No. It. Does. Not.
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
I’ve said consistently that UA has the UA card problem it deserves because UA decides to make their miles worth less for consumers than other rebate currencies available to consumers in the market.
It is a simple law of economics that it is
not possible for currency A to be more valuable than currency B when currency B can be changed, at will, to currency A at par. There’s even a name for it: Gresham’s Law.
If UA MileagePlus miles could each be redeemed for a Maserati, as long as Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed 1:1 for UA MileagePlus miles, Ultimate Rewards points would still be more valuable.
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
UR points are more valuable than UA miles. UA made this true on its own.
That is false.
Chase actually did that by creating a convertible currency at a 1:1 ratio. Similarly, Ultimate Rewards points are more valuable than Flying Blue points, Hyatt points, or any of the other currencies they can be converted into.
The
only thing UA could have done to prevent this would have been to refuse to allow UR to MP at 1:1.
This is a completely different argument than saying whether or not the Explorer card could ever be a good value. It’s possible for the Explorer card to be more valuable than the CSR, but only if the multipliers are greater than you’d get from Ultimate Rewards. I posted a suggested chart earlier in this thread; I won’t bother doing it again.