BTD with Miles and Points: No way can Cashback beat this!

[planuntilthefisthits]

OP here with a follow up. We had to cancel our most of our trip and reset our destination and return. So happy that we had fully refundable tickets due to our points. No pressure to use the points by a certain date or lose value.

 

[Koolau]

OP here with a follow up. We had to cancel our most of our trip and reset our destination and return. So happy that we had fully refundable tickets due to our points. No pressure to use the points by a certain date or lose value.

Don't you pay more up front for refundable tickets? I do see the advantage, but travel with fully refundable tickets is more expensive in general (it would seem - I never buy refundable, so can't really say).

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

Don't you pay more up front for refundable tickets? I do see the advantage, but travel with fully refundable tickets is more expensive in general (it would seem - I never buy refundable, so can't really say).

There were two fully refundable type fares within our itinerary. The first were award tickets on UA that were obtained by transferring UR points to UA miles. Upon canceling , we banked the miles with UA and just found an incredible deal of 100K J tickets SEA-TYO.

The second type of refundable ticket was purchased on UA by the conversion of UR points to dollars. The refundable option was not that much more in points, but certainly worth it given the uncertainty of our travels. When we canceled, the dollar value went back to our UR point account.

 

[CO-guy]

Thanks for the follow up, and an excellent return on card spend!

My card spend is primarily focused on Hyatt Points and United Miles. Redeeming with Hyatt, I get around 4 cents per point, equivalent to 4% back on spend, not including bonuses. With United, I aim for around 2 cents per mile. However, for the past 9 months, I've received consecutive offers on my United branded chase card (Quest) for 5-10k bonus miles for $5k in spend in 3 months. In addition, these offers have stacked with a 3x bonus miles offer for groceries, restaurants and gas. That's the same bonus received for airfare on United, which is the only other thing I use the card for. So for at least the past 9 months I've received 5-6 miles per dollar of card spend, or about 10-12% back on spend based on the redemption value of the miles.

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

Thanks for the follow up, and an excellent return on card spend!

My card spend is primarily focused on Hyatt Points and United Miles. Redeeming with Hyatt, I get around 4 cents per point, equivalent to 4% back on spend, not including bonuses. With United, I aim for around 2 cents per mile. However, for the past 9 months, I've received consecutive offers on my United branded chase card (Quest) for 5-10k bonus miles for $5k in spend in 3 months. In addition, these offers have stacked with a 3x bonus miles offer for groceries, restaurants and gas. That's the same bonus received for airfare on United, which is the only other thing I use the card for. So for at least the past 9 months I've received 5-6 miles per dollar of card spend, or about 10-12% back on spend based on the redemption value of the miles.

Your’s is a great example of the value of points/mileage, even without gaming the system.

 

[CO-guy]

Your’s is a great example of the value of points/mileage, even without gaming the system.

Thanks! Not sure if this is gaming the system, but last month I saw an opportunity with Hyatt that I couldn't refuse. Under $2500 for over 100k in points and enough tier-qualifying nights to get me halfway to Globalist through Feb. 2028. Based on my average points redemption rate, the stay paid for itself.

As an aside, I gifted a young family member a Guest of Honor certificate for an upcoming stay at an AI resort in St. Lucia. That Globalist perk will add at least $3k in value to their stay for things that help make magic on vacation (Ocean view instead of garden view, their own private pool instead of the resort pool, and other club level amenities).

 

[harley]

I'll never fly anywhere again without a gun to my head... so cash back it is.

Same here. Haven't flown in 10 years or more, and with one exception (dream trip to NZ) I doubt I will ever fly again. So it is a no-brainer for me, in the opposite direction. We make thousands per year in cashback, and enjoy spending it all.