mjrsplat Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2559045/posts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 So I buy gift cards for clients that order steel from me, or others that are likely to (The south is a good old boy network and nothing gets you in better than cash money). I just found this on the Priority Rewards Center: http://www.priorityclub.com/rewards/us/en/redeem/details/gift-cards/GC025 11k points per gift card of which I buy 3 or so of per week. Jackpot. I'll have hotel stays for a year soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Are you sure you get 11,000 for buying it, or you can buy it for 11,000 instead of using cash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Are you sure you get 11,000 for buying it, or you can buy it for 11,000 instead of using cash? Good call! I'm checking. Edit: You are totally right.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Good call! I'm checking. Edit: You are totally right.... Sucks, but that would have been a shit ton of points for a cheap investment. You usually have to work a bit harder than that. Oh, and for the professional business traveler, Akula is correct. I wasn't sure where you fit in, and I travel more often for pleasure than work so I'm not in a position to worry about that stuff. I'm stuck playing the credit card game instead of playing the flying miles game. I'm lucky to fly once round trip a year, so I'll never have elite status on any airline ever. So for me, I'm way better off getting the Hilton cards that give gold status and just being content with that. Since you travel often, then you do want to break stuff up into more, longer segments so that you can get to elite faster which will build you points faster. I think his advice of sticking with one hotel chain is good advice for either side of the spectrum, but I'm far less likely to have airline loyalty since I'll never have status. If I come across points for an airline I'll use them, otherwise I'll just go with whatever is cheapest for where I'm going at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 just a shit ton of info in this thread. Great reading material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 just a shit ton of info in this thread. Great reading material. yeah, there's really no way to condense it. There are many different angles to explore depending on whether or not you travel for work and how much money you spend on average, etc etc. Best thing to do is read read read then go out and just try stuff and see what works. Then just come up with goals, like "I want to visit Paris for 5 days, I want to stay in a 5 star hotel and I want to fly there first class for free" then you figure out what airlines fly there and which one you could get the most points with, then figure out which hotel you want to stay in and what way to get the most points with them. It seems like anything involving finances is just a game to play with the banks, the more money you can move around the better off you are, and this is a great example of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 you're right it is worth reading up on. It is something I will have to hopefully take advantage of within the next year or so as I start to contact companies and websites to promote my product that I am developing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Hey Ken, since you usually use Holiday Inn: http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/09/25/priority-club-visa-80000/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Here's a good thread on how often you can churn credit cards: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1390371-discussion-timing-churning-different-credit-cards.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Hey Ken, since you usually use Holiday Inn: http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/09/25/priority-club-visa-80000/ Yeah I totally have that card, and I did use the 80,000 flyer talk link not the 60k that I thought in my second post. I've found it to be a great card so far. We still use the sapphire card for day to day and monthly bill pays but for gas and dining (especially at their program restaurants) it's hard to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Sucks, but that would have been a shit ton of points for a cheap investment. You usually have to work a bit harder than that. Oh, and for the professional business traveler, Akula is correct. I wasn't sure where you fit in, and I travel more often for pleasure than work so I'm not in a position to worry about that stuff. I'm stuck playing the credit card game instead of playing the flying miles game. I'm lucky to fly once round trip a year, so I'll never have elite status on any airline ever. So for me, I'm way better off getting the Hilton cards that give gold status and just being content with that. Since you travel often, then you do want to break stuff up into more, longer segments so that you can get to elite faster which will build you points faster. I think his advice of sticking with one hotel chain is good advice for either side of the spectrum, but I'm far less likely to have airline loyalty since I'll never have status. If I come across points for an airline I'll use them, otherwise I'll just go with whatever is cheapest for where I'm going at the time. I'll be on the road 4 nights a week until Christmas then 3-4 nights per week after the new year. All of my travel expenses are reimbursed by my company (which is one of 3 that I rep). The problem is that I drive almost anywhere so FF miles will be harder to rack up. All we really need are two coach tickets to Paris anyway so I think well be able to get there with the Sapphire card spending and whatever the next big AA miles giveaway card