To contrast, let's say you're using a Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express and you're getting 1 mile per $ 1 on all purchases except Delta ones (2X per $ 1), and you redeem those miles at a rate of 1
cent per mile with Delta's Pay With Miles feature, you have to think, «Why would I do that when I could be getting more than double in value from those Arrival miles?»
Not exact matches
The best option is the Barclays Arrival Plus
with a redemption rate of 1
cent per Arrival
mile redeemed and a 5 % travel redemption bonus.
One kilometre in a conventional car
with a fuel consumption of 9 litres
per 100 kilometres (26
miles per US gallon),
with gasoline at $ 3.60
per gallon, costs more than 8
cents.
Electric - only range is up nearly 50
per cent says BMW,
with up to 34
miles achievable.
We've suspected it for quite some time, but
with a specialist car dealer selling a delivery -
miles Porsche 991 GT3 RS for # 295,000 — 225
per cent of its original list price — it looks like the speculators have finally won.
It should last five years or 100,000
miles before it needs replacing, but
with battery prices falling by around 3
per cent each year and capacities increasing by 8
per cent annually, that problem should diminish
with time.
The Porsche Macan is best in class though,
with some models retaining 58
per cent after three years and 36,000
miles.
With gas at $ 1.99, that means this car costs five
cents per mile in energy.
The entry - level diesels will retain more than 50
per cent of their value after three - years or 36,000
miles,
with the all - wheel drive R - Sport Auto holding onto almost 52
per cent over the same mileage and time frame.
The 2008 is certainly on a par
with competitors such as the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Kia Soul; our experts predict that it will retain about 46
per cent of its value after three years and 30,000
miles.
The petrol Start model is likely to do best
with a 45
per cent residual value over three - years / 36, 000
miles.
Ford claims that drivers will be able to recharge the vehicle's 23kWh, high - voltage, lithium ion battery in 3 to 4 hours on 240 - volt power and that,
with the help of utility rate - aware charging software developed by Microsoft, a full charge will cost about $ 2 to $ 3, or about 4
cents per mile.
That means a 12.42
mile Hill Climb
with 156 corners rising 14,000 feet, at which point both car and driver struggle to breathe efficiently as oxygen levels drop to just 58
per cent of normal.
That means the GX3h Outlander PHEV will cost you # 28, 249 and come
with plug - in hybrid powerplant capable of delivering a range of 512
miles and an electric - only range of up to 32
miles (and silly official economy of 148 mpg) and, perhaps most importantly, a BIK rate for business users of just 5
per cent.
The 9.8 kWh battery pack is located behind the back seats (stealing about 40
per cent of the boot space in the process) and is said to be good for 33
miles of pure pure EV driving,
with a full charge taking three hours on a UK domestic socket.
On the other hand, some programs have a very clear value for each point redeemed,
with several simply offering one
cent in value
per point or
mile.
Booking
with «Wan na Get Away» will always get you a higher value than the other two classes, meaning values above 1.1 and 0.9
cents per mile.
The VentureOne card offers a 1.25
miles per dollar rewards rate and a 20,000 -
mile sign - up bonus (once you spend $ 1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening),
with points that are worth 1
cent when you redeem them for travel.
At minimum, you can get 1
cent per mile in value from Delta SkyMiles if you hold a Delta SkyMiles ® Credit Card and use the Pay
With Miles feature.
Instead of 1 point
per dollar spent, the VentureOne ® card offers 1.25
miles per dollar
with each point worth 1
cent.
With an average value of 1.3
cents per SkyMile, the 70,000
miles alone are worth $ 910, which should easily cover the cost of a round - trip domestic flight or two.
If he were to go ahead
with the Hilton transfer and need just 7,000 more
miles, purchasing them would cost about 3.5
cents per mile, or $ 263.38 after tax.
The VentureOne card offers a 1.25
miles per dollar rewards rate and a 20,000 -
mile sign - up bonus (once you spend $ 1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening),
with points that are worth 1
cent when you redeem them for travel.
