Milenomics² [No Annual Fee Edition] Episode 71: Ranking Bank Points for Domestic Airfare

0:55 Ranking Bank Points for Domestic Airfare We’re talking about deeply discounted airfare, not FREE airfare.  Every one of these programs has a cash out path–that’s great 1:45 Overview: Highs and Lows of each Program 1:59 Chase UR Talked about the most online, but not as valuable as Amex to us Much more straightforward than Amex 1 Cent per Ultimate Reward point earned (easy cash out on all card) 5x earning on Office Supply has been around for a long time.  Earning at high rates, transferring to a CSR/CSP  3:00 Earning Chase UR  Easy to use Domestic Partners in United and Southwest Travel Portal booking is not ideal but does have uplift Earning with high multipliers and sign up bonuses works well 5/24 limits the number of cards you can get Can co-mingle points 6:30 Southwest (W/ Chase UR) Points have become less useful as Ticketless Travel Funds (TTF) have become permanent Less transfers from UR->Southwest because TTF are so plentiful If transferring , the best way to earn is still NOT on the Southwest credit cards.  7:43 Booking with the Chase Travel Portal:  Price inflation is real (American, others) Be sure to check google flights Can see inflated prices on flights, issues when canceling 1.25 cents per point / 1.5 cents per point (20% - 33% discount on travel) Sometimes just taking cash back at 1 cent per point is the way to pay for travel These points are not ‘free’ 10:53 Amex MR Overview Amex is so generous that they have changed subscribers’ lives THE most generous bank with respect to SUB, earning bonuses and referrals The default cash back amount for a MR is 0.6 Cents ($.006) per MR with a few exceptions Difficult to get rid of these points.  12:41 Booking Travel with Amex MR With such easy earning there isn’t a fast enough release valve sometimes Their travel portal is horrible, but is mandatory for the 35% rebate Insider fares are lower fares than anywhere else.  Extremely high annual fee cards needed to release points at high value To get good redemption rates with points you have to graduate to high annual fee cards Either churn the card or pay the high annual fee (carrying costs) to get good value Delta transfers are a great option – 1.1 cents in value per point, transfer 1:1 Holding a Delta card gives a 15% discount as well, works out to around 1.25 cents per point.  16:26 Earning Membership Rewards “They’ve gone crazy with the Sign up Bonuses”  Easier to earn at a moderate level than Chase (or any other bank)  Many high annual Fee cards, which come with many coupons/credits Nonstarter for someone just starting out.  18:55 Difficulties transacting with AMEX Need High annual Fee Business Platinum for 35% rebate (approx 1.5 cen