A few weeks ago, I wrote about
how I got the better of Avios. Well this time they got the better of me. I have
read a lot of stuff about getting the most value out of your miles, but
sometimes, it’s just about saving some money and enjoying yourself. And that’s
what I decided I will do, earlier this year.
My wife and I were contemplating
what to do for the long Martin Luther King weekend in Jan. It was already Jan
10th and we were a weekend away from three days of holiday and no
plans. And then, we just decided to show up at our friends place in San
Francisco. We had never been to West Coast and this seemed like a good time. We
checked flight prices and they were all upwards of $150 per person per way for
an AUS-SFO/SJC flight (big surprise there). So $600 just for flights. Somehow
that threw a damper on our plans.
Enter our miles balance that we
earned last year through App-O-Rama’s. This was my turn to show my wife that my
miles obsession CAN and WILL save the day. I quickly checked our options. It
was mostly United and American Airlines – OK don’t forget, this was the first
time I was ever trying to book redemption miles in US, so I am not very good at
it. I din even think of checking Jet Blue and use my Membership Rewards point. Checked
AA and I was in luck – they had availability on the flights I wanted. Only
issue was as this was within the 21 days period, they were charging a hefty
fee. So it was coming to 50000 AA miles for two return trip tickets and $310.
That din see like a lot of money saving. Disappointed, I got ready to be
ridiculed by my wife.
Lighting struck. Suddenly some
things I had read all these months started coming back – BA Avios, One World,
no last minute fee, beaches, love of wife. I woke up with a scream. I knew what
to do. Opened my Avios account and checked. My hands were trembling. And just
when I thought I had conquered the world, it all came crashing down. No availability.
But I was baffled. AA was showing availability, so why wasn’t BA. I finally
decided to call the famed BA Customer Care. A little bit of explaining and
before long, I had myself the till-now-elusive ticket for me and my wife to
San-Fran-Cisco, for just 58000 Avios and $10 tax. They even waived the phone
booking charge, as the website was somehow not showing availability, for tickets that were available.
I know what you must be thinking
– what a bad use of miles. Got a value of just 1 cent per mile. But comeon,
seriously, does it matter? When I got into this obsession, I told myself, it
would be all about having fun and saving money. And so far I think I am doing
great. I had a great long weekend, my wife had a great 10 days’ vacation to
herself and she finally saw that miles can be put to good use. And this was the
first time I was using my miles for my travel. I don’t regret it one bit. I
just wish I had done more homework and gotten a better deal. May be next time
!!
So how was your long weekend ? What was your
first use of miles this year ? or first use of miles ever ?? Did you get a good
deal ??
