Originally Posted by Dr Jabadski

Not not a sin at all, I’m quite pleased with my 7 figure balances in multiple programs. Think outside of the box, judicious burning is head and shoulders above “earn and burn” as a basic strategy.

There’s more to the “value” of mile or point than the “exchange rate”. There are many factors, including but not limited to ease and cost of acquisition (which is significantly more challenging and expensive today), ease and cost of redemption, $$$ cost of airline tickets and hotel rooms, cost of living and inflation, and (essentially incalculable) urgent/emergency needs.

Now that all, particularly 1st or Biz Class, airlines seats are so much more $$$ expensive, judiciously saved points or miles are “worth” much more and relatively less expensive (even accounting for devaluations). It’s impossible to calculate the value of enough judiciously saved points or miles to fly a family, perhaps some (elderly or infirm) in 1st or biz, across the country on short notice (e.g. for a funeral) when that same family would be challenged to afford the price gouged $$$$ for the same last minute flights. Many people are much more appreciative of a 1st or Biz Class seat as they age; in my 30’s and 40’s a long haul Biz Class seat was a luxury, now in my 60’s it’s essentially a required deal breaker. Similar to $$$, which everyone should be saving (for retirement among other things) despite ongoing devaluations, points and miles should be judiciously saved until an age when one has more time and ability to travel and earning opportunities (for $$ and points & miles) will undoubtedly decrease.

On a concrete level, a UA or AA mile can easily be leveraged to $0.02-$0.03 when redeeming for domestic travel and often twice that much when redeeming for international travel, particularly near the pointy end of the plane.

I maintain that judicious saving was and remains prudent and brilliant, you should be commended for accumulating a healthy balance. Once you reach lifetime 1k you could start spending those miles and perhaps do as I do, having not spent $$$ on an airline ticket for several years.