Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
Fair enough .. I read the reviews on Google maps and they are quite bad. Also there may or may not be an undisclosed resort fee. I wasn't recommending this hotel; it was just the first one to pop up.
I just meant to show that that level of miles is available. I recently got something similar (~25/$) at the Sheraton Philadelphia downtown, which was a normal, clean, boring business hotel in an almost central location in a major city.
I've found 35 miles/$ in certain less expensive southeast Asian countries, which may be good as throwaways if it comes to that at the end of the status year.
If I'd get the points regardless of showing up, 35:1 would be a pretty good showing in terms of either (1) hitting a threshold and/or (2) milking a bonus (e.g. the 30% LP bonus, which would drive the LP ratio up to about 45:1) with an eye towards hitting that threshold later. (45:1 plus, I suspect, 3 points per dollar on a CSR would tempt me to start doing some calculus on the value of SWUs and gunning for the 250k level since I think I'd be getting somewhere in the ballpark of 40-55% of the cost of the reservation back in RDMs. I don't think 400/550/750 would be worth the "drive", however.)
[Stupid as it sounds, I presume that if you hit one and then the other in relatively short order, the 20% [60k] and 30% [100k] bonuses don't stack in terms of either the bonuses or time...right?]
Edit: To be clear, if the minute I hit 100k LPs I could book a set of stays at some resort at the back end of beyond for $3500 (with an "effective cost" of about $1500-2000 after measuring RDMs against that), pocket six SWUs and EXP, and could sock drawer the CC and so on for the rest of the year, I'd probably jump at the chance. This would go double if I could "align the stars" to cover a second year with that.
Edit 2: Even some of the stuff in the Disney ballpark
does become worth looking at, though I'd be less inclined to go hog wild. Again, it's RDM/SWU/status value/opportunity cost calculations.