On your second point, about “getting about $0.013 per point”–you are actually confusing concepts here. The value of the points is still the same–$0.01 per point–but you are just getting *more of them*. You are mistakenly linking the extra points you earn with a specific amex card–in this case the Zync Card–to the value of an individual point. Just because you may earn 2, 5 or even 10 points on every dollar you spend on a given category of purchases, doesn’t change the value of each one of those points. You have to separate the *earning of points* from the *redemption of points*.

All that said, you rightly are pointing out that some cards are better than others due to the fact that they give you more points for every dollar you spend. And that is the whole purpose of the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine (which you can start using right from our home page). The PIQ Ranking Engine actually takes into account, for each card in our database, the number of points you earn per dollar spent, by spend category, then applies the dollar value per point, to arrive at a total value for each credit card (after also taking into account any interest expenses, annual fees, etc). If you really want a more detailed understanding of how it works, check out the “how it works” link from our homepage.

I have a Zync card – a Membership Rewards Express based card. The value of the Express points for travel is actually less than stated above. It is $0.005 per point (not $0.01 as the regular MR program) when you “Pay with Points” to buy a plane ticket, book a hotel or cruise. That means that you half the purchasing power for travel than the MR program. Still, gift cards can get 1 point to $0.01 value.

However, given the fact that now they annual fee for a Zync is at $15, it may be worth it for some. For me, the big value is that I can rake up points really fast using some off their custom “packs” or add-ons, so far earning me a great bonus from what I would make when using a regular MR card – after the math is done, I’m getting about $0.013 per point – because the point was cheaper for me to get

I live in Hawaii. Any chance you could also calculate for Hawaiian Airlines? We usually fly them to the Mainland. Thanks, Sue

On point B, again this is a loyalty program feature, and has nothing to do with credit card valuations.

On your point about taxes and fees, I bake all of those into my valuations. That’s why, for example, Virgin Atlantic has such low valuations, because their fuel surcharge is extremely high.

On point C, about my flight costs being too low. This is just the prices I found when doing random sampling on kayak.com. I agree with your point about *some* flyers not using their points when prices are too low, but it’s also hard to model in these kind of behaviors. Some flyers, for example, may be OK using points when they are getting $0.01 or more; others may not be willing to trade unless they are getting $0.015 or $0.02 or even $0.03 or more. Where do i draw the line? That said, I never assume flyers exchange points on routes that value those points at less than $0.01, unless that airline has no other route options.

Regarding your point on annual fees, yes this is indeed factored in when you use the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine. The annual fee technically doesnt affect the value of points for a given credit card, but it does affect the overall value of holding that card–which is what the PIQ Ranking Engine addresses.

Again, thanks for awesome comments!!