Originally Posted by
cmtlatitudes
I will very occasionally use points to PLS or other Caribbean or domestic destinations, if they are available in J/F at 25K or 30K. But mostly if a domestic destination is less than 1K each way, or 1.5K each way during a peak period or holiday or to Hawaii, at a reasonable $$ point for the trip, I just buy it for the progress towards status. If it's more than that the value of the ticket and cost (#) of the miles is usually a poor value anyway and I pass. No way would I otherwise waste hard earned precious points on a domestic destination.
True aspirational international travel is a different beast. These award tickets are basically fully refundable fare tickets, that are upwards of 10-15K for a one way ticket in many cases. That's real money and value and worth parting with my points for.
I would disagree with the notion that they are "hard earned" or "precious". I'm sitting on 900,000+ available miles and earning miles is as easy as swiping your credit card or tapping your chip on the chip reader.