As many of you know I'm obsessed with miles and points, flying to Dublin the weekend, flying to reach 2 Million Miles with American, just to name a few of the "crazy" things I've done over the past 3 years in my quest to earn more miles and points. (If you're new to my blog, just click on the Frequent Flyer, Mileage Run, and Travel categories. Not all my trips have been posted, still working on that.)
This year, I decided to really concentrate on the game and become even more efficient at collecting miles and points. So much so that I launched a new blog, Traveling Well For Less, dedicated to that pursuit.
Being frugal in all things, I tend to use those miles sparingly and get the most value of each mile. Sometimes, you need to pull the plug even when the perceived value may not be high and use those miles because the benefit received is greater than the cost. That was the case this week.
A week ago today, my Uncle Roy passed away. Uncle Roy was married to my godmother so it was important for me to attend the funeral. Given that I would be traveling last minute during Holy week, airfare was extremely high. The lowest price I could find was $1000 on Southwest or $2500 on American.
Being an Executive Platinum and LIfetime Platinum, I try to concentrate all my flying with American. But $2500 is well out of my price range. Thankfully, I have miles.
I was able to redeem 50,000 miles (25,000 Economy Anytime Miles and 25,000 Business/First Mile Saver). While not the best redemption as most mile chasers will tell you for a domestic airline ticket as most can be obtained for only 25,000 miles, in this case it was the best for me.
I was able to arrive for the viewing, mass and funeral with time to spare. Allowing me time to spend with my family, having not seen many of them in almost three years. This was by far a better redemption of miles in my book. Having the cache of miles to draw upon when needed is why I chase and will continue to chase miles.
