what type of flights do you guys recommend? the options are,
Wanna get away flights - cheapest flights, least flexible
Anytime flights - more expensive, more flexible
Business Select - most expensive, most flexible
If you are paying with points, wanna get away is great because if you cancel you just get your points back... Pretty flexible eh?
Nice, thanks for the info, I'll have my companion pass on the 13th of this month and it'll be time to start flying! Wanna get away it is, I want to do a trip to Aruba and Vegas(to check out Vegas and also to go see/camp at some National Parks in Utah) with my GF next year, the crappy thing about Aruba is that there are no direct flights from the airline I'll fly from GEG Spokane, WA. So I have to find the cheapest/least painful way to stop at another airport in between.
When paying with points, I'd go Wanna Get Away. Also when paying cash. Both because they are so much cheaper.
If you have to pay cash and WGA is not available - maybe a last-minute flight for something important, Business is not much less than Anytime. You get more miles, and a drink, and a better boarding position for like $30 each way. Whether or not that's worth it is up to you.
As an example, I'm currently looking at a flight where the fare difference is $28 from Business to Anytime. You get 1265 more miles - almost $19 worth of miles at $0.015 / mile. I've found $0.015 / mile a reasonable estimate, if you stick to wanna-get-away fares when booking with points. Of course, WGA is available on this particular flight right now, and that is $253 less than Business for this particular flight.
In conclusion: WGA if available, Business Select if WGA is not available and you must fly, unless you place essentially 0 value on an in-flight beverage and an easier time at the airport.