Author Topic: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem  (Read 17891 times)

stlbrah

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Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« on: November 01, 2015, 11:32:13 AM »
I read the first lesson today, and I think I have a problem. Most of the cards they recommended require you to spend at least $3000 in the first 3 months to get the bonus you are after. Since you can't really pay your mortgage or brokerage account with a credit card, I don't see how that is possible. Even if went through the hassle of switching my electric, gas, home owners association, cell phone, and internet bills to my credit card each time I got a new one, that combined with my daily spending is still no where near 1000/month.

Is this type of travel hacking even possible for a mustachian?

It is also possible that they will cover this topic later, there has only been one lesson.


UPDATE: My question has been answered by the class, but feel free to keep thread open as a discussion. I definitely recommend the class!
« Last Edit: November 25, 2015, 11:33:08 AM by stlbrah »

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2015, 11:47:45 AM »
I took the course a couple months ago, and, yes, they will get to it later in the course :-)    But basically, there are ways to "spend" money on the credit card w/o really spending it. Google "manufactured spending" for a glimpse, but it can be overwhelming. With that said though, how to do it is constantly changing, and it turns out to be a fair amount of work in many cases - I'm still trying out different things to see how I'll end up proceeding with this. It's certainly much easier for non-mustachians who just spend that much each 3-month period anyway.

Jellyfish

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2015, 11:49:46 AM »
I just read the first lesson as well.  If you don't spend $1000/month in normal spending, maybe manufactured spending will be the way for you to meet the minimum spend? Sounds like it will be covered in the latter half of the course. 

I've always considered myself about "half mustachian" given my spending habits, but I think this is a case where YMMV.  I earn well over $100K/year so even with a healthy savings rate I easily spend over $1000/mo in normal spending via credit cards. 

crazy jane

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2015, 11:54:34 AM »
I have the same "problem". However, sometimes life gives you a major spending opportunity. After taking the course we were able to build several hundred thousand points because we are taking my parents on a cruise. We of course saved for this first. Now that this is paid for we are opening lower spend cards. Hilton Am ex and Hawiian Airlines have lower levels to get the bonus. Planning and patience are the key to optimizing the points game. Have fun.

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2015, 11:54:39 AM »
Brad and Alexi who run the course are both mustachians and many of the people in the class are too. I would encourage you to stick with it, there are many ways around the spend requirements.

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2015, 12:42:14 PM »
Thanks people! I have never heard of "manufactured spending" besides the references in this first lesson, so I will just stick with it and find out.

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2015, 12:43:37 PM »
I try to time major purchases (renos, a new appliance, etc.) and my regular air tickets for work with any new application. So far so good, I've applied and reached minimum spending requirements for over a dozen cards and 3-4 bank accounts, but I know I won't be able to keep this up once I pull the plug. Unfortunately, manufactured spending is not an option for us in Canada.

Argyle

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2015, 01:15:39 PM »
I'm not a fan of manufactured spending, personally, and I think it will ultimately hurt those of us who want to profit from these bonuses, because they'll shut down the programs.  But what I do to hit the spending targets is:

Go on trips paid for by work, and put the airfare, hotel etc. on the credit card, which will be reimbursed.  (Obviously not possible unless you travel for work.)

When I go out to eat or to an event, I pay for everyone in my group with the credit card, and they give me cash. 

Any major expenditures (house repairs, trips, etc.) are calculated carefully to match up with credit card bonus spends.

Rural

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2015, 01:33:36 PM »

 I'm doing some by bundling together legitimate expenses. We'll approach the spend on the Chase Sapphire by paying college tuition and property taxes, for example. That gets close to the limit, close enough that we'll do the rest in daily spending over three months.  There are small fees for paying both those things on a credit card, but the sign-up bonus more than offsets those.   Oh, and we'll have a professional license for him coming due in December as well. Can you group your expenses that way?  I'm not sure we could make it if it weren't for the tuition, but we might, especially in December.


Are you sure there's no way to put your mortgage on a card?  Some of the cards have a bill pay option that might count. Ours is paid off, so no opportunity there.




bacchi

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2015, 01:44:45 PM »
Are you sure there's no way to put your mortgage on a card?  Some of the cards have a bill pay option that might count. Ours is paid off, so no opportunity there.

