Monday, December 19, 2011

Getting a Ticket With Delta SkyMiles

According to the Delta SkyMiles Award Chart, a ticket within the continental U.S. should 'cost' (one way) 12,500, 20,000, or 30,000 miles. In the past, different mileage levels (on other airlines I have flown) typically referred to flying at peak or off peak times so I wasn't surprised to see the different mileage levels.

What did surprise me was that with Delta different mileage levels could apply on the same day. Or that the mileage level for a flight would change from day to day (for economy seats). I picked arbitrary dates for flights to and from Florida, traveling in the month of January. There were flights, for the same day, with 'costs' from 12,500 to 20,000. An example is the return from Florida. For an early morning flight I could fly at 12,500. If I wanted to leave around noon, it would cost me 20,000.

I was informed via a phone call to Delta that the cost of each flight was based upon seat availability and the actual dollar cost of a seat. As that changed day to day, so did the mileage requirements.

I know for a fact American does not do this. Anyone know anything about other airlines?

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