Again I must respectfully disagree. To quote my old friend Emeril, "I don't know where you buy your USAir travel but where I buy mine..."

From the USAir website
http://www.usairways.com/dividendmil...m/upgrades.htm
for upgrades between Europe and North America:

Valid ONE WAY - 30K miles - Eligible Fare Classes - M, H, K or Q.

Valid ONE WAY - 10K miles - Eligible Fare Classes - B or Y.

Itinerary SFO/CDG; midweek travel in February; one week return with Saturday night stopover.

V Class [USAir's lowest Promotional Economy fare] - $484.80. Although NOT eligible for Dividend Mileage upgrade, let's assume for argument's sake it is.

B Class - $3,454.00.

Y Class - $3,832.00.

Conclusion:

$484.40 plus 60K Dividend miles or $3,454.00 plus 20K Dividend miles = One Business Class seat.

Continuing from the USAir website
http://www.usairways.com/dividendmil...avel_chart.htm
for Travel Between Europe and North America, Central America, the Caribbean, or Hawaii -

One Economy Class Ticket - 50K Dividend Miles;

One Business Class Ticket - 80K Dividend Miles.

Conclusion:

For the 60K upgrade you just paid nearly $500.00 for the 20K Dividend Miles you "saved" by upgrading instead of redeeming a business class seat outright. And if a qualifying fare costs more than $484.40 [which I believe it does], you paid even MORE!

Even at $500.00 you're paying USAir $0.025/mile which you can essentially do any day of the week without having to buy anything
http://buydividendmiles.points.com/h...dary!9033!9034
so how does this conversion ratio equate to "the most bang for your frequent flyer buck?"

For the 20K upgrade you just paid nearly $3,000.00 for the 60K Dividend Miles you "saved" by upgrading instead of redeeming a business class seat outright. This works out to $0.05/mile which is nearly twice as much as what you can pay any day of the week without having to buy anything. And if your qualifying fare is the $3,832.00 option, you paid even MORE!

I stand by my original observation; the most bang for your frequent flyer buck is realized by using your miles for an outright business class purchase. The regular business class fare for my above-quoted hypothetical routing is over $7,600.00. At 80K Dividend miles USAir just paid you $0.095/mile; nearly 400% more than what you were hypothetically just about to pay USAir.

The above-analysis assumes you are NOT a Premium 1 or greater K customer; do not accrue mileage at greater than 100%; and, do not have access to complimentary SWUs. Of course if you are or can, you probably don't need to pay anything for upgrades [either in money or frequent flyer miles]. Simply pay your $500.00; secure your 150% bonus mileage accrual; and rely upon your preferred status to secure your complimentary upgrade.

However for the rest of us...

[This message has been edited by smarten (edited 10-14-2003).]