So, I have been a long time reader of this forum, longer than my current username has been around. I forgot my last one, but nevertheless I have not contributed much over the years. I have received lots of good info, laughed a lot (Finster), and wasted a good amount of time here, so I feel a slight urge to give back in a way.

I am a 36 year old, average surfer from North Florida with a wife and twin toddlers. I have a 9-5 and am lucky in that I get 3 paid weeks vacation. I call it a good month if I get to surf 3-4 times locally. So, I generally always try to spend my vacation time at a warm place with waves. 

About 7 years ago I stumbled upon a way to make my vacations cost a lot less. And I am talking about a ton cheaper, to the point where I sometimes just call them free trips. It's called "churning" by many in the "hobby." There is a Reddit community dedicated to it with 70,000+ readers here: https://reddit.com/r/churning  

In a nutshell, it is possible to earn hundreds of thousands of airline miles, bank points, and hotel points, that can be used to offset surf trip costs to the point where they are virtually free. The easiest way to accumulate these valuable points at a fast rate is through credit card sign up bonuses. There are hundreds of different bonuses available at any given time. The smart "churner" applys for credit cards with the most valuable rewards bonuses, uses the points/miles for trips that they want to take, and closes or downgrades the cards that have annual fees before they come due. 

I have taken around 10 trips now where I reduced my out of pocket cost by half on the low end, to almost 100 percent. It takes some time and organizational skills but I beleive most people could do it as well. I won't get into too many details right now but if you read a little about it, like in the wiki on that Reddit forum, I will be glad to answer any related questions you might have. There are milions of tiny details that can limit or enhance the benefit you are able to receive, but overall if you have good credit, are not applying for any big loans in the near future, and have a little time to read the possible value you can gain for travel is endless.

My plan is to answer anyone's questions here, make recommendations from experience, and give examples of what is possible. I definitely get satisfaction from helping people plan their perfect trip. If this was the 80's I would consider being a travel agent. But, I must say that my intentions are not wholly altruistic here. I stand the chance to benefit, while helping others earn points and miles, by receiving referral credit if someone signs up for a card that I also own. The referral credit is almost always a small bump in points or miles from the company for that recommendation. I will never refer someone unless it is the best current deal and fits with that individual's goals. 

If ways to reduce surf trip costs does not belong in the surfing forum, please move to NSR. This took me a long time to write, I will expound later.

I'm headed to Costa again in 2 weeks with the fam and friends - flying on AA and BA points, staying at the Andaz Papagayo and the JW Marriott Guanacaste resort with points, and used Citi TY points for the Avis SUV rental. Will report back with details.

Thanks for reading, I know this is not for everybody.

 

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/01/2017 at 02:15 PM by occy

I used a "similar" strategy by using "organizational skills" to pay attention to miles and/or points opportunities coupled with business travel. Am Ex Membership Rewards + Delta Skymiles + Hilton Honors all add up in no time. Took the wife to Hawaii 4 times for 2+ week trips. Flew First Class and stayed at Hilton. Mostly only paid "fees" and Taxes.

The company I worked for issued me a corporate Am Ex and I already had my own personal Am Ex Gold Card. I paid the annual out-of-pocket fee to have both on my Membership Rewards account. The company booked my travel and charged the Delta tickets and Hilton rooms to my Corp Amex. Corp paid the "rack rate" for flights and rooms so the totals added up quick. I'd pay all my meals and "per diem" against the Corp Am Ex and the company would reimburse me. Am Ex points could be used for personal miles or Hilton points. The Am Ex points, Skymiles and Honor points added up quick. Similar situation with National Car rentals Emerald Isle membership.

The one thing about the airline membership miles that most people don't know about/realize is that you can earn miles by dining and shopping! No, not shopping" in the seat-back catalog. Most of the major carriers have dining and shopping programs as part of their "miles" programs. With Delta it is Skymiles Shopping and Sky Dining. So, , , , let's say, you need a new lawn mower and you were going to go to your local Home Depot/Lowes/Sears, etc tomorrow morning to buy one. Don't do it. Go online to your airline's "Miles" site and go through their shopping site which connects you directly to the Home Depot/ / / / WEB site. Use your Gold Card and buy the mower you want; you get your Gold card points AND 1, 2, 3, whatever amount, of miles per dollar spent. The store will send you an email in the morning when your mower is ready to pickup! So, mower cost $350, so you get 350 card points, and generally at least 350 miles, all for a mower you were going to buy anyway! And, I always racked up points and miles by getting my printer paper and ink supplies from Office Depot through Delta Skymiles. Same as Home Depot; order tonight and go and pickup in the morning. All kinds of online shopping opportunities.

