Earn and Burn Year in review
Dec 31, 2011 | 9:25 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: SFO
Posts: 252
Earn and Burn Year in review
Happy new year guys!
I thought it would be interesting to share my earn/burn for 2011 now that the year is coming to a close. I'd be curious what you're earn/burn was for 2011, please share in a similar format.
Earn:
BA 100k
AA Biz 75K
Sapphire 50K
Ink bold 50K
Continental 40k
SPG 30k
Marriott 70K
--------------
Total earned in 2011: 315K Airline. 100k hotel
Burn:
Travel in 2011:
US-Asia in F on CX - 135k AA miles
US-Australia in Y on UA - 80k UA miles
US-SA in Y on LA - 40k BA miles
Travel in 2012:
US-Asia in F on CX - 67.5k AA miles + 50K BA miles
US-SA in Y on LA - 40K BA miles
---------------------------------------
Total Burned in 2011: 412.5K miles
Now I just need to sustain this rate of burn after having picked the low hanging fruit. With most of the cards being one time only, do you think that your rate of burn can be sustained with credit card sign ups in 2012?
I thought it would be interesting to share my earn/burn for 2011 now that the year is coming to a close. I'd be curious what you're earn/burn was for 2011, please share in a similar format.
Earn:
BA 100k
AA Biz 75K
Sapphire 50K
Ink bold 50K
Continental 40k
SPG 30k
Marriott 70K
--------------
Total earned in 2011: 315K Airline. 100k hotel
Burn:
Travel in 2011:
US-Asia in F on CX - 135k AA miles
US-Australia in Y on UA - 80k UA miles
US-SA in Y on LA - 40k BA miles
Travel in 2012:
US-Asia in F on CX - 67.5k AA miles + 50K BA miles
US-SA in Y on LA - 40K BA miles
---------------------------------------
Total Burned in 2011: 412.5K miles
Now I just need to sustain this rate of burn after having picked the low hanging fruit. With most of the cards being one time only, do you think that your rate of burn can be sustained with credit card sign ups in 2012?
Dec 31, 2011 | 11:09 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: Many
Posts: 339
"Now I just need to sustain this rate of burn after having picked the low hanging fruit. With most of the cards being one time only, do you think that your rate of burn can be sustained with credit card sign ups in 2012?"
That's the question, isn't it? A few years from now will be looking back nostagically, "Remember the early 2010's when we could get seemingly endless mileage bonuses from credit card companies with very little effort, and take trips all over the world? Those were the days..."
Or will competition keep the excitement going, with new products and bonuses coming up regularly?
That's the question, isn't it? A few years from now will be looking back nostagically, "Remember the early 2010's when we could get seemingly endless mileage bonuses from credit card companies with very little effort, and take trips all over the world? Those were the days..."
Or will competition keep the excitement going, with new products and bonuses coming up regularly?
Dec 31, 2011 | 9:43 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: SFO
Posts: 252
My bet is that these >50K sign up bonuses won't last very long. We've already seen several cards being reduced (AA 75k->50k, BA 100k->50k), and a crackdown on churning by Chase and Citi. These >50k signup bonuses are actually a rather new (2010) thing and what they've done is inflate the currency. Something has to give: either a devaluation of the miles or reduced signup bonuses.
Dec 31, 2011 | 10:32 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Titanium, Nat'l EE, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 16,637
My bet is that these >50K sign up bonuses won't last very long. We've already seen several cards being reduced (AA 75k->50k, BA 100k->50k), and a crackdown on churning by Chase and Citi. These >50k signup bonuses are actually a rather new (2010) thing and what they've done is inflate the currency. Something has to give: either a devaluation of the miles or reduced signup bonuses.
Jan 1, 2012 | 7:00 am
#6
used to be 'Flyfarfar'
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SE
Programs: DL, AA, SPG, MR, HGP, IHG
Posts: 660
Redeemed 1.734 million points and miles. It was a fun year
Here is my earn and burn review for 2011.
Here is my earn and burn review for 2011.
Jan 1, 2012 | 7:44 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,657
I do see the mega-bonuses declining, as noted above. But there are still 40k and 50k offers out there that seem to be the 'going rate'. Back in the early 2000s, when I signed up for my UMP Visa, 25k was the best I could find for a sign up bonus. So, although the mega bonuses might be thin right now, I do think the 'market rate' has gone from 25k to about 40k. (Of course, as noted, this coincides with devaluation and/or reduced award availability, so the purchasing power of the 40k is probably no more than the purchasing power of 25k in 2003.)
Jan 1, 2012 | 11:10 am
#8
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Posts: 511
I would so love to go Off-topic to reply to some posts but I will respect the OP thread.
