Miles for a refinance
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Miles for a refinance
Hello, Not sure if this is the right forum for this but here it goes. I need to refinance my current home loan and was wondering if there are any miles I can earn doing it. Currently I'm in the United program and I just opened an AMEX and Marriot Rewards card. I did a search but most of the posts were pretty dated...Thanks, Mayu
#3
Join Date: Apr 2004
Programs: AA Plat/2MM, DL Silver, UA Silver (via Marr), Marr LTT, HH Gold (via cc), Hyatt Disc
Posts: 1,035
Agree. I checked into this a few years ago and found that the mortgage rate that earned miles was higher than the regular rate; I would have been paying like $50-75 more a month on my mortgage so clearly not worth the cost. Things may have changed in the interim, so be sure to compare rates and not assume that the one that'll get you miles is competitive.
#4
In memoriam
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,020
I got a mortgage years ago with the late, un-lamented cheats at Countrywide (now part of the Bank of American and, hopefully, cleaned up) which offered 25K in AA miles. It was quite a struggle to collect as it turned out they took the cost of the miles out of the broker's commission (or, so he told me). But, the rate then was the same with or without miles. Now, it appears to not be so with miles being paid for by the borrower with a higher interest rate.
Apply for another bonus credit card and forget, IMHO, the mortgage miles.
Apply for another bonus credit card and forget, IMHO, the mortgage miles.
#5
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Programs: frequent flyer, airline cards
Posts: 8
I too looked around for these mileage offers. I refinanced once in Columbus (OH) in the early 2000s and received a 17,500 bonus on Delta. After further research, i found i would've gotten a lower rate with lower closing costs elsewhere, so it clearly isn't worth it. The average note holder probably keeps the loan at least 3 years, so think carefully if it is worth paying any type of premium for mileage. I think not. A better bet might be to list your house when selling it with a broker offering miles based on the price. If there are no hidden fees and you aren't risking the likelihood of getting top dollar for your house, that would be the way to go.