Originally Posted by
scubadu
And frankly, though many in this forum seem to be completely blind to it, the fact is you can often get better value booking airline award tickets (particularly for premium cabins) and just paying for the hotel than vice versus.
I think we all value points a little differently. It's true that the points/$'s on published fares favors premium cabin, but I would never pay cash for international first class, so my personal value is less than the published fare value. I'd rather take two trips in economy than one trip in first class.
I completely agree with you that flexibility between programs is best.