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United States24480 Posts
Somewhat related to my earlier blog, Miles Earned with Credit Cards...
On my Chase Amazon Visa credit card:
Points Available 25,263
+ Show Spoiler +
I get 3 points for every dollar spent on Amazon
I get 2 points for gas/groceries/etc
I get 1 point for anything else
Yes! Finally I have hit 25k. Why is 25k points good? I mean if I wanted to I could get ten $25 gift cards to Amazon, or for gas or other things like that. But once you hit 25k you are entitled to:
Round Trip Airline Ticket within the U.S. (Max Value $400)
With some basic math you can see this is a much better deal if your tickets cost nearly the maximum. One drawback: $14.95 redemption fee will apply. Redeem your points for one round trip ticket within the contiguous 48 United States. Oh well no biggie.
If I wanted to I could try to save up for the bigger rewards such as + Show Spoiler + FR1008 Round Trip Airline Ticket to HI, AK or Canada (Call 1-800-603-2265 to redeem.)(Max Value $600) 45,000 In Stock
FR1009 Round Trip Airline Ticket to Mexico or Caribbean (Call 1-800-603-2265 to redeem.)(Max Value $600) 45,000 In Stock
FR1010 Round Trip Airline Ticket to Europe (Call 1-800-603-2265 to redeem.)(Max Value $800) 50,000 In Stock
FR1011 Round Trip to Asia, South America or Central America(Call 1-800-603-2265 to redeem.)(Max Val $1,000) 75,000 In Stock
RTAD1600 Round Trip to any Destination, (Max Value $1,600) (Call 1-800-603-2265 to redeem) 90,000 In Stock
but I don't spend enough (especially since I don't have a high enough credit limit right now to charge my tuition, and there's a credit card fee for my tuition anyway) and the points might expire so I should just bite the bullet. There's only one problem: I have absolutely no plans/need to fly anywhere right now.
On the one hand this seems like a great excuse to fly somewhere (you can probably get pretty much anywhere in the continental US for 400 dollars if you shop around) but on the other hand you still have to pay to stay wherever you fly so you need to plan this out. It's probably a good idea for me to sit on it for a little while and see if some pressing need to fly for ~400 dollars comes up, but I guess it would also be a good idea to discuss possible suggestions for places to fly from NY.
TLDR: Accumulating points on a Chase Amazon Visa has worked out pretty well for me and has some cool rewards but it's lame when you don't need the airline ticket right now :p
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Save it so you can fly to the sc2 training camp.
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impressive! I'm sure if you save it, it'll come in handy some day :D
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How long did it take u to accumulate 25k points?
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On June 16 2010 09:09 4iner wrote:
Save it so you can fly to the sc2 training camp.
Awesome idea
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United States24480 Posts
Oh I was just reading through the 'rules and regulations' for the points program: Expiration: Amazon.com Points earned in this Program will not expire.
YES they have changed it apparently so never mind I can just save this until I need it... although suggestions couldn't hurt I guess :3
For the record I went to the North west when I was like 8.... flew into Seattle, drove around Washington State and did some Ferries into British Colombia... saw Mt. Saint Helens and some other nice places. Been along most of the East Coast... that's about it :-/
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Go get a Blizzcon ticket and fly to Anaheim?
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United States24480 Posts
On June 16 2010 09:23 Phelix wrote:
Go get a Blizzcon ticket and fly to Anaheim?
I actually thought of that but it's not gonna be during summer vacation so I can't go :p
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On June 16 2010 09:25 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On June 16 2010 09:23 Phelix wrote:
Go get a Blizzcon ticket and fly to Anaheim? I actually thought of that but it's not gonna be during summer vacation so I can't go :p
Don't worry, I know someone in new york who can use it for you.
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middle america seems pretty boring. why dont you visit SoCal? there seems to be a bunch of tl-ers there. and u could drive around to the grand canyon, vegas, etc.
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United States24480 Posts
On June 16 2010 10:05 caelym wrote:
middle america seems pretty boring. why dont you visit SoCal? there seems to be a bunch of tl-ers there. and u could drive around to the grand canyon, vegas, etc.
Yeah I've definitely thought of the idea of going to the Southwest and/or Socal... to be honest I don't know much about the difference between what is in socal and nocal lol
Pretty ambitious to do by myself I think. At least I'm finally old enough to rent a car without any hassle :3
edit: my main availability is in the summer... I'm guessing that's the wrong time to do a trip like this?
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come to NEW YORKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! New York City!!! The city that stays awake all night longgggggg!
Scratch that, GO TO LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!!!! Even bigger city that stays awake 24/7!!! GIRLS, PARTIES, DRINKING, ETC!
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United States24480 Posts
On June 16 2010 10:21 QuickStriker wrote:
come to NEW YORKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! New York City!!! The city that stays awake all night longgggggg!
Wouldn't a 10 dollar LIRR ticket be a much more efficient way to accomplish this?
On June 16 2010 10:21 QuickStriker wrote:
come to NEW YORKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! New York City!!! The city that stays awake all night longgggggg!
Scratch that, GO TO LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!!!! Even bigger city that stays awake 24/7!!! GIRLS, PARTIES, DRINKING, ETC!
