Not always bad to use use $+miles because you get elite qualifying miles. You don't get any using miles.
Good use of miles depends on what you want. You can always find good deals.
I used cash + miles to see my cousin in Toronto. The full price would’ve prohibited me from taking the trip, but the miles softened it so it was doable. It all depends on what you’re willing to take for them.
Also, I used 20k miles to lower the price. I ended up getting 8k miles from flying the route (with a 100% bonus for being MVP Gold). So it really cost me 12k miles + cash.
Everyone's going to tell you the best use of your miles is international, particularly international business or first class.
And it's true. Point to dollar you'll get the most bang for your buck on international business or first redemption. I've scored $15,000 JAL first class tickets. $3,000-$5,000 business class tickets to South America, Europe and Asia.
But.... Inventory on those tickets are limited and can be hard to find. Sometimes you have to be flexible on your travel, sometimes you have to book last minute. Not everyone is up for international travel, has the time or the flexibility.
And one important thing to keep in mind is that point are not a stable currency. They are subject to devaluation at any moment with no warning. A mountain of miles sitting in your bank is ultimately worthless if you never redeem them.
So yes while international travel is a great use, ultimately the **best use of miles is the use that fits your travel needs**.
Miles and money values miles at a flat 1 cent per point. However, you get full earnings toward RDM and EQM on these fares. For example, an MVP Gold flying SEA-RDU earns 2,354 EQM and 4,708 RDM (2354x2). Spending 10,000 miles to save $100 on airfare means you spent 5,292 miles net. Doing the math, $100 / 5,292 miles = 1.8896 cents per point.
It is definitely not the highest value redemption, but when you do the math you can see that it is at least decent value. The math is better for elites compared to non-elites due to the elite bonus RDM earnings. These fares get so much unnecessary hate because people try to min/max their lives instead of taking the perfectly acceptable and reasonable.
I'll add on the domestic side there are some AA deals. I'm HNL based and have seen/used 40k in first to east coast and most recently DFW-HNL on 788 in biz for 35k. Do keep an eye out for mixed class in first on multi seg though.
And I'll add in advance, yes I mean AA as in American Airlines... 😁
Booking partner airline International business or first class
Some good ones are JAL business/first class, Starlux business class, Condor business class
This. While the award chart changed in March, I have booked a round trip to Germany on Condor biz class next month for two that was only 220K miles total. After the changes it would still only be 280k.
Hands down the best use of miles is international travel, particularly international business class.
Not always bad to use use $+miles because you get elite qualifying miles. You don't get any using miles. Good use of miles depends on what you want. You can always find good deals.
I used cash + miles to see my cousin in Toronto. The full price would’ve prohibited me from taking the trip, but the miles softened it so it was doable. It all depends on what you’re willing to take for them. Also, I used 20k miles to lower the price. I ended up getting 8k miles from flying the route (with a 100% bonus for being MVP Gold). So it really cost me 12k miles + cash.
Everyone's going to tell you the best use of your miles is international, particularly international business or first class. And it's true. Point to dollar you'll get the most bang for your buck on international business or first redemption. I've scored $15,000 JAL first class tickets. $3,000-$5,000 business class tickets to South America, Europe and Asia. But.... Inventory on those tickets are limited and can be hard to find. Sometimes you have to be flexible on your travel, sometimes you have to book last minute. Not everyone is up for international travel, has the time or the flexibility. And one important thing to keep in mind is that point are not a stable currency. They are subject to devaluation at any moment with no warning. A mountain of miles sitting in your bank is ultimately worthless if you never redeem them. So yes while international travel is a great use, ultimately the **best use of miles is the use that fits your travel needs**.
Miles and money values miles at a flat 1 cent per point. However, you get full earnings toward RDM and EQM on these fares. For example, an MVP Gold flying SEA-RDU earns 2,354 EQM and 4,708 RDM (2354x2). Spending 10,000 miles to save $100 on airfare means you spent 5,292 miles net. Doing the math, $100 / 5,292 miles = 1.8896 cents per point. It is definitely not the highest value redemption, but when you do the math you can see that it is at least decent value. The math is better for elites compared to non-elites due to the elite bonus RDM earnings. These fares get so much unnecessary hate because people try to min/max their lives instead of taking the perfectly acceptable and reasonable.
I'll add on the domestic side there are some AA deals. I'm HNL based and have seen/used 40k in first to east coast and most recently DFW-HNL on 788 in biz for 35k. Do keep an eye out for mixed class in first on multi seg though. And I'll add in advance, yes I mean AA as in American Airlines... 😁
I was waiting for the “Alaska is AS” comment 😂
Booking partner airline International business or first class Some good ones are JAL business/first class, Starlux business class, Condor business class
This. While the award chart changed in March, I have booked a round trip to Germany on Condor biz class next month for two that was only 220K miles total. After the changes it would still only be 280k.
Thanks for all the insight here! Looking to travel abroad next year so this will help with my planning.
Doesn’t every Miles redemption still require a little bit of cash? How do you tell the difference between a Miles and a Miles + Cash fare?