I'm pretty much a newbie and only fly on leisure trips. About 22,500 last year on UA / .* flts. We have the enhanced credit card which we just got and which put the Mrs into 2p a month or so ago.

I read posts on MRs that sometimes say that 3.x cents is an OK cost. I realize that's for EQMs, which are "worth" more than just redeemable miles.

There are a lot of opportunities to bump up the miles doing things like paying my property taxes, daughter's college tuition, etc. Usually the cost is an extra 2.5 or 3 percent..

Is this a good deal? What would you consider the cutoff when making a decision between getting a little money off or paying with a card full price and getting miles? (or, of course paying with a card and paying a card fee)..

Any help on this would be appreciated..