Air miles for booking flights? - Page 3 - The DIS Discussion Forums

jenny-pooh · 01-31-2013, 09:36 PM

I love Safeway and Airmiles! I have purchased flights and tickets. Flying to Orlando from Edmonton can be quite pricey especially when you leave on a Saturday. For me it usually makes sense dollarwise to use the miles for flights even with the increasing taxes.

The only issue I have with using AM for tickets is not qualifying for the dining plan (do not get me started on the dollar value here

) and not having park passes on my KTTW.

CdnCarrie · 02-01-2013, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damo

You guys are so lucky with Safeway. In this week's Metro (grocery store) flyer, the vast majority are of things to get 2 points. The biggest one is to buy two cases of pop for $10 and get 15 points. Two cases of pop for $10 is highway robbery since last week it was on sale for $2.99/case!!! It is very tough in Ontario to build up points quickly. There are no multipliers here at all.

It also takes 2654 Air Miles to fly from Winnipeg (with BMO discount) compared to 1781 from Toronto. If you are paying cash it's cheaper. Plus it's drivable without taking a week in travel time round trip.

I'm think you guys are the lucky ones!

donkthemagicllama · 02-01-2013, 01:09 PM

For what it's worth, I did the math to decide if I was better using my airmiles to go YYC-Comox (vancouver island) or YYC-LAX. Dollar-wise, my airmiles were worth nearly twice as much for the comox flight as the LA flight.

I compared by dividing flight cost for each by the number of miles required. My miles were worth something like 33cents each for the comox flight and 20 cents each for the LAX flight.

worth looking into

damo · 02-01-2013, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnCarrie

It also takes 2654 Air Miles to fly from Winnipeg (with BMO discount) compared to 1781 from Toronto. If you are paying cash it's cheaper. Plus it's drivable without taking a week in travel time round trip.

I'm think you guys are the lucky ones!

We prefer DL, so no, you guys are the lucky ones!!!

aristocat65 · 02-01-2013, 06:54 PM

One thing to remember if using Airmiles for flights, is that if you need to change or cancel you do not get your Airmiles OR "fees and taxes" back. They encourage you to buy insurance, but has exclusions like any travel insurance. I stopped trying to accumulate Airmiles years ago because of this and their high fees. This is different from Airline mileage programs which only charge a small fee to change and you don't lose your miles if you cancel. I still get a few Airmiles from Safeway, but most of the offers are for packaged type foods we don't eat. The Airmiles I do get I use for gift cards.

I now collect American Express gold rewards which can be used for travel or transferred directly into an Airline's mileage program.

coastgirl · 02-01-2013, 06:59 PM

That's interesting, aristocat65. I am fairly sure this is my last big AM effort, it's taken me years to get the 10k miles I need for our family of 4. I never travel for business anymore, so I don't build up any "real" ff miles. I will probably be looking for a better option for collecting rewards soon.

CdnCarrie · 02-01-2013, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aristocat65

One thing to remember if using Airmiles for flights, is that if you need to change or cancel you do not get your Airmiles OR "fees and taxes" back. They encourage you to buy insurance, but has exclusions like any travel insurance. I stopped trying to accumulate Airmiles years ago because of this and their high fees. This is different from Airline mileage programs which only charge a small fee to change and you don't lose your miles if you cancel. I still get a few Airmiles from Safeway, but most of the offers are for packaged type foods we don't eat. The Airmiles I do get I use for gift cards.

I now collect American Express gold rewards which can be used for travel or transferred directly into an Airline's mileage program.

You can just pay the change fee directly to the airline if you need to change plans.

coastgirl · 02-02-2013, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnCarrie

You can just pay the change fee directly to the airline if you need to change plans.

That's good to know, Carrie.

tgropp · 02-13-2013, 03:31 PM

Just got back from week on the Fantasy and a week at WDW. I went and tried to book 7 flights from Toronto to Orlando from Dec 19'th through the 29'th and someone has already booked 6 flights out of airmiles alloted 7. I will probally end up going on the 18'th as they have 7 available. I was shocked that that date was gone

CdnCarrie · 02-13-2013, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgropp

Just got back from week on the Fantasy and a week at WDW. I went and tried to book 7 flights from Toronto to Orlando from Dec 19'th through the 29'th and someone has already booked 6 flights out of airmiles alloted 7. I will probally end up going on the 18'th as they have 7 available. I was shocked that that date was gone

That's the busiest week of the year at WDW. Not sure why it would surprise you that it's booked quickly. Flight costs will be at a premium so I'm sure lots of people are looking for the Air Mile flights doing high season.

tgropp · 02-13-2013, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnCarrie

That's the busiest week of the year at WDW. Not sure why it would surprise you that it's booked quickly. Flight costs will be at a premium so I'm sure lots of people are looking for the Air Mile flights doing high season.

I have used Airmiles at that time of year four different times in the past and have always booked them in June so yes....I am surprised.

myzel · 02-16-2013, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgropp

Just got back from week on the Fantasy and a week at WDW. I went and tried to book 7 flights from Toronto to Orlando from Dec 19'th through the 29'th and someone has already booked 6 flights out of airmiles alloted 7. I will probally end up going on the 18'th as they have 7 available. I was shocked that that date was gone

I would say that was me

, but we booked 7 of us through Montreal with AM. Had to be right on it though, AM from the east coast in Dec are had to get. We did 8 of us a few years ago and had to send half through Toronto, prob. not a bad thing when traveling with family

tgropp · 02-17-2013, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myzel

I would say that was me

, but we booked 7 of us through Montreal with AM. Had to be right on it though, AM from the east coast in Dec are had to get. We did 8 of us a few years ago and had to send half through Toronto, prob. not a bad thing when traveling with family

