Originally Posted by
naps8906
Because say you spent $40k using SPG. Then at AA, you'll get 50k miles. Using other 2% cash back, you'll get $800.
Originally Posted by
christianj
To each his own but most people will work the 40k Starwood points you would earn to get pretty close to (or exceed) an $800 return.
With points and cash, and at expensive cities, 40K SPG pts can easily worth more than $800.
Not to mention 50K AA miles can be 1/3 of a 150C OneWorld business class award for 25K miles travel - We took one last year to circle Pacific - 11 cities in 7 countries. There is an almost identical type of revenue ticket offered by OneWorld with more restrictions than the award ticket, for a $10,000+ price tag originating from US. 1/3 of that is $3,333 - 4 times of the $800 cash back.
Originally Posted by
Cheapskate Travels
There are other factors involved above and beyond cents per mile for some people.
Using your example, 50k AA miles are 1/20th of lifetime gold status on AA. For people trying to get to the magic million (or 2mm for that matter) this may be even more important than the back of envelope cpm calculations.
That too. Still, optimal award redemption whether it is for hotel stays or for air travel, easily exceeds the $800 cash return.