[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Are all these companies running a scam? I signed up for a credit card because I was told that I'll earn 1.5 MILES for every dollar I spend. When I went to redeem my MILES for airfare I am instructed to take the cost of the ticket and multiply it times 100 to find out how many miles I need to use.

In the real world flight to England is approximately 3,000 miles. I just looked and found that the cost of a round trip ticket is about $1,300. That means I need 130,000 of their so called miles.

I've been with this credit card company for a little over a year. The reason I signed up with them is the air miles. Now when I go to use the MILES I find that they are not miles.

Do all these companies scam their customers like this?

[biker1]

We use a Southwest Visa Card as the Southwest Frequent Flyer Program is a good one and we use the airline regularly.

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

Are all these companies running a scam? I signed up for a credit card because I was told that I'll earn 1.5 MILES for every dollar I spend. When I went to redeem my MILES for airfare I am instructed to take the cost of the ticket and multiply it times 100 to find out how many miles I need to use.

In the real world flight to England is approximately 3,000 miles. I just looked and found that the cost of a round trip ticket is about $1,300. That means I need 130,000 of their so called miles.

I've been with this credit card company for a little over a year. The reason I signed up with them is the air miles. Now when I go to use the MILES I find that they are not miles.

Do all these companies scam their customers like this?

[Marathon Man]

We have had airline credit cards for several years. First with TWA, then American, and then Delta. The numbers you quote seem normal to me. It is not unlike any credit card reward program. The value of the reward is pennies on the dollar spent.

[Ecuadog]

I believe the points are commonly referred to as miles because you could accrue one point for each mile that you flew with an airline. Now the airlines are moving toward crediting points for the amount of money that you spend on tickets. Accumulating and redeeming these points can be a complicated "hobby."

I really couldn't begin to explain all the ins and outs of frequent flier miles, points, kilometers, credit cards, bonuses, transfers and so on in one post, but I can give you a link to a blog written by a very savvy travel guru, Gary Leff. He puts out a lot of good information and it will take patience to wade through it all. If you are willing to spend the time and effort to try to understand it all, you would be surprised how rewarding this "hobby" can be.

View From The Wing

[villagetinker]

The best credit card I have seen is 2% back, that is 2 cents on every dollar spent. It looks like the "miles" cards equate to 1% back. I use a cashback card, and spend the money how I want.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

The best credit card I have seen is 2% back, that is 2 cents on every dollar spent. It looks like the "miles" cards equate to 1% back. I use a cashback card, and spend the money how I want.

It's actually 1.5%. But when you sign up for the card they tell you that you earn one and a half miles for every dollar spent. To me, and I think most rational people, a mile is a distance traveled not a percentage.

I've been planning a trip based on the amount of free miles I was promised. Now I'm very disappointed to learn that I'm going to have to pay for most of my air fare.

[Marathon Man]

OK. Frequent flyer programs keep track of how many miles you have flown. A round trip across the US is, let's say, 6000 miles. So you get 6,000 miles recorded in your account. If you have one of their credit cards, they also record one mile for every dolllar that you spend with the card. So, you really are earning miles using your card. But you need to understand that these are miles flown, not future miles to be flown. Once you have enough miles in your bank, you can redeem them for tickets. More miles, more expensive ticket.

Hope that helps.

[Ecuadog]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

The best credit card I have seen is 2% back, that is 2 cents on every dollar spent. It looks like the "miles" cards equate to 1% back. I use a cashback card, and spend the money how I want.

This "hobby" can get a little more complicated (and more profitable) than just that.

Let's say that I want to buy a cell phone through the Microsoft store online with my 2% cashback credit card.

Scenario #1... I go to Microsoft online and buy the phone. I get 2% cash back from my credit card.

Scenario #2... I belong to the American Airlines (AA) frequent flier program. I logon and go through the AAdvantage shopping portal to Microsoft and buy the phone. I get 2% cash back from my credit card and I also get 3 "miles" per dollar spent credited to my AAdvantage account.

Scenario #3... I belong to topcashback.com. I logon and go through their shopping portal to Microsoft and buy the phone. I get 2% cash back from my credit card and I also get 5% cash back credited to my topcashback.com account.

The scenarios above are based on current information from cashbackmonitor.com.

[Bonny]

I use my American Air Citi Card. Always know what I got and what I need.

[outlaw]

AMEX: 1% for first $6500; then 5% on gas, groceries and drugs, I think. I'll never understand why airline mileage credit cards are so popular. Take the rebates in $$$ and buy the ticket.

[dewilson58]

I've had United Airline for over 20 years. Originally because I mainly flew them. Just stuck with it. Card costs $60 per year. I get one mile for every dollar spend and for every mile I fly with United and affiliates. The cost of a flight varies based on the "deal"......timing and location. The max I have spent is 50,000 for a round trip and the lowest was below 10,000.

Just booked a flight to Seattle last week. It was ranging $550 to $800. It cost me 50,000 miles and $12.

I'm sure there might be better card deals out there, but I have not chased the advertising hype...........Do you know what's in your pocket??

Good Luck