Please don't make assumptions. . . . I'm trying to understand and decide. Regarding the car, I actually went somewhere in between. I got an Infiniti for $27k when they were selling for $50k, and everyone was still wondering what they were. It seemed the best value for the money, and everyone asked me why I didn't get a Lexus or Mercedes, which were more popular and only a bit more expensive at the time. Now Infinitis are quite popular and more expensive.

The question becomes whether the extra features are important enough to spend the extra money, and whether there is actual value in the price difference. Same thing with these.

I looked at my '04 travels carefully, and realized that I spent $4,600 on the following trips (including the cost of purchasing some sticker upgrades when I did not have enough in the bank already, and 50k miles ($500) to upgrade the London trip): SNA-MSY (F); LGB-JFK (Y); SNA-HNL (F); SNA-HDN (Y); SNA-HNL (F); LGB-JFK (F); SNA-OAK (Y); LAX-LHR (J); SNA-HNL (F); LAX-ATL (F); LGB-CUN (Y); SNA-PHL (F); LAX-HNL (Y).

Clearly, to make it more cost effective, to do a xONEx, I would need to include fewer domestic destinations and more international ones. But the truth is that I would still have to fly a lot of the domestic flights. At least 3 trips to HNL in a year is a given for me, and the cost of these would have to be in excess of the price of the XONEx. Luckily, it has been cheap recently, as I can get a HNL round trip for under $300, and use sticker upgrades.

Also, if I chose to use an AONEx, it would be stupid to start it this year, as I already have about 60,000 miles, but only 38,000 points. So, I would waste the 1.5x points bonus by using it this year.

Next year, I have already purchased one of my tickets to JFK ($134), and to MAD and AMS ($696), but I have not yet purchased tickets for YVR, the second JFK or MSY, and I don't have my travel plans for the last part of the year set yet. Still, it would seem that, to maximize the mileage, I would not want to begin to use the ticket until late summer 2005. Also, by next June, I will have 30,000 miles but only 15,000 points.

I also like the idea of using an AONEx every other year, becoming EXP in one year, then dropping to PLAT, using mostly award miles the next year and then using the AONEx when you are PLT. That seems efficient, and I'm thinking about exploring this possibility.

So, it's not that an xONEx is not for me. It might be, and it might not be. But I need to understand the way it works, the benefits and downsides, and how I would have to alter my flying habits in order to make the best use of it (as well as whether such an alteration is desirable for me), before I make up my mind.