Travel Hacking Success!

[LiseE]

I did it!  After reading several blogs about travel hacking, I slowly started to churn some credit cards.  I would sign up for the travel mile bonus and easily manufacture the required spend (usually 3k in 3 months), get the bonus, cut up the card and do it again with another card.  I did this for about a year.  We also had some Starwood (SPG) points which I converted to Marriott points at a rate of 3:1.  I really didn't have a overall plan in mind.  I was just going to amass the points and then see what I could get set up. 

WELL ....

My family of four is going on our first adventure to Hawaii!  Airfare from New York (including an inter-island flight) and two weeks at two different resorts ... all cover on points!  In the process I was also able to join the United Club so even our first two bags will be checked free!

I have to say I'm really proud of myself ... I really didn't think it was possible!  Now I'm on a mission to sell crap around the house to raise all of our spending money while we're there.  Lets see if we can do it with out spending anything!

In a nut shell  ... we ended up with enough points under the Marriott program to get a week resort stay + 120K United miles.  That took care of our flights and one weeks stay.  Then we did some other point consolidations to get the second weeks stay through SPG. 

Whoo hoo!

[lexde]

Congrats! You should also look into he Southwest Companion pass (BOGO flights) for next year when they start flying to HI!

Have a fun trip!

What cards did you get and how many points did you end up spending for the whole trip?

[FI45RE]

Nice work! Sounds like you are on your way to figuring out travel hacking.

A couple of points:

1) It should have been 132k United miles, no?
2) Are you closing your accounts immediately after receiving the bonuses? Watch your AAoA if so...

Happy to help if you ever have any questions about travel hacking...been doing it for years, and I love complicated itineraries :)

[LiseE]

FI45RE ... yes, it was 132K United Miles. 

I am not closing my accounts, just cutting up/not using the cards.  Should I be closing the cards and not incurring the annual renewal fee?  This last one I got, the annual fee was initially zero but will be $450!  So I'm going to close that card for sure after we travel and use the United Club during our summer trip.

I used Marriott Rewards card, SPG Amex, and United MileagePlus card for this trip.  We had points over the past years that I didn't much pay attention to until I realized I actually had something to work with.  That's when I got the United MileagePlus card with I think it was 50k point bonus.  That plus the 132K was enough for our airfare.

I just got an offer for a Capital One venture card and 60K mile bonus.  we have 50K still in the United Account so I'm already looking forward to doing this again for our next trip!  Southwest Airlines sounds good with the companion fare ... From what I've read it's best to do it at the beginning of the year so you have more time to use it?

[lexde]

Always check if there’s a fee free version of your card you can downgrade to. That way you keep the account open without killing your wallet on fees for benefits you won’t really use.

[lexde]

Southwest Airlines sounds good with the companion fare ... From what I've read it's best to do it at the beginning of the year so you have more time to use it?

The companion pass is earned when you get 110K miles in a given calendar year. So if you open a business and personal card with 50-60k intro offers in November, in January you finish spending and earn the miles. The pass is good for the current year PLUS next year after its earned. So if you schedule it like that, you’ll have it for 23-24 months instead of 12-13.



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[FI45RE]

FI45RE ... yes, it was 132K United Miles. 

I am not closing my accounts, just cutting up/not using the cards.  Should I be closing the cards and not incurring the annual renewal fee?  This last one I got, the annual fee was initially zero but will be $450!  So I'm going to close that card for sure after we travel and use the United Club during our summer trip.

I used Marriott Rewards card, SPG Amex, and United MileagePlus card for this trip.  We had points over the past years that I didn't much pay attention to until I realized I actually had something to work with.  That's when I got the United MileagePlus card with I think it was 50k point bonus.  That plus the 132K was enough for our airfare.

I just got an offer for a Capital One venture card and 60K mile bonus.  we have 50K still in the United Account so I'm already looking forward to doing this again for our next trip!  Southwest Airlines sounds good with the companion fare ... From what I've read it's best to do it at the beginning of the year so you have more time to use it?

