Great deal on a one way flight

Well, you pays your money and you takes your chances, but I’d probably go for it. I know there’s a lot of folks here who will just get one-way tickets and then hold off on the return tickets until their schedules are more certain or until the flights open up or for any number of reasons.

You may or may not get the same deal, keep in mind, but hopefully it won’t be too far off.

Thanks Mardee. I did it!! Now we will see if we can get home again :)

I too did this for the first time ever this May. I had some Alaska Air credit that was expiring and I found out that they are now flying to London, so I went ahead and got the one-way ticket. My husband was a little concerned that I would never come back :-) However, last week I finally put the rest of the pieces together. I will be going to India from London (used Virgin points) and then for the India-USA segment I used United points on Air India. So yes, it is very patchwork but it did work out in the end. Good luck with your flights!

Maplady - Good to hear that I'm not the only one. I will start looking for our return flight in about 2 weeks.

I do this all the time. It has a great deal to do with your airlines' pricing policies and the policy of frequent flier programs if you are using them.

I fly Alaska airlines a lot and they always price their flights by segments. Some other airlines may price a one way the same as a round trip so it really pays to explore the pricing strategies of your expected airlines in advance.

I will almost always book a ticket based on frequent flier miles as soon as they become available. I can change my mind later and the miles and fees will simply be refunded. I usually don't need to do that, but it does give a bit more confidence when arranging flights 11 months out.

Carol, Thanks for your reply. That's very reassuring.

Katiecem, the only thing to note is that Virgin does charge a fee if you change/cancel the reward ticket(s) - I think it is $100/person. I always used United, American and Delta miles till now and they never charge for changes or cancellation, so I was a bit surprised at this new-to-me policy.

Good to know. Hopefully, no changes will be required.

I always book mileage tickets as one-ways. That way if I want to change something it is less disruptive.

Thanks shannon- Seems like it's not uncommon. Glad to hear it works for you.

I often do this when booking with miles. My miles are with United and the number of miles and the amount of cash is much lower than what your great deal is. I guess all mileage programs are different.

This is a steal compared to reward tickets using Skymiles (Delta). I would book it.
I have booked a one way before when I knew I would be flying a different airline on the way back, and I didn't want to go through third-party like Orbitz and Travelocity (that was a long time ago as you can tell).

For an international flight to Europe, a one-way ticket from the US is usually reasonably priced, whether you pay in cash or miles; however, the returning one-way ticket is a different story.

For a one-way returning flight to the US, paying in miles can be more expensive but not excessive if you book very early. If you pay in cash and book in the US it will be super expensive—sometimes twice as much or more.

Andrea- much lower for two people? Maybe I need to start flying United.

much lower for two people? Maybe I need to start flying United.

I have never seen a United premium economy flight to Europe for 18,000 points plus $300. You got a great deal. Sometimes the points for a premium economy flight are nearly as much as business.

I am just seeing this but have done this twice for 2026 and today booked a points one way for May 2027. About a year ago I found a miles business flight for my current trip that was a good deal compared to normal costs - and then booked a return miles flight in economy later. For the fall, I booked a business return ticket, then bought a one way over flight in dollars for what would have been half the cost of an economy round trip.

My trips are usually a couple of months long, so I can’t really book a round trip with miles - business miles tickets disappear fast and my returns aren’t available till much later. So it has to be two one-way flights. And I rarely use my miles for an economy ticket.

Absolutely YES. That's exactly how I did it when I booked a Virgin Saver Fare reward seats to London. One way. Then when the return trip became available I Booked that on Virgin, one way.
You can gamble if you wish by thinking you might find a R/T saver fare on another island. But if you are happy withe VS saver fare, I would book it and calendar when the return flight becomes available (usually 350 days before the flight) and book that one.

Thanks, Derek. That is what I am hoping. I'm checking frequently while waiting for the return to become available.

Oops, sorry. I missed the reference to Premium Economy. Now it sounds like a great deal.

Andrea - Ok, now I don't have to change to airlines. LOL.