Some lenders/services let you charge a mortgage payment but there are fees.

There are/were certain prepaid cards that have bill pay. You'd load the card with a credit charge and then bill pay out. Target Red was one of them but it's been restricted (canceled?).

FiguringItOut

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #10 on: November 02, 2015, 09:00:55 AM »
I got into CC rewards game about a year ago.
As it turned out, manufactured spending is not an option for me.  Between extra leg work and general hassle I am choosing not to bother with it.

I did have a lot of large expenses in the first half of the 2015, and I was able to maximize on those with few high spend requirement cards (i.e. $5K in 3 months) which I normally can't do with my regular spending.  The last card I did with such requirement was finished back in early October and without any other large expenses, I found it difficult and somewhat stressful to try to figure that one out.  I did you a few tricks Brad and Alexis suggested to get to the spend requirement, but I also decided not to do these high spend cards for a while.  Right now I have two cards with $1K in 3 months and $500 in 3 months going and those will be no problem for me.  I do not anticipate any large one-off expenses coming up in the next 3-6 months. 

I will also most likely take a break for the winter with opening new cards unless of course a really fantastic deal will come up.  I seem to get a lot of target offers so I'll just keep my eyes open for something that would make sense to me. 


elaine amj

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2015, 10:01:58 AM »
It's a bit of a mix for us too. We have been doing this for a few years now but have never been able to get seriously into manufactured spending the way I see some people do.

We typically apply for 5-8 credit cards a year and are careful with figuring out just what we can commit to. We have purchased gift cards in advance, timed our spending, pay for work expenses, and also done things like book vacations well in advance (works for pricier trips).

I do find it a lot of juggling and work. but overall, its worth it. This past year DH is much much busier at his job so we have scaled back our churning because we haven't had the energy to dedicate towards it.

Right now, I am working on min spends for 4 cards - all of which we applied for at about the same time. It's about $6k total. With Christmas coming (and close to $2k in work expenses), it should be doable. Some of it we will defer by pre-paying a vacation (which we will cancel a few months down the road after we have put enough spend on the card).

catccc

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #12 on: November 02, 2015, 10:51:00 AM »
I've been interested in taking advantage of travel miles for a while now, and understand the basics, including manufactured spending, but would a complete overview to put the piece together would be helpful.  Can you tell me more about where you are reading this course?

monstermonster

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2015, 02:47:01 PM »
I do churning and I have $1140 of expenses each month, including my rent. I use Serve to pay my rent. It's well worth the miles to me. I just can't go after cards with the $3K in 3 months- though I want to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred soon which has a $4k in 3 months minimum spend. I'm likely going to have to pay a portion of the rent for my partner to get there and have them pay me back.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 09:19:43 AM by monstermonster »

norabird

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2015, 02:52:23 PM »
I mostly stick with cards that have lower limits for the bonus for this reason. It reduces the bonus, but the manufactured spending is bad for me.

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #15 on: November 03, 2015, 02:57:16 PM »
I'm a Travel Miles 101 alum as well.  Manufactured spend rules change all the time - I call it manufactured whack-a-mole.  It's not for the feint of heart, but it's easy to pay all your bills this way, and get mileage points to use low cost travel (via points) as a part of your eventually FIRE plan.

Red Beard

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2015, 03:57:01 PM »
We have churned for about 5 years now, but after reading some of the manufactured spend shut down horror stories on Flyertalk I avoid the true MS if at all possible.

A couple of things that have worked for us are pre-paying expenses (know we will spend $500 on Amazon this year so we buy a gift card), paying expenses for family and getting reimbursed, buying things that we can sell at a similar or higher price (which is a fun hobby/side gig in itself) and getting a new card for every large purchase - if we ever have a purchase over $500 we get a new card to cover it.

MacGyverIt

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #17 on: November 25, 2015, 08:22:48 AM »
I was accepted for an American Airlines related card (doesn't take long when they see an 800+ FICO score, lol) and appreciate the ideas presented in this thread -- I hadn't thought about some easy ideas like paying for the table at a large dinner out or paying HoA fees. Just contacted the HoA on my rental and they are about to upgrade to allowing for credit card payment.