Dining is another mile maker. AA and Delta give 5 miles per dollar spent on the total dining check. Join the program, register your credit card(s), go and eat at participating restaurants. Now, I'm not going to drive to Titusville to get a burger and a 'special" of 10 miles per dollar, BUT. Let's say you go out for lunch a couple times a week at work. What would you rather do; drive 2 miles to Burger King, or drive 2 miles to the diner that gets you miles? A $10 lunch (includes tip) at the diner gets you 50 miles. How many miles does BK give you?

-------------------------
Dora Hates You

Edited: 02/28/2017 at 06:51 PM by dingpatch

Does anybody have experience with the BOA Alaska Airlines CC? Trying to take the lady on a Hawaiian vaca in December and I'm thinking about opening this card for the bonus + flight companion benefits. Thoughts? 

I had a disastrous year with dental expenses.  At least they contribute to going to Australia.

For your next trick, figure out how to get miles/points on the $100 "road" tax that the cop demands, when he pulls over your SUV loaded with gringos. ;-P

-------------------------
Little Penquin: A winner is someone who doesn't knock me off my surfboard; Tank's definitely not a winner.

Little Penquin: He's a dirty trash can full of poop.

--Surf's Up

@dingpatch: Sounds like you know your way around the miles and points game somewhat. Getting employer cards or reimbursements is great. I wish I was so lucky. Shopping portals and dining programs are another way to rack up points as you have mentioned, but they are not the fastest or most lucrative way to accumulate them. As you indicated, if you were going to shop and eat there anyway then it is a no brainer. I always go through a portal before shopping online, but I can't say that I have taken advantage of the numerous dining programs, mainly because the eligible restaraunts in my area suck. On road trips I try to hit them up though. 

For shopping portals it is sometimes better to go for cash back rather than miles. I use cashbackmonitor.com eveytime before shoppping to see who is paying out the best rebate. It lists cash rebate portals along with the popular airline and bank portal rates. Tip: a lot of times it is possible to "double dip." That is, go through the portal to buy an e-gift card, then go back through to buy merch using the gift card. Some are starting to crack down on this though, so don't do it if you are buying expensive stuff. Also, one of the things I have been doing a lot lately is using a link through my JetBlue account to earn 3 miles/dollar spent at Amazon. This is better by far than the other portals on most categories of goods.

 

@Blat: I currently have 2 personal BOA Alaska Visa Signature cards and my wife has one. This used to be one of the most "churnable" cards ever. One blogger, millionmilesecrets.com I beleive, got approved for 5 in one day. The new reality is that you should be able to get approved for a new one every 90 days. There is also a business version of the card. The current 30,000 mile offer for spending $1k in 90 days is the historical best offer for this card. Sounds like you have a good plan. One thing that I know is you cannot use the provided annual companion fare of $121 cannot be used in conjunction with a miles reward ticket. You could however use miles to get from Orlando (MCO) to Whales Vagina (SAN), then buy a revenue ticket and use the companion fare to get to Hawaii and back, or vice versa. With the card you also get a free checked bag for up to 6 passengers traveling on the same itinerary. Alaska miles are flexible and can also be used for tickets on their "partner" airlines, like AA. Alaska also just bought Virgin America so their reach/route network is expanding. They just gave everyone who had a Virgin America Elevate account 10,000 Alaska miles for logging in to their new account. That's a huge freebie. And, Alaska Airlines allows you to include a free stopover on many award tickets. 

Here is my link to the Alaska card:

https://www.applyonlinenow.com/USCCapp/Ctl/entry?cid=4009281&GV2=H|184|172856703&GV3=H|422|andrew%20maltby&mgmReferrerId=172856703&mgmReferrerSessionId=148838806923902

Keep in mind that the Signature card (the one you want) has an upfront $75 annual fee. I will be cancelling mine when the annual fee comes due.

Here is a newer guide on miles to Hawaii:

https://www.milevalue.com/the-cheapest-ways-to-get-to-hawaii/

and a more in depth look at possible Alaska miles usage:

travelisfree.com/2015/05/06/best-use-of-alaska-miles/

 

@ww: I kind of thought that you might be churning. If you're into traveling on the cheap, I will send some deals your way.

@mr. Long: Squeezing the boardbags into the cab instead of on top always helps me. I also slap some stickers on the rental to make it look more local. I have shelled out 20 many times and 40 once for no seatbelts, but never $100. 

Anyone else have surf trip goals they need help with?

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/01/2017 at 02:18 PM by occy

Its definitely not for everyone.

IMHO for anyone trying this points thing for first time or just new to it I'd suggest to use the points thing for the hotels as that seems to be generally the biggest cost in travel yet they seem easier to get on points??? From my experience with points hotels are straight up free on points while many airlines charge fees on top of fees... I  think it boils down to the fact that airlines only have a fixed number of planes / seats and their business model is to not fly empty as each flight costs $$$ but on the other hand it isn't such a big deal for hotel to give away free room yeah sure lost revenue but I don't think hurts as much...

