I recently got a Capital One Venture card and have had the same questions. (Not sure about yours, but this one gave me 40,000 bonus miles after spending a certain amount within the first 3 months.) My understanding is that you redeem the miles by purchasing travel on the card, and the miles are then applied as a credit towards your purchase. I don't believe they are mile-for-mile the same as what you would accumulate, say, in your American Airlines AAdvantage account though, where you could travel internationally for (for example) 25,000 miles one way. I believe it takes a whole lot more miles through the card to actually get anywhere.

Maybe this will help ... A Beginner's Guide to Airline Miles

TR, I believe the Alaska card gives enough bonus points upon activation to basically cover the $75 annual fee for 6 years. Which is fine, but I'm still not clear on using mileage.

Do you accrue mileage and later that represents a dollar amount to apply to future flights?

:) I think if you flew 25,000 one way, you'd fly completely around the equator.

LOL! Ah, but they aren't actual miles. The last time I redeemed AAdvantage miles for a round-trip to London, it was 40,000 miles. It makes relatively little "normal" sense.

But yes, the mileage you accrue with your card will represent a dollar amount to apply to future flights - not an actual number that relates to the number of miles you're able to fly.

Perhaps this chart will help, it says how many miles are needed for different types of flights. It won't let me link directly to the chart, but just choose continental Us for each region.

https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/use-miles/award-charts.aspx

Well, I think they should tell you that. It seemed too good to be true: Pay for one short flight and get three. Right.

So the reality lies in how many miles you must earn to start using them, and then what is the dollar amount they represent. Why don't they just say that, instead of using the mileage metaphor.

Thanks socalgal. I chose continental US and came up with this:

• Money & Miles - 50% Discount up to $100: 10,000, 10,000
• Coach: 12,500, 25,000

I'm really not sure what the distinction is between the two, unless the first is you only get up to 50% discount and pay the rest, and the second is the entire fare is covered.

However, if I'm figuring this out right, it would take me a minimum of 4 roundtrip flights to LAX to earn 10,000 miles. Then, on my 5th flight, I can get a 50% discount (up to $100) on my $193 flight, about $96.

Of course, I could put other purchases on this card at a $1 = 1 mile rate.

I'm not exactly jumping with excitement here.

Yeah, I don't think these mileage cards are great shakes for anyone who hopes to have enough miles to redeem for travel any time in the near future, unless they're racking up a high volume of credit card purchases each month (and with some cards, I believe there's a limit). Then again, if you're paying off your card monthly anyway, it's not a bad deal to at least get something for the purchases you would've otherwise made with cash.

TR, I'm willing to change my purchasing practices if there's a demonstrable reason (reward!) for doing so. And that happens in my lifetime. I might have to consider one free checked bag per flight to be the most realistic reward.

I'm not a frequent flyer by any stretch.

I don't think the dollar/mile conversion ratio for airline cards is worth it in general. If you fly the same airline most of the time, I would think that checked bags and/or priority boarding is the "reward," not the miles. If you travel enough and always check a bag, it sounds like a decent deal. I just got a Delta card because they waived the fee for the first year and gave me 60,000 Delta miles on signup. Due to where I fly for work, I am on Delta 75% of the time. I rarely check bags, but the card gives me priority boarding, which I do appreciate so I don't get shut out of the overhead bins. Most of my flights are relatively short ones on small planes with limited bin space.

Even so, I will probably drop the card when the fee kicks in. For me, something like the Venture card makes more sense because I get more back per dollar spent. And it's more flexible re: redemption than an airline card.

I have the Capital One Venture card and am still puzzled by it, even though I have been paying close attention to Jennifer Garner. I think they refer to it as points, not miles. Maybe. But what do points equal in dollars. If I accumulate 25,000 points, what is the value when I go to pay for travel with my card? I even tried calling them once and the numskull I spoke with didn't get it either.

25,000 Venture points =$250.

I think my son needs is own mileage website, but you can use your card for purchases that add up, like having all of your utilities charge your card and then pay your card instead of the utility.

