In my opnion this option is only worth it when you are a few thousand points or miles away from acheving the next tier in a program. For example American Express HHonors and SPG offer gold status to those who eather spend 20/30k a year. How ever otherwise to get a large amount of miles or points one is better off going to the airline or hotel directly. For example American Airlines sells miles for a typical 2.5% and if you pay with the citi advantage card you would also bring in extra miles. One other option that has been talked about is sometimes certain banks will let you open checking accounts by doing a credit card deposit.