Have to say I disagree with this. The point of schemes like this is that you're collecting miles for money you would have spent anyway - if you're spending extr

Have to say I disagree with this. The point of schemes like this is that you're collecting miles for money you would have spent anyway - if you're spending extra money to collect miles, you're doing it wrong (since with most airline programs you can simply buy the miles for a few cents each to begin with). But racking up $4k in 6 months is not actually all that difficult if you put everything on your card (utility payments, insurance payments, groceries, cell phone, gas, etc). And if you can't meet the required spend by normal means, there are schemes out there to help you get there without actually spending any more money. For example (as mentioned below), buying $1 coins from the US mint with free shipping with your credit card, and then depositing them back in your bank account. If you spend any amount of money with a credit card, and are responsible enough to pay it off every month (rewards cards typically have higher interest rates), there's no reason not to collect rewards from it. The main question becomes whether to get a standard 1% cashback card or an airline miles card. This mostly depends on how much you fly (or plan on flying in the future). But if you do fly, the bonus miles offers and the potential value of the miles can be worth a lot more than the standard 1% cashback.