Originally Posted by
dvs7310
Looks like a great itinerary overall. Split years are definitely not ideal but unavoidable in many of these tickets, so you'll need to plan any extra needed elite points around that. I actually grabbed one of the ex-CAI ones when it was on sale recently that's entirely in 2024 but that's also very rare for me. I tend to split them over elite years, but have parts in each year so it evens out.
TBH on a DONE4 it's not optimal to skip Asia, it is a waste because you do pay for it already. But if you are using all 16 segments elsewhere that's a different story. I always have some anyway because I live in TYO, but understand that's different for everyone.
1) CAI was never “on sale” as you say - the price was merely lower than normal because of a currency devaluation. If you were Egyptian paying Egyptian currency, the price was exactly the same as it always was.
2) saying that skipping Asia is missing out because you already paid for it assumes everybody is using these tickets solely to get the most of them. Many people use them because they are cheaper way of going to destinations. They already have to go to in business class. It bothers me that in this thread a lot of people put others down for not trying to squeeze every ounce of value out of the tickets. People have different priorities.