Inching towards cheap travel

Background

Prior to 2011, I found it a hassle to keep up with frequent flyer miles. It required I remember to put in a number every time I booked a flight and I wasn’t particularly loyal to any one airline so I couldn’t keep the miles from expiring.

In 2011, I decided I was going to try and be somewhat loyal to American Airlines. Since I live in the DFW area (one of their hubs), I always seemed to find reasonable airfares and non-stop flights to my destinations.

So, I joined the AAdvantage program. Soon after, my mailbox was bombarded with AA credit card offers every month or so. I usually read and then shred them. I wasn’t interested in a credit card with an annual fee (even though the fee was waived for the first year). Those offers kept increasing from 25,000 or 30,000 mile sign-up bonuses all the way up to 50,000 miles plus some other perks.

Changing my mind

I don’t remember how I came across it, but this blog post helped me change my thinking. After doing more Internet reading, I learned that many people sign up for airline cards, get the bonus and then cancel the card before fee is due. And credit card sign-up bonuses are the fastest way to get points and miles for cheap travel without actually flying.

So here I am today

I know my limits and am NOT willing to attempt to spend $10,000 in three or four months just to get a bunch of sign-up bonuses at one time. I also don’t want to mess up my credit by opening too many cards at one time. Did you know you can get a free credit score (not your real FICO score, but fairly close) at Credit Karma and Credit Sesame?

So far this year, I have opened three new credit cards for a total of 150,000 miles or points.

My 50,000 AA miles posted in June 2012.

• January 2012 Citi AAdvantage Visa—50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in four months, $150 statement credit and two Admirals Club lounge passes
• March 2012 Chase Sapphire Preferred—50,000 miles or hotel points after spending $3,000 in three months
• May 2012 Chase Southwest Airlines Visa—50,000 Rapid Reward points after first purchase

That is all I plan to do this year. More on my future plans to come.