MilesBuzz! - Minting the luggage cart at FRA

This one is involving real manual labor - so not for me :D

At FRA airport you can pay for your luggage cart with a miles earning card (http://www.themenportal.de/reise/gepaeckwagen-pfandsystem-kuenftig-am-gesamten-flughafen-frankfurt-88623) and you'll get the deposit (2 EUR) back in CASH when you return the cart.

There seems to be no limit in place.

So a long layover in FRA can 'easily' net you 10k miles and a ton of EURO coins. It's also a nice cash advance.

The earning rate is just too slow...

Assume that you use Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and suppose that it is counted as travel expenses. At a 2% cashback rate, 1000 such transactions will make 2547 miles for free. Points can be converted to miles at a 1:1 rate.

If you use Chase Freedom Card with a Chase checking account, you earn 10 points per transaction in addition to the 1% cashback. However, there is a 3% foreign transaction fee. With some simple calculation, we see that every 1000 transactions make 11547 miles at a cost 60 EUR, which is about 76.42 USD. The rate is 0.662 cpm.

But you need a Euro credit card with pin chip to avoid exchange fees or bum exchange rates? Hmm....how do I get that euro credit card?

But we gotta have proof this works before it gets in Now for Something Completely Different. I'd rate it somewhere between moving the dead for miles and buying a musical toilet for miles.

Will it work in other airports? Could we see cart runs in the future?


This one is involving real manual labor - so not for me :D

At FRA airport you can pay for your luggage cart with a miles earning card (http://www.themenportal.de/reise/gepaeckwagen-pfandsystem-kuenftig-am-gesamten-flughafen-frankfurt-88623) and you'll get the deposit (2 EUR) back in CASH when you return the cart.

There seems to be no limit in place.

So a long layover in FRA can 'easily' net you 10k miles and a ton of EURO coins. It's also a nice cash advance.

Can we ask FraPort to raise the deposit requirement to 100€? :D

But you need a Euro credit card with pin chip to avoid exchange fees or bum exchange rates? Hmm....how do I get that euro credit card?

But we gotta have proof this works before it gets in Now for Something Completely Different. I'd rate it somewhere between moving the dead for miles and buying a musical toilet for miles.

Will it work in other airports? Could we see cart runs in the future?

I will be laying over for 3hrs in FRA in about 10 days -- could be fun trying. My 5-yr old will be with me so he'll enjoy the rides. :)

I will be laying over for 3hrs in FRA in about 10 days -- could be fun trying. My 5-yr old will be with me so he'll enjoy the rides. :)

Hehe that's the FT spirit!

The earning rate is just too slow...

Assume that you use Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and suppose that it is counted as travel expenses. At a 2% cashback rate, 1000 such transactions will make 2547 miles for free. Points can be converted to miles at a 1:1 rate.

If you use Chase Freedom Card with a Chase checking account, you earn 10 points per transaction in addition to the 1% cashback. However, there is a 3% foreign transaction fee. With some simple calculation, we see that every 1000 transactions make 11547 miles at a cost 60 EUR, which is about 76.42 USD. The rate is 0.662 cpm.
Use the United Club Visa. 1.5 miles per dollar on all transactions with no foreign transaction fees. After 1,000 cart rentals, you would earn 1,500 miles for free. But still too slow. You would need 16,667 transactions for a free domestic flight in the U.S. Assuming 30 seconds per transaction, that would be about 5.8 days of renting carts and returning them.

Use the United Club Visa. 1.5 miles per dollar on all transactions with no foreign transaction fees. After 1,000 cart rentals, you would earn 1,500 miles for free. But still too slow. You would need 16,667 transactions for a free domestic flight in the U.S. Assuming 30 seconds per transaction, that would be about 5.8 days of renting carts and returning them.
No, it's 2 Euros per rental -- that would make it 6,514 transactions at current exchange rates, so it would only be 2.26 days. One flight cancellation in the summer with no other seats available for a couple of days and you're there, assuming you can stay awake the entire time and really, really like pushing luggage carts around.

Of course, Chase would probably look askance at over $16K of purchases in 2 Euro amounts all within 2 days+.

Let's not forget to Mention you would have to have really large pockets to carry 6514 2€ coins around. Have fun lugging those around.... Kinda reminds me of some other coins some of us were lugging around for a few years

Sounds like too much work. Why not just hang around places which have a large number of cash paying customers and ask them (the customers) to pay you in cash and let you pay the merchant with your credit card.

If the merchant has problems with this, just say it's part of a social protest and claim First Amendment protection, or the EU equivalent.

Let's not forget to Mention you would have to have really large pockets to carry 6514 2€ coins around. Have fun lugging those around.... Kinda reminds me of some other coins some of us were lugging around for a few years

I suppose a forklift inside the terminal would be frowned upon?:p

You just need to sacrifice 2 euro and use one of the carts to push all your coins around in like a giant box or something :)

Is there a bank in there to make a Mint-like deposit? Else I have some well-used heavy duty roller bags.:D

You just need to sacrifice 2 euro and use one of the carts to push all your coins around in like a giant box or something :)

Another deal out in the open now, can't wait until they stop this one too. </Sarcasm>

Let's not forget to Mention you would have to have really large pockets to carry 6514 2€ coins around. Have fun lugging those around.... Kinda reminds me of some other coins some of us were lugging around for a few years

We are in luck there is a local branch of Santander:

Santander Bank, Terminal 1, Bereich B, Ebene 3 (http://www.frankfurt-airport.de/content/frankfurt_airport/de/einkaufen_erleben/dienstleitungen/banken_geldwechsel/santander_bank.html)

Open every day and providing 'full service'. Plus this is for a good cause - giving 'large' deposits to Spanish banks is rare these days!

