Is a 20 or 30% Bonus of US Airways Miles Worth It?
If you have a US Airways card, you may have received a targeted email offer of 20% bonus US Airways miles or 30% bonus US Airways miles.
If you were targeted for the promotion, you will earn a 20 or 30% more US Airways miles when you use your US Airways card between July 1, 2014 to August 31, 2014.
1 Easy Step to Earn 20 or 30% More US Airways Miles on All Purchases
Use your US Airways card for all purchases starting July 1, 2014 through August 31, 2014.
You can earn up to 10,000 bonus US Airways miles.
With the 20% bonus offer, there is no minimum spending requirement. But, the 30% bonus offer has a minimum spend requirement of $2,000 before you get 30% more US Airways miles.
Is it worth it?
1. US Airways purchases
You earn 2 US Airways miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways purchases. With this promotion, you'll earn:
- 2.4 US Airways miles for every $1 you spend (2 US Airways miles x .20 bonus US Airways miles)
- 2.6 US Airways miles for every $1 you spend (2 US Airways miles x .30 bonus US Airways miles)
To get the maximum allowed bonus of 10,000 US Airways miles you have to spend $25,000 on US Airways purchases if offered the 20% bonus and $16,667 on US Airways purchases if offered the 30% bonus.
2. Everything else
Because you earn 1 US Airways mile on every $1 you spend, you'll earn:
- 1.2 US Airways miles on every purchase
- 1.3 US Airways miles on every purchase
To get the maximum allowed bonus of 10,000 US Airways miles you have to spend $50,000 if offered the 20% bonus and $33,333 if offered the 30% bonus.
I don't plan on putting extra spending on my US Airways card to get the 20 or 30% bonus on US Airways miles because there are less expensive ways to 10,000 or more US Airways miles.
4 Ways to earn lots of US Airways miles
There are at least four ways to earn lots of US Airways miles for significantly less spending than the 20 or 30% bonus requires.
1. Get a US Airways card
You get 40,000 US Airways miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee when you're approved for a US Airways card.
So 40,000 US Airways miles costs you $90 ($89 annual fee + $1 first purchase).
2. Share miles
Until June 30, 2014, you can get a 100% bonus when you share US Airways miles.
You can share 10,000 US Airways miles for $150. You'll get a 5,000 US Airways mile bonus and your friend or family member gets 15,000 US Airways miles.
3. Buy miles
You can buy 10,000 US Airways miles for $376.
4. Manufactured spending
You can buy 10,000 US Airways miles for $60 or $120.
Buying twenty 500 Visa gift cards at Simon Mall will earn you 10,000 US Airways miles for a cost of $60 ($3 Simon Mall gift card fee x 20 Visa gift cards).
You could also buy $500 Visa gift cards from Simon Mall gift cards online or buy $500 Visa gift cards from other stores for a cost of $120 ($5.95 Visa gift card fee x 20 Visa gift cards).
Any way you look at it, you can earn 10,000 US Airways miles cheaper through other methods than trying to reach the 20 or 30% bonus spending offer.
Summary of the fine print
- Offer valid for select cardmembers and is not transferable
- 20 or 30% bonus earned on purchases made between July 1, 2014, through August 31, 2014
- 30% bonus requires a minimum of $2,000 in total purchases
- Maximum bonus of 10,000 US Airways miles
- Account must be open and in good standing
- Bonus miles will post 6-8 weeks after promotion ends
Disclosure: The US Airways credit card link is provided as a courtesy. I do not receive a commission on credit cards.
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