I’ve created this page as a way to introduce folks who are new to miles and points to the joys of collecting miles and points, and the cheap travel which is possible.
Emily and I pay a fraction of the retail cost to fly and stay in hotels. We do this by collecting miles and points. We participate in a number of promotions, but the main way we earn miles and points is by signing up for credit cards which offer large sign-up bonuses.
Collecting miles and points requires a bit of organization, but it is not rocket science (otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do it!).
Step 1 – Sign-up for miles and points programs
Sign-up for a few hotel and airline loyalty programs. There are many programs to choose from, but I recommend signing-up for just a few programs initially. You can always sign-up for the rest later on.
Make sure to copy and paste your account number, username, and password into an Excel or Word document to help with Step 2.
Step 2 – Manage your miles online
I use AwardWallet.com to manage our miles. AwardWallet not only tracks Emily and my miles, but also our parents’ mileage accounts. It is a free service, but with a small donation ($5 for 6 months) you get premium services such as alerts when your miles are expiring.
Simply sign-up for Awardwallet.com and enter in your username and passwords for your accounts from Step 1.
Step 3 – Credit card strategy & does applying for credit cards damage my credit score?
The easiest way to collect miles and points without flying is through credit-card mega bonuses (think 50,000 or more miles and points from just 1 credit card).
I earned over 1 million miles and points this year from credit card sign-up bonuses and my credit score is still over 700. Credit cards are the easiest way to earn miles and points. Your credit score does decrease each time you sign-up for a credit card, but the effect of that is small (less than 5 points), and over the medium to long term your credit score improves because of the increase in available credit.
If you are not taking out a big loan in the next 2 years (equity, house, student, etc.) than apply for credit cards and build up a hotel point and air mile balance. If you are applying for a big loan in the next 2 years, than I would recommend very few or no credit card applications so as to ensure that you’re doing everything possible to get your loan.
According to MyFICO, applying for credit cards reduces your score usually by 3 to 5 points per application, but banks look at other factors such as how often you’ve applied for credit recently when they evaluate big loans. Much better in my opinion, to get that big loan first at the lowest possible interest rate, and then apply for credit cards.
If you do decide to apply for credit cards make sure to pay your bills off when they are due and to not pay interest. Paying interest on credit cards is a losing proposition – even if you manage to earn miles and points.
Even if you don’t want to apply for credit cards, I recommend getting 2 of my favorite credit cards which give you a lot of flexibility. I do get a referral if you apply for these 2 cards, but Emily and I are very grateful for your support!
1) Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa – This is my favorite card and one of the very few cards which Emily pays an annual fee for. Basically, you earn a 40,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $2,000 within 3 months, and double points for dining and travel expenses. These points give you more flexibility since they can be transferred to different airline and hotel partners.
Here’s a link to my review of the card.
2) American Express SPG card – Another of my favorite cards and for which I’d pay an annual fee. Here’s a link to my review of the card.
This is a great deal and you should consider getting these cards, even though they are not great cards to actually spend money on. You can’t go wrong with 100,000 AAdvantage miles!
Step 4 – Eat, Shop and earn miles
Put all your expenses on a credit card and sign-up for programs which give you miles for dining. Check EVReward for the best online mall to earn miles and points from.
To be continued…
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
Hi Darius,
I really love your site. Thanks for all the great information.
In addition to other credit cards, I currently have the AmExp Hilton card and the Citi Hilton card. I obtained the AmExp card about 3 years ago and just got the Citi card about 6 months ago. Both came with really nice rewards bonuses. If I cancel the AmExp Hilton, can I apply for it again and earn another rewards bonus?
@Teresa – Thanks for reading! You may be able to upgrade the AMEX Hilton to the Surpass version and get more points. If you cancel the Citi version, you *may* be able to get another one in 3 to 6 months. Citi recently changed some of their “rules” so we don’t know how it will work out.
Hello Darius,
I really enjoy reading all of your posts and actually find myself on your site more than on most other sites. I was wondering about the Beginner’s Guide to Miles and Points though. You had left off on Step 4 with a “to be continued” and I haven’t found the continuation yet. You left me hanging…lol. If I have looked over it, please let me know…if not, I look forward to reading more. Thanks for your valuable information.
@Doug -Oops! I forgot about that. I’ll add to it next week!
Great! Thank you so much. I look forward to reading it.
I read in the fine print of the Chase Priority Club Visa that you do not qualify for the sign-up bonus of 60,000 pts (or 80,000 if you have an invite) if you already have a Priority Club Membership…is that correct? Thanks.
@Todd – You don’t qualify if you already have had the card, not if you’re already a Priority Club member.
Hi man!
Awesome new design!