 

Anyways thanks for posting the good info - is a lot of good freebies out there with travel points!!!

-------------------------

get up early and go surf - it'll make that hangover go away and/or make the workday more tolerable :)

Good thoughts sc. For a lot of places you might want to go, lodging is the highest expense. If you are not adverse to staying in a chain hotel, and can find one close to where you want to be, this major expense can easily be free or close to it.  A lot of bank points are also very versatile and can be used to cover boutique or local accommodations.

Here are a few examples of what can be had for 1 or 2 credit card sign up bonuses:

We did Cabo last year and stayed at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos all inclusive. We stayed 5 nights for free and were upgraded to a huge 1,248 sq/ft suite that was $1,200/night. You can walk to zippers, the rock, old man's, and the estuary. It was the best food and drinks I've ever had and all free. My wife and I both used our 2 free nights that come with the Chase Hyatt visa card and then used some extra Hyatt and Chase ultimate rewards points for the 5th night.

Like I mentioned earlier, we are going to Costa and are staying at the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa for part of the time. It sits just north of Avellanas and little Hawaii. Rates in the high season are typically $400+/night, but you can also stay there for 35,000 points per night and the 5th night is free. Right now the easiest way to accumulate Marriott rewards points is through the SPG American Express credit cards. The bonus right now is 35,000 points after spending $5k in 6 months. But, these points are multiplied by 3 when transferred to Marriott points. Marriott is in the process of aquiring Starwood. So, for meeting the minimum spend on this one card you can get 3 free nights at this beachside resort with waves. If your significant other also gets the card and bonus this would net you 7 full nights here. Here is my link to apply: 

SPG personal Amex (35,000 point bonus offer)

This card would also be best for another place I have been looking into staying at: Marriott Courtyard Aguadilla

This property sits very close to some nice breaks and is only 10,000 points per night. That means if you got the SPG card and the bonus points, you could stay here for 15 nights, FREE. If your SO gets one as well, or you also get the business verion that would be worth 30 free nights here. I'm hesitant to even write about this, so please don't tell everyone.

Yall let me know where you want to go surf...

 

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/07/2017 at 07:13 AM by occy

I cant imagine open and closing dozens of cards or so many cards in a short period is good on the ole fico score

What about the Barclaycard,  50,000 signon and 2mile for every dollar on ALL purchase ? Seems like a good deal? No?

 

My exact thoughts.  

Opening and closing credit cards does not necessarily harm your credit score. That is the popular belief, but it is not grounded in fact. You don't have to, and shouldn't take my word for it. Please go research what makes up your FICO score(s). 

myfico.com is a good resource and should be studied even if you never plan to have a credit card. You will see that not having credit available to your name is a much bigger detriment than having a lot. A new credit inquiry can temporarily lower your score a few points, but if it results in a new account that is consistently paid on time, it will likely result in raising your score. 

10 percent of your score is made up of "New Credit." This portion only looks at inquireies from the last 12 months. It, along with credit mix, are the smallest components of your score. The biggest factors are payment history, amounts owed (utilization ratio), and length of credit history. Those along with your credit mix make up the other 90 percent. When you delve into the anatomy of those elements it will become clear that the more credit you have, the longer you have it, and the ratio you use and pay off, is everything.

I have 21 open credit cards right now and a 832 FICO score 8. It was in the high 700's back when I bought my house and only had one or two cards. There are enough examples out there like mine, if you look, you will see that "conventional wisdom" in this case is not entirely accurate.

 

The Barclay Arrival Plus card is not a bad card to have. I personally did not keep it past the first year. I downgraded it to the no annual fee version, which I will hold on to for a long time or product change to another card in the future. Holding on to no annual fee cards for a long time helps increase your average age of accounts and boosts your credit score.

The 50,000 point bonus ($525+ in travel) is a pretty good bonus and is easy to use. The way it works; charge a travel expense to the card then erase it with points worth 1 cent each, is straightforward. You then get 5% of the points you used added back to your account. I am a little sour on it now because back when I got it, the point rebate was 10 percent, and the charge only had to be $25 dollars or more to be eligible, now it has to be $100 or more. 

A bonus worth $500 is still pretty good, but there are better cards to get first if you are just starting out. The 2 points per dollar earned is just slightly better than a straight 2% cash back card as long as you cancel or downgrade before the annual fee comes due in 12 months. Let me know your travel plans and maybe I could help you find a better option.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

ok I'm a bit confused here. If you cancel a card (like before the fees are up) don't you loose the points? Where do you take the points? Do you have to have another card with the same airline partner or something?

