miles based rewards, how do they work

[gen-specific]

Hello, 

so far I only have points based rewards on all my credit cards. basically it seems you get about 1-2.5% back on the amount you have spent, even with the better cards.

now I want to know about miles. If I have 30,000 "miles" earned or awarded, does that mean I can travel literally 30,000 miles around the planet for free. what does that really mean

I am mainly deciding if I want a travel card in my portfolio. I have plenty of points to buy free plane tickets, but would miles have served me better?

[370Z]

Each airline has a mileage redemption chart with varying miles required for economy/business/first, one-way/round-trip, off-peak/peak award tickets. For example, if you transferred 25k points from your Sapphire Preferred to United Mileage Plus, you could redeem for an off-peak round trip ticket to anywhere in the continental U.S. Of course, you would be charged for taxes in addition to the miles redeemed.

[scenery_guy]

No, the miles are not literal. I wish they were...

[GaTech]

Unless you're a VERY frequent travelor, I dont find miles based rewards all that satisfying

[longtimelurker]

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@GaTech wrote:

Unless you're a VERY frequent travelor, I dont find miles based rewards all that satisfying

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But what credit card real miles-based rewards are there?  Aren't they all really just another name for points?   (Even things like Citi Premier Flight Points are miles-based for earning, but not for redemption)

[Open123]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@GaTech wrote:

Unless you're a VERY frequent travelor, I dont find miles based rewards all that satisfying

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But what credit card real miles-based rewards are there?  Aren't they all really just another name for points?   (Even things like Citi Premier Flight Points are miles-based for earning, but not for redemption)

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In general, I think GaTech's point is true on travel points and miles.  Unless a person travels very frequently and spends quite a bit, he'll derive very little benefit from rewards cards.  The exception would be to accrue sign-up bonuses, which will allow for travel around the world.

[Repo-ed]

Delta Amex - Sign-up 50k miles bonus w/ $1k minimum spend  - used to buy r/t ticket from Nashville to Montreal during peak travel for 50k miles + $9.63 out-of-pocket.

Southwest Visa - Sign-up 50K miles bonus w/ $1.5k minium spend - used 30k + $20 out of pocket to buy 2 r/t tickets from Nashville to Vegas during peak season AND peak times.  Meaning we fly-in at check-in time and fly-out at check-out time...instead of your usual late arrival and early departure.  Then I still had points left over for nearly 2 more r/t tickets from Nashville direct to Ft. Lauderdale

Barclays US Airways MC - Sign-up 30k miles with $1 minimum spend - used 25k + $35 out of pocket to buy 1 first class r/t ticket from nashville to Key West during peak travel

Amex Hilton - Sign-up 40k points with $750 minimum spend - used to book two nights hotel for next years Boston Marathon (HIGH PEAK TRAVEL for 2014!)

So of all this travel, I only had to come out-of-pocket $75 to enjoy all of it!

I'll churn most of these cards, and do it all over again next year!

[kilj0y]

I prefer points based cards that I can transfer into miles or hotel points (Chase UR points, AMEX MR points). That way I don't have to decide on what Airline or hotel points I want until I plan the trip. Also helps protect against program devaluations.

[GaTech]

^churning cards won't do your AAoA any favors, plus some banks might see this pattern and just deny your applications for future cards (a wasted hard pull).

[ryanbush]

If you have a solid score and history AAoA isn't really that important.  There a literally tons of people that churn, when the banks get tired of it they will start removing the offers.