When I return to the States I may select an apartment based upon whether they'll allow for credit card payment.

Serve was mentioned in a previous post and I found this was a great write-up of the "Serve" methodology: http://cashcowcouple.com/travel/american-express-serve-prepaid-review/ Pre-loading pre-paid VISA at Wal-Mart or on Amazon are great ideas, you can use that spending for any subsequent needs or gift those cards to others. (Coming from American Express, they are far more reputable than other middle man credit card services.)

Still looking for an option to buy a (Mustachian) car via a credit card. Anyone have experience with this?

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2015, 09:15:22 AM »
If you have a tendancy to bulk buy you can also use timing to spend no more than usual: run down wine cellar/cupboards/freezer/consumables, apply for card, restock. Buying gift cards for supermarkets (ie that I'll use eventually on genuinely normal spend) helps as well.

Other things I do that may or may not work for you:
Putting work/group restaurant bills on the card
Buying travel cards/train tickets in advance
Amazon gift cards
Prebuying birthday/Christmas gifts
Loading my Oyster card from the credit card, then either using it all over the year or getting a cheque back for the excess

I know people that make massive purchases from stores with solid return policies, wait for the points to post, and then return the item.

bacchi

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #19 on: November 25, 2015, 09:46:10 AM »
I was accepted for an American Airlines related card (doesn't take long when they see an 800+ FICO score, lol) and appreciate the ideas presented in this thread -- I hadn't thought about some easy ideas like paying for the table at a large dinner out or paying HoA fees. Just contacted the HoA on my rental and they are about to upgrade to allowing for credit card payment.

There are bank accounts that take credit cards as a funding source. Some credit cards don't count the funding as a cash advance.

There are some instances where paying a 3% charge fee makes sense. United miles saved me over $800 this holiday. Would it be worth it to pay $90 for those 50k miles? Hell yeah.

mxt0133

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #20 on: November 25, 2015, 09:49:33 AM »
There are bank accounts that take credit cards as a funding source. Some credit cards don't count the funding as a cash advance.

Do you have a list of said bank accounts?

arebelspy

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #21 on: November 25, 2015, 09:50:40 AM »

There are bank accounts that take credit cards as a funding source. Some credit cards don't count the funding as a cash advance.

Do you have a list of said bank accounts?

If you're willing to pay that 3% fee, PayPal is the easiest.
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norabird

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #22 on: November 25, 2015, 10:01:03 AM »
Personally I only go for the lower bonus/lower spend cards. My income is relatively low and I don't have the ability to easily meet the higher targets. But the bonuses on the lower limit cards are still decent.

bacchi

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #23 on: November 25, 2015, 10:06:36 AM »
There are bank accounts that take credit cards as a funding source. Some credit cards don't count the funding as a cash advance.

Do you have a list of said bank accounts?

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/does-funding-a-bank-account-with-a-credit-card-count-as-a-purchase-or-cash-advance/

Note the warning at the top. Set the cash advance limit to as low as you can get it ($0, or at least below the funding amount). Be ready to pay it off immediately if it doesn't work.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2015, 10:10:54 AM by bacchi »

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #24 on: November 25, 2015, 10:56:00 AM »
I'm further into the class now.

I had a large expense and so I was able to open a Chase Saphire Preferred and have it rush shipped to me so I could obtain the 50k miles bonus. I also learned more about alliances and I found that I had over 25k in miles from past flights. Overall, I have about 75k travel miles already. My plan was to go to Turkey, but I don't want to risk the warning on state.gov. Me and a friend planned to go there earlier this year when it was a hot spot for tourism. Thinking of Argentina now, but may also just use these miles to go some places nationally - that's always fun too.

Next plan is to get another 40-50k signup bonus. I am thinking of trying out the method of Manufactured Spending they mentioned where buy a Reloadit card and use the money on it to send a moneygram back to yourself.



