Great insight. Since I don't travel as much as I would like - very little business travel and about 4-5 times a year for personal travel, I think it may take me a long time to gather the necessary miles and points for my international first class trip (well, to cover the entire family of 3). A lot of my miles have come from credit card offers.

I think I might just use the points for the award travel. When I checked, there was an award ticket available - worst case, I'll just pay the cash. I appreciate the insight that you all have given.

is there a few threads / blogs that you would recommend to get a better understanding of how to maximize miles for international travel (business / first)?