So nothing stands in the way of the next 'pudding man' aeeh 'cart man'...

Too funny.

Surely, someone is going to get arrested.

This one made my day!

But have you factored in the foreign transaction fee that may be charged by the CC company? That will certain erode your return on investment :p

This one made my day!

But have you factored in the foreign transaction fee that may be charged by the CC company? That will certain erode your return on investment :p
Many of us have no-foreign-fee cards, so we're golden on this.

Too funny.

Surely, someone is going to get arrested.

I was kinda wondering about the attention this would no doubt draw from der Polizei.

Can we ask FraPort to raise the deposit requirement to 100€? :D

Hilarious! That's the spirit.

Hopefully this is not shut down right away I have a 19 hour layover in FRA next April, I will have my 5 y.o. son and wife so hopefully they can help too

Hopefully this is not shut down right away I have a 19 hour layover in FRA next April, I will have my 5 y.o. son and wife so hopefully they can help too

Have the tyke pull the carts off and bring them back to you. The wife can take the Euro coins to a Sparkasse and get paper.

Stayed at Hilton Garden FRA took 10 minutes to find return stn for cart to get my 2 euro back ! But then found several abandoned carts. ;) Civic duty to return them@:-) but now My hourly rate has gone up!

How do these transactions process as spending?

Any cards offering multiple miles for spending in that category?:D

Seriously maybe there is something to it.

You can use an AMEX prepaid which gives you 5x UR up to $2.5k (you can have almost an unlimited amount of these prepaid cards).

Say you hire someone for EUR 6 (ok borderline minimum wage, but doable).

120 carts an hour or 240 EUR maybe a bit more. That's 1560 miles an hour. That's after 8 hours - 12480 miles for you and EUR 48 for our honorable cart lugger.

~13k miles for 48 EUR I'd take it :)

Oh and other airport have different deposits all over Europe. Some charge EUR 5 or 7. So it could actually make sense...

Seriously maybe there is something to it.

You can use an AMEX prepaid which gives you 5x UR up to $2.5k (you can have almost an unlimited amount of these prepaid cards).

Say you hire someone for EUR 6 (ok borderline minimum wage, but doable).

120 carts an hour or 240 EUR maybe a bit more. That's 1560 miles an hour. That's after 8 hours - 12480 miles for you and EUR 48 for our honorable cart lugger.

~13k miles for 48 EUR I'd take it :)

Oh and other airport have different deposits all over Europe. Some charge EUR 5 or 7. So it could actually make sense...

That's assuming the guy you hire to pick the carts actually meets you at the end of the day to give you all the coins back ;)

That's assuming the guy you hire to pick the carts actually meets you at the end of the day to give you all the coins back ;)

Forget the coins... The guys just going to take the $2000 Amex card and leave!

Yea of little faith. If worried about theft, check for opportunities in the Greek, Spanish and Italian airports - the help won't run to the bank with your Euros for fear of been trampled by the crowds running the other way.:D

Forget the coins... The guys just going to take the $2000 Amex card and leave!

Oh dear, did I have to find this thread????

Maybe one quarter a year you could get 5% back on Discover or Freedom.

Someone needs to look into that. But do the cards need to be PinChip or would a US mag strip card work?

Should FT have a new thread just for cart running?:D

Maybe one quarter a year you could get 5% back on Discover or Freedom.

Someone needs to look into that. But do the cards need to be PinChip or would a US mag strip card work?

Should FT have a new thread just for cart running?:D

I used a US mag strip card for the carts back in Dec and it worked just fine (CapOne Venture if it matters). The only problem was I couldn't find where to return the dang cart. I eventually gave up.

-Steph

Oh my... only on flyertalk!

Sounds like we need to map the airport(s) out to find those little "cash machines."

Just think "Together we can help save the European economy, one pushcart at a time!"


I used a US mag strip card for the carts back in Dec and it worked just fine (CapOne Venture if it matters). The only problem was I couldn't find where to return the dang cart. I eventually gave up.

-Steph

No, it's 2 Euros per rental -- that would make it 6,514 transactions at current exchange rates, so it would only be 2.26 days. One flight cancellation in the summer with no other seats available for a couple of days and you're there, assuming you can stay awake the entire time and really, really like pushing luggage carts around.

Of course, Chase would probably look askance at over $16K of purchases in 2 Euro amounts all within 2 days+.
Nah, your card will probably be blocked due to suspicious transactions and possible fraud.

Thanks for the laugh ... really. Love reading the replies as well.

Now this one layover you're looking forward to!

Yes LH, can I please have a longer layover in FRA? That 5 hours is too short.

I've got a 20-hour layover and there is no way I would pass up the weisswurst and bier for this nonsense. But I appreciate the concept! :)

The only reason to pass this up is if you have FCT access ... and even then, I'd just send out the LH Personal Assistant to do the task :D

Just call your bank ahead and tell them that you will be making a few thousand 2 Euro transactions in Germany.:D

Nah, your card will probably be blocked due to suspicious transactions and possible fraud.

lol! For 2-10 miles at a time, this would be ludicrous. However, I'd be the first one in line to read about someone actually doing this.

We really need a YouTube video of this technique!:D

Might make a nice tie in with the large money drops over at the new Universal Exports.

lol! For 2-10 miles at a time, this would be ludicrous. However, I'd be the first one in line to read about someone actually doing this.

Looks like I can make it to Frankfurt in August for a few hours of cart running.

Have we any had any cart runners report back in?

Anyone got the number of that NPR reporter?

Even Tim Geithner ain't gonna be able to kill this deal!:cool:

I will be in FRA in Aug and Sept. Hmmmm..... this might be my first cart run!

Now I'm looking forward to my 5 hour layover. Cart running here I come!

Closed because the discussion has degenerated into insensitive stereotyping.