So are are only including CC signups and no other promos? Here is the breakdown of my full earning stats.
Earn:
AA Personal: 75k x2
BA Personal: 100k
UA Explorer: 50k
--------------------
Total: 300k miles
Burn:
Travel 2012:
US-Deep SA in T on AA - 25K BA Miles
--------------------------------------
Total: 25k miles
2011 was great and 2012 should be even better! I did earn
So are are only including CC signups and no other promos? Here is the breakdown of my full earning stats.
Earn:
AA Personal: 75k x2
BA Personal: 100k
UA Explorer: 50k
--------------------
Total: 300k miles
Burn:
Travel 2012:
US-Deep SA in T on AA - 25K BA Miles
--------------------------------------
Total: 25k miles
2011 was great and 2012 should be even better! I did earn
Jan 1, 2012 | 1:20 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,657
Just started getting into this a few months ago...
Earned:
Amex Platinum 100k
Chase Sapphire Preferred 50k
Citi/AA x2 150k
Continental 50k
Total earned from bonuses: 350k
Burned:
LH r/t in Y, NYC-LIS 110k (2 tix)
DL r/t in Y, NYC-IAH 32.5k
Total burned: 142.5k
Earned:
Amex Platinum 100k
Chase Sapphire Preferred 50k
Citi/AA x2 150k
Continental 50k
Total earned from bonuses: 350k
Burned:
LH r/t in Y, NYC-LIS 110k (2 tix)
DL r/t in Y, NYC-IAH 32.5k
Total burned: 142.5k
Jan 1, 2012 | 1:46 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,173
hard to say
My DW got many of the same offers I got we got too many points to figure easily, so I will hit the highlights.
We both got 225k with Cap1
spent 300k on Outrigger hotels in Kona, HI and Waikiki, Riu Palace in Negril, Jamaica, A beachfront hotel in Panama City Fl and Riu Palace Playa del Carmen MX total of 25 nights 8 nights at the Rius were all-inclusive.
Wife got the sapphire bump and had 106k in UR
when they had the awesome Black Friday deal we got 59" Samsung plasma 3D TV, Samsung 3D bluray with wifi, 4 sets of powered glasses, a new PS3 with Move bundle and a couple of games for it.
We both got 150k from AA
We used some points for car rental in HI, and booked a high room for one night in waikiki at a starwood property (PK) at a better rate than starpoints!!
We flew up front to HI for the first time on US air using 80k partner miles.
our previous 4 trips were in coach, trying to maximize our miles, for more trips, in the days when sign up offers were not as generous....now we are spoiled and wont make the 10hr flight in coach ever again.
Wife got DL Plat Amex and stretched another year of silver medallion status out of the MQM offer. Used the points and cash option it affords to book flight to Jamaica 30k points and $0 covered taxes and everything and gave us any dates we wanted....If we only used miles, the extremely limited low rate of 30k miles was hardly available and would have still cost an extra $120 in taxes...great feature of DL Amex cards!! We did the same kind of purchase for our Dec Mexico flights. Only get .01 CPM, but for skypesos and primetime flights it seemed worth it. They also comped the $150 annual fee this year (because of the amount of coin business we did with it last year, I guess)
We both bought hotel points in last years "discover America" promotion getting over 100k in choice, wyndham, and PC
Used some points for Tybee Island, Ga. , Savannah Ga. (4th of July), Pensacola Fl, Helen Ga., Cherokee NC
This year we have 400k in choice rewards between us... 20k gets a night all-inclusive at Barcelo resorts, trip advisor rates PVR as the best participating property.
Last year was such a bumper crop of offers I may have to take a year to let my credit report recover and spend some points before they devaluate. I only plan on getting mega offers this coming year. I'm cancelling cards and waiting until they are ripe for churning again....I cant see running low on points in the next few years.
Happy Travels in 2012!!
We both got 225k with Cap1
spent 300k on Outrigger hotels in Kona, HI and Waikiki, Riu Palace in Negril, Jamaica, A beachfront hotel in Panama City Fl and Riu Palace Playa del Carmen MX total of 25 nights 8 nights at the Rius were all-inclusive.
Wife got the sapphire bump and had 106k in UR
when they had the awesome Black Friday deal we got 59" Samsung plasma 3D TV, Samsung 3D bluray with wifi, 4 sets of powered glasses, a new PS3 with Move bundle and a couple of games for it.
We both got 150k from AA
We used some points for car rental in HI, and booked a high room for one night in waikiki at a starwood property (PK) at a better rate than starpoints!!