He leaves for Rome again in a couple of weeks. He managed to go 2x before staying in 5star Hiltons all using points and only a couple hundred out of pocket. It can be done and there are websites that will explain how to

If I'm understanding this correctly (per the Capital One Venture card), in order to determine how many points are needed to redeem for travel, I would use this formula: $ of ticket x 100 = # of points required. So, if my tickets costs $500, I need 50,000 points to redeem for the cost of the ticket. Is that right?

I've had USAirways and now American cards. I think it is worth the fee for priority boarding and a free checked bag. We will put large purchases on the card to get extra miles. I'm trying to convince DH to change his CITI card to the one with American that gives miles. We use so little debit and cash it almost makes sense to get miles.

Yes, TR, that's correct.

Thanks, sas95! I thought it was, but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. (Only 71,956 more points to go until I can return to England "for free.") ;-)

I am a mileage fanatic. The way I look at it, I try to maximize my capture rate (ie, every time I spend a dollar on anything I want it to earn miles). Therefore, I put nearly everything we do on Amex, even though we pay it off at the end of the month.

Now, of course, cards have fees. And sometimes you will pay more if you put something on a card rather than paying cash. SO you need to factor that in. But if you are a busy family and you can put everything you do on a card, it really adds up. On top of that, we do fly a lot and those miles add up too (and I used to fly a ton, most of it long haul international first class, when I was full time, which really adds to the miles). And when I was doing a lot of business travel, the cost of that travel also generated miles which were part of my personal mileage account.

When it comes time to redeem (use) the miles, it can really try your patience. How many miles you need to fly where and it what class and on whom can get quite tricky, I will even say exasperating. And the best way to use miles is not always intuitive or consistent. For example, the best bang for your buck when you use miles is often for upgrades. And "free tickets" still entail taxes and fuel surcharges, sometimes significant.

It's a complex subject but generally if you fly a lot and spend a lot, you can probably make it worth your while to earn and use miles.

Linelle, for your card to be worthwhile, you will have to start charging everything you possibly can on it.

You will accrue points for flying as well. At some point you will get a free ticket.

Our MasterCard is linked to American Airlines. No yearly fee. We have had many free trips. When my daughters were in college, I used to book tickets way in advance to be able to use the points. You need to know all the rules and regulations. In other words, even if I had enough points, that didn't mean I would get the free ticket. They give out just so many free tickets per flight. The further in advance you book, the more likely you will get the free ticket when you need it.

I would book a year ahead (or whatever the cutoff was) because American would allow one free change. This was so important as I never really knew the exact dates that my DD's could come home.

You need to read the fine print for your specific rewards. You need to see if it is truly worth it. Will it take you years to get a free ticket? You won't be earning much with just a short flight from your house to your daughters.

I would book a year ahead (or whatever the cutoff was) because American would allow one free change. This was so important as I never really knew the exact dates that my DD's could come home.

This is a very important consideration for some (including myself). My dad worked internationally and accumulated (literally) millions of AAdvantage miles. He and my mom are still working their way through them, even after numerous post-retirement overseas vacations and have shared their miles with me as well. When my mother and I planned past trips to England, we would always go ahead and book something as soon as we knew our dates (usually 9 to 10 months in advance), even if the flight times were not ideal or the flights included a stop/layover. That one free change allowed is a godsend, as would could then switch to a newly opened AA flight that suited us better once we got a little closer to our departure date and the newer schedules came out. We were always so happy that we didn't have to pay to make those changes.

Thanks, one and all. This has all been very instructive.

I don't fly a lot. I'm reluctant to start paying everything via Alaska Visa so that one day I might not have to pay for a $193 flight to LA. I think I'd rather pay $193 than be exasperated. In fact, I know I would.

Mtn and others who have flown a lot for business. Aren't all your expenses covered by your employer? Or do you pay upfront, submit expenses, get reimbursed by your employer, but you get to rack up the miles on your own card for your own use?

Mtn, I use my AmEx card for big purchases, online stuff, whenever I'm not using my debit card. I know I earn points, but I don't know if they're really maximized for air miles. No annual fee.

sas, thanks for explaining the formula for miles to dollars. I wish they would stop calling them miles, esp. when you earn them for buying something other than an airline ticket.

