Thought I'd catch people up on some of the stuff I'm still doing with credit cards.
So right now, I'm working on a British Airways card. The end goal is for April and myself to being able to fly First Class on BA when we hit Switzerland next year. The thought of flying that long makes me want to lose it. However, having a bed to sleep in and an open bar seems like it would make flying more palatable. This is the steepest card deal I've done yet.
The card has a $99 annual fee, not waved the first year. You get 50,000 points after using the card. Another 25,000 after spending $10,000. And a final 25,000 after spending another $10,000. The sweetest part is that after spending a total on $30,000, you get a free companion ticket for any ticket you buy. So if I can "spend" $30k, I'll have more than enough to get myself a first class ticket and then Ape gets a free companion first class ticket. The only thing we have to pay is fuel surcharges, which is still like $1,200 (total), but much less than the $2,500 we would have spent for coach tickets.
How the hell can I spend $30k? Well, by being smart and cheating. I have moved all my daily spending to the credit card, which I pay off every 2 weeks when I get paid. April and I also send $1000 a month (funded by credit cards) to each other for free with Amazon Payments. We've also had a couple houses expenses and upcoming vacations that will go on the card (and then promptly be paid off, as neither of us have credit card debt).
After the first of the year (with Xmas spending coming up as well), I'll see where we are in meeting the $30k spending requirement. I'll probably end up doing some of the things listed in this amazing blog post to get me over the final hump.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/frequ...-and-earn-90k-ultimate-rewards-along-the-way/
If you want to ease into this, Southwest has a pretty sweet deal right now. All you have to do is spend $1000 in three months and you'll get points that can either be redeemed for ~$500 in gift cards or two round trip tickets on Southwest.
http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/southwest/2ffpartnersplus
Note that at the bottom there is also a promo for a business card. You can, and should, apply for both. Use your name as your business name and SSN for the tax id. That's four free tickets if you do both!
So right now, I'm working on a British Airways card. The end goal is for April and myself to being able to fly First Class on BA when we hit Switzerland next year. The thought of flying that long makes me want to lose it. However, having a bed to sleep in and an open bar seems like it would make flying more palatable. This is the steepest card deal I've done yet.
The card has a $99 annual fee, not waved the first year. You get 50,000 points after using the card. Another 25,000 after spending $10,000. And a final 25,000 after spending another $10,000. The sweetest part is that after spending a total on $30,000, you get a free companion ticket for any ticket you buy. So if I can "spend" $30k, I'll have more than enough to get myself a first class ticket and then Ape gets a free companion first class ticket. The only thing we have to pay is fuel surcharges, which is still like $1,200 (total), but much less than the $2,500 we would have spent for coach tickets.
How the hell can I spend $30k? Well, by being smart and cheating. I have moved all my daily spending to the credit card, which I pay off every 2 weeks when I get paid. April and I also send $1000 a month (funded by credit cards) to each other for free with Amazon Payments. We've also had a couple houses expenses and upcoming vacations that will go on the card (and then promptly be paid off, as neither of us have credit card debt).
After the first of the year (with Xmas spending coming up as well), I'll see where we are in meeting the $30k spending requirement. I'll probably end up doing some of the things listed in this amazing blog post to get me over the final hump.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/frequ...-and-earn-90k-ultimate-rewards-along-the-way/
If you want to ease into this, Southwest has a pretty sweet deal right now. All you have to do is spend $1000 in three months and you'll get points that can either be redeemed for ~$500 in gift cards or two round trip tickets on Southwest.
http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/southwest/2ffpartnersplus
Note that at the bottom there is also a promo for a business card. You can, and should, apply for both. Use your name as your business name and SSN for the tax id. That's four free tickets if you do both!