Points advice request! (Lots of info)
Feb 7, 2016 | 11:38 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 3
Points advice request! (Lots of info)
Hello all. I'm new to the forum and wanted to get your take on building points over the next few years.
For the next three years, SO and I will not be doing any traveling because we are firmly dedicated to rapidly paying off our student loan debt (in the mid six figures). It's doable but we are on a nearly suffocating budget so obviously don't have any extra money. Since we won't be going anywhere, I figured that it would be a good idea to build a huge base of points to dip into once we are out of debt and are able to travel again. Plus, not traveling is boring and I need something to do!
Since we're not flying, I feel like credit card bonuses are the best way to go about this. We have a CSP that we put all of our combined spend on (groceries, house stuff, etc) and have already received the 55k bonus. I have a linked Freedom card for my own personal card and we shift our spend quarterly onto the Freedom to max out the bonus categories. In total we have about 65K UR points so far. I want to keep my good relationship with Chase intact; do you think churning the CSP down the road will be risky?
SO needs a new personal card. We got a targeted United MileagePlus Explorer offer (55K after 2K spend in 3 months and AU add, totally doable) so we are considering that one. We have United MileagePlus accounts already, with about 25K points in them combined. A 55K addition to that would be nice. My only qualm about this is that UA miles expire and some kind of activity would be necessary.
Thinking about getting another shared card with a nice bonus to max out. Any ideas? We missed out on the Citi ThankYou bonus offer but ThankYou points seem a little weird to me (maybe I'm just comparing them to UR too much) and not sure if we'd really benefit from them.
Planning on getting the Hyatt card in a couple years so that we'll be able to utilize the free nights when we're ready to travel (hopefully that offer is still available in three years!)
Info about us: No kids. Our home airport is PDX so Alaska miles could come in handy. In the future, we're planning to travel extensively, but I would say that Europe is probably tops our wish list. Not real interested in the first class experience, basically just want to travel to awesome places as cheaply as possible. Our credit scores are 760 and 788.
Essentially, we're looking to play the game smart. We dabble in MS (so little that our Bluebird is still up and running), and aren't really interested in doing crazy MS amounts. I do understand that certain points expire without any activity and I also know that it's probably better to earn and burn than stockpiling points. But I feel like building some trusty points now to use later is a good idea? Is this a good way to go about it? Any tips/advice/criticism is appreciated!
For the next three years, SO and I will not be doing any traveling because we are firmly dedicated to rapidly paying off our student loan debt (in the mid six figures). It's doable but we are on a nearly suffocating budget so obviously don't have any extra money. Since we won't be going anywhere, I figured that it would be a good idea to build a huge base of points to dip into once we are out of debt and are able to travel again. Plus, not traveling is boring and I need something to do!
Since we're not flying, I feel like credit card bonuses are the best way to go about this. We have a CSP that we put all of our combined spend on (groceries, house stuff, etc) and have already received the 55k bonus. I have a linked Freedom card for my own personal card and we shift our spend quarterly onto the Freedom to max out the bonus categories. In total we have about 65K UR points so far. I want to keep my good relationship with Chase intact; do you think churning the CSP down the road will be risky?
SO needs a new personal card. We got a targeted United MileagePlus Explorer offer (55K after 2K spend in 3 months and AU add, totally doable) so we are considering that one. We have United MileagePlus accounts already, with about 25K points in them combined. A 55K addition to that would be nice. My only qualm about this is that UA miles expire and some kind of activity would be necessary.
Thinking about getting another shared card with a nice bonus to max out. Any ideas? We missed out on the Citi ThankYou bonus offer but ThankYou points seem a little weird to me (maybe I'm just comparing them to UR too much) and not sure if we'd really benefit from them.
Planning on getting the Hyatt card in a couple years so that we'll be able to utilize the free nights when we're ready to travel (hopefully that offer is still available in three years!)
Info about us: No kids. Our home airport is PDX so Alaska miles could come in handy. In the future, we're planning to travel extensively, but I would say that Europe is probably tops our wish list. Not real interested in the first class experience, basically just want to travel to awesome places as cheaply as possible. Our credit scores are 760 and 788.
Essentially, we're looking to play the game smart. We dabble in MS (so little that our Bluebird is still up and running), and aren't really interested in doing crazy MS amounts. I do understand that certain points expire without any activity and I also know that it's probably better to earn and burn than stockpiling points. But I feel like building some trusty points now to use later is a good idea? Is this a good way to go about it? Any tips/advice/criticism is appreciated!
Feb 7, 2016 | 11:55 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 34,990
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Citi/AA cards yield 50K bonus miles after $3K spend. No reason to limit your miles cache to UA miles, and AA miles can also be redeemed for travel on AS.
Citi/AA cards yield 50K bonus miles after $3K spend. No reason to limit your miles cache to UA miles, and AA miles can also be redeemed for travel on AS.