« Last Edit: November 25, 2015, 10:59:31 AM by stlbrah »

Left

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2015, 10:59:55 AM »
they go over this, everyone said it above. but it isn't free... there are still costs involved, just not as much. I think 5-10% of spend is lost to fees? number made up based on how I do it but I am not great at it nor track it closely
« Last Edit: November 25, 2015, 11:01:29 AM by eyem »

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #26 on: November 25, 2015, 11:25:23 AM »
they go over this, everyone said it above. but it isn't free... there are still costs involved, just not as much. I think 5-10% of spend is lost to fees? number made up based on how I do it but I am not great at it nor track it closely

If you're paying 5-10% in fees you're doing it wrong. You should be paying in the vicinity of 1%

Left

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #27 on: November 25, 2015, 11:56:03 AM »
well i count the work involed as part of fee, ie all the extra driving around lol
since that is a fee to me.

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #28 on: November 25, 2015, 01:56:32 PM »
well i count the work involed as part of fee, ie all the extra driving around lol
since that is a fee to me.

I bike around, and that helps fill my exercise goals for the week, so that's a big fat zero for me.

MacGyverIt

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #29 on: November 26, 2015, 02:46:53 AM »
I'm further into the class now.

What is the URL for the class? "Travel 101" provides a ton of hits, I cannot find the specific class referenced throughout the thread...

Jellyfish

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #30 on: November 26, 2015, 05:24:42 AM »
I'm further into the class now.

What is the URL for the class? "Travel 101" provides a ton of hits, I cannot find the specific class referenced throughout the thread...

sign up at milesdividendmd.com (its the top header bar) and I think the course starts at the 1st of every month.

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #31 on: November 26, 2015, 08:31:28 AM »
I'm further into the class now.

What is the URL for the class? "Travel 101" provides a ton of hits, I cannot find the specific class referenced throughout the thread...


The one I am taking is http://www.travelmiles101.com/

MacGyverIt

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #32 on: November 28, 2015, 03:48:22 AM »
Thanks, I will check both URLs out.

kpd905

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #33 on: November 28, 2015, 07:29:17 AM »
I haven't kept up on the most recent manufactured spending methods, but 1-2 years ago there were a couple great free methods available.

I was spending $1,000/month for free to transfer money to my GF (now wife) via Amazon Payments.
We were loading $2,000/month for free to Amex Serve accounts, then using it to pay off another credit card.
I was also sending money to my student loans via Evolve Money.

So our actual expenses at that time were around $2,500 a month, but we were able to put $3,000+ a month on credit cards.  Sometimes $5,000 if I threw a big chunk at my loans.

I just got an email saying that the site I use to pay my rent will begin accepting credit cards, with a 2.75% fee.  Might be worth it for a new extra sign up bonuses.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2015, 07:31:47 AM by kpd905 »

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #34 on: November 28, 2015, 08:48:14 AM »
I was spending $1,000/month for free to transfer money to my GF (now wife) via Amazon Payments.

This is unfortunately dead.

We were loading $2,000/month for free to Amex Serve accounts, then using it to pay off another credit card.
Unless you're grandfathered into Soft Serve, you can only load $1k/month per person, and only with Amex cards. I use the Fidelity Amex to get 2% back. However, first party Amex cards do not earn any cash back, though they do meet minimum spend requirements.

I was also sending money to my student loans via Evolve Money.
I think this is still going? Though they charge fees for most if not all visa/mastercard gift cards.

kpd905

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #35 on: November 28, 2015, 09:39:34 AM »
Yeah, most of that stuff is either dead or charging fees now.  But I'm glad I took advantage of it while it lasted.

What are the most common methods now if you are just looking to hit sign up bonuses? 

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #36 on: November 28, 2015, 04:37:42 PM »
Yeah, most of that stuff is either dead or charging fees now.  But I'm glad I took advantage of it while it lasted.

What are the most common methods now if you are just looking to hit sign up bonuses?

I go to a grocery store, buy Visa gift cards, and go to Walmart to load them onto my Amex Serve. From there I bill pay the cc.

Fees are about 1%

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #37 on: December 01, 2015, 01:30:40 PM »
So, AMEX has a 60,000 bonus miles promotion going on right now for the GOLD Card with Delta Airlines.

You only have to spend 1k in the first 3 months to get this deal, and the first years fee is waved.

