Gaucho100K

Tell me something I dont know... this fellow is only stating the obvious. Hoarding miles is a very stupid idea, not only do they get devalued but people also forget you dont get interest on them, which is not the case if you burn miles and instead keep your cash invested. But hey, dont push that envelope around here much, people tend to get annoyed when certain topics are addressed...

Daze

BizyGirl, welcome to FlyerTalk!

thelostshark

I'd wait and take the trip later, even were it to cost 300k in miles. You will enjoy the trip more if you're taking it when you really want to than if you feel it's kinda been forced on you. I take trips when I want to (and when life allows me to), and then burn miles if I'm able or buy a ticket and accrue miles if I'm not. Guess my travel philosophy is not to let the tail wag the dog ... tls

BizyGirl

Thanks for the welcome!

I just booked an award ticket with NWA to see Springsteen in L.A. on Sunday and was still able to get a standard award! Surprise, surprise...still haven't run into difficulties finding standard award tix and getting more bank out of my miles.

Standby4321

Bonjour encore, BizyGirl -- and congratulations on your trip to see The Boss! I remember well the sand whipping in the hot, fast wind across the truck stop parking lot and over to Mickey D's by the I-94 overpass in Bismark.

I'm pretty insistent about booking only standard (minimum) level award seats and I've found it to be a practical approach, too. Other than that, the discount zone certs that come out from time to time are often a good way to get the job done from some of those "outpost" airports.

As for FF miles in general, I set a cap on what I want to carry for a balance and I start looking for opportunities when I begin to reach that level. I earn and redeem about 250K annually from all sources and it creates some very nice weekend breaks. Joe B isn't telling us anything we don't know, really. But I'm not going to make my travel plans or method of payment just because he says I should do it as a matter of principle. That is NOT value!

notsosmart

Brancatelli is an evangelist for an extreme point of view. As with all such folks, one should take his musings with a grain of salt.

Randy seems to know a thing or two about these miles things, and he offers a diametrically opposite point of view. Without spewing venom.

I don't dislike Brancatelli, but frankly, I don't care for coach and so Southwest and JetBlue are not options I look at. If he likes them, good for him.

RustyC

Straight-on devaluations might get you sued, are bad for P.R. and might have to be rescinded anyway if other airlines don't match. Instead, airlines like CO have been making standard awards much harder to get and nudging people toward the "EasyPass." I think the high % of redemptions still at standard level suggests that a lot of people don't want to go that route, though it might also mask a lot of changed plans not only for dates but for destinations.

Also, if airlines did a big-jolt devaluation, it might turn a lot of people off to tie-in promos, which could choke off the revenue they're getting from non-airline entities buying miles. It's for all those reasons that I think we're getting these "stealth" devaluations like RuleBuster and EasyPass instead.

You'll really know it's gone too far if they do an even higher-tier award that guarantees a seat on anything but a sold-out flight (EasyPass Plus?)

hfly

I hoarded miles (and still do). KLM matched my biggest balance and then multiplied it by 1.85. I can't really see how I lost out by hoarding them ( I should mention that when BA and Hilton recently raised their levels I cashed out significant portions of my accounts).