one9 said:
But, what you are forgetting is that the upgrade is not guaranteed. So you need to take into account, the cost of uncertainty, the cost of mucking around, the cost of not getting points for the higher fare etc.
I am not forgetting these things. I am most certainly aware of the uncertainty. That is why I did not claim the points value was the difference in the fare cost, but use it a point of reference for my comparison. I think spending a small amount extra to have the points available for a shot at an upgrade is still better value than 1c per point. I never put a real monetary value on my points, but look at what I can realistically gain from from.
I use them for upgrades because as a Platinum QF FF member I have a good chance of successfully clearing the waitlist. In fact I have only once not received an upgrade for which I was waitlisted, and that was during the BA catering strike when BA cancelled some flights to Australia so my SIN-BNE flight was overflowing with re-routed BA passengers with their J passengers very unhappy in the QF Y cabin. So an upgrade on that flight was unsurprisingly refused.
So while I hold decent status with QF FF (and lifetime gold should be good for that), I am happy to spend a little extra at time to earn points to use for upgrades.
one9 said:
There are many more costs to consider when using points to purchase a ticket. Costs such as uncertainty, the cost of having less dates to chose from, the extra cost if you decide to stay an extra night etc to make your flights work, the cost of inconvenience if you have an earlier or later flight in the day then you would prefer, the cost of often not being able to chose which airline the flight is on, the cost of not getting points, and I believe many people forget to take into account the costs of taxes.
Oh, I am so very much aware of the cost of taxes. That is why I now use my AA miles for QF award flights and use my QF FF points for long-haul international upgrades. The best value use of my earning programs by far.
one9 said:
You can not buy an award ticket from Qantas. A ticket (eg economy ticket) that you buy from Qantas is far superior to an award economy ticket with Qantas. As such the credit card company etc. pays far less for the points that you would if paying by cash, as they buy a less superior ticket.
Indeed. But that does not mean I cannot get value from my points. My last redemption (using AA miles on QF flights) would have been over $7000 worth at the current published rates. I in no way imply that my AA miles were worth 7000/105000 as I would never have paid for 3 business class seats if not using points. In fact, that trip would not have even been planned if it was not for the availability of the AA miles to do it. So I guess you could say the whole exercise is really costing me a lot of money, being $148.43 in taxes, plus the NZ departure tax which will be paid at the airport, plus a passport for my daughter, plus car hire for a few days, etc etc. But I still see it as very good value considering those AA miles were earned on one 3-week ATW trip.
one9 said:
When I first started valuing points, I valued them at somewhere between 1 and 3 cents. Since then I have redeemed a few first class flights and some business class flights. However I now value the points at less than half a cent each. I have around 2 million points, and am earning them faster than I can use them. I wish there was a Visa/Mastercard in Australia that could transfer to AA.
That is where we differ. I don't put a monetary value on my points. When I make a redemption, I look at the transaction in isolation and make a value judgement as to whether I want to spend the points/miles for the reward. I can't redeem the points or miles for cash, so they have no cash value to me. But in nearly all cases where I have redeemed QF FF points, I believe I have received significantly better than 1c per point in value.
I would never buy points for the sake of buying points. But if a credit card transaction is going to cost me a little more, I will make a value call at the time as to whether or not I am wiling to pay the extra for the convenience of using the credit card and for the extra points/miles. For example, I do play my Telstra bill using my Amex card. But I think that is the only bill I have been charged a surcharge for using my Amex card in the last 12 months or so.