Originally Posted by MarkOK

I think the current valuation will more or less hold. People that do the careful math already know that cash back cards can get more real monetary 'value', even if plenty still choose to earn miles to redeem them on a first class ticket they would never have paid cash for. Travel sparks an irrationality center of the brain. And like you said, then there are people AA really counts on like my parents, who fly maybe once every four years but have put a decade's worth of purchases on their AAdvantage card thinking it will let them travel more, only to recently find out how little value the miles really have. But, I think if AA devalues too much farther, more people will catch on.