I got a letter from T-Mobile last night saying their free companion flight offer, for which you need to either buy a phone or extend your contract 2 years, was available to their ‘top 5%’ customers. I’m apparently top 5% because I’ve been with them since they were Aerial, then Voicestream, and finally T-Mobile. That’s approximately 40 years.
I signed up to figure out what the catch is; you buy one ticket and get a second free, it’s good til February 2010 to anywhere in the contiguous United States, and you have to book 30 days in advance. Easy, right?
The catch is the pricing. They use a zone chart. Those prices aren’t even entirely accurate; everything I searched for cost between $600-700 for a single ticket. However, the FAQ mentions a price match:
TLC guarantees that if a fare listed in the Zone Chart exceeds a published rate, on an available flight by 25%, the Zone Fare will be reduced to match the competition, plus 15%. (Example: If TLC’s Zone Fare Chart lists a fare of $250, and you find the same flight for $150, which is 60% more, the Zone Fare will be considered for adjustment. Upon TLC’s verification of the fare and availability, TLC will match the $150 fare plus 15%; therefore, for this example, the zone fare would be $172.50. You can then book the flight, pay $172.50 for the first fare, and get the Companion Flight for Free. The combination of two (2) flights/tickets through the T-Mobile Free Companion Flight promotion presents a savings of $127.50 or 43%. All standard taxes and fees will apply.
I decided to do some research on that, and came up with an example. MSP-LAX 1/22-1/25 on NWA costs $645.20 on the ‘free companion fare’ site. On NWA.com, it’s $279. According to their site, they should sell me that flight at $320, and give me a free second ticket. Right? Right.
I’ll be doing more work on this. The only thing I like more than travel is free travel.