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Amid High Oil Prices, Airlines Require More Miles to Fly; ‘Final Straw’ for One Traveler

Cashing in your frequent-flier miles? Get ready to spend some cash. New booking fees on tickets bought with miles are among a barrage of surcharges and cutbacks hitting frequent-flier programs in the next few weeks. Pinched by high oil prices, airlines are also increasing the number of miles required for flights and cutting back on program benefits. Today, US Airways Group Inc. will stop giving bonus miles to elite frequent fliers. It will also start charging between $25 and $50, depending on the destination, for booking award tickets. On Aug. 15, Delta Air Lines Inc. will add a fuel surcharge to award tickets — $25 for U.S. and Canada and $50 for other destinations — and on Sept. 15, Northwest Airlines Corp. will add a fuel surcharge of $25 to $100 to WorldPerks tickets issued in North America. Several airlines have recently introduced or increased fees for booking or changing award tickets on the phone, booking a leg on a partner airline or redepositing unused miles from a canceled ticket. AMR Corp.’s American Airlines has added a $5 online booking fee and will increase the number of miles needed to buy certain award tickets as of Oct. 1. On Friday, Continental Airlines announced the company will no longer allow frequent-flier members to buy the last seat available on certain flights "where demand is high" after Sept. 3, though the restriction won’t apply to elite fliers. On Aug. 17, the airline will increase fees for booking award tickets close to the date of travel. The moves have some fliers questioning the value of miles programs, says Joe Brancatelli, editor of travel Web site JoeSentMe.com. "Inflating the currency and then having less product to buy and charging you fees to do it — it’s hyper-inflation," he says. "It’s Zimbabwe." US Airways’ decision to end bonus-miles privileges for elite members was the "final straw" for Michael Dukart, who had amassed over a million miles with the carrier earlier this year. When the airline announced it would stop awarding bonus miles to elite members of its Dividend Miles program, Mr. Dukart, who lives in Wilmington, Del., decided to start flying United Airlines instead, even though the airport closest to him is a US Airways hub. A broad consumer protest has emerged on Savedividendmiles.com, a Web site put up two weeks ago by Randy Petersen, the frequent-flier specialist who runs the popular travel forum Flyertalk.com. A petition on the Web site asking US Airways to bring back bonus miles has been signed by 1,570 people. Mr. Dukart says he signed the petition and is trying to "burn through" his miles so he can make a clean break from the airline. On Monday, he left for South Africa with his wife, using first-class seats bought with miles. Scott Kirby, president of US Airways, says, "I wish it wasn’t the kind of decision we felt we had to make," but the changes and fees "are necessary realities of $125-a-barrel oil." US Airways polled frequent fliers and found that "overwhelmingly" they value a free upgrade to first class more than bonus miles. Mr. Kirby says the airline has received complaints from consumers, but not more than it received after announcing other changes, like charging for food. "Changes are hard," says Mr. Kirby. The fees and benefit cuts come at a time when frequent fliers are already upset about a problematic imbalance — a lot of miles and not many seats available for award tickets. Airlines make a large profit from selling miles to "partners" such as credit cards and hotels. Partner deals have gone up significantly over the years, but award seats haven’t. Delta issued 25% more miles in 2007 than in 2004, says Jeff Robertson, managing director of Delta’s SkyMiles program, but the number of available seats on its planes didn’t increase. Recent capacity cuts have made the imbalance worse, because airlines are maintaining the same percentage of awards seats on fewer flights. Still, some airlines are taking measures to make their frequent-flier programs more attractive. Earlier this year, both Northwest and Delta introduced new options that allow fliers to buy tickets with a combination of cash and miles, so small increments of miles could be redeemed. In April, the two companies announced they intend to merge. Delta recently announced it would replace its awards program in September with a three-tiered system that’s similar to American Airlines’ program. Instead of offering domestic tickets for either 25,000 or 50,000 miles — with many more tickets available for 50,000 miles — the airline will offer about 50% of its total seat inventory for 40,000 miles, while maintaining the same amount of seats in the 25,000-mile tier. The rest of the seats will be in the 60,000-mile tier. In addition, the airline will again allow frequent fliers to book the last seat available on flights — a benefit denied to frequent fliers last winter. Such seats will go to those willing to pay a hefty mileage price. "This new structure will attract more new customers, benefit current customers and help differentiate Delta from other carriers," says Mr. Robertson. In November, Alaska Airlines will add more award levels, in an effort to make it easier to use miles. The airline already offers a cash-and-miles award ticket. Discount carrier AirTran Holdings Inc. added a program in March that lets passengers pay for extra miles to reach the level needed to get an award ticket. Before, fliers could buy award tickets only with miles. Airlines "are trying to stay competitive and be a little more innovative," says Rick Seaney, chief executive of the travel Web site FareCompare.com. "Fuel and luggage surcharges have been bad press. They are trying to tweak some things to mitigate that." But some of the new award-travel systems have drawbacks. Under Delta’s new three-tier structure, award travel is more expensive in some cases. A premium-class seat to Europe used to cost between 90,000 and 250,000 miles and will now cost between 100,000 miles and 350,000 miles. The top price now guarantees the last seat on a flight, unlike before. Northwest’s cash-and-miles offer, PerkChoice, includes a clause that has rubbed at least one customer the wrong way: If you need to cancel the ticket, you don’t get the cash part of the purchase back. Jackie Engelhart bought three airline tickets to Calgary, Alberta, earlier this year, three days after the soft launch of PerkChoice. After her eight-year-old daughter spent several months fighting colds, flu and asthma, Ms. Engelhart decided to cancel the trip, assuming the cash part of her tickets would be treated like most canceled Northwest tickets — as credit with the Eagan, Minn.-based airline. Instead she had to pay a $50-per-ticket fee to put the miles back onto to her account and couldn’t get any credit for the cash. Northwest says that it hasn’t had many complaints about the rule and that the terms of PerkChoice "are given when a customer books a ticket," and "must be agreed to before the customer is allowed to complete the purchase." But like other aspects of the relatively new program, the rule "could be changed," says a company spokesperson. Regardless, Ms. Engelhart says she won’t book a PerkChoice ticket again. "Not flying Northwest cost us more than $1,000," she says.

