160,000 AA miles for $2,950. Is this a good deal or not?
Apr 14, 2015, 8:36 pm
#31
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
Only buy miles if you have a specific and immediate use for them. Then you know how much you're spending, and what you're getting for them.
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
this is akin to saving $20 by running behind a taxi vs. saving $1 by running behind the bus !
Apr 14, 2015, 9:09 pm
#32
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: California
Posts: 1,127
Over in the mileage run discussion, a lot of us are wondering if $1300 in F one way from DXB to AUS(or LAX/JFK/ORD) is worth it. It's a crappy MR. People are not posting their schedules on that deal. Most likely because we are thinking about ditching it. That ticket is not worth $9k one way (or $18k round trip). It may not be worth $1.3k when you can sit in economy for $400ish each way with a fare sale. 3cpm for AA is ridiculous. 2cpm is still inflated. Buy only if you need to top off for an immediate award ticket purchase.
Apr 15, 2015, 9:27 am
#33
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: USA/Canada
Programs: UA Premier 1K, AC SE, Delta Platinum Medallion, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 448
Apr 15, 2015, 9:59 am
#34
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: YYZ
Posts: 1,666
Apr 15, 2015, 10:52 am
#35
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 202
Only buy miles if you have a specific and immediate use for them. Then you know how much you're spending, and what you're getting for them.
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
Apr 17, 2015, 1:41 am
#36
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA, UA, DL, AS, LH, BA, VS, HHonors, Hyatt, Club Carlson, IHG, Marriott
Posts: 833
Assuming also that you're able to find availability for the dates and routes that you're interested in. There may be a good chance, you may not.
Apr 17, 2015, 2:00 am
#37
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA, UA, DL, AS, LH, BA, VS, HHonors, Hyatt, Club Carlson, IHG, Marriott
Posts: 833
Only buy miles if you have a specific and immediate use for them. Then you know how much you're spending, and what you're getting for them.
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
It's true that a lot of people wouldn't spend $15K for a ticket, but they may be willing to spend around $3K for one and if they do, why not get an international F ticket while they're at it? So they end up spending a little bit more to get something they may not be able to afford otherwise.
The real saving may not be $15K but you do get to experience something you otherwise couldn't afford for a fraction of it and at reasonable cost within your reach.
Apr 18, 2015, 4:25 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 4
According to the terms and conditions on the citibank offer, all purchases made through aa.com, and their airport and city ticket counters would get me double miles, so if I fly 5000 physical miles, I would get credited for 10k. The exclusions to this do not include mileage purchases, so has anyone tried this ? Is it possible that we could purchase the 160,000 miles by April 30 and be credited with 320,000 ??
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.
Apr 18, 2015, 5:01 pm
#40
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
According to the terms and conditions on the citibank offer, all purchases made through aa.com, and their airport and city ticket counters would get me double miles, so if I fly 5000 physical miles, I would get credited for 10k. The exclusions to this do not include mileage purchases, so has anyone tried this ? Is it possible that we could purchase the 160,000 miles by April 30 and be credited with 320,000 ??
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.
Also the above does not sound right.....a R/T ORD LAX would get more than 3000 miles ?
Apr 18, 2015, 5:48 pm
#41
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 4
The only down side of that is that I use all the miles with one trip.
Now if buying those miles would somehow be included in the double miles for purchases on aa.com with the citibank card .......
This seems right to me, but I was hoping someone had bought some miles and would tell us if they were doubled.
Apr 18, 2015, 7:41 pm
#42
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
According to the terms and conditions on the citibank offer, all purchases made through aa.com, and their airport and city ticket counters would get me double miles, so if I fly 5000 physical miles, I would get credited for 10k. The exclusions to this do not include mileage purchases, so has anyone tried this ? Is it possible that we could purchase the 160,000 miles by April 30 and be credited with 320,000 ??
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.
Apr 18, 2015, 10:40 pm
#43
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA, UA, DL, AS, LH, BA, VS, HHonors, Hyatt, Club Carlson, IHG, Marriott
Posts: 833
According to the terms and conditions on the citibank offer, all purchases made through aa.com, and their airport and city ticket counters would get me double miles, so if I fly 5000 physical miles, I would get credited for 10k. The exclusions to this do not include mileage purchases, so has anyone tried this ? Is it possible that we could purchase the 160,000 miles by April 30 and be credited with 320,000 ??
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.
Apr 19, 2015, 8:42 am
#44
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 4
Thanks all for the help. I was comparing aadvantage to united to capital one cc to citbank cc, and it looks like my best option is to physically fly the miles to get elite status on AA.
If I understand the game, if I fly the 17k mile round trip to HKG on AA I would get the 17k physical miles toward Gold Elite, whereas United would only give me 5 x the $800.00 fare which works out to only 4000 miles.
If I understand the game, if I fly the 17k mile round trip to HKG on AA I would get the 17k physical miles toward Gold Elite, whereas United would only give me 5 x the $800.00 fare which works out to only 4000 miles.
Apr 19, 2015, 12:37 pm
#45
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Programs: UA-1k, 1mm, Marriott-LT Platinum, Hertz-Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,355
Only buy miles if you have a specific and immediate use for them. Then you know how much you're spending, and what you're getting for them.
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
As for the "I saved $15,000 by using miles to fly first class ABC-XYZ!" claims, let's face it, you weren't planning to drop $15k in the first place, so you didn't "save" $15k. You may have saved the difference between the cost of the miles and the price of a ticket you would actually buy with cash.
I bought a $1500 retail suit at their factory outlet for about $150 not long ago. I might have been willing to pay $400 for it, so I saved $250, not $1350, as I was never willing to pay $1500 in the first place. But in truth, maybe I wouldn't have made the purchase at all if it were more than $150, so perhaps I cost myself money, rather than saving anything.
Last summer I redeemed miles for a one-way ticket that worked out to be an amazing value - 10cpm. This was a real savings, as I actually would have paid cash for the ticket otherwise (having no other option).
If you don't have 18k you aren't getting the first class seat, just because you would only pay 1k for a Y seat doesn't mean the value is 1k, it means your not their target demographic because you are a frugal traveler. It doesn't change the value, which is set by supply/demand. I may not pay 18k cash, but I will save my miles and redeem them for this experience as it will feel i'm getting a great value, which I will be.
So forget about what the spread is between your ceiling cash price vs market as not meaning anything. It does mean something but just don't call it savings, call it value.