Originally Posted by
sbm12
When the ratios are this out of whack (particularly the US numbers) I do consider it a fleecing. When you read the quote from the PayPal guy - "Airline customers who are frustrated with blackout dates, and the lack of availability of rewards redemption options can now get their money quickly into their PayPal account and then spend the money the way they’d like." - it is clear that their goal is to take advantage of the uninformed rather than help a consumer make an informed decision. Any business transaction that is based on only one side understanding the actual value of the transaction is a scam, even if the terms are fully documented.
You don't understand points.com and that in this case they're not the ones doing the fleecing.
The points or Paypal credit you get will be the net of the amount the airline pays Points.com, less Points.com's operating costs and profit margin. In this case, it's US Airways who's doing the fleecing. To use another example:
1,500 Continental miles can be swapped for 461 AA miles
1,500 US Airways miles can be swapped for 329 AA miles
US Airways pays Points.com less for it's own miles than Continental does, so why should Points.com absorb that difference?