Starting Out with MS

fenwatfantw

New Member
New to the site.. Love the perspective. The people on other sites running 7 bluebirds and complaining when the managers won't reset the KATEs worry me. If you can float 30k in GC each month do you really need an extra hundred or two in cash back.. I just want a signup bonus here and there and to keep the deal alive for everybody else tyvm
 

Bigmahalo

New Member
So far only doing VGC when they offer a rebate to offset the fees. In a very tight market place with limited opps.
My biggest month 5k.
 

Evan MArks

New Member
Great Article

I always have a goal in mind before signing up for credit cards and have not tested MS yet. I have plans to go to CA this summer to visit relatives and need to get the right combo of Airline and Hotel points to make it painless. Not to put some of the items in this article to use!
 

craig d

New Member
The MS aspect has always been intriguing, but I've only dabbled in some churning and reselling thus far. This post is a nice level-headed way of thinking we should all abide by. There will be plenty of opportunities for us all if we happen to "miss out". There are always other deals to be had in the future.
 

Jslectronic

Level 2 Member
I got an email this morning for my BB shutdown, saw multiple folks on Twitter reporting and when i checked my inbox I had the same form letter. If you did not get an email (check your junk box?) presumably you can still load, but that might not last long
 

bobdole1872

New Member
I got an email from Matt stating that one needs to "audition" to gain level 2 access. I've been in the MS/Points community since the US Mint days. I remember Grand Slam and sending random people gifts for extra hits. I've used VR's, VGC's, Bluebird/Redbird/Serve, T-mobile, Greendot, Netspend, etc. I don't churn too often, but I usually try to hit up multiple banks at a time. I'm glad to help others so as not to get themselves in places that are hard to get out of. Ie. I purchased a bunch of gift cards at Staples and now my Serve/BB is dead.
 

the_kid_55

Level 2 Member
This is good advice. I saw a post on Reddit, where someone new to the points game bought 10K worth of VGC the day Serve went down and didn't have a backup liquidation plan. This hobby is definitely not for that guy.
 

Ash

New Member
I went to some of my local Safeway today, and found out that all variable load Visa and Mastercard have been taken off the shelf. Earlier today, I saw reports in other blogs about the visa card removals, but in my area, Mastercard is removed as well. I had some old Metabank Visa left, and those are still working in Walmart.
 

APrime

Level 2 Member
I'm curious: for the folks that MS, do you go for cashback or points?

I missed the heyday of the redbird, but I couldn't see myself doing it for more than getting the minimum spend on cards. It seems like such a hassle (with the exception of the redbird, I guess).
 

Hplx32

New Member
I'm curious: for the folks that MS, do you go for cashback or points?

I missed the heyday of the redbird, but I couldn't see myself doing it for more than getting the minimum spend on cards. It seems like such a hassle (with the exception of the redbird, I guess).
Hmmm...I do it for points...the redemption rate for utilizing points on biz/first class flights are a lot higher than cash back in my opinion.
 

singerbabe

Level 2 Member
I'm curious: for the folks that MS, do you go for cashback or points?

I missed the heyday of the redbird, but I couldn't see myself doing it for more than getting the minimum spend on cards. It seems like such a hassle (with the exception of the redbird, I guess).
Points here, too. Got addicted to those lie-flat seats and free booze. I still have one bird flying, but I'm using it cautiously.
 
A

Alcibiades

Guest
Cashback. Mileage and Points devaluations really sting when you are sitting on a few million miles earned after a year of hard work.
 

nickel285

Level 2 Member
Started out with points an accumulated over a million across various programs in a short time. Found that I wasn't able to redeem points/miles fast enough to stay ahead of devaluation so I've switched to cashback with the occasional CC milage bonus.
 

FlyerMarc

Level 2 Member
I think it's also important to try to reach out to your local community. We have a private facebook group for all things points for my city. I've learned some valuable opportunities through it and there are different possibilities for different geographical areas. We try to meet up once a month, since it's always nice to talk to people in person about trips, churns, and our hobby.
 

FlyerMarc

Level 2 Member
Anyone have tips on finding such groups locally? Tried searching but didn't find much on FB or on Meetup.
I would try out this forum or Travel Codex under 'regional opportunities,' I actually found out about my city via FT a couple of years ago
 

Jia

New Member
Thank you for sharing! I'm very new to the travel hacking and MS world. I just have my little 1% that I earn but I'm ready to move up a little.
 

redrps13

New Member
New to the site, but not new to MS. Took some time off so I haven't been keeping up, but this was a good reminder for me.
 

Benjamin

Level 2 Member
Thank you for sharing! I'm very new to the travel hacking and MS world. I just have my little 1% that I earn but I'm ready to move up a little.
Slowly but surely, I am right there with you. This year 1%, next year 2%!
 

murray

New Member
Thank you for your useful information and Common Sense. This is timely advice for anyone starting out in life and taking on an endeavor.
 

Toddb

New Member
Hello all! I'm new the the site and very grateful for the time and expertise you all give. Hope I can one day help out a newbie. I have so far just opened 4 AMEX cards for bonus points. I do see that here is some way to add to those points with MS. I hope to learn about this in level 2 as I want to plan a trip to Hawaii for 9.
 

Bonnieji

New Member
Great concept! A "point of beginning"!
Had you considered a "lexicon of abbreviations" for the codespeak
so to speak? :)
If anyone took this on it would be greatly appreciated by my senior brain. I've followed several other blogs for over two years and learned a lot. But on this one I'm coming across many abbreviations I'm not familiar with and feel like I'm missing out. Tx
 

Keeton

Level 2 Member
Hey there just wanted to say great post! I've been doing MS for roughly a year now and recently found a few new techniques that i like. They involve crowdfunding platforms so there is a slight risk but it's panned out every time so far...knock on wood. Any who I look forward to earning the level 2 access on here and helping teach people what I know while learning valuable lessons from you guys.
 

Annie Green

Level 2 Member
The going slow part is soooooo important, I knew it but had to hear it again! There's so much info out there its hard NOT to get excited,,,,,thanks for reminding us! This forum is exactly what I need as a newbie!
Agreed. I first wanted to just crazy spend on some gift cards but then had to dial back the crazy and make sure I could "test" things out before going into a larger float pool. Not much larger but large enough to justify trips to the store for purchase and risk of being shut down.
 

Sephy

Level 2 Member
So recently I have been MS'ing through Simon's Mall 5% cash back cards and just heard a rumor that they are dropping CVS as a participant.
 
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