www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Just checked and I can do round trip to San Jose from Chicago Ohare for under $300. That said; I have enough miles on Delta and on American for a freebie. Should I pay with miles or save them for when fares go up?

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My life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming...." MAN....WHAT A RIDE!!!!"

I say save it. 3 hundo isn't bad from there...


Cujo

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"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

No, you should pay for the ticket if it's under $300. You should use miles when the fares are high.

Gringo, I live in Wisconsin about 90 minutes north of O'Hare. I'd buy the ticket and use the miles when the fares are higher. Those long layovers suck..but...still worth it to me. Have fun!

when you have 65,000 miles you can go to Thailand

I agree with Orange. I pay cash when airfares are cheap and save the miles when the fares go up. But, never let a few bucks keep you from a few Pfucks.

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Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

That depends on what you think you may run out of in the future, miles or $$$.

I have gotten very expensive tickets b4 for very little miles so I say , save the miles unless you have a gillion stored up and may never run out.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

I am heading to SJ on the 16th with a freebie from AA. It sucks. 3 flights from Austin, Tx. to get there and 4 flights covering 18 hours to get back. I probably could have gotten a flight on Continental for maybe $500 with 1 stop. Too late now but I'd rather pay and save my miles than be given the crappy options that AA gives their customers.

Your miles (depending on which carrier) may have an expiration date. If you don't use the miles before they expire, they're gone.

I will be using miles for my LD weekend trip this year.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Great Point.
Different airlines and different credit cards have different rules. It is very important to keep informed and up to date to keep your miles valid. You can scan the post on CRT and get most of the 411.
I have Delta miles and I have to buy or use miles every year or two so I put it on my calendar every 6 months to go online and buy $10 dollars worth.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Using a credit card that gives airline miles is a good way to keep your account active and your miles from expiring.

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Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

We have a winner !!!!!!!!!

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Citibank has an AA card that charges no annual fee. It's the Bronze level card, although you only get 1 mile for every $2 spent versus the cards with annual fees that give you 1 for 1.

Srilm wrote:


So you value your miles at a penny, miles were generally valued not too long ago at 2 cents a mile. Personally they are worth about 1.5 cents to me. In any case it depends on how you or somebody else uses them.

No matter how you value your miles don’t forget to factor in your opportunity costs. This is even more important if you’ve achieved elite status within your program (or plan to). For example if a gold (or platinum elite) Continental OnePass member gets an award ticket from the Great Lakes area to San Jose they will be required to redeem 35,000 miles. But they will also be out the over 5,000 elite qualifying miles they would have earned if they had purchased the tickets. Now add their 100% elite bonus (another 5,000), and any other promotional or credit card bonuses. You’ll also pass on space available free upgrades to first class (and companion upgrades for Plats).

So even if Srilm does not value first class upgrades, has zero elite status and does not seek it, he should still factor in the foregone 5,000 miles (or whatever the actual miles are from his home airport). So his calculation would be 35,000 (cost of award) plus 5,000 (forgone miles) multiplied by a penny a mile, for a total of $400.

An elite flyer that values their miles at 1.5 cents would calculate 35,000 (cost of award) plus 5,000 (forgone miles) + 5,000 (bonus) multiplied by 1.5 for a total of $675. At this point it would also be fair to factor in how they personally value an upgrade to first class and add that to the cost. Finally they should review their overall frequent flyer strategy, they may need the miles to be elite qualifying to make their status goal for the year.

GringoMalo,
IMO, like someone else said - just save your miles for more expensive tickets to other destinations. R/T tickets for less than $300 is a decent price. I think you're better off paying that price, and saving your miles. Just my dos colones....
MG

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!