A mile isn't always a mile on a credit card
What's the Deal?
Posted: 10/18/2012
Last Updated:
245 days ago
According to the Capital One Venture card, you can fly any airline on any flight and get double miles which you can actually use. Twice the miles sounds like a good deal, but it's important to understand how different a Capital One mile is from an airline mile.
Here's what you need to know:
Miles on the Venture Card have a fixed value. They're worth a penny each, no matter what so 100,000 Capital One points will get you $1,000 in free flights.
Actual airline miles have a variable value. This means 100,000 United miles could get you four roundtrip tickets between LA and New York. Those might have cost over $2,000 total. They could get you a free last minute roundtrip business class ticket to Paris with a free stopover in London. If you bought that ticket, it could cost over $6,000.
Credit card rewards like the Venture miles are definitely easier to use. And, as a plus, you earn miles on the flights you take with them. But it's basically just a 2 percent cashback card - there's a limit to how much you get out of the miles.
Real airline miles, if you can find the space, can be more lucrative.
No matter which card you choose, just remember not all credit cards are created equal.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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