Two camps, two instincts: spend points promptly, or stockpile them for something big. Both have a logic, but the balance of the evidence tilts in one direction. Knowing why helps you avoid the most common and most expensive habit in the hobby.
The case for burning
Points generally lose value over time and rarely gain it, so using them promptly protects against that slow erosion. This is the reasoning developed in "Devaluation: why points lose value over time." A point spent today is a point whose value you have safely captured.
The case for saving
A larger balance can reach a higher-value redemption that a smaller one cannot — but only if you actually redeem it well in the end. Saving has a point when it serves a concrete plan. Without one, the supposed advantage tends to evaporate before it is realized.
Why the balance tilts toward burning
Hoarded points face devaluation, program changes, and simple forgetfulness. Potential that is never realized is worth nothing, and the longer points sit, the more exposed they are. The risks of holding accumulate quietly while you wait.
A sensible middle path
Save when you have a specific goal and a timeline; burn whatever has no plan attached to it. Purpose is the deciding factor, the same standard described in "Earn and burn vs. save the points." Hold with intention, or do not hold at all.
Never collect for collecting's sake
A growing balance is not, in itself, an achievement. A redeemed trip is. Keeping that distinction clear is what protects you from the most seductive mistake in points: mistaking accumulation for progress.
Earn with a plan, burn without delay once you have one. Points reward motion, not accumulation.
