Compare mileages, points and cash
 

It is getting more difficult to manage my miles, points now with all these programs. I have Delta, continental/united, AA, Cap1, BA, and soon AE MR and Sapphire points. I know conventional wisdom tells me that I should redeem if the mile can get > $0.02 worth or sometimes $0.01. My usage so far is domestic ticket which cost around $200 to $450 RT and International Asia cost $800 to $1500 RT. However, with so much inventory now, should I reduce my level? eg, should I use 25K BA or AA miles to redeem a domestic ticket cost of only $200, or should I use 50K BA or AA for a ticket cost of $350? I think the best value is in Asia ticket, should I reserve all my miles for those tickets (which can easily get me $0.02 or more per mile) and just use CAP1, etc to pay for domestic tickets? I am confused? I hope there is a table comparing all these miles, points, worth, etc

i think that you have answered your ?, but miles are much more valuable for j & f awards or upgrades in cents/ mile....however, it isn't significant unless you would have bought the j/f ticket.....good luck...

I think the real question is- what do you want to do with those miles? Visit other countries? See family or friends? Try out different airlines and classes? Yes, conventional wisdom dictate that miles have a certain value, but really, the value is based on what your goals and priorities are.

In my case, I'm usually gathering miles for some particular award. Once I reach that amount, I redeem the miles. There's no reason to just sit on a large pile of miles since they don't gain interest and program rules can change at any time.

There are a few tables that I have bookmarked just because I have fun looking at how various people value miles:

http://www.plasticiq.com/blog/freque...on-comparison/
http://www.insideflyer.com/articles/...e.php?key=6358
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2008/...el-points.html

I don't necessarily put much stock in those values though because none are centered around my travel goals, etc. I would never base a decision to use my miles or not on what other people's preferences are.

+1. Exactly. The various cent/mile calculations can come in handy, but the bottom line is a personal one. My wife and I redeem them almost exclusively for international J and F vacation flights that we'd never pay $$ for--so we can't pretend that the miles are worth the the tickets' cash value, but love using them that way anyway And on a couple of occasions we've converted AA miles to HH points to be able to stay at fantastic Hilton resorts. But you might well be comfortable in Y or have different mileage balances, which of course is perfectly fine. At some point just cash them in for a trip(s) you like, and don't worry about whether you're squeezing the maximum value out of them.

How do you convert Aa miles to Hh points?

It's through points.com

Lost more info in this thread:

Transfer of American AAdvantage Miles to Hilton HHonors Points: The Definitive Thread

Miles don't create more value sitting around and typically devalue over time (not that the greenback isn't in the same boat, but the greenback has a bit more flexibility). If/when I have more miles than I have an immediate plan/goal for then I usually am happy to use them for $0.01+, although I've dipped below 1 cent a few times depending on the # of miles I have relative to what I might use anytime in the future.

In summary, this really depends on what's best for your travel & finances, but if you don't have a plan to use miles/points anytime soon and have a sufficient buffer for unplanned trips, then burn vs stockpile when it comes to miles/points. (my 2 cents)

+1 - My wife & I only use miles for international J & F flights. So if we spend/buy miles for $3,500 but get an 8 -10 dollar ticket then it's worth it to us. We wouldn't fly long haul economy so it's either pay the best J or F fare we find on the internet or figure out how to get/buy miles.

+1 Precisely. Too few people understand this, and instead try to assign hard values that simply aren't equally applicable to others.

My favorite use of miles (other than flying J to Asia) is to give a round trip ticket to a friend or relative who wants to go somewhere (like home to visit family) but is stressed out about the cost. I don't think you can put a dollar value on the ability to help someone out. And, with miles in lots of programs, I can usually find a way to get them where they want to go.

Well said.............
 

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