Mileage Mongers.

haha. Simple yet sounds good - CC Maximizer. lol

I agree that "hacker" has a negative connotation, a connotation that some FTers deserve, IMO, because while they might not do anything illegal, they certainly exploit the rules and oftentimes the spirit of the promotion. That kind of behavior can be detrimental to the non-hackers because in order to close the loophole, they'll kill the program for everyone.

Personally, I consider myself a "Mileage Hound." I will apply for credit cards in order to pocket bonuses, but I limit myself to 2 per year. I routinely switch my spending to the cards that offer me the best return, but I never pocket the miles and then cancel after 6 months. I usually keep all cards at least two years, with the notable exception being the BritishAirways card. I liked the card features, especially the 100,000 mile bonus and 1.25 earning rate, but its annual fee ($95) was way too high to justify keeping it once I discovered that booking a "free" trip involved paying hundreds of dollars in taxes and surcharges.

And recently, I've begun cancelling tertiary (aka "in the drawer") cards if the issuing bank decides to significantly raise the annual fee.

Very simple - I'm a miles and points hobbyist.

Hi: My name is Rick and I am a travel hacker and card churner.

Is that only reserved for those of us who are tribe?

I'm partial to mileage whore

When I asked one of my IT-savvy friends what hacking is many years ago he gave me a great definition "making a program do what it can but is not intended to do". So following this definition what this forum is about is "hacking" like it or not. Note though this term doesn't imply "illegal" or "below ethical standards" - it just implies you are using the system in a certain way.

Wasn't the term "travel hacker" crafted by a certain website that charges people an exorbitant amount of money for regurgitated FlyerTalk content?

But anyways, just like computer hackers there are varying levels....each wearing different colored "hats".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_...cker_attitudes

White hat - credit card churning/mileage runners
Gray hat - US Mint/Amazon Payments/etc
Black hat - ??? yet to hear about anyone going to jail for FF exploits
Script kiddies - mistake fare newbies (who scream for blood when their ticket is cancelled)

I think arbitrageur is the most accurate term. Spend X resources to receive at least X+1 in return.

What step are you on?

So, similar to hedge fund managers, we are travel hedgers.

Being a computer security guy, I happen to find travel hacker endearing

I think this is on the right track. Although, it assumes a scientific rigor is applied to the endeavour. Most people are mere hobbyists.

Perhaps there should be a hierarchy:

Science themed:
Loyalty programologist - for the most rigorous analyst
Professor of Points - for the highly accomplished
Students of status - for the masses

Religious themed:
Pope/Prophet of Points
Saints of Status
FT Followers

Just finished China Mievillie's Embassytown. He coined a great term--floaking. Which is "the life-technique of aggregated skill, luck, laziness and chutzpah."

It is a skill that suits the protagonist--who travels vast galactic distances through a sort-of hyperspace.

Anyhow, I think the word sort of suits this obsession.

I think travel hacker is an excellent way to describe it. Us computer old-timers remember that the term has positive and negative connotations, with lots of shades of gray. It's hard to argue with a straight face that those of us who, for instance, churned AA cards weren't being a bit subversive.