What do they do once they buy your miles/points?

Home Forums Decaffeinated Coffee What do they do once they buy your miles/points?

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #609646
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    I’ve noticed all these start up companies looking to buy your credit card points or miles. When they do buy them, what do they do with them? Does there staff/families all go on free vacations or redeem for gift cards or merchandise? I just get the feeling that although they are paying you cash, you could probaly benefit more if you kept your own points and redeem them yourself. Why else would they offer to pay you cash unless it was worth there while? Am I missing something here?

    #959542
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    They use them to book flights for other people, for which they are paid more than they paid you.

    You could do that also, if you had enough points to book flights for people, and advertised to people who wanted to buy flights so they would come buy from you.

    #959543
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    On there websites, it does not say what they do with them. At one point I had alot of points, and went on all my vacations with rdeeming them. I also redeemed for gift cards and great merchendise, i.e., treadmill, basket ball hoop, cameras, …. I think people are better off redeeming themselves, you get more value that way as opposed to selling it for cash.

    Do they publicize the fact that they book flights for people? I was unawre of that. How did you know that, Rav Popa?

    #959544
    yaakov doe
    Participant

    The points are sold to travel agents who use them on first class tickets enabling them to reduce the passengers cost and increase their own profits.

    #959545
    2scents
    Participant

    Does anyone know how much the average pay is for a few hundred thousand miles? (more than 500k).

    #959546
    zahavasdad
    Participant

    Be careful

    The airlines are not too fond of this and may cancel your miles and boot you from the program

    #959547
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    Check the advertisied sites on YWN. I see at least 3.

    #959548
    JayMatt19
    Participant

    @yaakov doe

    That doesnt make sense on 2 levels.

    First of all, it means the person flying fist class on this miles ticket won’t earn miles on their flight, as one does not earn miles on a rewards ticket. Few people willing to shell out for a 1st class ticket will do so without getting miles in return.

    Secondly, and I am telling you this from 1st hand experience, should the flight get cancelled, the person who bought this ticket from the travel agent would basically lose their money. If you have a miles ticket and your flight gets cancelled, you get your miles back. You would not get back the money you gave your travel agent, unless the agent themselves gave it back to you.

    But either way you’d be stuck without a ticket.

    #959549
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    @yaakov doe

    That doesnt make sense on 2 levels.

    Are we using philosophy to figure this out?

    #959550
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Few people willing to shell out for a 1st class ticket will do so without getting miles in return.

    They would to save money.

    You would not get back the money you gave your travel agent, unless the agent themselves gave it back to you.

    But either way you’d be stuck without a ticket.

    That doesn’t make sense on 2 levels.

    First of all, if the broker got the miles back, why couldn’t they give you back your money?

    Secondly, why couldn’t they just buy the customer another ticket with the miles?

    #959551
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    How much more does the travel agents pay for the points/miles over what these start up companies pay the consumer?

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.