This card wasn't talked about in the course as much because its DELTA is harder to find Savers seats. I am wondering if it would be worth it to get this and use the points for Korean Air or other Delta partner. Likely Korean air, as I wanted to go to japan in 2017.
 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 01:35:05 PM by stlbrah »

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #38 on: December 01, 2015, 01:46:36 PM »
So, AMEX has a 60,000 bonus miles promotion going on right now for the GOLD Card with Delta Airlines.

You only have to spend 1k in the first 3 months to get this deal, and the first years fee is waved.

This card wasn't talked about in the course as much because its DELTA is harder to find Savers seats. I am wondering if it would be worth it to get this and use the points for Korean Air or other Delta partner. Likely Korean air, as I wanted to go to japan in 2017.
 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

I used Delta Skymiles to book
ATL ICN on Korean air (that's Seoul, South Korea)
NRT ATL on Delta (that's Tokyo Narita)

in April for 70k Delta miles. You won't have enough for a roundtrip to Asia with just 60k.
Furthermore, if your plan is to fly in 2017, it is highly likely that the price in miles will go up by then. If that's the case look at the Amex premier rewards gold card (has 50k points bonus every so often) and transfer those points to Delta.

I am curious though - does Korean Air actually fly Tokyo to the US? I thought they can only fly from Korea to the US.

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #39 on: December 01, 2015, 02:20:41 PM »
Thanks. I believe it would go through Seoul.


I also have 60k Chase UR points from opening a Saphire Preferred and using it for some spending and about 18k of Korean and Delta points just from old flights.

I will likely use most of the Chase points by then, but I will probably churn a couple more cards before 2017.

I am wondering if I should open this Delta card during this promotion as part of my strategy. TravelMiles101 didn't seem like they were the biggest fan of Delta programs. It sounds like you used them without much issue so it may be worth opening.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 02:22:51 PM by stlbrah »

norabird

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #40 on: December 01, 2015, 03:06:33 PM »
I just used around 60k skymiles to do NY-LAX Palm Springs-Charleston over Xmas/NYE; points from a 40k card bonus, flights, and I think $80 (?) in extra miles purchased. Totally wiped me out but way better than paying out of pocket!

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #41 on: December 01, 2015, 04:44:01 PM »
Thanks. I believe it would go through Seoul.


I also have 60k Chase UR points from opening a Saphire Preferred and using it for some spending and about 18k of Korean and Delta points just from old flights.

I will likely use most of the Chase points by then, but I will probably churn a couple more cards before 2017.

I am wondering if I should open this Delta card during this promotion as part of my strategy. TravelMiles101 didn't seem like they were the biggest fan of Delta programs. It sounds like you used them without much issue so it may be worth opening.

Oh gotcha, you mean NRT/HND-> ICN -> USA. That makes sense now.


There weren't that many days available for my route, but I was very flexible with my travel dates. The more flexible you are, the easier miles are going to be to use (for pretty much any airline, not just Delta).

The Delta card is issued by Amex. Amex only allows for one cc signup bonus per lifetime per product, so you should think carefully before you apply.
That being said, that is the highest I have ever seen the signup bonus on the Delta card. Do you have a direct link to it? I searched around but the only references to a 60k signup offer are several months old and since expired.

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #42 on: December 01, 2015, 05:55:18 PM »
Thanks. I believe it would go through Seoul.


I also have 60k Chase UR points from opening a Saphire Preferred and using it for some spending and about 18k of Korean and Delta points just from old flights.

I will likely use most of the Chase points by then, but I will probably churn a couple more cards before 2017.

I am wondering if I should open this Delta card during this promotion as part of my strategy. TravelMiles101 didn't seem like they were the biggest fan of Delta programs. It sounds like you used them without much issue so it may be worth opening.

Oh gotcha, you mean NRT/HND-> ICN -> USA. That makes sense now.


There weren't that many days available for my route, but I was very flexible with my travel dates. The more flexible you are, the easier miles are going to be to use (for pretty much any airline, not just Delta).

The Delta card is issued by Amex. Amex only allows for one cc signup bonus per lifetime per product, so you should think carefully before you apply.
That being said, that is the highest I have ever seen the signup bonus on the Delta card. Do you have a direct link to it? I searched around but the only references to a 60k signup offer are several months old and since expired.

