josephstern

Agreed - I'm all ears to hear what card is better for airfare than the Amex Plat. Beyond the 5x (which is the primary reason I use it) you get the benefits for the trip (which I've never used, but I might have to someday).

gooselee

I always juggle between Amex Plat and CSR for big personal trips. I like the 5X of Amex, but CSR still has 3X and I think the travel insurance stuff is slightly better. For significant int'l vacations, I generally end up using the CSR as I think giving up the 2X points difference is worth it for the added protection. Plus I have way more MR than UR anyway.

El Boocho

rogo

I use them when I get 1.4 cents per SkyMile or better.
Or when I might want to cancel/refund/change the ticket.

josephstern

1.4 - so do you ever get a chance to use them for domestic travel?

I consider them to be worth far less - maybe even just 1c.

Of course, Delta tickets in dollars are often 10-20% more than their competitors in many markets, so the true value if I'm willing to change carriers is then under 1c.

rucksack

All the time.

Here are a few examples of Main Cabin awards I just found with a quick search (valuations factor taxes):
MSP-PHX: $177 / 9,000 (1.90 cents/point)
SEA-ANC: $153 / 9,000 (1.64 cents/point)
BNA-MIA: $117 / 7,000 (1.59 cents/point)
ANC-JFK: $407 / 26,500 (1.51 cents/point)
ORD-SFO: $162 / 10,500 (1.49 cents/point)
SEA-MIA: $232 / 16,000 (1.42 cents/point)
ATL-BOS: $94 / 6,500 (1.36 cents/point)

Generally if you can find low level inventory, the value per mile is about 1.3 - 1.9 cents per mile.

orca15

If only I could time warp to BNA or SEA Needing to leave, as I do, from one or two local airports, such fares are the things of dreams. If I get anything close to 15K per way I am happy...but when the fares run $450+ RT That works out.

rucksack

Yea, regional airports can be tough both for award and cash fares since there's usually little competition. You can still find good awards, though, from region airports. For example:

BMI - PDX: $214 / 12,500 (1.67 cents per mile)
PHF - DFW: $294 / 18,500 (1.56 cents per mile)
HPN - MIA: $132 / 8,500 (1.49 cents per mile)
BGR - MSY: $208 / 14,000 (1.45 cents per mile)

One thing worth pointing out is that Basic Economic is almost always a slightly worse redemption value than Main Cabin.

dalehill

Having some flexibility, I use them when:

a. DL announces a D1 flash sale to a place not near the equator, or
b. I may need to change plans/redeposit, or
c. They've been piling up and are hanging over my head like a dark cloud, threatening to implode in value

TuxTom

For a while now I've debated whether it was better to spend them as I earned them or saving them for a special trip, but ultimately I'm glad I held onto them for the last couple of years. I recently booked a trip from CA to Germany for 155k per person r/t in J for a redemption of 2.6 cpm. It took quite a few searches and tracking our options for several days, but was finally able to settle on a more interesting/fun itinerary routing including the outbound on AF (777-200) and an overnight in AMS on the return (first time I'll actually leave the airport there).

indufan

Do you have any evidence of this claim?

josephstern

Purely anecdotal

crjtraveler

Only use them for long haul J on partners. DL rates are rarely worth it but 85K on China Airlines from US to SIN will never get complaints from me. Never used for less than 5cpm in value. Getting more difficult to find those sweet spots though.

RealHJ

As is the case with several other airlines also, usually the worst value of DL miles is for DL flights. So, the best use of DL miles is for other airline (e.g. MU, CI, KE - rarely, when available, GA, VN, etc.) flights, int'l, in J (O). To get the best chance of booking what you want, and to get your booking in before yet another stealth "enhancement" (devaluation) by DL, it's best to book 331 days out or thereabouts. So, 11 months in advance planned int'l J flights. Sometimes involving DL flights, but usually not. That is the best value of DL miles, in terms of cpm. But, of course this strategy may or may not work for all. For it to be really useful you need to be PM or higher, not to be hit with a penalty for redeposit, in case plans change closer in.

rucksack

This is to be expected, though, right? Partner airlines only offer awards to other airlines at "saver" levels, and so all partner awards are going to be, by definition, a good redemption value.

If you were to only look at Delta's lowest award fares, they're actually a really good value. For example, I just found a RT on Delta metal between ATL and NRT/HND for 240,000 where the fare was $10,116, meaning the redemption is 4.19 cents per point.