Credit Card Strategies (Churn/MS/Points!)

[alymae1010]

There has been some interest shown in having a thread dealing with churning, manufactured spending, and all things points. For all of those already in the hobby, this will be a place to discuss strategies, ask for advice on attaining specific goals (Disney for a dollar ), and commiserating on fallen deals (RIP OneVanilla).

Given that it takes a lot of time and research to get started, for newbies to this hobby, I’d recommend reading the numerous blogs and forums available to get up to speed. Simply googling the term ‘churning credit cards’ will give you more information than you’d ever imagine.

I hope to update this first post as we go along, but it will be a placeholder for now so we can get the party started…

 

[alymae1010]

So, I got a Redbird the other day and did my first load last night. SO EASY! Has anyone else used this method yet? Love that I can do my thing while going on my normal trips to Target.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Loading and unloading is easy. Getting the target website to recognize it as a Redcard for the 5% discount and free shipping is not so easy. Customer service is willing to manually apply the discount but that gets old for gift multiple card purchases.

 

[alymae1010]

Ah, I didn't know about that issue because I already have a Redcard. Is it just online purchases that you have the issue?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Yes, only online. No RBird will work for the discount because the system recognizes it as an Amex, but not as a Redcard. I'm told they "are working on it". I'm willing to bet this is why there was the recent issue of nobody getting the 5% RedCard discount online....they were trying to update the system to recognize the RBird and evidently caused a glitch with the other cards. Now that the normal Redcards are being recognized again, hopefully they'll figure out the RBird. Another successful load this morning by the way.

 

[alymae1010]

From a selfish perspective I tend to hope they have glitches every once in awhile so it doesn't get a national push. I'm afraid the credit card load will go away once that happens. I could be totally wrong, but that's why I didn't cancel my Bluebird and jump in sooner.

 

[alymae1010]

Any advice on if the Citi Premier with the 50k bonus would be a good card to get? I have an old school Citi Forward card, but the rewards aren't that great. I believe if I get the higher tiered Premier card, I will be able to pool my Thank You points for better rewards. Worth it?

 

[sunshinehighway]

I thought MS is like fight club? Don't talk about it (unless on a private board).

 

[btk2333]

I thought MS is like fight club? Don't talk about it (unless on a private board).

Haha I agree don't talk about MS if it works because then it'll get shut down! Credit card churns on the other hand are so mainstream that you might as well talk about them!

 

[sunshinehighway]

Haha I agree don't talk about MS if it works because then it'll get shut down! Credit card churns on the other hand are so mainstream that you might as well talk about them!

I'm interested in people sharing ways to use points and miles.
I'll share one.
Using British Airways Avios on Aer Lingus is a good way to get to Europe without all the fuel fees.
Boston to Dublin or Boston to Shannon are both just under 3000 miles so its only 12500 points in economy.

 

[btk2333]

I'm interested in people sharing ways to use points and miles.
I'll share one.
Using British Airways Avios on Aer Lingus is a good way to get to Europe without all the fuel fees.
Boston to Dublin or Boston to Shannon are both just under 3000 miles so its only 12500 points in economy.

Avios are great- there are some real sweet spots. ORD-MCO isn't bad on Avios either- and Avios transfer from Chase, Amex and SPG points making them easy to accumulate

 

[sunshinehighway]

Avios are great- there are some real sweet spots. ORD-MCO isn't bad on Avios either- and Avios transfer from Chase, Amex and SPG points making them easy to accumulate

I haven't looked too much into other good deals with them yet. I was concentrating on bos-dub. The BA visa sign up bonus got me 2 roundtrip tickets. I transfered Amex points too so i could manage business class one way. I'm building my points back up so I'll start looking for other ways to use them.

 

[btk2333]

I haven't looked too much into other good deals with them yet. I was concentrating on bos-dub. The BA visa sign up bonus got me 2 roundtrip tickets. I transfered Amex points too so i could manage business class one way. I'm building my points back up so I'll start looking for other ways to use them.

