this is the hard bit, I will be OWE in the coming few weeks or so.
Just personally, I pick by these orders:
- Is the number of points / miles required stupid (read Qantas)
- Does it take me where I want to go
- Am I happy to fly the class I will be in
So, if I am just flying short, like up and down asia, I would just pick whatever, because I would just fly Y (my commute on a bus in Sydney is between 2 to 4 hours per day, flying in Asia is just like taking a bus in Sydney)
If I am flying across some kind of an ocean, then I would fly J, so I would pick based on miles required, then whether I could get there with the airline in question.
So, I guess, if I were you, I would be thinking, am I flying Y? OWE is important if I am flying Y, but if I am flying J, then I would not fuss.
And yes, Singapore is really the easiest to redeem among everything I tried.