1M avios. What would you do?
Oct 3, 2019, 11:32 am
#32
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Oct 3, 2019, 12:07 pm
#34
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I am actually more curious musical as to how long it took you to accrue the 1M miles? I have been up in the high hundreds of thousands on a couple of occasions but never to the 1M+ mark. I fly just enough to maintain Gold every year and my Avios philosophy tends to be earn them and burn them. I am currently sitting on about 39k Avios which is a pitiful amount by anyone's reckoning!
sadly I dropped from gold to silver a month ago (personal reasons meant I had to cancel a bunch of long haul engagements in the last 3 months) but i should be back to gold in the next 3-4 months.
Some lovely advice. Thank you all. My feeling is to wait a bit, use some for short haul with lots of availability, and then insist on having a month long break from gigs/press/work and book an almighty trip next summer/autumn. Life is too short, no?
Oct 3, 2019, 12:22 pm
#35
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Most people choose not to hold six figure balances because of the very real risk of devaluation - about which you can do nothing.
As for spending them, if it's just two of you then the world is your oyster. Assuming you're not using a 241 voucher, I'd be looking at a partner redemption on QR to MLE in J. You may struggle with availability this close to departure, though. Use BA reward finder website to check out BA options - DXB would still be hot and only 320k return in First - so enough change to do a partner redemption next year.
As for spending them, if it's just two of you then the world is your oyster. Assuming you're not using a 241 voucher, I'd be looking at a partner redemption on QR to MLE in J. You may struggle with availability this close to departure, though. Use BA reward finder website to check out BA options - DXB would still be hot and only 320k return in First - so enough change to do a partner redemption next year.
This.. dispose ASAP.. sell them to mates.
Avios do not gain value
Oct 3, 2019, 12:27 pm
#36
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i am a musician and travel a lot worldwide for concerts. Also I take advantage of AmEx Centurion bonus transfer offers (few and far between in Europe but recently a 20% one appeared). So in this case it took me a year. Slightly less perhaps.
sadly I dropped from gold to silver a month ago (personal reasons meant I had to cancel a bunch of long haul engagements in the last 3 months) but i should be back to gold in the next 3-4 months.
Some lovely advice. Thank you all. My feeling is to wait a bit, use some for short haul with lots of availability, and then insist on having a month long break from gigs/press/work and book an almighty trip next summer/autumn. Life is too short, no?
sadly I dropped from gold to silver a month ago (personal reasons meant I had to cancel a bunch of long haul engagements in the last 3 months) but i should be back to gold in the next 3-4 months.
Some lovely advice. Thank you all. My feeling is to wait a bit, use some for short haul with lots of availability, and then insist on having a month long break from gigs/press/work and book an almighty trip next summer/autumn. Life is too short, no?
Back when AA offered multi-partner award redemptions, I was able to combine three separate trips -- one to California/Hawaii, one to and around Europe, and one to the Caribbean -- on a single award that began and ended in NYC. Those were the days.
Oct 3, 2019, 2:48 pm
#37
Join Date: Mar 2018
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I recommend going to South Africa in F and going to Plettenberg Bay Area. Great hotel called Emily Moon down there that’s a total chill out spot. If you tour a lot in cities like me, you may enjoy the opposite. Also could pop on safari near JNB.
I’m also trying to spend as many Avios as possible (currently have 1.4m yet I do spend them), but it’s not that easy if you fly a lot and book them on an AMEX as well. I should probably “squander” more for hotels etc.
I’m also trying to spend as many Avios as possible (currently have 1.4m yet I do spend them), but it’s not that easy if you fly a lot and book them on an AMEX as well. I should probably “squander” more for hotels etc.
Oct 3, 2019, 3:13 pm
#38
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I use my points primarily for shortish routes in Y that are otherwise expensive cash wise, and have low fee components; the number of points in my balance doesn't really factor into my calculus. Since it's increasingly possible to find good revenue fares in J/F long haul, I generally don't think it's worth redeeming points for this, especially when taking some of BA's surcharges into account.
Oct 4, 2019, 1:59 am
#40
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If I had a ballooning in my avios, and hadn't done it to death, I'd be off to Australia/NZ and the South Pacific if you have time for a long trip. It's not the best use of avios but their "value" diminishes the more you get.
There are various ways to make the value tolerable: Amex 241 if you're eligible, or a multi-partner award. [35,000 miles of J flying for 280k avios - around SWP your F options are a bit restrictive.]
Don't be too lax about burning through them, unless you are earning say 400k+ a year. Will you earning/burning change in the years ahead (kids/retirement): if so building a good balance still outweighs the devaluation risk to me.
There are various ways to make the value tolerable: Amex 241 if you're eligible, or a multi-partner award. [35,000 miles of J flying for 280k avios - around SWP your F options are a bit restrictive.]
Don't be too lax about burning through them, unless you are earning say 400k+ a year. Will you earning/burning change in the years ahead (kids/retirement): if so building a good balance still outweighs the devaluation risk to me.
Oct 4, 2019, 2:14 am
#41
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Oct 4, 2019, 2:32 am
#42
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Wife and I are well into the millions each. Not spending any yet, as I'm chasing LTG (5k away), and she won't be far behind on that either. Once we get there, we'll start spending... 
Oct 4, 2019, 2:35 am
#43
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Oct 4, 2019, 2:39 am
#44
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Oct 4, 2019, 2:41 am
#45
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