Things are not the way the used to be? Current offers on decline!
 

2-3 years ago I started learning about all these FF programs and was opening up so many cards and collecting so many points, bragging about them, getting sh*t from other members here, etc ... as I stopped coming here every day and only check up once in a while I notice that the good days are kinda over.

No more coins, no more AA double dips and 75K miles times 3 cards. No more AMEX giving out their points like it was nothing to them, that were transferable to United. Things have changed.

Finally in some time I see a new offer. SPG 30K miles .... awesome. But ... seems like this game is dying unfortunately. I've collected a lot. Enjoyed my first class on Cathay Pacific and a new Lufthansa first class as well as many other flights in business and first. All that is great but little by little I see it coming to an end.

Anyone feel otherwise?

Since March of this year, I've gotten 4 Citi AA cards which will yield 190,000 AA bonus miles, and it's possible I will manage a 5th for another 50,000 miles. I've gotten several other points- or miles-earning cards this year besides. I've been buying Chase gift cards for free on my Chase CCs and turning them into MOs for only $0.70 per $500, then depositing the MOs and paying off the CCs, gaining miles and points every month.

Added: I have also been buying 5,000 miles a month through BB at the low rate of $0.0079/mile, which would translate into $790 for a RT to Europe in C or $948 for a RT to Asia in C.

I took a trip in F and C last December to SE Asia on miles, then another in July in C and am planning yet another for December in F, despite not flying on enough paid trips to gain status in the last 2 years. Yes, I feel otherwise.

i dunno...i'm getting 50k avios miles for free..no annual fee...can get the fairmount card...with 2 nights free with no annual fee...i got no complaints...maybe it once was better..but people can say that about anything...

Igor! I wondered what had happened to you. I remember when you first began posting about your early successes. I liked your enthusiastic posts, but you're right, you did get shot down a lot.

When I first joined Flyertalk I would just get so discouraged. It seemed like if it wasn't moderators shutting down my threads or moving them around, other members would either ignore my posts or have some smart-*** reply.

I agree with you that things aren't like they were a couple of years ago. But stick around awhile and dig deep and you will discover opportunities.

Well, the economy is in better shape now. People are not cutting back on credit as they were three to five years ago, so banks don't need to offer as much incentives to have people apply to their cards.

Exactly this.

I'll disagree. There are just as many opportunities, maybe even more so than when I first started the game. They're not as "in your face" as the mint, or the 100k signups were. But they're there. And they're a heck of a lot easier to carry around than a cart full of coins.


One word: Plastics.

Absolutely 100% correct. It is significantly easier today to earn vast amounts of points than it was a couple of years ago. In fact possibly ever. Using some very simple techniques, most of which are discussed in depth on FT, it's possible to rack up tens or hundreds of thousands per month depending on your appetite for risk.

Actually I am going to say it has never been easier to earn virtually unlimited amounts of miles for very little outlay

What miles (i.e., which airline program) are you referring to? Can you give some information on how you purchase them?

Not a deep dark secret. Not limited to any one particular airline program (or even hotel program). For those who seem not to like too much publicity about these deals, however, I'll suggest you look over the combination of a drugstore, reloadable cards, and an Amex product that's discussed pretty thoroughly in the Manufactured Spend forum. And the calculations that produce a purchase rate of about 8/10 of a cent per mile involve $3.95 for $500.

Geez, I hope I've satisfied the fanatics who don't like spoon feeding or publicizing "deep dark secret" deals.

Let me add that if you are not trying to meet a minimum spend, you probably can reduce the cost of an airline mile to a little more than .6 cents per mile for just about every domestic airline other than United.

I used to be a 100% signup bonus churner, and have moved away from that lately. I still do my AOR's but have found that yearly my signup bonuses don't even equal my shenanigan spending anymore.

And the kicker is that the hard and soft products we redeem our miles for are better than they possibly ever have been. If you read my older posts I felt like the golden age of miles died in 2012, but I was so wrong. Lately the places you can go in comfort with miles are as unlimited as the earning possibilities.

What's the current BB technique?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ost-first.html things are good on the AA front. UA has 50K bonuses on both personal and business cards, there are two Ink cards available, 2 Southwest cards and a little spending gets you a companion pass. The game is different but still very very good.

I understand the Bluebird method, but can someone explain the money order method please? I need to get rid of a few Visa gift cards, but there's no convenient Walmart to me.