Originally Posted by
invisible
This is the logic I do not subscribe when someone says value per mile is 5-8cpm because revenue ticket costs $$$$.
That logic implies that without award ticket one would go and buy revenue ticket in Business which obviously is far away from reality. Using the same logic one can say that using bus/public transportation one saves $2000/mo because he/she does not lease Mercedes S class. But you are not obligated to lease Mercedes S class - there are plenty of other alternative options available.
SIN-TPE-SIN route you've mentioned one can buy roundtrip flights on budget airlines here in Singapore for SGD $200 (USD $140) return. If you don't believe me check Jetstar's website and select Aug 18 departure and Aug 22nd - return.
So for me ticket value is not S$1281, but rather $200. Why do I need to pay $1281 for something I can get for $200?
Sounds like we may need a new acronym YRMV (your reality may vary).
Personally, short-haul (<7 hours) aren't really part of the calculus. Let's use a random long-haul SFO/FCO trip I'm looking at.
TK in Y will fly me there for about $700, or about $3000 in J, but it's 20 hours travel time. LH or LX, OTOH, will charge about $4600 for J, but get me there in 14 hours.
Factoring in that a) time is money, and b) if I'm going on a 12-day trip I'd much rather arrive relaxed than spend two or more days in each direction recovering from the sardine treatment in Y, the LH/LX option is a no-brainer. Not to mention the ~50K mileage earnings I'd get as a 1K, which could easily be worth $1000 for 2 domestic saver R/Ts.
The UA award ticket, assuming Saver is not available, would be 300K. So $3600 (net) vs. 300K miles is also a no-brainer (for me).
There is a 2-stop saver routing available o/b for 70K via EWR (in Y) and LIS (TAP J). Going back to time vs. money, and mis-connection risks, no thanks.
YMMV (or YRMV).