I was recently pricing some Delta travel from Fort Lauderdale, a big Spirit market, and stumbled across this.

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That’s a mighty attractive fare, but note that it’s a “Basic Economy” E fare. If you’re a Medallion flier that matters because you will essentially lose your biggest Medallion benefits if you buy it for this trip. No sweat as I would gladly pay an extra $15 for access to all the benefits of my Platinum Medallion status.

Just for giggles, I decided to price the Delta flights using Ultimate Rewards points and here’s what I found.

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Notice something? Ultimate Rewards travel was about to sell me the $78.10 Basic Economy fare, not something I’m at all interested in. Granted, I did not call UR travel and try to see if they could “up fare” me because points are not something I’d really consider using at fares like this. However, this is something to be aware of if you are a Delta Medallion thinking of spending some Ultimate Rewards for a Delta flight in markets where E fares are sold and care about things like upgrades, priority boarding, and same day flight changes.

-MJ, May 28, 2015