MilesBuzz! - I redeemed my miles for domestic Y.

Yep, I said it. I redeemed my miles for 2xY LAX-FCA.
And there is a good chance I'll redeem for LAX-YEG before the week is over.
I feel like a contrarian. :D

Perhaps it's the economy or international award rate hikes but I see more use for NA redemption right now.
Internationally I can buy a ticket to many destinations in europe or asia and upgrade for <$1000 and earn a bunch miles along the way but many short NA routes are selling for $400-500. Thanks to DEQM I don't need any more EQM.

Yes, I know the cpm value of redeeming for premium cabin of international carrier bla bla bla but it's summer and SQ or CX or NZ do not fly to FCA or YEG where we want to go. Plus no matter how premium the carrier or cabin is I much prefer 16 hrs eating and sleeping on the ground vs in the air.

Anyone wants to talk me out of this before I book the second ticket? ;)

The 25K US48/Canada ticket can be a good value. (Or they can be a horrible value.)

YEG, ANC, YYC, etc. are all destinations I have redeemed to.

Do the math...and go for it if it makes sense!

I say go for it!

I burned my remaining 75K UA miles on 3 domestic tix for our family to visit mom on mother's day. A very worthwhile redemption for us.

Nothing wrong with using miles for a domestic award. It all depends on your situation. I give you my approval! :)

Before I got caught up in accumulating miles for status that was my strategy: accumulate miles on cheap TATL and TCON fares, burn them on overpriced/underserved domestic routes. Why not?

Just used 50k miles for two domestic tickets near the last minute for an unexpected trip. Saved ~$500 doing this. Cash is tight right now so it was definitely worth it, especially considering I could use up orphaned Continental miles for one of the tickets. You get a ^ from me.

Three weeks ago used 25K CO for domestic Y instead of $740 - so at 3 cents/mile, not a bad use of miles - go for it !!

I don't really get international upgrade opportunities so I only use my miles on premium long-haul cabins. If I did fly more and upgrading was more accessible to me, I see zero reason to not use them domestically or even on Hawaii or Caribbean spots. My preference would definitely be minimum 2.5 or 3 CPM redemption otherwise I'll pay for the ticket. For Canadian airports, it's definitely a decent deal. Unless it's on US PHX-YEG on an icky USX CR9, that is. :)

When United had the fly three fly free promo I used my cert to fly PHX-SFO-PHX.

Also, I've also used 50K coach anytime awards to fly people in to see me in Phoenix as they didn't want to pay $250 to fly. I guess we all have skeletons in our closets.

When United had the fly three fly free promo I used my cert to fly PHX-SFO-PHX.

Also, I've also used 50K coach anytime awards to fly people in to see me in Phoenix as they didn't want to pay $250 to fly. I guess we all have skeletons in our closets.

I don't want to spend 250 bucks to come see you in Phoenix either. Any three day weekend this summer, aisle seat please. Thanks bro you are alright!

I don't want to spend 250 bucks to come see you in Phoenix either. Any three day weekend this summer, aisle seat please. Thanks bro you are alright!

I am tempted as I love making new friends...do you follow the rule my friends do which is that when they're here on my miles they buy my dinner at whatever restaurant I choose?

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The most important thing is to use the miles in a way that benefits you. There isn't much value in getting a high cpm if you would rather go somewhere else. Nor does it make sense to burn extra miles for Business or First if you have other places you'd like to go. cpm isn't the goal. Improving your life is.

I am tempted as I love making new friends...do you follow the rule my friends do which is that when they're here on my miles they buy my dinner at whatever restaurant I choose?

Can you spend $250 for one dinner in Phoenix? Or does that include drinks?

Back on topic, it's good to see so many people with their head in the right place on this thread. The old "upgrade international or forget it" mantra seems to be so ingrained here I was beginning to feel like a contrarian, too. Earlier this year I redeemed 100,000 miles for 4 domestic tix to HDN for a ski trip. The tickets would otherwise have cost north of $1,000 each.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.0)

Family of 4 - 20K OW MIA-ANC over spring break- ticket would have been 900+


...In Y :eek:... But it was well worth the trip^

I often use my miles for domestic tix to go to the NCAA tournament. If you want to follow your team, you're usually buying tix on very short notice. On top of that, you are sometimes going to smaller to medium sized towns that host opening rounds.

This past March, I ended up using miles for tickets to Boise - my choice was 37,500 miles or nearly $1,000 each. Had a great time, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat....

This past March, I ended up using miles for tickets to Boise - my choice was 37,500 miles or nearly $1,000 each. Had a great time, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat....

Give me a ring the next time you're in BOI. :) I use my miles for Y on trips to Hawaii and various CONUS destinations. I can take twice the trips that way!

I use 25K awards to get to the departing city for cheap mileage runs. I did it twice recently to get to BOS for triple miles (actually quadruple miles if you have Plat. or Ex. Plat. status) and double EQM. So, effectively, it cost me 5,000 (give or take a few) miles each time.