Originally Posted by XStAnt
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?
I think we all agree there is a certain level of risk with any of the programs, but the home-grown programs dry up and blow away with greater frequency than AAdvantage, MileagePlus, etc. Even if AMR or UAL were to go Chap 7 sell off assets, there is enough critical mass that someone would buy the big programs. Heck, the programs themselves are tidy profit centers - no way they were disappear.
I've had three home-grown points programs either go 404 on me and change drastically to my disadvantage: an Amex Callaway program, a Sprint Points program (I wasn't doing the credit card part of this one), and I was in the old MBNA WorldPoints program when they rewrote the rules.
In addition, if you visit the websites for a lot of these programs, you will see half-baked, vague, and conflicting rules. I'm convinced that marketing people make these things up in a meeting room, turn loose two high-school web development subcontractors to put up the websites, and start issuing cards.
Having said that, I've never seen anyone advertise a program quite like Capital One. They have gone so public with their program that I would feel more confident using them than another provider.
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.
The difference between the home-grown points and the airlines is that the home-grown programs box you in with rules that are practically at odds with each other: they have both a 21-day/Sat stay rule
and a price cap. If they have a $400 max on the tickets, why won't they sell me a $380 weekend getaway to London for 25,000 (or whatever) points - departing tomorrow? Why add on the other restrictions? Just give me X cents of credit per point and give me a simple online interface to book my awards!! (Somebody help me out: does Cap One offer a flavor of their program that sort of does this? The one that says "Award flights at 9,000 points!"??")
I see the upsides of these cards as being able to earn miles on the flights and not being beholden to the 25,000 "Saver" level rules that the airlines have. If I did a very high volume of MC/Visa spending AND had a particular route that I was always paying $300+ for with a 21-day-advance, I would probably get the Cap One card.