Originally Posted by
yanxfann
One man's opinion: 1st and Business Class travel is grossly overrated - I think a lot of it is just an ego thing because it makes the front-enders feel "special". I was a UA 1K for a few years and have flown many times in upgraded status - at least 20 times on the ORD-HNL nonstops alone - and I admit it was nicer than sitting in the back of the bus but definitely not worth spending extra money or using miles. Through the years I've redeemed somewhere between 3M to 4M frequent flyer miles, all have been used on saver-type coach awards, I haven't used one single mile on an upgrade.
You picked a domestic F service route. No wonder you see little value in the reward there; there is little added value in that upgraded service.
I have redeemed miles for upgrades (domestic only thanks to co-pay issues), international Y and international J tickets. When I want the comfort of the big comfy seat I book it. When I'm not as worried about it I book the Y seat. There are times I've come home from a trip and thought that I should've paid the lower rate and saved miles.
That being said,
generally the highest dollar value is achieved by redeeming for long-haul premium cabin rewards. That may not be what any particular individual values most, but it is likely the best dollar value proposition for the miles.
Re the BA forum and the harassment there, I'm not familiar with it, but if folks are booking short-haul Y flights using points out of the UK they probably actually are wasting the points. Often the taxes are a much more significant portion of those fares. Using points saves a negligible amount of money. If they are doing longh-haul it is a bit different, but I know nothing about what they are actually doing.