Originally Posted by
Dovster
Living in the Middle East I can tell you that finding a r/t in Biz Elite for 120,000 SkyMiles is only slight more difficult than getting all the nations in the region to agree to a permanent peace treaty.
The cheapest I have been able to get in the past 3 years was 175,000 miles and that was for a "low" ticket in one direction and a "medium" for the return. I was very lucky to get that -- it would be more common to find "mediums" in both directions, meaning 230,000 SkyMiles.
On the other hand, there is also no reason to fork out $6K -$9K (unless you are buying at the last minute).
My last three itineraries cost considerably less:
June 2010: TLV-ATL-PHL-ATL-TLV, in M Class, with all segments upgraded to Biz Elite or FC with SWUs: $2957.67, including taxes and fees.
Feb 2011: TLV-ATL-LAS-ATL-TLV, in M Class, with all segments upgraded to Biz Elite or FC with SkyMiles (50,000 in total): $3,382.01, including taxes and fees.
August 2011: TLV-ATL-LAS-TLV, in M Class, with all segments upgraded to Biz Elite or FC with SkyMiles (25,000 in total on half-mileage offer): $2433.02, including taxes and fees.
If you don't have the SkyMiles to upgrade, you can usually find an I Fare or an S Fare which is reasonable. Just choosing two days at random (Sept 14 for the outbound flight and Sept 21 for the return flight) I found TLV-JFK-TLV, non-stop, for $3,131.95, all in.
In addition, if you buy SkyMiles and use them for an award ticket, you do not earn either SkyMiles or MQMs for the flight.
So, if 120K SkyMiles costs you $2100, in real life you would have to pay $4025 to get enough SkyMiles (230,000) to get a reasonable chance to get an award ticket -- as opposed to $2400 to $3100 to buy a ticket which will earn you both SkyMiles and MQMS.
When you're looking at M and I fares, remember that EU or Mideast origination RTs can cost considerably less that the reverse, although if the OP is starting from JFK, that's one of the cheaper places in the USA for these fares.