Originally Posted by
swamyb
I wanted 75k miles to book an award travel. I compared the fare and the cost of buying miles. Looks like they want 2100 for 75k miles plus my 15k miles for a RT tix between sfo and mad. I searched their fare, it only costs 1400. Why somebody buy miles when one can have cheaper fare?
If the fare is cheaper than yeah, it makes no sense (same goes for using miles earned from other means too)...but it isn't always the case - for example, I'm currently awaiting ticketing on 2 First class awards OSL-SYD (via LHR & MEL), with miles they costs 80k miles plus $150 in taxes per ticket - cash price in the region of $7k per person. Buying the required miles would save around $5k per person (more if miles are purchased when there is a bonus offer or sale on)...so makes sense.