[Damien]

I went on a handy little mileage run on the weekend - without even leaving the ground!

We bought a new car for Mrs Damien and as we were paying cash, I asked about charging it to my Amex. The dealer had no problems as long as we paid the fee. No worries!

It cost me an extra $420 for 17,500 points - that's a ratio of around 41 points per dollar. A lot less expensive than doing a mileage run in the air...

No status credits unfortunately.

Good for you for thinking of it Damien!

Just some light figures....

Assuming the car was 17500 .. 420 represents around 2.5% fee?

My first question would be did you get more than 1 point per $ ?

I hope the points are worth it for you.... I couldn't justify that any way I look at it :|

I pin qantas points at $100 per 10,000 value

[Damien]

Originally Posted by d00t

Assuming the car was 17500 .. 420 represents around 2.5% fee?

Yep, although they included the fees in the transaction. I thought they would need it in cash, hence avoiding fees on fees.

Originally Posted by d00t

My first question would be did you get more than 1 point per $ ?

I didn't. I worked my ratio on the fees, as that was the difference between cash (no points) or card (points).

Originally Posted by d00t

I hope the points are worth it for you.... I couldn't justify that any way I look at it

They are. I wouldn't have bothered when I was single, but Mrs Damien is a citizen of LOTFAP so we do what we can for maximum point gain to make it easy to visit the outlaws for as little cost as possible.

The other advantage to this is being able to defer payment to the end of the billing cycle. In this case, 29 days.

[NM]

Hmm, think of it this way.

17,500 Amex MR points have been earned. You can use them to redeem for a Gift Voucher which is effectly worth money. A $100 gift card for most retail partners costs 14,000 points. So in my book, those 17,500 Amex points have a redeemable value of about $125.

So unless I was in desperate need of 17,500 QF FF points, I don't think I would be spending $420 for a redeemable value of $125. But each to their own, I suppose.

[Lindsay Wilson]

Alas, when we bought a new car for Mrs LW a couple of weeks ago, the most the dealer would put on our CC was the $2,000 deposit - balance had to be by bank cheque :cry: . 3,000 points (at 1.5/$1) is still better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick...

[odoherty]

And once again we raise the question of the value of points.

Personally, I value points at 2c per point. My most common travel route is to Hong Kong - which equates to $2400 return in J - good value imho.

[Damien]

Originally Posted by odoherty

And once again we raise the question of the value of points.

Personally, I value points at 2c per point. My most common travel route is to Hong Kong - which equates to $2400 return in J - good value imho.

I think everyone's perception of the value of points is different. It all depends on their individual circumstances, how quickly they need to generate some points, and how those points will be used.

I use points to give Mrs Damien a regular trip back to LOTFAP to see her family and friends. This not only saves a couple of thousand dollars per person per trip, but helps to keep her happy. Others with outlaws in another country will understand exactly where I'm coming from. Happy wife = happy life.

[Lindsay Wilson]

Originally Posted by Damien

Happy wife = happy life

Amen to that, brother (using my best Southern drawl)...although Mrs LW's immediate family are all in Australia, her cousins, aunts & uncles (and best friend) are all in the UK. Of course, she won't travel there by herself (she knows the benefits of flying with a Plat member :wink: )

[Damien]

Originally Posted by Lindsay Wilson

Amen to that, brother (using my best Southern drawl)

How did you know where her family lives?

Next time you're after 20,000 points for $400 , hit me up I'll gladly sell you every single point I have