Originally Posted by
DTWout
Depends on how you view the miles. People tend to focus solely on the redemption value, while I choose to account for the acquisition value, as well.
An FO with a DL Amex would be getting 10x points on a revenue ticket, so you are at $0.10/mile cashback already. Multiply that by whatever CPM award flight you can book, and award flights don't seem so bad
And now Amex/Delta want to give us another $0.15 per mile? Yes, please.
Don't get me wrong. I do think people often overly fixate on CPM values. The 4 - 5 CPM values I've seen people quote on other airlines are often somewhat artificial. The same business class seats that go for $10K roundtrip close-in can often be as little as $2K - $3K roundtrip if you purchase them far enough in advance to qualify for cheaper advance purchase fares. If you redeem 200K miles for the $10K tickets are you really getting 5 CPM when you never would have actually paid that much for those tickets and if you had just purchased them 2 - 3 months in advance you could have gotten seats on the exact same flights for $2K - $3K?