171–180 of 184 posts
Kudos for him doing what he wants, but why?
> why? Because he wants to and it works But the interesting question to me is > why don't we?
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Also - stay organized. Every credit card should be accompanied with a spreadsheet entry with all details (un/pw, bonus, etc.), entry into Mint, auto-pay, and calendar reminders (end of free annual fee, etc.). Very easy to slip and forget, or not keep track of getting your actual bonus. Of course - do not do this if you don't intend to pay your balance immediately. Any interest charges quickly undo the ROI. Just got b…
> Every credit card should be accompanied with a spreadsheet entry with all details (un/pw, bonus, etc.) Don't store usernames and passwords in a spreadsheet, use a password manager.
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Good to see another FT'er on HN. I've earned/burned about the same volume of points as you and can attest that this hobby is awesome, with some caveats. For the beginners out there: 1. Be sure to read as much about earning miles as redeeming them. Both sides are equally important and redeeming is actually getting much more difficult. 2. Don't let the newbie blogs lure you into hitting credit cards too hard. Banks are…
How does this affect your credit score?
I've actually found that the proportion of used/new credit has a larger effect on credit score. Don't max out your credit limits, folks.
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Could you give someone who has ABSOLUTELY no idea (even after reading your comment) about any of this what it is you do to hack the system?
Banks give out airline miles to attract to credit card customers. You can open a lot of those credit cards. Redeeming those miles for international first/business class is a good value (some disagree but that's my use). Really basic example: Citi routinely has 50k mile bonuses for their American Airlines cards. Round-trip business class US->Japan is 100k miles. Therefore, open two Citi AA cards and you can redeem for…
To understand why this is even possible, it's good to understand the factors involved.
1. CC fees, carried balance interest, and merchant fees are extremely big business. So much so that banks and payment networks are willing to give out large bonuses to influence your buying behavior.
2. Airlines (and to a lesser extent, hotels and other brand partners) have evolved their miles and points programs into, IMO, basically an unregulated, overly complicated shadow currency. As a result of the complexity of the programs, valuation sweet spots have emerged where you get outsized value per point/mile
3. Since brand partners basically control the value of these currencies, they can sell them cheaply to financial partners. For financial partners, it's a win/win because they can offer a bonus that is perceived as high value without incurring the full cost of an equivalent cash offer. e.g. a 50k mile bonus looks just about as good as a $500 sign up bonus, but banks pay far less than $500 for 50k miles
4. A good majority of Americans will sign up for cards, use them, and regularly pay late fees, carry a balance, etc. This more than pays for the welcome bonus that card issuers offer. OTOH "travel hackers" sign up for the bonus, but use strategies to prevent incurring the costs usually associated with it.
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Which program and what route are you flying? $7-800 is on the high side for economy taxes, which makes me think you are flying into LHR on BA or something similar. If you really are flying into LHR from the US, one alternative is to fly into a different city in Europe and connect over.
Good guess. Into LHR on Air Canada. Taxes brutal.
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The amount of comp you get for small shit (e.g. broken light, no recline, no IFE/wifi) is largely dependent on your status. A no-status member might maybe get 500 miles on United, where as a Global Service might get up to 10K+ (depending on severity)
Do you have to request the comp? I've never been offered compensation for the often broken entertainment system, wifi, or power (as UA Gold).
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> Every credit card should be accompanied with a spreadsheet entry with all details (un/pw, bonus, etc.) Don't store usernames and passwords in a spreadsheet, use a password manager.
If you trust it, a lot of people in the miles game use AwardWallet. It saves passwords as well as FF#'s and balances (where available).
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Actually, no. Airlines only release seats for award redemption if they don't believe they can sell them. Therefore, he's only taking up seats that would otherwise go empty on flights that are going to fly anyways.
Even assuming the seat would have gone unfilled his body adds additional weight that requires additional fuel.
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Good guess. Into LHR on Air Canada. Taxes brutal.
LHR taxes are definitely brutal. Assuming award space and that the routing isn't too out of the way, you could look into flying on a partner. A quick google tells me that you could look into flying on Swiss, Turkish, or United to cross the atlantic. Flying on these partners using Aeroplan miles shouldn't incur fuel surcharges