Are miles really worth it anymore...

I used to be a die hard Virgin Atlantic customer.. and am still a gold member but I'm struggling to see if my commitment to Virgin Atlantic is really worth it. Many of my recent trips have involved many calls to customer service for incorrect information, double charging... the list is endless.

For my trip to LA last week I flew BA, partly because I was so fed up Virgin, partly because I wanted to fly on a A380 and I also wanted to try BA Business..

So I get to my point. I have a few hundred thousand miles and looked to see how I can spend them and they see virtually worthless now, last year I flew 3 adults to Atlanta in upper for about 180k now it seems an upgrade to upper from a full fare Economy in peak season in about 90k each

If I wanted to fly to Dubai or India in the middle of winter then I could probability take 10 friends in Economy but transatlantic now seems ridiculous.

Does anyone know a good way or the best value way to spend them ?

Thanks

A reward ticket flying in Delta One (business class) costs 90,000 Virgin Flying Club miles.

http://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/fly ... lines.html

No, miles are certainly not worthless.

It is true most (but not all) UC redemptions have gone up, but arguably they were too generous before. VS clearly felt they were devaluing their premium product.

However if you're willing to 'slum it' in Y or PE there are some excellent bargains to be had. And, on the whole, UC redemptions are still cheaper than BA.

Looking at JFK, off-peak return:

Economy - 20,000 miles with VS, 40,000 with BA
PE - 35,000 miles with VS, 52,000 with BA
Business - 95,000 miles with VS, 100,000 with BA

And at least VS let you double upgrade from Y to UC, even if it's no longer the excellent value it once was. With BA you can only upgrade one cabin.

I think an Upper to Atlanta has been 90,000 Virgin miles for quite a few years on Delta
We holiday in South Carolina and fly into Orlando, but we did check out Atlanta prices as well.
It used to be 50,000 to upgrade to Upper and now is 70,000 so that part of the mile scheme has definitely gone down.
However it was 100,000 for a full reward and I think that's dropped off season to 95,000

So for us, the upgrade is no longer good value but a full reward is as good or better than it was. We don't go peak season.

Dick D

As long as you aren't going during peak times I think rewards are still good value.

Booking on DL is a decent option too.

For most of us, status is more important that miles. At least it is for me.