Sunday Success Story

February 12, 2012 - Rick

Hi Rick,I moved back to the US with my English husband nearly five years ago. While living in England, we often traveled back and forth to the US using my parents’ miles (NWA at the time) that they were able to accumulate through purchases at their business.Once we got back here, I thought we really needed to use our own miles and I happened to read an article in the newspaper (Record-Eagle) about your blog. I started out with American Airlines cards. I was worried that my husband wouldn’t be able to join in due to his limited credit history, but that doesn’t seem to have been an issue. My parents also got into it, so between the four of us, we have done quite well.We’ve used our miles for several trips to London (including a long weekend to Rome during one of those trips, just before we had our son) and a trip to Hawaii. My parents have used their miles for three trips to Hawaii and have gifted flights to family members. This summer we’ll be traveling with my parents and seven-year-old nephew to England, Switzerland, and Italy with all flights booked using miles. Our lodging in England will be free thanks to my in-laws. We’re renting a villa in Italy and I think we’ll be using Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points for a couple of nights in Switzerland. Our next trip, though, will be to Hawaii in March with my parents. Below I’ve broken down our trip and how we did it:(1) Flight from TVC-OGG on AA using 22,500 miles + $5 each from the 75,000 mile promo (I opened a business card in my name, plus I was able to get a personal card even though I’m sure I’d already had one. My husband was denied for both). Return flight on UA using 20,000 miles + $5 each that came from a combination of cards: American Express Premier Rewards Gold, where we got lucky and each got 75,000 bonus points (which took a lot of hard work on the phone), plus the extra 40,000 that magically appeared one day. We also both got the United and Continental cards, which, I believe, had 50,000 mile bonuses. My parents are using all AA miles. This flight prices out at about $1000 round trip currently.

(2) Round trip flight OGG-LIH on Island Air (direct) using 10,000 Continental miles plus $5 each (see above for where we got the Continental miles). This flight runs just under $200.

Grand Hyatt, Kauai, photo by Andrew Ingersoll

(3) Three nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai — two of those nights are from my husband opening a Hyatt card. We stayed there two nights last year with my Hyatt card, and the third night is 22,000 points, which come from a transfer of points from the Chase Sapphire card 50,000 point bonus. My parents are doing the same thing. The lowest rate during our stay for a paid night is $350 (not to mention the $25/nt resort fee that we won’t have to pay).

(4) One night in Maui at either the Wailea Beach Marriott for 30,000 points (I just opened the Chase Marriott card with a 70,000 point bonus so that would cover both of our rooms) or at a Starwood property (my husband and I both opened the SPG AmEx with the 25,000 point bonus, same for my mom and dad). The Marriott is $350/night.

(5) The remaining five nights in Maui (which are actually at the beginning of our trip) are at a condo and my parents are paying most of that since they get the bedroom and we’ll be staying on the world’s most uncomfortable sofa bed (the view is actually worth the horrible sleep, though). We’ll either pay the $20/nt extra per-person charge or take them to a nice dinner to make up for the extra cost. My parents will be on Maui four nights before us, so they’ll get some extra time at the condo, too.

(6) We’re paying out-of-pocket for the car rentals, which will be around $500, but really only $250 since we’re getting just one car and splitting the cost. (We did book a car that gives two extra drivers free so we won’t have to rely on just one driver going everywhere.)

So, overall, for my husband, myself, and my son (he’ll turn three while we’re on Maui, and this will be the third birthday he’s celebrated on Maui!), we’re spending $45 on flights, $275 on lodging (the $75 fee for the Hyatt card plus the extra person cost for the condo), and $250 on the rental car for a grand total of $570. If we were to pay for flights and hotel, our total would be $5800 for the whole trip.

Considering our savings, I think we just might splurge a little and treat ourselves to one of the lagoon-side cabanas while we’re at the Hyatt!

Thanks for your blog. We love it!

– Sarah C.

Anonymous

Offers seemed to have dried up since last November. Did something happen around that time that might have made banks think big bonuses aren't a good idea?

