Reply to credit card points travel/miles/airline and hotel rewards

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, the points/miles travel hacking stopped being worthwhile a decade ago once most airlines and hotel chains largely moved from award charts to dynamic pricing.

It's still possible to accumulate lots of points and miles but redeeming them efficiently is way harder now. Better to get cash back and pay for the seats/upgrades that you want.[/quote]

It is demonstrably better to pay for seats with points than with cashback.[/quote]

Not consistently. It depends on the airline and traveler profile including preferences like fare class and direct vs indirect flight, as well as flexibility regarding destination, timing, and need for cancellability.

I can travel to London on direct flights 1-15 Aug for $995 for basic economy or 102,000 mileage points plus $216. Terrible value for the points although the award fare is cancellable whereas basic economy is not.

Even if I book further out now for 1-15 May 2026, a basic economy fare is $689, economy is $889 and fully refundable is $1,089. The same award fare is 76,700 + $232 taxes. If I don’t need the flexibility then it makes far more sense to buy basic economy or economy. Even paying for fully refundable economy probably makes more sense than using points.

If I’m prepared to travel somewhere other than London then the calculation changes. 
[/quote]

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