Escape to one of these, and you’re guaranteed to get there before anyone you know

Skomer Island
The secret is out about Skomer — among birds, anyway. Nearly half a million puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars, and razorbills build nests in the lichen-covered cliffs of the 721-acre nature reserve off mainland Wales. The birds far outnumber the dozen or so humans on Skomer, just a 15-minute ferry ride from the town of Martin’s Haven. Crisscrossed with hiking trails, the island is protected by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. A maximum of 250 people may visit per day, but there’s only room for 15 overnight guests in a converted barn where scientists conduct most of their research. If you visit between May and July, when the majority of birds are nesting, you’ll hear the eerie serenade of the rare Manx shearwater; there are more than 200,000 of them on Skomer. "They have this really wacky call, like a crazy chicken crossed with a pigeon," says Jo Milborrow, the island’s wildlife warden. "The legend is that they’re the souls of sailors." — Amy Laughinghouse

Corn Islands
Even the pirates of the Caribbean took a vacation from plundering, and to this day, their hideaway has remained a fairly hidden treasure. Forty miles off mainland Nicaragua, the Corn Islands are still populated by the descendants of buccaneers. On Great Corn Island — one-hour La Costeña flights depart daily from Managua — the only attractions are sand and sea, including a reef that surrounds a 400-year-old Spanish galleon. "If you get bored here, then you don’t know how to unwind," says Jeff Johnson, an expat from Washington, D.C. "Not doing anything is the point." Great Corn is a metropolis compared with the 1.4-square-mile Little Corn Island. The $6 ferry from Great Corn drops you off near the two best places to stay: Hotel Los Delfines and Casa Iguana, which relies on solar power because of spotty electricity. Despite the wonky infrastructure, Little Corn has pockets of sophistication: Paola Carminiani serves up a taste of her Italian homeland with three-course dinners at Farm, Peace & Love. Just bring a flashlight so you can find your way back through the jungle. — Paul Katz

