Basic economy was always a bait-and-switch, and now the switch costs more: about $100 roundtrip domestically and $240 to Europe just to pick a seat and keep some flexibility. Plus, Bilt points just got a new home at JetBlue, Los Angeles under $299 roundtrip, and a new routes bonanza.
- 🙈 The Price to Avoid Basic Economy Just Keeps Getting Steeper
- 🤝 Deal of the Day: Los Angeles Under $299 Roundtrip!
- 🎉 New Routes Bonanza: Tahiti, Osaka & … Columbus?!
- 🛫 Bilt Adds JetBlue as a Transfer Partner
- 🎙️ Travel Insider Zach Griff Joins the Podcast!
- 🐻 See us in Chicago Next Month for the Chicago Seminars!
- ✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
🙈 The Price to Avoid Basic Economy Just Keeps Getting Steeper
Like many of you, I have a love-hate relationship with basic economy … and there’s not a lot of love, to be honest.
The upside (if there is one) is that when prices for a basic economy fare fall, so do main cabin economy rates. It’s a confusing but important aspect of airfare: If a basic economy ticket drops from $250 to $200, the price for a standard economy fare typically drops by $50, too.
The downsides … well, how much time do you have?
- Restrictions like no free seat selection, no free changes or cancellation,
- And airlines keep making them worse: Nixing mileage or status earning, eliminating lounge access, and more.
- These stingy fares are practically unavoidable now: You’ll find them flying to Austin and Austria and Australia. You’ll even find them on award tickets redeeming miles on a trio of airlines: Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest.
But here’s the worst bit of all: The cost to bump up to a main cabin fare just keeps getting higher and higher. Avoiding basic economy has never been pricier.
Flying domestically within the U.S., for years you’d pay another $70 or so roundtrip for a main cabin fare. Now, that’ll almost always cost you $100 – give or take $10 or so.
It’s even uglier heading over to Europe. What was previously a standard upcharge of $150 and then $200 has now settled in at a flat $240 to avoid basic economy across the pond, like on these flights to London-Heathrow (LHR). And that’s true whether you fly a major U.S. carrier or one of their foreign partners.
Flying to Asia and Australia, you might pay another $150 … or maybe more like $350. Gulp.
Read our full story for more examples and analysis!
This is frustrating for a few reasons – not least of all because it’s costing you, me, and anyone else avoiding basic economy like the plague even more at a time when many fares are already up 20% or more.
But it underscores the lie airlines have sold us all that basic fares are “cheaper” or that they’re giving us “more choice.”
Airlines introduced basic economy more than a decade ago to compete with Spirit, Frontier, and other low-cost carriers. And it’s clear now that basic economy won that war.
Spirit is gone (RIP), and Frontier is a shell of its former self. Every other low-cost carrier in the country is angling for more “premium” travelers by installing first class seats
And yet even with budget carriers on the decline, basic economy isn’t just here to stay: It’s getting worse and more expensive to avoid. Great. Thanks.
Because the point of basic economy was never to truly offer you and me a cheaper ticket. Airlines never really wanted us to buy those fares.
Basic economy, now and always, is a mirage. The airlines lure us in with a seemingly low price, then hit us with a ton of restrictions designed to convince us to pay more to avoid that pain.
And this latest development just proves it.
– Kyle Potter, executive editor
🤝 Deal of the Day: Los Angeles Under $299 Roundtrip!
Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥
Why we love it: Here’s your flight to SoCal – starting at just $100 roundtrip from some cities!
Fares just dropped to LAX and you should take advantage while they’re still low. Best availability this December through February from more than 90 cities!
Sign up now to get all the details on this deal & don’t miss the next flight deal alert.
Already a member? Log in to see all your deals.
– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst
🎉 New Routes Bonanza: Tahiti, Osaka & … Columbus?!
We’re deep in the throes of new routes season – a time of year I treat like a farmer treats the harvest. Why? A simple equation with math so easy even I can understand:
New routes = Empty planes = Better points & miles availability & low airfare
Also, these routes are just really exciting for an airline network dork like me – especially when they’re flying to places like Munich, Tahiti, and Osaka. Let’s start with Alaska.
On its journey to its stated goal of 15 international destinations by 2030, Alaska added its eighth and ninth on Tuesday, announcing nonstops from Seattle (SEA) to Osaka (KIX) and Tahiti (PPT). Hawaiian Airlines will operate the flights on one of its older A330 aircraft that is due for a retrofit with all-new cabins in 2028.
The Osaka flight will begin May 14 and operate four times a week, while Tahiti will start a few weeks later on June 11 and run three times a week.
