Originally Posted by
ajnaro
The general moral is that if you use miles for premium travel (first or business) or five-star hotels you will get good value in terms of the corresponding cash pricing. For anything else, cash rebates may well be better value and will certainly involve less hassle for booking.
That couldnt be further from the actual truth. I stick with Hotel stays only and my points for resort/beach properties than arent 4-5 star but in popular places run 200-300 a night. Using Marriott Hilton and Starwood pts i can easily earn 3-5% return on my dollars to capture a desirable room (OceanView -- Corner room etc etc)
Cash back cards only work if you arent savvy enough or dont want to play the game to travel cheap/free.