For the past year, I have been planning a trip for 3 families/12 people. The 3 fathers are all celebrating their 40th birthdays by running in the Paris marathon. The 3 families are all travelling on different airlines and at times are staying in different hotels, all due to redemption of my points and miles. All the while I have been finalizing our mileage award travel plans, I have been keeping my eye on the ever decreasing airfares to Europe. This weekend, Northwest dropped west coast-Europe fares as low as I have ever seen them. Yesterday, I purchased four tickets for $1600. Under NWA's Customer First policy, I have until midnight tonight to cancel these at no charge. Now I have a choice to make. Do I:

1. Fly British Air in Club World (biz) as I am currently ticketed. These tickets cost me 360,000 miles and $350 in taxes.

2. Fly Northwest in coach for $1600 and earn approximately 75,000 miles, given status bonuses.

While I realize this is an individual decision, there are some compelling factors:

-When in the heck am I ever going to use all these miles I have accumulated if I don't ever start burning them?

-The vast difference in comfort and service between the two choices

-The passengers include a 7 and a 1 year old, both have elite status and neither has any clue what it is like to ride in coach (and neither of whom would probably care where they sit). And don't even start about them being disruptive....they travel very well with proper manners and attentive parents.

-the bottom line: I can save/earn 435,000 miles by paying an additional $1250 and ride in coach.

I thought I would "go to the source" for some constuctive analysis. Any thoughts?

I guess my first question is. Is there any chance you can upgrade the paid tickets using airmiles? I've frequently done this on another airline and earned enough airmiles to pay back what I used to get the upgrade. The best of both worlds so to speak.

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"A day without Points is like a day without SUNSHINE"

A 7 and a 1 year old BOTH with elite status

If your flight has a stop on the east coast and you can get off the plane and walk around, I would go coach if you can get decent seats. A direct flight from the West to Europe is way too long for me in the back. If not, heck, that's what the miles are for.

Besides - you'll be in better shape to cheer your friends on after a few drinks and a relaxing snooze up front.

While I'm a big fan of int'l biz, I'm an even bigger fan of $400 R/T tickets to Europe. I would probably stick it out in coach. But then again, I always fly AA with MRTC and I usually sit in the exit row. I don't know whether there are tolerable non-exit-row coach seats on Northwest.

Obviously, if you can upgrade any of the $400 tickets with miles, you've got a no-brainer. I know a lot of people here would just spend the 360,000 miles, but it would gnaw at me that I passed up that great fare on an airline on which I had elite status. That's just me...

That sounds like an awesome trip - the Paris Marathon is on my short list for trips in 2004.

I would ride in coach and save/earn the miles. I personally don't find coach all that bad on NW to Europe. I am a good size guy and I'd ride in coach for that price, especially when in the seat next to me is a 7 or 1 year old. More than enough room. And who cares about the service up front when you're sleeping most of the time anyway. Just my 2 cents.

Earn, if at all possible.



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The best revenge is living well.

everything i have read lately leans to burn. point deflation is rampant and award seats are becoming hard to come by as airlines go belly up.

Agree with fctsy for the reasons stated. Burn em.

If you view miles/points like a depreciating currency the appropriate strategy is to dump (i.e. burn) them.

Burn, baby, burn.

My strategy is to use short-hop domestic in coach to earn miles and then burn the miles for long-haul vacations.

Why are you earning these points, if not to use them to enhance your enjoyment? When vacationing, comfort is valuable... and Club World is going to add a lot of that. You can arrive rested and ready to enjoy.

Burn them at the rate of 3 tenths of a penny or $.003? The airline will love you for it as I'm sure they carry them on the books at a much higher rate. Even organizations that buy hundreds of thousands of miles at a time can't get close to that rate.

Granted it's not first class but it sure seems like a terrible waste.

Burn 'em, what else are you saving them for if not such a special and memorable occasion (3x40th birthday...etc...) ?

As FCTSTY correctly points out, award travel will only get harder/more complicated as the airlines tighten budgets...

Club World is great on BA,IMHO better than any US carrier, Enjoy yourself !!

Not sure exactly how many miles total you have in the bank, but I would buy the $400 tickets especially if all of you have elite status on NW/CO, then get advanced seat assignments in an exit row. I wouldnt burn 80k miles for a 1yr old to sit up front but then again I dont have kids!

I am having trouble understanding why a one year old would be an elite when he flys for free until he is two years old. The first thing I would do is pare down to three NW
tickets for $1200. As long as the miles don't
expire it's a no braner to save them. I would hovever book the center row of 4 seats in the back in the hopes of scoring an open seat for the infant.

Thanks to all for your replies. The split in opinions matched the ambivalence in my mind on this issue. I went ahead and kept the NW coach tickets. I'll try to use some of the saved mileage for two BA first class tickets for my wife and I on our anniversary this fall.

P.S. San FF: A one year-old attains elite status like anyone else. She flew 25,000 "butt in the car seat" miles on paid tickets last year. I would never attempt to hold an infant in my lap.