Right now, the only tangible advantage I see is free checked bag, because that's how I gotta travel.

TR, so even if the one change was to a flight with no or fewer layovers, and a better time, they would still honor the original ticket price?

Dumb question: Do points expire? Or does it vary from company to company?

Linelle, if your credit card gives miles or points, you can get two versions of miles/points for every trip. One for the purchase of the ticket, based on the price of the ticket and tied to your credit card. And one for the miles actually flown, based on whatever formula that particular airline uses to award miles-- this is tied to the airline's flyer program, not your credit card. My employer pays my expenses, but requires that they go on my company Amex card. So I don't get miles for the purchases, but only for the actual flight. Or only hotel points for the hotel stays, not the purchase of the room. Different employers have different policies on this. I wish I could use my own card to purchase these things, get reimbursed and rack up more points, but I guess it's their money and they can make the rules.

TR, so even if the one change was to a flight with no or fewer layovers, and a better time, they would still honor the original ticket price?

Well, yes, but ... come to think of it, that was on a ticket "purchased" with AAdvantage miles. I suppose it remains to be seen how this would work with a ticket where one redeemed points for the purchase. Dang. More confusion. LOL!

I think that once you redeem your points from your credit card by using them to purchase airline miles those miles are no different than if you had accumulated them by flying on that airline.

I'm reluctant to start paying everything via Alaska Visa so that one day I might not have to pay for a $193 flight to LA. I think I'd rather pay $193 than be exasperated. In fact, I know I would.

I would emphatically agree! Using miles is a PITA, I know a lot of people who have tons and ignore it.

Mtn and others who have flown a lot for business. Aren't all your expenses covered by your employer? Or do you pay upfront, submit expenses, get reimbursed by your employer, but you get to rack up the miles on your own card for your own use?

It's one of the nice perks. In my industry, the norm is that the company gives you an Amex and they pay for all of your travel; you aren't waiting to get reimbursed except for out of pocket but for me that was almost always zero out of pocket. But every dollars spent on my personal Amex or my corporate Amex earns me personally one "mile' (actually Amex calls them Membership Rewards Points, which is more apt). This is because my employers all allowed employees to link their corporate Amex Rewards to their personal rewards.

Plus of course I earn miles on the airline in the airline's frequent flyer program when I fly (and they relate not only to the length of the flight but the class of service ... you earn a lot more miles for flying full fare first class). So you can imagine how this adds up. If my co. flew me to Tokyo the ticket could cost 10k, so that's 10,000 miles or points on my Amex. But I would also earn frequent flyer miles on say, Delta for the actual flight to Tokyo. And Amex has relationships with certain airlines where you can use your Amex points on airlines, so you combine them.

But I'm also prompted whenever I shop on Amazon to use some of my Amex Membership Rewards to buy things instead of using my own money. or to use my Rewards for special experiences.

I guess a company could insist that the points and miles from corporate travel are to be used for the benefit of the company, but I think that would be very unpopular. It is a nice perk and over the years people have suggested it should be taxed, but that never got anywhere. When you consider, for example salespeople, who might regularly take clients to extravagant dinners, etc, it really adds up. I recall someone once put the bill for an entire 100+ person conference on their corporate Amex (this was allowed), earning hundreds of thousands of points instantly

Mtn, I use my AmEx card for big purchases, online stuff, whenever I'm not using my debit card. I know I earn points, but I don't know if they're really maximized for air miles. No annual fee.

Why would you use your debit card at all? As long as you don't forget to pay your Amex (you can even automate it), it costs you nothing to use it and you get the points. Call up Amex or go on line and see how many Membership Rewards points you have.

I used Amex points on Delta to upgrade the 5 of us from coach to first class for our Hawaii trip. And our trip to India was entirely using British Air miles --- 5 business class flat-bed sleeper seats, roundtrip for free (except taxes). It would have cost $50,000 to buy those tickets. Some of the BA miles were from years of flying to or thru London on business, some were from my BA credit card.

