Flying Domestically? Fly First!
Delta BusinessElite Class on a 757. I don't have any pictures of the inside of planes, I'll have to get some the next time I fly.
Okay, so buying a first class ticket isn’t exactly cheap, but if you’re flying domestically you don’t necessarily have to buy a first class ticket to fly first class. If you know you’re going to be traveling a lot in a short amount of time and you’re reasonably certain you can fly one airline then it might be worth it to try a frequent flyer challenge. The challenge works like this, you pay the airline a fee, and you get all the benefits of having a frequently status for some period of time, no fees, free upgrades, priority boarding, and access to lounges for international flights. If you fly a certain amount on that airline in that time period you get to keep the frequent flier status for a year.
Last September I knew I would be flying back and forth between Boston and Ithaca, NY a lot, almost every other week for almost 4 months. Ithaca is a really small airport so my options for airlines were limited, and US Airways was the only one with anything remotely close to reasonable airfares. So I called US Airways, signed up for their Trial Preferred program, and got Silver status for $200. The $200 paid for it’s self in four round-trips thanks to free baggage, and I was upgraded to first class on 75% of the flights I took with a premium cabin (no first class on the Dash-8s). After a few more flights I was upgraded to Gold status, and I got to keep the benefits until February 2013. That means I’ll get to take advantage of the extra baggage allowance, and use of the Business or First class lounge if I fly a Star Alliance carrier to Budapest. Fortunately, it looks like a Star Alliance carrier might be the cheapest option. Another perk I didn’t expect is that with all the bonus miles I might be able to ‘buy’ a mileage upgrade for one of my international flights.
My US Airways frequent flier card
Best of all, these perks are saving me money overall. I’ve spent less money than I would have if I didn’t enroll in the trial preferred program. Now, if I know I’ll need to bring baggage, I’ll book US Airways over slightly cheaper airlines (if they have extra fees), because I know I’ll only need to pay the price listed. If you know your going to travel a lot on one airline or internationally one of the three big airline alliances, the frequent flier challenges might be good option for you too. I’ve added links to some of the information I found below. If your not going to be traveling quite as much, I’d still recommend getting a frequent flier account on one airline in each of the three alliances. Even if you don’t fly often the miles can add up, especially if they don’t expire. You also get priority standby if you miss your flight.
Here are some links to the challenge programs, or information on programs (most don’t advertise them like US Airways), you might also be able to call to get more information. There are also match programs available which will match your current elite status on another airline (I think, I might try this with a OneWorld or SkyTeam carrier when I’m in Europe).
Have you used any of these programs? Plan to? In the middle of a challenge? Leave a comment below.
