Originally Posted by
XStAnt
Hope I didn't offend you but that is my opinion.
Not sure I am yet convinced, but offended? Certainly not. I asked for opinions. Thanks.
Originally Posted by
braefoot
I'm sure your friend will make it up to you by buying meals.
You don't know my buddy.
A good guy, but he's usually the last to buy the round of drinks, if you know what I mean.
Originally Posted by
rkt10
Whatever you end up doing, I would recommend that you address the issue up front before you commit to the trip. Otherwise, there will be hard feelings: either your own for feeling like you should have gotten something for your hard earned miles, or your friend for feeling that you "cashed out" on his back.
Certainly, good advice. I plan to talk to him before-hand, of course.
Originally Posted by
rkt10
Does your friend accrue points and miles? Does he value them himself.
Not the way I (we all here) do. I'm sure he collects them as he travels, and cashes in the occasional free free domestic flight, like most of the non-FT population.
The other way I look at it is, if I get $3400 worth of value out of 56K SPG points, that's a pretty good value. If I get $1000 worth, that's maybe borderline, but still not bad. If I'm only saving $500, the folks on the Starwood board here would kick me off the island for sure. It'd be hard to justify using my points again on the same next year (tho the impending SPG category inflation may throw the equations off anyway). I'd be way better off even converting them to ~70K AA miles worth of domestic flights.