Originally Posted by Adlerdriver

I understand and agree with your point from an intangible QOL standpoint. There are other guys who approach this decision from a simple dollars and cents perspective. Prior to CBA 2015, this was not a difficult calculation.

Now, it's going to take a little more thought depending on one's situation, priorities and goals.

Just a scenario to consider: The decision to sell back sick leave will not always be a simple choice to accept a 50% buyback and think that's what you'll end up with in your pocket. Say a pilot plans to sell his sick leave back but isn't stressing on getting the max. He uses some when appropriate but leaves most of it alone. Maybe he decides to skate his last two years, bids min BLG lines and even drops a few trip now and then for QOL. He ends up with 280K of eligible earnings per year for the last 24 months (so $560K).

No matter what he leaves in his sick bank, all he is getting is $20,000 since that is the lesser of the three bonus options. That is half of $40K (the amount of eligible earnings over $520K last 24 months). Just food for thought.