25,000 US Airways Miles For Home Security

Click here for the details.

My latest churn

To recap, I'd already collected the following credit cards (and bonuses) this year:

• American Airlines personal (75,000 miles)
• American Airlines business (75,000 miles)
• British Airways (100,000 miles)
• Continental (50,000 miles)
• United (50,000 miles)
• US Airways (35,000 miles)
• Hilton (52,500 points)
• Virgin (47,500 miles)
• Amex Premier Rewards (112,500 British Air miles)
• Capital One ($1500 in Ritz Carlton stays)

As I discussed here, applying for a new batch of cards every 91 days is the method I've been using. It was time for another round of applications (a "churn"), so here's what I applied for:

1. The American Express SPG card from yesterday's post. It's the "star" of this churn and my big target.
2. The Hawaiian Airlines card through Bank of Hawaii (35,000 miles)
3. The Hawaiian Airlines card through Bank of America (35,000 miles)
4. The Southwest Airlines card through Chase (50,000 miles)
5. The Hilton Honors card through Citibank (50,000 points)
6. The Choice Rewards Hotel card through Barclays (24,000 points)

All of these offers can be found on the credit card page here. Notice that every card I applied for was from a different bank. I find that's the best way to do it (I don't think anyone would advise you to apply for 3 Bank of America cards on the same day). So why did I apply for these specific cards? I've collected tons of airline miles this year, and I wanted to focus on getting more hotel points this time. The Hawaiian miles can be transferred to Hilton Honors at a 2 to 1 ratio, so the Southwest card was my only airline mile attempt. And the results of my churn were...

1. Amex SPG card (Instant Approval)
2. Hawaiian card through Bank of Hawaii (Approved)
3. Hawaiian card through Bank of America (Approved)
4. Southwest card through Chase (Not Approved)
5. Hilton card through Citibank (Approved)
6. Choice card through Barclays (Approved)

Almost perfect this time. The Southwest card was my only rejection. Why? Too many Chase applications they say. I've already gotten 3 Chase cards this year and I've been pretty aggressive, so I'm going to take a little break from those guys (3 to 6 months). But no worries from me...I'll take 5 out of 6 applications every time. This will also push me over the 1 million mile/point mark for 2011. Not bad!

5000 American Airlines Miles For Energy Plus

If you're open to switching electric companies, click here.

(TX, NY, CT, NJ, PA, MD and IL only)


Edit: It looks like there's a 10,000-mile offer here

3000 US Airways Miles For Car Rental

Click here for the info.

Million Mile Contests

A million Hilton points here

And a million Southwest miles here (it will ask for a win code, but you can leave that blank).

100 Free Air Nippon Miles

1. Enroll in ANA's mileage program (if you haven't already) here
2. Load it into your AwardWallet
3. Take this survey (16 quick questions) to collect 100 miles

Air Nippon is part of the Star Alliance, which makes this a very important 100 miles to have. By having miles in your ANA account, you get access to the very best search tool for Star Alliance flights (including Swiss Air and Thai Air, who have incredible first-class service).

Buh-Bye US Mint Coins

Easy come, easy go. This has been the easiest way to meet minimum spends on credit cards, and it looks like it's gone for good. From the mint...

The United States Mint has eliminated the credit and debit card purchase of $1 Coins through its Direct Ship Program effective July 22, 2011. Customers who wish to purchase $1 coins through the Direct Ship Program can still do so by wire transfer, check, or money order. 

Big Change of Opinion on BankDirect

I have probably been the most outspoken fan of BankDirect as a great checking account. I've endorsed them daily as an awesome way to rack up miles.  I've posted often about how much I recommend them as a place to park your money. Unfortunately, I've had a big change of opinion.

I spoke with Toni Freitas, a Vice President at BankDirect, about my concerns. I've been so surprised with recent feedback. The bank has been changing...slowly enforcing rules that make our mileage lives more difficult. I noticed it too, and have tried to convince myself that it's no big deal. Well, it has reached the point where I just don't think it's worth it anymore. Yes, you might want to open an account, collect the bonuses, and move on...but this is just not a long-term checking account worth having (in my opinion).

It's a tough thing to say, seeing as I built an entire page on this blog to endorse them. That page is gone as of right now and I've got to be honest about my experience. Nothing illegal is going on, just some policies I disagree with. I'm sure I'll write more about it later, but right now I want to apologize. This blog has grown in popularity and many people have opened checking accounts at BankDirect because of me. I apologize to the hundreds of people I've sent referrals to this year. I can no longer endorse BankDirect as a company I respect. They don't value me as a customer the way I expect to be valued. I'm sorry for any inconvenience to those of you who've decided to close your accounts.

Finally Make Some Miles On Amazon

From now on, whenever you shop on Amazon.com, do it through one of the following shopping portals...

On Amazon.com purchases, you can:
Earn 2 Hawaiian Airline miles per $ spent through here, or
1 US Airways mile per dollar spent through here.

