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asthejoeflies

Helping you and your family save money on your vacations to Disney and beyond

Education of a Points Freak, Q3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)

Once I became comfortable with the idea of applying for a bunch of credit cards in order to get the sign up bonuses, I started getting to know the various airlines out there. I don’t have time to travel all the time like the hardcore bloggers, plus when I first started I still was wary of applying for too many credit cards, so I wanted to consolidate miles into one or two programs to being with. It’s generally a good idea to have a lot of miles in one or two programs anyway, though diversity helps provide coverage if you travel a lot. I’ve gotten a feel for the pros and cons of a lot of the big airlines out there, both in terms of the product the airlines provide and their mileage programs. Being based in the US, I’m obviously more familiar with US carriers, so in the first post addressing this question, I’ll be focusing on the US legacy carriers.

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New Frequent Flier Vocabulary Page!

When I started reading about miles and points, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of terms and abbreviations that I was seeing. PNR? MQM? AAoA? I thought I was playing Diablo or something. So I’ve started a vocabulary page which I will try to continually update with new terms and abbreviations.

So if I ever say something or use a term that you’re not sure the meaning of, feel free to check out the vocabulary list here!

Education of a Points Freak, Q2 – Won’t applying for credit cards hurt my credit?

Conventional wisdom says that applying for credit cards hurts your credit. Get the real scoop on whether applying for credit cards hurt your credit!
Despite applying for credit cards in December, February, and May, my credit score hasn’t taken a large hit

When my friend first told me about how he covered the costs of his honeymoon flight through points earned from credit card sign up bonuses, I naturally was skeptical. Shouldn’t that mess up his credit? How is a free flight, even in business or first class, worth that? Turns out I didn’t have a full understanding of how my credit score is calculated. As you can see from the above graphic, my credit score has stayed pretty steady despite all the new credit cards I’ve opened (three in the nine months before that last point in August). In fact, my credit score could probably still be considered excellent. So let’s take a look at how credit score is calculated, and how applying for credit cards affects that – both negatively and positively.

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Education of a Points Freak, Q1 – Is accumulating points and miles for everyone?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card with a great bonus, but don’t be too hasty to get into the points game unless it’s the right time

Everyone wants to feel like they are getting a great deal or travelling for next to nothing. That doesn’t mean, however, that becoming a “points freak” (as my wife calls me) is for everyone. Obviously, it’s not for people who don’t feel like bothering, but even amongst those who might be interested, it’s not always the wisest decision. So before one gets too far down the rabbit hole of miles and points, it’s important to ask – is accumulating miles and points for everyone?

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Education of a Points Freak – Introduction

These seven cards netted over 350,000 miles for my wife and me

Over the past year, I’ve learned a ton about the miles and points game. I thought I would start this blog off with a series debating some of the things I have learned. I’ve distilled things down into a few questions, and will update the links as I answer them. These aren’t necessarily questions that someone might ask, but they are questions that I learned the answers to as I started becoming more and more obsessed with points (or, to my wife, a points freak). Hopefully this will be helpful to any prospective points freaks out there.

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