Which is better cash back or miles?

[SuzySunshine]

We just got a new CC that has cash back, 1-3% depending on what you buy but I was also just approved for a Southwest CC which of course gives you points which you then use for flights. Southwest is our best bet for flying out of our current location. We now have 4 people (or will very soon) to buy tickets for.

So my question is which is better - anyone? Either way we're using it like a debit card and paying it off each month.

[peggyfromwastate]

Cash back works best for us-- we don't accumulate enough miles to meet the threshold for our family. It's usually around 50k miles per ticket- that's a lot to accumulate. And miles are a pita to cash in for tickets unless you know your travel dates around 6-9 months ahead of time.

We have frequent flier numbers for our kids too. We've all earned free flights using the frequent flier miles.

My parents rack up huge miles on their cc bc they use it to buy stuff for my dads medical clinics. They get enough miles that way to cover international flights-- but they spend a lot of money. For us a cc with miles has never made sense.

[Michele]

I know this wasn't an option, but we have a card with hotel points. I love it because we stay at better hotels than I would've shelled out money for. And the customer service at the W hotels rocks!

But with your choices I would do cash back over miles. My mom has had problems trading in the miles for flights with hers so she finally cancelled it.

[poky]

We use our southwest card pretty heavily, and can get 1-3 round trip flights per year, depending on how far we want to go. Keep in mind, folks, she's talking about Southwest, not another airline that has arcane rules. Southwest is as simple as it gets. You get a point per dollar, and flights cost a certain amount of points (it's tied to the web-only price of the flight, by some multiplier, and I THINK that if the web-only price is available, you can always use points to buy it, too). You can also use points for PART of a flight, and money for the rest, I'm pretty sure (though I haven't had to do that). That said, if you're not going to *continue* to use Southwest heavily after this year, it might not be worth it, since it does take a while to rack up the points (unless you use the card really heavily).

[Deebs]

We do American Express with points. If you want cash, you can turn in points for AmEx gift cards. There are also other things to "buy" such as vacation packages, appliances, etc. My parents have an AMEX that is Costco based, and they get additional monies (above and beyond the executive membership) to spend at Costco. I wouldn't do airline miles, but I don't live two timezones from my family, so I think it's hard to weigh in.

[JaneDoe]

We like cash back cards much better. Our thinking is that cash back is much more flexible and we can use it to buy an airline ticket or something else if we desire. We get $1000+ back per year with our cash rewards cards. We have one that earns 2% back on everything and another that earns 5% on gas and groceries after the first $6500 in purchases of the year. It's only 1% on the first $6500. We use them for everything and pay them off each month.

[SuzySunshine]

That helps guys and that is the issue with getting yet another airline card, every time we move its a different airline we should be using. Thanks

We have the Delta Amex It is 2 miles per dollar. We earned a first class trip to Italy this year. Not too shabby.

[MDPhDWife]

Like Poky I've been using the SWA Visa for most of our purchases and pay it off every month. We earned an average of 3-4 flights a year when we were paying DH's tuition. I like the flexibility of it, unlike our old US Airways one which I've had two tickets forever that I still can find a use for. If you think SWA will still be your primary carrier after fellowship, I'd go that route. Does the cash back card have an annual fee?

[SuzySunshine]

The cashback card is our Costco card so there is no additional fee other then our Costco membership.

I don't know, I'll have to read the fine print when we get the SWA card and see what the limit is.

[peggyfromwastate]

I think we won't be in the market for a miles card until we know where we will be living for at least part of attendinghood. Where I am now we have 3 major airports we use and even then I've flown delta, usairways, united, and southwest just in last year alone!!

[Flynn]

We do the Starwood Am. Express and use it for hotels -- but you can use it for other things. I LOVE IT. We use it for everything, pay it off each month and rack up the points. Our 8 night stay in Maui was totally covered (lodging) by our points. Additionally being a Starwood traveler there are perks when you book at certain times like kids eating free and free brunch etc.

The only catch is you have to stay at Starwood resorts but that hasn't been a problem so far.

[alison]

We have Amex Blue Cash and an Alaska Airlines visa. I feel like Amex isn't as widely accepted in the PNW and CA as it was for us in Chicago.

We're planning a trip to Hawaii for next April, and while the money back with Blue Cash was nice, I think a hotel stay for a longer vacation like Flynn mentions you can do with the Starwood Amex might be worth it.