But Alaska wasn’t the only airline announcing some big moves. Across the Atlantic, Lufthansa and its partner airlines also announced new and shifting routes.
The splashiest and most surprising announcement came from Lufthansa, which is planning to fly nonstop from Frankfurt (FRA) to Columbus (CMH) on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (with its special Allegris business class cabin onboard!) starting May 5 – a surprising move to the mid-sized Ohio city.
But Lufthansa wasn’t done there: The German airline is also planning to connect Munich (MUC) with Phoenix (PHX) starting Aug. 3 on an A350 aircraft.
Finally, for our neighbors to the north, Canada is getting another long-haul flight to Europe, this time from Alberta’s capital, Edmonton (YEG), to Frankfurt (FRA), on Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines. It’s Discover’s second Alberta route, as it also serves Calgary (YYC) in the summer.
My take: Seeing airports like Edmonton and Columbus get more overseas service and watching Alaska’s network slowly unfold is exciting, no matter your level of airline network dork-dom!
– Gunnar Olson, flight deal analyst, travel reporter, and host of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast
🛫 Bilt Adds JetBlue as a Transfer Partner
Starting today, you can transfer Bilt Points to JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:1 ratio, so 1,000 Bilt Points become 1,000 TrueBlue points – making JetBlue Bilt’s 27th travel partner.
Transfers go in 1,000-point increments, with a 1,000-point minimum (2,000 for Bilt’s entry-level Blue Status members), and you’ll need to link your TrueBlue account in the Bilt app or at Bilt.com before your first transfer.
Bilt joins a fairly crowded field. Chase, Wells Fargo, and Rove also transfer to JetBlue at 1:1, and Rove is running a 20% bonus through Nov. 14 after adding JetBlue last week.
Citi also transfers at 1:1, while Amex and Capital One both send over fewer points per transfer.
So why should you care? If you live in the Northeast or often head to Florida and the Caribbean, JetBlue awards can be cheap.
The bigger opportunity is JetBlue’s partners. TrueBlue points can also be used to book flights on Qatar Airways, Condor, Etihad, and even United. Qatar business class to Doha (DOH) starts at 90,000 points when there’s available award space, and Condor’s lie-flat business class to Frankfurt (FRA) starts at 54,000 points from the East Coast.
The timing works out nicely for Bilt, too. Members are still smarting from Bilt’s cut to Hyatt transfers coming at the end of the year.
JetBlue certainly won’t replace a great Hyatt redemption, but it gives anyone with Bilt points a potentially useful new option.
– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder
🎙️ Travel Insider Zach Griff Joins the Podcast!
❓What aren’t the airlines saying out loud? How will tech and AI shape our travels? And what’s the future of award travel look like? Those questions are big enough for the guys to bring in another expert to tackle them: Zach Griff!
Watch it now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
🐻 See us in Chicago Next Month for the Chicago Seminars!
Want to learn more about earning and redeeming points from some of the brightest minds in this crazy game? And also from me?
See what I did there?
Anyway, I’m speaking at this year’s Chicago Seminars in – you guessed it – Chicago in a few weeks, Nov. 6 to Nov. 8. And I’m one of a few dozen experts spitting facts about all things award travel throughout the weekend.
Planning to go? We’re organizing a small happy hour nearby on Saturday, Nov. 7 – RSVP here!
I’ll be at my most presidential with a special address: “The State of the Union Award Travel,” an overarching look at the (increasingly sad) state of award availability, the trends driving devaluations and loyalty program changes, how airlines’ loyalty priorities have shifted, and what that means for redeeming points and miles in 2027 and beyond.
Trust me: It’s not all doom and gloom. Thrifty Traveler Premium members know better than just about anyone that there are still stellar deals out there … and there always will be.
See you in a month!
Get your tickets – use promo code THRIFTY for $10 off!
– Kyle Potter, executive editor
✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
- 🛬 Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) closed Runway 22L on Monday for repairs, and it’s expected to stay shut until mid-November. The city warns of possible delays and cancellations, depending on the wind. (CBS Chicago)
- ✅ Boeing’s long-delayed 737 MAX 10 is expected to get FAA certification today, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy set to announce it at Boeing’s Everett, Washington, factory. Airlines have ordered nearly 1,500 of the jets. (Reuters)
- 🏨 Amex Membership Rewards points get a 35% bonus when you transfer them to Marriott Bonvoy through Dec. 10. (Upgraded Points)
- 💳 A new IRS rule lets the agency accept card payments directly instead of through third-party processors, which now charge 1.75% to 1.85% on credit cards. Nothing changes yet, and the IRS hasn’t said what it’ll charge. (Federal Register)
