Mile Nerd

What took me so long to get into the mile game? Who the hell knows! I’d heard stories about the crazy people who traveled the world for free, so I don’t have a good reason why I waited to be one of them. Anyway, in January 2011, I decided to get in the game. Here’s how I’ve made over 2 million miles, step-by-step:

1. I signed up for mileage accounts with all the major airlines. It was free and it took 20 minutes tops. I still can’t believe how many people I hear from who fly all the time and don’t collect any miles.
2. I set up an AwardWallet account to store all the mileage information. It’s a very important thing to do, as I don’t have to worry about remembering user names, passwords, or expiration dates anymore.
3. January 2011 – I applied for 2 American Airlines credit cards through Citibank, 1 Personal and 1 Business (75,000 miles each).
4. January 2011 – I applied for the United Airlines credit card through Chase (50,000 miles).
5. February 2011 – I applied for the Continental Airlines credit card through Chase (50,000 miles). This was a beginner’s mistake. Since then, I’ve adjusted my strategy and wait 3 months between Chase applications. I ended up getting denied, but called the Chase Reconsideration Line at 1-888-245-0625. I had an old Amazon Visa they closed to open this up.
6. February 2011 – I applied for the US Airways credit card through Barclays (35,000 miles). 
7. March 2011 – I applied for the Virgin Atlantic credit card through Bank of America (45,000 miles). I got another 2,500 miles for adding an additional user. I transferred these into 95,000 Hilton points.
8. March 2011 – I applied for the British Airways credit card through Chase (100,000 miles). Again, I was going a little too crazy with Chase. This was one of the best card offers of the year, so I called the Reconsideration Line again. They took $5,000 off my credit limit on a Chase Freedom card I had and approved me for the British.
9. April 2011 – I applied for the Hilton Honors credit card through American Express (50,000 points). I got another 2,500 points for adding an additional user.
10. April 2011 – I applied for the American Express Premier Rewards credit card (75,000 points). I transferred these points and turned them into 112,500 British Airways miles.
11. I earned 25,000 American Airlines miles from opening a Citibank checking account.
12. I’ve earned 40,000 miles from the “smaller” promotions posted throughout this blog. Over the course of a year, they do add up.
13. I earned 5,000 Delta Skymiles from the Single Identity promotion.
14. I’ve earned 15,000 miles dining out.
15. I earned 10,000 miles through signing up for Netflix (a few times).
16. I earned 65,000 American Airlines miles though Bank Direct. I was a big fan until they started charging a monthly fee. I no longer have a Bank Direct checking account.
17. I’ve earned 55,000 miles through spending on my credit cards. I don’t spend anything extra, but anything that used to go on my debit card has moved to credit – food, utilities, bills, etc. 
18. I earned 100,000 miles from my Capital One Venture card. This was a blast, since it turned into $1,500 worth of Ritz Carlton gift cards. 2 very fun weekends!
19. July 2011 – I applied for the Starwood credit card through American Express (30,000 points). This is the card I actually use most often. Email me if you’d like a referral for this one.
20. July 2011 – I applied for the 2 Hawaiian Airlines cards here and here (70,000 points). I transferred these into 140,000 Hilton points.
21. July 2011 – I applied for the Citibank Hilton card (50,000 points).
22. July 2011 – I applied for the Choice Hotels card through Barclays (24,000 points).
23. July 2011 – I applied for the Alaska Airlines card through Bank of America (40,000 miles).
24. I made 247,000 United Airlines miles from the Months of Miles promotion.
25. I made 115,000 US Airways miles from the Grand Slam promotion.
26. November 2011 – I applied for the Business Gold Rewards card from American Express (75,000 points). 
27. November 2011 – I applied for the Thank You Rewards card from Citibank (50,000 points).
28. November 2011 – I applied for the Marriott card from Chase (70,000 points).
29. February 2012 – I applied for the Southwest card from Chase (50,000 points).
30. March 2012 – I did a little bit of “churning” – collecting duplicate bonuses from a card. I got both Hawaiian cards again and transferred them into another 140,000 Hilton points. I also got the US Airways card again for another 40,000 miles.