This may have been asked before. Now that I am a point and mile junkie, I hoard both points and miles. I won't "spend" unless there is a truly fabulous trip that I could not easily do otherwise. Does anyone have suggestions from their own experience?

FC - SFO to SYD on UA
FC - SFO to SIN on SQ
FC - SFO to LHR on Virgin

My personal favorites.

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140,000 AA miles for FC IAD-LAX-HGK-BNE on CX.

I like hopping around Micronesia on the 20/25K intra-Asia award (in conjunction with an Asia trip) available through OnePass or WorldPerks. Places like Majuro, Pohnpei and Yap are hard to forget, and you can also get to ones like Cairns or Bali.

Alternatively, spend 50K/60K to get there from the U.S. rather than 35K for Hawaii. You get a free stopover anyway and probably must go through Honolulu, so adding a destination in Micronesia or Asia costs 15K or 25K more (though it'll be 25K after they eliminate the off-peaks)

International, long haul, First Class.
With an occasional exception(i.e. 2 class airplane with Business in the front), I only use miles for long haul, First Class. If you save them up, you get way more bang for the buck.

Personally, I get mad when someone uses 25K for a domestic ticket that you can do on a advance, cheapie.

Also, I always transfer hotel points to airline miles to increase lifetime miles, more so in the case of AA, which I transfer everything to. I can usually get a cheap hotel someplace, but I, personally, have no access to First Class longhaul without the miles.

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Michael
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
HH GLD, SCI GLD, MM SIL
LE PRESIDENT ETERNEL DE CAMAIR-CAMEROUN AIRLINES

Not all 25K domestic awards are bad ones. And hoarding your miles for whopper awards isn't always the best bang for the buck.

It depends on whether you want maximum *enjoyment* from your miles or maximum *real cash value* from your miles. For example, a 25K or 40K domestic award used for a flight you need to be on tomorrow might net you 3 to 5 cents per mile in real cash that stayed in your pocket.

On the other hand, a long-haul F award for your vacation is much, much more *enjoyable*, but probably delivers less real cash value back to you (unless you are the type that actually buys $10,000 tickets for your vacations). Spending 120,000 miles for F when the cheap coach ticket was available for $700 makes sense for you because it's FUN to be in first-class.

I like both types of awards. I especially like it when I can upgrade off of cheap international coach fares. I think international premium class is a LOT of fun. I also hate paying $1500 for a domestic ticket.

But those are just my preferences. They aren't any better or worse than anyone else's.

I will always buy the 'cheapies' when possible... but using 20K DL miles to buy a last minute PNS-ATL-LAX-ATL-PNS ticket that would have cost me $1800 was a big savings and totally worth it.

I agree with you, though, Michael - I'd love to fly FC long-haul - just don't quite have the miles for it yet!

What do you think about upgrading a 'cheapie' transcon flight with 20-30K miles? Worth it or no?

- Sameer

Can't beat --
DFW-BOS-MIA-LHR-MIA-DFW to accumulate miles -- all of this for $440 last trip.

And with upgrades --- riding in Biz isn't so bad.

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TANSTAAFL - but if you work it right, FF miles comes pretty close.

>>>> Ah, good points and well made. Here is another one. I am flying Cathay Pacific First class, AA award, LA to Hong Kong to South Africa. I could and would never do this in coach. It is too long and it is not healthy. DVT and all. You would be so wiped out when you got to Jo'burg it would suck!

The first time I flew Business to Asia, could have screamed. It was just so much flying and it is hard for me to sleep on planes, way more so in coach.

So, just another idea to reflect on. I need First Class for trips to South Africa and the South Pacific. Business on routes less than that. Can do coach for about 10 give or take, but not to go onto another 10 hour flight a day later, I swear I'd go nuts ...

>>> For transcons, in my personal, humble opinion . I can upgrade as an elite member to Business on 3 or First on 2 cabin aircraft. I try to avoid the narrow bodies on transcons. Used to do UA 757's, even in First, and it drove me crazy. The others aren't so bad.

The only North American airline I would do that is Air Canada, def. so the previous Canadian where I did do that. Sorry, the foreign airlines give better service up front. You would have access to the Air Canada lounges, which are nice, fyi. The one at Toronto is wonderful! On a US airline, to my amazement, sir, your seat at the crowded gate is over there. They do give you lounge access on Transcon First... gee, how nice. First and Business in Europe, full lounge access, as it should be.

There are all kinds of cheap-o domestic awards which are well worth the 25k miles.

For example, if you need an open-jaw ticket, the price can skyrocket quickly as you're basically paying for 2 one-way tickets. I got a domestic award for YYZ-BOS-JFK, for which the cheapest advanced purchase ticket is well over $450. That's value.

A domestic award is also a great value if you need a stopover. A cheap-o ticket wouldn't allow it.

I enjoy burning my miles for long haul international first too, but these little domestic awards are a much better value/$$.

how long can your stopover last? that does seem like a much better use of miles then just using them for a regular roundtrip.

>>> CONCORDE!

hmmmm -- don't mean to get just *too* airy/fairy philosophical here -- but it seems to me the world would be a much better place if more people looked at life this way . . .

alas, as my signature says:



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It's not a perfect world.

abso-flipping-lutely !!!
JFK to any european city via LHR in Concorde
and C for 60.000 BA miles oneway can't be beaten!