The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: rachael talcott on November 19, 2015, 12:07:40 PM
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The $11 was for taxes and fees. The fare itself was paid by "frequent flier" miles that were awarded by signing up for this credit card:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/earnMiles/beyondTravel/creditDebit/citi-platinum.jsp
Did you know that the average high temperature in Honolulu in January is 80F? I can't wait!
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I'm guessing it was $11.20 ($5.60/person for two people).
That's exactly what we paid for maybe 10 or so flights in the last year.
It's pretty awesome, huh? :D
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Congradulations, I see you used AA points directly which is the smart way to book. I am new to travel hacking and made a few mistakes, but was able to book R/T to Hawaii as well. Where are you staying? I found the hotels on MAUI very expensive. Even air B and B cost alot. Hope I am not hijacking your thread but I did want to share my experience
I was also able to also book R/t tickets to Hawaii on united for a small fee using my points. I took the richmond savers/brad and alexi course, travel 101 course. here is what I did in order to get some very discounted travel.
I used chase ultimate awards, transferred 40 thousand to United, and booked one flight.It cost 36,000 points actually, now I have surplus at united and can not transfer them back to chase, oh well.
I used my citi thank you points,to book through Citibank Thank you portal ( 50,000 points) plus 100 dollars cash to pay for the other flight on united.
I then used 4 free hyatt nights and booked those nights ( not easy to get availability I had to be flexible) the booking agents at hyatt were very nice, however. I did call more than once and got different answers, in the end I did manage to squeeze another night out of them with "points and cash" for $125- so 5 nights total.
Lessons learned-Booking earlier seems best for hyatt I booked November so exactly 2 months early, but if they have a standard room available you can book with points, so if I booked earlier I may have been able to use the rest of my hyatt points for another night. Flexibilty helped also when booking the flights, I used a window of 3 weeks, booked the hyatt first then the flights around that. I will also admit the trip is about 2/3 off as I sprung for air B and B and a hotel as well so 12 nights in hawaii
will still cost me almost 2 grand with free trips and free nights. I am delighted however, last time I went 9 years ago I forked over a bundle.
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I'm guessing it was $11.20 ($5.60/person for two people).
That's exactly what we paid for maybe 10 or so flights in the last year.
It's pretty awesome, huh? :D
Yes, and Yes!
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Where are you staying? I found the hotels on MAUI very expensive. Even air B and B cost alot. Hope I am not hijacking your thread but I did want to share my experience
There are many airbnb options for about $350 for five nights. That's for a private room, not the whole place. I'm guessing that it would be more in the summer. So even if I go crazy with eating out and tours, I think it will be under $500. For a 5-day tropical vacation, that's not too bad.
I have looked into hote points a bit. But I think it's better to use a card like Barclaycard Arrival Plus, which gives $400 towards travel, and put that $400 into airbnb lodging. I am funding a two-week airbnb stay in Europe that way.
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That is a great idea, I didnt think of that. I may try your scheme for my next trip, which will be Europe in 2 years or so, plenty of time to save up points. It took me an entire year to save up the points for Hawaii, I do not manufacture spend at all (yet).
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I love love love air miles and travel hacking :)
We just got the AA card recently and are finishing up the $2k spend on it. Haven't figured out how we are spending it yet. I want to use it for my mom to fly from southeast asia to visit me. But have never used AA miles yet so not completely understanding yet how to optimize it yet. I have a few alternatives since she will want to fly through Europe and stop in London to visit my brother.
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I got the U.S. Airways card last March with the 50,000 point bonus just before it was absorbed by American Airlines and the CC became the AA MasterCard. I just returned from eleven days in Dublin. American Airlines ticket cost (using the rewards miles from the bonus) was $50.40. Also, I had received a free one-day pass to the Admiral's Club as part of the bonus. I used it for my five-hour layover at JFK on the way to Ireland. Total decadent luxury...wow...much more fancy pants than a Mustachian usually experiences. In Dublin, I stayed in a three-bed women's dorm in the Abigail Hostel on Aston Quay near the O'Connell Bridge. It averaged out to be around $30 per night with breakfast included. All in all, a wonderful trip. Thanks to all who have helped teach me about travel hacking with credit cards. My spending tends to be a little low for travel hacking, and I'm not really interested in MS...and I don't want to travel very frequently...but boy, was this one trip worth it!
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What is the trick to spending the 3k in three months?
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What is the trick to spending the 3k in three months?
Be willing to manufacture spend. ;)
We spent 75k in about three months to earn 1MM miles.
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I am nowhere near as badass as arebelspy when it comes to manufactured spending, but I did do some of it to meet the minimum requirements for the bonus.
