Stokie

I have tried several times to use my US FF miles that I have earned with my Bank of America US FF card. I have not had any success. On a recent trip from Atlanta to Portland, Oregon I was not able to use them even though I began 8 months in advance. My cousin who has a Capitol One Card had no trouble in using his FF miles to fly to Portland. I am switching cards to Capitol One as a result of several frustrating experiences. These US Air miles seem to be worthless, unfortunately. Has anyone had a similar experiences?

Sher

I don't think your ability to use the miles you earned with the Bank of America card reflects on the card itself.
US Airways miles (like many other programs) are just getting harder to redeem for flights.
As I understand this, you purchase a ticket from an airline and are reimbursed an amount for the cost of the ticket using points earned on Capital one.
You are actualy purchasing a ticket from the airline, not trying to reserve one of the few frequent flyer seats that are available.

abram

We have a Rewards car from M&I Bank in Wisconsin (also offices in Minnesota, Florida, Indiana, Missouri & Arizona), and have twice been able to, in September, book tickets for the Thanksgiving weekend. No blackout days.

Christina

I have a Capitol One and the whole miles and airline thing was really sort of a marketing gimmick to compete with airline cards, as they don't give you miles because they aren't an airline. It's really a cashback card however you want to look at it, and you can choose the option to spend those on an airline ticket. I just use mine to get cash back and forget about it regarding airline tickets, as it's easier just to do things myself.

I think the cash back or percentage value (eg, points) does vary a little depending on the card you get and if you pay any fee. I think cash back can make more sense than using them for miles, but I'm not up on the difference if you use them for cash or a ticket as I never use them for a ticket. They do require a lot of points for a ticket, though--for example, you have to pay 35,000 points to get a ticket ranging from only $150 to $350 in value. If you get one pct of that as cashback instead (which used to be the case), you'd get a check for $350 which obviously is a better idea.

Stokie

Thank you for ideas and opinions concerning FF miles, and I especially thank Christina for her information on getting cash in lieu of miles. Unfortunately, I have no choice with the Bank of America card that I have, and which I have to pay 50 dollars. I asked about changing cards with Bank of American and was told that my miles would not transfer to another card. My cousin did buy a ticket and was reimbursed by Capitol One.

greg

There was an interesting article on how using a Capital One card affects the credit score:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...ourCredit.aspx