MilesBuzz! - Should We Burn Miles Now, Before its Too Late?

Interesting article on the devaluation of FF Miles - this seems to have happened slightly this year with "enhancements" eg with BA Miles - is there more to come?

http://www.insideflyer.com/articles/article.php?key=1348

Oh I think you can bet there is more to come unless the airlines can get people to pay for first class again like they did three years ago when nobody was paying attention.

Joe has an axe to grind, he has said this before, I think Joe is right about burning miles in some programs but I think it is unnecessary in others. Everybody's perspective is different depending on 1) How/If their preferred airline is changing the program 2) How they intended to use the miles in the program 3) Whether their miles are in an airline account, credit card or hotel account 4) How quickly they earn miles and a whole bunch more factors. Some miles are worth more than others, it probably makes sense to burn those with lower value (however you measure it) but maybe not the others.

Just did a nice 5-day trip to Alaska burning some 25K miles. The Anchorage area in late September with the bright gold colors everywhere has to be one of the country's most underrated fall spots.

I wish I could be optimistic, but the growth in miles issued vs. seats available makes it all look like an Albanian pyramid scheme. And one thing I don't often see mentioned is that the wave of baby-boomer retirements will unleash a lot of people with high balances looking to redeem.

My immediate concern in '04 will be trying to burn off OnePass miles while I still have status; would hate to be sitting on a large balance in that program and not have status to at least help a little bit with redemptions.

It is important to remember that while miles may have significant value, airlines are not banks. Personally I cash in my miles as shortly as possible after I've earned enough for two business class tickets to Europe. I wouldn't be too upset about losing half the value of less than 160k miles, but to lose half the value on 1,000,000 miles would hurt a lot more.

Cogent writer.
Like anything else of value that is used as a medium of exchange, FF miles are subject to creeping devaluation, such as increase in required miles for an upgrade (UA about a year and a half ago), or a fully declared devaluation by raising the price of a R/T ticket (1995).

Value is determined by price and what the market conditions reflect. Given the state of the industry and ability to earn miles without flying I suggest the prudent stategy is to burn them as fast as possible. The potential for upward valuation is next to nill. Over the last year I've burned over a million miles on UA and AA. With price the new discriminator and business travel departments aware of ATA and Southwest. Only the unwise continue to pay full fare. fareisthese

Howdy,

Just to add in my two cents. I do tend to burn miles as I get them. I tend to agree with those writers who suggest that miles devalue over time. Given that as a general statement; I tend to use my miles for First class travel for my family.

Yes, someday I'll retire. And I'll want to travel with my family even more. And I'll have a lower income level.

But - if I bank the dollars that I would have spent on family tickets today - and use that money tommorow - I should come out way ahead.

Keep the faith,

Pakse

Nothing new. The value of miles has continued to erode for many years.

The notion of saving miles for retirement is further eroded by the loss of status. Specials tied to status, preferred access to upgraded ff tickets, etc all disappear shortly after retirement for many of us...that is what is happening in our case. While I have the miles in AS (I have been retired for a few years), my wife is the one comped to status in AS based on status on other lines. Now that she is without work, she will soon loose her status, as returning to work is iffy and will take some period of time. 3-5 months off eliminates any real chance of maintaining, for example 1k.

"Burning" miles sounds a bit too agressive. One should consider using miles as soon as an opportunity arises that fits with a trip you would like to take. Our approach was a "trip plan", somewhat like a financial plan. We planned to see Australia, New Zealand and some of the rest of the South Pacific. The plan was hatched several years ago. Each year we do as much as we can to meet that plan, within the normal day to day life demands and that of work. Now we have made 5 trips to Australia, seen the North Island of NZ and done a cruise of the South Pacific. We still have one or two returns to Australia (figure 100-130 days to do the whole thing fairly well), and one to see the South Island. We hope to complete this plan. We will not be status when we do, so getting those first class seats may be difficult.

This trip plan was not the first one, nor (God willing) will it be the last. We sought to cruise the Panama Canal, Alaska and most of the Carribean. Several cruises (two on miles) we have done those. We have not done the Med. Sea, but I guess it was not high enough on our list.

We recently bought an SUV, so when we shift to domestic travel of New England and the Northern states we will have dependable transportation. This is the framework of our yet to "put on paper" plan.

I have share this with all of you to show one way to deal with point use. It has worked for us. Naturally, our circumstance are somewhat different and therefore our system may or may not work for you.

I have been using my miles while I have status and when the fare is greater than $600.

I do save some miles for a rainy day so I have miles for two tickets for family emergencies as I have twice been in this situation in the past 5 years and don't see bereavement fares etc as a bargain.

I agree that increased valuation isn't going to happen but I have also gained some of these miles very painlessly so I am comfortable with my current plan.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by patricia:
I have been using my miles while I have status and when the fare is greater than $600.

I do save some miles for a rainy day so I have miles for two tickets for family emergencies as I have twice been in this situation in the past 5 years and don't see bereavement fares etc as a bargain.

I agree that increased valuation isn't going to happen but I have also gained some of these miles very painlessly so I am comfortable with my current plan.</font>
I agree with having enough miles for 2 tickets for family emergencies. My example was 120,000 miles that a friend needs to be able to get to Europe on short notice since his son and daughter-in-law live there. It might be 75,000 if Hawaii is your emergency destination.