Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
Per eqm or rdm?
I value RDMs at about 2c and take that into consideration when I book flights (though not purely mileage runs). For example, last year I did a BA discount F trip to India for $4500. I earned about 105k miles so I considered it about a $2400 cost.
EQMs are a little different. I value gold very highly, and 75k mostly for the 50k bonus miles. I don't really put a per-mile value on EQMs, but I gladly made a weekend trip to Hawaii near the end of last year to get me to 75k.
I always book main. I don't see the point of having status if I am not going to get upgraded, or at least get a premium seat.
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Originally Posted by
keitherson
It's more a breakeven point + opportunity cost than a strike price like a stock option. My breakeven is 1.5cpm for AS, so if I don't have conflicting plans I'll probably do a mileage run. And yes, saver fares are cheap but if you're factoring in upgrade chances, given the choice if you would pay the $+20-30 difference for a fare (multiplied by the odds of getting upgraded), I'd say the choice is pretty clear against saver fares. If you're not getting upgraded, then book saver.
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That's making sense to me, or is at least pointing me in the right direction. But I see I succeeded in making one thing unclear: I don't even have MVP yet for the year, let alone MVPG, so until I get to 20K, I think the lowest cost Saver fares I can find still usually make sense when I'm flying alone. I'll definitely be hoping for upgrades from Main once I hit MVP. Thanks to both of you for the insights.