FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,051
It's worth noting that you might end up shocked at the amount of taxes and surcharges you will pay on your supposed "award" flight. And that it can be close to impossible to find award seats on popular routes.
So, whilst it's great to have a goal when starting out in this hobby, you also need to recognise that you need to be quite flexible. So miles might not work for this particular trip, but hopefully they will for the next one to a VS destination...