553 Miles For $11

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Do I book a flight where I will earn 553 miles for $11 or do I save myself 1 1/2 hours?

I’ve been going over the pro’s and con’s for the past 11 days and can’t decide, perhaps you’d like to share your thoughts?

Here’s the situation:  I need to book a one way ticket from San Diego to San Francisco on November 13 so I can begin the Star MegaDo 4.

Option 1:

I can book a flight on American Airlines from San Diego connecting in Los Angeles and then onto San Francisco.

Cost: $98

Seat: Coach*.  * As an Executive Platinum (EXP) status I get free first class upgrades if seats are available.

Miles to be earned: 1000*.  *Flyers with elite status on American earn a minimum of 500 miles for each segment.  Flyers without elite status would earn 446 miles (109 for San Diego to Los Angeles and 337 for Los Angeles to San Francisco).

Cost per mile (cpm): $0.09

Flying Time: 3 hours

Option 2:

I can book a flight on United Airlines from San Diego nonstop to San Francisco.

Cost: $87

Seat: Coach

Miles to be earned: 447.

Cost per mile (cpm): $0.19

Flying Time: 1 1/2 hours

I have no status with United so no chance of free upgrades nor minimum miles.

So what do you think? Go for the lower cost per mile, earn more miles, and possible free upgrades?  Or pay less for the ticket, earn less miles, but save or earn 1 1/2 hours of time?  What would you do?

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Capital One Venture X Business

With the Capital One Venture X Business the welcome offer is 150,000 mile bonus after spending $30,000 on purchases in the first three months.

 

My favorite perks about this card are free Capital One Lounge access, earning 2X points on all purchases, and transferring miles to over 15 travel loyalty programs.

 

Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business and how to apply

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to get started in the world of miles and points. It is the first card you should get to start traveling for free because the welcome offer is 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.You can get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel value: the 60k points are worth $750 when booked through the Chase Travel portal. And you get up to $300 in statement credits on travel booked through the Chase portal your first year.

 

My favorite perks about this card are earning 5X points on travel when booked through the Chase portal (2X if direct purchase), 3X points on dining, $50 yearly credit on hotels booked through the Chase portal, no foreign transaction fees, and transferring points to 13 airline and hotel partners like Hyatt, United, and Southwest.

 

Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and how to apply