Originally Posted by
xlax
I have been trying to figure out the "value" to me of the BA 241 and here's where I come down.
I am currently looking at traveling biz from LAX-ATH round trip. If I use my 241, it will cost me 130,000 miles plus about $1300. Since most of my miles are with AA, I use that to compare. If I used AA miles for the same itinerary, it would cost me 200,000 miles and negligible cash. To me, the additional 70,000 miles on American has roughly the same value as the $1300 fees I would pay on BA. Putting aside all other factors (e.g. BA's superior product), I conclude that the two options are about equal and thus the 241 voucher does not have a lot of value in this case.
My reasoning leads me to conclude that the real value of the 241 will be in instances where there is a large difference between the BA miles and 2 x the AA miles, so that I am getting more miles for the cash I have to pay on BA, if I use the 241. For example, if I am flying from LAX to Zone 1, AA would be 200,000 miles while BA would cost only 100,000 plus $1200, in which case I would prefer to spend $1200 than an extra 100,000 AA miles.
I'd love to hear your take on this. Am I missing something? Is the logic flawed? If this makes sense, then I think US-Zone 1 is the best value for me for my 241. Is there any other routing where I can approach/exceed that value?
Thanks for your comments.
xlax
You also have to factor in the $30K spent on BA card to earn your 241 - it should have a minimum cost of $600 if it is put on a 2% cash rebate card.
30K AA miles worth more than 30K BA miles in my book, even the same amount is put on an AA miles earning card, or if it is on a SPG card you would earn 37.5K AA miles when transfer to AA at 20K block, plus earn you SPG GLD.
The 241 in my own analysis is only good in the cases for West Coast folk to travel to Europe in Biz - BA has far more gateways to use and the product is superior than AA's.
Or if you need to go to Middle East then you have to pay very high price even in coach ticket - so the 241 is worth it - like paying a coach ticket to sit in Biz because the cash outlay on each ticket would be about the same price for a coach ticket.