Yeah--but they also give free balance transfers, so instead of getting restaraunt rebates (I use my other cards for this) I have 20K of their money in a CD for a year.

Smart Idea. I did that once with MBNA. no interest for 12 months earned me
over $500 in a CD

I am pretty sure the 5% in drug stores with the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Mastercard and Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card include all purchases in drug stores and not just Prescription Drugs. That certainly is the case with the ATT Cash Rewards Card which is being discontinued June 30 (issued thro Citi). My research to find a replacement 5% card came up with the info at the beginning of this paragraph. The Citi Driver's Edge Platinum Select Mastercard has a 6% at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations but doesn't have the 10,000 bonus for signing up which the Citi Diamaond Preferred card has

For any UA Mileage PLus members, don't forget that there is also MP Dining where you can get 3 miles per dollar on selected restaurants, not including bonuses.

[QUOTE=psyflyer]Isn't 3% cash rebate better than 5 HHonor points?

[QUOTE=afang]Depends on how you value HHonors points. I value HHonors points at .5 cents each, so 5 HHonors points is equivalent to 2.5%. I would take the 3% cash rebate. There are many FlyerTalkers who value HHonors at 1 cent each so they would view the points as a better deal.

[QUOTE=MileKing]Fair enough, but where did you get these values from??

Something else to throw in the mix ...


Dear Pushback,

Mileage Plus DiningSM by Rewards NetworkSM is a fast and easy way to get you off the ground and on your way really fast. And when you register online by July 25th, you can put more miles on your plate to earn 25,000 bonus miles, enough for a free1 Saver Award on United, United Express� and TedSM.

Mileage Plus Dining
Register now to join in the festivities as Mileage Plus DiningSM celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Mileage Plus program. Then spend $125 per month in qualified dines2, every month from July through December 2006. You'll then earn 25,000 bonus miles3 in addition to the miles you normally earn from Mileage Plus Dining.

Registration Link

[QUOTE=afang]1/2 cent (.5 cents) is my estimate of the value of an HHonors point. It is the value I use to determine if I should pay for a stay or use points to redeem an award. The 1 cent value per point is what I've seen a number of others post as their valuation here on FlyerTalk. Hope that helps.

I can speak for the 1 cent per HH point because I CHOOSE to value it somewhere around there.

Through this September (and for the last few years), EVERY Scandic has been only 10k a night, no matter what it cost Euros. I've gotten Scandics that were well over $100 a night equivalent (in Euros or whatever kind of kroner) for 10k a night. That sounds like at least 1 cent per HH point to me.

So far I've refused to use HH points any other way, because I had this high-value option.

I have no idea yet what I'm going to use them on later on, but I won't just start burning them on .5 cent per HH point. However, since I won't have an OBVIOUS way to spend them at high value any more, I'm not going to work at collecting them (I never have, I've gotten more HH points just through occasional HH stays than I have been able to use at high-enough value to consider it worth it burning them), I have no interest in a HH credit card (because the value I get out of the points/miles I earn with other credit cards certainly trumps the personal value I will ascribe to an HH point after October.

Which brings it to: You always have to do YOUR OWN math. What a point or mile is valued at is specific to how YOU will use it. (In my case, because I'm tall, but not used to "luxury", I value business class seats on flights where I must sleep way more than a nicer room or a nicer hotel, and so miles are much more valueable to me than points, because I never redeem miles for cheap coach seats. HH points are only valueable to me at Scandic because they convert way worse to miles than any other hotel's points that I collect. I never keep enough hotel points in any OTHER program because even at 5:1 I have better use for the miles than for the hotel points.)

... Meanwhile, to bring it back to this thread: I so rarely dine at a NON-iDine/RN restaurant (and at those I get a minimum of 10 miles per $ WHATEVER card I use) that FOR ME it's silly to worry about what card to use for dining if it doesn't earn me 10+ miles/$ at other establishments. (I'm rarely places where I don't have access to a wide choice of iDine/RN restaurants, and it's not worth having a special card just for the exceptions.)

Like another poster said you can get your Costco rebate in Cash if you like at Costco. I use it for the 3% at most resturants. Also most expensive resturants accept AMEX which is why its good at 3%. i use Chase visa which gives 1% at resturants but 5% for gas, groceries, and drug stores. Always have to consdier vendor when deciding which card.

Ok, I eat out as much as anyone (the one reward I allow myself while on the road), so here is my take:

1. Enlist in an iDine/Dining Rewards program. This costs nothing and while the restaurants are limited, the 10 miles / $ makes this a no-brainer. You don't have to do anything at the restaurant other than eat (or drink) once you have registered your c/card. Plus, the promotions are sometimes a huge perk: check out United's 25,000 mile bonus for spending $125 / month for July - December! I'm all over that. I've found some really nice restaurants that I would never have found w/out this program.

2. Other than that, I don't have a favorite card but instead, I keep an eye out for the best promotion offered by the cards that I already have. I have a Hilton Hhonors card that pays 5 points / $ but I have so many Hilton points that I seldom use this save for Hilton stays (where it pays 10 points / $). My Discover will sometimes get me 5% cash back on dining purchases and even though their merchants are getting stingy, this is a good deal. I also love my Southwest visa because that earns me tickets that I can actually use!

I've found that you just need to be proactive as some of the promotions require advance registration (e.g. the United Dining promotion and Discover promotion discussed above).

Oh, also, I recommend checking out chowhound.com (not sure if we are supposed to plug other sites or not!). It is a great bulletin board site where travellers and locals point out some of their favorite restaurants in all areas. I've found some decent meals with the use of this site.

Chow Down!

The best way to earn miles (w/o flying) is to sign up for the Dining Program that is affiliated with your favorite airline (almost all major airlines have that option for earning miles). It is run through the Rewards Network, and after you've dined at their participating restaurants (nationwide and Canada!) a certain amount of times, you earn an elite status (similar to airline programs) and begin to rack up more miles (starting at 1-3 miles per dollar (incl. tax and tip!) and going up to 10 miles per dollar) ^ . If you have an airline affiliated card (CO, AA, UA, etc...), then you get that extra mile for charging on that card ^ ^ . What's nice is that you can add as many cards as you want to the program. I've been taking friends out for years and paying for the bill (while getting the cash from their portion of the check and going to the bank) and racking up serious miles....

The best card I've found so far is the Citi PremierPass Elite card - points, not miles and discounts for gas, Rx, grocery, etc....and the initial bonus of 15K points doesn't hurt either.

Already did the best of both worlds...changed my AMEX Costco to mpdining rewards so getting both 3% back on the $125 spend per month and will get 25,000 United miles by end of year. Also getting more than 3 miles per $ charge due to Premier status. Great FT minds always think double-dip.

-outoftown

Yep--I did exactly the same thing. Great Flyertalk minds think alike!

The only thing I'm doing that's different is I have to get in my ten dines to get to elite status. I'm already elite on the AA program as up until now that is where I focused all my miles building activity--but who can pass up 25000 miles--even on *ugh* UA? As soon as I click on 125 miles each month you can be sure I'll be putting any excess activity into AA.

Sidenote--Spent $88 Tuesday night at a restaurant I didn't even know was on the list! Don't you love it when that happens!

Ironically, I use my Costco AMEX only for dining and not at Costco. I have another AMEX card that tiers up to 1.5%. With the amount I spend at Costco (19K last year) I come out ahead with that card.