How do You Use Your Miles?
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bangkok or San Francisco
Programs: United 1k, Marriott Lifetime PE, Former DL Gold, Former SQ Solitaire, HH Gold
Posts: 11,886
I am technically retired. I am doing some consulting to keep from getting bored. I told the company that I am consulting with right now that I would not work more than 6 months a year and that I would not work more than 2 months at a time.
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: EWR
Programs: Mucci, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
#20
Join Date: May 2003
Location: ATL/MOO (Many Others Often)
Programs: DL GM (2MM), Lifetime Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 2,456
OP nailed my use on the head with this statement: "I gift them to family or friends to be able to give them opportunities to travel that they would not otherwise have."
I love doing this and it helps me justify (just the fact I need to justify it might tell me something) the amount of time I do travel and choose to be away from some people and things that truly do matter.
I love doing this and it helps me justify (just the fact I need to justify it might tell me something) the amount of time I do travel and choose to be away from some people and things that truly do matter.
#21
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
I used to gift them a lot, fly friends and family out to visit me when I lived in Arizona or I used them for upgrades and lounge access. Now I'm committed to using them on trips I can't pay for with cash. Either premium cabin redemptions overseas (Most recently: Budapest, before that: Prague, Vienna and Paris) or for last minute trips (like seeing game 1 of the 2010 World Series).
#22
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Western Europe
Programs: Yeah, well, don’t really care anymore
Posts: 844
I give mine away to friends and family. Travel way too much, about the last thing I want to see in my time off is another bloody airport/airline combination! The only ones I save for myself are the hotel points.
It's the law of the land where I'm from. 30 + 5 days a year. I usually either stay at home (see above), or take the BMW on a road trip down to the Med coast and stay in nice hotel for a week or two. That's for the summer, usually a 3-week vacation. In the winter I'll drive to Austria to go skiing for a week. The remainder I just burn on shorter vacations, sometimes starting the car (again!) and driving to the 'Nordschleife for some petrol fueled fun. Oh, almost forgot, there's also the annual pilgrimage to Le Mans for the 24 hour race. And, yes, we drive there as well
It's the law of the land where I'm from. 30 + 5 days a year. I usually either stay at home (see above), or take the BMW on a road trip down to the Med coast and stay in nice hotel for a week or two. That's for the summer, usually a 3-week vacation. In the winter I'll drive to Austria to go skiing for a week. The remainder I just burn on shorter vacations, sometimes starting the car (again!) and driving to the 'Nordschleife for some petrol fueled fun. Oh, almost forgot, there's also the annual pilgrimage to Le Mans for the 24 hour race. And, yes, we drive there as well
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: EWR
Programs: Mucci, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
OP nailed my use on the head with this statement: "I gift them to family or friends to be able to give them opportunities to travel that they would not otherwise have."
I love doing this and it helps me justify (just the fact I need to justify it might tell me something) the amount of time I do travel and choose to be away from some people and things that truly do matter.
I love doing this and it helps me justify (just the fact I need to justify it might tell me something) the amount of time I do travel and choose to be away from some people and things that truly do matter.
#26
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,550
BA Avios:
- short-hop flights on AA metal
- TATL on Aer Lingus, usually in Y because that's what's available
- Occasionally other short- to mid-haul flights in other parts of the world where YQ is low or nonexistent
AA:
- Long-haul premium cabin
- Occasionally a U.S./Canada transborder flight
UA:
- U.S./Canada transborder flights
- Occasionally long-haul premium cabin
DL:
- sporadic earnings, but I hold no DL status of any kind. Therefore, any award here must be J/F unless it's a very low-risk short-but-expensive coach flight. It's about a three-year trek for me to have enough miles for a single TATL J award in the lowest bucket.
