Opinion on travel... canceling award flights due to travel fatigue
 

Hey guys/gals... I want your opinion...

I have an EY award in F, from CAI-AUH-MEL (on the A380) booked last March. I have postponed the trip over 3 times and now the flight is this weekend.

To cut a long story short... I am tired ... of travelling. :eek:

You see, in order to make the trip, I have to fly tomorrow from PEN-KUL-DOH-CAI, stay 2 nights and then do the CAI-AUH-MEL, and then fly back MEL-HKG-PEN (which I still have to book and finding the award availability now is doing me in). All in the span of one week.

I know you guys would probably say, hey, piece of cake especially if all in F or J.

I know that EY is supposed to be the de riguer of F travel, but right now, I've got family priorities and find it hard to get away even for a week. And frankly, I am so sick of flying long haul these days. I used to be the Flyertalker and do long jaunts just to earn miles. Now I just want to stay at home... watch Netflix, read or just zen out.

Ok sure, I can get the same award next time for 40K miles more... at 100K from same instead of 60K which I redeemed it last year. Or am hoping that EY might consider using the A380 to Hong Kong one day then I can redeem a shorter journey..

So... has anyone cancelled an Apartment and lived to regret it?

To look at it another way - if you don't want to go you won't enjoy it, and so it would be a waste of miles

I just cancelled an award with QR A380 F, CX F, and EY F. Only 50k miles for ICN-HKG-BKK-DOH-AUH-CAI. I then took a step back and said that it is time for a break. Maybe back when I was 19, but not when I'm 20.

Are your positioning flights award tickets too? If yes, then you're essentially spending miles in order to spend miles. If you have family priorities and don't have the time/energy/etc. to go, then I'd just cancel it and never look back.

The Apartment is certainly an awesome flying experience, but if the sole purpose of this trip was just to try it out, then I'd book it in the future sometime when your schedule and other stuff works out better. While it's not as long of a flight, you can still grab it between LHR-AUH for 62.5k miles.

If you have no need to go to Melbourne, then I would say to just cancel it - rather than looking at the 40k extra to travel later , I would look at the loss of miles/cash from taking a trip that you don't want to do which is being done for no reason

EY 1st class is a really nice way to get from A-B , but why worry about it if you are not at A and don't want to go to B

Yes my positioning flights are award too... KUL-DOH-CAI (which I can use later in the year), and then have to redeem another award for the flight home.. eg MEL-HKG-PEN...

Ya, I was all gung ho when I booked the trip last year. Thinking that I would go to Mardi Gras in Sydney but well, things have changed, and travelling is no longer a joy or a priority. Maybe instead of being a nomad, I suddenly found myself a place I can call home...

I'd cancel the trip, save the miles for another time when you're in the right mindset. It sounds like you've already justified cancellation but just need some reassurance :)

So you're spending miles in order to spend miles, when you really would rather not spend miles?

Forget about the loss aversion psychology of the lower-priced award and FOMO of "OMG, I won't fly EY Apartments" and save the miles for later, when you might enjoy a trip. Seems logical enough for me.

You know, they DO sell Krug and caviar at sea level if you REALLY must have a fix... ;)

No flying bed can match one on the ground.
Flying is just getting from point A to point B. If you have no need to be at point B there are better ways to spend your time and money.

I think that this is a perfectly interesting travel discussion, but agree that it is not at all germane to AA since it involves no AA metal or routes that AA flies. Yes, you paid for it with AA currency, but posting this thread in the AA forum is like asking Janet Yellen whether you should spend your U.S. dollars to go out to eat tonight.

It is when I have to pay the $150 cancellation & reinstatement fee to AA !

Who's Janet Yellen...?

She "prints" U.S. Dollars. The Chair of the Fed.

It sounds like you will easily incur more than $150 of lodging, food and incidental expenses on this trip you no longer wish to take, so you are coming out ahead anyway.

I xld an award tkt to SE Asia in January in F on JL and CX F return. Been there, done that, and was just going to get in under the deval redemption. Upon consideration, I realized going back to someplace I have been many, many times, just to burn miles, was silly, especially when I can use the miles to go to someplace new, or another place I want to return to.

I don't get it? No matter how nice EY F is, my own bed, couch, TV, and fridge with whatever food/beer/wine I want is far nicer. Travel because you want to, not because you already bought the ticket! $150 is nothing to redeposit a bunch of miles that you can then use when you actually feel like it.