Post: #26

I can also confirm that the companion pass is not butt in seat miles. 110k miles through southwest branded cards qualifies you.

Post: #27

That's indeed crazy, anyone in the US should opt for that right away.

Heck, I would use that to MAKE money.

Post: #28

It's a great deal if you're only flying domestically. No way to leverage those miles on to an international trip on a premium airline.

Having to travel with the person to employ the Companion Pass might be a damper on making extra money (plus the three person limit per year) but if you had a buddy or gf that you travel with and just charge them below retail price while using your points, I can see that being good for $1000 or so a year.

Post: #29

Interesting. Reward hacking seems cool.

I would rather spend my time learning mathematics, get a kick ass GRE score, get into top B school, and get a decent job that requires me to not have to micromanage a handful of credit cards for rewards.

To each his own. This ranks up there with extreme couponing.

Post: #30

(12-21-2013 12:01 PM)frenchie Wrote:  I would rather spend my time learning mathematics, get a kick ass GRE score, get into top B school, and get a decent job that requires me to not have to micromanage a handful of credit cards for rewards.

To each his own. This ranks up there with extreme couponing.

Awww…Look at this cut little guy with his snide, passive aggressive remarks.

Let me pat you on the head and say, "You'll understand these things when you get a bit older."

Post: #31

frenchie, no offense, but some of us are already good at mathematics, are 99% GRE, graduated from multiple top schools, and have high paying jobs and drive nice cars and live in great houses/apartments. We already "made it." BTW, for B-school you need GMAT, not GRE.

Post: #32

(12-21-2013 12:01 PM)frenchie Wrote:  I would rather spend my time learning mathematics, get a kick ass GRE score, get into top B school, and get a decent job that requires me to not have to micromanage a handful of credit cards for rewards.

To each his own. This ranks up there with extreme couponing.

I'm an engineer, I've had my share of head splitting math course.

Learning to optimize frequent flyer programs isn't even a 101 course.

You're making excuses.

Post: #33

(12-21-2013 02:18 PM)Vicious Wrote:  Learning to optimize frequent flyer programs isn't even a 101 course.

Hah.

That's probably why we "disagree" about frequent flier miles and micromanaging.

I'm a big picture guy. I don't optimize things. I just have an overall idea and go with that.

So for me, these cards are easy. I don't worry about whether I could get 5 or 6 cards a year instead of 3 or 4.

I don't say, "Have I already hit my minimum spend on this new card and should I start spending on another one?"

I just get a card, use it for a while, then get another one and put the old one in a safe with the other credit cards. So it takes me minutes to do this stuff. There's no real thought to it.

I may be leaving miles "on the table," but I don't worry about it or track anything because that would make it tedious to me, where as now it's a nice fun boost for my travel.

Just two different approaches to life. (Neither is right or wrong, of course.)

Post: #34

(12-21-2013 12:01 PM)frenchie Wrote:  Interesting. Reward hacking seems cool.

I would rather spend my time learning mathematics, get a kick ass GRE score, get into top B school, and get a decent job that requires me to not have to micromanage a handful of credit cards for rewards.

To each his own. This ranks up there with extreme couponing.

I think there's a difference between saving 50 cents on a 12 pack of pop vs a free RT flight to Asia.

Post: #35

Question for you guys, suppose you transfer a balance to a rewards card from another card, does this work? Or must it be new purchases? So let's say after getting your points you do a balance transfer from that card to a new rewards card. Can you just keep transferring the same balance around to different cards then canceling them and stacking airline points?

Post: #36

The SPG Amex (both personal and business cards) are great because you can transfer the SPG miles into dozens of different Airline miles.

For instance, in 2012 a spent a week at The W Hong Kong (an SPG hotel) with my SPG miles, and this year i converted some SPG miles into American Airline miles for a Business Class seat to Europe..