The question is not whether miles are valuable; it is whether they are more valuable than the cash fare in front of you. That is arithmetic, not ideology, and the arithmetic takes one line: divide the cash price by the miles required, and you get cents per point.
A ,200 fare against a 140,000-mile award is 3.0 cents per point, a strong redemption by almost any standard. The same cabin at ,600 against 170,000 miles is 1.5 cents, mediocre, and many travelers would bank the miles and pay cash. Our points lens on every result does this division for you at the valuation you choose.
Paid premium fares earn miles and elite credit back, often five figures of both on a long round trip, which adds value to the cash option. Cash tickets also escape award inventory games: the seat you see is the seat you get, on the flight you actually want.
Awards shine at the extremes: last-minute emergencies when cash fares turn cruel, one-way international trips that cash prices punish, and aspirational first-class cabins that rarely discount. If your balance is large and your dates are flexible, the award search is worth the extra evening.
Set your personal floor, commonly around 1.4 to 1.6 cents per point. Above it, spend the miles happily. Below it, pay cash, earn the return miles, and keep the balance for the day it is genuinely priceless.
Editorial guide; award charts, dynamic pricing, and your own valuation vary. Run your numbers with the points lens on any live result.