saryant

68 ms·

601.
by saryant 11y ago
I'd be surprised if there are more than a thousand or so people who game the FF programs to this degree. And the number who do so to the degree of Lucky (subject of the article) is probably in the single digits. That said, I don'
602.
by saryant 11y ago
At the standard (rather than saver) award price. United knows almost nobody is actually redeeming that, it's just a marketing ploy.
603.
by saryant 11y ago
It's fun. Unless we're going to reduce everything we spend time on down to utilitarian justifications, that's all the reason I need.
604.
by saryant 11y ago
There are various methods that you can use to unload the cards back to either your checking account or directly to the credit card you used to buy them. Buy gift card with credit card -> Unload gift card back to credit card. Repeat. Se
605.
by saryant 11y ago
How much is actually being burned though? How much fuel does it take to transport 200lbs on a transpacific flight?
606.
by saryant 11y ago
Though I find this game to be lots of fun, I do think that most people are probably better off with a cashback card. Actually, most people probably shouldn't have a credit card to begin with (it pains me to say that given the differen
607.
by saryant 11y ago
Some cards I close. If there's an annual fee, I weigh the benefits each year. If the benefits don't justify the fee, I try to get the fee waived. Failing that, I cancel. OTOH cards with no fee get tossed in a drawer. I have 5
608.
by saryant 11y ago
Banks give out airline miles to attract to credit card customers. You can open a lot of those credit cards. Redeeming those miles for international first/business class is a good value (some disagree but that's my use). Really bas
609.
by saryant 11y ago
He stopped flying UA and switched to primarily AA.
610.
by saryant 11y ago
Sure, but since we don't have teleportation, first class is still arguably the more enjoyable way to cross an ocean right now (save for private jets).
611.
by saryant 11y ago
The payoff comes from doing it to hit signup bonuses. If you needed to spend $5000 on a card, you could buy Visa gift cards and spend $59.50, but get 105,000 miles from the bonus. Essentially a round-trip business class ticket from the US
612.
by saryant 11y ago
I'm curious as to what the morality argument actually is, as this isn't the first comment to espouse that view. What do you find morally questionable about churning? It's game in which banks and airlines write the rules and
613.
by saryant 11y ago
I'm a software engineer.
614.
by saryant 11y ago
Yeah, I find that nuts. I don't do mileage runs personally, I just don't have time. Plus they're not nearly as profitable anymore.
615.
by saryant 11y ago
When I redeem points, the flight is part of it, but it's really about the destination. A year ago I used my points to fly first class to attend ScalaDays in Berlin. Last November, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong over two weeks. Earlier
616.
by saryant 11y ago
As someone who's both heavy into this hobby and a software engineer at a major tech company, I'm going to disagree. I get to fly around the world having fun while spending very little.
617.
by saryant 11y ago
If you're in that situation, you're probably best off earning one of the flexible currencies like Chase's Ultimate Rewards or Amex's Membership Rewards. You can redeem for a statement balance or transfer to one of their
618.
by saryant 11y ago
BA points are great... if you don't fly BA. I love using Avios for short-haul rewards around Asia that are otherwise expensive or would require inconvenient routings on the local LCCs.
619.
by saryant 11y ago
In your early days, yes, you can take a hit from churning, but after a year or so your credit should stabilize (assuming you never miss a payment). I've been churning for a few years and my FICO is around 780.
620.
by saryant 11y ago
All of this is solid advice. There are countless stories on FT of people rushing in too fast (especially with MS!) and finding themselves burned. Blacklisted by banks, holding thousands in gift cards they can't liquidate, points in p
621.
by saryant 11y ago
Actually, no. Airlines only release seats for award redemption if they don't believe they can sell them. Therefore, he's only taking up seats that would otherwise go empty on flights that are going to fly anyways.
622.
by saryant 11y ago
I don't follow. The hobby is really only possible for Americans and American passports are easy to travel.
623.
by saryant 11y ago
The charges aren't nearly as bad on other carriers. BA and Lufthansa are probably the worst. For instance, redeeming AA miles on Japan Airlines will generally cost <$100 in taxes even in first class for a US->Japan flight.
624.
by saryant 11y ago
I follow his blog and he definitely doesn't spend all his time in the airport.
625.
by saryant 11y ago
EINs are free.
626.
by saryant 11y ago
IDB/VDB compensation is very different from the compensation you get for a broken reading light. United used to give out absurd amounts of vouchers for the latter but that's pretty much dead these days. IDB/VDB (what you get
627.
by saryant 11y ago
Half the fun is knowing you bent the rules to get there in the first place. The other half is actually going wherever you're going. Sitting in a tube for 14 hours is a lot more fun at the pointy end. There are some in the FF communit
628.
by saryant 11y ago
Which Visa gift cards don't have fees?
629.
by saryant 11y ago
There's a LOT of downright wrong information. There are some bad seeds there spreading FUD to keep newbies away or lead them down a dangerous path, especially around manufactured spend. The outright lies I saw people posting during th
630.
by saryant 11y ago
Well, you are spending money on those. Each card has a fee. But if you're doing it correctly you should realize far more value than you end up spending.

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