Credit card points are useless if you have kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could spend hours with the neurodivergent folk on FlyerTalk and figure it all out, if your time is worth nothing to you.

Ha, some significant truth there. That's why many people refer to it as a hobby or game.

That was my point way earlier in this thread - I'm sure there are some one off amazing deals, but airline miles have absolutely been devalued several times. It's been about 15 years since I was a United 1k flyer and even then it wasn't great, but there were far more options. If you want to game the system for a business class ticket somewhere you might make it out ahead of a standard 1-5% CC with bonuses. Otherwise, that ship has sailed a while ago.

Most people who do well aren't necessarily getting the absolute best awards- what they are really doing is working massive credit card bonuses to get 100-200k points in bonuses every few months by churning through new cards. If you have a stash of a few million total Amex and Chase points that you can transfer to a range of airlines, and thus you care a bit less if you have to pay say 200k points for a roundtrip in business instead of 150k.

If you understandably want to stick with just one or two credit cards you use in an ongoing way, yes agreed a simple cash back setup is probably going to be better for most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Inflation in these points programs has long outpaced real inflation.

Once in a while you can find a deal.

Hotel points are better than airline points.

Not at all true across the board. Depends completely on your usage, where you travel, when, how many rooms you needs, etc.

[Anonymous]

I think OP is blaming her own faults on credit card points. First, there are so many types of credit cards! Find the one that fits your life and reevaluate every year as your needs probably change. Also, don't assume you can get a discount on anything popular last minute - that is just plain stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't do it last minute with points. OMG. Plan far in advance. I'm going to Hawaii in a couple weeks with flights on points.

OP here. Can we swap. You stay and we go. Just joking lol.

I agree poor planning on my part. This is where I miss my ex wife. She would have planned this 14 months ago.

But still, even 6 months ago when I looked the prices were that cheaper compared to what I am seeing now.

I bet the attitude you express in the title is why she is no longer willing to be your wife. Blaming your failures on others publicly will drive anyone away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

It’s simple. When you can’t figure it out you just say it’s dumb and everyone else is a sucker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

It's also kind of a time suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

Thanks for saying this far better than I did earlier. Got $1174 direct deposited into my account yesterday from the simple Costco Citi card with no annual fee. We had 2 family trips to Europe which made this my biggest cash back we've received due to the higher % for air travel/restaurants/etc. I'd rather have that flexibility, but if you want to play the points game be my guest. I did it before. It can be fun, but it's often not repeatable nor good for families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

I did not effectively spend $2400.

I spent $1000 and used 140K points that I received for “free” from bonuses and strategic organic spending. Sure, it’s baked into the merchant fee and retail price. But I would be paying that at point of sale even if I put everything on a debit card or paid cash and received zero points from a card issuer.

It’s bizarre that you believe $1K cash + 140K in free points is somehow not a better deal than forking out $4500+ from your own pocket.

The only thing I can think is that you make so much money that $4500 is daily pocket change for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

I did not effectively spend $2400.

I spent $1000 and used 140K points that I received for “free” from bonuses and strategic organic spending. Sure, it’s baked into the merchant fee and retail price. But I would be paying that at point of sale even if I put everything on a debit card or paid cash and received zero points from a card issuer.

It’s bizarre that you believe $1K cash + 140K in free points is somehow not a better deal than forking out $4500+ from your own pocket.

The only thing I can think is that you make so much money that $4500 is daily pocket change for you.

140,000 points is worth 1,400 in cash back. You spent that. It's still consuming. You could have cashed it out and spent it on other things. Do you understand the concept of opportunity costs?

As someone who watched the reward flights carefully for several years, the vast majority of times the available reward flights were worth in points + taxes and fees their equivalent in cash, or a cash ticket at a comparable airline. Airlines are no fools. They're not throwing away cheap flights for nothing.

