First of, miles cards aren't all the same. Some are "true" miles cards. Others are just restricted cash back cards. You just have to carefully look at the details of the rewards programs. You can also use credit blogs and threads here as resources.
@Anonymous wrote:
Awesome post. Thanks so much! Are point values the same across an alliance? For example, if I transfer points to British Airways, can I book American for the same value?
I wouldn't make that assumption. If you take just one airline as an example the miles/points needed for a given reward may be the same amount but the dollar cost of the airfare (what you would pay for the flight if you were not redeeming miles/points) can vary quite a bit and that's what determines the equivalent value of those miles/points.
People rely on generalizations about the value of a point or mile based on what they assume that can reliably redeem for but the value can fluctuate quite a bit depending on the specifics of a given redemption. It's not just the cash value of the airfare but factors such as conversion ratios, fuel surcharges, etc that should all be taken into account. There's defintely much more effort involved in determining reward value on miles/points cards than there is with cash back. That said, I don't always run all the numbers when redeeming. There are some generalizations you can kind of rely on. One of them is that the better values are generally attained by redeeming for premium international travel. Domestic economy rewards are generally of lesser value and, in some cases (i.e. where the airfare for a given flight is on sale at a low price) can a poor value.
Here are 2 examples using United because they're the airline I travel on most of the time and I'm familiar enough to quickly flip through their site for some examples.
A flight I selected from Houston to Narita in Business First would cost $5,972,20. A Business Saver reward would take 150K miles round trip. That works out to about 4 cents per mile. There are probably better deals out there but even without considering them let's look at a different situation.
A flight I selected from Houston to Denver in economy would cost $352.20. An Economy Saver reward would take 25K miles round trip. That works out to 1 cent (1.4 actually) per mile. If an Economy Saver reward wasn't avaialble and if the reward was redeemed at the standard rate of 50K then the value would drop to 0.7 cents per mile.
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm having trouble understanding cards with transferable points like the CSP.
Not too difficult in theory as the points just transfer 1:1 with UR. The work required comes into play when you have to research the rewards programs of the travel partners.
@Anonymous wrote:
but any tips on others such as the PRG, Arrival+, or ThankYou line would be appreciated!
It's basically the same process. There may be some different variables at play but you have to perform the same sort of analysis. MR's points don't always convert 1:1, for example. IIRC the Arrival+ is another restricted cash back card but don't take my word on that. Haven't really dug into TY.
