There have been several threads in which people have asked whether it is better to redeem xxx miles for trip A or whether it is better to just fork out the $$. What I am wondering, is what is the most common way to evaluate miles. I am having a bit of trouble deciding whether to use miles or pay for my next trip

BA (which I am having availability issues with currently, but hopefully should sort itself out) is 66,666 miles (there was a cc promotion) + $469 taxes in Club World.

If I were to buy the ticket, it would be in Economy. $803 on Emirates including taxes.

There is no way I would fork out the $2100 (actually a good deal) to fly Business on BA in this situation - incidentally, BA is the cheapest option.

So in my case, are my miles valued at (803-469)/66 666 = $0.0050 or (2100-469)/66 666 = 0.0244

I am assuming neither is really correct; the first doesn't account for #1 the additional enjoyment I get from flying business and #2 the fact that BA is nonstop vs EK's 1 stop (and the fact that i HATE EK with a passion ) However, I don't think the second is correct because I would never fork out $2100 for the BA J ticket.

Furthermore... if I let the BA miles sit, it is unlikely that I will be able to use them for something useful. MFUs are good in theory, but I rarely fly BA (will start more after my mom had a good experience) as it is and even then it will usually be as part of a multi-city itinerary never purchased from BA.

There are just so many variables that I can't decide how to get a true value.

So, my friends, the question is, how do you value your miles?

Cheers,