There is no cost to cancel the ticket, the cost is only associated with re-depositing the miles if you wish to
If the passenger is likely to be able to use the ticket before its expiry date, then can always change the date to another date for free
I would suggest that 12,500 miles is worth more than $150 rather than the miles being worth less than $150. To purchase 12,000 miles would cost $384.75
As far as how other schemes work, different schemes are better in some ways and worse in others
BA may allow a late booking, but generally the redemption rates may be quite high plus a lot more charges in carrier surcharges
e.g. for LHR-SYD AA would charge 80,000 points plus taxes ( and surcharges if on BA ) for a 1st class flight vs 150,000 points plus carrier surcharges plus taxes
I would suggest that a $75 booking fee would be better
Last edited by Dave Noble; Oct 2, 2014 at 9:47 pm