We had great year in earning points and we managed to exhaust heaps as well. We didn’t have any serious side hustles this year as we both started new jobs and focused our time on that.
Credit card signup bonuses:
Southwest – 50,000
AA – 70,000
United – 40,000
We used these points to travel back to California several times since we relocated to Austin. We also took a few vacations including one to Asia and New Zealand that burned 500,000 points to fly around in business class. In fact, we have something similar set for 2019, but you won’t get to hear about that until the summer.
Marriott – 380,000
I was loving the Marriott points until they increased the price of their travel packages. We got just about every card that gave Marriott points, so I think it was about time to call it quits.
Hyatt – 120,000
IHG – 100,000
One benefit I appreciate from their card is 4th night free on bookings with points.
Amex – 80,000
Chase – 100,000
Citi – 50,000
Barclays – $750
Amex, Chase, and Citi are great for their flexibility to use as money or transferrable points.
Total – 1,010,000 + $750 travel ($10,850 value)
The $10,850 is a conservative number especially since we have used points to avoid expensive flights such as using 9,000 miles for a $300 flight and 58,000 for a $2,500 one.
Additional income:
Cashback ($250)
Cashback portals ($375)
Bank bonuses ($200)
Staples credit ($470)
Mortgage bonus ($1000)
Agent bonus ($10,000)
Total – $12,295
Nothing new to see here, just carrying on with the stuff we have done for 3 years now.
Conclusion
Having an extra $12,000 is insane for not doing much. Meanwhile the ten grand toward travel went toward more like $30,000 because we did a lot of business class, something we certainly wouldn’t pay for. I tell my wife I like to be the richest person when shopping somewhere but the poorest when traveling. What I mean is I like to be frugal when purchasing things with my money so I can save more, but be extravagant with points to get expensive experiences. Rules for credit cards continue to get more restrictive, so it will be interesting to see how long the game lasts, but I’ll keep playing until the end.