Am I Missing Something? Airline Miles Award

[c2lass]

We are looking to fly from ABZ to Dubai early next year. The prices are really high just now, even with the so called sales and the cheapest I can get is just short of £900 for the two of us with KLM. This year we paid £580 with Air France.

Now believe me I have been in every comparison site etc trying to get a deal but none are coming my way :(

So, this morning I receive an email from Flying Blue with a promotion on buying extra miles (20% bonus). Ha I think, now here could be an opportunity.

Well I have just around 17000 miles already. Not alot I know but I am only a twice a year flyer to Europe and Dubai. So I thought maybe I could buy more miles.

The maximum you can buy is 40,000 with 8,000 bonus at a cost of 1,000 euros.:eek:. So out of interest I price ABZ-DXB with miles. For two of us we need 80,000 miles :mad: Plus (now this is the thing) 734.10 euros for taxes and surcharges :sad:.

My point is, the price for your taxes and surcharges is nearly as much as the cash price I can get (well albeit a couple of hundred pounds) so what on earth is the point of these miles schemes. If I had 80,000 miles it would still cost me 734.10 euros of my money as well??

I know it is early in the morning yet but am I missing something here??

[dubh12000]

Nah, airmiles are a scam really. Someone on here (can't remember who - sorry) did some calculations and will probable come on and show you exactly this "worth". In my opinion, keep the airmiles and use them for upgrades only.

[fincastle84]

Totally agree. We use our BA miles for exactly that purpose. You just have to plan well ahead on the popular routes.

[Businesstraveller]

The only value in purchasing airmiles is if you are within a nats breadth of having enough miles to 'pay' for a reward flight with miles and just need an extra 1000 or so to get you there. Bulk purchase of airmiles is just grossly uneconomic compared to discounted flight prices.

Heck, I went to Singapore for a long weekend with a mate a couple of years back and we only paid £296 each with Singapore Airlines. I bet a reward flight could well cost more than that!

I'll be interested to see how user friendly my bmi Diamond Club miles are across the Star Alliance network when I try to book a return to Oz in 1st class next year. I've heard that doing some leg work (for options) yourself sometimes aids when dealing with the less than enthusiastic staff on the phone.

[PAXboy]

Yep, as a long term FFM collector in several schemes over the years:

Never change your buying habits to acquire Miles
Never buy Miles form the carrier - unless you just need the odd 1000 to complete a deal
Use Miles for upgrading
Best use of upgrades on long haul only.
You will pay taxes and charges and, with some carriers, these can be very high. On short haul, it's always best to go with an LCC or even main line, than to use Miles on a main line.Buy an upgradeable Y and then use the Miles as this is the most cost effective use of them. You get a better deal coz the carrier has got some hard cash from you. I have had to use Miles for the full purchase and it is uncomfortable.

Also, consider using an LCC to your European transit point, then Miles from there. Of course, this is two separate tickets so an extra lay over time is needed.

[c2lass]

Thanks to all for your replies and confirming I am not going doolally!!

Oh well its back to the drawing board to find/wait for a cheaper flight and accumulate those miles!!

Paxboy, living in Aberdeen we only have Ryanair to Dublin and Easy Jet to Luton so sadly no cheap Europe deals here. In fact Easy Jet fly to Munich from EDI and as we fly into MUC quite a bit every time I price from EDI it is more expensive than ABZ-AMS-MUC :sad:

[Capetonian]

Someone else may have posted exact figures but I posted this about a year ago :

I did some maths not long ago where I worked out the value of 'Miles', based on what you spend versus what you can redeem them for. I don't have the figures to hand but I seem to recall that the miles earned, if you based the figures purely on a comparison of tickets, disregarding any other value added services, were worth a discount of about 0.5%. The only tangible value was 40kg allowance on all flights, as I used to bring a lot of wine and clothes back from SA. There were also frequent free upgrades, now a thing of the past too.

Last week I worked out that a BHX - CPT - BHX using my Flying Blue (KL/AF) Miles would cost me, in addition to the miles, just over £300. The cheapest consolidator ticket for the same flights would have cost me £370.

I realised what a waste of time these schemes are when after many years of frequent flying with LH, and reaching 'Senator' status, I was able to use the exalted Senator lounges in the German airports. On one occasion the hostess was showing me into the Senator Lounge at FRA and as we passed through the Business Class lounge, observed that the latter was less crowded and would probably be more comfortable! This was often the case, and the only 'advantage' I ever saw of the Senator Lounges was the possibility of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. The only person in that category whom I ever met and who was pleasant was, somewhat surprisingly in view of some of the roles she played, Grace Jones who was charm and Grace personified. What a lovely lady.

On a trip to Canada I desperately needed to get from YTO to YVR, I was waitlisted on several flights and went out the airport to standby. I'm not one of these people that likes to flash a gold card, but I did say to the lady at the ticket desk that I had a Lufthansa Senator card, or top level Star Alliance. She said : "That makes you a top customer of Lufthansa, but to us you are the same as anyone else." Since then I questioned the value of Alliances and Loyalty Schemes.

Like most marketing schemes, they simply give the customer an illusion of importance and value, whilst in reality he is being shafted.

[ulxima]

On short haul, it's always best to go with an LCC or even main line, than to use Miles on a main line


Not really PaxBoy. Replace "always" with "very often", if you wish.
I have just done recently:
- LGW-VRN (BA)
- LHR-CDG-LHR (BA)
- LHR-AMS (KLM)

I used the miles and the cost were less than both LCC and legacy.
As Fincastle wrote, you have to plan well ahead.

