I am glad that you found 'freedom' with your choice and enjoy cruises. I enjoy cruises, too, but my hotel/airline points have been great tools for me and I appreciate them.
Originally Posted by
IC6A
Why be one PM Slave? Why? Just for the few points which have no real value and do not grow in lifetime?
I'd really disagree with this line... My points that I've accumulated for "required travel" or simple things like opening bank accounts or ordering $1 coins have afforded me the luxury of flying around the country and continent to see friends and family that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see. I've also been able to use miles & points to take vacations with my wife where the only thing we had to pay for was meals. If it wasn't for the luxury of having these points, we couldn't have afforded to do these things. I'm very grateful for my work and the reward programs because of this. Sure, nothing is perfect and loyalty programs have declined in value recently, but they're still beneficial to many of us.
Originally Posted by
IC6A
Bonus points? Oh no. They cost you USD$10 more per 1000 points. When you use 15000 points for a USD$75 room?
I'm sure many of us here agree that buying points is generally not a good ideas. However, some will do it and the hotels will make money off of it. Also, if you're close to a reward, those 1,000 points could be much more valuable than $10 to you. If they bump you up to having enough points for an extra night at your dream vacation, it's definitely worth more than $10 IMO.
To each his own...