Editor’s Note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard statements like this: “I don’t spend extra points on business class tickets or luxury hotels because I might run out of points.” I’m here to dispel the myth that you should worry about running out of points and miles.
Related: Premium Economy vs Business Class: Is the Difference Worth the Upgrade?
Sure, spots don’t grow on trees. However, I use a few simple strategies to make 500,000 points average in a year. Here’s how you can do the same and make sure you have your desired score and mileage for your next dream ride.
Credit Card Welcome Bonus: 300,000 points per year
The fastest, easiest way to accumulate large amounts of points and miles is through a credit card welcome bonus — sometimes called a “sign-up bonus”.
While you can earn up to 10% return on spending from your daily purchases (more on that below), you will more than likely earn 3%-5% back for most purchase transactions. However, with the welcome bonus, you can expect to earn unexpected points through a return on spend of over 30% in many cases.
The credit card welcome bonus offers tens of thousands of points — or hundreds of thousands, depending on the card — upon completion of initial spending requirements. Your best strategy is to always have a new credit card for which you are earning a bonus. My wife and I both use this strategy and I personally earn 300,000 points and miles from signup bonuses in an average year.
However, you must understand Credit card application rules and bonus restrictions to maximize this strategy. Planning to sign up and knowing when you are eligible (or not) eligible for bonuses with each bank will help you maximize your earnings while avoiding unnecessary rejections.
My wife is more conservative because she doesn’t like making unnecessary phone calls. However, I don’t mind calling my bank’s review department if there’s a remote chance that I might be approved for a credit card. So I apply for the card as long as I think there’s a chance of getting the phone representative to approve my card if my application is initially denied.
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Related: Your Guide to Calling the Credit Card Review Line
Credit card retention incentive: 75,000 points per year
retention offer can be as good as the signup bonus. You may feel like earning a bonus on the same card a second time, depending on the offer you get. The cherry on this cake is that you don’t have to sign up for a card, hope for approval, or add an extra yank your credit report; that’s because these are the credit cards you already have.
Related: Your Ultimate Guide to Credit Card Retention Offers
A retention incentive is when a credit card company offers some kind of bonus to convince you not to close your credit card and continue being a customer of that bank. Retention incentives typically come in one of three forms:
- An annual fee is waived or reduced.
- Reward points, miles or deposits to your account.
- A bonus tied to a certain spending requirement.
It should be noted that accepting a bonus or annual fee incentive means that the bank expects you to continue to open the credit card for another year. Consider that before you accept any of these offers.
I request a review any time I consider closing a credit card, and I call as soon as the annual fee appears on my account. I also consider in advance what types of offers I will accept. TPG . Monthly Point Valuation very helpful here, so I understand the value of any favors I might get.
Related: How 5 Minutes Chat Got Me 85,000 Points Plus $150
Retention offers vary by credit card issuer, card type, and how much you’ve spent on your credit card in the past year. While you can get a big bonus pair through maintaining one year, it is also possible that you will get less next year. So I will assign this an average of 75,000 points and miles per year.
Targeted spending incentive: 20,000 points per year
As the word “targeted” implies, not everyone gets the same offers, which means this is the most difficult strategy to predict in this article. However, credit card issuers frequently use targeted offers to encourage customers to spend with their credit cards. Check out these examples for Citi credit card and Chase credit cards.
These offers can include 5 points per dollar at utility payments, 3 points per dollar at Amazon, or other high earning rates for bonus points. Since I have no control over what offers I receive or how often they come, I am assigning a low number here. I try to maximize these offers whenever possible without spending money unnecessarily.
You should also consider whether you can use the rewards category to shop in the non-rewards category. For example, if you get a 5 point per dollar offer at office supplies stores, find out if your local office supply store sells gift cards.