Ah, so you are the guilty culprit. I had been keeping an eye on the schedule but the dates did not come up until we were on our cruise. When we stopped off at Mexico we were at a place with WiFi, I checked and could not believe that they were gone. Glad that you got them . I booked tickets on the 18'th and as the kids said "oh no, an extra day of holidays". The only reason that I was looking at the 19'th was that I had used over DVC 500 points and did not have any more but rented some off the boards here. Hope that you have a great time!!!

i12bthere2 · 02-17-2013, 05:25 PM

What do you get family for Christmas? Well we thought why not treat to Disney World. With DVC and my crazy Amex bills each month it was only going to be a challenge to get the dates, book DVC at 11 months then wait for AM to release the flights and hope, but it worked and anyone looking for the "culprit" that took 7 AM seats on the 13th and 27th of Dec 2013, that would have been me.

01-31-2013, 09:36 PM	#31
jenny-pooh Mouseketeer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 82	I love Safeway and Airmiles! I have purchased flights and tickets. Flying to Orlando from Edmonton can be quite pricey especially when you leave on a Saturday. For me it usually makes sense dollarwise to use the miles for flights even with the increasing taxes. The only issue I have with using AM for tickets is not qualifying for the dining plan (do not get me started on the dollar value here ) and not having park passes on my KTTW. __________________ 2005 Disneyland 2008 CBR 2011 Pop Century

02-01-2013, 06:54 PM	#35
aristocat65 DIS Veteran Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 816	One thing to remember if using Airmiles for flights, is that if you need to change or cancel you do not get your Airmiles OR "fees and taxes" back. They encourage you to buy insurance, but has exclusions like any travel insurance. I stopped trying to accumulate Airmiles years ago because of this and their high fees. This is different from Airline mileage programs which only charge a small fee to change and you don't lose your miles if you cancel. I still get a few Airmiles from Safeway, but most of the offers are for packaged type foods we don't eat. The Airmiles I do get I use for gift cards. I now collect American Express gold rewards which can be used for travel or transferred directly into an Airline's mileage program. __________________ Disneyland 1976, Disneyland 1979, Disneyland 1989 Anaheim Hilton (honeymoon), Disneyland 1991 Desert Inn and Suites, Disneyland 1999 Hilton Suites, Disneyland 2002 Ayres Anaheim, Disneyland 2004 Embassy Suites South, WDW 2005 Boardwalk Villas, Disneyland 2006 CCI, WDW 2006 Wilderness Lodge, Disneyland 2007 Embassy Suites South, WDW 2008 Coronado Springs, Disneyland 2008 Embassy Suites, WDW August 2009, Wilderness Lodge, Disneyland Feb 2011 Grand Californian, Disneyland Sept 2011, Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland May 2013 Paradise Pier

02-01-2013, 06:59 PM	#36
coastgirl DIS Veteran Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,042	That's interesting, aristocat65. I am fairly sure this is my last big AM effort, it's taken me years to get the 10k miles I need for our family of 4. I never travel for business anymore, so I don't build up any "real" ff miles. I will probably be looking for a better option for collecting rewards soon. __________________ JoAnne in NS with dh, ds 12, and dd 10 1st trip May/June 06 Jan/Feb 07, same crew at CBR. DCL Magic Eastern Dec 07 CSR Sept 2009 Universal/WWoHP in Sunset Lakes villa Feb 2010 Same again Aug 2013 in Emerald Island villa PTR/TR Without the Mouse Round 2

02-13-2013, 03:31 PM	#39
tgropp DIS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Stratford, Ontario Posts: 1,585	Just got back from week on the Fantasy and a week at WDW. I went and tried to book 7 flights from Toronto to Orlando from Dec 19'th through the 29'th and someone has already booked 6 flights out of airmiles alloted 7. I will probally end up going on the 18'th as they have 7 available. I was shocked that that date was gone __________________ Christmas 2013: VWL/BCV Feb 2013: AKL Club Level / DCL Fantasy Western Cruise / BCV Feb 2012: DCL Mexican Riviera Cruise Dec 2011: VWL/BCV Christmas 2010: VWL Nov 2009: BC Villas Dec 2008: VWL/AKV/ Dolphin Dec 2007: BWV/VWL Feb 2007: Dolphin/DCL Eastern cruise/OKW/VWL Christmas/New Years 2005: WL/Dolphin Dec 2002: AKL/WL Christmas/New years 2000: BC/WL Christmas/New Years 1998: WL/BC Christmas 1996:WL Junior Suite Christmas 1994: WL Dec 1992:CBR Dec1989, April 1983, Jan 1980: OffSite

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02-01-2013, 01:09 PM	#33
donkthemagicllama My DW would really like to visit a mall... I was just playing around Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Calgary, AB, CANADA Posts: 212	For what it's worth, I did the math to decide if I was better using my airmiles to go YYC-Comox (vancouver island) or YYC-LAX. Dollar-wise, my airmiles were worth nearly twice as much for the comox flight as the LA flight. I compared by dividing flight cost for each by the number of miles required. My miles were worth something like 33cents each for the comox flight and 20 cents each for the LAX flight. worth looking into

02-17-2013, 05:25 PM	#44
i12bthere2 Earning My Ears Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: New Brunswick, Ca Posts: 11	What do you get family for Christmas? Well we thought why not treat to Disney World. With DVC and my crazy Amex bills each month it was only going to be a challenge to get the dates, book DVC at 11 months then wait for AM to release the flights and hope, but it worked and anyone looking for the "culprit" that took 7 AM seats on the 13th and 27th of Dec 2013, that would have been me.