Originally Posted by
Campath
I got 200k points during this current promo for $225 in spending (using BRG's and 10% cashback from TopCashback.com). Also, like I said before, I don't forsee any stays in high-end Radisson's in the near future.
Do you still think that 36k US Air miles are poor value for $225?
You aren't getting 36k US for $225. You're getting 36k US for 200k Club Carlson. You already converted your cash to Club Carlson. That transaction is done.
I see this all too often -- people continuing to value frequent flyer currency based on what it cost to acquire. That's just not the issue. Once you have the currency, the question is what the best use of it is, no matter how acquired. If you value 36k US miles more than anything else you could get for 200k Radisson, fine. That's a completely different issue.
Suppose you were able to buy 100k AA miles for $1. Someone comes along and offers you $100 for your 100k AA miles. Is this a good deal? Sure seems like it. You are getting $100 for $1 -- 100 times your money! But, of course, this is a terrible deal.
The place this is most difficult is where you acquire a frequent flier currency specifically for a particular use. For example, one could buy choice points during the daily getaways promo for about .3 cents. Suppose you realize that this allows you to convert your choice points to Southwest points for about 1.3 cents per point and to use them for 1.66 cents per point. You would not buy Choice points as part of the promo except specifically to transfer them to WN. So, you buy 100,000 and convert them to 30k WN rapid rewards points. Was this a good value, since you got 1.66 cents of value for 1.3 cents? Sure. But even in this example where you specifically do the deal for WN points, I would again argue you're asking the wrong question. Once the money is spent, it's gone. What you have, at that point, is 100,000 Choice. And now you're back to the start -- what can you get for them?
One can buy US miles right now for about 1.8 cents. That makes the value of 36k points very easy to figure out -- $650. Whatever you paid for 200k Radisson, the question is whether using them for $650 in miles is a good idea. To me, it's very poor because hotels in Europe are something I need. It really doesn't matter whether I spent $1 for my 200k Radisson or $1 million. The anser to that question is the same, and it's a different question.