500 US Airways Miles

Just got an email from US Airways to earn 500 free miles by downloading their new StoreFront Assistant here. Just make 1 search or purchase from the toolbar to collect your miles. I normally use Google Chrome, so I downloaded this toolbar in Internet Explorer. Just wanted to avoid clogging up my main browser.

Welcome Newbies

I’ve gotten emails lately from people new to the mileage game. I’ve been repeating myself a lot, so here’s some things to do if you’re new to the game:

  1. Make sure you’re collecting rewards if you fly or stay in hotels! I still can’t believe how many people pay for flights and don’t get miles out of it!
  2. After setting up accounts, store them with Award Wallet. You won’t have to remember passwords and you’ll get reminders before miles expire. This is a must. When you have 30 or 40 accounts to track, you’ll understand why.
  3. Credit cards. You will obviously rack up the most miles this way. But only dive in if you have great credit and can handle charging money on credit cards without going crazy.
  4. If you do start “churning” cards, stay very organized. I keep a spreadsheet that tracks when I applied for a card, how much I need to spend to collect the bonus, when I have to spend it by, and when I need to close the card. It’s color coded so I know when I’ve collected a bonus or closed a card. I check this spreadsheet every day. Yes, I am a nerd.
  5. Keep cards open at least 6 months. I close most cards with annual fees between the 6-month mark and the 1-year mark.
  6. Don’t just randomly open cards. I open up a new round every 3 months, and apply for only one card per bank (Chase, Citibank, Barclays, Bank of America, etc) each round.
  7. Take advantage of all the “little” promotions. 500 miles here and there can add up after a while.
  8. Stay tuned. Every once in a while, a promotion pops up and it truly is a jackpot. Last year, United’s Months of Miles made me around 250,000 miles for under 100 bucks. 

100% Bonus on Purchased US Airways Miles

This ends over the weekend. Through April 15, you can get a 50% bonus on purchased US Airways miles. If you register your US Airways account at points.com, you get another 50% bonus. This has been a solid deal for buying miles and makes your cost under 2 cents per mile.

5,000 American Airlines Miles For Drinking Wine

Basically you order 6 bottles of wine for $42 here and pick up 2,000 miles. If you keep your membership going, you’ll get another 3,000 miles with the second shipment. Some people call after the second shipment and say they “forgot” to cancel their membership and want to return the wine. Customer service then asks if you would be willing to keep the shipment if they take half off the price.

Chase British Airways Credit Card? Meh.

Last year’s British Airways credit card offer was probably the best of 2011 (get 100,000 miles after spending $3,000). This year isn’t as good, but if you missed out last time and want to apply, the link is here.

  • 50,000 miles after first purchase
  • 25,000 more miles if you spend $10,000 in the first year
  • 25,000 more miles if you spend another $10,000 in the first year
Obviously, it’s a lot easier to spend 3k than 20k. But if you’re a big spender, or if you’re happy with 50,000 easy miles, this could be a good option for you.