Post: #1

I remember reading something by Tim Ferris a bit back about how he put everything on his cards and ending up earning enough miles for two free flights a year.

I am spending about 40k in the next 3 months to expand, and want to get the most out of it as possible. Almost all my expenses will be for web development and technology purchases as well as advertising.

The goal is to put all biz purchases on said card to earn as much travel rewards as I can get.

Ive done some research but there are so many offers that sound exactly the same and I dont wan't to get screwed by the fine print (blackout dates/restricted to certain airlines/etc), hoping for some good first hand knowledge from some the more experienced cats here.

Post: #2

I got 25,000 free miles for just opening my Southwest Rewards card.

So whatever you do...Get a card that gives you a huge miles bonus for signing up in addition to good rewards.

No blackout dates or other funny business:
http://www.southwest.com/rapidrewards/about

But if you want international travel, another card might be better.

Check the routes you wanna fly...Find out which airlines fly those routes...then get a rewards card based on that info.

Post: #3

If you don't want a specific airline, then look into the Chase Sapphire Preferred Business. Gives you points that you can convert to airlines. This card is widely preferred (the non-biz variant) by the mileage and points collectors. Good card.

I have a few hundred thousand miles just from taking advantage of the occasional 50k mile bonus card (e.g. spend $3k in three months and get 50k miles).

Post: #4

(07-28-2012 06:36 PM)Smitty Wrote:  If you don't want a specific airline, then look into the Chase Sapphire Preferred Business. Gives you points that you can convert to airlines. This card is widely preferred (the non-biz variant) by the mileage and points collectors. Good card.

I have a few hundred thousand miles just from taking advantage of the occasional 50k mile bonus card (e.g. spend $3k in three months and get 50k miles).

Yeah looks like the business version is called the Ink Bold. Has some great features. I will have to call them monday to get some clarification on the terms and benefits.

As far as collecting points, do you just apply for credit cards to get the introductory offer, then just use them as an extra line of credit (im assuming no annual fee). Or do you use the bonus points then cancel the card?

Post: #5

Before I go into what card you should get, i'd actually need to know four things.

1. How many cards you got already?
2. You going to need leverage any time soon (ie: them checking your credit for a home/car loan?)
3. How will your expenses specifically be classified, eg. where you gonna get the items from .
4. Do you specifically want cash or miles? Or indifferent?

Basically there are some cards that preliminarily offer 5% cash back so i'd actually go that route on 40gs. and just get the best airline offer out there which is currently 50K on united. In addition, you can call up united and get the "100K" challenge where you basically say you're going to fly 100K immediately within 12 months and they will basically double up your miles if you do so (in addition to charges to your card).

But if you can get back to me on that i'll help you find the right cards.

General good ones:

1. United explorer (but has fees, also agree with mike to check out what flights you're interested in as well)
2. Chase freedom (5% cash back on certain items like restaurants this quarter and last quarter it was groceries, next quarter it is flights)
3. Blue cash every day card (also no fees an 3% yields on certian purchases)

Finally, yeah smart guys run on nothing but credit cards. I try to spend less than $200 a month in pure cash because a credit card that gives you cash back and has no fees is like missing out on free money (assuming you are a disciplined spender). I am still trying to find a way to pay my rent on cards if possible!

(07-28-2012 09:34 PM)AntiTrace Wrote:  

(07-28-2012 06:36 PM)Smitty Wrote:  If you don't want a specific airline, then look into the Chase Sapphire Preferred Business. Gives you points that you can convert to airlines. This card is widely preferred (the non-biz variant) by the mileage and points collectors. Good card.

I have a few hundred thousand miles just from taking advantage of the occasional 50k mile bonus card (e.g. spend $3k in three months and get 50k miles).

Yeah looks like the business version is called the Ink Bold. Has some great features. I will have to call them monday to get some clarification on the terms and benefits.

As far as collecting points, do you just apply for credit cards to get the introductory offer, then just use them as an extra line of credit (im assuming no annual fee). Or do you use the bonus points then cancel the card?

Post: #6

1. How many cards you got already?

Three personal ones. two of which are being used to extend line of credit while one is used as the primary card.
Primary card is USAA Rewards.

2. You going to need leverage any time soon (ie: them checking your credit for a home/car loan?)

Nope, my plan gives me a minimum of one year before any leverage is required.

3. How will your expenses specifically be classified, eg. where you gonna get the items from .

Bulk of the 40k will be web development costs from a US based firm I have been working with.
The rest of it will be mixed around for advertising (facebook, google, t-shirts, expenses for word of mouth and networking, etc).

Once the expansion is completed advertising and ongoing web-development will be about 50/50 split.

4. Do you specifically want cash or miles? Or indifferent?

Indifferent. I the goal is to kill two birds with one stone and get as much free airfare as possible while using biz expenses. I would traveling primarily to South America and SE Asia, so rewards should be usable for airfare to those areas.





APR isnt really an issue, I treat Credit cards like cash; never spending more than I have. So they are paid off in full every month. I would like Annual Fees to be as low as possible, but wouldnt mind shelling out a couple hundred if the benefits are worth it.

I would prefer the card to be biz credit card, not a personal one, so I can start working on building a line of credit for the business so I can stop co-signing with my personal name.

You rock WC.

Post: #7

Alright I would get 2 cards.

1. Cash one you want to keep forever ether the chase one or the blue American one I mentioned above. Both give ~3% cash back if you sign up for all the bonuses. I would sign up on the following and link everything

Www://mint.com

You want to track where you spend your cash. If you spend mostly in restaurants/groceries. The blue card may be better (you'll likely get a lower limit). If you are an organized person look at this.

Www://ultimaterewards.com

If you can organize your expenses around the quarters you can basically generate 5%.

Again both those cards are $0 fees

2. I'd pick up a chase sapphire or capital one venture card.

Www://creditcards.chase.com/sapphire

Or

Www://capitalone.com/creditcards/venture...redit-card

Now if you double down on chase cards they will send you mail to get a checking account and shit as well. The reward for that is another $200 so you can really make a killing over a small time frame with all those rewards. $300 or more, + 40,000 miles (redeemable for 2 flights with the sapphire card). Not to mention the gains on spending $40K.

After all this is squared, shut down a card. Stay at 4 cards or less. DO NOT shut down a card before you get your new ones and DO NOT shut down your oldest card DO NOT open new cards for a full year. You'll fuck your credit for way too long. Also if possible try to spend exactly 32% of your monthly limit this is the max before you start getting dinged at the 33% level.

Finally, if your credit is REALLY good, some cards give free cash advances for ~6 months. You can then pull it all out, throw it into a CD and keep the interest (you'd have to dig up these opportunities yourself I have not seen one as of late).

End of the day will depend on what you generally spend on but those are the best cards from my research for the general population. I would also find out exactly how your charges will be classified and see if there is a special card just for you! Good luck!