- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 14,017
If you’re already getting 2% cash back, how much is that in a year? You might have to go totally down the rabbit hole of travel points, spending all kinds of time, keeping track of spending on several cards and spending lots of time on websites looking for deals, to beat the plain old cash you’re already getting.
Yup. And reward miles aren't often awesome. The flight you want might not be available, or not in the good bracket. True black outs aren't as common anymore, but you definitely run the risk of not getting the best times/routes.
With AA, international flights are for sure the better deal, mile per dollar etc., but often means I have to take a 3 leg trip instead of 2. Or the 5am flight instead of the 7am, or the one that arrives at 7pm instead of 2pm, stuff like that. And if the flight I want is available with miles, it's at a premium, where I have to spend another 50% mileage cost over the basic reward cost. So I generally use mine for upgrades.
And doing it now for a trip in a few months? Unlikely. You'd have to check the fine print but there's usually a period after the charges are fully billed and paid before the miles are credited. And if you want to fly and book at least 21 days in advance...the time all adds up.
So, yeah, travel rewards can be good, but they do require a lot more time investment than simple cash back, which, you can then use on anything, anytime.