Are you controlling your airmiles or is it the other way around?

[LionCity]

I read an article in as follows in CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/0....html?htp=Sbin

It commented whether we are controlled by airmiles rather than we controlling air miles. I must comment that I am controlled by airmiles.

[Pinkfloyd]

Likewise... Very true about ignoring better options just to get the miles from a particular airline / alliance.

[benlee]

I confess I'm also a miles junkie. For some unexplainable reasons, I often derive a strange sense of satisfaction by checking out how many miles I have accumulated in my KF a/c so far.

[inix]

At one point in time, I'm definitely being controlled by airmiles. Now its the other way around I reckon.

[Kyo]

80% controlled by the miles nowadays... the other 20% I save for when I visit a new city and want to stay in accommodation that reflects the cultural 'vibe'/heritage of that particular place (which isn't usually possible in a bog-standard chain hotel)... the boutique vibe does appeal to me, I must admit.

[FN-GM]

I must admit i am like that. Unless the price difference is massive

[pavion]

For us airlines don't necessarily control us, because of the *A thing, but what does do it is Citibank premier miles, after doing rough calculations we found out that a ticket can mean a 5-10% discount with the higher ones being for destinations such as Vancouver etc. so if the discount with a card is greater than 10% then obviously we go with the other card but if its less then we go with premier miles, but that also means when spending miles, you wont see us spending on destinations to Hong Kong, but if it's Australia, Europe and USA now we will come straight to miles and see what we can get. India is an exception mainly because the ground priveleges available in JCL are pretty amazing and can make the travel experience from really poor to really good

[LionCity]

I confess I'm also a miles junkie. For some unexplainable reasons, I often derive a strange sense of satisfaction by checking out how many miles I have accumulated in my KF a/c so far.

Same here although I have been slowly being weaned out of it. Need to do a cost-benefit analysis for my travels.

[KC*]

"Controlled" from another perspective...

Two to three times a year, my wife and I will try to take a short break from our work. Since we don't really care where we run off too, we let the availability of rewards seats dictate our eventual destination.

Because popular destinations are not easy for KF redemption (at least for premium cabins), airmiles do have bigger control over us than we do over them in deciding where we end up on our holidays.

If the destination is a shopping paradise.... oh my....my expenditure goes up, up and away....but that's loss of another type of control.

[SQtraveller]

post deleted

[jjpb3]

My miles definitely had the upper hand; I think there's a better balance now.

[Gunners]

I am definately obessive compulsive when it come to miles. The upside is that I am finding out more about travel and the world. I thihk that being obsessive about miles is turning me into a travel agent rather than a businessman.

One observation is that there is large whole in the Star Alliance network when trying to travel to and from the Middle East as well as onto India and the Subcontinent.

Gunners

[sabian]

I will not swipe my air mile credit card card if my other non air-mile cards offers rebates better than 3%.

[SQflyergirl]

I am fully in charge. My miles said so.

[SilverChris]

I'm in charge of my miles 80% of the time, and the other 20% they control me when I have to transit at SIN or BKK just to maintain my KF Silver. Once I had to fly KUL-SIN-SGN-BKK just for the miles, rather than MH direct to BKK.