eponymous_coward

Are there experiences with points? Sure. The PH Maldives looks nice, too. But there are great opportunities you won't ever get access to in Paris or the Maldives (or elsewhere) with points.

84fiero

I agree. I have uses for my hotel points but I pay cash in many places especially outside the US, as you said there are opportunities that will be missed by being limited to hotel points.

But I suppose it's great for others to book in the chain hotels, leaving more available rooms in other local establishments.

lwildernorva

In addition to this, I'd also contend that the fixation on using points/miles causes some folks to restrict their experience in a country to those cities or areas that have properties that fit their points/miles profile. Of course, if you can't afford to travel to France any other way, I'll not criticize you for going straight to Paris and staying at a Hilton or a Hyatt or an IHG property. I'd take advantage of that opportunity to travel to places I couldn't otherwise afford, too.

But I sense from reading threads here at FT that there are plenty of folks who could use points/miles to supplement their travels rather than dictate the destinations. I was in Ireland for ten days in April and in Scotland for six weeks last summer. Yes, in Sligo, I was happy to stay at a Radisson Blu on Club Carlson points, but most of my trip was focused on small towns where B&Bs and small hotels were the only available option. Same with Scotland where I stayed on points at the Waldorf-Astoria and the Radisson Blu while in Edinburgh but also stayed in university accommodations in St. Andrews, a small hotel in Girvan (several miles from Turnberry where I could have splurged some SPG points as I did on a 2011 trip), and B&Bs all over the country.

I'd hate to have only stayed in Sligo, Dublin, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow on those two trips. Yet, I think that's what happens to a lot of travelers who allow their fixation on miles/points to dictate their itineraries.

Kagehitokiri

PH maldives is more about snorkeling than hotel
there are some 'quality' award hotels like PH paris
but extremely few "best hotels" are award hotels

edit - some pay a lot for top luxury properties
(similar to many on FT paying for longhaul F)

eponymous_coward

Yeah. And in the reasonably priced range in Europe, I think your cash goes further than your points, and gets you into hotel chains, pensions, B&Bs and homestay/homeshares that points can't get you.

I didn't feel like I was sacrificing much paying $100 a night for a studio in the XVIIIe near Sacre-Coeur as opposed to points in some generic hotel, or even the PH Vendôme.

kokonutz

Now that I have rented flats off of Piccadilly Circus in London and the Champs in Paris, I'll never waste points in those cities again! @:-)^

B747-437B

This line has just left me speechless. If it was meant even remotely seriously, the complete lack of perspective relative to the real world is staggering.

HadesNL

I was cringing at that line too, should i laugh or cry...

I think it symbolizes his obsession with points and miles.

His mom prefered to be in Germany at a certain date. Reading from the post, it didnt matter to her how she got there as long as she was there in time and the ticket was confirmed to give her piece of mind.

I think being a good son would mean: booking and confirming her on a direct (nonstop) flight or a flight with minimal connections and easy transit for her comfort and sake instead of trying to palm off/ impress a personality-lifestyle on her. Is he trying to outstage his older brother in vying for his parent's attention.

I had a similair situation too, my mom wanted to go to CGK for family matters ASAP, i used up my flying blue account to book her the direct KL-flight in economy from AMS (business was sold out) instead of what any milesjunkie would do by flying many segments to Asia via multiple stops on CI/CZ/KE (which even had business class availability) for better aspirational award travel

84fiero

Yeah I found that post to be pitiful. It's a good thing he ended up finding something for her in the end, otherwise he would have been up a creek without a paddle. As you said, instead of simply doing what she wanted, he forces her to live by his standards of what she "should" be flying.

My parents only fly nowadays to their vacation home in Florida. When they go down for short trips they fly, but my mother is a very, very nervous flyer. They look to me to help with arranging their travel. So the first priority was a non-stop flight to minimize the total air time and takeoffs/landings which are what bother her the most. They don't care about earning elite status, upgrades, earning miles for premium travel, etc. So it's simple, non-stop WN flights for them - barely 2 hours gate to gate and they're thrilled.

When I fly down to use the house I do things differently, but no way would I try to impose my style and wishes on them. If I did, they probably wouldn't say anything to me but I know better.

eponymous_coward

And one of Lucky's co-bloggers makes a similar point:

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...ond-challenge/

kokonutz

That's a great post.

The whole direction of loyalty programs is to restrict them to people who are actually regularly travelling for business. They are working hard to weed out folks who game the system, and compete only for the folks who are regularly spending a lot on business travel.

The most logical reaction to this play by less frequent business travelers and/or gamers is to do more thorough cost/benefit analyses.

I did the math a few years ago and discovered that blind loyalty and diamond handcuffs (nice phrase) are incredibly limiting and costly. Although I have the luxury of a few lifetime statuses to fall back on, I very often find myself paying cash for business class tickets or a room/suite at a hotel I have no juice with. Because it is, in the long run, cheaper and more interesting. Besides, 'free' breakfasts and buffets and cookies make you fat.

Then again, I love travel more than I love points and miles.

Oh, and when my mom asks me for something, I give it to her. I can't imagine putting my mother through the stress and worry of not having firm plans and peace of mind. Because to some people peace of mind is worth more than Dom and Krug.

Kagehitokiri

on the other hand, he does very little non chain/award compared to majority of his travel, and seemed to only start doing it after becoming more established in his various ventures

someone can travel regular[ly] for leisure, and spend more than many business travelers, while not having the mindset of 'money is no object'

last CEO for starwood said 30% profit (net/gross?) from 2% of travelers - that includes ultra wealthy leisure

kokonutz

This describes me exactly. Except I also do a fair amount of business travel as well.

Until I took off the diamond handcuffs I never realized how much I was missing by doing leisure travel exclusively in a business travel way.

84fiero

I think it's good to see some different perspectives on OMAAT, most of the posts by Nick that I've seen have been pretty decent with a fairly level-headed take on things generally.

The bold part sums up my thoughts precisely as well. Miles and points are just a means to an end, and not always the best choice for what I want.

Big_Foot

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...lass/#comments


David says:
June 6, 2015 at 10:43 pm
Ben, I do not know if its just me but in the last few months your site has become less and less interesting and more and more “materialistic”.

abby says:
June 7, 2015 at 2:23 am
@David
agree. he’s clearly making so much money from credit cards and the booking service (i’m guessing north of $1mm/year) that he has completely lost touch with the average reader. he claims he does no MS, but he’s in first or bus (usually 1st) 2-3x per week. except for a few mistake fares, this doesn’t compute. unless he’s found a way to get paid in miles or he’s being comped a bunch of flights, even @ $1mm/year, after taxes, isn’t enough for his ‘last minute’ flying in the front of the plane.

other than that douche justin ross lee, i can’t think of many who can relate to many of his posts anymore. then again, we live in the most narcissistic time in human history (by a factor of 10), so perhaps i’m wrong and don’t get it. after all, a selfie stick would not ‘change my life’…


_____________________________________


That's been always my main issue with him - math just doesn't make sense.
He throws some curveballs every few months "explaining" how he does it,
and it seems to work with most, still numbers make no sense...

And I have to agree, he's just the new "justin ross lee" right now.
But why to blame him, arrogant and narcissistic approach works
for all the "celebrities" on tv, right?