Frequenct Flier Miles: Not so free

Yesterday I finally got around to booking our flights to the UK in a couple of months. I had been putting it off because I wanted to use our United frequent flier miles, and every time I checked the website there was nothing available.

The website and automated phone service assure you that they have access to all the flights that an agent does, but that just isn't the case. When I spoke to an agent, she initially told me the same thing: nothing available. She said more flights might open up as time went by, but I really wanted to book the flights so we could start planning our trip. Suddenly she says, oh, well, if you go on our partner airline (Air Canada in this case) you can get a flight, sure, no problem.

I managed to get flights on the days we wanted, though they are not direct and not at the optimal times. Also, in addition to the $15 fee for using your miles (whatever), there is a $15 fee for booking with an agent (for flights you can't get to on-line.. nice).. and.... TAXES. Each flight was $133 for taxes. The total came to about $300.

Booking the flights directly would have cost anywhere between $1500 and $2500, so I figure it's worth it, but still. I have to adjust my expectations about what frequent flier miles are. They are not FREE miles by any means. They are discounted, inconvenient and difficult to get miles. But still cheaper.