Originally Posted by
DaveTO
You said it!
You spent the equivalent of 80,000 AP miles for a domestic flight. Your flight cost around $800. That's redeeming at 0.01 per mile...or you could have gotten a J class reward to Europe. Or, you could have gotten 55K AP miles and 5 nights in a cat 4 hotel...
SPG points should be used for cash and points stays, or nights and flights...if you have enough points, the redeem 4 nights, get the 5th free is also a good deal. Everything else converts at the toaster exchange rate.
LOL - reads like the criticism I implied I didn't really need to hear.
I fly when I want - I pay nothing for it - I accumulate status miles. I can accumulate and replace the SPG points well in advance of ever running out of them because of my spending situation.
I used to travel for work but now it is 90% personal. Using my SPG points for flights to the tune of +35K status miles per year gets me my Elite status for free. It might not be that bad of a deal for me after all when you think about it.
I completely recognize that my scenario doesn't / shouldn't work for all. It's all a matter of personal choice and people need to figure out what works best for them. I have lots of various credit cards in addition to the SPG AX - I use the card that makes the most sense to use based on the purchase and the value I receive back.
It drives my wife crazy when I quiz her on which card she should use and when. She relaxes these conversations when we are on a beach or somewhere else having paid nothing for flights and nothing for hotels except for one night to get the qualifying stay to maintain that good ole Platinum status.
