Ninetyniner wrote:
....Even better is the 15,000 mile option.
That depends on how you value your miles, your current elite status, and whether it will make a difference in achieving the next elite level in the current year and whether there are any additional mileage promotions going on. For example. In addition to the 15,000 miles, your opportunity cost includes the 3,104 miles you would acquire for the round trip if you had purchased the ticket. For Gold and Platinum elites, its double the miles for a total loss of 21,208 miles (15,000 + 3,104 + 3,104, it would even be more w/ mileage credit card used to make the purchase). If you value your miles at 1.5 cents (This is a personal value and depends on how you generally use your miles, years ago the consensus was each mile was worth 2 cents, today it generally costs more when purchasing miles and usually costs at least half that amount just to transfer miles you've already earned) that means your opportunity cost is $318.12. So in the above example it would be "better" to buy the ticket. Additionally by buying the tickets elites have the opportunity for one or two free international upgrades to first class.