So, I assume you might be talking about the Chase Sapphire Reserve card ($450 annual fee)? That card, and others, have ancillary benefits that may or may not be worth your annual fee (that's up to you). As far as closing the cards, again, that depends on your usage, and any category spend bonuses that you may be able to take advantage of. Be sure to be aware that Chase has a 5/24 rule that will not allow you to get some (but not all) of their cards if you have signed up for more than 5 cards (with any bank!) in the past 24 months. Also be aware that Capital One pulls from all 3 credit bureaus, although hard pulls are not as important of a factor for approvals anymore...

Are you doing this in "two-player" mode, with your SO?

[LiseE]

FI45RE .... no, not in two player mode ... how best to ramp that up?  I've added him as a authorized user on the new Venture card we are about to get, or does he need his own card?

- Lisa

[JLE1990]

Killing it! That's awesome, can't wait to start doing this!

[ducky19]

I've churned our way through 4 Delta cards (Gold, Gold Business, both x 2), 5 American cards (Citi Platinum, Citi Platinum Business, both x 2, and Barclay Aviator), 2 SPG cards (Amex x 2), 4 Hilton cards (Citi x 2 before they switched, AmEx x 2), CSP, Capital One Venture Rewards, Chase United, and Barclay Miles N' More (Lufthansa) - I think that's it...  ;) We've still got the Platinum Delta cards (x 4) that we can burn through, plus another Aviator, CSR x 2, CSP (if I can ever get myself below 5/24!), and another Capital One Venture before I have to start getting creative! We almost always each sign up for the same card to double the bonuses we get! So far have booked 3 trips to St. Croix on miles (first two were just the wife and I, this next one is us, the two kids, and my MIL) and we STILL have nearly 400,000 airline miles and almost 600,000 hotel points left to burn. We started first with Hilton around 7-8 years ago, then gradually moved into the other programs. Needless to say, we haven't paid for a hotel room for a long time! Congrats on the Hawaii trip, that is definitely on the radar for us in the future!

[Padonak]

Following

[FI45RE]

FI45RE .... no, not in two player mode ... how best to ramp that up?  I've added him as a authorized user on the new Venture card we are about to get, or does he need his own card?

- Lisa

Well, the obvious advantage to having your SO sign up for the cards is that it's a way to essentially double the amount of cards (and points/miles!) that you can get. Your credit cards don't have any bearing on the cards your SO can get...it's all separate. One thing to note: Chase, and others, typically see authorized user cards as "using up" one of the 5/24 slots, so if you are looking at Chase cards (which you should be), then I would consider removing your SO as an authorized user. What is the advantage you see of having them as an authorized user?

[Prairie Gal]

This is awesome! Well done!

[beekayworld]

Good job!!! Enjoy your vacation.

I am not closing my accounts, just cutting up/not using the cards.  Should I be closing the cards and not incurring the annual renewal fee?  This last one I got, the annual fee was initially zero but will be $450!  So I'm going to close that card for sure after we travel and use the United Club during our summer trip.

Would you be interested in using the cards to sell tradelines? You could make $100 to $400 per month off each card: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/selling-tradelines-piggybacking-part-ii-$1000hr-20-40kyr-side-gig/

Think about it before canceling the cards. I'm regretting closing some of mine now.

[Maccountant]

Awesome work. What cards did you start with to amass these points?   

Ballpark...how much did you have to spend (realizing it was probably spent on expenses you would have incurred regardless) to get to where you are now?

[Phryne]

Congrats!

I can’t offer any advice cause I’m in Australia, but I can agree it’s been incredibly rewarding (see what I did there?!) for us. I churned through 8 credit cards last year. It does require diligence, some admin & the landscape is getting tougher but totally worth it. I focus on flights, hotel points don’t seem to hold the same value here.

Ps love the idea of decluttering for spending money!

[LiseE]

Maccountant .... I believe I had to hit 2 manufactured spends of 3k each.  One we got before Christmas so some holiday shopping and groceries did the trick.  The other was more recent and I got a jump on paying for kids summer camp and sports along with groceries.  Most of the manufactured spends are around 3K.  With monthly groceries at $700 .. hitting the spend goes pretty quickly.

 

[HAPPYINAZ]

Way to go!!  It's so nice when the time spent researching a subject (like travel hacking) pays off with such big dividends!  We love travel hacking as well!  Money we save through travel hacking gets invested in the stock market thereby leading to even more pay offs in the future!