Cash Back vs Airline Miles Credit Cards

The rare times I travel via airplane, I'd rather snap up a great deal than being restricted by some miles program rules. Thus, to me it's all about cash back credit cards. I use different ones for different charges, basically wherever I get the most cash back for certain categories. It takes a bit longer to get to the redemption level (the so called dispersal according to the original article), but I don't mind.

I think that different people should go with whatever works for them.  There's nothing like money in your hand, but one can often get much more value from hotel or airline points.  If you can't extract that value, then the points are obviously not worth it.