Award miles/points are becoming useless
 

Cannot find a flight to Europe in Biz for less than 500k RT unless I fly partly on BA which of course, will cost me 115k plus $1,600.

Are we miles/points becoming obsolete? I mean, you can never really use them to Europe at and forget about Australia or New Zealand. Those don't even show anymore.

correct.... along with trying to find any city in Europe that AA flies too that has SWU opening... which is also a reflection of where this airline to going
down , down and well down

Yes, the days of just casually searching aa.com for business awards to Europe in peak peak season one month in advance and finding good options on AA metal for 57.5k are long, long gone.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...s-jfk-lhr.html

I've seen Europe (ZRH, MAD) in business for ~200k RT on non-BA flights. However you're right that SAAver prices evaporated, and that is around the AAnytime level 1 price.

September 6 JFK-HEL there's a seat on the Finnair nonstop for 57,500 in J. It's been there for 2 weeks (I have stubborn family members who don't understand that they should book now, cancel later if they "can't plan yet").

I bought ORD-CDG tickets in Y in June for 30,000 per person recently which I was happy with, but it's very rare that I see domestic redemptions in any class or international J redemptions for amounts that I'd consider using.

Yeah, a few weeks ago I found 2 tickets JFK-ARN-HEL for that price in June (and there were multiple dates available) They’re out there if you’re creative and flexible but you pretty much need to tailor you trip to where and when you find availability, not the other way around.

I have two Y round-trips PHL-LAS this week (that I booked about two months ago) for a total of around 55-60K miles. OTOH I looked at a one-way ticket for the same flight in July and it was 50K in Y and 60K in F.

Admittedly it's DL but last summer I booked some flights like MCO and ATL to PHL for around 6-9K miles each one-way.

You have to pick your spots.

Yeah, Finnair availability has been pretty good this summer. A couple of months ago (when I booked) it was wide open for the summer, and there is still scattered availability.

There are decent rates available if you book a long way ahead of time and are flexible on your dates, but you need to work at it. Or, occasionally if you book at short notice. I just made a booking today for a one way flight at 8K miles for this Friday, saving me about $300 on a purchased fare.

On the BA flights, yes the fees are outrageous, but you need to look at the miles as a method of getting a large discount on a fully flexible fare. In business, the approximately $1,600 in taxes is still quite a bit less than you would pay for a round trip, frequently many thousands less, and the ticket can be cancelled with a full refund for free, and that is worth something as well.

The glory days of frequent flyer programs are long gone, but there is still value to be had if you plan ahead and are flexible on dates. Most miles are earned on credit cards, not flying anymore. If you don’t like the AA program, switch to Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Capital One which can both offer more flexibility and excellent value if you find a good fare and then use points to buy.

We really expecting to find 57,500 saver awards during PEAK summer in May? I booked an award this weekend for 160k round trip from JFK-LHR. I also saw other dates for 70-80k which is good for the summer. The more flexibility you have with dates and where you want to fly from then the better

I am seeing JFK - LHR round trip for 216,000 miles + $322 several dates July - October
Also from ORD.

not the redemption values of year past, but it is untrue that there is nothing for under 500k

Sometimes the problem is the availability in business for the LHR- Europe airport leg.
One can book just to LHR and then purchase a discount economy to final destination, not unusual to find fares for less than $150. IMO, business is not needed for that 2hrs or less flight.

I fly domestic pretty much and am able to find 6k award flights and 16k first/business award flights regularly if I look in advance. Always with a layover due to me being based in a small regional. I make good use from points but I can't speak to international travel.

Why is it that the only time AA points are of use is when -you- want to fly to a very high-value destination at the point level you believe is reasonable.

Award scarcity on all carriers has been a thing for years.

I've used up over 225,000 miles on award travel over the past 24 months including flights to SEA, LAX, SFO, CUR, PLS, NYC, SAN, etc. Some very good redemptions too.

If you really think they're useless, feel free to gift them to me.