I don't really understand your post. I'm happy with getting 15000 points for cost of 5.95 on one plan and 5000 points for a profit of about 4 on another.
Is SPE when it comes to spending something exciting or in code?
I don't really understand your post. I'm happy with getting 15000 points for cost of 5.95 on one plan and 5000 points for a profit of about 4 on another.
Is SPE when it comes to spending something exciting or in code?
I assume OP is referring to "buying" miles that have a cost, and whether these costs are justified.
It depends on how much you value the miles earned. A $3.95 fee is worth it for some because the miles earned are worth more than the fee paid.
OP asks if its worth it on a 1x card. In my view, yes. Any airline mile or point can get you as least 1% in return. So if you pay approximately 1% to get say 2%, you are making a profit.
As some blogger (Gary, I think) pointed out, there are 2% cash back cards. So if you aren't getting more than 2% return, you shouldn't be using a miles card; you should be using a cash back card.
If you are getting 2+%, then paying ~1% is still a net gain.
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OP asks if its worth it on a 1x card. In my view, yes. Any airline mile or point can get you as least 1% in return. So if you pay approximately 1% to get say 2%, you are making a profit.
As some blogger (Gary, I think) pointed out, there are 2% cash back cards. So if you aren't getting more than 2% return, you shouldn't be using a miles card; you should be using a cash back card.
If you are getting 2+%, then paying ~1% is still a net gain.
Ahh yes, thanks.
Well, the 2% is a no brainer. But it also depends on your habits, if TPAC flight is involved then SPG are worth more than 2% even in coach...
Buying miles to book a business/first class travel is better in most cases than buying the same ticket with cash. However if you are not planning to book that ticket with in 6-12 months, I am not sure its worth it at 1% cost. US and DL primarily run promos to accumulate miles at 1.1c or 1.2c quite often. UA and AA on the other hand has not run such promos in the last year or so and could be valuable with one way awards. Looking at it in the opposite way, you can think of it as you are saving $5 each time in a box towards your vacation. The price of that vacation might go up by the time you are ready to take it, but it is still in your sight. As other have pointed out it depends on your situation.
I don't see a ton of value in this unless you are either attempting to top off an account or if you are attempting to meet a lofty minimum spend. Given the risks involved, I think I would limit to these areas for 1X cards
I don't see a ton of value in this unless you are either attempting to top off an account or if you are attempting to meet a lofty minimum spend. Given the risks involved, I think I would limit to these areas for 1X cards
Agree completely. To me, the main use is to meet minimum spends. Definitely worth it. Using the Ink card at OD and then going to CVS for the VR card is good (2,500 points for $9.00) but the work to find a store that will accept GC for buying VR is a problem. Using the Surpass card to buy VR cards is also good (3,000 HHonors points for $4). But when you are paying .8 cents per point, it does not really seem worth the effort - better off staying with AP.
Of course there are exceptions IF you know what you are doing with the points in the short term.
I can generate 1 UR point and 1 Delta point for 1.89 cents. And when you think about it, I can redeem the UR points for at least 1.25 cents and the DL points for a least 1 cent. But right now I have nearly 2 million points and miles across a number of programs, and there's a part of me that wonders how much more I want to accumulate with no near-term plan to use them. In practice, I would use UR and DL points for overseas biz/first class tix, but I would need at most 2 per year, and often just one. So I'm not sure how aggressive I will be. OTOH, I am still going after low-hanging fruit like card churning and things like AP. Someday if and when they close those loopholes, I won't want to think to myself that I was lazy about getting free points when I could have.
To me the 1x is more a question of time. If I can do at least $2,000 in one stop it is worth a dedicated trip. Otherwise I am only doing it when I have another reason to be in the store.
For 5x, I'll invest more time or even blow a couple of hours hitting multiple ODs in an afternoon.
