Originally Posted by
saunders111
OK, I understand your point. However, in two minutes of searching I did find the Himawari Hotel Apartments in Phnom Penh, check in on 2/20, at 2.9 cents/LP before tax. So they are out there at decent but not great rates, with minimal searching required.
So out of curiosity, when I check those dates for 3 nights at that property, my math gets about 3.8 cents/LP, (before tax), so I assume you are counting the various "sweeteners" that come into play as you move through the LP tiers. But, to
vasantn's point, that in essence just points out another change from previous years in that some used Rocketmiles to actually help move them
up the tiers (i.e. you didn't already have to have a bunch of LPs in order to get a sweetener that brings the cents/point back down). This makes it less enticing for someone "starting out" (so to speak) or, for example, folks who may have ridden status for two years, then drop and quickly ramp back up.
It's funny, when this all started in the Rocketmiles thread a few years ago, I was yelling into the wind that there was just no way that level of generosity could possibly last (i.e. high earning rates, purchasing "bonus" LPs, etc.). And it was just hilarious how folks manufactured these ridiculous arguments about how it absolutely could last and how it was great for Rocketmiles, for AA, and everyone involved. These are many of the same folks who also argued that 3X gift cards made absolute sense and would last.
Regards