elbegewa

Question to all'ya'all:
I accumulated a fair amount of airmiles on Alaska, but for a variety of reasons have not yet been able to use them (flying places they or their partners didn't fly).
So I gave up on airmiles that contain restrictions.
Instead, I got a flex card from my bank (added perk: mine has a chip which makes use in Canada and EU easier - I had to specifically request it).
The airmiles on it are usable to purchase any tickets on any airlines as long as I use travelocity to do it.
Question:
It seems like a good deal to me - but is it? I presume I get less milage per $ spent than with dedicated airling mileage plans, but to me, the flexibility is worth it. What are other thoughts?

NeoPatrick

I honestly don't "get" those cards, elbegewa. You essentially get a dollar credit towards purchasing a ticket for every $100 you spend (although there are often bonuses as well). So when you spend $10,000, you'll have $100 credit (or maybe up to $200). Why not just get a cash back card, which often has even a greater return than that? There really is no connection between the airlines and the "flying credit" you receive. So why not just get the cash and book the flight yourself? Unless I'm missing something here.

As I noted above -- I use my AA miles for very expensive international business class tickets. And when I do, the miles per dollar spent are WAY, WAY more that those "any airlines" cards. I'd personally rather just buy "cheaper tickets" for lesser flights, and save up my miles for trips that I couldn't even afford without those huge mileage benefits. And those are tickets I could never "afford" by earning enough credit card miles with one "any airline" card.

jacknarvy

In-flight food service has suffered in recent years due to intense cost-cutting, To play it safe, call the airlines 24 to 48 hours in advance of your flight to reconfirm your request.

5alive

NeoPatrick is right. Credit cards from credit unions can give particularly good rates with no fees.