FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Wal-Mart, Amex take on banks with Bluebird debit card
Old Dec 3, 2012, 9:35 pm
  #3572  
DCBob
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA Plat MM, AA Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, IHG Plat, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 5,015
Originally Posted by FrAAmer
Sorry DCBob - I don't follow your math.

If I max out the reload potential of a BB card, it is $5K per month.

So @ 6 points x 5K = 30,000 Hilton points.

Are you saying that 30K Hilton points are only worth $110.55?

It seems to me that if I save up my points and redeem either an AXON or a GLON, my redemption rate is higher. If I follow you correctly, at your "value" an AXON @125 K points for four nights would be worth about a bit more than $460. I would think that 4 nights is worth more than that.

What am I missing?
You are missing the COST of buying those 30K HH points. 30K HH points are worth, on average, $150.00. But you have to pay the $3.95 load charge for every $500 you load to your BB. To load $5,000, you pay $3.95 x 10 = $39.50. So your $150 worth of HH points (30K) costs $39.50. You net $110.50 (not considering your time and fuel costs).

That's on an every day normal use of HH points. If you maximize your points at an exotic property or using a 4-night AXON award, of course you could end up doubling the value of HH points. Most people aren't able to do that.
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