Originally Posted by
droder1
i just realized they make no effort in hiding the redemption value, chart posted on the front page.
That transparency is very good -- and all too rare in loyalty programs.
Originally Posted by
barrytel
Just did a dummy booking for LHR-IAD, Business Class
295,000 points required for both BA, all in (fees, surcharges etc)
However, if using points transferred to BA, only 80,000 points required (= 100K miles with the SPG transfer bonus). However, you still have to pay the full whack for fees and surcharges on BA redemption bookings, say £300.
Also, i'm not sure what fare buckets the SPG flights are booked in. If they are booked in a paid-fare bucket then it may be worthwhile to part with the 295k points on flights where award redemption availability is zero - otherwise I really don't see the point
Originally Posted by
sbtinme
That makes a truckload of assumptions, including that you'd be able to easily find seats on the days you'd like in C/J for 80K on BA. Not the easiest task, is it?
As has been said clearly, this is not a perfect program for one and all. It's a solid addition to the current SPG program. Like you, I'd probably not opt to use 300K points for one ticket from LHR, but I'd be happy to use 30,000 points to get home for a family funeral at the last minute and not be dinged with $125 booking fees from an airline for "late redemption" charges. Additionally, for that 30K ticket, I'm eligible for my standard upgrades to F (since the ticket is purchased) and I earn miles on the airline.
That's not the worst thing to come down the pike.
Originally Posted by
Jumpgate
A good, solid, plan B and another option for award travel. Thank you SPG. ^
I think that, reading these 3 posts together, shows the real value here: it's another option, that won't always work for everyone, but may help some people some times.
And, if it doesn't work for you, don't use it -- it's not as if SPG took something else away and replaced it with this.
My sense is that it will be better for Y tix than for F/J tix -- and that doesn't fit with my mileage/point spend habits (I wouldn't use $$ for most of the premium pricing for premium cabins, but would willingly "spend" points for them).