Just my random thoughts on this discussion:
Originally Posted by pinniped
The home-grown points card might make sense for you if you meet the following conditions:
(1) You plan on spending a LOT and redeeming points for tickets as soon as you reach the required levels. Why? Because these programs are usually half-baked to begin with and tend to go POOF at a moment's notice. Don't get caught with 100,000 points in the bank the morning you wake up and find a "404 - Site Not Found" message at the program's home page.
Has anyone really found this to be a big problem. I'm not talking about a promotion with a company like a grocery chain, drug store or other company that creates an odd pairing. I'm talking about problems with "fake miles" cards issued by large credit card companies. I have had the MBNA Elite Rewards card for nearly 4 years now and there is no sign of this program ending or being changed. Capital One is heavily marketing their miles card so I'd be surprised if it suddenly went "poof." These are major CC companies that feel they get a large benefit out of this program, just like NW, UA and others feel they get a great benefit out of their credit card programs.
Of course they could discontinue the program at any time. (I had a Bell Atlantic Visa that gave me 1% cash back that was discontinued on about 4 months notice. But I was able to cash out everything.) But NW and UA could theoretically decide to drop their credit card program at any time also. Or they could lower the earning rate (1 mile for every $2 spent?). Or they could raise the minimum miles required for an award ticket (25k miles suddenly becomes 35k miles needed for an award).
Does anyone really think that these programs issued by major credit card companies are any more likely to disappear or change than the airlines credit card programs?
Originally Posted by pinniped
(2) You have a citypair in mind for your awards that is always expensive with 21-day-advance and Saturday night stay. If your desired award is usually cheap when you buy the most restrictive tickets, then the value of your points is somewhat less.
I agree that if the flight is not very expensive it is better to buy the ticket. But that is true with any FF program. The 21 day advance purchase rule is an obvious problem if you're looking for a last minute ticket and don't want to pay $900 for a ticket that goes for $200 with an advance purchase. That is one of the downsides to these cards.
Originally Posted by pinniped
(3) You don't get aggravated out of your skull making old-fashioned phone calls to book awards. You will likely get put on hold, and you will likely talk to someone who is only marginally interested in helping you get your award. These programs don't typically have robust, well-thought-out websites and online booking tools. Hey, at least they don't make you use Pony Express or carrier pigeons to book awards.
Yes, you have to make a phone call which takes longer than booking on line. However, when I booked an award ticket I had already selected my flights from looking on line and simply asked if they could book the tickets on those flights (even got FF miles for the flight).
I'm not saying these cards are for everyone. But I don't think they're as bad as people are making them out to be. In fact, I think they are a good idea for a leisure traveler who doesn't have a lot of FF miles in any one airline program.