Introduce yourself here!

[Matt]

hi everyone! I heard there was a meeting here in PHX so joined. maybe I'll see you this weekend!

Great- the DO is in Firesky, if you want to attend the full day there is a ticket that I can swap out for you, it would cost $115. That includes presentations, lunch and a cocktail hour. If you just want to hang out, you can meet us up after that, we will be at Firesky.

 

[FlyingTPA]

Hello, all! I'm Henry and I live in Tampa. My first real introduction to the miles & points world was at FTU Tampa last year. It was astounding to meet people from all over the country, none of whom thought anything of flying cross-country just to attend. What a difference a year makes! I look forward to contributing here as best I can and getting to know many of you.

I'll be at FTU Advanced DC, btw. Hope to meet some forum members irl!

 

[MK17]

Hello Everyone,
I have been poking around on TC for a while now, but was just led to hear by SicEmBear. Hope I can build as much travel buddies hear as I have on TC. I am all about Redcard right now. I also do the Simon thing along w/BB x 2. Talk to you all soon. Oh, I hail from Western Maryland. Anyone else out there in my neck of the woods?

 

[SicEmBear]

Hello Everyone,
I have been poking around on TC for a while now, but was just led to hear by SicEmBear. Hope I can build as much travel buddies hear as I have on TC. I am all about Redcard right now. I also do the Simon thing along w/BB x 2. Talk to you all soon. Oh, I hail from Western Maryland. Anyone else out there in my neck of the woods?

Welcome to the forums, MK17! Glad to have you here.

 

[lootcorp]

Hi all, my name is Jim and I'm from NYC (currently in CT). I've always been a fan of hunting down travel deals but just caught the MS bug recently. Looking forward to learning from everyone and sharing what I know.

 

[LoveMountains]

Hi everyone! I have been on FW/FT for a few years and looking forward to learn new things here, as well as to share my knowledge with people on this forum.

 

[LAref]

Hi everyone. My name is Barry and I am relatively new to MSing. I live in the New Orleans metro area and it seems to be fertile ground for MS. For the longest time, I was against paying any credit card fees and couldn't see why folks would need more than three (Visa, MC, and AMEX). I've since seen the light. When my wife and I decidied to go to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, I thought I might need some additional miles in my UA account, so I got the Chase Explorer card with 50K miles sign up bonus plus 5K for my wife. We have business class tickets now.
We have applied and been approved for 5 additional airline cards. I mainly MS with mall gift cards to Serve. My wife and I drove 5 hours to another state so we could get the new Target pre-paid card for her. She loves going in and swiping a credit card 3 times twice a month and be done with it. As a matter of fact, she had to train the manager and the cashiers on how to do it!
I am looking for other ways of liquidating GCs and would be interested in level 2 discussions. I can help on any Target redbird questions as well.

 

[Panache]

Welcome Barry. I am new too and me and my wife also just got the Target Redbird after driving two hours to a store who sells them, still waiting for the permanent ones to arrive in the mail.

Does your wife have any tips on how to train the cashier to avoid awkward moments?

 

[LAref]

Panache - My wife told them it's just like loading a Starbucks card. She did $500 on the temp card but the cashier had to call the manager over for any cc over $200. The manager had never seen one but heard about it. On subsequent trips the manager wasn't called but they asked to see the cc or just asked for the last 4 numbers. I think she might be the only one in town with one of these.

 

[AnotherGradStudent]

Hi, all. I'm Liz and I'm a grad student (as I bet ya'll have guessed); I'm a transplant from FT as I'm finding the environment there... rather unhelpful. I'd rather share my (albeit minor) discoveries and develop insights with a community that isn't in the process of constantly eating itself. Anyway!

I've been MSing for a mere six months but find the whole organization/tracking/procedure aspects to be very satisfying. Lots of cards, lots of points, and a geographic region that lacks... many of the staples of the standard approaches (e.g. no WM). But that just makes it a challenge! "Bankers hate him/Double your income with one easy trick, discovered by a mom" is how this all sort of still feels.

Anyway, I'm hoping to contribute and see some new perspectives on this whole game; hopefully I can be of some use!

