Wife has to fly from U.S. to Europe as has a parent with serious (cancer removal) surgery. She has enough frequent flier points for two free U.S. to Europe flights on United.
For the dates of travel, we're seeing flights in the $570-$750 range right now.
We're wondering if it would be more "frugal prudent" to buy a flight for this trip and hang onto the frequent flier miles in case there are two have-to-go-with-last-minute parental medical emergencies down the road (given one of her parents has cancer both are in their 70s). With the frequent flier program, even if you book the day before your flight, the price is just $75 (or free if you book > 21 days ahead), whereas without it a last-minute flight could be very steep, particular in high season ($2k+). However, you're not guaranteed to get an eligible frequent flier "award seat", particularly if booked last minute/high season.
I asked on r/frequentfliermiles a while back but...462 readers there vs. 644,482 here, so...asking here as well.
March 24, 2017 at 01:45AM