Ciao
Ulxima

[PAXboy]

Thanks ulxima, I agree that 'always' was too strong but, since I save FFMs to use for upgrades, I find it prefarable to use LCC for SH than to use 20k of Miles. When I was in conventional biz, I collect FFMs in copious quantities but am now in a very different line and my collection rate per annum is small.

[ulxima]

now [...] my collection rate per annum is small


ops, in such case your "always" sounds right :O

Ciao
Ulxima

[Lotpax]

There appears to be an itsy bitsy problem with BA reward flights at the moment.

Be very careful, I looked at a long haul MFU (buy the class below and upgrade with miles) and the price was a lot more expensive than buying the class above for cash. I'm talking about over £1K more.

The reason for this was no reward seats whatsoever on the routing, from now until early August next year.

Others, on other fora are reporting lack of seats, so be very careful with BA presently.

[Rusland 17]

There appears to be an itsy bitsy problem with BA reward flights at the moment...

I have noticed that too.

Cost of a return ticket from London to Geneva in economy: £88.
Cost of a return ticket in economy, upgraded to Club Europe using BA Miles: £473 + 18,000 Miles!

[c2lass]

Thanks for the replies.

Ended up booking Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai so a nice change for us. Obviously booked a cash flight. Cheaper flights to AUH than to DXB from ABZ which is very unusual as AUH is normally more expensive.

By the way is anyone else having problems with the emails for thread replied. I have had about 6 today for this topic and another I am subscribed to and clicking the link I keep getting "Website cannot display the page"

[newswatcher]

I collect Airmiles, most gained through shopping at Tescos, but also on petrol, and other purchases using my Tesco Credit Card. Annually Mrs NW and I get enough miles to make at least one return trip to the States. Remember, with Airmiles, the price you see is the price you get;) there are no add-ons! Unlike BA Miles, which I have been trying to spend for about 3 years!:mad:

[PAXboy]

One of the problems of all FFM schemes is how they change by the year, month or day. I used to collect 'Airmiles' [UK branded scheme] but found them such poor value. Wanted a week in The Netherlands.I had the right amount of Airmiles but found their surcharges (since removed, I think) too high.

I then checked the same flight direct with BA and found it cheaper and checked EZY and, unsurprisingly, went with them!

They all change their schemes in subtle ways and you just have to keep an eye out which is another reason why I use them for upgrades not outright purchase.

[c2lass]

I have to agree that actual "Airmiles" as opposed to a specific airline miles scheme can be quite good and I have had some bargains using Airmiles which I collected (until last month) mainly through our Lloyds TSB duo cards.

Slightly off topic but as Lloyds TSB could not organise the proverbial........ we have fallen out with them due to their sheer and utter incompetence and have closed our accounts so sadly my airmiles will now be pretty low.

Instead of Dubai we have now booked flights to Abu Dhabi (time for a change I think) and booked direct with KLM. Booked cheapest economy ticket. Just phoned KLM to see if I could use any of the miles to upgrade, but I need 26000 to upgrade one ticket one leg.

I think I may be about 95 before I can take advantage of any of my miles :{

[Globaliser]

I have noticed that too.

Cost of a return ticket from London to Geneva in economy: £88.
Cost of a return ticket in economy, upgraded to Club Europe using BA Miles: £473 + 18,000 Miles!This is "by design".

You can only upgrade with BA Miles from the three most expensive economy booking classes: Y, B and H.

In general, it's pretty pointless doing that. BA Miles are better used for upgrades from cabins other than economy.

[DuncanF]

Nah, airmiles are a scam really. Someone on here (can't remember who - sorry) did some calculations and will probable come on and show you exactly this "worth". In my opinion, keep the airmiles and use them for upgrades only.
Not even sure that always works. Just compared a flight + upgrade to club europe vs. direct purchase of club europe at BA. The costs? £558 + 20K miles for the former and £549 for the latter. Same flights, same days. :ugh:

[Globaliser]

Not even sure that always works. Just compared a flight + upgrade to club europe vs. direct purchase of club europe at BA. The costs? £558 + 20K miles for the former and £549 for the latter. Same flights, same days.Same reason.

An example of a good use of miles for an upgrade:

Buy a World Traveller Plus ticket from London to Johannesburg, eg for £1,338.50 in February 2011. Use 25,000 BA Miles and £27.00 to upgrade to Club World. When you have flown there and back, you will have earned at least 14,100 BA Miles (for a Blue member), so the total net cost of the journey is £1,365.50 + 10,900 miles.

The comparable Club World fare for February 2011 is £4,066.50. There is a cheaper fare but it's completely inflexible so it's not comparable to what you get if you buy the World Traveller Plus ticket and upgrade with miles. You would of course earn miles flying this without having to spend any: at least 16,920 miles.

Moral of the story: If you are buying the tickets, do not use BA Miles to upgrade economy tickets. It's usually just a waste of space. Using BA Miles to upgrade from economy only really makes sense for those people who are flying on tickets that others (usually employers) have bought that must be economy but happen to be in YBH.

[Rollingthunder]

Think the pertinent question is "Why the hell does anyone want to go to Dubai unless on business?"

[Capetonian]

That I would certainly agree with. 20,000 hookers a year and their clients who go there 'on business' can't be wrong!

[c2lass]

Well each to their own :cool: I am sure there are thousands of people who enjoy Dubai who are not there on business.

Anyway, not going to Dubai now as too expensive so going to Abu Dhabi instead. :p

Beleive me, when you live in the freezing cold North East of Scotland anywhere with a bit of heat is very welcome!!