Every time I have enough miles for a ticket, I have a crisis. Sometimes it seems like a bargain, other times I feel like I'm being charged in "Argentine pesos for miles." So what's better? Spend my hard-earned miles or keep hoarding them like a dragon in its hoard?
Here are some key points to help us all solve this dilemma.
Using miles to pay for a ticket: a master trick or a trap in disguise?
✅Advantages:
- "Free" flights. Well, free in quotes, because you always have to pay taxes and fees.
- Opportunity to travel in premium cabins without selling a kidney on the black market.
- Sweet points in loyalty programs.
- Some destinations and airlines offer redemptions where the value of the miles is much better.
❌ Cons:
- Limited availability.
- Finding a good redemption can feel like searching for unicorns in real life.
- Constant devaluation. Today your ticket costs 50,000 miles, tomorrow the dryer decides it's worth 80,000 just because.
- Fees and taxes can be a rip-off. A "free" flight with $500 in fees? Sure, sounds logical. (After all, I've always wanted to donate money to the slide.)
Paying with money: freedom or waste?
✅Advantages:
- You accumulate miles and status. Because nothing screams "frequent traveler" like spending more to be able to keep spending.
- Zero date or availability restrictions. If there is a seat, you buy it. End of drama.
- You are not affected by the devaluation of miles. Because if there is something that depreciates faster than a currency in crisis, it is loyalty programs.
❌ Disadvantages:
- Some flights are absurdly expensive. When an economy ticket costs the same as a used car, you start to doubt life.
- Don't take advantage of the miles you already have. You collected them with so much effort and now you just look at them like someone collecting stamps that you'll never use.
- If you pay in cash and then see that there was a good exchange for miles, it hurts. (Like when you buy something on sale and the next day they discount it even more.)
Strategies for choosing well (and not regretting it later)
So when is it worth using miles and when is it better to pay cash?
📌General rule:
- If the value per mile is less than 1 cent, paying with cash is probably better.
- If the value per mile is more than 1.5-2 cents, miles may be a good option.
📌 When is it better to pay with miles:
- On long-haul flights and in business or first class, where the value per mile is higher.
- On last-minute tickets, which are often very expensive in cash but can be found for a reasonable price in miles.
- When you have miles that are about to expire and you don't want to lose them in a bowl of peanuts at the airport.
📌 When is it better to pay with cash:
- If the cash ticket is cheap and using miles gives you a terrible value.
- If you need flexibility in dates and times.
- If you want to accumulate more miles and status to redeem better flights in the future.
My existential dilemma with miles
Personally, every time I see a flight that I can pay for with miles, I get anxious.
- If I use them, the dryer will surely launch an amazing promotion the next day and I'll regret it.
- If I don't use them, they'll devalue them and I'll end up exchanging them for an airplane-shaped keychain. (Nothing says "frequent flyer" like a plastic souvenir.)
When do you decide to use miles instead of money?
Have you found any tricks to get really good redemptions?
Have you ever regretted redeeming (or not redeeming) a flight with miles?
Here are some key points to help us all solve this dilemma.
Using miles to pay for a ticket: a master trick or a trap in disguise?
✅Advantages:
- "Free" flights. Well, free in quotes, because you always have to pay taxes and fees.
- Opportunity to travel in premium cabins without selling a kidney on the black market.
- Sweet points in loyalty programs.
- Some destinations and airlines offer redemptions where the value of the miles is much better.
❌ Cons:
- Limited availability.
- Finding a good redemption can feel like searching for unicorns in real life.
- Constant devaluation. Today your ticket costs 50,000 miles, tomorrow the dryer decides it's worth 80,000 just because.
- Fees and taxes can be a rip-off. A "free" flight with $500 in fees? Sure, sounds logical. (After all, I've always wanted to donate money to the slide.)
Paying with money: freedom or waste?
✅Advantages:
- You accumulate miles and status. Because nothing screams "frequent traveler" like spending more to be able to keep spending.
- Zero date or availability restrictions. If there is a seat, you buy it. End of drama.
- You are not affected by the devaluation of miles. Because if there is something that depreciates faster than a currency in crisis, it is loyalty programs.
❌ Disadvantages:
- Some flights are absurdly expensive. When an economy ticket costs the same as a used car, you start to doubt life.
- Don't take advantage of the miles you already have. You collected them with so much effort and now you just look at them like someone collecting stamps that you'll never use.
- If you pay in cash and then see that there was a good exchange for miles, it hurts. (Like when you buy something on sale and the next day they discount it even more.)
Strategies for choosing well (and not regretting it later)
So when is it worth using miles and when is it better to pay cash?
📌General rule:
- If the value per mile is less than 1 cent, paying with cash is probably better.
- If the value per mile is more than 1.5-2 cents, miles may be a good option.
📌 When is it better to pay with miles:
- On long-haul flights and in business or first class, where the value per mile is higher.
- On last-minute tickets, which are often very expensive in cash but can be found for a reasonable price in miles.
- When you have miles that are about to expire and you don't want to lose them in a bowl of peanuts at the airport.
📌 When is it better to pay with cash:
- If the cash ticket is cheap and using miles gives you a terrible value.
- If you need flexibility in dates and times.
- If you want to accumulate more miles and status to redeem better flights in the future.
My existential dilemma with miles
Personally, every time I see a flight that I can pay for with miles, I get anxious.
- If I use them, the dryer will surely launch an amazing promotion the next day and I'll regret it.
- If I don't use them, they'll devalue them and I'll end up exchanging them for an airplane-shaped keychain. (Nothing says "frequent flyer" like a plastic souvenir.)
When do you decide to use miles instead of money?
Have you found any tricks to get really good redemptions?
Have you ever regretted redeeming (or not redeeming) a flight with miles?