Question
I'm wondering what is the better deal, to take the frequent flier miles or the 1% cash back? I fly about 25k miles a year on United and a big reason I use their FF card is the EQM's, for money spent on united.com, so I can sit in economy plus. From what I hear though their FF miles are not worth all that much (can't upgrade easily, limited award seat availability.) So is it better to take the cash back in lieu of the miles? Obviously any charge eligible for 5% cash back is the better deal.
Answer
I'm wondering what is the better deal, to take the frequent flier miles or the 1% cash back? I fly about 25k miles a year on United and a big reason I use their FF card is the EQM's, for money spent on united.com, so I can sit in economy plus. From what I hear though their FF miles are not worth all that much (can't upgrade easily, limited award seat availability.) So is it better to take the cash back in lieu of the miles? Obviously any charge eligible for 5% cash back is the better deal.
Well... i like to save my FF miles for international F. So I figure, with my AAdvantage MC, that if I spend $150K every two years on it, with 1% cash back I would receive $1500 (+$170 for the annual fee) or 150K miles.
A good intertional F ticket coasts $10K+ or 150,000 miles. I've booked an itenerary with miles that was priced about $15K.
Miles seem like a better deal to me. ^
Plus you'll have to pay taxes on that 1% cash back.
Answer
I'm wondering what is the better deal, to take the frequent flier miles or the 1% cash back? I fly about 25k miles a year on United and a big reason I use their FF card is the EQM's, for money spent on united.com, so I can sit in economy plus. From what I hear though their FF miles are not worth all that much (can't upgrade easily, limited award seat availability.) So is it better to take the cash back in lieu of the miles? Obviously any charge eligible for 5% cash back is the better deal.
Usually miles is a much better deal, especially when you transfer points during their special promotions. With miles, you can get as high as 2 cents per point, but with the 1% back you'll only be getting 1 cent per point. If you can get over the hurdle of the hassle and the technicalities they throw at you, then by all means get miles.
Getting 5% cash back is very nice, probably one of the best deals out there for credit card points, but it's usually limited to a small amount of spending.
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Personally, I value my mile between 1.5 cents and 2 cents. So I use my mileage card when they offer double miles. Otherwise I use my MBNA 529 for 2% back.
I'm wondering what is the better deal, to take the frequent flier miles or the 1% cash back? I fly about 25k miles a year on United and a big reason I use their FF card is the EQM's, for money spent on united.com, so I can sit in economy plus. From what I hear though their FF miles are not worth all that much (can't upgrade easily, limited award seat availability.) So is it better to take the cash back in lieu of the miles? Obviously any charge eligible for 5% cash back is the better deal.
Answer
I have used cash back cards for years. Getting that check to do whatever you please is nice.
The setup I'm currently trying:
gas, groceries, pharmacy: Citi dividend, a flat 5% cash back on those, I get a check at $50, basically every month or two
airline tickets: Citi PremierPass Elite, I get a mile per mile flown, awesome, the catch is that you must redeem an equal number of flight points and regular points, so basically you get at least 2% when buying plane tickets if you're smart about redemption (gift certificates in lieu of cash for example), I haven't tried booking reward flights yet, $75 annual fee
Starwood properties: Amex SPG, easy to transfer into airline miles or redeem for hotel nights (might not be a good choice if you want UA MP miles though), $30 annual fee, waived first year
I'm using a Total Merrill Visa for the rest of my spending.
Thinking about getting a DC just for rental cars...
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For help on the miles vs. cash question, take a look at the Value of Miles page of my website, Free Frequent Flyer Miles (http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm).
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You have asked a question which has been debated since the dawn of civilization on this earth. Certainly pgary's web site in my opinion is the unofficial bible for frequent flyer miles and should help you a lot. My humble opinion is as follows.
If you have the gal to keep yourself uptodate, check this forum quite frequently and enjoy shuffling around all the rules and information and above all enjoy and can spare good amount of time then definately thumbs up to earning miles. The game is not very striaght forward.
However on the contrarary cash rebate game is so simple and plain that you dont have to bother about anything. No worries, no sweat.
I have tried to play both the games and frankly quite often I have been very frustrated by this earning miles thingy. This forum has helped me a lot, I hoarded quite a few miles and have been able to use them too but at times I thought I cannot take it any more. And on top of that I collected a whole lot of credit cards which I dont know what to do with them. I wish there was a way to sell them on ebay.
At the end of the day, you need to find out what type of person you are and how much effort you can put in. You need to set your own limits and rules.
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FYI- Cash back and Miles are considered a rebate, not income. You don't need to pay income taxes on it.
Well... i like to save my FF miles for international F. So I figure, with my AAdvantage MC, that if I spend $150K every two years on it, with 1% cash back I would receive $1500 (+$170 for the annual fee) or 150K miles.
A good intertional F ticket coasts $10K+ or 150,000 miles. I've booked an itenerary with miles that was priced about $15K.
Miles seem like a better deal to me. ^
Plus you'll have to pay taxes on that 1% cash back.