I agree with you guys that there is a steep learning curve on the redemption side. It's just easy to take for granted if you speak Flyertalk.

I refuse to pay an annual fee (except for the BA card for the first year since it's not waived; also perhaps except for the $49(?) Priority Club card since you get a free night of hotel included yearly).

I am not as greedy (and I mean that in the best possible way) as many here. My first card was AA a few years ago and I got maybe 30k miles. Then each year I switched to another (Delta, United) when the annual fee came due. Only in the past 12 months I've gone totally crazy and applied for about 6 cards (3 of them AA). In my defense, the current bonuses are just too good to pass up.

I don't do coins and I only travel coach so I while I know most of the tricks on FT, I don't employ them. PM me if you need help.

A lot of people play down the time it takes to become well versed in this hobby. I easily spend an hour daily just on FT and the blogs. Many, many people do not have the luxury of an extra hour a day, nor the interest in something so tedious.

This is a great thread. It's almost like a group therapy session in a way. It helps to hear that all of you get the same "Are you insane?" reaction from your friends and family.

When I first found this hobby I though it was crazy that everyone in the world didn't take advantage. I went around telling everyone I could expecting that everyone would be as excited as I. Of course, most of the people instead thought I should be put away in an institution. I now pursue my miles and points quietly although perhaps a little gloating about heading off to Bali in CX F ;).

It's easy to forget that not all people value travel as much as we do. When I meet people who have absolutely no inkling to travel the world, it blows me away....because that's what I live for and think about everyday. Then again people probably think the same for my and my wife for not wanting to have children.

What I've come to realize is that this is a hobby. You have to truly enjoy the hunt to do this. I don't consider my time reading threads on Flyertalk and calling into credit cards a waste because I'm hunting for a big payoff, it's fun to me. I love to fly and be in airports so mileage runs aren't a waste of time for me.

There is no need to compare the time spent to minimum wage because it's what we enjoy and at the end of the day ALL hobbies don't make financial sense. It's just about what you enjoy doing. Why be into knitting when you can go to the store and buy clothes, cooking when there are 5 star restaurants to go to? How much does a golfing hobby pay? The payment is joy and happiness and isn't that really the point of life? Our hobby isn't more or less pointless than anyone else's and to us it's awesome.

vacation time...
 

Let's not forget that most people in the U.S. get very little vacation time. I get 3 weeks/year (after 6 years in the same job) which is a lot compared to others, but for me it's nothing. I want to change jobs but am scared of the measly 2 weeks I will probably be offered.

So many logical reasons why most people are not interested. For me, it's a rewarding hobby.

this so is well said and i totally agree with you. austin here we come for free and hotel for free.

This is the best post in this thread! Well said.

Great thread, thanks op.
 

I got involved with FT a few years back when I saw the $20 Vegas Suite upgrade while I was goggling for Vegas hotel upgrade codes. I was one of those "cheap" travelers, only bought the cheapest ticket I could get. I was even doing the credit card thingy back then, 30k miles for just $250 spent (back then) was awesome, I could get a free ticket anywhere. Eventually I became ELITE with ATA (American Trans Air), and got a few companion tickets. This is when I saw something about it. ATA when belly up and I started traveling with AA. Been with AA since 98. As time went on, my travel increased until I reached GOLD, I though I had it made, did the challenge for PLT and started looking on ways to maximize my travel, more miles for my $. I dont do cc churning that much, or the coins. I'm lucky that my wife has the same passion as me for traveling, we've been EXP for the past few years, always travel together and go to many places.
We are more of "WEEKEND WARRIORS" fly out Friday PM, return Sunday PM. Even more when there are some promo, 2xEQM, etc. Others call us crazy, only spend a weekend on a new place, what a waste of time. I do not care, at least I've been there, enjoyed the sights, discovered a restaurant, saw history. It is a hobby for us, and we enjoy it. Others collect coins, stamps, casino chips, etc, and spend lots of money on that "gem" of piece. Same as us, FT is like our "bible, guidebook" Like others, we spend our time on it and reap the rewards. You will get back what you put into it.
This "hobby" is not for everyone, I've tried to educate others on it, but they don't care. Yet, these are the same people that ask me to get them a deal, go figure. We have relatives friend that have marked all the places that they've traveled, (more than us), yet they have not even seen some of the sights, even thought they have spent more days than us.

They're happy doing what they do
 

Actually, not many of my friends really care about doing a lot of travel to new places. They're the kind who are pretty much content to take a week each summer to go camping in the mountains. I have no problem with that, since they enjoy it, but I do like to travel the world. They are always marveling about what I do. Talking about a planned trip to Turkey with one friend, she said, "Wow, a trip of a lifetime!" I didn't have the heart to say at that moment that I was also planning to go to Spain and Australia within the next few months, and the next year to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Morocco.. I think it's a good thing that not many people do what we do - it's hard enough to get a free seat where and when you want it as is, and credit card companies would soon stop making big offers if everyone was churning.

But, you're forgetting the time spent reading (at a minimum) the Cap1 threads. For some people, that could drag the hourly rate down (quite) a bit... :p

Agree.

Lost me on the math.
 

You lost me on the math here. How is charging $2000 to a credit card worth $2,290? What am I missing here?

May have been a good post but this is the best line...

I am so... going to use that line.

$2240 perhaps?

For the Cap1 Venture, there's a 10K bonus for getting the card.
And you get 2K points for spending that $1K.
So, it's 112K points for $1K of spend. 112,000 points = $1120 - a point is a penny. x 2 = $2240.

ISTR that the biz card gives a higher bonus so maybe that's it? Or a typo. Or I'm forgetting something too....

If you want to watch the reality crap, watch it on your portable dvd player while you're on the plane to an island yourself! :p

My fave: "How much does a golfing hobby pay?" ^

A lot more if you are betting per stroke and not per hole. :p