 

So what in your opinion is the best card to start with.  Chase Sapphire?

Waverider, it really all depends on which exact points or miles you are talking about. Most of these rewards programs have a lot of rules and are made to be confusing so that the masses don't always use the rewards in the most valuable way. A general rule of thumb is that "bank points," like Chase, Citi, Barclay, BOA, and Amex will expire if you close a card and it is the only one that you have from that issuer or family of cards. To preserve bank points, the best thing to do is to downgrade to the no annual fee version of the same card or get another card that earns the same points. With co-branded cards, like the hotel or airline specific cards, when the points are earned they are then transferred into the respective program and are considered relatively safe. Closing the card you earned them with not have an effect, once they are automatically deposited.

Sgt, there is not necessarily one "best" card to go with, because everyone's financial situation and travel goals are different. That said, the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card is generally accepted as one of the best. The new Reserve card is considered a premium card and has come on to the scene with the huge bonus (100,000 points). These points are worth a minimum of $1500 towards travel expenses, or $1k cash. But, they are worth multiple thousands of dollars when used "correctly," by transferring them to some of the travel partners, like Hyatt, United, Southwest, or BA. Unfortunately, a few months ago the online app for this bonus was pulled and you now only have until 3/11 to apply in a branch. The Preferred version used to be the top dog until the Reserve came out. It earns the same valuable points, but the best bonus is usually 50,000 (worth a minimum $625 toward travel or $500 cash), as it is right now. Let me know what your travel plans are and I will advise whether or not the Chase Sapphire Preferred would be a good fit. 

When trying to find the right card, it is always best to work backwards starting with your desired destination.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/09/2017 at 02:47 PM by occy

Occy,

Thanks for all the info and starting this thread. Thanks for the heads up on the chase reserve card ending in a few days. One question. would you suggest applying for the chase card or the SPG card if mainly wanting to use the points for travel to costa rica to use the points for hotels and/or car rental, flights. The chase card has a higher AF at $450 compared to the SPG AF at 0 first year and $95 second year?

-------------------------

-

Surfsail, one implant failed, yanked out, more expense to redo.  Dentistry in CR should be quite competent, not that I know anyone in the business.

Thanks Occy for info.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Chase Reserve card has an annual fee of $450.  Ouch!!

The Chase Reserve card bonus is worth considerably more, and the points are considered one of the most versatile points currencies. Personally, I would go for the Reserve card bonus if: 

1. You can make it into a Chase branch today or tomorrow.

2. You have at least a "good" credit score with relatively high household income ($60k+)

3. You will pay off your statement balance in full every month, incurring no interest.

4. You can float the $450 annual fee. I will show you how to get this back in value and statement credits.

5. You plan on traveling in the next 12 months.

6. You don't own a business. If you do, there may/will be a better option.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/10/2017 at 10:05 AM by occy

The Sapphire Reserve card comes with $300 in statement credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card, per calendar year.

This means that you can charge anything that Chase considers a travel expense to your card and they will automatically take it off your bill, up to $300. Then in starting Jan 1 2018, you can do it again. That is $600 in travel expenses covered for just one $450 fee. 

Here are some of the other benefits that matter:  

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access to 900+ airport lounges worldwide

Global entry fee credit up to $100

Primary auto rental CDW coverage

The rest are here:

https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

As a former professional credit consultant I can tell you that opening new credit lines absolutely hurts your credit.  So does getting your credit pulled.  So does closing credit lines.  A new credit line will start helping your credit after 6 months of on-time payments.  After 12 months of on-time payments that line starts to significantly help your FICO score.  Offically NO ONE knows the formula for your FICO score as it's a well kept secret.  However we know enough factors that go into the score to know that credit pulls, new lines, and recently closed lines hurt your score.  Obviously so does late payments, charge offs, high debt to credit ratio (over 30% utilization), etc.  The score always changes and can bounce up and down fairly drastically, so as long as you don't need your credit for anything significant in the near future you're fine doing this.  Just throwing in my two cents...

-------------------------

Jesus invented surfing...
Matthew 14:22-33

www.facebook.com/churchonthebeach

Looking for a new business card and wanting to take the family to Hawaii. any suggestions

I'm a small business owner with great credit and above average income. I purchase thousands of dollars of food and beverage product a week.  I'm not interested in opening and closing a bunch of cards but I would appreciate a suggestion for the best card for my situation. Any rewards would be awesome! I've been writing checks for everything! I have a credit card that I use sparingly and payoff every month. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

If you are a frequent business traveler, I see the advantage of the CC miles, hotel points etc. I got sick of all the black out dates and hoops you had to jump through to fly on FF miles. Additionally the taxes for going out of the country seem almost as high as the air fare. I had a 2% cash back card on everything (now dropped to 1.5% need to find a new card). Spend 10K on a CC and get 10K in miles and jump through endless hoops and restrictions or spend 10K and get $200 cash back to buy a ticket anywhere. My friend is a dentist who puts all his office supplies on his CC and has racked up loads of miles. I do like the CCs where you get 40K miles just for joining and spending a minimal amount. That is at least one free trip right there.

