Opinions, please: is this a decent MR (WAS-DEN $208 on NW)?
January 9th, 2009OK - I've found a fairly low fare with essentially no restrictions (travel any day, no minimum stay) and decent routing options:
ROUTING 209 FROM WAS-NW-RIC-NW-BWI-NW-ERI-NW-
CLE-NW-CAK-NW-CHI-NW-CLE/DTT-NW-
OR FROM WAS-NW-RIC-NW-BWI-NW-MHT-NW-
BOS-NW-EWR/NYC-NW-CLE/DTT-NW-
VIA LAF/IND/GRR/CMH-NW-
OR VIA CLE-NW-IND-NW-SDF-NW-PAH-NW-
BHM-NW-
OR VIA CMH-NW-DAY-NW-CVG-NW-
OR VIA ESC-NW-CMX-NW-
OR VIA MSN-NW-MKE-NW-
OR VIA GRB-NW-MSN-NW-LSE-NW-
OR VIA GRR/STL/BNA/ATL/LEX/FWA
/MKC/CHI/CWA/MKE/CHI-NW-
I've twisted this thing a bunch of different ways, but about the most flight miles (I'm concerned with Elite miles, as well as total mileage) I can seem to get is around 5000. This can be done in one day, so no overnight stay required (even better - no hotel charges).
Question: what's your opinion of spending $248 (that's the total incl. taxes when you have 3 connections each way) for roughly 5000 elite miles (as Elite, I get 1.25X bonus miles, but do the math for your elite level)?
Thanks, just curious, as I've been looking hard for MRs out of WAS, and very little has come up in the past couple months on CO/NW (which are the airlines I want to fly).
It runs about 4.16 cents per base mile at 5000 miles (at the $208 fare) and even more at the $248 fare (almost 5 cents per base mile).
I'm like you, its the base miles that I'm interested in, there fore that is the cost per mile that I judge whether its a good MR or not..
My goal in a pure MR is roughly 2.5 to 3.0 cents per base mile although thats tough to do many times.
But you may be averse to these flights, especially since maximizing mileage on NW/CO often means a three-hour, "overnight" flight to MSP that really doesn't offer much time to rest.
If you can spare two travel days for an MR and make it to BWI, you could spend $249 right now and take advantage of the BWI-MKE fare:
An easy one-day run on this fare might look like:
BWI-EWR-MEM-MKE-MSP-BWI, for $124.50, tax included, netting 3447 base miles. (There may be even better routings with this fare, but I haven't been able to price them).
At 3.6 cents/EQM, this is still not great, but you can overnight in your own bed.
Alternatively, you could wait. I was able to book two runs to LAX during the recent sale. In past years, there have typically been great fares after summer demand has peaked, both for the remaining seats in late summer and for the fall. And since base miles are your focus, earning them anytime in 2003 is equally valuable.
Just 3 days ago there were $178RT DCA-SFO and DCA-LAX fares on NW. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum124/HTML/005225.html -- just a few lines down from this very thread. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
The overnight issue isn't a big one-- a trip to the west coast can be timed so you can take a 1am or so overnight flight back east- thus meeting the overnight stay, but saving the hotel.
If you trek to BWI, you can regularly find fares to the west coast for $200+tax... from DCA it's more sporadic (like any DCA fare) but possible.
The extra distance between Denver and the west coast will net some additional 900 miles each way-- 1800 toward status on the RT, not to mention elite bonuses. That difference is nothing to shake a stick at.
Good luck!!
[This message has been edited by Viajero Joven (edited 06-17-2003).]
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