Feb 7, 2016 | 3:09 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 34,990
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Other things to know about the Citi/AA Platinum credit cards:
1. Each card holder gets a 10% rebate on AAdvantage redemptions, subject to a calendar year maximum of 10,000 rebated miles;
2. Card holders qualify for "reduced-mileage" awards to a rotating list of destinations. Many of the destinations are not exactly "garden spots," but there are occasional gems (like Key West this April and May); if you find a destination that works for you, a one-way can cost as little as 8,750 AA miles -- or just 7,975 miles after the 10% rebate. But you still have to be able to find low-tier ("SAAver") award seats in order to get the reduced-mileage awards. Here's a link to the current list:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/e...dmileageawards
Other things to know about the Citi/AA Platinum credit cards:
1. Each card holder gets a 10% rebate on AAdvantage redemptions, subject to a calendar year maximum of 10,000 rebated miles;
2. Card holders qualify for "reduced-mileage" awards to a rotating list of destinations. Many of the destinations are not exactly "garden spots," but there are occasional gems (like Key West this April and May); if you find a destination that works for you, a one-way can cost as little as 8,750 AA miles -- or just 7,975 miles after the 10% rebate. But you still have to be able to find low-tier ("SAAver") award seats in order to get the reduced-mileage awards. Here's a link to the current list:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/e...dmileageawards
Feb 7, 2016 | 3:46 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORF
Programs: Amex Plat, AA, BA Silver, Marriott Plat, Choice Gold, HHonors Gold, IHG Diamond
Posts: 3,860
As you note, some kind of activity is necessary in regards to UA as well as most other points/miles programs so that your stash doesn't expire. That doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive proposition, however. Most mileage programs, including UA, have shopping portals. Most award miles for buying music, even one song, through iTunes. Of course, putting a small amount of spend on a co-branded credit card, such as the Explorer card does the same thing.
In addition, UA, AA, DL, and Southwest as well as some hotels participate in the Rewards Network Dining Program. This can be a hit or miss proposition depending on where you live as in some areas there are lots of restaurants that participate and in others, not so many. It's an instant category bonus, though, as most programs give you three miles per dollar spent for giving them your email address and five per dollar if you have 12 or more dines per year at restaurants in the program. I'm fortunate that three restaurants that I would frequent in any case participate in the program. Almost any purchase from the restaurant, including gift cards or certificates, qualify, so you could spend $5 or $10 at some places to earn miles. It's a great benefit for me because I eat out most nights of the week, but even if you only can afford the occasional splurge, it can be a low cost way to add to your mileage accounts and keep your accounts active.
In case you're not aware, the AA card seems to be in a "rinse, repeat" mode right now. Details: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...ess-cards.html. No guarantees, of course, that this will continue while you pay off your education bills, and in fact, an almost certain guarantee that it will not, but it might allow you to build a nice stash before the gravy train runs out.
As a long-term player, you should be aware that programs devalue--American's set to do so in late March although the reduced mileage awards and 10% rebate remain in place--but that happens. A lot of folks are into "earning and burning," but I'm comfortable building a reservoir of points/miles that allow nearly free or very reduced cost travel to destinations I actually want to visit rather than just sitting in a luxury cabin and flying to nowhere. I've accepted that devaluations happen, but most have happened with sufficient advance notice to allow me to book any impending travel if the cost is heading up. Otherwise, I just hold onto to my points/miles and understand that it's a cost of doing business.
In addition, UA, AA, DL, and Southwest as well as some hotels participate in the Rewards Network Dining Program. This can be a hit or miss proposition depending on where you live as in some areas there are lots of restaurants that participate and in others, not so many. It's an instant category bonus, though, as most programs give you three miles per dollar spent for giving them your email address and five per dollar if you have 12 or more dines per year at restaurants in the program. I'm fortunate that three restaurants that I would frequent in any case participate in the program. Almost any purchase from the restaurant, including gift cards or certificates, qualify, so you could spend $5 or $10 at some places to earn miles. It's a great benefit for me because I eat out most nights of the week, but even if you only can afford the occasional splurge, it can be a low cost way to add to your mileage accounts and keep your accounts active.
In case you're not aware, the AA card seems to be in a "rinse, repeat" mode right now. Details: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...ess-cards.html. No guarantees, of course, that this will continue while you pay off your education bills, and in fact, an almost certain guarantee that it will not, but it might allow you to build a nice stash before the gravy train runs out.
As a long-term player, you should be aware that programs devalue--American's set to do so in late March although the reduced mileage awards and 10% rebate remain in place--but that happens. A lot of folks are into "earning and burning," but I'm comfortable building a reservoir of points/miles that allow nearly free or very reduced cost travel to destinations I actually want to visit rather than just sitting in a luxury cabin and flying to nowhere. I've accepted that devaluations happen, but most have happened with sufficient advance notice to allow me to book any impending travel if the cost is heading up. Otherwise, I just hold onto to my points/miles and understand that it's a cost of doing business.
Feb 8, 2016 | 11:28 pm
#7
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 102,617
DL miles don't expire (until you do).
Other programs can have very different rules about what types of activity are needed at what intervals (but allow lots of extra time for miles from shopping and dining activities to post). For some programs redemptions count--such as magazine subscriptions--and for others you can make a small charitable contribution to keep your remaining miles alive.
You really need to read the rules very carefully.
Other programs can have very different rules about what types of activity are needed at what intervals (but allow lots of extra time for miles from shopping and dining activities to post). For some programs redemptions count--such as magazine subscriptions--and for others you can make a small charitable contribution to keep your remaining miles alive.
You really need to read the rules very carefully.