For anyone interested, here is how it works, or at least how I did it:
Sign up for Bluebird card or Serve card. I use Bluebird because it does not have a monthly fee, even if you don't use it.
Go to grocery store and buy a $500 gift card with the award credit card (gift card should be Visa or MC, NOT AmEx, and also not Visa Vanilla. It should say Debit Card on the front). Gift card comes with PIN inside. Go to Walmart and find a money center kiosk. Go through menu to add money to Bluebird card. Pay with debit/gift card. Then go to the Bluebird webpage and log in. You will see $500 in your account. You can transfer it to your bank. The debit gift cards costs ~$6, in addition to the $500 you load on it.
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Yep. Have the same trip planned in March 10 days.
Jeep wrangler free (25000 chase points)
Flights free (1100 chase points/ as points)
5 nights Waldorf Astoria Maui free (300k hitlon points)
2 nights grand Hyatt Maui free (chase Hyatt card)
2 night Sheraton Maui free (Ames spg card)
1 night airbnb free (12000 chase points)
Resort fees free (Barclay card)
5 star dinner at upsclae resort of wife's choosing free (Barclay card 2)
Poke everyday for a week 15/lb. Worth every penny
Probably spend 300 on scuba with whales (chase points)
Sunset dinner cruise 70 (luaus overrated)
Gas will be less than we spend at home.
Estimated out of pocket maybe 300-400
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What do you do with the $95 annual fee in 12 months? I have taken advantage of some small-time credit card sign up rewards for $200 cash back, but I think I'm ready to step my game up :).
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Man, Awesome job guys!
Boarder42 - your trip sounds amazing!
I hope to do hacked Hawaii trip in a couple years but it will be for a family of four. Have a big debt emergency to clear up first though.
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What do you do with the $95 annual fee in 12 months? I have taken advantage of some small-time credit card sign up rewards for $200 cash back, but I think I'm ready to step my game up :).
Personally, I cancel at 10-11 months.
Take the course...it will help a lot :)
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Man, Awesome job guys!
Boarder42 - your trip sounds amazing!
I hope to do hacked Hawaii trip in a couple years but it will be for a family of four. Have a big debt emergency to clear up first though.
You can always hack free money instead of miles (points that can be redeemed for cash). I have 400k chase UR points sitting I could redeem for 4K cash if desired.
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Man, Awesome job guys!
Boarder42 - your trip sounds amazing!
I hope to do hacked Hawaii trip in a couple years but it will be for a family of four. Have a big debt emergency to clear up first though.
You can always hack free money instead of miles (points that can be redeemed for cash). I have 400k chase UR points sitting I could redeem for 4K cash if desired.
Yeah, I guess that's possible but I need to stop paying interest on the cards I've got before I try to get any new ones! Going to try and get all revolving balance's zeroed out in 2016 and then 2017 maybe try and get a couple travel cards.
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Quote from: Feefers on November 20, 2015, 06:14:32 PM
What do you do with the $95 annual fee in 12 months? I have taken advantage of some small-time credit card sign up rewards for $200 cash back, but I think I'm ready to step my game up :).
Personally, I cancel at 10-11 months.
I do, too. Most of the advantage of the card is in the sign-up bonus, and once you've cancelled it, you can sign up again and get the bonus again in a few years, at least for some cards. Once you've gotten the initial bonus, you do get some points/miles for spending, even if it is manufactured spending, but it is not very much.
For example: a RT ticket to HI in Jan costs 35K Aadvantage miles. That is $35k of spending. If it costs you $12 per $1K to do manufactured spending, that's $420. That's still cheaper than buying the ticket outright (mine would have been ~$800 booked with cash) but it's not free. And AA recently devalued miles so that next year it will cost 40K Aadvantage miles.
So I'm not interested in keeping the card long term, even if there were no annual fee.
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+1 The other thing I've found is that...OK, face punch...it is tempting to buy things that you otherwise would pass up, just to try to accumulate more air miles. I'm not saying that I do it, but I am saying that it's just one more temptation to be fancy pants instead of frugal.
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+1 The other thing I've found is that...OK, face punch...it is tempting to buy things that you otherwise would pass up, just to try to accumulate more air miles. I'm not saying that I do it, but I am saying that it's just one more temptation to be fancy pants instead of frugal.
Huh? Like what?
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My heart now bleeds at the thought of redeeming points for cash... you can do so, so much better. Just in coach, aiming for a 2 cents/point is easily doable for overseas travel.
Damn this hobby is addictive, and I don't even travel that much anymore.
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+1 The other thing I've found is that...OK, face punch...it is tempting to buy things that you otherwise would pass up, just to try to accumulate more air miles. I'm not saying that I do it, but I am saying that it's just one more temptation to be fancy pants instead of frugal.
