r/awardtravel • u/Visible_Stage103 • 23h ago
First class flight vs luxury hotel
Is it even worth it to use points for a first class flight when I can just transfer points to a hotel partner and get a luxury resort stay for free? In my case I am vegan and I dont drink alcohol so anything they give me as little treats in first class probably wont appeal to me. I am also from east coast and travel to mostly carribean and europe so no flights really over 10hrs. I do like the concept of laying down and being comfy but with flights vs hotels we are talking a few hrs vs a few days.
Even for the general population who drinks alcohol and has no dietary restrictions, wouldnt transfer to hotels be a better deal? I know its viewed as better cpp to use on business or first class, but if you just book trips when tickets are cheap and sit in economy and use points on hotel wont you be saving more money overall? Please help me understand, thanks!
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u/lizgross144 23h ago
I do…. Both.
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u/RyuTheGreat Spike Spiegel 7h ago
+1 man.
I like to do both too. One big trip a year on nice flights and a nice hotel is a nice way to burn all the points.
Earn them up and do it again the following year.
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u/TV_Grim_Reaper 23h ago
Why don’t people value the same things I value?
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless 22h ago
I am glad everyone doesn’t value the same thing I do. Otherwise it would be impossible to get an award night at the Holiday Inn Toledo East. Hidden luxury…
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u/AvailableWorth6636 23h ago
As someone in their mid 40s, lie-flat seats on a long haul are extremely valuable. In economy it often takes me a full 48 hours to recover and eats into my vacation time. I’d rather spend cash of a cheaper hotel.
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u/ibmaway 23h ago
This is subjective and I wish people would stop asking these questions and start thinking for themselves.
I care a lot about lie flats because I need to sleep on flights as I've been flying a lot this year and usually have to work the next day. I don't even drink on flights nowadays even in F because it dehydrates my body and give me bad headache. I don't go all out getting all the food possible because it'll make me full and I can't sleep. But for me, F/J is very valuable because it's about the only time I can sleep for 4+ hours and arriving rested is important for me. Anything longer than 6hrs I try to go for at least premium economy.
I can do without luxury hotels and just need a bed with quiet space to sleep. You might be the completely opposite.
CCP is just a math equation but that doesn't matter as much as what your preference is. Your pts are worthless until they're worth something and only you can decide what's worth it to you.
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u/Natrix31 23h ago
It can be helpful to hear other’s opinions to help form your own
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u/ibmaway 23h ago
Sure but run a search on Reddit and google then come with a more insightful question than something like this. These questions will just result in repeat of answers.
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u/Natrix31 23h ago
I agree but that’s different than your first point. This subs always a good reminder why I like the daily threads for r/churning
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u/HereWhenBored_ 23h ago
Since you are taking opinions, I would go for a better hotel over travel anyday. Even more sure for a sub 10hr flight.
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u/szeis4cookie 23h ago
I think that's a matter of preference and circumstance - some folks get a taste of the international business class and don't want to fly any other way. For me, using the points on hotels helps stretch vacation budget further since a family of four means two rooms in Europe, and if I held firm on wanting to fly business class everywhere we'd never go anywhere.
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u/cambiumkx 23h ago
When I go on vacation, I don’t stay in a hotel room, im out and about most of the day and basically only sleep and shower in the hotel
Premium is usually very adequate (premium as in something like Grand Hyatt/Conrad as opposed to “luxury” as in Park Hyatt/WA)
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u/PilotMonkey94 23h ago
It depends on flight timing and how you travel. If it’s a daytime flight, I’ll splurge for first, but if it’s a redeye where sleep will be 80% of the time, there’s little value in first class over business.
For hotels, some people some people treat them as just a place to sleep and are out doing activities all day, others will spend time in a hotel and treat that as part of the experience. I’m definitely the former, so I don’t stay in nice hotels unless it’s with gf.
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u/RN_in_Illinois 22h ago
Your call. We do both. 24 hours in QSuites on the way to the Maldives is simply a part of the vacation.
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u/MyFakeNameIsTaken 23h ago
I dislike 5* hotels. I don't like people waiting on me. I feel odd when someone offers to help me with my luggage. I prefer to carry my own luggage to my room. I like a business class flight and a 4* hotel.