Let me think back………
Acker

Wow. I'm in the same position. Those of us who've be at this since the start have had all the cards. I've even looked at which cards have been canceled for over 2 years, thinking maybe I'd reapply. I'm eager to hear what others are doing, as it's churn time for me too.
sergey

Rick, do you know if United Explorer Offer (50K) will be available for long time? I have a 50K offer for this card that expires on February 29. My preference is to apply first for Sapphire Preferred card, but I don't want to loose 50K offer for United card.
daniel

you bloggers are all on the same narrow road all the time…apply, apply….why not offer some advice on managing and follow through?….newbies need this even to plan the churn of a card a year or more in advance….e.g. downgrading cards to no fee cards instead of cancelling, SPG->blue, Sapphire preferred-> Sapphire, AA Citi Visa -> CIti gold? something (cant remember).
the churning story has to come around full circle.
FrugalTravelGuy

Daniel: Thanks for the reminder to consider moving down to a no fee card. If you have read my past blog posts, or the thousands of emails I write personally to readers you'll see that that is quite often my advice.

Sergey: I think the United Explorer card offer will outlive the current Chase Sapphire Preferred card offer.
Anonymous

Can you please post – What Airtran card? I am not aware that any Airtran card is still available??

??
confused
Anonymous

Do you advice canceling cards to avoid fees before or after churning? Thanks.
FrugalTravelGuy

Anon on Airtran card: I was taking literary license. I don't think there is an Airtran card either. it was just a reference to an obscure offer. sorry if I confused.

Anon: I try not to cancel cards unless there is a reason. move credit line, renegotiate with an issuer. can't get a retention bonus and there is not a no fee option.
Anonymous

Could you address a future article on the possibilities and/or ins and outs of reapplying for the same card and getting points/bonuses AFTER having cancelling the same card at renewal time.
Anonymous

quick question. On the platinum $200 credit you mention buying gift cards. Do you you just purchase one $200 card, or smaller denominations?
Anonymous

The Virgin Atlantic card is worth getting. It's an easy 60,000 miles which transfers to 120,000 Hilton points.

All the Amex cards are churnable, even after a short wait. I've had no problems getting repeat bonuses from Starwood, Hilton, and Delta after only a few months since closing my cards.

Chase has a lot of good offers. Surely there's one you havent had in the last two years.

I always recommend the Barclays Travelocity card. It comes with 20,000 points after $750 spend which is good for $400 toward any Travelocity purchase of $400 or more.
Carol in MN

FYI … Virgin Atlantic has a 50K sign-up bonus … just transferred 50K Virgin Atlantic miles to Hilton HHonors 1:2 … 50K VA miles = 100K Hilton Honors points. Did the same with my Hawaiian Airline miles from both BOA and BOH Hawaiian Airlines cards, which each had a 35K sign-up bonus … 70K HA miles = 140K Hilton Honors points.
tassojunior

Virgin Atlantic is my favorite cc. Their great airline partners (few of whom you have to pay fuel surcharges on) are listed on their UK site, but not on their US site:

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/frequentflyer/fcpartners/airlines/index.jsp

1.5 miles for every dollar spent. AmEx so good at Costco and eligible for AmEx promos (small biz day, etc.) Combine with 1100 miles for every Hertz or Avis rental. And Branson says VS will be in an alliance soon (Skyteam or *A).

