Are all-you-can-fly passes worth it? + my master framework for finding flight deals.

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It FIRES me up to see this stuff. My *free* content is saving people thousands.

Want to know my big secret?

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You pay to have it synthesized & tailored to you.

But if you’re really cheap and have a lot of free time, you can look through all my posts & newsletters and find everything you need to know.

Good luck.

Breaking down all-you-can-fly passes.

Imagine. You pay a flat fee. And you get unlimited flights.

That couldn’t be possible?

Yea, it is.

There are a couple of products out there like this, but we’ll focus on Frontier today because it’s probably the best example.

Right now, you can buy an all-you-can-fly pass for the summer (May 1st-Sept 30th) for only $399.

Sounds amazing. What’s the catch?

• You can only book 24 hours before domestic travel & 10 days before international travel.

• You still have to pay for bags & other normal fees.

• There are blackout dates.

• Round trip is tricky because you can’t book it until you’re already at your destination (24hrs rule) and there may not be a flight.

ALL THAT ASIDE…

If you’re a single dude who works remotely and has disposable income, this could be the deal of a lifetime.

I’ve got an uncle in LA. Let’s say his house was empty all summer.

If I wanted to fly roundtrip (nonstop from Cleveland) on Frontier, it would cost be about $200-$300 RT.

With this $399 pass, I could literally fly there and back every week. Like I could just go 15 times bc why not?

That’s almost $5k worth of flights covered by my $399 pass.

Again, is that realistic for anyone who isn’t single and mostly unemployed? Not really. But it’s fun to think about.

TL;DR: You can extract massive value from these passes, but they’re not that practical when it comes down to it.

I can definitely see the value if you had a second home in a destination serviced by Frontier.

Also, you can purchase an annual pass.

However, if you can afford a second home, why are you reading this? And why are you flying Frontier?

Bro, how did you find that?

After showing people the possibilities of travel hacking they almost always ask me the same question, “Awesome deal. But how did you find that? How can I find deals?”

I always say the same thing.

Understand airline alliances & get to know the transfer partners you have access to.

I have a framework I follow to find a deal using points to a specific destination.

I have to go to San Francisco this summer - so let’s take that trip as an example. I’m looking for the best deal in the 3rd week of July (peak season).

CMH —> SFO.

Step 1:

Get on Google Flights and get a lay of the land.

Great. We see a nice nonstop from United and two decent itineraries from American & Delta. It’s not listed, but I know Southwest is an option.

Step 2:

Knowing the available flights, check which ones you could with the transfer partners you have access to.

I have Bilt, Chase & Capital One points. I know my Chase points transfer directly to United.

Let’s start there.

Well. That nonstop United flight is $195, or 21.3k miles + $5.60. If we did this it would give us a .90 cents per point redemption. That’s terrible. So rule this out.

Bad deal.

But I’d really like a direct flight, and United has the only one.

This is where understanding the airline alliance chart comes in.

We can book that nonstop United flight through Star Alliance partners. With my two credit cards, I have access to Air Canada, Avianca, & Turkish Airlines.

I checked all of their sites, but there wasn’t any availability in July.

This isn’t super common, there is usually availability, but it is peak summertime.

*Note: A month later in August, Avianca had that flight for 13,000 points + $5.60. That’s way better than United.

Our last hope to get that nonstop United flight with points is to book directly on the Chase travel portal. You get a fixed value of 1.25 cents per point.

So, you could book this flight with 15,500 Chase points. Solid.

Moving on.

Let’s look at those other flight options.

I can transfer from Bilt to American. Check their site, but outrageous pricing on July 24th, unfortunately.

I can transfer points to British Airways to book an American flight (One World Alliance), but that will always be more pricey than what American has listed.

Let’s check on Delta.

I can’t transfer directly to Delta, but I can book domestic Delta flights through Virgin Atlantic (Sky Team alliance partner).

Searched. Again, no availability.

Sad!

Last one. 

Let’s see what Southwest costs. I can transfer Chase points right to Southwest.

Cash price is $228, points price is 15,703 + $5.60.

This would be a 1.42 cents per point redemption.

Step 3: Compare options and make your decision.

It really comes to down to 3 things.

1. Cents per point.

2. Convenience.

3. How much cash you have. (lol).

After comparing 4 different airlines & many ways to book these flights, for me, the top two were booking Southwest & booking the United flight through the Chase portal.

You’re paying about the same in points, but you have a higher cents per point with Southwest.

Here’s why I’d book Southwest.

United charges FAT baggage fees. No baggage is included in what we looked at.

Yes, nonstop is nice, but Southwest giving you 2 free bags? I’ll take it.

*Bows*.

And that, ladies & gentlemen, is how a points & miles expert finds flight deals.

Overwhelmed?

Pay me to do this for you. 

Peace & blessings.