I would earn the same q-miles for these as I would with an AONE, and since I normally would qualify on miles rather than points (never saw the value to paying 5-6 times the fare just to get an extra half point per mile), the difference in points is not really significant. Though I would earn 25% fewer overall miles, and if I were ever to re-qualify for elite based on q-points, then I would earn 66% fewer q-points. I do get it.

Flying mostly upgraded domestic flights, and one or two upgraded European flights, earning EXP in a year would require me to spend about $4,000 plus 50k-100k miles, and fly about 100,000 miles, and I would earn 200,000 miles for the trips. Using an AONE, earning EXP in a year would require me to spend about $9,500 ($8,000 or so for the AONEx out of Cairo, and $1,500 for the other six or so flights necessary to qualify) and fly about 80,000 miles (considering that the flights used to make up the 15k or so difference would probably earn a half point per mile), and I would earn 310,000 miles. So, yes, I would get an extra 210,000 miles for that extra $5,500, about 2.6 cents a mile.

The thing is that I do a lot of my travel domestically, and only one or two trips abroad in a year. Nothing to Asia in more than 10 years, and never been to Australia. That is not to say that it wouldn't be interesting to see those places. It would, and I do like to experience different cultures. But in evaluating these AONE trips, I don't think that they make economic sense. Nevertheless, it seems that they can be valuable from a non-economic perspective, if you recognize that you are paying a premium price for a premium product.

And I want to make clear, so I am not misunderstood: I understand that the price paid for the premium product is a discounted price compared to the normal price for that particular product. It is just not the best price you can get for that routing. You are paying more than the best price, in order to obtain a certain amount of premium over and above the cheapest product.

It's like this: I can buy a Chevy for $20,000, or a Mercedes for $40,000. The Chevy's list price is about $20,000-$28,000, while the Mercedes' list price is closer to $60,000-$80,000. The Mercedes is the better bargain, but the Chevy is the better price. What we are talking about here is the bargain price for the Mercedes.

So, I do get it, right?