Of course, to find 5 free seats, I had to spend a lot of time and look at a lot of permutations... they don't make it easy. I only wanted to go 2 weeks and wanted to fly in and out of Delhi, but the only way I found 5 free flat beds was to go for almost three weeks and fly in and out of Mumbai .. but to me it was totally worth it this time. So, for those situations where I am lucky enough to find seats (they only make a few available) where I want to go, and when, my miles are a real boon.

Terriks - it depends. Some, not all, miles equate to 1 point.

Why would you use your debit card at all?

Good question. Because it's what I've always done. :p

So, when I pay my online utility bills, when I'm at Trader Joe's, Costco, etc. I should whip out my Amex card? Aren't they not as accepted as Visa, Mastercard, etc.? Should I use it to pay at the pump?

I do understand that paying by debit card isn't doing anything for me besides paying a bill immediately.

Linelle, I never use my debit card. I am not even sure I have one. I use Amex for everything (there are a few places that don't accept it and then I use my Nordstrom card).

The points really add up but that's not why I use my credit cards. I think it is easier and at the end of the year I get a summary outlining my expenses which helps with preparation of tax returns (med/drug expenses, med insurance premiums, etc.)

The danger of using a debit card to pay for things is that if your card gets compromised and it's a credit card, the credit card company can just void the fraudulent charges. If your debit card gets compromised, the thieves are into your bank account.

Use Amex for everything you possibly can, always. Why not? The points add up. Or use another card that gives you points/miles.

The only exception, some merchants (i think utilities are a good example) might charge you an extra 2 or 3%. Don't do that; the miles are not valuable enough to warrant that . Just ask to be sure.

And yes, the end of year summary is really handy and interesting if it captures most of what you spend money on.

And yes, there is some degree of protection from using a card (altho even with debit cards, as long as you report the loss or abuse, you are usually limited to $50 loss; typically waived).

There is a slightly lower acceptance rate for Amex; the merchants pay a higher fee for Amex (esp small guys) than they do for VISA so some dont take it. But it is still very widely accepted. I use my Amex most of the time, and for situations where they dont take Amex, I use my British Airways VISA.

Excellent stuff to chew on, guys.

As for the year-end summary, doesn't your monthly bank statement sort of do that? I mean, it tells you when and where you spent an amount of money. You mean the Amex statement will show you every light bulb and bag of potting mix?

ETA: I keep a detailed account of all my expenses so I already know how I spend my money, with the exception of what's in my bag of groceries.

Linelle, no there is no itemization that details every item of a purchase. For example, it will show a charge to Trader Joe's put it won't list that I bought 14 containers of chocolate thingys...that's between me and my scale :-))

I don't look at my bank statements because I go online to check my accounts. I have very few charges that go through my checking account as most things I pay for are with my credit card, including insurance premiums, almost all things home related, except my house helper to whom I give a check. Even my "beauty" stuff goes on my credit card, including nails, hair etc. (I tip accordingly knowing that my hair stylist and manicurist have to pay a fee). I do have some automatic payments that are made from my checking account such as a couple of utility payments.

I too have a pretty good handle on my yearly expenses but it's just easier to use a credit card whenever possible.

Linelle - I use my Am Ex for everything. I have a debit card from my bank but only use it when I'm in Europe to get cash out of the ATM. My bank doesn't charge ATM fees and if the ATM machine adds a fee to my transaction then my bank will reimburse my account. It was handy while traveling because I never had to carry a lot of cash because ATM's were so convenient.

I use 2 Am Ex cards. DH and I have a Gold card for everyday purchases - you earn double points on restaurants, food and gas and triple if you book an airline flight using the Gold card. My other Am Ex card doesn't offer those rewards but I use it for the Travel benefits that it provides. Both of them have an annual fee. However if I pay close attention and as Mtn said try to maximize my capture rate then I easily earn far more than the fees. Additionally both the Am Ex cards offer ways to earn more points or earn a cash credit on different purchases. For instance one of the perks they offered recently was a $10. credit on your bill if you spent $50 at Sur La Table. I wanted to buy Perfex Salt and Pepper Mills for my DS and DDIL as an anniversary gift. I bought the pepper mill with one card and the salt mill with the other and immediately received $10. credit on each card. And I was also able to use two Sur La Table coupons to get an extra 20% off each mill. Right now I'm earning 2x points on anything I buy at Amazon. There are always 20+ offers running at any time.