What about the Bank Of America travel card if your a bank of america customer ? I think it gives 1.5% plus 10% if you have accounts with them and no annual fees.

Hi again, back from vacation.

@Gsus - Thanks for chiming in with good info. I hope you understand, I am not trying to mislead anyone here. Based on your background, I am sure you have a lot of helpful knowledge about credit and scores. I was trying to make it clear, that applying for new credit is not a good idea if your score is unknown, low, or needed for a large loan in the near future. I am also not advising to close cards after a short amount of time. Would you agree that having a lot of credit available, only using a small percentage of it, paying balances off every month, and holding on to cards with no annual fees for a long period of time, is a good idea and will negate the initial small hit that your score will take? Have you seen some of the bonus offers for some cards? I see it as financially irresponsible to not jump on some if your situation is right.

@surfntonto - If you're just looking for one card, the Chase Ink Preferred is probably a good all around suggestion. If you have specific plans in mind, like hotel or route/airline, I could probably customize the suggestion for you.

@Gil - Are the food and beverage purchases business to business or retail purchases? Where do you want to go surf? If you are writing checks when a card can be used, you are essentially overpaying by at least 2% everytime.

@surfnole - If you are looking for a return on normal spending, a 2% cash back card with no annual fee is hard to beat. The sign up bonuses rae where the high returns are.

@Waverider - I have the BOA Travel rewards card, but it really only makes sense if you have more than 50k on deposit with them. The 1.5% plus 10% can be beat by a straight 2% cash back card. But, when you get to Preferred Rewards Platinum or Platinum honors, it comes with a 50% or 75%bonus on all points earned instead of 10. That is a good return on spending, though the bonus is only worth $200. Where are you looking to go?

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Yes, they are B to B purchases from USfoods for my restaurants.

CR or Mexico would be nice. Really anywhere. 

Thanks again for your time!

5% (or really 5 ultimate rewards points per dollar spent) is very nice, but what makes it even nicer is having (or your spouse having) a Chase premium card to transfer those points to. Then, those points are worth a minimum 1.25 or 1.5 cents each toward travel. Or, those points can then be sent to their travel partners where they can be used for up to 5 cents or more each:

Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline Transfer Partners: British Airways, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic

Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotel Transfer Partners:   Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton

Gil, for those type purchases, I would recommend the Chase Ink Preferred card or the Barclay Arrival Plus card. The Ink sign up bonus is worth a minimum $1000 toward any airline ticket, hotel, car rental, or cruise. But, like mentioned above, if they are tranfered to a partner and used correctly, they could be worth multiple thousands of dollars. And, it earns 3 points per dollar spent on shipping; advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines; travel; internet, cable, and phone services. 

The Barclay (50,000 bonus) points are worth only 1 cent each, but are earned at rate of 2 per dollar spent. So, that could get you more value over a long period of time, if the food purchases outweigh the business expenses mentioned above.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Edited: 03/24/2017 at 01:40 PM by occy

Great info occy! Thank you 

South Swell season is almost over. So, unless you wanna surf Puerto rico with a big crowd or or pay a ton to go to Hawaii. GO TO INDO!

The crowd might not be that bad in PR this year....

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

ww - FYI I did a combo surf/medical tourism trip to Costa 3+ years ago..

I spent overall (all travel related expenses; car rental, hotels, airfare, board fees, food etc - for wife & I - plus my dental bills) were 50% less on the US pricing.. and a lot quicker..

Not a bad effective 'all expenses paid' 10 day surf trip (Playa Grande/Negra/ Guillones) trip in the process.

First spent one morning at the clinic talking schedule, pricing & procedures. Took off and surfed for 10 days, got implants in on Monday morning & was on a plane Thursday lunchtime.. Most days had no more than 2 hours of 'chair time' - played tourista sightseeing around the San Jose area, volcanoes etc etc w/ the wife..

Very happy with the dental results - I have had no problems at all..  

Heard of nightmares with the same dental work done locally in Brevard..

-------------------------
There are NO white people at all in the Bible... take all the time you need with that...
Please stop feeding the trolls - they will go away if you do...

