I agree it is a wise move. When my family was younger we non-reved a bit and found it not worth the hassle or in several cases the expense of getting stuck and having to stay in a hotel and then ending up buying last min. tickets to get somewhere. I retired in Dec. 2012 and have not non-reved since then.We have bought our tickets on airlines other than US Airways/American. My first choice of transportation is the car because you can get out and stretch or have a choice of places to eat and if you see something interesting you can sight see.
Non-rev travel has been good for me since its only two of us. Must be rough on familes with kids. Only been denyed seats from PHL to MUC because at the last minute four customers bought tickets and used the last 4 out of 5 seats and once from ATH to PHL, we were stuck because the 767-200 did not have the legs and also paying customers were left behind. Over the years we have had no problem crossing the pond about 10 times and Hawaii also 2 times.
Non-rev is great as we would not have been able to afford tickets to Europe.
