Originally Posted by Stefan Daystrom
Similarly, if you earn miles through a no-free credit card (such as one that gives you only 1 mile per 2 dollars spent directly into an airline's FF program, or a hotel one which you later transfer into miles), and it costs you nothing more to pay with that credit card (you carry no balance, of course!) than by any other means, how are those miles not free (to you)?
Because by using the mile-awarding credit card, they are not using one that could have, say, a cash-back feature. Then they can say that the miles costs them something. For example, the 1 mile for 2 dollars spend compared to a 1% cashback means that a mile obtained "costs" 0,02$. A good rate for most people, but not "free" anyway.
If you get bonus miles for an activity which costs you nothing in money (say, filling out a survey, or eating at a different restaurant that costs no more than the one you would have eaten at otherwise), how are those miles not free (to you), unless perhaps you count the cost of the extra time it takes you to get those bonus miles?
These are free activities, but they do not constitute the bulk of the miles earned.
So while I would agree that miles are NOT NECESSARILY free (to the recipient), there are people who only collect miles when they can get them free (for example, they sign up with every FF program and still choose to fly whoever has the lowest price, and thus accumulate more slowly into a variety of programs), and never do anything to earn miles if it would cost them more than not earning miles, and still (over time) get enough miles for an award ticket. In those cases, how is it not a "free ticket" (at least in those months when a Security Fee is not imposed and on those award tickets where you don't have to pay taxes) for them?
I'd love to see numbers about redeeming of miles for free tickets. I was under the impression that large majority of miles are given to unfrequent flyers, who will not accrue enough miles to get a free ticket before they expire.
And in particular, spending time looking for the lowest fares is not free.
So it basically boils down to: Everyone has to do their OWN math.
Indeed. There is no set value for a mile, it depends of the way they are accrued and spent, and the amount earned each year. If you have a good chance of getting an international award, you'll be ready to pay a little more for miles.