Interesting thread (predictably
).
Clearly what it boils down to is personal preference to spend your own hard-earned as you like.
The beauty of threads like this on AFF is that it allows a diverse exchange of views and ideas that shows (thankfully :mrgreen
that we are not all alike.
Personally, I like the journey (and status benefits) and prefer J & above but I won't pay point-to-point J. I do a DONEx at least every year. Domestically, I buy lowest whY to be able to UPG on PER sectors (being PER-based colours choice of class somewhat). East coast sectors are so short whY is trivial.
When I was working, travel was all whY but major hotels were acceptable accommodation. Personally, I detest big hotels (outrageously costly for what you get, sterile, phony, can't open a window, get a terrible night's sleep in the airconditioned room with usually far too much bedding cover).
Now as a SFSC who frequently travels solo, I do the reverse: travel J and stay at hostels. There's always lots of really interesting people to meet plus the cost is ultra low. Then I go eat & slurp good wine at the best restaurants in town
.
I can tell you that I have some of the backpackers scratching their heads just like some of the posters on this thread scratch their heads at others' foibles - but, as I say, each to their own - and respect and learn from others' ideas and points of view
.
A nice summing up of the situation.
My take? (on self-funded leisure travel)
I'm firmly ensconced in middle age and have a lifetime history of mostly flying the cheapest Y available. This includes shorthaul and trans-con domestic, RTWs, and trips to most continents. And survived OK - and will most likely fly long-haul Y again.
But in the last 10 years (and especially since disovering AFF in 2005
)I have started taking some J award flights (trans-con, trans-Tasman, Japan), and some upgrades (trans-con). I've also taken a DONE4* last year, and loved it, and will confess to lapping up the better, far more comfortable hard and soft products.
I have never paid 'full price' for a premium cabin (on QF and similarly priced carriers), and figure it is unlikely I ever will. I could 'afford' it from time to time without ending up in the poorhouse, but would struggle bigtime to justify the expense differential from discount Y.
But for any future longhaul flights, and selected trans-con/trans-Tasman, I'll try and park myself in J/F wherever it's possible, using methods like points (esp. J/F ASAs), xONExs, even JQ business/star class, and maybe cheaper non-OW carriers. But I expect to end up in Y sometimes, and certainly won't be complaining about it.
Generally though on domestic and TT flights, I'm perfectly happy on the cheapest Y fare I can get ('earning' fare that is, i.e. QF - not to say I won't try other carriers e.g. DJ, especially with the changes that are currently happening to both FF programs).
Other people are welcome to please themselves - if you can afford it regularly through having a large disposable income, or through saving hard for it for years, or any other way in between, and want to do it, then go for it I say. And if you want to take the absolute cheapest fare on the cheapest carrier you can find every time, and put the money not spent on fares into something else, then go for it I say. We're all different (a lot of people with spouses/kids have to multiply by a factor of 3, 4 even 5 :shock: which of course can make a huge difference).
*Just out of interest I compared the cost of this DONE4 to booking all 15 flights as one-way consecutive J fares (F in US domestic) - I know its not really comparing apples with apples, but it worked out to ~11.5K vs ~35K - quite a difference!
