frequent flyer and/or cashback credit cards

[givememyleg]

i know triptizzle made a bonus whoring thread about CCs but i wanted to start a new one directly related to CCs that have a good rewards progam. i feel like i'm missing out on a lot of value by not paying all my bills/buying groceries/etc. with a CC and paying it off each month. that being said, i don't really know what CC to sign up for.

does any one here currently have any sick deals that provide something like:

- frequent flyer miles
- % back on purchases
- something similar?

[givememyleg]

any can someone explain what the hell frequent flyer miles actually are? if i were to have say 10,000 miles, does that mean i could book a roundtrip to vegas and back for free and still have miles leftover? (roundtrip to vegas is ~4k miles for me). i assume that's not the case as it seems too good to be true?

edit:

Frequent-flyer program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Travelers frequently debate on how much accumulated miles are worth, something which is highly variable based on how they are redeemed. A typical ballpark figure is approximately 1-2 cents per mile based on discount (rather than full fare) economy class travel costs.[5]

The airlines themselves value miles in their financial statements at less than one one-thousandth of a cent per mile.[6]

look at my answering my own questions like a good boy.

[givememyleg]

VentureOne Rewards Credit Card | Details

let's take the above deal. it gives:

- 10,000 bonus points
- 1.25 miles per $1 spent
- No annual fee

assuming miles are worth 1 cent, if i spend $2,000 per month (paying the balance off each month), i would earn 2,500 points, or 30,000 annually (40,000 first year). so that 40,000 would be equivalent to $400? so 1% cashback? meh, i was expecting better than that... anyone have any better deals or is this pretty much standard for miles and cashback/points cards?

[givememyleg]

hey don't you ignore me

[bigred]

c-c-c-c-c-combo breaker

[kmind]

any can someone explain what the hell frequent flyer miles actually are? if i were to have say 10,000 miles, does that mean i could book a roundtrip to vegas and back for free and still have miles leftover? (roundtrip to vegas is ~4k miles for me). i assume that's not the case as it seems too good to be true?

edit:



look at my answering my own questions like a good boy.

Frequent flyer miles are miles accumulated from either flying, using CC, etc. If roundtrip to Vegas is 4k miles (Are you sure?...never seen it that low) then yes you'll have the 6k leftover. You'll still have to pay taxes though which isn't a lot for domestic flights.

[lolzzz_321]

I think the Chase Freedom is a good all around rewards card. There is no annual fee, 1% back on everything, and 5% back on revolving quarterly categories (gas, restaurants, groceries, hotels etc. Further, you can find a decent intial bonus - for example, spend $500 in 3 months get $100 (used to be $200-$300!).

Spenda just got an AMEX for some reason so you two can chat about that.

[CoccoBill]

Frequent flyer miles are miles accumulated from either flying, using CC, etc. If roundtrip to Vegas is 4k miles (Are you sure?...never seen it that low) then yes you'll have the 6k leftover. You'll still have to pay taxes though which isn't a lot for domestic flights.

I think he meant he's physically 4k miles from Vegas. US internal flights purchased just with miles are typically like 25000 miles return for coach.

https://www.aa.com/mileagemaximizer/index.html

[givememyleg]

ya i was just dumb and didn't understand what the miles represented.

[daven]

i feel like i'm missing out on a lot of value by not paying all my bills/buying groceries/etc. with a CC and paying it off each month.

yep, even the worst shitty deals will probably get you a few bottles of whiskey a year or whatever. I'm ignorant about cards in north america though...

Credit card companies obviously play on people who don't pay off debts, so it's easily possible to beat the game. NZ seems to be a bit light on great cc deals, but maybe i'm just being blind

[kmind]

I think he meant he's physically 4k miles from Vegas. US internal flights purchased just with miles are typically like 25000 miles return for coach.

https://www.aa.com/mileagemaximizer/index.html

Oops sorry! I was going to say most airlines start around 25000 miles for domestic flights.

You're not dumb, Carl, I work in travel and didn't have a clue what anything meant when I started. I now know about 20% of what I need to know...

[givememyleg]

i applied for chase freedom https://creditcards.chase.com/freedo...a/ChaseFreedom

$100 bonus if you spend $500 in the first 3 months. 1% cashback on all purchases, up to 5% on certain rotating purchases, and up to 10% on some online services which i will probably never use. not sure if there is a better offer, with this it looks like i'll get a couple hundred per year. if so, someone let me knowwwwwww

[DropTheBanana]

It depends a lot on what benefits of the CC are most important to you.

FlyerTalk Forums

I frequent that website to keep up with customer satisfaction for other airlines and the one I work for.

There's a sub forum dedicated to CC's, promotions, etc.

If it's miles you're looking to accumulate you can check the "Mileage Run" forum. Constantly updating special fares and mistake fares (generally around 3-4 cents per mile) so you can earn miles on the purchase plus flown miles which goes towards preferred status with the airline. Add in multipliers and bonuses and you can rack them up incredibly fast.

I've been with US Airways for 11 months now, with the CC and taking a few mileage runs (fly somewhere have a beer and jump on the next flight back) I'm closing in on 250K redeemable miles and 80K preferred status qualifying miles.

If you plan on doing a lot of traveling, going with a card directly from the airline is better. Their sign up bonuses are anywhere from 2.5x-4x of a third party's. Plus incentives like Buy one ticket and get 2 for $99, priority check in/boarding, airport club passes, and 5-10K mile discounts on itineraries booked using your miles.

Airlines with a hub airport where you're flying out of jack the prices sky high out of those airports, so either choose another airline that services that airport or find and alternative airport and make a connection through their hub city if you're looking to save money.

If you want better other rewards with just the added incentive of earning miles going through a third party company is generally better since there cash back and discounts are usually far superior. Their blackout dates and travel agents suck and are borderline retarded. Also, they make complicated itineraries generally involving more than one airline on your trip. But if you don't travel often, it's not a huge inconvenience, just slightly confusing when you do fly.

That forum is jam packed with knowledge about rewards and miles from experts on the matter.

[lolzzz_321]

i applied for chase freedom https://creditcards.chase.com/freedo...a/ChaseFreedom

$100 bonus if you spend $500 in the first 3 months. 1% cashback on all purchases, up to 5% on certain rotating purchases, and up to 10% on some online services which i will probably never use. not sure if there is a better offer, with this it looks like i'll get a couple hundred per year. if so, someone let me knowwwwwww

If you just want to accrue airline miles, I'd read DTB's post. If you only want to travel, one or two times a year it seems like there are always offers to sign-up for a SW or Delta CC and get enough points for two free tickets to continental USA....

This one looks good too - Chase Sapphire? Preferred Card Review – 40000 Sign-Up Bonus Points

[BoondockSaint]

Extra Points Credit Card for ?campaignId=1717&cellNumber=501 fans 400 back after spending 1000...the deal for this one is usually 200 free so I'd hop on it. You can even pick your favorite nfl team for what the card looks like.

[lolzzz_321]

already poasted in my other thread, too bad my wife and I did both last time

[BoondockSaint]

Yeah me too