I don't think that's the trip for me but... a suggestion I suppose D:
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On June 16 2010 10:23 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On June 16 2010 10:21 QuickStriker wrote:
come to NEW YORKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! New York City!!! The city that stays awake all night longgggggg! Wouldn't a 10 dollar LIRR ticket be a much more efficient way to accomplish this?
You know, I just realized you're around this area, lol..... I mean ya, you could fly in style but then again, if you're all the way here and can reach NYC easy, then go to the next city that's never dies, VEGASSSSS
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Unrelated to where you're flying, but I'd consider getting a better credit card if you're only using the card to collect points on purchases. The best cash back cards out there can easily net you back 1.25%+ on average with all your purchases. The advantage of cash back is that you get cash back, so you have a lot more flexibility in how you use it. A lot of the points/miles cards have black out days, expiring miles, marked up point redeeming shops, etc, so at best, your return is only like 1 or 2 cents to the dollar. The only time I can see myself using a points/miles card is if I'm traveling a lot and I can collect miles in addition to my day to day purchases.
FYI, the best cash back cards out there are probably the Amex Blue which is 5% on supermarkets, gas, and drug stores and 1.25% on everything else. The Discover More card also has 5% in quarterly rotating categories like travel, clothing, gas, etc. If you want to go the Visa/MC route, the Chase Freedom card is a lot like the Discover More with 5% back in rotating categories.
If you want a sample calculation, lets say you spent $12,500 on gas to reach your 25,000 points. With your 25,000 points, you can get a $400 ticket, at most (probably subject to black out dates, advance booking, additional fees, etc). The rate of return on that is 400/12,500 or 3.2%. If you had used any of the above mentioned card, you would have had 5% cash back or $625. Not only that, but you can use your rewards immediately when the cash comes in. The only advantage to the card you have now is if you literally buy everything you have through Amazon.
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United States24480 Posts
On June 16 2010 13:24 gchan wrote:Unrelated to where you're flying, but I'd consider getting a better credit card if you're only using the card to collect points on purchases. The best cash back cards out there can easily net you back 1.25%+ on average with all your purchases. The advantage of cash back is that you get cash back, so you have a lot more flexibility in how you use it. A lot of the points/miles cards have black out days, expiring miles, marked up point redeeming shops, etc, so at best, your return is only like 1 or 2 cents to the dollar. The only time I can see myself using a points/miles card is if I'm traveling a lot and I can collect miles in addition to my day to day purchases. FYI, the best cash back cards out there are probably the Amex Blue which is 5% on supermarkets, gas, and drug stores and 1.25% on everything else. The Discover More card also has 5% in quarterly rotating categories like travel, clothing, gas, etc. If you want to go the Visa/MC route, the Chase Freedom card is a lot like the Discover More with 5% back in rotating categories. If you want a sample calculation, lets say you spent $12,500 on gas to reach your 25,000 points. With your 25,000 points, you can get a $400 ticket, at most (probably subject to black out dates, advance booking, additional fees, etc). The rate of return on that is 400/12,500 or 3.2%. If you had used any of the above mentioned card, you would have had 5% cash back or $625. Not only that, but you can use your rewards immediately when the cash comes in. The only advantage to the card you have now is if you literally buy everything you have through Amazon.
Thanks for the advice... I haven't done much research into this and sorta just got the Amazon card a couple years ago (I do most of my shopping on Amazon so it's still a decent deal haha).
Is there an annual fee for the AMEX blue? I don't really care for Discover since most places I go don't seem to accept it unlike mastercard/visa. The Chase Freedom card might be a possibility.
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I use chase freedom and it's actually really awesome.
Back in the day (when it was awesomer), I had 3% cb for purchases in any of my top 5 categories and 1% for everything else. Also, if you save up for $200 cb, they give you an extra 50$.
Now they changed it to 5% in random categories and 1% for everything else, which is pretty lame. But their ultimate rewards program is pretty good for online purchases, as you can earn up to 20% cb at certain stores, on top of your regular cb.
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United States24480 Posts
On June 16 2010 19:37 Cambium wrote:
I use chase freedom and it's actually really awesome.
Back in the day (when it was awesomer), I had 3% cb for purchases in any of my top 5 categories and 1% for everything else. Also, if you save up for $200 cb, they give you an extra 50$.
Now they changed it to 5% in random categories and 1% for everything else, which is pretty lame. But their ultimate rewards program is pretty good for online purchases, as you can earn up to 20% cb at certain stores, on top of your regular cb.
When you say random categories do you mean, one month you can spend your points on one type of thing, but if you wait a month you can spend them on a different benefit instead?
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Yeah, for the Discover More and and Chase Freedom, the categories rotate quarterly. So that means in quarter one, you might be able to get 5% on travel and clothes, while in quarter 2, it might be restaurants and gas. Check out the links from my previous post--that website breaks it down pretty well. You have to keep an eye out on what it is every quarter to maximize your benefits, which is kind of annoying, but 5% is a really good rate of return. The Discover one works especially well because its eligible for a lot of online retailers (they have consumer electronics one quarter and fashion another quarter, I think).
As for the Amex Blue, it doesn't have an annual fee. I'm considering getting one myself, but I already have an Amex and like 4 other credit cards.
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EPT
