Originally Posted by
joer1212
But this still leaves the problem of having thousands of dollars left on gift cards that you still have to spend....sometime. Whether that's now, or later on, this will necessarily interfere with one (or several) of your app-o-rama minimum spend requirements. You will have to pay either Peter or Paul sometime, so it is a zero-sum game.
Considering that you need about 100k miles for an international r/t business class ticket in one frequent flyer program, you will necessarily have to do frequent app-o-ramas (and meet the minimum spends) to have any hope of achieving this kind of mileage in a single program. This, by itself, is a struggle. But, to have the added burden of also having to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards becomes overwhelming.
Now, if you could buy gift cards; get the bonus miles, and then return the gift cards for a cash refund (without losing the miles), it would be a bonanza. But, anything short of this just comes up......short.
True to a certain extent, but keep in mind that many here do exactly this and are capable of doing multiple app sprees to gain those miles. Also keep in mind that although you cannot combine miles from different airlines, a number of airlines, including AA, BA, and UA allow one-way award redemptions--so if you get an AA card with a 50K signup bonus and a UA card with a 50K signup bonus, you can probably structure a low or saver biz award itinerary on two airlines, each one way.
There are also ways to increase spending somewhat artificially. I don't use these methods, partially because my spending patterns allow me to earn more than enough for my travel needs, but I don't condemn them anymore either. The late, lamented Mint was one way of increasing spending, but there are threads in MilesBuzz on other currently operating schemes as well. My only caution about such measures is that it appears that done clumsily, these methods might get you into trouble with certain financial institutions, but there are plenty of posts in those threads from folks who have been doing this for a long time without negative consequences so I'd suggest having a look at some of those threads to get an idea. For a start, try this one:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...tting+spending.
In addition, there are occasional promotions where you can earn 2-10K in one small transaction. Netflix has had promotions offering varying levels of airline miles for signing up. I earned 2500 AA miles and 4K UA miles this way. A Sunday subscription to the NY Times for 60 days got another 2000 AA miles. It's not much, but if you can get 50K through a card, another 10K or more will help increase your options.
One final thought: you might want to lower your travel goal. I know you want to fly business class. It is a nice way to fly, but keep in mind, it's only 8-10 hours for many flights unless you're headed to Asia, Africa, or Australia. For the majority of flights many of us will take, business is a nice convenience and not a necessity. Until two years ago, all of my TATLs had been in economy, and although I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unproductive on my arrival day (I'm just not capable of sleeping in an economy seat), I still got where I wanted to go and accepted my discomfort in order to experience the places I'd wanted to go all my life.
Figure on using your miles for economy and take advantage of low season awards when possible. AA runs those 40K redemptions to Europe from mid-October to mid-May. That makes a trip possible solely by getting one card. Once you've enjoyed that first trip, you'll figure out whether you actually need the comfort of business class or whether you're just as happy sitting back in coach so that you can take more trips later.