If you’ve recently got into miles and points hobby, you’ve probably noticed that certain redemptions get a disproportionate amount of coverage. It’s not really that surprising, as true gems are getting harder to find these days. And by “gems” I mean something crazy, like getting a $10k flight for an equivalent of only $1,500 in cash (if you transfer flexible points). That’s a pretty sweet deal no matter how you look at it.
I’ve said before that miles and points bloggers are essentially sellers of dreams. And to be clear, this is no scam as long as you accept the limitations and are willing to put in the work to achieve those dreams. Is it as easy as some blogs make it out to be? No way. But it’s no rocket science either. And if you are fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule, you too can shower on a plane if you really want to. Naturally, if you are willing to fly without your spouse and kids because you can usually get only one award seat per flight. But that’s the tradeoff.
In general, folks are drawn to miles and points by the promise of luxury travel that they can’t or are not wiling to pay for otherwise. And I don’t blame them. Honestly, my own thinking on this has shifted over the years. While there is no precise formula, I’ve come to realize that “value” can mean “luxury” at times. They are not mutually exclusive.
That said, I believe that some redemptions are a bit overhyped. To be clear, I’m not looking to rain on anyone’s parade. Travel is a luxury, period. How you get there and where you stay is of no consequence. If you insist on keeping it fancy, it doesn’t make you a shallow person. Just like staying at rundown motels doesn’t make you “salt of the earth” individual.
With that, here are three redemptions that don’t tempt me (too much):
1) A weeklong trip to Maldives… and only to Maldives
This is a popular one, and for a good reason. It’s not too hard to find a business-class redemption by flying through Asia or Middle East, at least compared to going somewhere like Tahiti. There is also no shortage of points hotels, and they all look dreamy. Honestly, Maldives looks like paradise and I hope to visit this destination someday.
But man, that’s a lot of flying just to relax by the water. Between the jet lag and multiple connections, it all sounds exhausting. However, many people will disagree, and I respect that. But in my opinion, if you want to scratch the overwater bungalow “itch”, I would look into Belize or even Tahiti. Assuming you live in the US, of course. I’ve visited the latter as a stopover on the way to New Zealand and highly recommend it. For those on the west coast, it’s only two extra hours of flying time compared to Hawaii.
That said, if my husband and I are traveling through Asia and we have spare time on our hands, you better believe we will make a detour to Maldives. I’m sure it will be worth it.
2) Redeeming points on Park Hyatt property in any big city
We have used Hyatt certificates on Park Hyatt Sydney and it was an overall good experience. It’s considered one of the best properties in the program, and the staff bends over backwards to make guests happy. Sometimes a bit too much. 
But I can’t imagine spending 40k points per night there, that seems grossly overpriced. Especially when there is a perfectly good Holiday Inn property nearby.
Update: looks like this property was rebranded, but my point still stands.
I value 40k Hyatt points at around $500, and I just don’t think Park Hyatt Sydney is a “$500 per night” property. To be honest, I have a hard time justifying spending a boatload of points on any city hotel, even one with a prime location.
When I visit cities, I tend to be out and about and mostly use the room to shower and sleep. It’s a different story when it comes to standalone resorts surrounded by beautiful nature. I’m intrigued by Alila Ventana Big Sur property and may splurge Hyatt points on a short stay here one of these days. If you’ve been, let me know if the juice is worth the squeeze.
3) Redeeming miles on fancy seats with substantial fuel surcharges
I’ve already written a post on this topic, so won’t repeat myself. In short, if I have to pay an extra $400 X 4 (plus more points, naturally) to fly in business class, we will be sucking it up and sticking to economy. We don’t have an extra $1,600 lying around. That said, if I’m going on a special trip with just my husband, maybe. But with kids? No way. Yes, I said it.
Fortunately, sometimes an opportunity presents itself where you can have your cake and eat it too. Like paying an extra 12,500 Delta miles per person to upgrade to Premium Select seat on Tokyo-Seattle flight. That’s a deal I can live with.
