You should do that if what you care about most is ROI. Not all of us do.

Be that as it may, Burrito, I have to look at this from my point of view. I value United miles, because I can visit my family, while getting Free Beer in 1st class. Don't judge, that is my goal. And I want to do it often. And I want to buy tickets for my parents, and family to visit me. My parents have never bought a 1st class ticket in their life. It would be a great experience for them. And I dont want to drive 4k miles round trip as I did Last Year, LOL to visit them.
Your goals may be different. However, I dont enjoy United miles so much, that I am willing to invest my Money into it (if I dont have to). If I use exclusively United Card, without the offset, Im Paying into it. Yes, with my method, Im giving up Spark Profits to do it, but if I just buy 8, $500 VGC's with Spark, I earn $40. If I buy 4, & 4, like I described above, I earn 6k miles, for free. I think 6k miles, without Expense, is worth over $40 Bucks.
But by all means, everyone must do whats best for them. For me, anyway, this scheme costs me next to nothing. If anything, I Pay $2.80, for 4 MO's, but I could easily offset That too, buy simply buying 1 More VGC with Spark.

Thanks Paul. Everyone's goal is different. I'm in a unique situation, where my wife and I live near a small, rural Airport that is only served by United, and our family is in NY. We want to visit them often, so right now, what we want is lots and lots of United Miles. And if I can keep getting them on Someone else's Dime, I dont see a major issue with it.
If Mr. Burrito has other goals, than by all means, he should do what gets him to his goals fastest. There's no right or wrong way, really.@:-)

Getting tons of UA miles is my main MS goal as well, but I go about it differently. I have 2 main MSing avenues:

1. Maximize the 5x category on my Ink, mostly with Staples VGCs (250k miles a year)

2. Use CFU at 1.5x to buy VGCs online through CB portals. This version is almost free though it accumulates miles more slowly than option 1.

You can always supplement this with any number of store bought VGCs but they will be more expensive. In the long run you are better off going exclusively for miles/transferable points if you value them at more than 2 cents.

I, too, use Ink, but I dont get 250k miles Yearly. I buy $200's from OD, but I Cash out enough points to cover VGC Fee's. So for Each Card (1000 points), I take 700 points and convert to Cash, to cover $7 Fee, then send the other 300 points to United. So I make 300 United points per Card. Thus, I can max out at 75k points, for $50 K Spend (since I want to cover All The $7 Fee's). Im pretty close to hitting That Max now.
With your method 2, couldnt I just use United Club Card (which earns 1.5 miles per $)? Also, Im not familiar with that method. Is it pretty simple and straightforward, with this portal thing?

Let us know if you make it a full year based on your number crunching. You just assume Chase won't shut you down but all the banks are pulling the noose tighter.

Yes you can use your UA Club card, but is that AF worth it to you in the long run? If not, you can switch to FU with no AF, and have the flexibility of using your points for other things, if desired.

Portals are pretty straight forward. Search for posts on Yazing, topcashback, etc. You just buy the GCs online and get usually around 1.5% (currently) CB which covers most of the fees.

I have been doing This Type of Volume for Years. Im just realigning which Cards I shift my Volume to. I have NEVER been shut down, and I probably never will. If I am, I'll move on to someone else. I don't beg anyone to take my business. If they dont want it, someone else will.

Of course not. Im just using It for my First Free Year. Will look into FU, but Im over-maxed on Chase Cards now, LOL. Have 3 Bus., 3 Pers., so I can't apply for Any More for a while. Probably not for 24 Months, since I just recently got approved for my Club Card. I'm just going to MS hard on It, till Annual Fee comes around Next May.^
But I will certainly explore those portals. Thanks!

United Mileage Plus
 

I think you mentioned the 25000 mile bonus when you hit $25,000. spend in your OP. You may be doing this, but it would be best for your wife to have a Mileage Plus card also and put $25,000 on each of them. Some responding to your thread have not addressed the bonus in their value calculations and 50,000 for $25,000 spend makes it sweet. Doing it twice even sweeter.

Hi! If youre referring to the signup Bonuses, Ive already acheived That on Each Card I have. On United Explorer, they offer 10000 miles Bonus, for spending $25 G's, but That Card gives 1 mile per $. Right now, Im using Club Card which has 1.5 miles per $. But ya, great idea! I always keep my wife involved.^

I too am interested in United Miles.

Is there a promo for the Club Card? Doesn't that have a $450 AF?

Please look in the Chase area of FT. Thats where I found a link to no Annual Fee, for 1st Year! Got a 1 Year club membership for free, plus 1.5 miles per $. Also, $100 Credit after 1st purchase.

There is no way that ringing up 8 vgcs separately and unloading them takes 15 minutes. You're just exaggerating. Even with 0 time in line. And if there is a line, your time can double or triple depending on the degenerates ahead of you.

What post are you referencing?