I have been googling a bit around, but cant really find much on it – Any idea if either Hong Kong or Singpore have much bonus options and which of the countries would be the best (if much difference)?
Have fun!
Mads
@Mads Singers – I don’t focus on Asia, but I suspect their credit card sign-up bonuses aren’t as lucrative as those in the US.
Any knowledge or experience of applying and getting the 50k points from the Chase Ink Plus if already currently hold the Chase Ink Bold and received the 50k points for that card for same business/person. Will Chase honor both 50k bonues? And how long should wait if you think they won’t within a tight time frame? Great website!!!
@Joe - Thanks for reading! We were both able to get both the Ink Plus and Ink Bold cards since they are different versions. I’d wait at least 3 months between applications.
I need about 70,000 more delta skymiles to fly myself and a friend to Europe this year… and I’m looking for the best ways to get them.. I already have a Delta Gold Card, can I apply for another Delta Gold Card to receive the bonus points, or since I already have an account (it wouldn’t be new) would I not be eligible? I’m kinda confused about that. Thanks!
@Cynthia – You could get a card which earns Membership Rewards points and transfer those to Delta. Or you can always get the business Delta card.
Darius
How do you manage to apply to so many Chase cards?
I currently have saphire, UA, Freedom, southwest personal. I would like to have ink and priority club, but i think my allowed credit maxed out. How long should i wait since last application to apply for any of these other cards?. Should i cancel any of the cards i already have before applying? Business cards are in the same catgory as peronal ones? (meaning if i have to many personal cards I might get rejected for a business card?
Thanks for all the information.
@Luchex – I’d wait at least 3 months and you may have to cancel a card when you call the reconsideration line to get approved for the card. Chase evaluates your credit on personal and business cards together.
Hi Darius again
I have a time sensitive situation
Currently I have 4 chase cards Freedom for 9 years, and Sapphire, UA, SW personal that are 5, 3 and 1 months old respectively. I also have 2 personal AA citi,and a personal SPG. Only left about 3200 left to pay on the 2 Citi’s and SPG combined which I already are on my sure way to do.
I have a friend who doesn’t have any credit and basic bank account , his english is limited and wants to buy a car from a dealer. He was planning to do it with cash but I told him if it would be OK if I pay with my credit card the maximum aloud for that kind of transaction which is about $7000. He said yes. It will happen in about a month.
This is a great opportunity to get some points. But I am already churned to the limit in chase and also have the other 3 cards.
What do you think should be the smartest possible move in this circumstances. Should I Cancel the Sapphire after 5 months and try to get the Ink or Priority club (kind of too soon)?. I was thinking to open a Business account in chase with checking and savings to give more credibility to my Business CC application. I don’t know
Should I try to get that Gold AMEX with 50K and $175 annual fee with the risk they only accept Visa or MC? or should I just put that spending on one of my existing cards? Or maybe you or any of the members can think of a better way to make use of this opportunity.
Anyways Thanks for the great work.
One detail is that, when I first applied for the Sapphire, I didn’t understand the whole process well and I applied on the same day for the Ink and I was rejected. I can use that to say that what I really wanted was The Ink and I got confused, that I don’t have much use for the Saphire because I need a business card. or something on those lines. What do you think.
@Luchex – You can usually get 1 business card and 1 personal card from Chase on the same day if you call the reconsideration line. That said, you do have a lot of Chase cards recently, so they may not be willing to approve another card so soon or with a high credit limit.
You could try a Citi card – like the Citi American Airlines card for 50K or the Citi Hilton Reserve with 2 free weekend Hilton nights. You can usually do 2 Citi applications within 65 days as long as they are on different days.
Hello Darius
I have one of the basic questions
Understanding the scheme of CC and points I found myself in the need of a business card Like the Ink . I also see the oportunity for that AMEX gold with 50K. I already finish my minimum spend on all my chase cards which are Freedom, Sapphire, UA personal and SW personal. I also have a SPG personal. Both spg and SW are a little over a month old. My main concern is traveling and mostly in UA but I also like SW and getting a companion pass sounds appealing
My questions:
1. is it too soon to apply to a INk?. should I let at least 3 months pass from my last application in chase? my credit line in march 29 was around 730 . should I let my credit “recover” for a while before applying.
2. I really like Sapphire because has no foreign transaction fee and that I can take the points from freedom and roll it into Sapphire and (maybe) into united. So , if I were to have to cancel one of the cards, which one should be the best to let go: Sapphire and miss the ability to roll points from fredom, or UA and miss the priority boarding, or may be try to roll credit to the SW and then cancel and get that credit abailable. ? Or may be request a decrease in the credit line of my current cards, not cancel any and still get the Ink?
