I agree First Class or Business is great, but if you get the correct seat in coach, it's not bad! I mean, you don't get the big seat,the toiletry bag, the china and the fancy meal or the individual DVD...but if you are lucky enough to get an exit row seat (and in most airlines elite passengers can reserve these in advance)..they it is fine, and you are paying a lot less than paying full care business or coach.

This varies greatly by airline, and the economics will vary depending on the elite status of the passenger and other bonuses involved with the paid ticket.

Example: an AA Plat buys a $400 R/T coach ticket. Since he is signed up for about a dozen different promotions, I'll conservatively say he earns 10,000 Q-miles towards next year's qual, and 30,000 miles total. He upgrades for 50K, so his total cost for a Biz ticket is $400 + 20,000 miles. His added benefit is that he just earned 4 domestic upgrade credits, a bunch of Q-miles, and moved 30K closer to Lifetime levels.

Or he can book a 90,000 mile award seat in Biz. He loses all of the above benefits, but gains some changeability and some stopover flexibility.

For most choices like this, I've chosen to buy the ticket an upgrade. I've even done it when I went coach one way and biz the other, due to availability. (Only because of MRTC would I do this.) If I really wanted a stopover, that might change things. (I'd still look at the costs of purchasing two tickets though.)

On other airlines where you have to buy up to a higher coach fare before you can upgrade, or airlines on which I have no status, I am more apt to just redeem the biz award. It varies based on my current cashflow, mileage levels, and future plans with the airline in question.

This was really the situation I was thinking of. Having to buy a higher fare AND then spend miles to upgrade does not seem to offer the value of simply redeeming for a BC/FC award.

I live in LA and fly to NYC a lot. I don't go to other destinations a lot (except for work). Therefore I don't feel bad about burning 25,000 on a $200 ticket

but, you're also burning the 5K+ (elite) miles for flying as well as any elite mileage bonuses, if applicable, and other bonuses (such as online booking bonuses or "pay with mastercard" bonuses, etc.) you may earn.

so, you are at a minimum burning about 31K miles for the $200 ticket.

i understand your thought, but i would never use miles instead of paying $200 for a transcon.

If I were AA Plat and was finding LA-NYC R/T for $200, I'd be falling all over myself to buy it.

This board will be happy to provide other destination suggestions for you to spend those miles. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The moral to the story is that there is no absolute correct answer to this question. It all depends on your needs and flying patterns:

1. If you are a business traveller who has maximum status and more miles than you know what to do with, then burn them at every opportunity.

2. If you are someone who needs extra flights to make status and feels that flying in other classes than coach is a priority, then use miles for upgrades.

3. If you are a person who cannot make status and just earns miles to travel as much as you can and could care less about paying extra for first class, they use miles for coach tickets that give a fair return on miles (eg. do not redeem for 1 cent per mile).

Etc. it could go on and on ....

I do not fly much at all on business anymore so I try to travel as much as I can with the miles that I have and can still earn, so I would rather use them for more flights to travel more than having a big seat at the front of the plane. I have gone first class a few times and it is great, but to me, even being 6'3", not worth anywhere near the advertised price. To me, the flight is the lowlight of the entire trip no matter what cabin I am in and I can still read my book or talk to my wife in coach, so I would rather use the miles for more free flights.

But, that is me, I am sure that everyone has their own situation. The best advice is to know the rules and understand the programs and then decide for yourself.

id never use miles for anything close to $300. save them for up's. you can use 25k to buy a $300 ticket, or you can use 20K to upgrade from a $300 coach seat to a $1000-$2500 (depending on the day or week, phase of the moon, color of the sky, etc)FC seat. plus, when you use miles for a reward ticket you're not getting the segemtns, miles or booking bonus that you would get had you paid.

The other thing that I am considering right now is the airline. I had about 30,000 miles on US and had no problem burning 25,000 for a ticket that would have been just over $300.00. I don't fly US any more and didn't want to loose the miles if US doesn't survive.

Best way to spend 25,000 miles is on short-notice, non-Saturday night stay trips which usually cost beaucoup bucks.

I should have given more detail. I usually use the 25K for these flights when my wife flys with me for her ticket (she doesn't have status and won't reach it). We put our seats together, and I try to upgrade one (my seat for her)or both to first/be. Yes I am more than glad to spend $200 to earn the miles and qual miles.