Cash back vs travel points

[Kenny]

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@juggalo9er wrote:

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@Simba501 wrote:

C.R.E.A.M.

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the hell?

i believe the answer to this is in the card users travel frequency. i was just approved for arrival elite plus with 40k bonus, with the 2.2222222% cash back i am placing a very high value on this card.

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I think it's a musical reference... cash rules everything around me. lol by the wu-tang clan.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
If the only reason you can afford a nice trip is because of a card bonus you probably shouldn't be going. There are other expenses besides just getting there!

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Yes. And i don't mind eating pizza by the slice, pastries and the 3 euro house wine on my trip to Paris. But while others pay 2k to fly coach and stay in a mediocre hotel i prefer to pay next to nothing, fly business and stay at the park hyatt.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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You willnever get an argument from me that the sign up bonus is a fantastic use. But I kind of doubt they are ever going to approve me for that card with the bonus offer on a 25k income.Even with an 850 credit score, they know they are never going to recoup the sign up bonus. And as soon as I took the flight, card closed because there is no value to me beyond that

Hey ...  hear ya so I do not have any of those travel related cards on my radar.

[Callandra]

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@ArmyVietVet wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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You willnever get an argument from me that the sign up bonus is a fantastic use. But I kind of doubt they are ever going to approve me for that card with the bonus offer on a 25k income.Even with an 850 credit score, they know they are never going to recoup the sign up bonus. And as soon as I took the flight, card closed because there is no value to me beyond that

Hey ...  hear ya so I do not have any of those travel related cards on my radar.

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I'm in the same boat as you all. 

I also think paying $7.4k for a business class ticket to Tokyo is insane. It is a long flight (I have made the Newark/NYC --> Tokyo (NRT) flight more times than I can count) but I have always flown coach and it's not -that- bad (plus Continental had a really nice coach). I never paid more than $1.3k a ticket (back in the really old days, I got round trips for less than $1k. Sometimes with points, I think it's a good deal but if you were paying for the ticket in cash, would you really pay the cash equivalent or look for something cheaper? 

I think most travel cards are best for heavy spenders especially the ones with high AFs. I haven't traveled in two years (I have this crazy dream to visit Japan this year again...or wait until next spring and just move back, lol) so cash back cards make sense and if I did buy a plane ticket, I'd just get cash back with it. 

[kdm31091]

Of course one should be savvy but I was just pointing out a trip has more costs than just getting there (via bonus points), so if its a tight thing to afford its not what I'd spend my money on.

[longtimelurker]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
Of course one should be savvy but I was just pointing out a trip has more costs than just getting there (via bonus points), so if its a tight thing to afford its not what I'd spend my money on.

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Right, but that is not the scenario which most advocates are talking about (as you should be aware).   Better flights, and much nicer hotels, more or less for free,  so this is more an upgrade (including possibly destination upgrades) for something that wouldn't be affordable for cash, but is now.  But theother  expenses can certainly be within a normal  budget.

[red259]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
I think for the average person who isn't traveling more than a few times a year, cash back makes much more sense and is more flexible. Remember that with points you have to out earn the annual fee before you even make a profit. Without high spending and travel, its not worth it. I think people sometimes get sucked into the travel cards for the bonuses, and fail to realize that long term maybe it doesn't make sense.

For those who travel enough to justify it, its wonderful, but I think in general it can be a bit over hyped and many websites act as though the travel cards are the best. They are - if you travel heavily! That doesn't apply to everyone or even a large majority.

I like cash back better for me. I can save up my cash and deduct it from my occasional travels if I want. Flexible and easy and no worrying about transferring points to x, redeem for y to maximize points, etc etc. Cash back is better for the casual traveler by far. Plus you can use it for anything else obviously.

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This is not universal. There are some cards (some hotel cards for example) that will give you an annual free night that offsets the AF. There are different travel cards with some that work well for people who only travel a few times a year and other cards that better serve frequent travellers. 

[kdm31091]

I agree there are a couple travel cards out there that can work for less frequent travellers, such as the Chase IHG (only $49 annual fee and the free night would cover that), and a couple others, but generally, you have to travel often for it to really make sense.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

I agree there are a couple travel cards out there that can work for less frequent travellers, such as the Chase IHG (only $49 annual fee and the free night would cover that), and a couple others, but generally, you have to travel often for it to really make sense.

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Marriott, too.

[longtimelurker]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

I agree there are a couple travel cards out there that can work for less frequent travellers, such as the Chase IHG (only $49 annual fee and the free night would cover that), and a couple others, but generally, you have to travel often for it to really make sense.

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Yes.   And equally, except for sign up bonuses and "other" activities, the amount of cashback you get with normal spending is also small.   I expect that the Excel users/those that login 5 times a day etc, get some pleasure from the work, as otherwise the time spent is out of all proportion to the rewards (again for moderate normal spend)