Originally Posted by
sdsearch
You not only seem to never want business or first, you also seem to never want to fly expensive flights.
Well, it depends on one's definition of expensive. Obviously I don't want to pay more than I have to, who does ?
At United, "anytime" awards are only about double "saver" awards. But in cash, "last seat" cost can be way way way more than double the first seat cost. So I would think that in cases where you might need fairly "last minute" flights, or flights to expensive destinations, even in coach you might get better value out of using United "anytime" awards then, but of course that would not be your average, just those flights.
Just like sbm12, the one time I used United miles for a domestic flight, it was 25k for a flight that would have cost more than $600 (Los Angeles to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and return). Isn't that 2.4 cpp?
But yes, while I simply pay (with a card that earns 2x or 3x) for almost all my coach flights, if you're going to use UR for coach flights that are not that expensive, you want to use them if possible in a way that earns something (the airline's miles) while you're redeeming something (UR points). The effectively raises your cpp (because you got not only the flight but some miles too for those UR points), but to what exactly, that's pretty hard to calculate.
Yes, I'm aware of the anytime awards being double saver awards. I do however frequently book last minute, not really by choice but due to health issues, since bookings made early often tend having to be cancelled for medical reasons. Travel insurance covers it, but it's still a pain to go through the claim process, so I tend to prefer last minute booking.
Are the "anytime" awards always bookable if there is any seat left on the plane (even the last one) ? My experience in the past is that there was still restricted award seat inventory, even if one could still purchase seats for cash (at a premium).