Originally Posted by
YEGcg
Let's assume that the price difference between Tango and Flex is $50 per segment (although, recently, the price difference is in the $100-$150 per segment range for NA travel).
$50/segment x 21 segments = $1050.
$1050/25000 miles = $0.042/mile
$0.03/mile to buy top-up miles on ae.com
(of course this is a simple calculation and does not take into account the full vs 25% award miles accruing with these fares -- but the calculation is based on the lowest per segment price difference too)
This is absolutely true.
...but if I've already got to do YOW-YVR four times, which I already like to do as YOW-YYZ-YVR to fly widebody, I'm happy enough to turn some of those into YOW-YYZ-YYC-YVRs at the same cost to me.
I'm just as happy to read on a plane as in a hotel room, and at 3-4 CPM, it's worth about a thousand dollars to me to take the extra segments.