Originally Posted by
Boraxo
I think that sums it up well, though I don't know where you get 2% cash back on most purchases (excepting the recently closed Schwab deal and specialized rebates on gas, groceries, etc.).
The better assuption is that most people will get 1% cashback so 30k in spending would net $300. In my case I am currently spending $30k on my Chase BA card which will yield approx. 38k BA miles plus a BA companion ticket. I am pretty sure the miles and cert. will be worth more to me than $300 but you never know until you try to redeem.
Nobody would argue 1 mile beats 1 cent. But for average people who only spend 10K - 20K/year with >50% being gas/grocery/drugstore/dept store/office supplies, you can easily get 3% cashback from different card combinations (e.g., Amex blue cash, Fidelity Amex, Schwab Visa, Chase freedom, Penfed Visa, Amazon Visa). All of them have no annual fee.
Now unless you are a big spender, it would take years to get an award ticket through spending. Also, for the same amount of miles, average people like me would take 2 coach tickets easily over 1 business one. So 1 mile is only worth very restricted 1 - 1.5 cents. In general, I only apply for mileage cards to get bonus but always cancel them before annual fee kicks in.