Kate's on a Plane

I just returned from taking my two kids to the Boston area to visit our cousins. I booked this trip right after I started collecting points and miles, so I wasn’t able to do the whole thing on points, but I was able to leverage some of the techniques I’ve learned from award travel to reduce my costs by 75%.

I’ve written about how an expensive family trip to Denver is what started me down the points and miles rabbithole. As I explored award travel, I was floored to learn how flexible points bookings often are. I was even more surprised to learn that sometimes, cash bookings could be repriced just like award bookings. 

I started tracking the prices of flights I had already booked, and when the price dropped below what I originally paid, I contacted the airlines to ask for a flight credit for the difference. I have now successfully requested flight credits from Southwest, United, and Frontier.  

This is exactly what happened with our flight home from Denver: the price of our flights decreased by $25, and I contacted Frontier to request a flight credit. These credits had to be used in three months, and were tied to the person for whom the flight was originally booked. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find a use for these credits, but I didn’t let that stop me from requesting them.

It didn’t take me long to put these credits to use; I started planning this trip to visit my cousin. The cash price for our flights to Boston was originally $113 per person; applying the $25 credit brought that cost down to $88 per person. We did not pay for seats, checked bags, or even carry-ons, choosing to travel with just personal items and relying on Frontier’s family seating policy to keep us together.

We stayed with my cousin, so we did not have to book lodging. 

We flew home on JetBlue for 15,400 points per person. I watched our return flights for some time before I bit the bullet and booked; prices for the late afternoon flight that I wanted were high, and I couldn’t bring myself to pay 26,000 points per person for a flight lasting less than two hours. I set a Google Flights price alert, and finally booked when the price dropped to the more palatable 15,400 points. 

On our way home, we visited The Lounge at the Boston airport, using my Priority Pass membership through my Capital One Venture X to gain entry. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was no wait. The lounge was moderately full, but we were able to find seats together. The buffet featured crudites, a small salad bar, soup, cookies, and some dry snacks. Overall, this was definitely a worthwhile stop.

Although this was just a modest weekend trip to visit family, it would have cost over $1,000. A combination of repurposed flight credits and points allowed me to reduce that cost by 75%.