Originally Posted by
andrewsco
Interesting.
I see what you're saying about the price of a ticket that 'I would otherwise purchase', but the reality of it is, I would NEVER pay for a business class / first flight - thus why I've decided to collect miles.
It basically means I can afford something that I could never usually afford - I'm just 'paying for it' over 12 months by means of credit card spend etc.
Thanks for the comments anyway - useful as always
Andrew
To complicate your thinking further - you need to consider whether the desired ticket would be available when you need it. Poor availability reduces the value of the miles. Also, if you have someone (e.g. a family member) joining you on your trip and you only have enough miles for one award ticket, how much would it cost to buy the same second ticket for cash (assuming you want the companion to be on the same flights as you)? If that is a requirement and the second ticket is costly, that too will reduce the value of the miles. This may sound nitpicky, but that's exactly the kind of analysis that drove me nuts with certain award programs.