#milemadness Meet the Player – Chasing the Points

In our third interview in the series I am proud to introduce Chasing The Points.  He is the only player that actually lost money in Milemadness last week, I have confirmed with him that he does indeed understand the purpose of this tournament, and it seems he does….

Actually, despite the bump in the road I believe that Chasing the Points could be the most innovative player in the program, and if you watch his ‘game’ you can learn a heck of a lot about both how to beat the system, and how it will beat you back.  He is proven to be the perfect example that if you want to be an early adopter you will face setbacks.  Last week in order to game the system, when others were buying giftcards with a 5x card Chasing The Points was negotiating with coding experts to provide a set of software that would automatically seek out every cash back rebate on NewEgg, a notable site because in addition to its rebate system, it is one of the select sites that offers a 2x from Membership Rewards for holders of the Amex Business Gold.  Additionally, it is one of those sites that stacks in AmexSync offers.

Chasing the Points negotiated a deal for $135 that gave him the code to strip this data indefinitely, it could require a change should NewEgg re-code their site, but for now his investment that resulted in a net loss last week has created a formidable asset.

What I like most about this is that from a ‘gaming the tournament’ perspective it wasn’t the best play, but for him it was a great move with a lot of upside, and from a sharing a different perspective on how to identify opportunities, it is one of the most powerful methods shown.

How closely does the activity shown here and in milemadness in general depict your Manufactured Spend habits, what are you doing differently, if anything and why?

• My habits have actually slowed for milemadness because of my day job. I fully expected to have a better showing.

Your Tournament Strategy seems to be focused on earning British Airways Avios why is that?

• BA Avios because I want to spend $30,000 for the Travel Together pass

When the tournament is over, along with the fame and fortune, you will be left with a lot of points of this type, what is your plan for them, how do you squeeze that extra bit of value from them when you spend or redeem?

• I plan to fly on BA and visit Europe

What is the biggest disadvantage you have in this tournament?

• Not being able to leverage the gift card churn that I typically do.

What is the biggest advantage?

• Thinking outside of the box that others have not thought of when I revealed my milemadness secret

Who do think is the most innovative player and why?

• Both Miles Professor and Milenomics for their play of efficiency and T-rate

Who has the most boring strategy?

• I wouldn’t say boring, but tried and true. Milesabound is really hauling it in!

What have you learned from the tournament, is there anything you wouldn’t do again, and have you seen anything new emerge that has changed your attitude?

• I would never say to any of these competitors that I could out “spend” them, ever.

What advice would you give to a complete beginner who wants to get started?

• Follow your favorite blogger, stay in touch with them, and good things will happen. Networking is key.