Honest, math-first analysis of credit card rewards. No "best of" listicles, no fake urgency, no hype. Just the calculations we use inside the PointSmart app, written out so you can check our work.
Between vanishing award space and cash surcharges that can top $1,000, are miles useless? The honest answer: they're a premium-cabin instrument worth 8–12¢ each in the right seat and less than a cash-back card in the wrong one. The math for telling which is which.
A "free" award ticket is never completely free. The complete checklist for picking an award flight — reachability, cash taxes and fuel surcharges, miles value, seat availability, cabin, routing, transfer bonuses — and how to compare on total cost, not just miles.
The same business-class seat can cost $374 in taxes through one program and $734 through another. The three parts of an award ticket's cash cost, why carrier-imposed fuel surcharges swing so wildly, and the rule of thumb for paying the least.
The Reserve costs $795/yr after Chase's repricing. The Preferred is still $95. We walk through the actual math on which card earns its annual fee, the credits worth real money, and three scenarios where each one wins.
MR points are worth 1¢ in Amex Travel and 2¢+ via airline transfer partners. The transfer partners worth knowing, four sweet spots that actually move the needle, and the four common mistakes that destroy MR value.
UR has 14 transfer partners and most aren't worth using. Three are universally useful: Hyatt, United, and Virgin Atlantic. Two more are situational standouts. Plus five redemptions that regularly return 4¢+ per point.
More guides coming. We publish when we have something substantive to add to the conversation — not on a content calendar.