It came in an email with a link that has my Skymiles Account built into the link. I would recommend checking your email folders to see if you got it. Mine came today. I don't think they released it public-facing but I bet someone could at least try for it if they called AMEX and asked about it. The offer stands until 1/26/2016

Let me ask you this. Is there a way to avoid the 95$ fee after 1 year if you haven't used the miles? With Chase UR, my plan was to just do a 1:1 transfer to United or other airline if I don't use them before one year. I am not seeing a similar option with this Delta card.

johnny847

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #43 on: December 01, 2015, 06:13:29 PM »
Thanks. I believe it would go through Seoul.


I also have 60k Chase UR points from opening a Saphire Preferred and using it for some spending and about 18k of Korean and Delta points just from old flights.

I will likely use most of the Chase points by then, but I will probably churn a couple more cards before 2017.

I am wondering if I should open this Delta card during this promotion as part of my strategy. TravelMiles101 didn't seem like they were the biggest fan of Delta programs. It sounds like you used them without much issue so it may be worth opening.

Oh gotcha, you mean NRT/HND-> ICN -> USA. That makes sense now.


There weren't that many days available for my route, but I was very flexible with my travel dates. The more flexible you are, the easier miles are going to be to use (for pretty much any airline, not just Delta).

The Delta card is issued by Amex. Amex only allows for one cc signup bonus per lifetime per product, so you should think carefully before you apply.
That being said, that is the highest I have ever seen the signup bonus on the Delta card. Do you have a direct link to it? I searched around but the only references to a 60k signup offer are several months old and since expired.

It came in an email with a link that has my Skymiles Account built into the link. I would recommend checking your email folders to see if you got it. Mine came today. I don't think they released it public-facing but I bet someone could at least try for it if they called AMEX and asked about it. The offer stands until 1/26/2016

Let me ask you this. Is there a way to avoid the 95$ fee after 1 year if you haven't used the miles? With Chase UR, my plan was to just do a 1:1 transfer to United or other airline if I don't use them before one year. I am not seeing a similar option with this Delta card.

Once you earn the miles, they will post to your Delta Skymiles account. After that, you're free to cancel your card and your miles will not be clawed back.
This is true of any cobranded airline card - such as the Southwest cards from Chase, the AA cards from Citi, etc.

However, I wouldn't cancel immediately. Banks apparently frown upon this. But on a more practical note, it is an Amex card, and you can use it for Amex offers, some of which can be quite useful.
[In the past, I've gotten offers for $10 off $50 at Office Depot, Staples, Home Depot, and Lowe's. All of which sell gift cards to other stores I shop at. Or the recent $15 off $60 at Amazon.]

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #44 on: December 01, 2015, 06:57:17 PM »
Awesome, thanks a lot for the info!

monstermonster

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #45 on: December 03, 2015, 08:53:56 AM »
Just got approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred for the big bonus- Guess I'm going to be paying my & my partner's rent for the next 3 months on credit card to hit the $4K minimum spend!

stlbrah

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #46 on: December 03, 2015, 09:45:47 AM »
Just got approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred for the big bonus- Guess I'm going to be paying my & my partner's rent for the next 3 months on credit card to hit the $4K minimum spend!

Its an awesome program. It was a nice surprise when they also counted the normal rate of miles in addition to the 50k. You actually end up with 58000 by the time you get the bonus.

Richmond Savers

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Re: Travel Miles 101 - possible mustachian problem
« Reply #47 on: December 04, 2015, 06:12:30 AM »
Brad and Alexi who run the course are both mustachians and many of the people in the class are too. I would encourage you to stick with it, there are many ways around the spend requirements.

Mustachians are well represented in Travel Miles 101 :)  Thanks for posting this and I'm glad you're part of our community!

We really created TM 101 for Mustachians (It was called "Miles for Mustachians" the first 2 months), as we feel this is the perfect Mustachian pursuit and a great addition to the lifestyle many of us aspire to around here.

This is a super low-key way to learn about travel hacking and we encourage anyone with even a passing interest to sign up and see if it is for them.  Easy enough to read an article/watch a video each morning and get the info needed to get started and then make the decision if it is/isn't for you.