bocastephen

I am trying to decide if it's worth biting on this offer given the incredible amount of churn needed to get the full bonus, but here it is:

100,000 MR with 10,000 spend (90 days)
50,000 MR extra with 10,000 additional spend (same 90 days)
$450 annual fee

For me, I would be doing standard manufactured spend churn to hit the target, so that breaks down as:

$20,000/$200 gift cards = 100 gift cards
100 gift cards x $6 (avg) = $600
100 gift cards x $1 (avg) MO fee = $100

So, that gives me 150,000 MR for a total approx cost of $1,150 or .008cpp

I am looking for the highest and best use of the points given that I still need to fly frequently to maintain my 1k status, so cashing in for free tickets is probably not in the cards, but redeeming for upgrades on *A partners would be my only likely option, although I have two business class tickets to either New Zealand or Africa in the horizon over the next year or two, and that might be an option for a free ticket redemption.

Is this exercise really worthwhile in the eyes of the community?