Originally Posted by
Shareholder
Yes, but one would still be paying for flights somewhere for a vacation and even the savings of the cost in economy ($1,500-$2,000 to the same destination) makes it a valid consideration of ROI. And we're certainly not talking about the one or two trip a year AE member, though some of these can earn enough for such trips if they run enough through their credit cards to boost their account balances.
And what is more the value of a F ticket is certainly greater than the value of a Y ticket. Whether it is worth the sort of premium I stated is relative. Clearly the answer is yes for some people. I cant afford it, but I am darn sure the value of that redemption was a lot greater than $2000 to me. But that sort of misses the point. If I could redeem the points for a Ferrari, and I value Ferraris at $2000, does that make the redemption worth $2000? No. The redemption is worth the retail value of the ticket.
And yes I travel a lot. I get itchy feet if I am in one city for more than one week. I hate it.
But from a business value (retaining frequent flyers) isnt that what AE is/should be all about for AC? (And even for occasional travelers, smart use of points can yield a lot better value than cited above.)