Originally Posted by
JDiver
We have had some members who were some miles short for aspirational awards they’d found. Putting them on hold for five days and buying miles can solve this kind of dilemma.
Agreed. If you find good value award space (price, routing, dates, etc.) and are some miles short... then buying the miles to complete your booking is not a bad idea! I did it myself for 2 sAAver J's to Ireland on AA metal, avoiding the pesky fuel surcharges. Was a great deal on the ticket, so I bought enough miles to cover the total transaction.
Buying the miles on a speculative basis of: "Well it is a 'good deal' right now, and I have intentions of using them in the next 24 months, so I will stock up and be prepared when the trip I want to take comes around".... not so much of a winning game plan. Since you can buy miles on the spot to "top off" your account when booking an award ticket, there is no benefit of pre-buying. The miles don't accrue interest, unlike the money that you would have tied up in said miles for X number of months.
Devaluations are always an issue to worry about when you have a stockpile of miles with no immediate intention to use them. And, what is to say you spend $4k on buying as many miles as you can during one of their promotions, to then find a great cash fare that is a better value proposition. You're locked into using the miles now.
Now, if you have some sort of minimum spend to hit on a card that rewards airline purchases and you are a bit short with just organic spending - then sure, buying miles to hit the threshold is one way to reach your spend goal.