Several of the best FF miles offers I have found through this board, so I hope this helps someone else out.
AMEX is giving 25% bonus on all Skymiles earned October 1 - November 30, 2006. See the link for more detail. Not as good as double miles, but it beats regular.
Waste to collect Delta miles. Practically speaking, you can't redeem them for anything but "standard" rewards, which is 50,000 miles for a domestic coach ticket.
I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica - two tickets, both Sky Savers (35,000 miles RT). Planning on heading back to Central American early next year on Sky Savers.... don't know why you don't think you can find sky saver awards.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 2, 2006 @ 8:13p
marketingmike said: Waste to collect Delta miles. Practically speaking, you can't redeem them for anything but "standard" rewards, which is 50,000 miles for a domestic coach ticket.I just booked 3 tickets @ 35K each from Hawaii to the West Coast
The same tickets were priced $1,5XX. EACH at Delta.com
tooshy said: marketingmike said: Waste to collect Delta miles. Practically speaking, you can't redeem them for anything but "standard" rewards, which is 50,000 miles for a domestic coach ticket.I just booked 3 tickets @ 35K each from Hawaii to the West Coast
The same tickets were priced $1,5XX. EACH at Delta.com
The bonuses make it hard to switch to a different FFP so far.
Same here. I've built up just under 40k miles on my account and 30k on my wife's account since July 31st. Hard to say no to that. Besides - why fly within the US when the rest of the world awaits you?
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 2, 2006 @ 10:57p
undefined said: Besides - why fly within the US when the rest of the world awaits you?I know, can't wait to have the peace of mind to take very long trips abroad. That's another reason to keep building skymiles. Never know when or where...
tooshy said: I know, can't wait to have the peace of mind to take very long trips abroad. That's another reason to keep building skymiles. Never know when or where...
140,000 Skymiles gets you a round the world ticket....
Also, travel creates a peace of mind itself, no need to have it in order to begin a trek.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 2, 2006 @ 11:03p
undefined said: tooshy said: I know, can't wait to have the peace of mind to take very long trips abroad. That's another reason to keep building skymiles. Never know when or where...
140,000 Skymiles gets you a round the world ticket....
Also, travel creates a peace of mind itself, no need to have it in order to begin a trek.Round the world ticket??? I didn't know you could buy something like that? Wow, not sure if I would want to....and no, traveling abroad would be very stressful if you don't know the language or area well enough. How was Costa Rica? Heard it is beautiful and a popular retirement destination for Americans.
tooshy said: Round the world ticket??? I didn't know you could buy something like that? Wow, not sure if I would want to....and no, traveling abroad would be very stressful if you don't know the language or area well enough. How was Costa Rica? Heard it is beautiful and a popular retirement destination for Americans.
Yes, Round the World (RTW) ticket. Essentially, no less than 3 stops, no more than 6, travel in one direction (all East or all West).
As for language - English is understood by a huge percentage of the world. Language differences are seldom an issue, I assure you. I've been to 17 countries so far, and never has language been a problem.
Costa Rica is amazing. The people are kind, the countryside is magnificent, and the weather is perfect. We almost didn't come back. In fact, we came very close to sticking around and giving corporate America the bird. We're back, but not for too long.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 2, 2006 @ 11:18p
undefined said: tooshy said: Round the world ticket??? I didn't know you could buy something like that? Wow, not sure if I would want to....and no, traveling abroad would be very stressful if you don't know the language or area well enough. How was Costa Rica? Heard it is beautiful and a popular retirement destination for Americans.
Yes, Round the World (RTW) ticket. Essentially, no less than 3 stops, no more than 6, travel in one direction (all East or all West).
As for language - English is understood by a huge percentage of the world. Language differences are seldom an issue, I assure you. I've been to 17 countries so far, and never has language been a problem.
Costa Rica is amazing. The people are kind, the countryside is magnificent, and the weather is perfect. We almost didn't come back. In fact, we came very close to sticking around and giving corporate America the bird. We're back, but not for too long.Thanks!! 3-6 stops and how long can you break at each stop? I'm very interested....sorry to take this OT, but I wasn't aware of this!
This might be something we'd be interested in one day. Just hearing you speak about Costa Rica and RTW trips is getting me....(excited and impatient)
tooshy said: Thanks!! 3-6 stops and how long can you break at each stop? I'm very interested....sorry to take this OT, but I wasn't aware of this!
This might be something we'd be interested in one day. Just hearing you speak about Costa Rica and RTW trips is getting me....
tooshy,
You generally have one year from start to finish. You can, of course, do less than one year. And, for what it's worth, you can buy similar tickets for <$2500 each (as in, per person). RTW travel need not be expensive.