With this small purchase, the cost is about 2.55
cents per mile.
So
with an assumed valuation of 1.39
cents per mile, the total trip cost is $ 384.
The best option is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus
with a redemption rate of 1
cent per Arrival
mile redeemed and a 5 % travel redemption bonus.
Even if you relegate United to domestic flights only — earning those
miles for 1.0 - 1.3
cents per means you'll can book any domestic flight over $ 250 - $ 325
with United
miles and still recoup your costs of time, travel and fees.
This is a terrible redemption,
with a value lower than 1
cents per mile.
This pales in comparison
with the average
cents per miles of an international business class flight which comes in at just over 5
cents per mile.
To offset this fee, you will need to spend just under $ 5,600
per year to cover the cost
with each
mile valued at just under 1.6
cents each.
With the subscription you earn the bonus
miles and essentially pay 0.72
cents per mile plus get the subscription.
With a value of a little more than 1
cent per mile for most flights, you'd need to earn at least 9,500
miles a year or spend about $ 396 a month on Delta purchases to offset this fee — a target that should be easy for business travelers to hit.
With the bonus, you'll only need to transfer 30,000
miles, so you'll get a 7.2
cent -
per - point value on your original American Express Membership Rewards points.
United's MileagePlus program is running a flash sale for anyone looking to buy some
miles with the best price
per mile sitting around 2.25
cents.
On the other hand, some programs have a very clear value for each point redeemed,
with several simply offering one
cent in value
per point or
mile.
Some programs like Barclaycard and Capitol One offer you one
cent per point for all
miles booked on travel and this never changes (
with the exception of factoring in rebates).
This is not quite as good as some were hoping for since Virgin America's revenue - based
miles are worth more (usually 2
cents per point) and come
with better flexibility, but it's still better than a 1:1 ratio, so I'll take it.
The card also suffers from the same drawbacks as the VentureOne card —
with its straightforward redemption value of 1
cent per mile, you are always going to be better off
with a cash back card that offers the same point value and more flexibility.
With a typical redemption value of 1.68
cents per mile, the sign - up bonus is worth approximately $ 672.
And you can add to the
miles you'd earn from a credit card sign - up bonus
with regular promotions to buy or share
miles at under 2
cents per mile.
Downsides: The card's flat 1.25 percent earnings rate combined
with its straightforward redemption value of 1
cent per mile is also its greatest drawback.
For example, you can get several
cents in value
per point when you transfer your rewards to airline
miles, and then redeem those
miles for premium class international awards or last - minute flights
with high walk up fares.
If you are purchasing an award ticket completely operated by Iberia or British Airways, you have the option to pay
with a combination of Avios and cash, which is like purchasing Avios at a rate of around 1.4
cents per mile.
At 140,000
miles, which is the lowest possible rate on partner business class flights to Europe on United, and $ 166 in taxes and fees, that's a nearly a 5 -
cent -
per -
mile value on a really great plane
with access to top lounges.
Someone buying 149,000
miles (top of the tier) would get a bonus of 70,000
miles and end up
with 229,000
miles at a cost of $ 4,755.16 or 2.08
cents per mile.
With its $ 150 yearly charge, it was high, but it allowed me to gain a higher level of Elite status for just 1.5
cent per EQM, which is MUCH cheaper than most
mile runs.
And even
with the standard award at double cost, our redemption valuation is still roughly 2
cents per mile.
This means that, depending on the time of year, you might only end up
with a 1 -
cent -
per -
mile or lower value for your
miles.
If you were to purchase 149,000
miles you would get a bonus of 70,000
miles and end up
with 229,000
miles at a cost of $ 4,282.65 or 1.87
cents per mile.
The Aviator card therefore gives me a rebate of 10,000
miles per year and,
with a $ 95 annual fee, that sees me effectively buying
miles for less than a
cent... and that's a price I'm happy to pay.