Thread: Do you hoard miles/points?

I face the situation of having to use my miles on short trips. I currently live in Peru and my 6 year old twins live in Ecuador. It is only a 1,139 kilometer flight each way but it usually sells for about $400-600 roundtrip (a scandal if you ask me).

Since I travel there in average once every three weeks I try to use my miles for that. Paying $500 for a ticket that only earns you 2,000 kilometers altogether seems like a waste. I'd rather pay for my longer trips usually from peru to the U.S. on business trips which end up costing roughly the same $500+ but accrue 5 or 10 times more mileage. This way I keep my top tier status for less money while at the same time earning enough miles to pay for half of my trips to Ecuador to see my kids.

Since I try to see my kids as often as I can and since I pay for those trips with miles I see no sense in saving miles for too long. Also it does not make sense to claim a business class award for such a short trip. By the way an award from Peru to Ecuador on LAn is usually 25,000 kilometers. It is more important for me to retian my tier membership and its benefits than having a lot of miles saved up. I will every once in a while take the long trip to Ecuador via Miami which earns me about 15,000 kms and goes a long way into keeping my tier status.

No hotel points anymore. When i travel on business I can't get hotel points due to my company's corporate rates which do not allow for points earning.

Anyone think I could maximize my km usage in another way?