might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 I have the Chase PC card too, and I can attest that the hotels in French Polynesia are AMAZING! However, Hilton has a nicer hotel in Moorea, but IC is better in Bora Bora, Hawaii looks...meh. The bottom line is, find the places you want to go and find the best scheme for getting there for free. In some cases that would make the AmEx HHonors card the better choice, in others it could the the Chase PC. I see no point in a amassing a bunch of points to stay at a (max) $200/night hotel for free. In those cases I would probably focus on airline miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 I have the Chase PC card too, and I can attest that the hotels in French Polynesia are AMAZING! However, Hilton has a nicer hotel in Moorea, but IC is better in Bora Bora, Hawaii looks...meh. The bottom line is, find the places you want to go and find the best scheme for getting there for free. In some cases that would make the AmEx HHonors card the better choice, in others it could the the Chase PC. I see no point in a amassing a bunch of points to stay at a (max) $200/night hotel for free. In those cases I would probably focus on airline miles. True, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency resort last time I was in Hawaii, I can't imagine downgrading so far as to stay at a Holiday Inn. Not to mention, Oahu kinda sucks and they have nothing on Maui or Kauai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 True, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency resort last time I was in Hawaii, I can't imagine downgrading so far as to stay at a Holiday Inn. Not to mention, Oahu kinda sucks and they have nothing on Maui or Kauai. There's a resort on the Big Island, but it's more family oriented and has no beach. Hilton has the Waldorf but I don't think it's in the desired location either. My friends just got back from their second trip to Bora Bora and I can't imagine going anywhere else with points. I just have to convince the wife that we have to leave the baby at home and go back next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Leaving the baby home will be our issue too. Luckily my in-laws are awesome and should be comfortable with a week by that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black00ws6 Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 So I buy gift cards for clients that order steel from me, or others that are likely to (The south is a good old boy network and nothing gets you in better than cash money). I just found this on the Priority Rewards Center: http://www.priorityclub.com/rewards/us/en/redeem/details/gift-cards/GC025 11k points per gift card of which I buy 3 or so of per week. Jackpot. I'll have hotel stays for a year soon. THANKS for the site.. We buy gift cards all the time at eagle for our clients. I haven't had to pay for gas this year, plus I use a venture one card for double points. Free flights from that card too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 THANKS for the site.. We buy gift cards all the time at eagle for our clients. I haven't had to pay for gas this year, plus I use a venture one card for double points. Free flights from that card too. I was wrong about it. I blame the cocktail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 I'll be on the road 4 nights a week until Christmas then 3-4 nights per week after the new year. All of my travel expenses are reimbursed by my company (which is one of 3 that I rep). The problem is that I drive almost anywhere so FF miles will be harder to rack up. All we really need are two coach tickets to Paris anyway so I think well be able to get there with the Sapphire card spending and whatever the next big AA miles giveaway card might be. For driving either buy gas cards at the grocery with cards with big grocery bonuses like the Hilton cards or get the Penfed card with 5% cash back on gas. Or both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 One of my clients is interested in this now. He already has a million plus miles from spending and flying but wants more. He got this offer, thoughts? http://img.ed4.net/airtran/2012/0927_AP/title_1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 I heard about that. Chase only allows you to have so many cards, so as long a you aren't deep with them I'd do it, especially since those points can be converted to Southwest later if need be real easy. And whenever airtran finally goes away they can just dump the card. Once that's a public offer I'll probably do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 I'm laying low for the next six months or so. I gave him the thumbs up on it. I know he has the Sapphire card, not sure what else he carries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 I'm still trying to decide on my next app day. I need a 0% balance transfer card to move some debt around, so I'm looking at the discover more card. So if that goes through I may as well grab some others too. Probably the two citi a advantage cards. Not sure after that, that's my limit on citi for a bit, but it would be nice to pick up a fourth. Maybe the amex Hilton surpass to hit gold, but I haven't decided yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted October 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Priority Club has been doing bonus miles on certain hotels. 5000 for select ones... That have happened to be on my route. 15,000 bonus points this week so far. I'm over 100k in this account in ~6 weeks of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 damn, that's a good haul. Priority Club is Intercontinental Hotels, right? I hear they have a VERY nice property in Bora Bora. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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