Sunday Funnies and Fotos

Posted by Rick Sunday, November 28, 2010, No Comments

Munich Olympic Tower by Andrew Ingersoll

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Free Miles, No First Year Fee, Two Lounge Passes, Free First Checked Bag, $50 Statement Credit

cbte

I'm a big Ramsey fan, yet I also love getting the signup bonuses for cards. I'm a huge advocate of living debt-free, and for me, part of that is saving loads of money when I'm doing what I love to do – travel. Ramsey is definitely right though, I'm sure there are MANY more people out there getting suckered into credit cards for a signup bonus they don't know much about. I'd wager 80-90% of the people signing up are not FT type people.

However, it is an "and" world, so I say we keep having our cake and eating it too! Thanks for the unbiased article, Rick – I really appreciate it!
Anonymous

These talking heads always talk about the lowest common denominator. We, the Frugal Guy followers, are much smarter than that. Thanks for your blog Rick.
jumpdogjump

Yep, understand where Dave Ramsey is coming from – his on-line help site is geared to help many who were card overspenders in the first place.
Companies wouldn't be offering these big bonuses without making money, so there are plenty of people running monthly balances.
tim

Rick -

Thought you would enjoy this story. My wife and I have 13 different AMEX cards:
1 Hilton for each us
2 Starwoods for each us
2 Starwood Business for each of us
1 Delta for each of us
1 Gold Business for me (w/ 50,000 miles sign up).

I called the Amex 800 number today about the Small Business Saturday promo. You can only sign up one card per account, but if you have several different accounts, they can each be registered for the promo.

I've just returned from my favorite neighborhood wine store, where I've chosen 13 different wines, each priced at $24.99 plus tax. If this works properly, I've bought $325 worth of wine for the taxes of approx. $17.

I know it might be too late on Saturday to share this with your readers, but I thought it was pretty neat.

Thanks for the tip on this!
Tim in Alexandria
Anonymous

Me too Rick (on the AMEX). I should net out just under $200 CASH for the 10 AMEX cards plus $50 free GAS at small non-chain store. Very nice and pays for most of my years AMEX fee's!
Mike @ MikeVeny.Com

Hey Rick! Happy thanksgiving.

I happen to agree with cbte. It is an "and" world. Any tool, used wisely and with careful planning, will server you. Any tool that you abuse (even blindly) will hurt you.

While I don't use credit cards at the moment, I plan on getting one in the future, as part of a plan for obtaining miles.

My Chase debit cards (for business and personal accounts) have worked great for me for the time being.

Thank you again for this wonderful site and your amazing book. I've recommended it to many friends.

As a professional drummer, it's helped me make the most of traveling for work.
Anonymous

Ramsey is for those who have no financial control in their life. His take on no debt is stupid when 30yr interest rates are lower than a car loan note. I believe highly leveraging yourself in proper long term cheap debt is the smart way to get ahead, but that takes discipline. And for him to recommend spending $1800 on a coach plane tix to Europe when u can get AA miles for a free biz class tix shows he's an idiot an not looking at the whole picture.
Anonymous

Luckily we as a group have the power to use our brain and make SMARTER decisions unlike ramseys sheep viewers. The "nothing is free in life" crowd will always miss out on great deals because they've been trained to ignore them. When I get a response like that I love to inform the person of the first class hkg & bkk flights with 5 star accomodations I'll be taking in the next month all for just the fees and taxes. If all consumers were this savvy we would see much fewer deals.
flyertalk310

My sister & brother-in-law signed up for 2 CitiAA personal cards each. Did the $1500 spend for 75K miles. They each received 150K AA miles. Just the two of them using 75K AA miles each going to New Zealand & coming back from Australia. For $6000 spend on stuff they would have paid cash for anyway, they got a trip to NZ/Australia and 150K miles left to use for 6 domestic tickets. (or another trip to Australia/NZ ). The cards are sitting in a sock drawer as they have a better permanant card for rewards.

Bottom line: For 2 credit inquiries and 6K spend (bill paid off so no interest charges), they got a trip to Australia and 150+K miles left over for more trips.
Anonymous

Dave Ramsey changed my life, if you disagree with him that's one thing, calling him an idiot, well, there are literally 1000's who would disagree. Far from sheep, his fans grew up without being taught how to manage money and debt.

that being said, I'm on board with disciplined use of cards. but as Dave likes to say, if you sleep with snakes don't be surprised when one bites you.
FrugalTravelGuy

Anon: I don't recall ever calling him an idiot??? There are many people that can use his help.

But I think he is indeed talking to an audience wider than he thinks. His blanket statements to avoid all cards for all people leaves me feeling we can't make decisions for ourselves. I don't pay card interest, have a great credit score and have seen the world on signup bonuses. I'm glad I didn't take his blanket approach.
Dave Ramsey is Dangerous

Dave Ramsey tells people to pay off debt before making retirement contributions, EVEN WHEN there is an employer 50%, 100%, 150%, or even 200% MATCH!!! He also apparently doesn't understand the complexities of student loans (e.g. loan forgiveness programs). It is idiotic to turn down money like that, in either case. I'll gladly call him an idiot, even if Rick won't, but perhaps "dangerous" is less inflammatory.

“Credit Card Churning” for Free Airline Miles and Hotel Points

Maximize Your Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses with a Free Credit Card Review. I've had over 95 credit cards approvals, and still receive the sign up bonuses I apply for. My 16 years in mortgage banking, credit counseling and years of personal experience churning credit cards, can help you achieve your travel goals, while you still protect your credit. Start by dropping by the Rookie Tips and Frequently Asked Questions page and following the suggestions listed. Then drop me a note at: rick@frugaltravelguy.com