That is perhaps the funniest thread title I've ever read in my entire life.

Anyway, thanks for the credit on the "ingeniously evil" idea, but, unfortunately, I can't really take credit for it. This is just an extension of the "coin"/"currency"/"gold" game. The whole idea is to get something charged onto your points earning card, and then somehow try to turn that something (that you charged for points) back into cash (without losing the points). The coin gig is just one of the most fungible things that you can buy, but there are certainly other things; problem is trying to get around the transaction fees.

What would be great is a site that allowed you to buy currency at face value (high dollar currency, like 100 dollar bills). Unfortunately, because of CC/transaction fees, this is almost always a big loser. There are other ways, of course, to get around these problems, but the holy grail is to find something that allows you to swipe a card (on one side of the transaction) and have cash and points come out the other side.

I have a feeling that we're a rare breed on here; I doubt many/any people have ever really even thought of how abuseable a system is that allows you to return to a different card (for the purpose of points). The reason that's it's not allowed is almost certainly because of fraud/theft. But, if you find a vendor that will do this for you; keep it to yourself. You'll never have to pay to fly ever again; it's a points printing machine.