i'm looking to get a new cell phone soon and i really like the motorola mpx200 smartphone .. if i get it from AT&T wireless .. i can get a lot of CO onepass miles but the phone'll be $250 .. if i get it from amazon the phone comes out to $120+$40 activation .. i really want the miles but i also want the better offer .. what to do~

How many miles? Bear in mind that a domestic award on Continental usually takes 50,000 miles (under their EasyPass redemption schedule... "Standard" awards at 25,000 miles are widely promised but often not available). You can BUY a discount ticket to anywhere in the US for $300 or $400. So if you're thinking of spending an extra $125 on a cell phone to get 5,000 or 10,000 OnePass miles, that wouldn't make a lot of sense. It is generally believed that OnePass miles are worth less and less, and grow harder and harder to redeem, as time goes by, so it's less and less wise to pay real money for them.

but the way i see it .. for $100 more I can get 5000 frequent flyer miles .. that's like flying from ewr to lax for $100 .. which of course isn't the case .. but miles is miles~

You could also transfer CO miles to the Amtrak GuestRewards program and then transfer the same miles from Amtrak to United at the same 1:1 conversion.

I transfered all my CO miles to UA because you can't never get an award! They are horrible!

But 5,000 miles will only get you 20% of the way from EWR to LAX (and back), whereas $100 will likely get you somewhat closer. The $100 is also a) less subject to sudden devaluation, b) earns interest and c) is fungible across many forms of activity and d) is not subject to spending controls (i.e. award capacity controls).

Think of it this way: you are considering whether to BUY 5,000 non-status miles for $100, or $0.02/mile. If this is worth it to you, go for it.

I just looked at Amazon.com at this phone, and after the rebates, it comes out to $80, not $120.

EasyPass redemption provides a good floor for OnePass mile valuation. Since they are not subject to capacity controls, they really are the frequent flyer awards from the old days - last minute, no Saturday night stay, etc.

That said, I think OnePass miles are worth between one and two cents per mile.

WOW!!! Just ordered the phone + plan =) Forget about the onepass miles .. if after rebates and the new amazon.com credit card gift certificate the phone comes out to $50 .. no need to second guess!!!!! thanks steve100~

i guess this topic can be closed .. no more need for discussion .. thanks all!

No need for more on the phone, but there's a misconception here that needs clearing up. FF miles don't get you a trip of that length. Rather, they're "currency" you use for awards from the airline's schedule. A transcon round trip in North America, on most airlines that use miles as their unit, typically requires 25,000 miles in economy. Moreover, these tickets are capacity-controlled, which means you can't get one on popular flights without a lot of advance notice. You may be able to avoid capacity controls by using about twice as many miles for the award.

The term "miles" comes from the fact that you usually earn one for each economy class mile that you fly. There are lots of other ways to earn "miles" as well - such as the offer that led to this thread!