Originally Posted by
FlyingChuck
The questions I'd ask myself are:
1) How certain am I that I won't be able to use the points? They can go pretty quickly when used at Cat 7/8.
2) How quickly/easily can I get more points if needed?
3) Am I points rich, but cash poor?
4) What's the opportunity cost vs devaluation risk?
Ultimately for me, the opportunity cost is too great to redeem at 1.23 as I readily get north of 2. I'd be willing to hold them as the downside is fairly limited with 1cpp cash out and 1.5cpp via Chase Travel (granted those could be what gets devalued).
In your shoes, I'd book the Andaz with cash, stop using whichever cards accumulate UR and start using Chase Travel at 1.5cpp for simple flights (still booking directly with airlines for complex itins).
Hmm I never considered booking flights through Chase. Do you get elite benefits that way?