My husbands's mom is very ill, so I booked a medical emergency fare MSP-FLL on NW for him. It appears that all of us will need to travel there soon, so I am wondering if there is a smarter way than relying on the expensive bereavement fares to book tickets? Is there a way to book seats for 3 or 4 weeks from now, and then when we need to use them at the last minute we can just change them? NW waives cancellation penalties for changes due to med. emergency or bereavement fares (I learned this when I changed my husband's ticket to fly to a meeting this week for the one to FLL tomorrow).
Does anyone know if CO or DL have better bereavement plans than NW does?
I hope this doesn't seem inappropriate for me to be asking this question, but since I know this is inevitable, I am trying to be practical. Thanks in advance for your help.

BTW, is there a different board that is more appropriate for posting this question?

[This message has been edited by flyerdoc (edited Jan 24, 2004).]

 

You can do a search in many of the forums on bereavement or similar words to find some threads. Bottom line is that you will find there are no great deals to be had. In fact, getting a last minute fare at a discount is in itself a deal. Some may think the airline should give you a better deal, but they are just another business. Hotels will not give you a special deal. Car rentals or restaurants will not give you a special deal either.

Be aware of all you options ahead of time, such as alternate airlines and possible sales or bargain fares which are usually cheaper.

 

I think miles are your only option. Even a RuleBuster, if needed, is 50,000 miles, which is probably still a better deal than those fares.

I am saving my miles now in anticipation of a close friend's ailing father. I figure it's the least I can do to help.

 

If a bereavement fare is in the 500-600 dollar range, would it really be a good value to use 50K miles for this?
Even if we did use miles, that would mean 200K to get the four of us there, which is alot of miles. We've actually burned through alot of miles in the last 3 months for just this reason.
Since I have been back and forth to help my mother-in-law in the last few months, I did learn that hotels near a hospital will give you a discounted rate if you can give them the hospitalized patients info. It is the same as the travel agent rate, so they tell me.

 

No need to debate this question. The advantage of using miles instead of bereavement fares is so great that anyone who might possibly need such travel in the foreseeable future should give it first priority in any planning for award trips.

In other words, for solo travel set aside the first 25,000 miles of your account, not to be used for any other purpose. Or if a family of four might need a bereavement trip from one WP account, set aside the first 100,000 if you have that many miles or can accumulate it.

The award option will work well for most people, most of the time, to most destinations. NW has a habit of holding back on award availability some weeks or months ahead -- very annoying in planning vacations -- but releasing a flood of unsold seats on flights that will take off over the next one to three days. This is perfect for bereavement use, and NW doesn't have a bogus charge for last-minute award travel like CO and some others. Award travel also is at least as flexible as bereavement fares in permitting changes to the booked dates.

It won't work every time because short-term seats won't be available to popular destinations on heavy travel dates -- for example, trying to get to a funeral on Saturday in Las Vegas or New Orleans at Mardi Gras, or any town currently overwhelmed by a big business convention, or anywhere just before/after Thanksgiving. (Possibly elite-level members can still get a seat on these occasions by calling the special phone lines, which I don't know.)

But without these exceptional situations there is probably a 90%-plus chance of quick award booking. I personally have put 25K in the piggy bank because of possibly needing some time a bereavement trip 2,500 miles away. The destination would be a medium-size city that has a steady flow of business and personal travellers but doesn't attract tourists. I tested WPAA Lister on this, and for the standard 25K miles I could board any NW departure over the next full week.

One extra bit of advice for someone needing to travel immediately: The famous WPAA Lister at http://usr.v7.com/wpaa/ is great for showing availability across a 7-day span, but it works on Japanese time and won't show today's flights in North America. When someone gets bad news and needs the very next flight with award seats, it's best not to rely on the buggy booking engine at nwa.com, but make arrangements the old-fashioned way with a phone call to NW reservations.

------------------
Wright Brothers Were Wrong

 

Try checking www.hotwire.com and see what the MSP/FLL fare is.

Here are the two downide issues with hotwire:

1) You won't know the airline, departure time and it won't earn FF points.

2) You must fly on the designated flights both outbound and return.