Kíthira Island
Mythical characters dwell everywhere on Kíthira, just eight miles off the tip of the Peloponnesian peninsula. Here’s the pool where Aphrodite bathed. Over there, you can see the cave where Helen and Paris are believed to have sought refuge. Except for the six weeks starting in mid-July, Kíthira is a sleepy place with compact medieval villages that are home to ancient grain mills, Byzantine chapels, and cheerful wooden beehives that are painted yellow, blue, or white. (Kíthira’s thyme-scented honey is so coveted that the annual production sells out within weeks.) Lodging on the island consists of small hotels and inns. In the whitewashed capital of Chora, the 12-room Hotel Margarita faces the sea. An even better base for exploring is one of the villages in the center, such as Mitata, where a beekeeper has opened Aplinori, an inn where guests can learn how to make honey and cheese. One-hour Olympic Airlines flights to Kíthira depart daily from Athens. — Ann Banks

Rottnest Island
The name Rottnest is unsuitable for such a beautiful place — after all, the island has more than 60 white-sand beaches. Blame Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh, who discovered the island in 1696, mistook the marsupial quokkas for rats, and named the place "rat’s nest." After a 70-year stretch as a penal colony, the island, 12 miles off mainland Australia, has become a popular day trip from Perth. The best way to tour the salt lakes in the interior is to rent a bicycle through Rottnest Bike Hire. The reefs around the island are great for snorkeling; Oceanic Cruises leads excursions to shipwrecks off Kingston Reef. Most visitors come just for the day, but there are lodgings—cabins and bungalows (shown here) managed by the island authority. Before heading back to catch the ferry, stop for some Victoria Bitter beer and a platter of fish, scallops, and oysters at the Rottnest Tearooms Bar & Café. — Justin Bergman

Fakarava Island
The island’s single road wasn’t paved until 2003, in anticipation of a visit by then-French president Jacques Chirac (he never arrived, nor did he give a reason why). But that certainly helped put Fakarava on the map — unlike its more populated neighbors Bora-Bora and Tahiti, Fakarava is home to about 500 residents. In the center of Rotoava village is the Relais Marama, the one pension in town with oceanfront bungalows. For divers and snorkelers, the northern Garuae Pass and the southern Tumakohua Pass have pristine coral reefs that are accessible through outfitter Te Ava Nui. You’ll have to travel for a full day to get to and from Tumakohua — the pass is only reachable by boat — but it’s worth the trip. The nearby village of Tetamanu has a church built entirely out of coral, as well as several black-pearl farms that give free tours. A pension on the outskirts of Rotoava, Pearl Guest House Havaiki, will even allow you to snorkel to its oyster farm with the owner and keep any pearls you find. One-hour flights to Fakarava depart from Papeete, Tahiti, once daily. — Lynwood Lord

Sumba Island
Legend has it that Sumba’s first inhabitants descended a ladder from heaven, but as soon as their feet hit the ground, they started battling. The natives’ reputation convinced European traders to avoid the island in southern Indonesia, leaving it relatively undeveloped for centuries. The warrior culture lives on in the annual Pasola ritual war festival held each February and March, in which horsemen from various tribes joust using spears. For more mellow activities, the island’s southern coast has great surfing — 12-foot swells are not uncommon — and a community-minded (although expensive) resort called Nihiwatu. The hotel has day trips to nearby villages, where you can chew betel nut with the locals, buy colorful ikat cloth, and volunteer at a clinic funded by the resort. The more affordable Sumba Nautil Resort is down the coast. One-hour Transnusa Air Service flights to Sumba depart from Bali. — Susan Crandell

Amantaní Island
Few places have a welcoming committee quite like the one on Amantaní, an island in Lake Titicaca: Aymara Indian women wearing embroidered black tunics line the dock and wave to visitors as they disembark from the ferry arriving from the city of Puno. After living in relative isolation for centuries, residents on the island began to allow overnight stays about 10 years ago. There are no cars or roads, and quinoa and barley are grown by hand — as they have been for centuries — on hillside terraces. Stone hiking paths lead to the island’s two highest peaks, Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Pachatata (Father Earth). During the Fiesta de la Santa Tierra each January, the residents form dual processions from temples built atop Pachamama and Pachatata to the main village, also called Amantaní, where everyone dances late into the night. Tour operator Edgar Adventures will arrange farmstays with several families that take turns hosting visitors. "The Aymara live simply on what they produce," says guide Fredy Manrique. "It made me realize that you can be happy with very little — that you don’t necessarily need to have big houses and cars." — Justin Bergman