[Anonymous]

Hey folks I got a chase card last year when a friend sent me a link. I now have 200k points. Is it considered a lot? I will ask ChatGPT what I can do with these points. But I would love to hear from real people who have used these points. I have a son and he is 14. I would love to take him to a trip. As of now I haven't decided where. But my goal will be to maximize these points.

I have $500 saved and I understand my 200k is worth $2000. So essentially a 6 days trip costing $2000 is what we can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inflation in these points programs has long outpaced real inflation.

Once in a while you can find a deal.

Hotel points are better than airline points.

Not at all true across the board. Depends completely on your usage, where you travel, when, how many rooms you needs, etc.

Fair enough. I should have said "can be better." I think in general they're easier to cash in, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inflation in these points programs has long outpaced real inflation.

Once in a while you can find a deal.

Hotel points are better than airline points.

Not at all true across the board. Depends completely on your usage, where you travel, when, how many rooms you needs, etc.

Fair enough. I should have said "can be better." I think in general they're easier to cash in, though.

Yes agreed, on average, easier to redeem for hotels than airlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

Last spring break, we flew to France for 120K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets on KLM.

This spring break, we are flying to Zurich. 140K points and $1K in taxes. 4 tickets again.

We stayed 4 nights in a suite in NYC with the kids for Veterans Day weekend. All the holiday decor is already up. It was 90K points total, I booked it one month out.

Booking 5 days out for a holiday weekend? Of course there is NOTHING left.

But really it’s $1200 for 4 tickets… 300 each + tax so $550/ticket.

How is it different than just retrieving your points for money and paying $550/ticket.

It’s just really cash back.

You're not paying $550/ticket during Easter week or summer.

Like I said: RT was 35,000 points plus $250/taxes per seat. I booked it out a year in advance. At the time, the same itinerary was $1200/ticket in straight cash. That's 2.7 cents per point of value when you deduct for the taxes I did pay. It was a good deal when it was booked.

I cannot control what the airline may be charging today for the same itinerary during Easter week to Europe. Sunk cost.

I just looked up my exact itinerary right now - it's priced at over $1500/ticket when you include option to check one bag on KLM. So right now I'm getting 3.6 cents per point of value relative to trying to book today.

You can get United direct (no layover) for $1136 per ticket in cash ($4541 total). Sure that's a better deal if you're willing to pay cash today. But I paid 140,000 Chase points and $1000 in cash. So yeah, I saved $3500 in my pocket which covers our very nice hotel at an Alps ski resort for the week.

Who keeps repeating the dumb canard about "no good deals"?

Your points are worth money. 140,000 points cashed out is $1,400. So you effectively spent $2,400, not $1,000.

I have bought tickets for European trips in the 500-700s easily, even for summer months, by booking in advance and being flexible with airlines. Icelandair is great and reliable. I do keep checking price deals closer to the departure dates and in the last two years it wasn't massively expensive to have booked a week or two in advance (we flew to Switzerland last August) compared to the beginning of the year.

I spent enough time and years playing the points game. Opened up accounts with all the major airlines, ready to pounce, credit card signing bonuses. But between limited availability and taxes and fees everywhere it was rarely ever a deal. Then remember cards like Chase have annual fees. And you're giving up the opportunity costs of 2% cash back cards too versus the typical point a dollar card (yeah I know about bonus points and all that but the 2% cash back on everything still comes out on top).

People who see points strictly as getting business class seats at a discount are the primary beneficiary of the reward cards. Along with heavy duty travelers like corporate travelers who accumulate millions of travel points in a year.

I 100% agree with this. The "deals" never pencil for my family versus cash back cards.

Also I no longer care about frequent flyer miles.

I saved Delta miles for about 15 years and finally got 4 tickets to Europe across my husband's and my account. Guess when the tickets were for! The first month of the Covid pandemic. After that, I could never get 4 tickets to Europe again. So I spent a lot of them on one freaking overpriced ticket to Fargo for my kid to go to camp.