Marriott:
- Travel Packages, although it's getting tougher to find good 1-week non-resort stays that we want to do. Most likely to use Marriott in large, expensive cities
HH:
- 4- to 6-night hotel stays, secondary European markets, Middle East, or Asia. New category structure with HH rules out the most expensive markets
- Occasionally a resort stay if the property didn't get killed in the latest devaluation
SPG:
- Short stays, Cash & Points where possible
- More likely to use SPG outside U.S./Canada where elite treatment is much better (I'm usually Gold or the basic first-tier Plat level. Never a top-level Plat.)
- short-hop flights on AA metal
- TATL on Aer Lingus, usually in Y because that's what's available
- Occasionally other short- to mid-haul flights in other parts of the world where YQ is low or nonexistent
AA:
- Long-haul premium cabin
- Occasionally a U.S./Canada transborder flight
UA:
- U.S./Canada transborder flights
- Occasionally long-haul premium cabin
DL:
- sporadic earnings, but I hold no DL status of any kind. Therefore, any award here must be J/F unless it's a very low-risk short-but-expensive coach flight. It's about a three-year trek for me to have enough miles for a single TATL J award in the lowest bucket.
Marriott:
- Travel Packages, although it's getting tougher to find good 1-week non-resort stays that we want to do. Most likely to use Marriott in large, expensive cities
HH:
- 4- to 6-night hotel stays, secondary European markets, Middle East, or Asia. New category structure with HH rules out the most expensive markets
- Occasionally a resort stay if the property didn't get killed in the latest devaluation
SPG:
- Short stays, Cash & Points where possible
- More likely to use SPG outside U.S./Canada where elite treatment is much better (I'm usually Gold or the basic first-tier Plat level. Never a top-level Plat.)
#27
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 41,981
Like many who were initially disappointed by the BA devaluation ~2 years ago (long flights are now insanely priced compared to other programs), I have come to realize that short haul awards are really nice.
Basically, you can book the most expensive hub captive sectors standalone for 4500/7500/10000 + $5 as close in as 1 hour before flight (you can actually get inside an hour if you're willing to play games, but I've never needed to do this myself).
This strategy works most OW hubs (TYO is the one exception that comes to mind off hand).
#28
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
Generally for family vacations. I've used miles to go with my family to DC, NYC, Florida, LA, San Diego, HNL (3x), Atlanta, and Denver. Next year, we're looking at visiting Asia, in 2-3 years, probably visit somewhere in Europe. Also have booked a few international trips for family.
Hotel points are also generally used for family travel, although I've also given some away to friends/family as anniversary gifts and the like.
Some may deride my usage of miles/points for domestic travel, but I can tell you that it's a very nice feeling knowing that we haven't paid for air travel/hotel for our last 10 family trips. I figure we've saved probably upwards of $30k for air/hotel on these family vacations, along with buying some goodwill from my mother-in-law
Hotel points are also generally used for family travel, although I've also given some away to friends/family as anniversary gifts and the like.
Some may deride my usage of miles/points for domestic travel, but I can tell you that it's a very nice feeling knowing that we haven't paid for air travel/hotel for our last 10 family trips. I figure we've saved probably upwards of $30k for air/hotel on these family vacations, along with buying some goodwill from my mother-in-law
Last edited by gobluetwo; Oct 23, 2014 at 7:24 am
#29
Join Date: May 2007
Location: IAD
Posts: 2,060
As I tend to earn miles significantly faster than I can burn them, I typically donate my Flying Blue miles to their charity partners. having worked with some of these organisations in Africa, I'd encourage everyone to check out the website.
The programs are easy to find if you want to donate. Go to each airline's website, go to their FF program page and somewhere on there will be a mention of donating miles to charity.
#30
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: SPG, Rapid Rewards, HHonors.
Posts: 186
If even if one doesn't do points, there is still a wealth of information here that would be useful.
When it comes to spending points/miles, I usually have a materiality threshold anything over that and I use points/miles.
When it comes to spending points/miles, I usually have a materiality threshold anything over that and I use points/miles.