Thanks Occy for all the useful info and link. I too am a "churner" and frequent sites like Thepointsguy.com. I also use an app called the award wallet to keep track of all my points. I currently have the following cards: SPG, Chase Ink, Chase sapphire, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Air and Club Carlson. Since I also have several businesses I have applied for cards for them as well and have reached a point where I get denied for more cards. Should I start reducing my allotted credit on each card? Should I close cards and how long should I wait to reopen? I have opened and closed so many cards that I lost track of how many I have open currently. The good thing is that I have accumulated a wealth of points: 200K British airways, 200K AA miles, 26K Alaskan airlines miles, SPG and club carlson points, 25K Jetblue points and southwest points. I fly out of Orlando and have been taking many trips snowboarding to Colorado on SW points. I also took my wife and I to seattle free on Alaskan Air partner Delta. And I have flown free to Costa and PR on Jet blue. I normally transfer my Chase UR points into SW. Still trying to figure out what to do with my British airways miles since using them to go to Europe incurs ridiculous fuel surcharges ~$800. I am looking for a free way to Europe and maybe a trip to South America. Any recommendations? Will my credit report show all my open cards and help me decide which ones to change?

Good discussion here, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is awesome, my wife uses it for her backup business card when she can't use Amex. Obviously it was the priority card during the promo period to hit the required balance.

Have churned Amex Blue (for cash bonus), two Chase Sapphire cards (one in my name one in my wife's, added each other as authorized users for more miles for a total of 120k points), the Chase Sapphire Reserve and now working on what our next card will be. Flown to PR twice, once just my wife and I and once the whole family of four, plus a solo trip to St. Maarten (then paid my way for the flight to Saba) all on miles, and we have about 150k Chase Rewards pts we are sitting on right now wondering what our next trip should be

Thinking the Southwest card will be next but need to do a little more research to see if it's still best bet for us. We both work and have two elementary kids, and with both extended families in Florida "personal" vacation time is at a premium, so we aren't too crazy on the churning, we go through about two cards a year and even at that rate we can't use all the miles.

Epic, be careful taking advice or mostly using card app links found on the Points Guy's site. He sold his blog to Bankrate and they now, more than ever, advertise/push cards with lower than the best current bonuses. In other words, Brian is considered a sellout, but was a shill before that. I use AwardWallet as well to keep track of things. Are you getting denied for personal cards or just business versions? It is not usually a good move to proactively reduce credit lines on cards. If you are denied, there is always another chance at approval through reconsideration lines. If you were denied because you already have too many cards from that issuer, or they don't want to extend you more credit, that is when you can offer to move credit from one card to the new one you want. They see that as not taking on any new risk with you, and will usually approve you on that condition. The only time you should close a card is if you don't think the annual fee is worth paying, and there are no options to "product change" it to another that you want or can keep fee free. It is always a good idea to keep good records. You can check on your open and closed accounts by viewing your 3 credit reports once a year for free here. Also, Credit Karma is good for counting and monitoring accounts for free as well.

Accumulating points is only part of the game. Acquiring them for as cheap as possible, then maximizing their value while also using them to go where you want, is the big key. While you do have a good number of points, they are spread accross a number of programs that tend to not be the most flexible. 

If you don't mind flying on Southwest, you can get tons of value from their easy to use program. I have not paid them a dime in the last 5 years and they are my go to airline for family travel. I have their Companion Pass that came with earning 110,000 points in one calendar year (2 versions of their credit card x 50,000 point bonus each). It is the best deal for domestic (and now some international) travel PERIOD. They now fly to Costa, PR, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta. Transferring Chase UR points to Southwest is ok if that is what you need to do, but there are much better uses for them.

BA Avios are useful because they are a distance based points system where all of our legacy carriers have switched to a revenue based system. That means the points price of the ticket is still based on the distance flown not the regular ticket price. I always use them for AA flights at the MilesAAver award level. For traveling to Europe you can use them on Air Berlin and Aer Lingus with no fuel surcharges and on Cathay Pacific and LAN with reduced charges. You could also transfer them into Iberia Avios to save as well. Or, just use them for intra-Europe flights.

What country in South America are you interested in?

 

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

DHodges, I am going to offer you the same advise I gave someone else earlier in a pm.

I think it would be smart for you to proceed in collecting more Chase Ultimate Rewards points before going after others. They are widely considered the most valuable. One way I do this is with Chase Freedom (my link) cards. They offer 5% cash back (really 5 ultimate rewards points per dollar) for limited spending in rotating categories each quarter. The sign up bonus is 15,000 points after spending $500. This quarter is gas and next quarter starting April 1 is grocery/drug stores. I try to max these out (spend $1500 per card) every quarter. My wife and I each have 2. One from signing up and one from downgrading a sapphire to it when that annual fee came due. But, you can only get approved for one if you have gotten less than 5 new cards in the last 24 months. That is why it is smart to start with these cards. It is also many times a good idea to apply for 2 Chase cards on the same day because the inquiries can be combined. If Southwest generally works for you for family travel I would suggest that the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card be the other one you go for, because the bonus is 50,000 points right now.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Great topic and lots of good info! So, I have a major home purchase coming up...a new a/c system, inside and out. I was going to pay cash but after reading this thread, I'm thinking about applying the towards a travel miles credit card. Some advice and direction would be much appreciated here. My FICO score is in the excellent range.

