Key to Success: Strike While the Iron is Hot

Leana’s post yesterday about her current miles and points stash reminded me of something important. Many of us long-term miles and points collectors have sizable points balances already stored up for future trips. And probably the biggest reason we have these is that we strike while the iron is hot.

Strike While the Iron is Hot

What do I mean by this? We jump on good credit card offers and other points-earning opportunities when they appear, regardless of if we have a specific trip in mind. You never know how long a good offer will last or if it will ever come back.

For example, I’m planning a trip to Japan next year with my family of 5. I currently have enough miles and points for economy/premium economy flights. While I don’t have any other 2025 trips currently in in the works, that’s not going to stop me from hustling for more miles and points in the meantime.

Later this month, Citi will be launching the new Citi Strata Premier card. Am I going to apply? You betcha! I have no idea what I’ll use the points for if I am approved. But with 17 transfer partners, I’m sure I’ll put the points to good use for future travel.

I also just dropped under 5/24 (a Chase restriction–see this post). I’ve got my eye on the Avios-earning credit cards that currently have a big 85,000-mile welcome bonus (see this post).

Heck, if Cardless were to relax their strict application rules, I’d even consider applying for one of those new cards.

The reality of this hobby is that good offers tend to be cyclical and come in waves. Sometimes, there is a huge dry spell with no great offers (hello, 2020!). But other times, one card will get an increased offer, and another bank increases a card offer to compete with that. When that happens, get them while they’re hot!

It’s also true that many hot offers come back around again. I’m not saying the sky is falling and this is the last time you’ll ever see a welcome bonus like the current ones. But, if you aren’t currently working on the minimum spending for a new credit card and you have enough expenses to responsibly meet the spend on a new card, now is a good time to explore offers.

I have a feeling this summer is going to be a great time to add to our miles and points balances for future travel!