united rewards...

[afbar1114]

so i was broswing the united site and found that you can use miles towards the price of a ticket for a 1:1 ratio. i am think about doing this. any one else do this? I dont know when i am going to fly again and not only that i will still have over 30k points left

[Walt_K]

I wouldn't use them that way. I'd rather pay cash than redeem at 1 cent per mile.

[afbar1114]

---

@Walt_K wrote:
I wouldn't use them that way. I'd rather pay cash than redeem at 1 cent per mile.

---

it is the same ratio

i paid $290 for a ticket and it will take off 29k points which is the same thing 

[TM82]

Exactly, redeeming airline miles at a 1:1 is a horrible ratio to redeem them on. At that rate it's no better than getting a plain Jane 1% cash back card. You should be getting at least a 1.8 cpm rate of return from UA miles, if not more.

If you're struggling to see when you will fly again or don't have a set itinerary in mind, it might do you the best to use an airlines card but to use a card that has a flexible redemption structure.

[afbar1114]

---

@TM82 wrote:
Exactly, redeeming airline miles at a 1:1 is a horrible ratio to redeem them on. At that rate it's no better than getting a plain Jane 1% cash back card. You should be getting at least a 1.8 cpm rate of return from UA miles, if not more.

If you're struggling to see when you will fly again or don't have a set itinerary in mind, it might do you the best to use an airlines card but to use a card that has a flexible redemption structure.

---

yea there is other rewards i may just save them since they dont expire. 

[CreditScholar]

---

@Walt_K wrote:
I wouldn't use them that way. I'd rather pay cash than redeem at 1 cent per mile.

---

+1. Definitely don't do this as it's a horrible use of points.

[gen-specific]

---

@CreditScholar wrote:

---

@Walt_K wrote:
I wouldn't use them that way. I'd rather pay cash than redeem at 1 cent per mile.

---

+1. Definitely don't do this as it's a horrible use of points.

---

Right I agree with you, someone recently told me they redeem them as cash too because "you can always find a cheaper flight"

which I kind of agree with because I used to search like crazy when I was broke in college, but with points I am not sure I agree

[afbar1114]

how can i redeem it as cash?

[Voodard]

You'll need a card like the Chase Freedom to redeem your points as cash. You can also shop through the United Mileage Plus rewards catalog and redeem your miles for merchandise, but that's not the best use of your airline miles. The very best return you can get is booking a premium cabin international flight at the SAVER rate (on United's site).
Your Chase Sapphire Preferred card that I see you already have allows you to "pay yourself back," but not with cash. You're able to take your points and apply them to your CSP account balance.