Originally Posted by
ExitRowAisle
I guess to each his own, but that seems like a lot of mental gymnastics to go through for a cost per mile that is not particularly appealing. Have you considered getting the 75k Citi cc that costs you nothing (assuming you have the ability to meet the necessary spend requirements)?
We already have 3 citi cards but opened a business card for the 100k (50/50) promo.
I'm not really sure I understand the bolded part. I need to buy 4 one way tickets that will cost me about $1020. I
can buy enough miles to book the same travel (plus another 6k) for $1105. I'm not really sure what cost per mile has to really do with anything.
If I pay cash for the travel, I won't buy the miles from AA. So, for me, the analysis comes down to a simple question: What am I getting for my extra $85 if I buy the miles to book my travel instead of paying cash? The answer is: (1) I get 6k RDM, (2) I can make free changes to the tickets if departure and return cities stay the same. (3) I essentially move 50k miles out of an account that is not often used and has the miles primarily from a prior credit card bonus into an account that will eventually reach status level. The cost of doing this is losing 4x2100 BIS miles, plus losing the opportunity to buy miles from AA for the rest of the year. (Unlikely.)
So if I need to purchase the tickets, and if buying the miles allows me to get the same tickets essentially, what does cpm have to do with me? (I'm seriously asking the question, not asking it rhetorically; if I'm looking at this wrong I'd like to know.)