Huh? Like what?
Like anything...if you use the e-shopping portals. Did you know that you can actually pay $98 for a gorgeous black jaw clip set with rhinestones and imported from France...shopping Nordstrom's through the AAdvantage eShopping portal? (Well, I guess your hair's not long enough, ARS. But a rhinestone jaw clip could be awesome for holiday parties or whatever for girls with long hair.) Hey, and there's a great Burberry raincoat for only $800 or so! Etcetera, etcetera...yeah, all my favorite stores except Amazon are in that portal. I have to kind of laugh at the consumerism--I'm not much of a shopper-- but when they're awarding super extra-points for every dollar , I think impulse buyers would need to be careful.
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Oh. I don't think I've ever looked at those. :)
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all these point trips are great but most likey gotten from spending money(unless you're doing it with points granted for signing up with a card, but you usually have to spend at least $500 to make those active).
my suggestion would be to check out spirit airlines. if you have flexible time and can carry eveything with something you can stow under the seat; it's a good deal. (fair warning, they pack you in like sardines in those seats)
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I took the milesdividend travel 101 course too, but wasn't interested in manufactured spending which I thought would be too difficult to keep track of with my 62 yo brain! I had actually done some travel hacking before I took the course with the old icruise.com credit card. We took quite a few cheap cruises with that one. I think I figured it worked out to about 3 1/2 percent cash back. They quit that card after maybe 3-4 years.
The card that I have now I don't think is mentioned by Brad and Alexis. It is the Spirit card for Spirit airlines. Four of us are going to St. Thomas in Jan. for 2 weeks for $33.00 apiece. It was only 15000 miles round trip and I had 15000 points for signing up and 2500 extra for doing it on the plane last December. Then they give you 2 points for every dollar spent. I was able to accumulate 60000 points in about 8 months all without manufactured spending. I was pretty happy with that. Now I am canceling the card before the fee comes due (no fee for first year) and my husband just got his card with the same 15000 points for signing up.
Next year we will go to Cancun for possibly 3 weeks in Jan. St. Thomas is not a cheap place to stay, but I have always wanted to stay on one of the Caribbean Islands for at least a week. Cancun is much cheaper and easier to get around without a car.
I love travel hacking! Miss Prim
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all these point trips are great but most likey gotten from spending money(unless you're doing it with points granted for signing up with a card, but you usually have to spend at least $500 to make those active).
my suggestion would be to check out spirit airlines. if you have flexible time and can carry eveything with something you can stow under the seat; it's a good deal. (fair warning, they pack you in like sardines in those seats)
It's called manufactured spending dude. You don't have to actually spend the money. It's all from sign up bonuses and you can keep getting them and canceling the cards. No card is really worth it to use with out the bonuses.
And you don't have to be packed in like sardines and charged for every tiny little. Like oh you wanted a seat belt that's gonna be 50 bucks. Oh we didn't know you wanted a light above your seat how many quarters do you need. It's a quarter a minute. Oh you didn't want someone sitting on your lap that's gonna be another 100. Oh you want water they are 50 bucks each. Oh you want to take things with you on your trip. 500 a lb.
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lol Sounds like you've flown Frontier!
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With airbnb, you have to pay the whole fee upfront. When I booked my Hawaii lodging, I purchased a 500 gift card with my Arrival card and gifted it to my husband. He used his arrival card and my gift certificate to pay 900 for the lodging. We were both able to get the purchase erased. I love travel hacking!
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all these point trips are great but most likey gotten from spending money(unless you're doing it with points granted for signing up with a card, but you usually have to spend at least $500 to make those active).
my suggestion would be to check out spirit airlines. if you have flexible time and can carry eveything with something you can stow under the seat; it's a good deal. (fair warning, they pack you in like sardines in those seats)
It's called manufactured spending dude. You don't have to actually spend the money. It's all from sign up bonuses and you can keep getting them and canceling the cards. No card is really worth it to use with out the bonuses.
No dude, that is not manufactured spending! Manufactured spending is when you buy gift cards and then either pay bills with them, spend them on stuff or turn them back into cash, which usually has some small fee. A sign up bonus usually has a certain amount that has to be spent within a certain time frame. You could use manufactured spending to make up that certain amount, but a sign up bonus and manufactured spending are two different things. Why be so snarky with your comment? I choose not to use manufactured spending or have more than 2 cards at a time with a sign up bonus and I still enjoy the almost free trips I can take without all the hassle of juggling money around.
Miss Prim
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We spent 75k in about three months to earn 1MM miles.