We flew up front to HI for the first time on US air using 80k partner miles.
our previous 4 trips were in coach, trying to maximize our miles, for more trips, in the days when sign up offers were not as generous....now we are spoiled and wont make the 10hr flight in coach ever again.
Wife got DL Plat Amex and stretched another year of silver medallion status out of the MQM offer. Used the points and cash option it affords to book flight to Jamaica 30k points and $0 covered taxes and everything and gave us any dates we wanted....If we only used miles, the extremely limited low rate of 30k miles was hardly available and would have still cost an extra $120 in taxes...great feature of DL Amex cards!! We did the same kind of purchase for our Dec Mexico flights. Only get .01 CPM, but for skypesos and primetime flights it seemed worth it. They also comped the $150 annual fee this year (because of the amount of coin business we did with it last year, I guess)
We both bought hotel points in last years "discover America" promotion getting over 100k in choice, wyndham, and PC
Used some points for Tybee Island, Ga. , Savannah Ga. (4th of July), Pensacola Fl, Helen Ga., Cherokee NC
This year we have 400k in choice rewards between us... 20k gets a night all-inclusive at Barcelo resorts, trip advisor rates PVR as the best participating property.
Last year was such a bumper crop of offers I may have to take a year to let my credit report recover and spend some points before they devaluate. I only plan on getting mega offers this coming year. I'm cancelling cards and waiting until they are ripe for churning again....I cant see running low on points in the next few years.
Happy Travels in 2012!!
Jan 1, 2012 | 1:54 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
PC Club Visa = 80k
Chase OnePass = 50k (58k now)
AA 2x = 150k + 25k thru spending
Delta flight inconvenience = 20k + 15k thru other promos
Burned in 2011 = reserved first class AA reward ticket to Jackson Hole (50k).
I am anxious to use my cards for their perks and accumulate more miles....and taking some vacations.
Chase OnePass = 50k (58k now)
AA 2x = 150k + 25k thru spending
Delta flight inconvenience = 20k + 15k thru other promos
Burned in 2011 = reserved first class AA reward ticket to Jackson Hole (50k).
I am anxious to use my cards for their perks and accumulate more miles....and taking some vacations.
Jan 1, 2012 | 6:12 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,906
Credit Card Earn:
BA Chase Visa -- 100K
Chase Sapphire Pref. -- 50K
AMEX Open Business -- 75K MR
AA Citi Visa -- 75K
US Barclay MC -- 40K (184K with grand slam)
Chase Freedom -- 30K UR
total 370K (514K with GS)
Burn:
140K (40K UA from flying + 80K Amex -> CO + 20K Chase -> UA) for LAX-PNQ in LH J, BOM-LAX in TG/NH F suites.
40K BA for JFK-LIM-IPC-SCL + 30K BA for SCL-IPC-SCL in LAN J
14K BA for intra-South America in LAN Y
30K AA for LIM-JFK-LAX in LAN/AA J
120K DL for LAX-BOM in DL/AF J (no cc, miles from flying)
total 374K burned (214K from CC's this year).
BA Chase Visa -- 100K
Chase Sapphire Pref. -- 50K
AMEX Open Business -- 75K MR
AA Citi Visa -- 75K
US Barclay MC -- 40K (184K with grand slam)
Chase Freedom -- 30K UR
total 370K (514K with GS)
Burn:
140K (40K UA from flying + 80K Amex -> CO + 20K Chase -> UA) for LAX-PNQ in LH J, BOM-LAX in TG/NH F suites.
40K BA for JFK-LIM-IPC-SCL + 30K BA for SCL-IPC-SCL in LAN J
14K BA for intra-South America in LAN Y
30K AA for LIM-JFK-LAX in LAN/AA J
120K DL for LAX-BOM in DL/AF J (no cc, miles from flying)
total 374K burned (214K from CC's this year).
Jan 3, 2012 | 3:45 pm
#14
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: New Orleans, LA
Programs: DL PM, AA Gold, A3 Gold, WN CP, and lots of points everywhere.
Posts: 344
After seeing blogs hitting on this, I did my own summary for a couple friends today. Here's an except. Note that this includes both my wife and me.
Earn and Burn Summary
Airline Earnings: 2,265,518
Hotel Earnings: 564,328
Credit Card Earnings: 735,860
Deduct Internal Transfers: -477,500 (Amex MR and Chase UR points earned, then transferred to airlines inflating airline #'s)
Net Earned: 3,088,206
Used: 1,499,100
Net Increase: 1,589,106
There are some small discrepancies (e.g. due to trades) that I'm too lazy to audit out through transaction histories but the numbers are petty darn close.
