Originally Posted by
land31411
However, miles earned on credit card charges for purchases that would have been made even without the benefit of miles remains a nice perk. I have made numerous first class trips with my wife on miles primarily earned via the AMEX Skymiles card we use for most non-payroll business expenses. Sure its not as easy as it once was to find seats on flights with the desired times, but let's not forget: IT ESSENTIALLY IS A FREE FLIGHT. Some should try keeping it in perspective.
No, it is not a free flight. Accummulation of miles via a FF program credit card is an alternative to using a cashback card and receiving cash. Since 1% cashback cards are routinely available, every mile you earn on a credit card is costing you 1 cent (or 3 cents or 5 cents in the case of some of the grocery/gas rebate credit cards). The fact that you choose to take the miles in place of cash is your choice. The miles are anything but free.