It is a good start that you know your credit score. Assuming you are not buying it and installing yourself, have you asked if you will be able to pay with a cc and if there is a fee to do so? Many smaller A/C companies will tack on another 3% for a credit card payment. Other than that fact, where do you want to go? 

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

i like the 5% back on groceries especially when using it at publix
and getting $10 off a $50 (20%) gas card for buying $50 in groceries
I try to get all my gas at publix

@occy - I checked with the a/c company and they do not tack on additional charges for credit card payments. I'm looking at going to France this summer with my SO and also explore nearby countries while we are there. Other places I'd like to go? Puerto Rico, Cabo, Indo, Austrailia, etc.. I just looked at the Barclay Arrival Plus card and with all that it offers, that could be my go to card.

I don't want to think about the air fare or sharks, but South Africa's currency just tanked.  Cape Town's beautiful, even if 70% of the population live in shacks.  

@thinktank:  brush up your French as best as possible.  And enjoy.  I brought back a pile of quality cheese.  Gotta visit Pays Basque.

Just a reminder that the best bonus ever offered on the Amex SPG card ends tomorrow 4/5/17. If you have a trip coming up, it is very possible that there is a Marriott or SPG hotel close by that could be covered with these points. Marriott is buying SPG and the points are now interchangeable. The 35,000 point SPG bonus is convertable to 105,000 Marriott points.

I like to use Awardmapper to look for hotels near surf destinations that I plan on checking out. Other than the previously mentioned JW Marriott Guanacaste and the Courtyard Aguadilla, here are a few others to look at:

Courtyard Bridgetown, Barbados

Hotel Escondido, Puerto Escondido

Boca Chica, Acapulco

The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta

W Punta de Mita

JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa

Courtyard Kaua'i at Coconut Beach

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Courtyard Oahu North Shore

The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa, Fiji

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

I've been reading through this and am excited to say that I was approved for the SPG card!

I have a few questions for clarification... to use the reward programs to their full advantage do I just use the cards for all purchases and then book a hotel/ flight directly or do I need to go through a partner website?

Good work!

PM me any specific questions you have. I can help you maximize their value. Not sure if you are talking about SPG starpoints or other rewards programs in general. SPG points are unique in that they are hotel points but can also be transferred to over two dozen airlines at great rate.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Great thread occy. Anyone who's not earning rewards on their daily spend is just plain throwing money out the window. I always cringe when I see someone paying for anything with a debit card, although not everyone is cut-out to manage credit properly (which is a must in this game).

Of course, we haven't even begun talking about manufactured-spend yet, where things get very interesting (and lucrative). ;-)

-------------------------

Sunlight splatters dawn with answers.

Bringing back an old but great thread. Im mainly interested in Peru and Ecuador now but also like to go to Chile or Argentina to snowboard during our summer. I also have been attempting to get to the 110K Southwest milestone to get their companion bonus but never achieved it. Should my wife and I cancel our SW personal and business cards and wait out the 24 months and apply again? What other cards are good ones to apply for now? Where do you get the most up to date info if you don't use The Points Guy?

epic: Thanks for checking it out. There are many options available for using miles or points to get to South America. This is a good exercise for me because I also want to go to Ecuador and then to Peru when my girls get a little older.

Flying AA is usually the best option if you can find MileSAAver award seats available. If you can, using Alaska Mileage Plan miles or British Avios to book the seats is most of the time a cheaper option than using AA miles. There are also many other good redemptions like using Flying Blue miles to Ecuador and Peru, or ANA miles on United in business class.

Let me know when you nail down exactly where you want to go and when.

The Southwest companion pass is the best deal around. Here is a good summary on it. You do not have to wait 24 months from the time you cancel the cards to get the bonuses again, you are eligible again 24 months from date you last received the bonus. PM me your questions and I will explain more. The bonuses are now the best ever at 60,000 RR miles (worth $834 toward Wanna Get Away fares).

There are always so many good bonus offers.  here is a good list

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Expiring Thursday, June 29th 60K Southwest Rapid Rewards sign up offers on all 3 Southwest credit cards:

Plus - $69 annual fee

Premier - $99 annual fee

Business - $99 annual fee

Getting two of these and meeting the minimum spend will trigger a companion pass. You will then also have 124,000+ points to use. These points will be worth $3,447.20 toward Wanna Get Away fares if you take a companion on all your flights. This is a great time to get in on these offers if you are eligible. Your companion pass will be good for the rest of this year and all of 2018.

