Originally Posted by
RTW1
Putting such an exact figure on what a (purchased) mile is worth is all a bit silly....
People tend to forget about the little details like a negative correction for the fact that:
- you pay now and you (maybe) book later with all risk that entails like devaluations etc.
- award availability is limited, sometimes severely so when booking more than one ticket.
- you are limited to certain routes and specific carriers.
- missing out on the miles for status
And then there are things that can go both ways but also can have a major impact:
- the flexibility you have to cancel for a small fee vs paying for a flexible ticket, but also the US DM restriction that you cannot change once the first flight is taken.
- the sometimes very different prices depending on time or location when paying vs the standardized pricing for awards.
In general valuations need to be substantially less than what people come up with. But we all like to think we get a good deal, and sometimes we do...
I think of award vs paid travel as 2 different products that aren't perfect substitutes for each other. And so any valuation of miles is a rough approximation at best.
Miles will buy you trips that you wouldn't take on a paid ticket. Like visiting 2 distant continents on 1 ticket. I would never do that on paid travel. Generally wouldn't be cheap, and with that much flying in a short period of time I want to fly business class, and I can't be assured I can book J cabins on several different carriers at a reasonable price.
With paid tickets, I tend to fly only when the fares are cheap. Sales, fare wars, etc. And only 1 destination, or a small open-jaw. Rarely would I go for a stopover, and often only domestic stopovers are available.
Then there's the thrill of the hunt. I enjoy searching for awards. Seeing what I can find. Trying out new airlines, hubs and lounges. There's an intangible value there.
At the end of the day if you're buying miles, then you need to value the whole experience. And it's a different experience you get with miles than if you bought tickets, for all the reasons above.
A lot of people do only domestic coach awards. I would *never* buy miles for that. So many ways of getting enough free miles for domestic travel. And you can put a clear value on those.
The reason I bought USDM during the last promo was because they were a steal. 100K for ~$1,100. And now I can go on a 2 continent adventure. In business class.