[rando832]

> What a customer gets usually is something like 7 miles per dollar. Consumer website estimate[1] that in the best of case, a mile is equal to ~$0.01, so they're also saving money there.

Your math is way off. If it's 7 miles per dollar spent on the card, that is 7% back by your math, compared to 1-2% cashback, this conflicts with "they're also saving money there."

With that math, you're saying that it's a great deal for the consumer. Perhaps the other things you mentioned still add up to being in the airlines favor, but whats really going on?

[true_religion]

The marginal cost of a single passenger is fairly low to an airline. That's why they have blackout days, and restriction on where you can actually fly with earned credit-card miles... in order to make sure the cost of your flight is always to their benefit or at worst break even.

[nunez]

Most cards give you two miles per dollar spent, not seven. If you did get seven, then that carrier would value those miles even less than they currently do

[vmarsy]

Yep my bad for the 7 miles, see my reply to jessriedel below