If you have Ink business cash credit card, you can earn 5% back (or 5 Final Rewards points per dollar if you hold other Chase credit cards) on your first $25,000 in purchases at office supplies stores each fiscal year. account (then 1% refund). Buying a gift card here for a store that would otherwise earn you just 1 point for every dollar can help you maximize spending incentives and add extra points to the purchases you will make .
Referral Bonus: 50,000 points per year
I am lucky. I introduced my wife and parents to the world of points and miles. In addition to helping them understand how to use their points and gauge which credit card to open next, I can also refer them to a credit card.
Most banks have a credit card referral program. By creating a link that your friend, relative, or business colleague uses to sign up for a credit card, you can earn bonuses if that person is approved for a new card.
Related: How to refer friends and earn points, miles or cash credits
How these programs work varies from bank to bank. With American Express, you can create a general referral Allow others to choose from multiple credit cards. Chase allows you to refer a group of cards, such as all United Airlines credit card. Capital One, on the other hand, only allows you to refer another person to your particular credit card.
Wherever possible, my wife and I refer each other to credit cards when it’s time to sign up. I also refer my parents for the card if possible.
I am not active with referrals and I know people who earn significant points and miles from referrals every year. However, using minimal effort here allows me to earn at least 50,000 points annually.
Authorized User Reward: 25,000 points per year
I’m pretty selective about these rewards, but they help me earn more points and miles each year. You can get targeted offers to add authorized users to your card and get bonus points after completing required spend amount.
While this sounds easy, there are some negatives, hence why I put a low number on this category.
Related: Opinion: Should my partner get their own card or be added as an authorized user?
First, you need someone else’s permission and Social Security number to add them to most credit cards. Many people are wary of being added as a authorized user on someone else’s credit card.
Second, depending on how new your account is, this may affect your authorized users’ permissions. credit age, 5/24 status or other factors. If this person participates in the points and miles preference, they may not want to be added to the card under the age of two.
Finally, you need a lot of trust when adding someone as an authorized user. You trust the person to use the card responsibly (or not use it at all if that is your preference); Remember that you are still responsible for paying your monthly bill for any purchases this person makes. On the other hand, your friend needs to trust that you won’t hurt their credit score by accumulating large balances.
When you consider all of that, it’s not uncommon to find someone you can add to your card for authorized user rewards. It’s even harder to do it multiple times to get multiple rewards in a short time.
Related: The largest value credit card for authorized users
Daily credit card spending: 100,000 points per year
All in all, the best credit card to use for any purchase is the one you’re aiming for a sign-up bonus. The second best credit card for any purchase is the one that earns the most points or gets the most cash back on that transaction.
Maximizing your earnings per individual purchase is a fundamental part of my strategy. point and mile strategy.
To make this happen, you need a credit card that earns you bonus points when you shop often. You also need a good credit card for daily spending to cover “other” purchases. Refer to the following sources:
I also love telling people that you should never earn just 1 point for every dollar when shopping online. Using shopping portal, synthetic and the right credit card, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar purchase at the smallest level. However, a few extra clicks will earn you a few points per dollar on most of your purchases.
Related: Your guide to maximizing shopping portals for your online purchases
This is where the math comes in. Let’s say you spend $3,000 per month on your credit card. That’s $36,000 in credit card purchases per year. If you can earn an average of 3 points for every dollar spent, you will earn 108,000 points per year.
bottom line
Using the six simple strategies in this article will allow most people to earn well over half a million points per year. Whatever your travel goals, earning more points and more miles will help you achieve these goals. That means additional trips in economy class to budget hotels or additional trips in first class to a luxury hotel.
Using these strategies, you can earn hundreds of thousands of points per year. You can also look for less popular ways to earn extra points to help increase your hoard.
Related: Extraordinary things my family does to earn extra points and miles
If you’re lucky enough to have a partner or other family members who can earn their own points, this makes vacation planning even easier. And, if you’re really lucky, you might get more points than you know what to do. If that’s the case, consider upgrading your travel for extra comfort and luxury.
