We promised we'll go more into depth concerning the "how to" so we decided the best place to start is at the heart of the matter.
The quickest and easiest way to earn a huge mountain of miles is to play, what we like to call, the credit card game. Now, before we start a quick disclaimer from our side - signing up for credit cards is a serious financial decision and shouldn't be taken lightly. Of course, if you follow our steps carefully and approach all this with a healthy common sense you will be delighted by the benefits.
We have applied, churned (closed and re-applied) for credit cards for years and our credit scores haven't ever dropped drastically....
Let's start the with the "Goldmine" of CreditCards out there, Citibank AAdvantage Credit Cards (there is a Mastercard, Visa and American Express). In addition there are business credit cards.
Select ONE of the Individual credit cards (annual fee free for 1st year) - apply - receive - activate and then STOP. If you looked closely at the Terms & Conditions. You have to spend $750 before you will be getting 25000 or 30000 miles (depending on the current promotion). Now you could spend this on a flight, nice shoes, groceries, etc...but there's a better way. The US mint sells presidential coins that they want you to get into circulation....well, you buy $750 worth of coins from the mint (shipping is free - it will say 4.95 for shipping but that will disappear when you go to the checkout). Pay for the $750 worth of coins with your new shiny Citibank Credit card. Wait 4-5 weeks for the coins to arrive by UPS and then deposit the coins in your checking account. Once deposited - pay your credit card with that money. You lost $0 didn't spend a dime but will receive 25 or 30K American Airlines miles....too good to be true...nope, we and others have been doing it for months! :) This can be done with any Airline Credit Card of course (most of them have a spending requirement of $250 to 750 until you receive miles) so order lots of coins! :)
The Citibank AAdvantage cards can be churned, for now, over and over again. There's only a 90day wait period between cancellation and re-application for each card. It might be longer for business cards. So what are you waiting for - sign up for cards, buy US mint coins and sit on a mountain of American Airline Miles in no time....
For United miles - Chase bank has a variety of credit cards. Most need you to spend $250 before receiving 25000 or 30K miles. The same is true for Continental Airlines and Chase Credit Cards...
Sometimes an annual fee credit card might be worth it - consider the Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines credit cards. Sign up for the Bank of America & Bank of Hawaii (two different credit cards) and get 20000 Hawaiian miles each. 40000 miles is enough for a free ticket to Hawaii... or convert those 40000 miles to 160000 Hilton points and get free Hotel nights.... The fee for the Bank of America and Bank of Hawaii cards are $50. So by spending $100 you get a free flight to Hawaii...not bad....
There are many, many more. Gary at FreeFrequentFliermiles.com has the best list that's out there. Simply click on Credit Cards on the left and find the Airline you want to start collecting miles in. First however, check the Registration page because sometimes you get bonus miles for signing up with a Airline loyalty program. :)
We will get back on the Credit Card topic soon (specifically about how to get Business Credit Cards without actually owning a business) - there's so much to discover! :)
