Is there any point in buying frequent-flyer points?

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You need to know exactly why you are converting cash to airline points (Getty)

Q I am a Blue Card holder with Emirates’ frequent-flyer programme, Skywards. Last September I took up the airline’s offer to buy miles to put towards a future flight. I already had some miles. I bought 10,000 miles for £194. My holding at present is 17,400 miles. Recently I went through the process of making a booking to see how much I would save on a flight to Dubai using as many miles as possible. It showed only £73 saving, and so I didn’t make the booking. How can the airline justify charging so much for points that then lose so much value?

Patrick B

A Some travellers swear by frequent-flyer schemes, and one or two websites devoted to loyalty schemes can make it sound seductively easy to travel the world for free in luxury.