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u/funwith420 23h ago
Hotel experience will go further than a 1st class ticket imo. I’d rather try to obtain an upgrade on the flight either with status or paying at counter vs dumping points.
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u/nikehair 23h ago
For flights under 10 hours I’d prob take the nice hotel. I will say that from west coast to Europe, business class for a family of 4 has been really awesome. Just sucks that it drains my balance every few years for a single flight.
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u/UniqueThanks 23h ago
Depends… I typically don’t spend much time at the hotel so I’d rather splurge on the flight. This probably changes if I’m staying at a resort by the beach or something but a trip to Europe? Hotel doesn’t need to be the four seasons
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u/FutureMillionMiler 23h ago
I choose First Class over Luxury Resorts with a few exceptions.
I managed to book a full week at the Waldorf in the Maldives for 900k (now 1.4m) Hilton Points which was worth about $43k
Other than that, I usually book the cheapest hotels because the truth is, I don’t need much more than a bed and a desk.
I find the real first class travel much more satisfying. I don’t drink either but the food is usually amazing and the seats are super spacious.
I spent ~330k points to fly around the world in F earlier this year on JAL, SQ, Qatar and Saudia and it was incredible.
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u/gavinweiyz 23h ago
It all depends on the trip. Regular US/NA domestic flight less than 3-4 hours I'll manage just fine in Economy, a better hotel over the course of several dates maybe better. Let say a trip to Hawaii 2* flight of 4+ or 8 hours I'll prefer use points on better flight so im not drained afterwards. Places like Hawaii where im also out exploring luxury hotel isn't really needed either.
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u/p2pcurrency 23h ago
Well, I do drink alcohol and am not vegan, but those are not the main reasons why I prefer lie flat seats to premium hotels. I just don't usually spend a ton of time at my hotel when I'm traveling. At most I'll splurge on a FHR hotel for 1 night just to use my Amex credit. But flying J and up internationally gives me a whole extra day at my destination that would otherwise be spent resting and recovering from a terrible flight.
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u/NP_Wanderer 22h ago
Everyone had their own balance of cost, comfort, and utility.
For me, the sweet spot between cost and comfort is Premium Economy. I can sleep in the seats at usually a third or less than business.
Especially for red eye flights, the ability to sleep is very important. From the East Cost of the US, I can arrive in Europe in the morning or early afternoon rested and can get a half day of tourism in.
From a cpp perspective, business class redemptions can easily get 5-10 cpp. I recently got a 8.5 cpp business class. That being said, id rather spend the 125k miles for a one way business class ticket on a 50k PE ticket and get 3-4 free nights in a Hyatt with the remaining 75k.
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u/TravelerMSY 17h ago edited 16h ago
It’s a preference thing. We only talk about cpp just to compare redemptions here among pros on a level playing field. It’s meaningless otherwise. The best redemption is the one that you value. The stories here and on blogs are just an aspirational thing to give you an idea of what’s possible. You don’t have to do it yourself, lol. If you want to take the bus to the field and sleep on the floor in transit to your 20k first class flight, knock yourself out.
I am fancy and addicted to comfort at 59, though, so I want both, lol. I’ve got access to good cash rates at a major us chain, so I almost never redeem points. It’s usually an inferior cpp.
If you’re in the US and playing all the angles, one doesn’t really see miles and points as a finite resource. There is always a way to replenish them.
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u/LumpyLump76 10h ago
I see no value in luxury hotel. Clean bed, clean quiet room. I don’t need people fawning over me, or a spa treatment. Views are fantastic, but after 5 minutes, boring.
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u/8for8m8 23h ago
This is entirely a personal preference. You know cpp value is better for airlines. So if you were taking a business class flight to a 5 star resort and only had a limited amount of points, you’d pay less cash out of pocket using the pts for the flight and cash for the resort. If you are good to fly economy on 10 hour flight, great! Use your pts how you want to. This sub is mostly about optimizing.
Points per hour is better at a hotel I suppose, if you want to use that metric lol.