Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Ups and Downs of Airline Loyalty

I just finished reading The Penny Pincher’s Guide to Luxury Travel, by Joel Widzer, which has some good pointers on traveling in style by funneling your business to a few select companies. The essence of the book is that if you form a mutually beneficial relationship with one airline and a couple of hotel chains, you’ll be rewarded with easy upgrades and preferential treatment.

Like the next guy, I enjoying traveling in style if I don’t have to pay a fortune for it, so I’m all for getting a better seat and better digs for the same price. However, getting to the point where you can get those rewards can be grueling. Nobody gets the special treatment until they’ve reached a certain level and you don’t get the real VIP treatment until you attain “elite status” (literally and officially).

Here’s a case in point for why loyalty doesn’t always pay. The last time I flew down to Mexico, I got a great refundable charter ticket direct from my home town for $250, including the substantial taxes. The cheapest flight on any “normal” airline (non-refundable) was $390 even though it was the off season and it would have taken at least two hours longer because of the connection through another city. I’ve flown down there before on both Continental and USAir and was lucky to get a bag of pretzels along the way. On this charter flight, I got a choice of hot meals and a mimosa going down, a nice sandwich meal coming back, a leather seat that wasn’t any more cramped than the usual ones, a movie, and friendly service. So I paid less and got more–no contest!

Same goes for the likes of Southwest and AirTran vs. any of the once “full-service” airlines. These days the only thing you get on the latter in coach is an assigned seat, which doesn’t seem to be worth much more money or extra flight time.

The author’s key point with hotels is that if you have a history of staying with their chain, which they can pull up on their computer and see, you will often receive an upgrade just for asking. Nice, but this forgets the fact that in many foreign countries, especially in The World’s Cheapest Destinations, these international chain hotels are already the most expensive in town by far. Why not–they’re priced for business travelers. They’re often in a lousy location as well–far from the center or the tourist attractions. In Merida, Mexico, a city I’m in a lot, the big chain hotels are miles from Centro, the area where you can stroll around historic squares, sight-see, and hang at cafes and bars. These properties are also the blandest in town, while the locally owned places in the center are overflowing with color and character. So yes, maybe you could get a free upgrade at the Hyatt, or you could just stay somewhere more central and get the best suite in the building and have enough left over for a great dinner and drinks. This isn’t true everywhere of course–some Hiltons and Inter-Continentals are in especially good spots because they’ve been there for decades. But it’s probably true at least half the time, based on my experience reviewing upscale hotels in ten different countries.

So my advice is to hedge your bets. Pick an airline you’re most likely to fly on the most and use it when all else is relatively equal. Especially if you’re going overseas, since that’s where you really rack up the frequent flyer miles. Otherwise, remember that those miles are worth less than two cents each, so paying a big premium to earn miles on a flight usually isn’t worth it unless you’re going to rack up over 25,000 miles in one calendar year.

For hotels, favor one or two hotel chains if you travel a lot on business and your expenses are covered. Otherwise, use Hotwire or Priceline in the US and let your fingers do the walking through a good guidebook or web site in other countries. You’ll easily save 50% per night. If you’re quite well-off, however, or only travel first class, pick up Mr. Widzner’s book. You’ll save a bundle and still be stylin’.