Originally Posted by
sbm12
Yes and no. If one has multiple alliances then the discretionary number can decrease to meet one of those options. For the sake of the miles associated with a YYZ-NRT r/t ticket I'd probably spend the extra $175 for my carrier of choice, especially knowing that I had no vested interest in the alternative. In my personal situation, where either ST or *A are valid earning avenues, however, I wouldn't spend a penny extra, as the *A miles are just as valuable (if not more) than the ST miles to me personally.
I was thinking more along the lines of $175 more for earning say 10,000 or 15,000 miles in your program of choice on an international ticket vs. $175 more for earning say 3,000 miles in your program of choice on a domestic ticket. I would not pay $100 or $175 more for a small number of miles, whether or not they are with my "preferred" airline.
So I can't put an absolute dollar amount on the value. It is directly proportional, for me, to the number of miles in question.