I have a friend who needs more miles. A newbie/non-FTer who JUST got a CC with the sign up bonus - half of what is needed for one of her RT award tickets, but a start none the less.

I need some help on how to help her get the rest of her miles--with relatively NORMAL means, if doable!

Ok so like many here, I know a few tricks to get miles and I often hum a little tune that sorta sums up the things I might do to make it happen if I need to spend time building up accounts with or without CCs:

Promos with cash back and gift cards of plastic
Bright shiny credit cards and charging like spastic
Making a spend with no attached strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Squareup Intuit Payanywhere and Amazon
Some of my ethical friends think what I do is so wrong
But in pour the points, miles cash back and more
I even learned how to do Staples rebates and rewards!

When the bank calls
When the bill's due
When deals die and it's sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad


Now, maybe you don't hum THAT tune but you probably know what I mean. We at FT generally know what we are doing or can generally find a way to get them miles/points if so inclined.

But there are people out there, yes, friends of all of ours who live up the street or 'round the corner, who just DO NOT KNOW! (I know I know, I'm not supposed to talk with such people)

And when they want to get into miles, it's both elating to see someone "turn," but also eye-rolling because you know they are going to think it's all so easy and fast, etc...

Well, we have just such friends of our family and they, like us, have family overseas so they fly there muchly.

It's come to pass that due to things I have learned on sites like FT, etc, I have been able to bring my own family of 4 BOS-AMS usually flying on DL for 60k miles pp non-stop RT at least 4x per year for a while now. I usually use AS miles or DL miles to fly DL. When coins were big, I would fill the accounts from the credit cards of each. Now I'm running a bit low with DL miles but I know I could always rely on GCs or something even more creative like that to get more. It always evolves, as we know.

But this friend is not going to do all that--not now at least. What I need is to find ways to help them get miles and not with all the stuff we do necessarily. I suppose I could ease them into things over time, but it's a challenge for me, and those who know me know I would love to burst in with every trick in the book for my friends but probably overwhelm them in the process.

So this thread is to hear your ideas... simpler ones. Ones that make sense (not like the sometimes rambling madness of a marathon man). YOu can see by the nature of how I started this thread that I just cannot make it short and simple. That's why I come to you all.

NOTE: While some do not like DL, this is about what is, and what needs to fit/be for that family, who not only wants to fly them but probably has some miles on them anyway (although I am actually afraid to ask in case they have been the types of people to say something like, "Oh we didn't bother to sign up." I don't even wanna know that)

Here are the facts on my friends:

• family of 5
• could get more CCs
• have means (ie, they had been paying cash outright for all their flights)
• flies BOS-AMS (doesn't mind economy seating)
• prefers DL (again, for BOS, it is a non stop flight and awards are always doable)
• DL econ for that flight can very often be found at 60k pp with relative ease even at short notice (a month)
• husband - unknown what cards he has or would get
• wife - just told me today she got the DL Amex 30k card with the $500 spend. Ok that's half of one ticket. It's a start. Her chat with me is what got me starting this thread.

~I might tell them to get SPG 25k Amex's and refer 'em both and then they could, if so inclined, transfer the points to DL.

~I might point them to a better offer on that DL Amex and try to get the husband to get one. (btw the kids are 8, 15, 17 so no CCs yet)

But assuming for a moment that the wife just has 30k new DL miles now and nothing more, she's got stars in her eyes thinking she can one day get a free ticket, so how would YOU help her get 30k more DL? (Yah I know, I suppose this entire post could have said just that lol)

MM