Richard has a great point above. Airline miles themselves have been devalued a lot. I have found it easiest just to generate as many Amex points as possible and book their IAP program. The key has having a business Platinum card or, better yet, a business Centurion card that gets a point rebate of 35% or 50%. Tickets purchased through IAP with points are treated as revenue tickets so you accrue all the normal benefits.