Person on social media: “I use a credit to get miles and points. We’ve been using this card for years. My husband and I save up all of our points to fly our family somewhere every year. But how are you going on so many trips every year? What credit card do you have?”
Me: “Well…..I’m crazier than you!”
I’m Crazier Than You
Having one miles and points credit card is useful. Depending on how much you spend on it every year, it’s entirely possible to save up miles for flights for a family trip. But, that’s not what I do.
I take things up a few notches. Some of the things I do (and what many “hobbyists” who read this blog also do):
- I open up multiple new credit cards each year in order to get a big welcome bonus of miles/points
- My husband opens his own credit cards separately to get his own welcome bonuses (Player 2 strategy). Last year, we opened a combined 7 new credit cards
- I apply for small business credit cards for another influx of miles and points
- I read blogs, news sources and my own email daily for offers and travel ideas that include getting points for opening a bank account, status matching for free cruises and promotions for reduced-price hotel rooms.
In short, I’d say I’m mildly obsessed with traveling with miles and points. My response to the question reminds me of one of my favorite songs from a musical, Crazier Than You from the Addams Family Musical.
…But Not as Crazy as Some
I’m actually not as crazy into this travel hobby as others. I have 4 big international trips this year as well as a sprinkling of domestic trips. That is actually on the low side compared to some other travel hobbyists.
I try to stay current on the latest credit card offers and promotions, but I’m not glued to my laptop 24/7.
My goal is to maximize my intake of miles and points, yet there are certain activities I just don’t do.
And that’s ok. I’m comfortable with my level of crazy in this travel hobby. It works for me.
And for many people, having one credit card as the main source of miles and points works. But, if you want to travel more and travel farther…..you have to get a little crazier.
Am I crazier than you?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I was weary of manufactured spend but after dipping my toes in it I understand how people on more blogs can travel on what seems like is a monthly basis. You take more risks but the number of points generated is exponentially more. I was just getting close to 500K points per year with my natural spend and income but after going into manufactured spending I generated an additional 1.3M last year. There’s various methods such as reselling, buying groups etc I think it’s worth exploring and seeing for yourself if you think it’s worth it!
Previously I had to wait to accumulate enough and then book but after going into manufactured spend I no longer have to wait and can book more speculative trips as well!
@Rebecca You’re crazier than I am! 🙂 j/k I know many people who have had great experiences with manufactured spending. It’s definitely the best way to rack up so many miles and points. Right now, I don’t feel like I have the time to devote to it. But, maybe in the future…
Thanks Nancy – very helpful. I had not thought about the available credit with each bank so i will create a spreadsheet to look at that. Thanks also for the link for the rules.
Hi Nancy. Thanks for the article. I also love the points and miles game, but would consider myself somewhat of a novice compared to you. I see above that you opened 7 cards last year. Did you also cancel 7? I just don’t know how many cards you can have open and still keep getting approved. I think I probably have 5 chase cards open as well as 3 amex cards and my wife is about the same amount. I got declined from Capital One a few months ago (i have read that Cap One is tough for some reason) with the explanation that I had “too many cards”. But yet the wife got approved. I know Chase has the 5/24 rule and I think amex might limit cards to 5. But aside from that I don’t know what “too many cards” means (other than a generic excuse to decline me). So my question is this – how many cards do you have open at any one time? And another question is – do you ever cancel a card and re-open it month later to get the sign up bonus again (assuming you have waited the 24 months or whatever the fine print says)? I have various hotel cards open (IHG, Marriott, Hyatt) that I have had for years just to get the free annual night but I am wondering if I should cancel them and re-open to get the sign up bonus. I am not sure if Chase would decline me when I re-apply knowing I just had the same card and cancelled it a few months ago.
Thanks a bunch in advance Nancy
Tom
@Tom Those are great questions! On average, my husband and I own around two dozen credit cards at any given time. Those are spread out between the two of us plus a few small business cards and also spread out over several banks (Chase, Citi, Barclay, Capital One, Amex, Bank of America). We are continually cancelling and opening new cards. For example, I just canceled one of the 7 new cards from last year because it was almost time for the 2nd year annual fee. I have canceled and reopened the same card a few times (Barclay AA card, Citi AA card) but for the most part I don’t. Despite our high number of cards, we still get approved for new ones. It just really depends on the bank and how many credit cards we have with them (and how much dollars in credit they have open for us). Last year, we canceled my husband’s no-fee Disney card in order to free-up room to potentially get another Chase card. However, my husband and I do get denied for new cards as well (Citi Premier and Amex Green are recent ones that come to mind). This is a good resource for different rules by bank: https://travelfreely.com/?page_id=15338&bref=mfmp
I hope that helps!
Nice post 📕