When my kids were in college I was able to charge the monthly tuition, room and board on my Am Ex card. Neither college added a service charge or fee for using a credit card. That was over 10 years ago and I've heard now both of those colleges add a service fee if you charge the tuition.

We always pay the bills off completely each month. It's certainly not prudent to pay an annual fee to the credit card company and pay interest charges too.

We no longer have an airline affinity card. There are no blackout dates or limited seats when using AmEx like you encounter with an airline card. When I book a flight I just charge it to my Am Ex card and then use my Membership Rewards Points to pay my bill. If you tend to fly on one major airline regularly then their affinity card might make more sense. But we seem to fly too many different airlines.

As someone mentioned above you also get a greater benefit if you use your miles to upgrade your seats. We used to do that all the time when we were flying USAirways regularly and had a USAir Visa. When they merged with American Airlines I dropped that card because I figured the odds of ever redeeming my miles were slim to none. I do have a Barclay's MasterCard for those merchants that don't take AmEx - but that's increasingly rare.

It takes time and a lot of effort to play the Miles Game. I've found the Flyer Talk Website to be very informative. I am a member of several airlines frequent flier mile programs, I just don't have any of their branded credit cards.

I also use American Express. I transfer my points to the airline I always use for international travel. I do not travel as much as many of you, but I can get a free round trip ticket every other year when a friend and I vacation in France.

There sure are a lot of scenarios and options.

I don't think I travel enough or spend enough money that this would have much of an impact on my life. It sounds like good deals do not just grow on trees and fall into your lap. I don't think there's enough of a payoff for me for all the effort to figure out the best deals.

I'm not even sure if I want to activate my Alaska card.

Which presents another question. Does my credit take a hit if I don't activate the card, or if I tell them to cancel? My credit is excellent, based on the score I got for this card.

Okay, so I have experience with that question too. And it's not a simple answer either.

The inquiry when you applied could have an impact on your score. And the credit card, while not yet activated, will probably also appear on your credit file. You would most likely need to officially close it, but it will still show up as being closed.

Okay, but for those of us who have long standing good credit, with a mix of installment (think mortgage or auto) and revolving credit cards, the impact could be minor, if anything at all.

Your score is an algorithm that weights the factors and comes up with a value and "reason codes" whether your score is good or bad. You will definitely see the inquiry and new account in the reasons, but your score may or may not be much different.

1929, thanks for your thoughtful replies. Not just 1929, all of you.

My score's close to perfect. No mortgage, no car payment. Maybe that's why it's not perfect. :)

If I keep the card for a year or two and then cancel, is that better than canceling before I even activate it? I don't mind keeping it for a year or two, but I honestly doubt I'm going to get much value from it, aside from a checked bag.

My pleasure. I would just cancel it if the perks for boarding and luggage aren't valuable to you. As for your credit score, I wouldn't worry about it.

Actually, a credit card that has a balance of zero would help your FICO (credit) score, all else equal. That is because they like to see that you have unused credit available to you. It means you have some self discipline and it means that you can cover unexpected expenses easily.

New revolving trades can negatively impact scores, but it depends on the entire profile. A one off on a seasoned file will have little to no impact , but the balance between revolving and installment accounts also impacts score. While someone new to credit opening a bunch of credit cards will definitely hit a point where the score is adjusted down even if the available credit is high relative to debt. You can have too much available credit.

Hmm, I have never heard of "too much available credit", in and of itself, negatively impacting a credit score, and particularly not Fair Isaac's scoring, which I am pretty familiar with professionally. A lot of new credit lines at once for someone without a long credit history can be detrimental to one's score, but that is not what Linelle is asking about.

