United Mileage Plus

Just an fyi... if you have unused frequent flier miles, now might be a good time to start using them. I don't think there is any danger of an airline closing up shop tomorrow (like some airlines did in the 70s & 80s) but with high jet fuel prices and a rash of Ch. 11 filings you might start using miles instead of cash... I've been a miles geek for years and I finally am spending some of my hard earned miles much to my chagrin... These days I just don't have the time or the risk-tolerance to wait for that "big trip" - I am a lucky guy, even as a student and young professional I was always enrolled in mileage programs b/c you never know when you might fly them again. So over the years I built up a lot of miles here and there and have really benefited - most just from keeping track of the numbers so I could get credit whenever I booked a flight on a new airline, but also from credit cards, bonus promos etc.

So the bf and I are off to Cape Cod for a couple of days next week and yes I used some miles. But I found a way to mitigate my guilt of using miles for such a short flight (DCA to BOS) - United has a promo right now for flights under 750 miles 15,000 miles instead of the normal 25,000 (which could get you as far as Alaska). So 2 flights only cost me 30,000 - a good deal since I made the decision late (not knowing my work schedule in advance) and it keeps cash in my pocket!

So all you United people take a look at this promo - from DC you can get to Toronto, Montreal or other places.

And if you're not in a mileage program - regardless of gas prices and the future - you still should be. It costs you nothing to set-up and may down the road help you out. I used some Northwest miles last year to go to a wedding and it saved me big bucks - the miles however were from 1992 (the majority were from my 1st trip to Nobeoka, Japan and through a series of promotions over the years and a couple trips on Northwest I was able to keep them from expiring!)

If you need help lemme know! Plus maybe I can refer you and we both get some miles!