Originally Posted by
itsme
Discouraged by how much less valuable UA RDM is now compared to when I was doing MRs to accrue the miles (and gain status).
The number one rule of frequent flyer programs is to use them as quickly as reasonably possible. Maybe there was a time in the 1980s or early 1990s when that was less true, but that day has long past. Unfortunately, you’re learning that the hard way.
Originally Posted by
itsme
want to unload what has been sitting in my account unspent for a good while before they devalue any further. (Is that likely or have the devalued miles to the point that they are not serving their purpose as an incentivizer?
It’s virtually certain that they will continue to decrease in value.
Originally Posted by
itsme
Any ideas how the airlines determine that crossover point between giving away too much in mileage value and too little? How do the different carrier's awards programs stack up against on another in terms of their relative "generosity" or other features?)
Each program has its strengths and weakness (yes, even UA), as people have been pointing out in this thread. There’s no one right answer. Some people accrue balances — hopefully not too sizable — in all three alliances in order to have multiple options. Many on FT have steered toward convertible currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards points, because the flexibility is key, but you can’t earn these by flying.
Originally Posted by
itsme
So, about the value of miles sitting, what monetary value do others assign them and expect when they exchange them for flights, hotels, merchandise, or whatever? What is the most they have gotten for them with any redemption?
I generally value MileagePlus miles at 1.5 cents per mile or so. The best value I’ve ever gotten depends upon how you count; realistically, probably six cents per mile, considering what it would have cost to try to fly to a similar set of destinations. Nominally, it was closer to 13 cents per mile, but I never would have paid that cash price so it’s not really a good way to look at things,.
Restricting things to this year, I’ve gotten ~1.7 cents per mile on my award reservations this year; not great, but not awful.
Originally Posted by
itsme
What are the worst redemption values out there? I see hotel values of just over $.005 (half-cent), which I think is terrible, since one can always get at least a penny or mile per dollar credit card spend.
The worst is zero, which is what you risk getting if you let them sit in your account, waiting for the perfect redemption.
There is no single best use of MileagePlus points, because it varies so much by passenger. It doesn’t do you any good for me to tell you “fly from South Asia to Australia for the best redemption rate” if you don’t have any need to fly from South Asia to Australia. Instead:
(a) the Excursionist Perk is the single best redemption rate, since it costs no additional miles. So, if you have a flight where the ExPerk would be useful, consider it.
(b) each time you’re flying, compare the miles cost to the out-of-pocket cost and make a determination. You can still find some cases where they’re seemingly out of whack — UA has been using MileagePlus to rid itself of distressed inventory without lowering the cash price, so there are sometimes good deals to be had, particularly on domestic economy.
(c) Keep checking. The awards are dynamic, and despite what people will tell you, they do sometimes go down in price. In fact, UA will sometimes offer its lowest award prices within a day or two of travel, particularly for premium cabins.
(d) The more flexibility you have, the better. People focus too much on the “loyalty” aspect of frequent flyer programs, but the original purpose was to allow airlines to capture some value from seats that were otherwise not being sold. If you’re trying to use MileagePlus miles to go to the Caribbean over Christmas, or Munich during Oktoberfest, or, etc., expect to see very high prices. If you’re trying to use them to go to Auckland in April, you may get a pretty decent deal.