Airline Miles and the Organized Biz

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – I’ve been saving up miles for what seems like years and discovered today that I’m eligible for a free trip. Yahoo!

The downside is that I’d like to use these miles a couple of weeks from now and United imposes a $75 penalty for scheduling so close to the departure date.

I know I’m not the only one ticked off about the “creative” ways airlines are making ends meet lately. Checked bag fees, penalty fees, and racheting up miles requirements are more the norm than the exception. I also know I’m not the only one who laments the lost halcyon days of hot roast beef carved in-flight and Pucci-clad stewardesses. Flying used to be stylish. Today, it’s more like herding cattle into mass transit. /rant.

So I’m faced with the decision of buying a $300-400 ticket or spending $75 for my “free” ticket. If I’d been truly organized, I would have kept track of my miles and known I had a free trip. I probably would have booked it months ago when I had the chance. But what’s the use of self-critical mind chatter?

The advantage of buying the ticket is that it earns me more air miles and I get to keep the free ticket to fly for free later this year when prices are even higher.

That’s my thinking. Have you faced this dilemma recently? Would you use your “free” $75 trip or spend $400 to fly and save the free trip for a longer, more expensive flight?