- Education of a Points Freak – Introduction
- Question 1 – Is accumulating points and miles for everyone?
- Question 2 – Won’t applying for credit cards hurt my credit?
- Question 3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)
- Question 4 – What are airline alliances and how are they useful?
- Question 5 – How can I keep track of all my account balances?
- Question 6 – What are other useful tools I can use?
- Question 7 – What are some good credit cards to start with?
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.
