I had a couple different itineraries available to see the 2024 eclipse on 4/8/2024. I planned to fly into DFW either the day of or day before, and leave the same day. Right before, I have a trip to Las Vegas, so I have the option to depart from either LAS or SNA.

The idea was to be in Dallas during the maximum of the eclipse and be in the air during at least some of the partial eclipse.

Outbound:

Option 1: LAS – DFW 1AM-5:39AM on Frontier for 20k points, the cash price was as low as $130. I would have an AA backup flight that arrives at 11:45AM for 17.5k points.

Option 2: SNA-DFW 4:27-9:22PM, $112 on Frontier. According to google flights price history, any other comparable flight was at least $190.

For option 1, I would probably just try and sleep at the minute suites at DFW. They usually allow back to back 1 hour bookings if you have multiple priority pass accounts.

For option 2, I would stay at the Hyatt Place Dallas/Las Colinas for 5000 points, which is a steal considering any other comparable hotel (of any brand) with airport shuttle would be at least $200/night. I could quote the cash price of this hotel ($890/night!), which would be a 17.8 cent per point, but that’s complete nonsense. As of today, none of the Hyatt hotels near DFW are taking points reservations and rates are at least $300/night.

Inbound:

I wanted to be in the air during the eclipse, so the flight needed to depart at 2-3PM from DFW. There were only a couple flights that fit this criteria.

Option 1: DFW-SNA on AA from 2:25PM-3:47PM for 18.5k points. Cash price was as low as $203. There was also a non-direct option with Spirit that was roughly $120 at one point.

Option 2: DFW-TUC-SNA on Alaska from 2:34PM-7:19PM for 12.5k points. The first leg is on AA and the second on Alaska. This route seemed to go in an out of availability and it no longer shows up on any search engine.

I’ll likely choose the 2nd option because it’s cheaper, leaves a bit later, and I would be able to use my Alaska 75k status.

The primary benefit of points/status for this trip is flexibility and free seat selection. I have status with American, Alaska, and Frontier, which allows me to select the window seat on all of the flights. It also allows me to cancel any of the trips without penalty if my plans change. If I opt for the hotel, Hyatt points would have saved me $200.

Having points didn’t really save me that much on flights. If I go with points flights for both directions, it would cost 20k Frontier points and 12.5k Alaska miles. The outbound flight was as low as $130, or 0.63 cpp. A comparable inbound flight would be roughly $120 on Spirit with seat selection (1 cpp), or $200 on AA (1.6 cpp).

	Price	“Retail Value”	Comparable Value
Option 1: F9 LAS-DFW	20k Frontier points	$130 (0.6 cpp)	$130 (0.6 cpp)
Option 2: F9 SNA-DFW	$112	$112	$112
Option 1: AA DFW-SNA		$203 (1 cpp)	$203 (1 cpp)
Option 2: AS DFW-TUC-SNA	12.5k Alaska points	N/A	$203 (1.6 cpp)
Hyatt Place Dallas/Colinas	5000 Hyatt Points	$887 (17.8 cpp)	$200 (4 cpp)

In domestic economy, which a vast majority of people fly on, points may not provide as much value as one might expect. It’s easy to get 5-10cpp when you’re booking international business with inflated prices. Realistic redemption values are much lower if you’re flying domestic economy. It’s even lower if you consider other comparable alternatives, and not just the retail price of that specific flight.

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