Sam Kemmis, NerdWallet I heard a podcast last week about how runaway inflation in Argentina has caused everyone to party more. Why? When inflation gets really bad, there’s no reason to save cash for a later date since it will only get less valuable. So Argentines tend to spend their paychecks as soon as they come in, filling bars and restaurants and generally living for the moment. It’s macroeconomic YOLO.
At first glance, you might think the dark blue line in the chart above represents the hubbub around airfare this summer. But that line represents the cost of renting a car, which has become somewhat less expensive in the last few months, yet remains 46% higher than pre-pandemic rates. It also means that it will be easier to trim budgets by reducing plans that depend on rental cars or eating out. Booking a hotel room with a kitchen might not be cost-effective under normal circumstances, but it could be this year. And visiting a destination with good public transportation, like a European city, will avoid those eye-watering rental car prices.
It’s a tails-you-win, heads-you-win situation. If prices go up, you’ll have snagged a lower rate. If prices go down, you can modify your booking and save. The same logic applies to rental cars and air travel, assuming the bookings are flexible. The point is, it’s a good time to use points and miles, especially those of programs that still use an award chart. Award charts keep the price of points relatively stable, and differ from programs that use dynamically priced awards that are tied to the cash value of a given redemption.