Plus it's churnable every 90 days. 50K miles for $2500 spend plus 2 additional users. Worth $90.
Anonymous

My application for Sapphire Preferred was rejected last Dec. The reason was I had too much new card in the past one year(actually 4 cards). The lady on the phone told me that I could apply later.
My question is when would be the best time for me to apply again? I really hope I can catch the 50000 pts bonus.
Thanks
Travel and Credit

Rick, here's some suggestions for cards that I've not seen you post about that you may not have ever had:
- Amex Blue (Some are reporting targeted offers up to 50k!)
- Southwest personal 50k
- Southwest Biz 50k
- BOA Business credit card $100 credit (weak…)
- Jetblue cards from Amex per & biz. Have your wife get them too and then refer you for 10k points each referral and SCORE. Most people don't attack that angle enough.
- You can transfer the Virgin points to Hilton for 2x Hilton just like the Hawaiian cards, so that's 70k per Hawaiian card and 100k per Virgin card. No brainer that it's worth it if you don't have any cards to apply for. But that's just my opinion
Ryan

I'd offer a few thoughts:

- Use this time to get familiar with other programs like Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, etc and see what might be of value to you. Virgin Atlantic, in addition to other partners, offers roundtrip inter-island on HA for only 6K.

- At some point, all you'll have left is more obscure or lower offers, having already gone through the main players. Yes your credit is important but if at some point all you can choose from is AS or HA or Wyndham cards… it's either that or nothing. What else are you planning to use your credit for – new home purchase coming up, cars?

- The HA card is actually available in both BoA and BoH flavors even both at once (though they use the same processor FIA Card Services, 2 pulls will result) with some good options internally and in transfers. And there may be "lather-rinse-repeat" options.

- Have you had the USAirways MC from Barclays? I've been happy with it so far – 40K miles isn't huge but it's worthwhile; 5K discount on all award redemptions (US metal), etc.

Good luck whatever you end up doing!
Anonymous

Just curious if any retention offer was made by Chase on the Continental card?
dbeach

What's wrong with Virgin America that you'll "never fly them"? Now, I freely admit that the credit card offer is nothing to get excited about (10000 pts worth more or less a flat 2 cents), but if they fly where I'm going I always consider them.
Anonymous

Thanks for the reply. I have two chase cards- Freedom and Continental. I'm getting ready to apply for Mileage Explorer and Sapphire Preferred. As u can see, all from Chase. Just not sure if I should cancel the Continental card because annual fee is up soon or just go ahead and apply with two cards already existing with Chase. Appreciate your wise advice!
FrugalTravelGuy

Thanks Guys: I'll look again at the Virgin Atlantic to Hilton transfer option.

Anon on Plat card. I ordered one $200 AA virtual gift card and got the credit two days on my Plat card after the charge registered.

Ryan: Good points BUT I am loaded with inquiries and will gladly let them fall off my report. I'm not saying I'll never apply for cards again, because I know there are more new offers coming. There always are
Anonymous

Do you convert the miles into Hilton points?
Jake

Sergey – you should consider doing both the United Explorer and your other new application at the same time. The united explorer targeted offer nets 50k points after the FIRST PURCHASE. So there was NO min spend requirement at all for the 50k. Now if I want the addl 10k I have to spend $25000 this year, but that's not worth it to me. So open it, get 50k, then continue working towards the min spend on the Sapphire.
Shane

Rick,
I'm looking at a round of apps for the wife and I and I'm looking at keeping the min spends down. I'll say what I'm interested in and what I would like.
What I could use from all of you is help with the questions and any other advice you might have.

we are looking at banking some Hotel points mainly in this cycle with the exception of the Chase SWA Personal plus card or AA AMEX.

1)BofH & BofA Hawaii cards. i understand these both transfer to hilton at a 1:2 rate for a possible total of 280,000 points.

2)Either the Hilton Amex (60,000 points) card or the AA Amex card (50,000 miles)We got the Visa in 3/11

3)SWA Personal Plus card 50,000 points +$69 fee or the PC 80,000 sign up bonus ( But i like the SWA card a little better for using for gift cards) we got the premier in 8/11

My questions are these.
~With me spreading these out between the diff companies do you think there is a chance we would get approved for all? (credit score is great)
~If we currently have the AA Visa and got approved for the AMEX version, would we still get the 50,000 miles
~And if we both have the SWA personal Premium card ($99 fee) if approved for the Plus card, would we still get the 50,000 point bonus?

