worth of mile
 

i am thinking of paying with a credit card with tuition but there is a credit charge- what is the value of a airline mile?

Thanks

As you will probably find out sooner or later, there is a search functionality. A basic search should bring up allot of threads on the value of a mile which is at $0.02. There are also "stickies" in the Mileage Run forum that should cover all you ever wanted to know about FF miles. Welcome to Flyertalk hesky .

It really depends what you're going to do with the miles. If you spend 25,000 miles for a $200 ticket to go cross country (and had to make $25,000 in purchases to acrrue those 25,000 miles), they're worth less than a cent each. If you spend 90,000 miles to go to Australia in business class, which would be a $6,000 ticket, they're worth a lot more. There is no single answer that applies to everyone. It comes down to what you're going to use the miles for.

BTW, the "credit charge" issue has come up on several other threads. In most cases, businesses promise the credit card companies not to charge them but some do anyway.

You might consider calling the credit card company and saying "they are charging me a 2% fee to use my card for tuition. Can they do that?" and see what happens.

Some people consider this whining. Some people consider it simply getting the benefit you paid for when you signed up for your credit card.

I know people who have worked for visa in the past.
The true answer about a credit charge is that merchant signs an agreement with the credit issuer agreeing to add no surcharges.
So, unless the credit charge is advertised, they can't and if you call visa about it, the merchant could have their credit license revoked.

I'm certain that the true value of a mile is "it depends." It's different for different people in different situations, and even for the same person at different times.

Here's one interesting thread, from the Mileage Run Forum: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276409 Although it's from 2003 and hence possibly slightly outdated, the kinds of thinking and information people take into consideration are still valid.

You could also consider using those checks that comes with the monthly statements? Whether those transactions earn you points would depend on the card issuer.

Most banks that offer those checks charge them as a cash advance, which not only would incur the cash advance charges and the interest rate, but it would also not earn miles.

Mike

If you find a card that gives miles or points for this, be sure to post it here. You could write the check to yourself, put it in your bank account, and pay the credit card bill in full when it comes. Voila! Free miles/points.

You can do this via USAA cards. Not airline specific miles but you can rack up a whole heck of a lot of miles at very little cost (limited to about 60k per year based upon your cash advance limit).

USAA cards?

i say the miles are most of the time not good enough for a charge

the charge is like 2% at least and i've never seen anyone evaluate the mile at more than a cent or a cent and a half

https://www.lc.usaa.com/inet/ent_logon/Logon

It is for military personnel and their families. Incredible rates for credit cards, banking and loans. And they apply mileage credits to cash advances that you can simply pay off.

I've seen a 1 1/2¢ figure...

While it's technically correct that merchants can't add a surcharge, there's a work-around. The charge is actually via a third party which adds a "service fee" or "convenience fee." (That's how paying your U.S. tax bill with a card works, too.) This fee covers the credit card company's fee (which includes what it pays for miles, its costs, and its profit) and the third party's costs and profit. Even allowing for economies of scale, there ain't much left to pay an airline for the miles. Therefore, unless you have a specific high-value use in mind for the miles (international upgrades from deep-discount economy fares are a prime example), or happen to hit a double-miles promo on the card, it's a losing game.