 

[spokaneflyer]

Hi everyone, I'm Beth. While I'm a frequent flyer for work, I'll be retiring in < 4 years. I'm working to hit some mileage goals before I retire, to ensure hubby and I can travel the way we want in our retirement years. (Example, I plan to hit "platinum for life" with Marriott.) I've been doing light-weight MSing for a bit now, and am ready to kick things up a bit.

While I've participated in the Alaska and Marriott forums in FT, I would rather share MS conversations with a private (and friendly) group.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

 

[LAref]

Hi everyone, I'm Beth. While I'm a frequent flyer for work, I'll be retiring in < 4 years. I'm working to hit some mileage goals before I retire, to ensure hubby and I can travel the way we want in our retirement years. (Example, I plan to hit "platinum for life" with Marriott.) I've been doing light-weight MSing for a bit now, and am ready to kick things up a bit.

While I've participated in the Alaska and Marriott forums in FT, I would rather share MS conversations with a private (and friendly) group.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Welcome, Beth. I retired 5 years ago after earning my miles the hard way (butt in the seat). I've just started to MS to get additional points and miles for our trips. Hope to get into Level 2 to discuss options and what's working for me.

 

[spokaneflyer]

Welcome, Beth. I retired 5 years ago after earning my miles the hard way (butt in the seat). I've just started to MS to get additional points and miles for our trips. Hope to get into Level 2 to discuss options and what's working for me.

Thanks for the welcome. While I like the free miles from work travel I'm definitely looking forward to retirement and being able to travel where and when I like.

 

[Vince]

My name is Vince and I live in Boston. I am obsessed with points, inexpensive travel, and getting the most financially by paying the least. I love traveling, saving for early retirement. I am new to this site but I def not new to points, credit cards, high yield checking accounts. I'm really excited to get started. Also my professional career is in auto lending and finance so I know allot of ins and outs of how the car dealer is going to make money off you. I'm also big in dividend growth income. I also love the philosophy here that this is not the tmz points site meaning dont go posting to the masses who don't know what to do with the information. Nice to meet everyone and GO CELTICS!!!

 

[JoeK]

Hello all, Joe from Massachusetts here. I got started in all this back in 2009 when a friend told me about Microsoft/Bing giving 20% cash back for ebay purchases. At the time I loaded up on gift cards, and ever since I have been hooked on searching for and finding the best deals possible to get companies to give me free stuff. I introduced my wife into this world of credit card perks when we got married in 2012 and flew first class to Vancouver and stayed in the Marriott for our honeymoon, all free of charge thanks to Chase Sapphire and a few other cards.

In the past I have lurked on FWF, but the site is not what it used to be. I get the sense there is a good community here and I am looking forward to being a part of it.

 

[hogo74]

Hi all, this is Christian from North Carolina. I'm new to this forum, I've been a member of FT for about ten years where I'm mostly "active" (my post count is relatively low, I only post when I think I can contribute something useful) in the mileage run forum. I've occasionally met other flyertalkers during travel and it was always good to make connections and build trust, hopefully I can do that here, too. Most of my traveling is non-work related, and my mileage earning is a mix of actual flying with elite bonuses, CC sign-ups and some light MS. I'm fairly risk averse. My redemption goals are mostly to save money on travel we'd do anyway, keeping connected to the parts of the family that lives in Europe. I hope to become an active contributor eventually.

 

[Jacob Baron]

Hi All,
I'm Jacob and have recently started MS'ing. Hope to learn a lot here and will contribute my thoughts from time to time.

 

[fly co to see the yanks]

New to this forum though I love the Saverocity blogs. From NYC. Have been doing the Simon to Bluebird for a while. Just trying to learn more and contribute.

 

[MilesJunkie]

Hi, I'm Paul. I'm hoping to contribute to good discussions about our points and miles hobby.

 

[11fbwd]

Hi all, new here. Mostly into resale for points (I don't MS very much). Joined the forum for the L2 discussions.

Oh yeah, I'm also the mod for National Car Rental on FT, so I know my way around the rental car programs and would be happy to answer any questions you might have about that.

 

[MotownMan]

Hello all! Glad to join the community here. I am mostly interested in MS, CC bonuses, and how to use points to get the best value. Just wrapped up two years with the WN CP, so now I am focused on getting some great international awards.

