Spending & Earning

Flights to Europe at $6,000 Push Summer Vacationers to 'Destination Dupes'

In the face of sky-high airfare, travelers are reworking — though not entirely canceling — their plans

Travelers at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg

It’s the summer of vacation roulette, with soaring airfares upending plans and sending people to wherever the best deals take them.

Michelle Sutton and her wife scrapped their original vision for a July vacation on the Dalmatian coast after seeing a one-way business-class ticket from Cleveland to Split, Croatia, costs $6,000 a seat—or nearly 100,000 points per person. “Which is wild,” Sutton said, given they flew to Madrid in business class last year for around half that using points.