Thanks for your time.
Asar

Do you have the Amtrak card? Its an excellent one with 32K signup bonus. Also you can transfer to a lot of partners if you have $200 in Amtrak spend in a year.
Anonymous

Anybody have a link for that 60k Virgin Atlantic card? All I see on their site is 20k. Thanks.
Dave Ramsey is Dangerous

Thanks, Rick. You have pinpointed my frustration in spending hours trying to figure out even a few cards to go after in the past few months. If you haven't/aren't, Citi Hilton cards seem quite churnable…boring…but useful just the same. At 40k or 50k points per $1,500, it's hardly anything to write home about. However, that does work out to at least 10 cents/dollar spent at my relatively conservative valuation of 0.4 cents per point. Certainly, one can stretch them much farther.
The Travel Abstract

@Shane

1) I think that is a very well spread out app-run. Without knowing your exact credit card profile I would say you have the basics down pat. The HawaiianMiles cards are not automatics, you may get denied for one or downgraded to a lesser version that does not give you 35k.

2)This is your only mistake. AA Amex is NOT an AMEX card it is a Citibank brand Amex meaning that you should have done the 2-browswer trick to get both Citi AA Visa and Amex at same time. Now you will need to wait at least 8 months between Citi AA card applications.

3)How long has it been since you applied for the RR Premier card? I think you would be better served by applying for the BIZ version and avoiding the personal cards.
Lark

Rick –

You mention that you have had all the Chase cards… Does this include the Ritz Carlton Rewards card? ("JP Morgan" aka chase)

I recently received it, and especially for the first year – Gold Ritz and Marriott status, 50,000 Ritz / MR points, $200 airline credit, etc. – I think it is well worth the $395 annual fee.

Lark
Shane

@ The Travel Abstract…I was a Newb then… =)
I am 11 months removed from first applying for the AA Visa.

As for the RR Premier it's been since 8/11…

As for applying for Business I understand I am a sole proprietor?
What type of questions will I need to have answers for when calling in, or is it instant approval? I've never had any Bus cards to date so this would open another door of possibilities and also I'm saving the other chase cards for hopefully later this year. (freedom, sapphire or bold)
The Wanderer

Rick,

From the fine print on the Mercedes Benz Platinum Amex:

"This offer is not valid for existing American Express Platinum Cardmembers. You are eligible to receive bonus points for only one Card account. Additional Cardmembers are not eligible. Bonus ID-6565"

Hard to tell from that if you just need to cancel your Platinum card before applying for this one to get the bonus or if they will not give you the 50k points if you have ever received the bonus with the regular Platinum Card. If you are going to try it, definitely make sure to cancel your Platinum card first before applying for the MB card. I would be curious to know if the additional bonus points do indeed post, since this is an option that I have been considering as well.
Anonymous

US Air card is churnable (check out flyertalk for details)… recently got my 2nd 40,000 bonus.
Lantean

I don't really understand why everyone transfers their HawaiianMiles to Hilton… sure, you can get some decent value out of them on a nice hotel room… but if you applied for both BoH and BoA cards and completed minimum spend, you'd get almost 80k Hawaiian Miles… that's enough for a first class round trip on the upcoming JFK-HNL (or beyond) trip… that's a phenomenal value to me, well worth paying annual fees on both cards. All you’d need to do is either spend $3k more or transfer some AmEx membership points or Starwood points… you get the idea.
Shane

Rick, still learning the game and the in's/out's but I have a couple credit report questions…

Is there a magic number to stay under in regards to "accounts in good standing"?

Also, in regards to "Record of Requests for your Credit Report, is there a magic number there too???

Mine are 43 and 7 (with 3 of the 7 dropping off by Aug of this year). Thanks for your time.

Shane
Anonymous

Don't forget that after several years, you can apply again for many of these bonuses.
Shane

Wife and I approved for 7 out of 8.

2 BOA Hawaii
1 BoH Hawaii
2 Priority Club
2 US Air

Credit score were higher than I thought 830/819 according to the letters they sent.

Sunday Success Story

Related Posts