Re. points earned from flying and staying, I'd guess those to be no more than 250,000 points (mostly Delta), probably closer to 200,000.
Burning includes booking a large BA trip for 2 to southern Africa in first, a 3-stop trip on AA/LAN using AA/BA in business for 2012, and a LOT of domestic trips for my wife and friends/family.
Methodology Note: Balances do not include consideration of bonuses not yet received as of 1/3/2012 (e.g. due to statement not closing); speculative assets (e.g. UA Months of Miles); car rental points; misc coupons (sky club passes, companion passes, delta status nominations, etc). Points such as Airtran credits and old Southwest credits that were in much smaller units (e.g. 8 credits = domestic one-way) were converted to typical point equivalents. BA companion certificate valued at 225k (matching the primary ticket). Hotel point values vary substantially (E.g. $.025/SPG and $.005/Club Carlson) but were not adjusted.
Travel Summary
2011 included...
95 total flights on 8 airlines (Delta 76.3%)
Covering 104,420 miles (4.2x around the earth) to 5 countries and 29 airports (top 5: MSY, ATL, MSP, MEM, JNB/LAX). Includes award travel.
Taking 11.4 days (3.1% of my life last year was in an airplane - excludes airport time).
With an mean/average distance of 1,099 miles.
62 were in business/first class but only 5 included paying for the upgraded cabin. 33 were flown in economy. Only 4 were in a middle seat (and those probably next to my wife).
I realize these are small numbers compared to some but big numbers for me.
Earn and Burn Summary
Airline Earnings: 2,265,518
Hotel Earnings: 564,328
Credit Card Earnings: 735,860
Deduct Internal Transfers: -477,500 (Amex MR and Chase UR points earned, then transferred to airlines inflating airline #'s)
Net Earned: 3,088,206
Used: 1,499,100
Net Increase: 1,589,106
There are some small discrepancies (e.g. due to trades) that I'm too lazy to audit out through transaction histories but the numbers are petty darn close.
Re. points earned from flying and staying, I'd guess those to be no more than 250,000 points (mostly Delta), probably closer to 200,000.
Burning includes booking a large BA trip for 2 to southern Africa in first, a 3-stop trip on AA/LAN using AA/BA in business for 2012, and a LOT of domestic trips for my wife and friends/family.
Methodology Note: Balances do not include consideration of bonuses not yet received as of 1/3/2012 (e.g. due to statement not closing); speculative assets (e.g. UA Months of Miles); car rental points; misc coupons (sky club passes, companion passes, delta status nominations, etc). Points such as Airtran credits and old Southwest credits that were in much smaller units (e.g. 8 credits = domestic one-way) were converted to typical point equivalents. BA companion certificate valued at 225k (matching the primary ticket). Hotel point values vary substantially (E.g. $.025/SPG and $.005/Club Carlson) but were not adjusted.
Travel Summary
2011 included...
95 total flights on 8 airlines (Delta 76.3%)
Covering 104,420 miles (4.2x around the earth) to 5 countries and 29 airports (top 5: MSY, ATL, MSP, MEM, JNB/LAX). Includes award travel.
Taking 11.4 days (3.1% of my life last year was in an airplane - excludes airport time).
With an mean/average distance of 1,099 miles.
62 were in business/first class but only 5 included paying for the upgraded cabin. 33 were flown in economy. Only 4 were in a middle seat (and those probably next to my wife).
I realize these are small numbers compared to some but big numbers for me.
Jan 3, 2012 | 3:52 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Jersey
Programs: Credit Cards
Posts: 3,009
Earn:
25k CO Chase bank/debit card
40k AA MC
20k AA bank account
5k AA savings account
75k AA Visa
100k BA Visa
60k Priority Club Visa
Burn:
25k CO - NYC-IAH-COS-LAX-NYC
40k AA - NYC-MAD BCN-ORD-PHL
50k BA - NYC-HKG-KUL/NRT-DFW-EWR
10k UA - SIN-NRT
57k BA - NYC-LIM-SCL-AKL
75k AA - AKL-BNE-LAX-NYC-LAX-AKL for 2012
25k CO Chase bank/debit card
40k AA MC
20k AA bank account
5k AA savings account
75k AA Visa
100k BA Visa
60k Priority Club Visa
Burn:
25k CO - NYC-IAH-COS-LAX-NYC
40k AA - NYC-MAD BCN-ORD-PHL
50k BA - NYC-HKG-KUL/NRT-DFW-EWR
10k UA - SIN-NRT
57k BA - NYC-LIM-SCL-AKL
75k AA - AKL-BNE-LAX-NYC-LAX-AKL for 2012