I've recently become addicted to TikTok and all of the information you can consume in under a minute! One of my favorite videos is from a user named @yung.marv, who explains how he saves money on flights by buying miles. I decided to try this travel hack, and it works!
Here are the steps:
Using a private browser, search for your flights on whichever airline you want to fly. The private browser is supposed to stop airlines from tracking you and then increasing the price once they know you're looking for flights. I'm not sure how much this part actually works, but I did it anyway, just in case.
1. Use a private browser to look up the regular cost of a flight. These flights from Atlanta to Curacao on American Airlines are $1042.
2. In a different browser, click Redeem miles and look up the flight. The same flights cost 27,500 miles and an additional $79.89.
American Airlines requires that you purchase miles in increments of 1000. Instead of buying 27,500 miles (the exact amount you need for the ticket, you'll need to purchase 28,000 miles).
3. When you look up the price to purchase 28,000 miles, the cost is $541.80.
$541.80 + $79.89 = $621.69
You save $420.31 by buying miles than if you purchase the tickets in cash for $1042!
By saving over $400, you can essentially purchase two tickets for the price of one!
Some things to note:
1. This method doesn't work for every airline.
It depends on whether or not the airline is having a discount on buying miles OR whether buying miles is cheaper than a ticket's cost. If you follow me on IG, you know that I'm a loyal Delta Airlines customer. Delta doesn't fly to Curacao, but when I used their site to find other discounts using the "buy miles" method, the savings wasn't the same.
2. It doesn't work for every location.
I looked up flights on various airlines for flights from ATL to NYC, LAX, and LAS; the savings wasn't the same. In some cases, it was cheaper to purchase a ticket in cash rather than buying miles.
3. Time matters.
I found that if your dates are flexible, you could save big. For example, we saved money AND upgraded our cabin class by being flexible with our travel dates. Also, the price fluctuates (ever so slightly) day-to-day, so be sure to grab your ticket once you've found the best price.
Try out this method and let me know if it works for you!