Thanks to my mileage runs, I have built up a large number of miles in my American Airlines AAdvantage account, and it is time to spend them on a vacation.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I tried to arrange a trip to Bangkok for my wife and I, but was not able to. So, we had to come up with another place for our vacation.

My wife gave me one criteria to follow when booking a trip: we had to go to some place warm. Since the trip will be in November, that obviously eliminated almost all of Europe and the northern United States and Canada. So, what was left?

I came up with a list of places that included Southern California, Arizona, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean. To make a long story short, we eventually decided to visit Nassau, Bahamas, and stay at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort.

I used my Starwood points to reserve an ocean-front room for eight nights, and used my miles to book the flights on American Airlines. We’ll fly first class from Austin to Dallas to Miami, then take American Eagle from Miami to Nassau. Coming home, we’ll take American Eagle to Miami, and then first class on American from Miami to Dallas to Austin.

So, were all my mileage runs worth it?

Initially, I’d say no.

I used 60,000 AAdvantage miles for each ticket; if I bought them they would cost $982.20 each. That works out to 1.63 cents per mile. On average, I paid 2.5 cents per mile on my mileage runs. So, from that standpoint, this was not a good deal. (Two years ago we went to Thailand and Hong Kong, our business class tickets were worth more than 12 cents per miles, so we came out way ahead on that deal.)

At first glance, my mileage runs did not work out, but I think there is more to it than just the cost of the redeemed ticket.

Thanks to my mileage runs, I have Platinum status on American Airlines. Because of that, my wife and I did not have to pay a luggage fee when we flew to Ireland in February; that saved us $200.

My wife and I got free upgrades to first class when we flew to Orlando last year, and I was also able to get that upgrade on my trips to Chicago this year. I also saved $100 on when I renewed my Admirals Club membership. In addition, when I arrive at the airport I can use the first class line to check in, and then use the elite status line for the TSA security check. On my last trip home from Chicago that alone saved me at least a half-hour of standing in line.

So, I have certainly benefited from the elite status I earned by doing the mileage runs.

Finally, the mileage runs have given me great memories: I’ve met some really nice people (both in person and online) in the mileage run community, people that I stay in touch with. I’ve seen some beautiful scenery, eaten some wonderful meals in Seattle and San Francisco, and experienced some things (mostly pleasant) that I would otherwise have not experienced.

So, when all is said, and done, I enjoy the mileage runs, I enjoy our vacations, and will continue to do both.