FlyerTalk Forums - Understanding cpp value when redeeming points

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- - Understanding cpp value when redeeming points (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1786548-understanding-cpp-value-when-redeeming-points.html)

I would never spend $3400 just for one flight till I have more money, so .... spend the points.

Honestly, I'd probably redeem. Only thing that could tip me the other way is if 170k has much better uses in that program and I happen to be interested in those uses. (170k feels a little steep for J to most regions of the world, whereas $3400 feels like a decent J fare.) On the surface, 2 cpm sounds okay. But if I have both the $3400 *and* a better play for the 170k within the next year, I might hold off.

If I don't really know what I want to do with the 170k, then I'd definitely redeem. When award charts devalue, it seems like the long-haul J/F get hit the hardest.

For me, personally, it would also depend on the cash and points prices of a Y ticket. If either is half or less the cost of J I'd consider whether flying Y is bearable (e.g., do I have status that gets me E+ seating?) and what else I could spend the difference of points/cash on instead of that (e.g., points for a similar flight next year, cash for ritzy hotel or exclusive tour).

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdsearch (Post 29181110)

It would depend on so many things. Did I have plenty more miles, or were these my last miles? Did I have plenty of money, or would paying $3400 put me in debt? (Going into debt -- unless you happen to "isolate" it on a never-otherwise-used card at near-0% interest -- so wipes out the value of CC rewards that it's pointless to earn CC rewards and be in debt at the same time.) Was this a one-time trip, or just my yearly trip?

I have accumulated way more miles (across multiple programs) than I need in the short term, and meanwhile don't typically have $3400 spare cash, and so for me I'd use miles at a poorer rate if needed because spending that much cash would be too hard.

But someone else may be in the opposite situation.

And accumulating big amounts of miles from credit cards is getting harder by the year, so you can't count on replenishing miles you earned a couple years ago as easily the next time (if you're not flying for business and earning most of your miles that way).

I understand that a person's assessment of redemption value could be situational -- how much cash on hand is she willing to spend or could spend, how many points does she have in a given program.

And so the redemption value could change for a particular individual from year to year or more frequently.

But is there no universal numeric threshold above or below which a redemption is a "good" or "bad" value?

Certainly people have tried to come up with a formula, for example:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/calcu...mption-values/

Now with "dynamic" award pricing and more FF programs imposing higher redemption fees ($200 to over $1000), it would be helpful to have a way to compare award prices across different programs, since FTers often have banks of points across several different programs.

I'm surprised to see some DL people saying anything above 1.5 cpm would be fine:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...n-value-2.html