Stop me from spending miles on a bad deal (cpm-wise) or help rationalize :)
May 31, 2013, 1:21 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: PacNW (SEA)
Programs: AS, IHG and post-loyal
Posts: 523
Stop me from spending miles on a bad deal (cpm-wise) or help rationalize :)
So I have a fair amount of miles, but not obscene (400Kish). I also like to get max usage out of them.
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
May 31, 2013, 1:31 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Jersey Shore/YYZ
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 12,521
So I have a fair amount of miles, but not obscene (400Kish). I also like to get max usage out of them.
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
May 31, 2013, 2:07 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
So I have a fair amount of miles, but not obscene (400Kish). I also like to get max usage out of them.
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
Thus I never ever ever consider buying from the mileage mall. Until today. I saw an ad for a Kindle Paperwhite. I want one very much.
Thus my dilemma... I almost impulse-bought a Kindle Paperwhite for 18.7K miles from the mileage mall. At least I stopped myself to post at FT first
It is a bad deal in all respects, valuing my miles at roughly $0.007 per mile (I pay tax on Amazon stuff in WA). That is a bad bad deal. But I still want a Paperwhite and don't really want to pay cash for one while I have a work first-gen Nook.
Can any of you help rationalize this for me?
May 31, 2013, 2:48 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: BOS
Posts: 3,534
Your miles aren't going to go up in value over time. So if you have no immediate use for the miles and do have an immediate use for the Kindle paperwhite I'd say go for it. It beats spending real money when you have another option. Now that you mention it I'm tempted although I really don't have any justification for replacing my Kindle 3G keyboard.
May 31, 2013, 3:16 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,431
Are you continuing to earn miles at a pretty good clip? How long will it take you to replace the miles?
Mr. Ericka has been traveling so much in his new job and we're using 2 different UA cards for business and personal expenses....basically the miles just keep coming in. I find this makes me a little more reckless in how I use them.
Mr. Ericka has been traveling so much in his new job and we're using 2 different UA cards for business and personal expenses....basically the miles just keep coming in. I find this makes me a little more reckless in how I use them.
May 31, 2013, 3:40 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Please keep this to yourselves...
I just spent 25,000 (OK, it was really closer to 29,000) AMEX MR points for a Sony waterproof camera. It was on sale from 32,000 points!
We really liked our last Sony camera, an earlier model similar to this one, but it finally gave up the ghost...
I did not even search the internet to see what the cash price is. Shame on me.
I guess my ride in Singapore First Class Suites on a saver award will have to wait a little longer...
I just spent 25,000 (OK, it was really closer to 29,000) AMEX MR points for a Sony waterproof camera. It was on sale from 32,000 points!
We really liked our last Sony camera, an earlier model similar to this one, but it finally gave up the ghost...
I did not even search the internet to see what the cash price is. Shame on me.
I guess my ride in Singapore First Class Suites on a saver award will have to wait a little longer...
May 31, 2013, 7:07 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: ABE
Programs: DL DM, IHG Spire, Mariott Platinum (UA SI) Avis First, National Executive
Posts: 764
I would not do it.
with 120 K miles you can get a saver RT J award to India (usually runs around $12,000).
That is a 10 cents per mile redemption so your 18.7 K miles would worth a case worth of kindles or as many as $1.9K would buy.
with 120 K miles you can get a saver RT J award to India (usually runs around $12,000).
That is a 10 cents per mile redemption so your 18.7 K miles would worth a case worth of kindles or as many as $1.9K would buy.
Jun 2, 2013, 10:41 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: PacNW (SEA)
Programs: AS, IHG and post-loyal
Posts: 523
Thank you for talking me down from recklessness. That said I really enjoyed seeing the
I accumulate miles at a decent clip plus find them hard to use (lately been trying to explore where I live more than the ends of the earth that I get to for work), so blowing 20K on something frivolous or not valuable wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me.
That said the SQ suite idea... Well I might just have to save up for that
And having been on India flights twice now in F, not sure I'm keen to do it again Memorable instance on one of those flights was seeing a child puke on Chris Dodd (US senator). Super-impressed as he ended up inviting the family to visit him in his office at DC and never once got angry.
I accumulate miles at a decent clip plus find them hard to use (lately been trying to explore where I live more than the ends of the earth that I get to for work), so blowing 20K on something frivolous or not valuable wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me.
That said the SQ suite idea... Well I might just have to save up for that
And having been on India flights twice now in F, not sure I'm keen to do it again
Memorable instance on one of those flights was seeing a child puke on Chris Dodd (US senator). Super-impressed as he ended up inviting the family to visit him in his office at DC and never once got angry.
Jun 2, 2013, 7:00 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Up In The Cloud
Programs: UA 1K MM; BA S, AA G; AS G; DL | SPG P50, M G, CC G, IHG P, HLT S | Hertz PC, Avis F
Posts: 682
If you buy with miles, you will LOSE all these protections offered from credit cards (extended warrenty, price protection, etc.).
I never even use gift cards to buy electronics. All my amazon gift cards are used for grocery.
I never even use gift cards to buy electronics. All my amazon gift cards are used for grocery.