Originally Posted by
CDKing
Miles purchases were never meant to replace paying $$ for airplane tickets. It was designed to top off when you are close to an award. It would mean AA would be giving away the farm if they price too low
Although many FTers do to buy cheap miles in order to redeem for premium cabin flights which can be a significant savings over outright purchase.
If they were still meant just as a top off, AA and US would better limit miles purchases. AA currenty allows 98k to be purchased directly for $2400 . add another 20k Starwood miles for $525 and can get a business class return ticket between Europe and South Pacific for $3000 plus around $100-$500 in taxes
As long as there is availability , then $3500 is a lot cheaper than $5800 that most paid tickets start at
With US's 100% sales, $2821.5 plus taxes can be enough for a 1st class return - and no limitations on how many miles can be purchased a year. I have used it for last 3 trips to save about $3300 per trip over what I would have paid for a 1st class ticket otherwise
( it was a genuine $9000 saving since I would otherwise have purchased a normal 1st ticket )