"



Could you please expand on this. I have some United miles which represent almost enough for a free ticket to Europe which are in danger of expiring by May 13.09. I am not planning to fly United, stay in a Hotel, or rent a car before May 13 and I don't have a United Mileage Plus credit card at the moment to make purchases that would earn UA miles. How can I or my husband make some purchases (on the net) with a credit card and link them to my United Airlines Mileage Plus account?

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi Shygirl724,



You might have been referring to this article by Peter Greenberg.

Save Time, Money, and Travel Better with Peter's Daily Travel Tips

http://www.petergreenberg.com/2008/0...cheap-tickets/

It's an interesting theory, but it only works if there is in fact a price war going on.



I think your best bet is still to track your airfares on Yapta.com. Have a look at the yapta thread, http://community.luxurylink.com/luxu...essage.id=3157

where airfare tracking on Yapta has been discussed at length and in detail. Many people in this community have saved money with it.



Also have a look at my January 09 post which I am repeating here:



Hi,

Just had an e-mail from YAPTA for great airfare savings.



A huge airfare war has emerged in the last few days and it's giving you the rare opportunity to book incredibly cheap flights on most major airlines, including American Airlines, Continental, Delta, JetBlue and U.S. Airways. All of these airlines are competing heavily for your travel dollar and have announced airfares as low as $49 to $99 (each way) to a number of major destinations. In most cases, tickets must be bought at least 14 days before flying, travel must be completed by March 11 and seats are limited. Here's what you can do now to take advantage of these competitive airfares:

1. Search for flights

to any destination on Yapta.com.

2. Have Yapta track the airfares on various flights

before you buy. If the price of a particular flight gets slashed, we'll notify you.

3. If you've already purchased a flight and the price drops, we'll tell you when you're eligible for a travel credit


from your airline.

Travel has never been more affordable - so start shopping for flights and take advantage of these incredible deals today.

Happy travels,
YAPTA - Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant
Message Edited by LL_Travelfan on 03-15-2009 11:06 AM

[kyshel]

Hi and look what I found!!
http://mponlinemall.com/go.aspx?UPID...OAGDCGJDBDJFFG
You have a similar program w/United!!
All you have to do is register (you may earn miles for that and not have to make a purchase--but what woman doens't need shoes, clothes, food, wines....need I say more!!

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi kyshel,

Thanks for the link. I will certainly try it. Would hate to lose my miles. Thanks again.

[bridybo]

LL Travelfan- I have a similar program with Continental, in fact we try to do as much internet shopping through the Continental website as possible. I'm spending the money anyway, might as well get some free miles as well. I'm not sure how United works but on Continental you choose the shopping website, enter your FF ID number and it will take you to the shopping website and you conduct your business as usual. It can take up to 6-10 weeks for the miles to show up in your FF account. We have actually earned more miles shopping than flying thanks to the purchase of a large flatscreen TV.

[shygirl724]

There has always been the trick of booking a round trip flight and using only the first half to save on the higher cost of a one way ticket.But another trick is to use sites that offer vacation packages at big savings over booking flights alone. I have used priceline.com for this and have gotten hotel and airfare pricedcheaper than the airfare cost alone. This is done without using their bidding system (which can give you even lower prices). If the hotel you want is not on the priceline site, don't give up. Select the vacation package offered with the cheapest hotel. Then, just as when you only use half of a round trip airline ticket to save, use only the airfare portion of the vacation package. Make your true hotel arrangementsthrough LL or any other venue that gives you the price and property you want. You will still save on the airfare price.



I am using YAPTA to track flight costs. When I am notified my flight price has dropped, I have found that the priceline.com package price also drops. YAPTA makes it easy to get a "heads up" without constantly checking.