Originally Posted by
TheManofaThousandPlaces
I think this deal is dead.
Suppose you kept $10,000 in the account. Assuming you have already picked up the sign-up bonuses (including DD and BP) and you were just accruing interest. Your $10,000 balance earns 1,000 miles/month or 12,000 miles/year. At a cost of $12/month or $144/year, you are paying $.012 per mile. This isn't terrible, but it isn't good. Of course, the numbers get better as your balance increases. However, at some point, you should be putting that amount of cash to work in a more productive venture.
Don't forget to take into account the opportunity cost of putting your money in one of these accounts. Using your example of $10,000, you would lose $402 in interest if you put $10K into a BD account instead of a high-interest reward checking. For the past two years I have been banking at FDIC-insured and NCUA-insured banks and credit unions that offer 4.02% interest on up to $10K (some banks allow up to $25K). The only "catch" is you have to make 12 POS transactions per month plus one billpay or direct deposit. I personally rent Redbox movies or buy coffee for my 12 transactions. So if you are putting $10K in one of these accounts for the miles alone you're now spending $546 just to earn 12,000 miles, so you're spending $.0455/mile ($546/12000 = $.0455).