trueblu

I read and enjoyed your analysis when you first posted. But other than the one-off mass group booking, you used GF 6-7 times (value GBP140 for a decent upgrade to the GC meal -- if you really do drink Champagne with every meal as your regular habit in or out of airports, let's bump that up to GBP300). Extra avios at GBP100. An extra year as OWS vs OWR is very valuable, I grant if one takes weekly domestic flights. But even say 10 flights for the average user, with lounge access, that's only GBP200 max (the actual value of a meal in GC is much less I would argue, even with plonk). The extra redemption bucket in SH is very valuable, and if one really does make multiple redemptions, then it can be worth it. Otherwise, all told, much less than GBP1000 of value in cold hard cash terms, and cash is far more valuable. Don't get me wrong: I try to make sure I hit OWE every year, and sometimes it does require some juggling to make it happen. But we need to be honest that mostly we're kidding ourselves about the value proposition. That's why it's such a great scheme for airlines...if the actual value exceeded the perceived value, for the majority of users, the scheme would collapse.

tb