3. for practical purposes: what’s the difference between Ink bold and Ink plus? any of those have the benefits of Sapphire like non foreign fee, 1.25 per dollar on flight reservations on UR mall and be able to receive points from freedom?
Would it help to open a business bank account in chase to get approved for Ink and other Business cards.
I know these are a lot of questions and some are basic but I just see so many opportunities and I dont know if I should and how long to wait. I see how uphill things get when people overdo cc applications and get denied . I preffer to avoid that.
Thanks for your great work.
Pingback: BA First Lounge, Cabin a Brilliant Beginning to Any International Travel Experience | Real Mom Time (RMT)
@LUCHEX – You could try for the Ink Bold/Plus if it has been at least 3 months from when you were last approved for the Chase cards. I’d wait the 3 months. You could close the Southwest card if you already got the sign-up bonus, because you will get double points for all travel with the Sapphire Preferred. The Ink Bold and Plus also have no foreign transaction fees, 1.25 cents per point towards UR flight reservation and the ability to transfer points to airlines/hotels. The main difference is that the Ink Bold is a charge card (you have to pay your balance in full each month) while the Ink Plus is a credit card so you can roll the balance over (but shouldn’t do!)
Thanks Darius It’s very clear now. Very kind of you.
Hi D,
If I tell my attorney to bill be via paypal so I can use my Amex to pay him will he incur significantly higher fees? >$100? It’s about a $6K charge and I’m not trying to stick it to him but I see this as an opp. to meet my minimum spend requirement.
Also, will the charge count towards my spending req?
Joe
Fantastic website and blog! I plan on doing some traveling this summer with my wife and wanted to know the best cards to sign up for to maximize travel points and minimize the minimum purchases. Planning on flying within the US to 3 different cities. Any insight would be great!
> Eat, Shop…..
No. I will save
@Luchex - You’re welcome!
@mardigras89 – Paypal charges an ~3% fee, so he will pay ~$180 to receive $6,000. You could just sign-up for an AMEX Bluebird, buy Vanilla Reload cards at CVS and load your Bluebird and then send a check. But you can load only $5K a month, so it will take more than a month to pay the full $6K.
@Eric – The best card for US travel would be the Southwest cards with the 50K sign-up bonus which is ~$833 in travel. The points currently count towards the Companion Pass, which is one of the best deals available. But the 50K offer is not currently available, so you could get the Chase Sapphire Preferred with 40K points after spending $3,000 within 3 months and transfer points to Southwest or Hyatt for hotels. The Barclays Arrival card will also get you ~$400 in travel.
@tomteal – Yes, it is always better to save, but if you have to eat and shop you may as well earn the miles.
I got the personal SW the last day of the 50k promotion.
No more 50k, only 25k. No way I can get the companion pass now. Do you think it will come any time soon the 50k?. Is there any other way to accumulate SW miles that count towards the companion pass?
Darius
I hacve the Chase UA personal and besides the bonus 50k and priority boarding, I don’t see any reason to use it. All the other cards give me a lot more points than the UA and even if I want to buy a ticket using Money to go to , lets say , Mexico city, instead of going to united and using the UA card that only pays x2, I see more convenient to go to UR mall, use Hotwire that pays x2, and use my Sapphire that also pays x2 for traveling and can transfer UR points to any airline to get UA tickets and also get the miles. am I missing any important factor here about the UA c card or I am on the right track?
@LUCHEX – There almost certainly will be another 50K offer in a few months and Chase usually matches to the best offer. See this post for other ways to earn Companion Pass points. Usually, transfers from hotels count.
That’s a good way to earn extra points, but you may not get the free bag since the terms say that you have to use the United card to make the booking, though that may be different in practice.
Great site. I hope to make use of all your info soon. I’ve never used miles before so once i’ve signed up for a card do i need to sign up with one of the airlines too?
Darius
Thanks very much for that 75K AMEX Business link, I got it using the private browsing way.
My basic question is: I was trying to let pass 3 or 4 months without CC applications to let cool off and then churn 6 or 7 cards but this great offer came. What is the difference or the downside of not waiting 3 or 4 months for a churn. ? what is App-o-rama ?
Thanks
Darius,
I thought of another way to pay your mortgage with a credit card. I called my mortgage co. and asked what happens if my county did not bill them for my county taxes, about $4500/year. I asked if there is any way they could reimburse me or apply the excess balance in my escrow account as a payment to my mortgage. They said they’d have to look at the situation but likely they would do either.
