Frequent-Flier ‘Tax’

Regarding “Frequent Fliers Can Make Each Mile Stretch Farther” (Travel Insider, Aug. 5): Author James Gilden’s “Value Per Flier Mile” formula for calculating the worth of a travel award is fundamentally flawed. Dividing the money cost of a ticket by the mile cost doesn’t tell the whole story.

What the formula leaves out is the miles you earn if you buy a ticket with money. For instance, Los Angeles to New York is about 4,900 miles round trip. If you start out with a frequent-flier account balance of 25,000 miles, your final balance will then be either zero (after “paying” 25,000 miles for the ticket) or 29,900 (after paying money for the ticket and earning the 4,900 miles). So the actual cost of that domestic award ticket is almost 30,000 miles. Call it a 20% “hidden tax,” which the airlines are very much aware of, unlike the vast majority of consumers.

DAVID HORNE

Los Angeles