I'm going from NYC to LAX on Dec 23 - 30. I have about 180k miles with Delta. Silver status. Looks like there are various flight options for 50k miles. Normally, I've only ever used miles for saver awards. I suppose this is personal preference but would you go for it and use the miles or pay for a $600+ flight and save the miles for later?
I ran some searches on Delta.com for round trips to Central and upper South America for kicks. Seems those trips, at least in random dates in January, go for 60k-80k miles or $700-$1100. So, at least in my limited searches, all these flights are available at high miles levels, not savers.
I don't have immediate plans for international travel, though it's always a possibility. I typically travel internationally for work and add a few extra vacation days.
Edit: I also have about 37k miles with United but I ran searches and the only option with miles under my balance is a 6am flight on the 23rd, which won't work. There are 50k miles flights but the cost to buy the extra miles offsets the benefits quite a bit. My only other miles are with AA and the balance is around 10k so no leverage there.
Thanks,
David K
I ran some searches on Delta.com for round trips to Central and upper South America for kicks. Seems those trips, at least in random dates in January, go for 60k-80k miles or $700-$1100. So, at least in my limited searches, all these flights are available at high miles levels, not savers.
I don't have immediate plans for international travel, though it's always a possibility. I typically travel internationally for work and add a few extra vacation days.
Edit: I also have about 37k miles with United but I ran searches and the only option with miles under my balance is a 6am flight on the 23rd, which won't work. There are 50k miles flights but the cost to buy the extra miles offsets the benefits quite a bit. My only other miles are with AA and the balance is around 10k so no leverage there.
Thanks,
David K