Citibank Thank You Rewards Card

This is not the card to apply for if you haven't grabbed Citibank's 75,000 mile American Airlines cards yet. If you've already cashed in on those, this is a solid offer to check out. The annual fee is $125 and not waived, the spend is $2000 in 3 months, and the reward is 50,000 ThankYou points. It's enough to pay for $650 in airfare. Subtract the annual fee and you're still looking at a free 500 bucks in flights. Click here for the application page.

30-Day Admirals Club Membership

American Airlines' First Class lounge is called Admirals Club. These lounges are a lot more comfortable than the typical nightmare seating at the gate. The chairs are comfy, you get some free drinks/snacks, the bathrooms are cleaner, and it's a lot less crowded. The best price for an annual membership is $350, and even a day pass is 50 bucks. Just introduced is a 30-Day pass for $99. You'll get unlimited use for a month, and can bring along 2 guests. This probably only appeals to a a few people, but ya never know. Click here for the info.

100 Free American Airlines Miles...

100 free American Airlines miles from something called KGB Deals. I'd never heard of this website before but it only takes 10 seconds so it's worth a shot. Click here for the info.

Double Frontier Miles in September

Get double miles on every Frontier Airlines flight you take in September if you register here.

Swagbucks - A little work for a lot of freebies

Swagbucks is a cool little site if you have extra time to do things like this. They give out "bucks" for searches, entering special codes, shopping, referring others, interacting on their Facebook page, commenting on their blog, playing games, and more. The bucks add up in a hurry and can be exchanged for a big variety of gift cards, including airline and travel stuff. There are a few of these websites out there, but this is the best one with the best redemption options.

I Just Made 3,000 Easy Miles

American Airlines is handing out up to 3,000 miles for subscribing to emails. This won't work for everyone but it's worth a click. Click here to give it a shot. If that link doesn't work, try this one. Make sure you are unsubscribed from all American Airline emails before you click the links. Boring details are below:

1. Promotion ends September 6, 2011
2. Participants can either (i) become a new subscriber to one or more of the following email products: AAdvantage eSummary®, AAirmail®, Net SAAver Fares®, AAdvantage® Promotions, and AAVacations® Travel Picks; OR (ii) set and/or modify the online preferences associated with their AAdvantage® account, and be eligible to receive 500 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles for each new unique email subscription and/or online account preference selection or modification made during Offer Period, up to a limit of a maximum of 3,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles (“Gift”) Approximate retail value of Gift is $49.75 for each 500 AAdvantage® bonus miles.
3. To be eligible to receive any Gift, participant must keep each subscription(s) and preferences for a three (3) month period.
4. Gift will be automatically deposited into the participant’s AAdvantage® account six (6) weeks after the end of each applicable three (3) month email enrollment period.
5. Participants must be: (i) a legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia; (ii) at least 18 years of age; and (iii) an AAdvantage® member as of receipt of offer announcement email and/or direct mail piece. Other conditions and restrictions may apply.
6. Limit of a maximum of 3,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles per AAdvantage® member as specified above.

Using Those American Airlines Miles

If you grabbed a ton of American Airline miles here, you'll obviously want to use them at some point. Before you do, make sure you check out Reduced Mileage Award tickets here. Why pay retail when you can get sale prices?

Tip When Churning Cards

Make your life easier. Always talk to a representative when activating any new credit card. Confirm (1) The amount of bonus miles you'll be receiving, (2) How much money you need to spend, and (3) The date you need to spend it by. Trust me on this. You'll be in much better shape with any disagreements if you  handle them at activation.

Southwest Airlines Card - 2 Free Round-Trips

Great Southwest credit card offer to report!

I'd still get the Sapphire card first (click here for the credit card page) but they're both great choices. If you haven't applied for a Chase card in the last 30 days, you should grab one of these. Here's the details:

• 50,000 points (enough for 2 Wanna Get Away round-trips)
• 6,000 points on every anniversary date (equal to $100 towards Wanna Get Away fares)
• Annual fee of $99 is not waived
• Click here to apply

26,000 US Airways Miles To Fix Your Eyes (Ending Soon)

This is a long way to go for some miles, but if you're considering Lasik...

Click here for the details. 1000 miles for the exam and another 25,000 if you do the procedure. This ends July 23rd.

"Cancelling" Your Citi American Airlines Card

If you have the personal Visa or Amex I talked about here, you've already picked up at least 75,000 American Airlines miles. Here's a quick way to grab a few more:

Call the number on the back of the credit card. Tell them you want to cancel because of annual fees or better miles on another card. They will immediately transfer you to the retention department and offer you a deal. My deal was an $85 statement credit and 750 extra miles per month (for 12 months). Give it a shot and see what you can get!

100 Continental Miles For Cardholders

Click here for 100 free miles (if you have the Chase Continental card).

1000 Delta Skymiles For Checking In

If you fly Delta before September 7th, check in for your flight on their mobile app to pick up 1000 extra miles. Register here.