Avios just had a relatively substantial devaluation on April 28 if you flew premium cabins- economy stayed the same but business and first now cost much more FYI

 

[elaine amj]

I just got a Redbird Loving it...so easy to use. Still new to it so figuring out best ways to get money off it. We are using it to pay bills but might have a little challenge getting $5k a month off it. Last trip to Target, I walked out with a big wad of $20 bills ($400 total) from the cash machine and my DD's eyes grew so big. Well worth the effort though

We haven't done a lot of MS yet, but slowly dipping our toes into it. We do love CC churning and have been doing that for about 4-5 years.

My favorite deal has been the Southwest Companion Pass. Amazing

 

[SUSIEQ]

I just got a Redbird Loving it...so easy to use. Still new to it so figuring out best ways to get money off it. We are using it to pay bills but might have a little challenge getting $5k a month off it. Last trip to Target, I walked out with a big wad of $20 bills ($400 total) from the cash machine and my DD's eyes grew so big. Well worth the effort though

So, how does this work? Do you just load it with a cc that offers rewards? And what do you mean "from the cash machine"?
Thanks for any help!

 

[georgina]

OK, after reading this thread I am off to google MS and Redbird, neither of which I have ever heard of. I learn so much on the Dis!

 

[sunshinehighway]

Avios just had a relatively substantial devaluation on April 28 if you flew premium cabins- economy stayed the same but business and first now cost much more FYI

I did see something about that. I'm usually an economy girl anyways. I'm just glad I got my Dublin flight booked before the devaluation happened. It was my big chance to fly business class.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

This is fascinating! Can't wait to learn more...

 

[elaine amj]

Redbird is the new prepaid Target credit card (actually called a prepaid Redcard - Redbird is just the nickname). You can load money on it(with another CC earning points), then use t to pay bills. You csn also withdraw money fro it from a cash machine.

A big thing to know before you enter this world. Do your research carefully. Read, read, and read some more so you understand what you are doing. It is easy money - but it isn't. You have to know what you are doing. Also, know yourself. What can you handle and what can't you handle.

I have only dipped my toes into Manufactured Spending. We know what we are comfortable with and what we aren't. Also, sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some. Be prepared to be okay with that if something doesn't work the way you hoped.

My first foray into credit cards, we picked up a credit card where we earned a bonus worth $300 in travel. I researched and read and then proceeded to purchase 2 airline tickets that totalled $300. When I checked my statement, it got processed as TWO transactions of $150 each. I was so upset as the redemption was not as good. I ended up holding on to the points and figured the best way for me to get *exactly* $300 was to book a WDW pkg (of course) and ask my TA to put $300 on that particular CC and the rest on another CC. Voila - problem solved I have found you do have to roll with the punches a little.

Another tip - have a specific goal in mind. It's easy to fall into the trap of accumulating points "just because". I try to have specific things I want to redeem for and plan it all out before I do the work of earning the points.

 

[calypso726]

YAY! A travel hacking thread. DH and I have a decent stash of miles and points (a little over 3 million right now) from churning and getting creative with spending category bonuses. We like using the air miles to fly international first class flights since we would never pay the actual cost of those flights and any domestic flight over 3 hours. DH is spoiled now

Redbird has come in pretty handy lately. I was trying to figure out how to mitigate the costs for excursions our upcoming DCL cruise to Norway, Iceland and Scotland this June. I got the crazy idea to have DH and I each apply for a Barclay Arrival Plus (second one), Wells Fargo Propel and Capital One Venture. After making the spend, getting the bonuses and adding a little extra MS we have $3000 worth of excursions to erase with points! No way I could swing making that spend on all three cards without the Redbird.

If we are focusing on mitigating costs then we will also use the Redbird to get 5% off Disney gift cards in store and then load them to the Disney Savings account to get the $20 gift card per $1K payment on Disney trips. If we are focusing on points and miles then we will buy Disney gift cards at Staples with our Chase Ink card to get 5 points per dollar and load those on the Disney Savings Account. We do shop at Whole F̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ Paycheck but will buy their gift cards through the Chase UR or American Airlines shopping portal for the extra points to get to Staples and use the Chase Ink card to purchase.