pinniped

Wow...so they flat-out expire, no way to perfrom some small account activity to nudge them on down the line another 1-2 years? (I'm not active in that program.) Thankfully, the points I have typically don't expire...or require minimal account activity to prevent expiration.

Yes, Starwood is less bad I guess. And occasionally an airline will have a conversion bonus period where it gets somewhat better. SPG's category creep and their C&P devaluation have caused me to lower my overall expectation of the points a bit. The right airline bonus period next year could cause me to move out 75k-80k SPG. I'm getting pretty long on SPG and a bit short in a couple of other mileage programs.

Edwardvan

i actually burned 100,000 amex points at a horrible rate just to pay my amex bill this month!

I know. Stupid use of miles but what do you do!

artemis

I prefer airline miles over hotel points because I don't consistently stay with any one chain, preferring to select my lodgings on the basis of location. And for me a hotel room is just a place to sleep after a busy day of sightseeing, so I'm not very interested in staying at top-end resorts.

On the other hand, I AM interested in redeeming frequent flyer miles for Business Class flights, because I don't fit we'll in Economy Class seats. And a decent night's sleep on the plane goes a long way toward getting my vacation off to a good start.

unifer

THIS. Completely. Maybe someday I'll get old and travel to to just sit and relax somewhere, but for right now all I do is get out and about, so I am usually fine with AirBNB or whatever cheap-o option is available. I've even done hostels. But I'm of a Baskin Robbins age, so maybe that'll change once I have.. kids (ew).

And, I'm 6'1". Economy is no bueno for us tall folks.

milepig

Never use miles for hotels since the value just isn't there.
Never use miles to purchase tickets for me, since I then don't earn miles and I'm always chasing status.
Will use miles for upgrades.
Will use miles to purchase tickets for family.
I use all the hotel points I can for rooms, since that's like free money.

KevinDTW

I use miles only for flights, and only after I've made my status for the year. My travel is all on my own dime, so when my wife and I are going to Europe for a week on paid tickets we tend to stay in modest hotels because we spend very little time in the room. But we also like to take one or two domestic luxury trips each year and stay at a nice hotel, so to defray the cost of those trips we'll pay for the airfare with miles.

CPRich

I'm with several of the folks above who maximize the use of points to get somewhere and stay somewhere so I can enjoy a vacation at the location I've chosen. I've only redeemed F tickets once, iirc, and that was only for two of us, not the current family of four. Hotels are places to sleep at night, not a place to lounge around and use, for me and my family.

Example - when I had a 3 day stop over in Dubai, I booked a cheap Cat 4 SPG hotel in the business district. Many people asked why I didn't book one of the high-end resorts. It was because I was out by 9am and back after dark each day, experiencing the town.

Last summer in Maui, the whole family was almost always out by 9a and back after dark, unless we had to pick up gear between beach/snorkel/other.

I don't stay at the cheapest location, but I find a nice, quality, mid-range property most of the time. Paris next summer, for example. Marriott Rive Gauche and a quick subway ride saves quite a few points over a property right in town. But I'm not staying 20 miles away to save points.

All this allows us to stretch my points. I'd much rather fly coach and stay in a mid-range hotel twice a year for 5 years than to splurge on F and a resort for the family, and be out of points in 2-3 years.

I think this is on point to what was really asked. I don't see the question as stated - flights vs. hotels - as an either/or.

lacuadra

I use both but usually enjoy J.
Flew F many times on different airlines when working for AA a few years ago. Not impressed by champers that tastes different up there ( just me I guess). Would love to try the bling bling Emirates cabin once in my life.

Hotels 4* do fine. So dont spend that many points. Am all about the destination ( Rick Steves type)

worldiswide

We try to find the optimal earn and burn rate for both hotels and flights given ongoing devaluations. When our kids were growing up, miles allowed opportunities to see the world, and we sat in the back gor maximum Benefit It's the two of us know, and our travel wants have changed We would burn more miles for flights since most of our travel is long haul international and we do like to sit in premium cabins and enjoy the lounges in flagship cities of oneworld alliance partners. There are usually decently priced hotels in most cities and we don't do beaches or resorts and we don't spend a lot of time in the hotel while traveling. It really is a too each his Own and isn't It a good thing everyone does look at the problem the same way or come up with the same answer?