Readers, what experiences in this hobby do you find overrated/worthy of splurge?
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@David I’m right there with you! Flying is the means to an end for me, and that’s it. But I get that many in this hobby feel differently. I still don’t know what reverse herringbone means and I’m not sure I care. 😉
Flying Emirates first class comes to mind. Every time I hear someone talk about it, I think “Were you going to Dubai, or did you just want to fly Emirates first class?” If you’re going to Dubai, or through Dubai, that’s fine, but I’ll never understand flying just to fly. It’s a way to get somewhere, not an amusement park ride.
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@Aki I feel the same way about daytime flights. Obviously, it’s nice to fly in business, but it’s not a game changer. For overnight flights to Europe the ability to lie down really matters. As my husband and I get older, splurging on business class to see my family in Europe may become essential. Fortunately, miles should make it possible at a fraction of a cash cost. I hope!
Overrated?
1) Flying business class within Europe. No extra leg room (same as economy). Exception: Turkish Airlines, which often flies wide body jets even on one hour routes (!!!) and has amazing food.
2) Flying business class during daytime, for flights less than 6-7 hours. My better half loves that, but I think it’s mostly a waste of points.
3) Flying business class on transatlantic routes, in single aisle airplanes. TAP Portugal or JetBlue, for example. I don’t see the point, I really want a comfortable experience if I pay all those points.
4) Using lots of points for hotels, when you can book AirBnb at decent prices, especially in Europe. True, I didn’t have a swimming pool, but my rentals from Venice, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon etc were way better than any hotel.
@Christian For sure, but I think it’s something he genuinely enjoyed doing. Most of us are nerds who love this stuff. That’s why we write about it (a time-consuming proposition with often questionable financial returns 😉 )
I hadn’t considered the increase in traffic Greg got from his madcap adventure. Very good point.
@ eds183 You do make good points, and I don’t actually disagree.
I’ve never thought of miles and points as “free”. At best, they are deeply discounted and when you transfer from Chase, you are paying at least 1 cent per mile/point. I view it as my travel fund, and am fully aware that most currencies have intrinsic value.
Im also not against paying fuel surcharges. In fact, I redeemed Avios for a flight from London to Tampa in economy. Fortunately, I had an option to pay most of the surcharge via points I already had in my account. It honestly depends, and I even said in the post that I’m not ruling out paying $300-$400 fuel surcharge per person at some point in the future. It just didn’t make sense to do it then, not when we could fly Delta economy and pay $50 in taxes instead. Plus, we had five people. Next time, it might be just me and my husband and we may have more money to spare (wouldn’t that be nice?).
@Christian Honestly, Vendoming is totally fine if that makes one happy. I don’t have an issue with it. Who am I to tell others how they should travel? But speaking of Park Hyatt Vendome, it almost feels like there are no other worthy hotels in Paris, and that’s just not that case. We stayed at Hotel Blomet Eiffel and it was lovely. Not part of a chain, but I would go back in a heartbeat.
When I mentioned not seeking out Park Hyatt hotels in big cities, I should have added “expensive via points” as a disclaimer. Category 3 is right up my alley, and you can even use renewal certs. So yes, everything 35k+ points per night would make me pause. But I’m sure they are some properties that are worth it, the one in Vienna looks really cool!
On Greg redeeming points towards Necker island: I actually thought that was neat. I enjoyed reading that trip report. I’m sure it brought a lot of traffic to the blog. Plus, it looked like something that genuinely brought him joy. A win win!
The days of cheap (free) non surcharged premium rewards are over. Time to deal with reality. People need to stop thinking of mile/pt flights as “free”. We are just arbitraging a different currency for discounted travel. Spending 110K avios on a IB J redemption is worth ~$1300-1700 (depending on what CC you transfer from) with the ~500 surcharge we are paying $1800 to $2200 in “currency” for the flight. So net discount is ~50%, but not “free”. I for one am happy that so many people are obsessed in not paying surcharges, that leaves leaves many excellent other arbitrage opportunities for people like me.
