From now until the end of the month, US Airways is offering a 100% bonus on ALL purchased miles. Why is this a great deal? Because if you do this correctly, you could buy a Business class ticket to Europe for around $1,770. It costs 100,000 miles for a business class ticket on US Airways. Meaning you buy 50,000 miles, and you get the bonus. I know this sounds like a lot of money, and it is. However, if you look at the value this has, you will see why it’s a good deal. Is it for everyone? I would say no, simply because paying this much for an airline ticket is outrageous. However, you are getting an executive class ticket for cheap. Let’s examine where it does have value, and if you should buy these miles to help you on your next trip. First of all, US Airways is the slut of the skies. Their award chart(s) are extremely undervalued, and it’s a matter of time before they raise their redemption rates….so take advantage of them. Their agents are versed in world geography, and I think 2nd grade students are teaching them. For some reason, they think Dubai is in African, and that Addis Ababa is a made up word. Booking with them takes a whole day of annual leave from work, unfortunately. That is the subject of another post, for a future date. Back to buying US Airways miles. Below is how much a ticket costs from Los Angeles to Paris (LAX – CDG) for the month of June. I used some sample dates, just to prove my points. Now, that’s pretty expensive! For two people, you are looking at well over $10,000!!! OUCH! That leaves no money for a croissant, or a tour of the Eiffel Tower. However, buying miles can be a economical way to score executive class tickets to Europe. For summer travel, sometimes the tickets hover around $1,000 – $2,000….and that’s in coach!!
L.A. to Paris
Bear in mind, that you do not have to fly US Airways to get to Europe. You can use one of their partners, and since US Airways is (still) a Star Alliance partner, you can book the flights on Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, United, Thai Airways, and the list goes on and on. Also, I used this sample route to prove my point. The miles can be used, of course, to book ANY flight through US Airways, as long as their is availability. I personally did this a couple years back using my Capital One Venture points to pay for it. I got a FREE business class ticket out of it to the Middle East. (The purchased + bonus miles + Barclays US Airways Master Card 40,000 miles after first spend).
If you don’t have a US Airways Dividend Miles account, sign up now at www.usairways.com. Its FREE, and it will qualify you to do this. You cannot participate in this if you do not have an account open for at least 12 days. Its still early, and you have a chance to get in on this offer, as it does not appear to be targeted.