Originally Posted by
Strawb
I'd disagree with you even if I had a million DC miles! It is a huge waste to redeem any Diamond Club miles to the US with VS full stop. Why would anyone want to redeem 100K DC miles on a return business class ticket when, for only 12,500 more miles you could get First Class both ways on LX? LX flies to most VS destinations except LAS. The OP has more than enough miles needed for 2 return tickets to the US in First Class - that's only 56,250 miles one-way for a full mileage redemption.
6,250 miles extra for a quality First Class product like LX over a sub-standard Upper Class is a steal! @:-)
Availability, I needed to travel on exact dates and only VS had availability and it was fly UC on miles or fly paid Y. SFO is a long flight. Also, convenience, get the first flight down to LHR, a few hours in the lounge and then on the plane and away. As opposed to leave EDI the day before to your non LHR connecting airport, stay overnight somewhere and fly to your destination the next day.
Means extra expense and hassle which you can factor into the equation as well.
I don't feel that I 'wasted' 100k miles on VS UC. First time for me in long haul C and the lounge and crew on board were fantastic.
I'm always looking for the best way to get somewhere and VS fitted the bill that trip. Next time, I will try and use a different carrier to compare the products and experiences (hoping some availability for LX SFO flight comes up) and use less miles.