My wife and I are planning 1 yr RTW to be followed by 1 - 3 years of travel + study abroad. The total cost is less than a nice luxury car, and we won't be living in roach motels or hostels.
Think of the RTW Reward like this - 140,000 miles (equal to 4 RT flights to Central America) can take you to multiple continents. Take 2 or 3 months off, if one year seems too much, and see the beaches and temples of SE Asia, eat curry chicken and see the Taj Mahal, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, eat french bread in Paris, see Big Ben in London, and catch a broadway play in NY.
Obviously, Paris + London + NYC are very expensive, so replace these with "rappel down the side of a waterfall in Costa Rica, hike through a lost city in Peru, and party till sun rise in Rio" as needed.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 2, 2006 @ 11:48p
undefined said: tooshy said: Thanks!! 3-6 stops and how long can you break at each stop? I'm very interested....sorry to take this OT, but I wasn't aware of this!
This might be something we'd be interested in one day. Just hearing you speak about Costa Rica and RTW trips is getting me....
tooshy,
You generally have one year from start to finish. You can, of course, do less than one year. And, for what it's worth, you can buy similar tickets for <$2500 each (as in, per person). RTW travel need not be expensive.
My wife and I are planning 1 yr RTW to be followed by 1 - 3 years of travel + study abroad. The total cost is less than a nice luxury car, and we won't be living in roach motels or hostels.
Think of the RTW Reward like this - 140,000 miles (equal to 4 RT flights to Central America) can take you to multiple continents. Take 2 or 3 months off, if one year seems too much, and see the beaches and temples of SE Asia, eat curry chicken and see the Taj Mahal, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, eat french bread in Paris, see Big Ben in London, and catch a broadway play in NY.
Obviously, Paris + London + NYC are very expensive, so replace these with "rappel down the side of a waterfall in Costa Rica, hike through a lost city in Peru, and party till sun rise in Rio" as needed.Thank you for explaining and oooh making it sound so tempting. Good luck on your travels. But really we need to be retired before we go on one of those trips. What's stressful is the planning and scheduling before a trip. So I've found a way around it...just schedule the soonest flight out!! We did that last year and that was the best trip ever. Don't know if you can do that for RTW jaunts, must take a lot of planning huh? Like how long you'll be in each of countries 3 - 6!!
tooshy said: Thank you for explaining and oooh making it sound so tempting. Good luck on your travels. But really we need to be retired before we go on one of those trips. What's stressful is the planning and scheduling before a trip. So I've found a way around it...just schedule the soonest flight out!! We did that last year and that was the best trip ever. Don't know if you can do that for RTW jaunts, must take a lot of planning huh? Like how long you'll be in each of countries 3 - 6!!
Countries 3 - 6 are easy. The initial plan called for 46 countries over 20 months. We've narrowed it down to 25 countries in 12 months. Realisitically, that number will probably drop to 18 - 20 countries, including the brief stopovers (<7 days).
We're a long way from retirement. My grandfather died < two months before he was scheduled to retire - I don't take any chances.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 3, 2006 @ 12:22a
46 COUNTRIES!! <faint>
All I can say is...if undefined says Delta miles is good to save, who are we to argue? You've motivated me to keep saving FF miles.
All I can say is...if undefined says Delta miles is good to save, who are we to argue? You've motivated me to keep saving FF miles.
Thanks, although I won't be using miles to travel RTW. My trip exceeds the limits for reward travel by a pretty good margin. I use miles to keep my sanity - quick dive trip to Honduras, quick R&R to rain forest in Costa Rica, etc.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 3, 2006 @ 1:05a
undefined said: I use miles to keep my sanity - quick dive trip to Honduras, quick R&R to rain forest in Costa Rica, etc.Well said!!!
It would be too much of an indulgence for me to book the next flight out, but with miles I feel I can. It's my little back door ticket to know I can just drop out of life whenever I want. Which is why planned tour packages don't sit well with me...it's too much work and torture!!!
But when you have some time, can you share how you manage double digit countries...do you just see where it takes you and book a few days ahead?
tooshy said: But when you have some time, can you share how you manage double digit countries...do you just see where it takes you and book a few days ahead?
Growing up in Europe took care of the majority of those countries (Germany, Holland, Lichtenstein, France, UK, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Italy, Austria, Switzerland). The rest I have seen since living in the U.S. (Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Canada). I guess I'm up to 18 now. The best way to see the world is to make a simple rule - if it doesn't require a passport, it doesn't count as vacation/travel/holiday.
