Originally Posted by ArizonaGuy

I'm fed up with the attitude that permeates much of FT and has done so over the past 18 months or so. Perhaps a bit longer. Maybe I'm an old curmudgeon in my ripe old age of mid 30's but it's why I don't actively participate as much as I once did. I come to read and I search FT via Google but beyond that my posts are sporadic. That attitude I've witnessed is why.

On topic, I will disagree with the argument to finish early. It simply depends on your goals and your patterns. Perhaps you won't be doing any travel until November and you'll get your hotel and/or car rentals then. There's no urgent need to complete your hotel stays early unless you intend to burn the bonus miles as soon as you get them.

Then there's always the possibility of late promotions. In prior years buy/gift bonuses started near the end of a Grand Slam. This is precisely why I won't be sharing miles between my wife and myself until Monday November 14th in the unlikely event such a promotion begins then.

While you should never hoard miles there's no reason to earn them immediately in September instead of November if you're planning to use them on a trip 6 to 11 months later.