So in August before the tax bill goes to my mortgage company I’ll pay the amount due on my Amex. My county accepts credit cards for payment. Then I’ll print a verification showing no balance is due send it to my mortgage co and they’ll reimburse me. That’s of course assuming the mortgage company will do what the rep said they would do. Worst case scenario is they say I have to get reimbursed by the county and the county would refund my credit card. I’d first ask the county to send me a check of course.
See any hang-ups here?
Joe
Darius,
Thank you for your comprehensive write-up. I recently started using the CSP at your suggestion. Those 40k+ UR points will certainly come in handy.
Question:
Does “downgrading” a credit card impact one’s credit score? Perhaps “downgrading” isn’t really the right word. I currently have an Amex Blue Cash Preferred that I’d like to replace with a Blue Cash Everyday (to avoid the annual fee). Would doing so decrease my credit score? If so, how does that decrease compare to the impact of just canceling the card outright?
Thank you!
@Henrik – Thanks! You will need a frequent flyer account with the airline to be able to use their miles. If you applied for an airline credit card, they bank may have set up an account for you and you can call them to find out the number.
@luchex - 1 card shouldn’t really make much of a difference in your 90 day cycle to apply for cards.
@mardigras89 – The only hang-up is that it could take some time to sort out if it didn’t go along as planned!
@Actie – Thanks for reading! Downdgrading a card is actually better for your score since you don’t lose the credit history associated with the card, but that doesn’t matter with AMEX cards because they back date your cards to when you first opened an AMEX account. That said, you don’t usually get the sign-up bonus when you downgrade a card.
Hi,
I got the 75K miles offer on AMEX business card with $5k spending limit last week. Now the problem is that I have a Bluebird (BB) card but there is no store here which sells Vanilla Reloads with a credit card.
(Only have Walgreens, Family Dollar, Murphy and Dollar General in my area)
I have office depot and staples as well in my area.
The only ones that do, they do not accept AMEX, only Visa cards. I was hoping to pay off my bills but now it seems I am stuck.
Any suggestions on how to reach the $5K limit in 2.5 months? Also, are there any specific visa gift cards I should be looking at, I have seen several posts and have got some hints but majority of the posts hint towards hit and trial method.
Thank you.
@genesys9 – I believe Office Depot and Staples accept AMEX and sell Visa gift cards which you could then load on your Bluebird at Wal-mart or use for regular spending.
Unfortunately, both of them do not stock $500 cards where I am, but I got some at Walgreens. Hopefully, things will be ok.
Pingback: TwoBadTourists | Around the World Air Travel for Under $300
Pingback: Preview of What is to Come: Travel Reward Points Resource Bonanza!
Hi and thanks for your help. I have a Chase Freedom with no fee for the 5x purchases and a Sapphire for the one year waved fee. I saw a promotion for Ink and wondered if you could answer my question regarding, do you have to have a personal Business that makes money to be accepted? I haves business AMEX Costco card, but they only asked me to report the name of my business.
@Debra Parry – You shouldn’t apply for the card if you don’t have a business, but if you have a business you can apply for the card.
Hi D!
I have 23,000 miles in Thai Airways (Royal Orchid Plus) which I earned flying R/T once from LAX-BKK in premium economy. I love that route but they no longer run. I have very little US Air miles or Star Alliance.
What is the best way to use the Thai miles? Or build up for better award?
Thank you!
Tara
Have the USAir Barclays Card -have had 2 years. Can I cancel and reapply now for the 35K sign on bonus?
Is it best to wait for one Southwest card to be approved before applying for a Southwest Business card? What is the best way to go about doing this to maximize chances of being approved for both if I have a legit business as well?
@Tara – I really don’t know much about Thai miles, so I’m not going to be of much help.
@EROC – You could apply for 1 card and call the reconsideration line to be approved, and then apply for the 2nd card and call to be approved.
Question 1st: Does closing 1 account with Amex trigger a targeted mailing offer, typically better than the others advertised online. If so, I may start planning when I cancel a card to get a better offer for one I had planned on opening anyway.
Background: I opened an Amex Gold for 50K miles and a week or two later I cancelled my SPG Amex (so in a year I can sign up for another to get the sign-on bonus points). A few weeks later I got an offer in the mail for the same Amex Gold I just opened except it was for 75K points rather than the 50K offered online.
hi
just wanted to let you know that there is a promo code that gives you free + status at awardwallet.com
free-rxjpgv
@mardigras89 – I don’t know the exact formula for targeted offers, but have to imagine that one variable is whether you have AMEX cards or not.
@john – Thanks!
I have 200,000 Hilton Hhonors points but I really need miles to fly on either United, US AIR or Delta; any suggested on how to make this happen?
@Billy D – Not by using your Hilton points, but you could get a card which earns the miles you want to use (though I suspect you already have them).