chane

I've been able to rack up a ton of SPG starpoints, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and American Airline miles (from transferring SPG starpoints to AA) from my business credit cards. I will soon have more than I can use so I'm not sure what I should do now.

Should I just start using cashback cards or what? If so, what are the best cards? I have the Capital One Spark Rewards card. I'm getting 2% cashback on it. Should I start using that more or do you recommend another one?

Sorry if it's a stupid question. Thanks for your help.

sdsearch

Enough for what? A lifetime of trips at "anytime" (unrestricted) redemptions?

Just because you were able to accumulate enough in N months for one trip doesn't mean you'll be able to get enough in another N months or even another N x 2 months for a second trip! Things are constantly changing with respect to the ease of getting certain kinds of miles & points.

You thus need to explain your goals, how much time you think your points & miles will last you, how sure you are you know how many miles & points you'll need for your travels, where you want to travel (what if you want to travel somewhere where your AA miles can't take you? shouldn't you have miles in multiple airlines for ultimate flexibility?), how you want to travel (coach, business, or first class, fancy hotels or just any decent room for the night), etc. Have you planned for a possible devaluation in miles or hotel points?

Just in the past week, several chains announced 2015 changes in how many points a bunch of hotels in their program will require. Hotel points requirements are re-evaluated by the chains at least yearly, in some cases even more often. And several airlines already changed their award charts recently, undoubtedly more is coming at some point.

So do you have enough based on a worst case cost in miles & points, or only on a best case (which may be hard to actually book)?

JDiver

Do you have a travel "bucket list" or aspirational destinations?

Many of us don't use, say, AA miles for a DTW-BWI trip, but do think of perhaps Poerava Business to Tahiti, etc. IMO that's where the value lies.

flyertalker00156

Spend those points!

farbster

Where do you want to travel? What kind of class do you want to go?

Can you be more specific about your account balances? I think people could give you a better idea if they knew what you meant by "a ton".

You might peruse the trip report forum and see if anything there tickles your fancy. You might find somewhere you want to go...

redtop43

I "second" what others have said here - what is "enough."

I don't use hotel points (I book Priceline/Hotwire) and I have about 2.5 million airline miles and don't travel that much, so these will last me a while.

So I personally switched to a 2% cashback card (Fidelity Amex) and also have a Chase Ink Bold because I need a non-Amex card anyway and that gives 5x points on wireless and cable/internet, and I pay two internet bills a month (mine and my girlfriend's). I also have the Sam's Club cashback card which is 5% on gas and 3% on travel.

But really, what is "enough" for you and once you burn through those, how will you get more?

Still, in MOST cases, 2% cashback is worth more than the points. But sometimes points have value for:

a) Last-minute trips
b) Overseas premium class
c) Cases where you might need to book a trip but might not take it, so you want to be able to cancel for a reasonable fee

Last fall my girlfriend needed to go to India and I was able to book her a business class ticket for 140K points. That was worth an awful lot of brownie points.

And anyway, often points are easier to get than cashback because of generous signup bonuses that you don't see for cashback cards. So if you churn cards and spend on cashback cards you can get the best of both worlds.

onthego15

Like you I have enough miles and points for my travel needs. So, for the past year or two I have switched most of my spending to cash back cards. I also use the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred for 6% at grocery stores, and I am considering getting the new Discover IT miles card because it promises 3% cash back the first year.

chane

Thanks for all of your replies. They really got me thinking. I have about 650,000 miles total, but I figured I would stop at 1 million. I get about 150K miles a month.

I fly first class on Cathay Pacific usually. It's 65,000 miles one way. But, currently I only fly back and forth 3 or 4 times a year. I travel full time, but I stay in Thailand most of that time (traveling domestically and to nearby countries.)

After reading your replies, maybe 1 million is not enough for me to stop yet. Maybe I should stop at 3 or 5 million. Or maybe I should never stop, but just use the cashback card a little more and the SPG and Chase cards less. Thanks again! Your replies really helped me put things in perspective a little better!

LondonElite

You'll burn through 650,000 very quickly. Just don't hoard, as the value of points/miles will reduce over time. The best strategy is to keep a healthy earn/burn ratio.

satman40

Many of US POINT RICH give them away to our family members...

You ca,n never have to many...I acquired over a million this year.

Miles and points are just a way of keeping score...

Spread the wealth, you did not do it alone..,

Wellington

I thought I had enough after last year's Citi AA Exec bonanza.

I decided to add a side trip to the seychelles and a biz return on the Etihad mistake fares, that was already well over 100k miles. I definitely don't have enough for what I want to accomplish. Cathay first class is an aspirational goal for me. I am so jealous you get to do it regularly.

I've strongly considered switching to the Fidelity Amex, but the value is too good with certain point currencies.

aBroadAbroad

Since you seem to be asking for advice on credit card strategy, you will probably receive better feedback here in the dedicated Credit Card Programs forum.

Good luck!

Moderator, Information Desk

eajusa

You will never have enough points to go to all the places you want for free,

krazykanuck

My problem is not having enough vacation time for all the trips I want to take. I have the money and the miles, but no time...

jsmithj88

if only u can manufacture that ............