If you get a $188. R/T fare on hotwire with another airline it still is cheaper than the special fare and if your return changes, just buy another hotwire ticket to go home..

Good Luck!

RC

 

This makes sense to me. (Does not mean it will work or not> )Just book a trip home several weeks or months ahead. When my mom died, I was not charged the change fee.

As for your question on other airlines, DL's bereavement fairs are no bargain either>

 

Here is a Hotwire fare I just tried for next week.

Thu, Jan 29, 2004
MSP Minneapolis/Saint Paul Intl. Airport

Return
Sun, Feb 1, 2004
FLL Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Intl. Airport

Flight Details
Nonstop or 1 Connection Flight
Not a red-eye Flight
Jet Aircraft

Please Note: Flight times and airline name will be
shown after you buy your ticket.

Search Expires at 9:38PM PST on 01/24/04
- Ref No. 8444152376

Round-trip ticket: $308
Booking fee per ticket: + $5


Total cost per ticket: $313

_________________________________________

It's cheaper than the bereavement fare you mentioned above.

RC

 

Been in this situation several times...being in HI the miles route has always been cheaper even if an airline charged a fee for expediting (kinda bonus with e tickets)
Many of the airlines have good last minute availability vs prices of bereavement fare

Plus is was possible to change return date easily with award ticket vs. nonrefundable cheap ticket

I keep a cache of miles for these kind of needs anymore

 

Sorry to hear about your family. May their love always guide you with peace.

One thing to keep in mind:

For the most part, bereavement fares are fully changable. So if you need to stick around an extra day, or come home a day early, you shouldn't have a change issue.

But if you can get a discount fare, you will have a harder time making changes.

[This message has been edited by zrs70 (edited Jan 25, 2004).]

 

Get real, how can hotwire (or priceline) be an option for someone who just got a phone call saying Aunt Clara died yesterday and the ceremony will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Hotwire might give you a 3:45 p.m. flight after you've paid for a blind ticket and you can't get a penny back.

There are only two ways to fly on quick notice econonically: On some routes that are relatively short and price-competitive, sn airline bereavement discount might be quite reasonable. For long distances and even short high-fare routes, mileage bookings are the only alternative to paying lots of money.

------------------
Wright Brothers Were Wrong

 

The ticket is to visit a very ill relative, not to go immediately after receiving notification of death.

In this case a hotwire ticket for the next day would get you to the destination quickly (next day) and inexpensively.

Another example:

Personally, I would want to already be in FLL BEFORE she died, but if you have to work or simply cannot leave MSP until she dies, here's another example of some options to ponder:

Aunt Clara dies on a Wednesday and you get the call at 2:30 PM.

You can fly out Wednesday Fl 758 departing at 5:07 PM for about $2500. R/T for 4 people, or use hotwire and leave Friday for $1260. (for 4 people)

The visiting hours at the funeral home isn't until Friday afternoon with the funeral on Saturday.

Why couldn't you go on Thursday and return on sunday using hotwire.

Would Aunt Clara want you to spend an extra $1240 to arrive 1/2 day earlier?

I still think hotwire might be a viable solution, but if you must get to FLL immediately buy the bereavement fare or use rulebuster for 150000-200000 WP points (depending if the return is rulebuster or standard)

Is it worth using 150-200K in WP points or $1240?

RC





[This message has been edited by Radiocycle (edited Jan 25, 2004).]

 

Some of the airlines don't really care anymore.

 

I unfortunately got the call we dread that my grandmother passed. I needed to get from IAH to ORD (yes, in the snow storm that socked Chicago) fast. The fares would be $600-the beavrement fare was $800 (!) NW and CO were no help for fares. I agree with earlier posters-this is exactly what miles are for. I got lucky for 25,000 total miles and direct flights. Good luck.

 

Why should they care?

Does the hospital not charge you if you die?

Do grocery stores charge you less if you are poor or hungry?

Does the bank forget the mortgage if you lose your job?

The airlines provide a service, there are alternatives if you don't want to pay the price.

If you are a loyal flier with an airline then you'd have enough miles for a rule buster award.