And certainly the info they make available to customers does indicate that having low credit utilization is a positive. (eg info on FICO )

In any event, in re the particulars you have described, Linelle, the decision as to whether or not you want to keep your new credit card should not be made based on credit score; it is not likely to matter one way or the other. My advice would be not to focus so much on Alaska airlines, since the flights you are likely to use them for are cheap to begin with. But, where it doesn't cost you anything to do so, you may as well put as much as you possibly can on the Amex you already have, and use the Rewards points that accrue any number of ways.

Thanks for the feedback about Capital One's point system. I think I'll go see how many points I have. I charge everything and pay off the balance each month in order to accrue points.

Just to close this call. I cancelled the card. First they told me about all the benefits I wouldn't be getting. I said, it's okay. It was painless.

Yeah, I have to agree that there's no such thing as "too much credit." That's the one negative on my credit report, that I don't have enough open credit, since I rarely use any. I hate having open unused cards because it's such a hassle to keep checking to be sure they haven't been compromised.

ETA I had a slightly irksome few days in France last year, since I was traveling briefly with friends who are points fiends and they insisted on paying all the bills for the time we were together and having me reimburse them, which meant that I had no receipts to use for deductions. I found it very tiresome.

I know I'm adding late here, but my DH travels for work and has an airline card and one that awards points for hotels and rental cars. From what we've experienced, it's like what Gscience states above: I think it is worth the fee for priority boarding and a free checked bag.

The rewards aren't nearly what they were 20 years ago at the start of his career when we took frequent vacations that were booked solely through points.

I think you'd be better off with a general cash-back credit card for which you could spend the money on what you see fit.

We also have Amex points that accumulate quickly. But again, redeeming those always has limitations and criteria.

MtRdRedux is right on with the into on Too Much Available Credit", which is a myth for actual FICO Scores, which are used by almost all lenders. There are a few, very few, lenders that have issues with too much available other credit. This mostly applies to marginal borrowers and lenders that specialize in risky loans where the lender knows their prospect is already marginal and making them cancel the other credit will help to ensure that they are the one getting the money before they finally descend into the abyss.

Perfect Credit Score is also a myth. The algorithms break down on extremely high scores and are effectively useless in differentiating risk. Classic FICO Scores have a theoretical range up to 850 but all versions of those scores including the '04 versions used for Mortgage apps max out well below that, one of them at 818. NOBODY can get 850 as there is NO path through the algorithm that makes 850 possible.

If you are really curious about this, you can follow her link to MyFico.com where you will find my name attached to much of the mythbusting on credit scoring. I haven't posted in years as it eventually became more about selling stuff than information. Still the best credit site around in spite of big flaws.

One piece of info is that it always a bad idea to close any credit card from a scoring standpoint. It can make sense from saving money if it has a fee and worth the small hit it has for a person with good credit, particularly if your accounts are mostly older. It affects Average Age of Accounts.

Writersblock - Your story reminded me of something that I had blocked from my memory. My brother obsessively collects miles and points and it can be embarrassing. When we met with the funeral director after my mother died he insisted on putting the bill on his credit card so he could get the points. Mom lived with me, I was her executor and handled all her bills so he knew he would be reimbursed immediately. But his card was rejected because he hadn't paid his monthly bill yet so he didn't have enough credit left to cover the $8,000 bill - which included having my Mother's body flown back home.

He called the credit card company and asked for a credit increase but he had retired a few years earlier so he no longer could state that he had a job with an income. They asked about his other income but he didn't want to discuss that while we were all sitting there. He offered to pay his monthly bill early while he was on the phone so that he could free up his card - but they told him that it would still take 24 hours to process. He asked if he could pay with 2 cards but he had left his other card at home.

It was becoming uncomfortable and I have to confess that I found it somewhat satisfying to just hand my Am Ex card to the funeral director and be done with it.

Yikes, Maire, that is quite extreme! Personally I find it in very bad taste when people try to be the one who "pays" the check, without paying the check. Pretty tacky. Or at least I thought it was tacky until I heard your story!

Yowza, maire_cate, that's a lot worse than my experience!