Was it the same CC mentioned in the OP, or a different card?
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Nice!
I need to book 2 tickets to Kauai next year. I'll sign up for this.
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We spent 75k in about three months to earn 1MM miles.
Was it the same CC mentioned in the OP, or a different card?
It was many, many different cards. The one the OP mentioned earned them maybe 50-75k miles. We earned 1MM miles. We just went on a travel hacking/MS spree when we learned about it.
Took about 15-20 nearly free flights (as in, $5.60 per person round trip, for the fees that can't be waived) so far, with about 700k miles left.
But no, I don't think we ever got that specific card the OP mentioned.
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OP here:
I've gotten ~350K miles from the following cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Citi Thank You Premiere
United Mileage Plus Explorer
Citi Aadvantage Platinum Select
Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest Business
Plus the Citi Gold checking account, which is not a credit card, but gives Aadvantage miles
I also just got the Citi Aadvantage Platinum Select Business, but have not gotten the reward yet.
I am doing this by myself and have plenty of miles to share with friends when I don't want to travel alone. Two people could easily do twice as much since a couple can get two of the same card (Arebelspy and his wife have done more than twice what I have). I have the advantage of being able to apply for business cards (I have rental property), but many people who just sell stuff on ebay once in awhile have managed to get business cards.
It's not difficult, but I recommend setting up a spreadsheet to keep track. And sign up for CreditKarma, since it will affect your credit a little. Less so if you pay cards off before the statement closes.
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Thanks all! I've been doing this already on a small scale, but now it's time to join the big leagues.
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This is a tiny thing compared to the big savings on CCs and points, but if you're going to use airbnb for accommodation and you're not already signed up with them, make sure you get a current member to refer you, so that you both earn a bonus.
https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/84/how-do-referrals-and-travel-credits-work (https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/84/how-do-referrals-and-travel-credits-work)
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I am nowhere near as badass as arebelspy when it comes to manufactured spending, but I did do some of it to meet the minimum requirements for the bonus.
For anyone interested, here is how it works, or at least how I did it:
Sign up for Bluebird card or Serve card. I use Bluebird because it does not have a monthly fee, even if you don't use it.
Go to grocery store and buy a $500 gift card with the award credit card (gift card should be Visa or MC, NOT AmEx, and also not Visa Vanilla. It should say Debit Card on the front). Gift card comes with PIN inside. Go to Walmart and find a money center kiosk. Go through menu to add money to Bluebird card. Pay with debit/gift card. Then go to the Bluebird webpage and log in. You will see $500 in your account. You can transfer it to your bank. The debit gift cards costs ~$6, in addition to the $500 you load on it.
Are there certain chain stores that allow GC purchase by credit card? I am finding a lot are debit or cash only. Thanks for any pointers!
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OMG travel hacking in the US is on another planet. My bro in law in Canada just booked tickets to visit us and it cost $800 for two. He got first class on the way over but only economy on the way back as he left it a bit late to book.
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Here's what I don't understand about travel hacking: How can credit card rewards denominated in airline miles be so much better than credit card rewards denominated in cash? Are they really that much better? Or are you just saving up X miles to get a "free" ticket worth $Y when the same amount of credit card spending could have just earned you $Y cash back to begin with? And if miles really are so much better than cash, why are they better?
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They can be better. But many people choose terrible redemption options. For every savvy travel hacker that transfer his Chase points to a great program, there are 10 Freedom customers who redeem their points on 1-800-Flowers or a gift card at some chain restaurant.
Banks also probably purchase huge blocks of miles from airlines at deep discounts.
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Here's what I don't understand about travel hacking: How can credit card rewards denominated in airline miles be so much better than credit card rewards denominated in cash? Are they really that much better? Or are you just saving up X miles to get a "free" ticket worth $Y when the same amount of credit card spending could have just earned you $Y cash back to begin with? And if miles really are so much better than cash, why are they better?
It's all about the signup bonuses.
If you get a signup bonus of, say 40-50k points ($400-$500 cash, but can be redeemed for much more in travel), that's obviously just as good or better than 40-50k miles.
You'd have to spend 25-50k on the card to earn that same amount you earn right away just by signing up for the card. IDK about you, but that's 2-3 years worth of spending for me.
So when you can signup for 5 cards in a week, and earn 250k miles/points, that's over a decade worth of slow earning through spending cash/points/miles back.
So signup bonuses > spending bonuses, by far. Makes sense, right?
So now, to your question of miles versus cash back, sure, signing up for a card that gives 40-50k points instead of miles is great, but there are many MORE cards that give miles. But there's no need to pick--grab as many as you want.
Either way though, it's more about the signup bonuses than spending bonuses.