The MOST invested for the LEAST return?
 

While this may look idle or contrarian in this venue, I'm obviously getting at offers - programs, promotions - that waste a lot of your money and/or effort and/or time, in reality yielding very little return -- e.g., bogus, or fairly bogus. The good in this thread would be to wave people off of offers that look good on their face, but aren't. Keep in mind even the "big" ones that yield credit that is just too difficult or impossible to redeem, or it translates into pesos on the redemption end. One more component: It must take work -- not the "Well, I was doing it anyway, it was no skin to just have my account number on there" kind. Money/effort/time vs. ROI.

For me, there are three (types):

- The iDine dining programs, especially when there are much more lucrative dining award (actual $) programs nowadays.

- Sweepstakes. No matter how little effort they take. Seems to me that a company does a sweepstakes when they don't want to spend the money on a real promo, but they want to stay in front of us. Admittedly, this is a reflection of the fact that I am an abjectly unlucky fisherman.

- The standard 50-100 miles per car rental, when it involves a miles chasing component.

What say you?

AAdvantage E-Shopping seems like it. Often it takes months for the miles to post and even then it involves several emails. Last year I waited over 6 months and sent several emails to collect 230 miles for a Nike shoe purchase.

After investigating how difficult it is to cancel the service, this stamps.com offer for 2500 Chase Ultimate Reward points I read about on thepointsguy seemed pretty questionable.

http://thepointsguy.com/2011/09/2500...th-stamps-com/

Fiji Water. $30 for a case of water that runs about $3 for Safeway generic brand. Delta miles never posted (though others had no issues). Never again.

Would have to agree that rental car miles are so low that they rarely trump discounts. Idine is just gravy from the one participating restaurant that I normally frequent.

Currently the US Airways grand slam seems like it would require an awful lot of time and effort assuming you start from scratch and would not otherwise have reason to book a single transaction. Though the payoff is probably good for retirees and others who don't value time.

Delta Airlines SkyPeso Program

^

Some of those programs where you answer questionnaires or take surveys.

Coke Rewards.

My ex wife. It was a trip from hell and regardless of the "upgrades" I purchased for her, she still sucked the miles out of me. Lousy investment - advice to all men - stay single, travel in the pointy end and go on lots of mattress runs!

The consensus at the BA forum seems to be that the heavy extra charges you have to pay for BA award flights to and through the UK make cashing in miles for BA economy flights a waste of time and money. You still pay hefty charges for J and F award flights, but at least you're getting to fly in those premium cabins for much less than you'd pay if they were revenue tickets.

I find the hotel programs to be a money trap.

E.G. = 25k points (at 1 or 2 points/$) for a $150/night hotel @ IHG Friends and Family Rate, or $190 full priced fare.

I found a Holiday Inn Vacation Club hotel (the Orange Lake Orlando property), and it was $62/night in September or 25k points a night.

I did the stamps promo before it got pulled and when most people said it took just a few days for their miles to show, mine did not. So I got impatient and called UR and they kinding deposited 2500 for the inconvenience and then said they would investigate it regardless, saying they did want to honor the program if I had signed up for it. (All screen shots were saved). They said if I got the miles on top of the courtesy, I could just enjoy both. Cancelling stamps took 2min tops, emails confirmed cancellation. I did not waste my time with the $5 free postage. After the courtesy post, I dont care if the actual stamps promo even shows, I've moved on.

The insurance quotes are 50/50 in my book for waste for reward.

Hearing how many miles you lose converting audience rewards to miles puts it as a waste.

Dining works for me, because I get easy miles for eating where I would have once a week anyway.

I deleted Mypoints after the 750 sign up came through. Careful of UA, they claim its 500 miles, but its listed at 750 on their own darn website even today. Man they have some real "winners" working that airline.

CO is a crappy ... program to get your tedious 100 promos from, way too much work for something you sign up for right through their website. They have the same lazy old farts running their missing mileage department who have had their butts cemented into their seats for way too long now, and who that I sincerely hope they get shown the door after the merger completes. (UA is NOT much better in my opinion).

I wont touch teleflora again, screwed me out of 3000 miles - again CO! Its been months I've been dealing with CO's b.s. back and forth story of "please send us receipts, etc" Five times they have had receipts, screen shots, and you can't get through to a supervisor. There's not enough population control (nor birth control) in the world.

And then there's the Sittercity fiasco.... dont get me started...!

I more enjoy card sign up bonuses.

(did you strike a nerve?)

Glad to hear the stamps.com deal wasn't so bad after all (I was scared off by bad reviews on how difficult it was to cancel).
Overall though, it seems that anything that isn't a straight up spend or sign-up bonus is not only often not worth the effort it takes to fulfil the requirements, but also not worth the effort it takes to get the miles posted.

Tropicana Juice Boxes @ 10 pts per carton (used to be higher).. the promo is over.. I think I only entered the code a couple of times.. very time consuming, and doesn't add miles up very fast, so ditched the practice.. still bought the juice

in terms of hours invested per miles they will eventually receive, the AA-cartera is probably the worst payoff I've seen as of yet.