Value of miles/points of cash?

[medcinmn]

I'm sure those here with more experience than me can help explain. If I have a points/miles card and obtain say, 50,000 points/miles, in my research that is worth $500 towards airfare. If I have a cashback card, $500 in rewards would necessitate me to spend the same amount as getting 50,000 points.  I don't understand a reason to choose miles over cash back.

For example, my BOA travel rewards has 21,000 points.  When I go to the travel section of their website to book a trip, I get $210 in credit towards the trip. On myBOA cash rewards, I have spent essentially the same amount and have roughly $200 in cash rewards.  

Thx!

[longtimelurker]

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@medcinmn wrote:

I'm sure those here with more experience than me can help explain. If I have a points/miles card and obtain say, 50,000 points/miles, in my research that is worth $500 towards airfare. If I have a cashback card, $500 in rewards would necessitate me to spend the same amount as getting 50,000 points.  I don't understand a reason to choose miles over cash back.

For example, my BOA travel rewards has 21,000 points.  When I go to the travel section of their website to book a trip, I get $210 in credit towards the trip. On myBOA cash rewards, I have spent essentially the same amount and have roughly $200 in cash rewards.  

Thx!

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This is because a lot of "miles" cards, such as Arrival/Venture etc, ARE really cash-back cards, with better redemption for travel than other things.  So yes, a mile=a point= 1c (more or less).

"Real" mile cards, such as an airline card, earn miles which are used in the frequent flyer program, and can have very different valuations depending what you redeem them for.   So there, 40K miles might allow a round-trip coach ticket to Europe (off peak) where the cost of buying the ticket with cash could be $800, and if you redeem more miles for international premium cabin, the value add can be much greater.

Finally cards like CSP and Amex SPG and Amex MR earn points that can be transferred to a variety of frequent flier/frequent stay programs, with the same increase in value over Arrival/Venture/BOA "miles"

[w003ptr]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@medcinmn wrote:

I'm sure those here with more experience than me can help explain. If I have a points/miles card and obtain say, 50,000 points/miles, in my research that is worth $500 towards airfare. If I have a cashback card, $500 in rewards would necessitate me to spend the same amount as getting 50,000 points.  I don't understand a reason to choose miles over cash back.

For example, my BOA travel rewards has 21,000 points.  When I go to the travel section of their website to book a trip, I get $210 in credit towards the trip. On myBOA cash rewards, I have spent essentially the same amount and have roughly $200 in cash rewards.  

Thx!

---

This is because a lot of "miles" cards, such as Arrival/Venture etc, ARE really cash-back cards, with better redemption for travel than other things.  So yes, a mile=a point= 1c (more or less).

"Real" mile cards, such as an airline card, earn miles which are used in the frequent flyer program, and can have very different valuations depending what you redeem them for.   So there, 40K miles might allow a round-trip coach ticket to Europe (off peak) where the cost of buying the ticket with cash could be $800, and if you redeem more miles for international premium cabin, the value add can be much greater.

Finally cards like CSP and Amex SPG and Amex MR earn points that can be transferred to a variety of frequent flier/frequent stay programs, with the same increase in value over Arrival/Venture/BOA "miles"

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So essentially the "real" miles cards have the benefit of a much better reward compared to a cash-back card assuming you use your points wisely.  And cash-back cards have the benefit of a simple system where you are guaranteed to get 5c back per dollar, for example, with a purchase in a 5% CB category.

Is that correct?

[longtimelurker]

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@w003ptr wrote:

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So essentially the "real" miles cards have the benefit of a much better reward compared to a cash-back card assuming you use your points wisely.  And cash-back cards have the benefit of a simple system where you are guaranteed to get 5c back per dollar, for example, with a purchase in a 5% CB category.

Is that correct?

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Yes, and as you say, the key is that you have to redeem wisely with miles and you need availability of reward tickets on the flights you want (or hotel stays).   So things like Arrival etc always say things like "no blackout dates".   While this is a bit of a spin, as it is like paying with cash, it is true that you can have lots of airline miles and be unable to get the reward flight you want.

But generally, to get above 1c per point (which you can still earn at 5 points per $ or whatever) you will need to earning stuff that either directly goes into a loyalty program or can be transferred into one.