I work in Detroit for a nonprofit that promotes sustainable food systems and manages some community gardens, greenhouses, etc. that benefit the city. A little about me- love the Arab world (speak Arabic as well) and get to travel there a couple times a year for work. Coffee is also a big passion. Anyways, excited to connect with everyone here and share what little I know!

 

[druiddation]

Hello, I currently live in Florida. I'm not new but kind of feels like it lately. I used to MS to meet CC min spend requirements and for bonus points/miles. I took almost 2 years off from signing up for multiple cards quarterly, and during that time focused on burning instead of earning.

 

[nandemo1]

New guy from Richmond. I've collected miles and points for years but really started racking them up early this year. Since I've banked so many and can only get away for pleasure trips a couple times a year my MS goals shifted about midyear. I'm looking to share, get feedback and learn new techniques. I will admit that I've been a member at FT (same username).

Travel interests include Western Europe, Japan, and domestic trips pursuing good craft beer.

Thanks for allowing me in the sandbox!
~Nicholas

 

[tobyrocks]

6 month newbie from the great state of Texas...Go Cowboys!

I started dipping my toe in above 4 months ago and quickly fell all the way in. My goals are to take 3-4 5 days trips per year due to limited vacation. I'm an ex-extreme couponer that resold and I'm trying to make sure that MS doesn't consume me as much as that endeavor did.

It's the challenge that gets me... to get something free or even better..get paid to do it! Can become very addictive so I'm trying to throttle myself.

Thanks to everyone for their openness and sharing. I'm learning at the moment but hope to be able to share and help others soon.

 

[slickmouse]

Hi All - newbie from Arkansas. Just joined the points/miles game about 1.5 years ago with mainly CC signup bonus. I've done some basic MS with BB - but my 'kate' hardly ever works anymore and it's no longer on my way home. I don't have any convenient OSS, Targets or WM - so looking for other creative MS ideas - and hopefully provide my own contributions. Thanks!

 

[JeffBostonTraveler]

Hi all, new guy from Boston. I'm pretty new to the game. I'm just doing my first AORs and learning the ropes. I just got interested in miles and points and want to learn from the pros. I'm looking forward to providing data points of my own as I go and hopefully providing some value to you guys as well.

 

[llelllel]

Hello everyone. I live in Nashville, TN and have been involved in this game for over two years. Would like to be in a community with similar people where I can share, discuss and learn some advanced techniques. Thanks!

 

[Matthew]

Hi everyone. I am a FT transplant as well. I recently medically retired from the Army and will be pursuing my MBA in Boston next year. Until then I am trying to travel the world using points and credit card bonuses. I've been doing MS for about a year, but living in the Pacific NorthWest I didn't get to experience the awesomeness that was VRs. Looking forward to the discussions in Level 2 to discuss what is still working for me and others as well as discovering some more advanced techniques.

 

[kmann]

Hi all! I am a SAHM that uses MS to pay for some of our every day expenses and pay for our vacations. I'm always trying new things to get the most out of our miles and points!

 

[jd13]

Hi all. I'm Jon and I'm a Florida native (don't see many of us). Started the serious credit card and MS game a couple years ago. Been part of SD for a long time and FT for not a long time. Always interested in learning something new and helping others along the way. Socked away quite a bit of points but not sure when I'm going to get to use them.

 

[gmenrule]

Hi
Glad to be here...hope to learn alot!

 

[busymike]

Hi I'm Mike from MO. Fairly experienced in MS .... just looking for another community to be a part of!

 

[swazzie]

What's up? I'm a lady from central Virginia with a growing passion for travel. I'm looking to take my family around the world using miles and points with as little money as possible. I'm glad to join today and hopefully become a valued member of the community. Take care, everyone.

 

[grebel]

Hi everyone, I'm Grebel from the DMV (DC, Maryland, VA area). Just started down this path a month ago and starting to get serious about MS. Trying to start with Cash Back as much as possible to pay down Student loans and then I'll transition to maximizing travel goals.

 

[rachael]

Hi, I am Rachael from Boston area. I started MS about 1 year ago (been through vanilla to redbird). My husband and I like to ski. I am trying to use points and miles not only for free stay and flight tickets, but also find ways to get free lift tickets. Looking forward to leaning more MS.