1. Hilton AMEX -- great points generator, can even get Gold, no annual fee.

2. Choice Privileges Visa -- no annual fee, check out the Preferred Hotels!

3. If she doesn't mind changing every couple of years, US Visa (Juniper bank) w/ 15,000 miles bonus, no annual fee for two years.

4. Etc.

A credit card that does nothing but, well, allow you to purchase things and that's all is an abomination in the sight of the Lord!

...with the same fellow as yesterday. The conversation went something like this:

munch, munch, munch

"So, about that free ticket for your wife. What did you say it cost?"
"25,000 miles."
"Did you do it all with credit card miles?"
"Pretty much."
"How long did it take to get that many miles?"
"Oh, I don't know. Probably a year. Maybe longer."

munch, munch, munch

"You know what I did last month?"
"What?"
"I logged onto the AA website. They had a credit card offer, so I applied. Two weeks later they dumped 25,000 miles into my account."
"Hmmm"

munch, munch, munch

"They look kind of cute sitting there next to the 47,000 miles I got on USAir over the weekend."
"Hmmmm."

"Should have the 40,000 more in my British Airways account, as soon as the cards clear."

munch, munch, munch

And then he said, " ".

And then he said, " "

And then he said, " "

And then I said, "Well, gotta go. See ya later." So I left before it got ugly.

To quote Bugs Bunny, "Ain't I a stinker?"

Haha. Maybe you should tell him about the Delta game 2 years ago. Got 25K Skymiles for just playing a 30 second game.

Amazed me each time when I see people who fly long haul US-Asia and won't sign up FF accounts. They said they don't fly enough (!) and don't want to be bothered (!!).

At my work (where I rarely travel) my coworkers are amazed at the travel deals I'm able to get. They always want to know when I get a better price on something, get something for free, get upgraded, etc. Then they shake there heads and wonder how I do it. One guy says when he wants to plan a big trip he's going to ask me to do it.

Compared to most of you guys I am an amateur. But I feel it's worth my time to try to get the best deal/price on something or to build up points/miles for awards.

While I hate to see anyone pay more for anything than they have to, if people aren't willing to put in a little effort or willing to try to educate themselves, I'm not going to lose sleep.

I suffered the same pain last month, sipping a fruit smoothie, on a Meditteranian beach at a Hilton resort in Egypt, also sad that my trip was coming to an end and I had to suffer in F all the was back to Texas. It was such a painful trip for my daughters 10th birthday present. Woe be me.

Should we really be trying to convert the FF savages at this point? We don't need them boosting the demand for awards.

Seriously, let them sit in coach and collect credit card miles.

i concur, why bother increasing the competition?

Its funny how some people "get it" when you educate them on FF programs and some don't. My auntie is 80 years old and flies maybe three times a year. About 5 years ago, I educated her on the ways to get miles and such. She has turned into a mileage junkie and would give some of you youngins a run for your money! Whenever I visit her, she'll pull out her file folder and have me review her mileage "portfolio" to make sure she isn't overlooking any earnings.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have two co-workers who travel just as much as I do (weekly) and are savvy enough to earn their airline miles but could not be bothered with hotel points no matter how much I have tried.

I think we're the only ones who understand each other

I've tried too. My co-workers think I'm swimming in money. A couple of trips to Disney & Hawaii each year. I keep on telling them most of the time it's completely for free, and sometimes it's nearly free. They seem interested, but never actually do anything about it.

I just keep on making my reservations & going to the places they only dream of. If they would only listen.

My favorite saying to try to spur them on..."my laptop has been to Hawaii more times than most people have in a lifetime."

I had kind of the opposite conversation with a coworker.

A couple of months ago, a coworker, who had just returned from a short vacation in Florida with his girlfriend, said that they had moved every day to a different hotel in the same chain. I asked why. He said it was so the girlfriend would get a particular airline's miles. I went to the hotel's site and saw the promotion. It was something like 500 or 1000 miles per stay; I don't remember which. I said it didn't seem like a very relaxing vacation -- packing and unpacking every day for the sake of a penny-ante amount of miles. He said she really likes miles.

End of conversation.

I think I felt about the same thing as I was exploring Vietnam earlier this year, and even just now during a family vacation in Vancouver/Victoria/Seattle. I might even think about it when I go to Ottawa and Toronto later this month

Ain't it the truth!

While I have no intention of acting as a mile- and point-maximizing personal travel agent for my colleagues, if I know a colleague or friend has already made (or is making) plans to fly on specific airline or stay at a certain hotel chain, and I know of a good relevant mile or point-earning promo available, I will point this out to them. They are usually interested, and I'll provide the URL and directions on how to register.

On their return, I'll ask them how their trip was and if they got the promo miles and/or points. Invariably they say didn't as they didn't register. When asked why not, I'll usually get a shrug and a "Just didn't get around to it"-type of response.

And all they would have needed to do was to take 5 minutes to go online and register...

You are so right

I've gotten some friends addicted, some burned out already, and some that just don't care.

If they ask, I'll help. If they don't, I'm not going to lose any sleep over them subsidizing my travel capabilities.

For years people have told me how they have been making money in real estate and urged me to spend just a little time learning some very safe and basic strategies. I told them I didn't have the time, that I was doing fine with my finances and investments.

Now I have over a million miles and points in various programs and they have over a million dollars (actually several millions) and I am wondering how I could have been so blind and unwilling to be converted.

Let's not be too arrogant. Today, I know a hundred times more about miles and points than they do but I would gladly trade my miles for their money.