Originally Posted by
NoelEvans
Are you retired? Just wondering how the flexibility fits in with time available.
For us the certainty of a confirmed seat is worth the price (and often cheaper if you end up with unplanned hotel costs added on top of your staff travel ticket cost).
We have travelled right around the world on confirmed tickets booked well in advance at a good price when we did have staff travel (with one of the major Alliances -- there's a clue!) available to us, Many asked us if we were going to use staff travel and we said that we were specifically ruling that out because we didn't want to risk wasting time and money with the uncertainty. We wanted that certainty to help us enjoy the trip.
Not retired, I just plan my vacation with a buffer day or maximum two on each end and usually plan travel via airports with scheduled traffic from multiple of the airlines that we have agreements with (not too hard to do, without detours mostly). But I have not yet encountered a completely full flight once. Actually, that's a lie. I had an overbooked flight once due to an earlier flight getting cancelled. That did mean a 5-hour wait, but that is what the flexibility is for. We do also have a few partners that allow "confirmed" ID tickets. A bit more expensive but a bit more certainty as well. Have only used it once though.
In terms of hotels, I either budget for whatever period I am planning to stay and/or book stays with free cancellation until shortly before arrival. If I end up arriving a day later, too bad but no real money "lost" in my view. I guess the value in ID90 tickets is there for this kind of approach. I can also see your point of view, believe me, I just thought it was kind of harsh to say it has no value.