Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
However using that card you have forgone other potential rewards, such as cashback --- so there is a value/cost to those miles, they are far from free. I use 1 cpm as the cashback equivalent. Some cashback cards can be even better (up to 2,3, 5 % on selected purchases)
OK - so let's nit-pick on value/cost of these miles.
Say I had to spend $2000 (as I did on my recent UA business card) and got 50K miles. Even at the very highest cash back of 5% that would be only $100 (and more likely $10 or $20).
I got a J ticket with those 50K miles US-EU; can you get that for your $20 or even $100?
I know which card/option I will choose
And, as I had said before, these were all purchases I was OBLIGATED to make - thus to me these miles were free. I do not carry balances on my CCs to pay their exorbitant interest charges.
If there is a value/cost to these miles, as you say, I consider that to be so negligible as to be free.