This blanket statement may well be true for you and your preferred method of using credit card rewards. However, for many/most of us on this thread, it couldn’t be further from the truth of what works for us. Those of us who have been on this thread for a long time know that there is no wrong way to participate in this hobby. What works for one person and their goals simply may not work for another. I will use myself as an example, comparing what works for you and why it won’t work for me, to illustrate the point for those who may be newer to this hobby.
If I spend $10,000 in
Amazon purchases over one year with the 5x Amazon card, I’d earn 50k points worth $500. If I spent $50,000 in one year with a 2x card I would have earned 100,000 points worth $1,000. So I have $1500. Sounds great right? Maybe for someone with different travel goals this is perfect. Not. For. Me. I play this game mostly to experience a higher end more luxurious style vacation and pay as little out of pocket for the experience. My best was 2019 with a $57,000 vacation flying first class on Emirates to the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa in Dubai and ending in Overwater bungalows at the Conrad Rangali in the Maldives. Booking that was all points and miles and about $235 or so out of pocket. I would not have used $1500 in cash back points and $55,500 in cash to experience that. Haven’t topped that one yet. So maybe it’s an outlier.
Let’s go with the one I am on right now. Business class flights using American Airline miles and Air France miles which would have cost a little over $12,000 to get from Miami to Tahiti. Three nights in Hilton accommodations Moorea that would have been about $2,700 and 3 nights in Bora Bora that would have been about $6,500 and one night in Tahiti that would have been about $400 all booked with Hilton points. Food and transfers are going to run me about $1,000 or more which could be covered by that cash back from an Amazon card and a 2x card but is likely to be hit with foreign transaction fees on top. Fortunately, I can also wipe those out with Hilton Aspire cards and the benefits they come with as well as the points for these stays are something I can make full use of each year. Nonetheless, I would not have paid over $20k to take this trip and cash back cards at 2x or 5x would do me no good.
This is why I, and many others here use sign up bonuses from cards, be they airline, hotel or variable points cards throughout the year to amass points and miles. Many of us also maximize the spending categories of said cards, use shopping portals and purchase no fee gift cards to build up the points stash. For most of us, a cash back card or two alone will not suffice for our travel goals.
I do at least one fully travel hacked trip a year using all points and miles, sometimes more and mitigate the out of pocket costs of my other trips with this hobby. I hope this helps shed some light on why blanket statements don’t apply to all who “love their credit cards” and this hobby.
Cheers! All the way from Bora Bora
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