No Vendoming for you? Sometimes the pursuit of miles and points for luxury can get wildly out of hand, like FM accruing seven figures in Virgin miles to spend a week at Richard Branson’s private island in the Caribbean. I’d forgotten about the Maldives but that’s another prime example.
Of course, I’m writing this comment while awaiting my connecting flight from the Qatar first class lounge so I’m not a purist on the subject. I just feel that if you’re using a bunch of points or miles you should get something worthwhile in return. On this trip my wife and I stayed at the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap and I have to say that for a category 3 Hyatt it’s amazing. On the other hand I’m too cheap to spend 35,000+ Hyatt points to stay pretty much anywhere. There’s a lot of subjective valuation.
@Greg I’ll definitely need to look into PH Vienna if we are in the area. Sometimes our biases can get in the way, and I try to keep an open mind in things.
As far as treating family to business class on long haul flights, I’m mostly with you. For the right price I’m more than willing to splurge. And we did splurge on a flight to Osaka by getting upfront seats for us and the kids at 60k AA miles. But those opportunities rarely present themselves, and we are not in a position to drop a fortune on fuel surcharges. Nothing wrong with splurging though, as those 13-hour flights are brutal under the best of circumstances.
@Audrey That’s a good way to put it! Yes, it’s a package deal where I have to consider the needs of other individuals in the family. My husband is always at the top of the totem pole, even ahead of my own needs. It’s only fair, since he is a reluctant traveler. I like making kids happy, but they can definitely slum it in economy.
I did think the seat was a significant improvement and worth the upcharge in miles. Then again, I got the miles via signup bonus.
P.S. So glad your husband is traveling again! I have a fear of flying too, by the way.
I totally agree with this, loved the PH Vienna. We have done many PH hotels on points and I actually find they rarely disappoint to be honest, but I like to spoil the family, esp when we fly to Asia or Australia as it’s a long, long haul for all.
@Leana, it sounds like for you it mainly boils down to a more comfortable seat for your husband.
As my husband is 6’5”, has recently dealt with serious medical challenges and is just returning to flying after more than 10 years (he developed a fear of flying post-9-11, apparently not uncommon), that makes a lot of sense! Thanks for your input.
@Audrey Hmm, that’s a good question. In this case the flight was 8 hours, mostly during daytime. On a longer overnight flight the ability to actually lay down in a business class seat is quite valuable.
I did like Delta premium economy. The seat was relatively comfortable and had decent recline. Food was a step above regular economy, though it’s not what really matters to me. It’s mostly about being less miserable, I don’t fly with the goal of getting a gourmet dining experience. Honestly, what mainly made this redemption a success in my book is the fact that my husband was happy with the seat. He thanked me several times for burning extra miles. I would probably be fine slumming it in economy, but I’m a smaller person than him. Still, Delta premium select seat is an improvement over regular economy, hands down. Whether it’s worth an extra 12,500 miles in an 8 hour flight, everyone will have to decide for themselves. It was worth it for us.
@Miles on point You know, that does sound like a good deal! Thanks for letting me know. I do love a good spa area in a hotel. We always go to Europe with kids since my parents live there, so that complicates things. Everything is double, and rarely can you get connecting rooms in big chain hotels. Still, I can see why you consider it a good deal.
I haven’t had a chance to visit Vienna, but hopefully one day. My sister has been and said it’s a beautiful city.
I agree re: point #2 / Park Hyatt, however there is one exception:
The Park Hyatt Vienna. Genuinely one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in (and unlike PH Sydney, they don’t play games with room upgrades, instead they are v generous to elites).
Stunning spa, standout service and among the finest rooms I’ve had the pleasure of staying in. If you can get an off-peak date, they represent particularly good value for money @ 25K points / night.
I’m curious about the premium economy idea. My one and only interest in business class is lie flat seats. Otherwise, I can’t see the draw. What about premium economy is worth that much extra for you?
I know you’ve addressed this point in passing, but am interested to hear your thoughts on this topic in general.