Value is in the eye of the beholder. To me, value is the smile I got from my beloved when I told her our winter vacation flight would be in Biz instead of steerage. This cost me most of my Chase Sapphire sign-up bonus. Well worth it.

Miles are secondary to me. Mostly I go for rewards denoted in dollars. The time it takes to accumulate enough miles for a reward is usually larger than airlines' devalue-the-miles cycle. Next month I will get $400 from my Costco Amex. I will get $500 in Subaru bucks from my Chase Subaru MC. There are no blackout dates to redeem dollars.