I normally book 4 - 6 weeks ahead. I speak 1 - 2 weeks researching in my free time where I want to go, then book the tickets and hotel. I never go through tour companies or have real set-in-stone plans. Language barrier is never considered - the majority of people understand some English, all people understand 'dollar'.
The only other rule is that I do not travel to countries that have an active conflict (war, genocide, rebels, etc.)
itsmetamim said: Delta is a waste of time...and investment
10 posts and complaining about Delta is one of them. Who said anything about investing in Delta? The only purpose of this thread is to share an offer that allows you to gain more Skymiles using a card you already have. If you don't fly Delta, that's fine. Can you tell me what to do with the 40k United miles I've got that seem to be completely worthless as United never has flights available?
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 3, 2006 @ 11:08a
undefined said: The best way to see the world is to make a simple rule - if it doesn't require a passport, it doesn't count as vacation/travel/holiday.
I normally book 4 - 6 weeks ahead. I speak 1 - 2 weeks researching in my free time where I want to go, then book the tickets and hotel. I never go through tour companies or have real set-in-stone plans. Language barrier is never considered - the majority of people understand some English, all people understand 'dollar'.
The only other rule is that I do not travel to countries that have an active conflict (war, genocide, rebels, etc.)Growing up in Europe...aha...to me that explains your openness to travel. For me, a step off the island (as long as its not *another* island) blanks out any cares. I'm sure it works opposite if you're coming to Hawaii.
What worries me is driving in foreign countries and not being able to read the map or street signs...cuz I'll never book an escorted tour where you have to get up a prescribed time and be herded everywhere.
I have about 750k miles with Delta and have no intentions of stopping collecting or using them. Thanks OP for the link, I got a postcard as well yesterday announcing the offer.
tooshy
Frivolous Member
posted: Oct. 3, 2006 @ 11:17a
Husband got a postcard for the double miles promotion ending September 30 on September 29. If we relied on the mail to tell us when there is a promotion, we'd probably miss 99% of them. So posts like this one are real mile savers.
My only concern about building a stash of miles is one day they are gonna be worth less.
I'm sure everyone is light years smarter than me...but yesterday I spent a day (yes a day!) deciding where to go and what to do for several weeks at 2 destinations during our planned trip in two months (and managed to book a majority of hotels, of course what took so long was finding the best hotel deals), so I dread the magnitude of planning foreign travel must require.
I know....the tweaker in me don't know when to stop. Otherwise I would have half the stress.
I actually booked a SkySaver ticket to Hawaii about 4 days prior to my departure. One thing I learned from this experience is that their online SkyMile ticket inventory is not complete or something, because for the longest time, I couldn't find a ticket searching online. But I heard someone was calling twice a day to see if anything opened up, so I tried and got the ticket. Even thought there was some extra fees (15 for phone booking, and 50 for booking 1 week(?) within departure), I was still happy.
One more thing I learned from this trip is that there's something about you can change airport you are flying from if the other airport is within 100 miles. I booked a ticket to fly out from Maui, because they didn't have anything from Honolulu which is where I was staying. But at the Honolulu airport, I asked one of the Delta representative, and she mumbled something about 100 miles and was able to change the flight for me to leave from Honolulu so I can be on the same flight with a friend. There was a $15 fee because the seat she got for me wasn't a SkySaver seat, and I thought that was pretty good that it didn't even have to be a SkySaver seat. I have never heard of this before, and I was wondering if anyone know about it and have more details on it.
So I spent $80 in fees and wasted a one way inter-island flight in Hawaii, but I got my Hawaii trip. It was fun.
EDIT: Forgot to Thank OP for the 25% bonus miles, so THANKS!!!
EugeneV
Ancient Member
posted: Oct. 4, 2006 @ 10:46a
You can also check if you qualify for double miles on all October purchases here
dealsmafia
Member
posted: Oct. 4, 2006 @ 11:10a
Not eligible for double miles in oct.
MommmieD
Senior Member
posted: Oct. 5, 2006 @ 1:26a
My daughter just started college in Houston. Not the most exciting place to use free miles to - but, guess what? After trying unsuccessfully for ever and ever to find a way to use my 25,000 Delta miles to go somewhere...I found that 25,000 Delta miles is all it costs for me to take a free flight from Seattle to Houston! Plenty of open seats! Hurrah, they are not going to waste after all! (But believe me, nobody in my family will be collecting Delta miles again. Alaska Air works for us.)
vpc123
Member
posted: Oct. 6, 2006 @ 4:41p
I would miss out on so many offers without FW. Thank you.
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