Do not apply for these if you have opened 5 new card accounts in the last 24 months. Chase implemented new rules (5/24 rule) on some cards to try and limit "churning."

I would recommend getting the Plus version and the business version, if you have a business. If not, apply for the Plus, then open a private browser window or switch to a different browser type to apply for the Premier. This will prevent a duplicate response from Chase. 

Tip: After having these cards for a year, you will receive an anniversary bonus, but you still have about 30 days left to cancel before you have to pay the next annual fee. You can cancel and keep all your points.

For waves, Southwest now flys to Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos (starting this year) + Hawaii (rumored to start next year).

Let me know if you have any questions.

Reports are that these increased bonus offers are scheduled to end this Thursday, June 29th.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

It sounds like a pretty good deal! Though, I'm not understanding how the companion points works. Can you explain it?

PM sent S9s

I should have added that the card bonuses will not go away this week. They will probably just be lowered to 40K or 50K points, like they normally are.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

An oddball:  Miami to Bristol, England on WOW for around $650.  That's reasonably close to Cornwall.  Of course western Ireland has better surf and it looks like WOW has similar deals to Dublin.  Cheap flights, Dublin-Newquay.  Of course WOW is in Iceland, so you could get a 7 mm suit and surf there. 

 

ww: Go for it! I'll go after I have surfed all the warm water spots in the world. Might head over soon for some golf, though.

Tip: WOW Air can be super cheap on the way over ($99 from MIA), but a lot more for the return. Just book a return one way with another carrier or with points. They also charge you extra for everything, but it's not a big deal if you're low maintenance.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

STFU, pick a spot and go explore.  

 

Found this online. Seems like some good related info.

https://thepointsguy.com/

For places to sleep and eat I like to use the RCI resort directory for a reference point, then go from there

We much prefer to stay at a "condo/home" with a kitchen rather than at a regular hotel. Don't really need the "resort" thingy and keeping up with the hotel's kitchen schedule is a pain.

-------------------------
Dora Hates You

That guy sucks dick, literally. He is also paid by the banks to market/sell you credit cards that are not the best. Some travel related articles there are good, but be skeptical when reading about offers and benefits on a card they are pushing. He sold out to Bankrate, who owns creditcard.com, years ago. Just watch the douche try to surf on a "private wave."

It does look like there is a private left there where you have to reserve a spot.

Nihiwatu, Sumba

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

 

LMAO 

 

And so true many of these bloggers are paid for by bank so don't really give best info. For example I joined Marriott as they purchased the westin & Aloft W hotels that I like:

 

The card they sell... $100 upfront fee and something like get 80k points if spend $3,000 in three months 

 

But I did some research on Chase's website and the card I got was $0 initial fee and 60k if spend  $1,000 in three months. 

 

I think that second one is a much better deal! (A free night in basic hotel is 10,000 in few locations but most location  a decent hotel is 15- 20,000 points so you can kinda value the points from that - IMHO definitely not worth one or even two extra free night to pay fee of $100 and spend extra  $2k on the card )

 

 

BTW I'm not trying to sell Marriott but I will say one nice thing I've found is if you stay 25 times a year they give you gold which guarantees a 4pm late checkout at any hotel which is a very nice perk!!!!

-------------------------

get up early and go surf - it'll make that hangover go away and/or make the workday more tolerable :)

There is now an insanely good deal for anyone who lives in California and flies Southwest. Tell your friends in CA

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

Southwest is planning to expand its service to Hawai'i.  

$18/night villa in Bali near waves with lots of dates available from Nov - March

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.

I'll believe that when I see it been hearing talk like that for over 5 years... well color me wrong, flights starting in 2018?

Edited: 10/19/2017 at 12:54 PM by oipaul

I've got ~82K SPG points sitting in my account, any suggestions on smart ways to use them and score surf?

Transfer miles to Flying Blue. Round trip tickets to HNL are 30,000 miles and a $10 fee. Chase ultimate rewards, amex, SPG are all partners with the flying blue alliance. 

I wouldn't recommend transferring them preemptively to any airline. Wait until you have an exact flight picked out that you know you can book.

This is the best page I have bookmarked for SPG point uses.

There are some great SPG and Marriott hotels near waves. Use Awardmapper to find them on the globe.

You have enough points for a Marriott travel package. But, if you get to 90,000 SPG points you will get better value.

I'm assuming you have a SPG credit card, you should think about getting another version, personal or business, to open up higher category hotels or more net miles.

-------------------------

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.