How I Made 1.7 Million Miles/Points in 2011

This was my first year going all-in on miles and points. I came out with a whopping total of approximately 1.7 million. If you’re interested in everything I did to hit that number, here it is:

1. I signed up for free mileage accounts with all the major airlines. 
2. I set up user names and passwords for the airlines I already had mileage numbers with.
3. I set up an Award Wallet account to store all my information.
4. I applied for the Citibank American Airline card, as well as the business card (75,000 miles each).
5. I applied for United Chase card in January (50,000 miles).
6. I applied for the Continental Chase card in February (50,000 miles). I was denied, so I called Chase’s reconsideration department at 1-888-245-0625. I had an old Amazon Visa they closed to open this up.
7. I applied for the 35,000 US Airways mile Barclays card in February.
8. I applied for the Virgin Atlantic card in March (45,000 miles). I also received 2,500 miles for adding an additional user.
9. In March, I applied for the best card offer of the year (the British Airways 100,000 mile card). I was denied, so I called Chase’s reconsideration department from step 6. They took $5000 off of my Chase Freedom card limit and approved the British.
10. I applied for the Hilton Amex card in April (50,000 points). I also received 2,500 points for adding an additional user.
11. I applied for the Amex Premier Rewards card in April (75,000 points). These points turned into 112,500 British Airway miles.
12. I earned 25,000 miles from opening a Citibank mileage checking account.
13. I earned 25,000 miles from all the “smaller” promotions I’ve posted on this blog. Trust me, these add up – 100 miles here, 200 miles there…next thing you know, you’re on a beach somewhere.
14. I earned 5,000 Delta Skymiles from the Single Identity promotion.
15. I earned 4,000 miles from dining out.
16. I earned 10,000 miles through Netflix.  I subscribed for 1 billing month, then cancelled.  Then I changed my address slightly (add a letter to the condo unit number) and applied with a different airline promotion.
17. I earned 65,000 American Airlines miles through using my BankDirect checking account. It was great until they limited the number of referrals and started charging a monthly fee.
18. I earned 35,000 miles through the monthly spending on my mileage cards. Most of these card offers have a minimum spend for you to earn the miles. I didn’t spend morer than my normal monthly bills and expenses. I just put everything on credit cards (utilities, food, gas, bills).  One thing I did was call Citibank to close the card in step 4. They transferred me to the retention department who offered me 3 bonus miles for every dollar I spent for to keep me as a cardholder. That paid off nicely, with another 10,000 miles added to the total.  Oh yeah, I was also buying $1000 in coins every 10 days from the US Mint. Sad to see that one end.
19. I earned 100,000 miles from the Capital One Venture card. This was fun, since it translated into a free $1500 in Ritz Carlton stays.
20. In July, I applied for the Starwood Amex card (30,000 points).
21. In July, I applied for the 2 Hawaiian cards (70,000 miles).
22. In July, I applied for the Citibank Hilton card (50,000 points).
23. In July, I applied for the Choice Hotel card (24,000 points).
24. In July, I applied for the Bank of America Alaska Air card (40,000 miles).
25. In November, I applied for the 75,000 point American Express Business Gold Rewards card.
26. In November, I applied for the 50,000 point Citi Thank You card.
27. In November, I applied for the 70,000 point Chase Marriott card.
28. I made 115,000 miles through the US Airways Grand Slam promotion.
29. I made 210,000 miles through the United Months of Miles promotion (still pending).
30. I turned my 70,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles into 140,000 Hilton Honors points.
31. I turned my 45,000 Virgin miles into 90,000 Hilton Honors points.