Joe Sherman, a 57-year-old native Mississippian, recently returned from Vietnam with a newfound appreciation for the customary morning bowl of pho, a beef noodle soup seasoned with herbs. As president and CEO of the Viking Culinary Group, a company best known for its range, which has expanded into cooking courses and travel, Sherman’s trip was work related. On his first culinary tour, Sherman spent 10 days sampling Vietnamese fare at local noodle shops and village markets. He stayed at a riverside resort in Hoi An, dined at Saigon’s popular Ngon Restaurant and toured the imperial capital of Hue by pedicab. He even traveled to the Saigon countryside to a village famous for its rice paper. There he met a woman who prepares 1,200 sheets each day to be used for spring rolls. More from Forbes.com • In Pictures: World’s Top Tasting Trips • In Pictures: 10 Perfect Food and Wine Pairings • In Pictures: America’s Top Power-Lunch Spots With its emphasis on immersion and authenticity, this is the new culinary tour. Though traditional tasting trips to Napa Valley wine country or the heart of Provence are still popular, more and more travelers are exploring cuisine in countries like India, Turkey and New Zealand. Gastro-tourists are heading there because they increasingly want an insider’s experience instead of one where they nosh at far-removed locations with little understanding for how the food is grown and prepared, says Sherman. "You felt less like an outsider," he says of his trip, "and more like you belonged because you adapted to the traditions of their culinary heritage." Delicious Destinations The mouthwatering delights of culinary tourism are many–black truffles, gourmet sushi and cured pork are just a few. There are also excursions to spice markets, farms, butchers and even family kitchens. An ambitious tour of four South Indian states, for example, takes travelers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in pursuit of the finest cuisine. No meal is spurned: participants sample the best street food, join community feasts, peruse spice markets and dine at high-end restaurants. The day ends at a local four- or five-star Taj Hotels property, which customizes the tour. "That’s influenced the way we eat," he says, "and the kinds of foods we see in the supermarket." He also notes that more Americans are experimenting with foreign ingredients. "Any place where there’s a little India or Saigon, you will find increasing numbers of native-born Americans." A growing desire to know the origin of food has also driven trends in culinary travel. Erik Wolf, president and CEO of the International Culinary Tourism Association, says curiosity about one’s carbon footprint and food safety has prompted some to become more knowledgeable about the global food supply. A trip to an Italian olive oil mill, butcher and goat farm, for instance, can vividly illustrate the food-producing process, an experience further enhanced when tourists meet a purveyor or farmer. Which Trip Is Right for You? Those who are not yet self-proclaimed gourmands may find choosing a culinary tour a bit daunting. But Wolf recommends narrowing the choices by evaluating one’s expectations (some tours charge up to $1,700 per couple, per day, and most do not include airfare) and interests. Someone who prefers organic food should try a tour of an organic farm or winery. If one draws inspiration from the French masters, a trip to Burgundy to learn classic technique might be in order. Sushi lovers can flock to Japan where there is now at least one tour that incorporates visits to Michelin-rated restaurants. The experience and background of the operator is also important. Some tours are organized by an army of people who have scouted a location and made connections with local guides and chefs while others are conducted by just one or two enthusiasts with a wide range of knowledge of the cuisine and region. Neither is necessarily superior to the other, but the varied approaches affect the trip’s focus and activities. Aside from exposure to a foreign culture and cuisine, participants also get something money can’t buy: bragging rights. Whether it’s hunting for mushrooms and truffles in France or purchasing spices at a historic market in Istanbul, gastro-tourists enjoy regaling friends with tales of a very unique tasting trip experience. "[They] are increasingly important to today’s culinary tourist," Wolf says. "People want to be able to say, ‘I learned how to make chocolate in Belgium.’"

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