As we draw ever closer to starting the launch of DeltaMileageRun.com (right now just redirecting back to DeltaPoints.com) I am working on just what to cover and how to split the blog info.
I received a bunch of very good ideas from readers in the first post announcing the new blog. I love them and am trying to think about how to incorporate most of them. My basic idea is to keep the new blog ONLY for deals. No posts about “how to” instructions or the like. I may have a few tabs at the top with some info but NO posts other than deals in the heart of the blog. After all, I can put those kinds of posts up on DeltaPoints.
As you can see from the above two live and working very good MR deals, they can be somewhat hard to get to pop up on Delta.com. Some you can do multi-leg search on Delta.com but others, like the latter, it is simpler to use KAYAK.com multi-leg page and it will plug it in to Delta.com much faster and correctly.
Anyway, those kind of posts will I think just clutter up DeltaMileageRun.com. I could do a Q&A tab but the downside is I think most will ignore it and I would want reader input as there is just not time to keep that up as well as deals and DeltaPoints.com. Still working on this one in my head. I can see the value of some tabs at the top with ONE post for say how to find the RDMs you will get as a FO, or GM etc. by using CWSI.net tools.
Other ideas I do like and plan to implement with each post are:
- Shoot for less that 5CPM deals
- Consider HUB runs slightly higher
- Look at good price business CPM runs
- Advise if weekend or week day run
- Look at same date turns and overnights
- Long legs with NO 1st class seats
Other things. Some of the deals are popping up with JFK-LAX/SEA/SFO in them. Clearly as of 1MARCH medallions cannot upgrade. I want to avoid these personally, but sometimes the prices are really good with these segments include. I plan to still post them but have a BIG RED WARNING included for these routes so you know you will be stuck in coach (is that ok?)!
What I don’t have time for or want to do is get into positioning cost/runs/quest-qsofferions. If a deal is good enough, consider Arrival, Chase UR or FlexPerks to get to the start city; that is why I have those cards for myself. To me, spending these to get me to a MR I pay for is a great deal to get the MQMs I really want in the end.
This is what has been rumbling around in my head all day and what I have in mind. I want both blogs to be for you so please let me know if you have more ideas I should consider – René
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I don’t think the Big Red Warning is necessary. Any Medallion high enough up the food chain to think he/she might have gotten an upgrade on any of these JFK transcon routes SURELY is well aware of this rule change by now.
Am I correct that some of these MR deals are extremely short-lived? If so, then anything (including selecting text and changing the font to bold and color to red) that slows down MY getting to know about it is a factor I’d like you to consider. 😀
Thanks again for doing this by the way! There must be many others like me who absolutely need to take advantage of a mileage run (or two or three) in order to gain or maintain status without breaking the bank.
@LarsErikNYC – you would be amazed over the emails I get where someone says: “how did I miss that”! 🙁 I will think on it. Treat all MR as they will die in 1 min. That is the way of things! I will edit post name to “- DEAD” one deal dies!
I looking forward to the new blog. The more summary information you put into the posts as you are suggesting, non upgradeable, hub based, same day turn, overnight, weekend, date ranges, etc. sounds great and will help people quickly digest the information.
I’m hub based (ATL) and given my full-time job and having a family I have to keep my MR’s very succinct. Higher CPM’s can be a better fit or the only thing that makes sense as positioning costs and time make other “better” MR’s unfeasible for me. End of last year I took an “expensive” first class MR to Boise of all places but it allowed me to get the 6k MQM I needed for PM, was completed in one day 7AM-9PM, and was less expensive than the MQM purchase by roughly $300 and netted 10K miles. The 8CPM was nothing to write home about of course. It was a tactical decision made in December to get PM and see if PM was really better for award redemption.
I’ve been through many of the posts on searching and any information you can provide to how to find the deal is also much appreciated. Ita matrix is great though some of the nuances are easier to see with an example.
Thanks for all your posts.
@Andrew – great points. Nothing says I can not put up “weekend” posts at higher CPM. If I put weekend MR in the post people should get the price maybe is not the best but great for weekend runs. Love the feedback!
Looking forward to this launching. Like I tell my wife do you want to go, yes or no. We have 24 hrs. to change our minds but when the Deal’s Dead it just plain gone no more thinking about it.
Mentioning LAX-JFK with a big, red headline is a good idea. Sometime, our schedule may drive the need for an MR and leave us no choice but to be stuck in cattle class if the price is right. Besides, EC seats on the right aircraft can make the experience “tolerable”. Ambien helps, too.
I agree, greater than 5 cpm is acceptable if other incurred costs are less (eg. no overnight or long layovers).
@barry – txs for feedback. i will work on finding a balance to not “pepper” the blog with deals that to some are not deals. there will be a learning curve i think but with reader input will find that balance I think.
Will you be including Alaska deals? Skyteam partners internationally? For the latter you’d have to ensure the fare class earned 100%+.
@DBest – yes as talked about in the last post, I will make sure it is a fare class that yields 100% DL credit!
If the price is right longer than 5 cpm would be great to think about…thanks
René, I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into this. It is helping my family of 6 visit my parents on the other side of the world 😉
Thank you, Rene. I am really looking forward to this. Living in ATL, I too would like HUB MR’s even if a little higher than 5 CPM. And if there are great deals in F or BE, I would certainly consider those to – and maybe even make a vacation out of it. You are a good man for doing this. Thank you.
I know I’m likely in the minority here, but I would love to see you include a few segment runs for those of us road warriors who spend a LOT of time taking short flights in CRJ’s and qualify on segments alone. Thanks! Otherwise, I think this is a great idea and I’m looking forward to the new blog.
@Joel – humm… if you have some ideas how do I can do this I will look into it. Humm… rene
This does not pertain to your current question but I wanted to tell everyone how very helpful you are and can be. I got the alert email last week that included delta allowing you to change flights for a three day weather event. I immediately called and we changed our flights before lots of other folks who were headed to the same convention we were going to. We made it two days before others were able to make it in and got to enjoy some sunshine. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
@Christine – no thank you for reading and supporting the blog! – Rene
I think this is a wonderful idea. I concur with many responders that living at a hub (MSP) and with a very busy schedule, hub based same day or weekend turnaround MR ideas would be great. Many of us hubbers are tied to Delta and since I am mostly a short haul business flier and always fly Y fare class for business, status is hugely important. I always need a few pleasure trips to hit gold or platinum, though. 5, 6, 7 CPM is well worth it if I can top off quickly.