Travel Deal of the Day (March 10, 2008)

If you are using frequent flyer miles and you only need to fly one-way, think twice before cashing in your miles.

The Deal:
On most airlines, a one-way trip booked with miles will cost the same number of miles as a round-trip ticket. If you are planning on using miles for a one-way ticket, think about other places you might travel in the next year and possibly book your “return” segment for that potential trip. For instance, if I know I will need to fly one-way from New York to Los Angeles in a month and I want to use miles for that trip, it will likely cost me the same number of miles to book that one-way trip or to book a round-trip or an open-jaw itinerary (where you fly out of one city but return into a different city). In this scenario, if I know that I may fly from Los Angeles to New York sometime in the next year or even from Los Angeles to Miami, then I can book a New York-Los Angeles-New York or even a New York-Los Angeles-Miami trip (or possibly a New York-Los Angeles/San Francisco-New York) for the same number of miles. By doing this, you are maximizing your frequent flyer mileage usage.