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It seems like a lot of people are giving up on the miles game because it's so much harder to redeem miles these days.
The rules change all the time, and you can't use them when you want to use them, so the whole mile game becomes annoying, and I think there are a lot of people who are like, "I don't know.
Today's post is for those of you who have been overwhelmed by the mile game and have given up on it altogether.
To summarize in one line, abandonment is math. The Miles Game Is Still a Shootout If You Lower Your Expectations Because "It's All About the Signup Bonus" I guess you could say this.
In today's post, I've summarized why I think so.
Table of Contents
1. reasons to give up the mile game
There are many different reasons why people give up on the miles game, but if I had to categorize them roughly, I'd say they include the following factors
1) Too hard!
I think this is probably the biggest reason.
They say earning miles is addition-subtraction, but redeeming miles is calculus.
- UA is a one-way ticket, ANA is not one-way and
- AA has no cancellation fees, while Air Canada has a cancellation fee and
- Virgin miles allow for 3-way ticketing, Korean Air does not, and so on.
When you're busy making a living in the U.S., you don't have time to study all these regulations.
2) I can't write when I want to write!
I think another reason is that if studying is hard and you can taste the fruits of your labor right away, you'll stay up all night to study miles, but that's not the case.
Once you've earned 95,000 Amex own-point MR points, you can transfer them to ANA for a round-trip US-South Korea business card.
This is how I learned that when you try to find a seat, the outbound date is available, but the inbound date is not, and the inbound date is not available, so you end up not being able to use it, and the miles are just rotting in your ANA account.
It's the theory, but it doesn't translate into practice, and that's why it's so frustrating.
3) End UR to Korean Air conversion
These factors are not unique to Korean-Americans living in the U.S.; they are common to the mile game as a whole.
In that regard, I'd have to say that the end of the Chase UR points to Korean Air conversion in the summer of 2018 was a direct tipping point that caused a lot of Magicians to abandon the miles game.
Everyone was familiar with the rules of the Korean Air miles program, and in that sense, Korean Air miles were easy to access.
Now that this easiest option is gone, I don't know what to do with the miles I've accumulated, and it's not fun to not redeem them, so I'm guessing that most of you have gotten stuck at the Mile Wailing Wall I mentioned earlier and have abandoned the miles game altogether.
4) Raised expectations
I'd add to this that the proliferation of blogs like MileMoa has raised expectations for mileage redemptions to an unreasonable level.
I used to be able to get away with a one-way ticket in economy, but now that I've seen the magicians use their miles, I feel like I have to fly ANA or JAL first class to really use my miles for something.
The owner of Mamo also told me that UR is like a stone dome, so don't boil spicy soup with a dome, but scoop out sashimi properly, and if it's not sashimi, I feel like I'm not doing something right, and I feel like I'm being scolded.
It's like, I'm studying the same math, but it seems like everybody else is doing the Olympiad and I'm only studying sets, so I'm thinking, "Maybe I should stop doing math at this point.
2. the key is the signup bonus
You've heard it all before, and for good reason.
However, The Miles Game Is All About the Signup BonusAnd since this sign-up bonus is money in the end, the moment you give up on the miles game, you're giving up almost $2,000 that could be used for travel expenses in a year.
Here's why I think this is the case
- Usually, when a card is recommended in the Milemoa Caption or message board, the sign-up bonus is worth at least $500, except in special cases.
- How often you issue cards is up to you, but even if you keep it to a minimum and only make 2 cards a year, you're looking at $$1,000 in signup bonuses.
- Typically, if a couple plays the miles game together, the sign-up bonus for a minimum of 4 cards in a year is about $2,000.
- If you're diligent, i.e., a couple creates one copy each quarter for a year, you'll be able to use the The sign-up bonus alone is roughly $$4,000and you'll need to try it.
Of course, there's the opportunity cost of not being able to use your other cards because you're spending, which is roughly $3-4k per card, and there's the opportunity cost of not being able to use your other cards because you're spending, and so on and so forth, but in the big picture, the above isn't wrong.
Now, here's the question.
Where else in the world can you get $2,000 (or $4,000 if you work hard) every year without much effort that you can use for family travel or living expenses?
I don't know of any other hobby that pays this well.
If you have a business or side hustle that qualifies you for a business card, the sign-up bonus is even bigger.
| Ink Unlimited | Ink cache |
|---|---|
| Earn 75,000 UR points worth $750 in cash after spending $6,000 in 3 months. | Earn UR 35,000 points worth $350 in cash after spending $3,000 in 3 months. Earn UR 40,000 points worth $400 in cash when you spend an additional $3,000 ($6,000 total) within the next 6 months. For a total of UR 75,000 points. |
| Earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend | Earn 5 points per $1 spent on office supply store, internet, cable, and phone items (up to $2.5k per year) |
| No annual fee | No annual fee |
| * You can apply through the partner site. | * You can apply through the partner site. |
So what should you do?
What matters is a shift in perspective.
If you're learning piano as a hobby, you don't want to give up and think, "Why can't I play piano like Sungjin Cho?
On the board Timé's ticketing reviewand you're thinking, "Why can't I do this?" You have to remember that you're one of the most gifted of the Mile Gifted. Not everyone can do what you can do.
Here are some specific suggestions
Action 1: Focus on your hotel program
Ticketing to South Korea, especially during peak season for a family of four, has been and still is difficult.
In this case, rather than giving up on the miles game, you might want to consider transferring your points to hotel points and redeeming them at Korean hotels.
Airline tickets are relatively easy to use because there are only a limited number of miles released by the airline and the dates that everyone wants to go are pretty much overlapping, but hotels are relatively easy to use because there are a lot of hotels and there's a lot of room for flexibility.
For example, Chase URs are a great way to extract point value because they convert 1:1 to Hyatt, which has a relatively high point value.
If you're spending Christmas in New York City, you'll pay about $900 a night, excluding taxes, to stay at the Park Hyatt in New York City on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
But if you have UR points or Hyatt points, you can spend Christmas Eve/Christmas Day in Manhattan for 35,000 points per night.
This means that 35,000 UR points, which would be $350 if redeemed directly for cash, can be redeemed for nearly 3x the value.
Hilton cards are also on promotion right now.
With the recent opening of Hilton hotels in Pangyo/Bundang, it's not a great opportunity, but it's not impossible to redeem points. Of course, it's better to redeem points for a vacation in the US or the Caribbean, including Hawaii.
| Hilton Honors American Express Card |
|---|
| * No annual fee and no foreign spending fees, making it a great card to keep on hand. |
| * 70,000 points + one free night reward as a welcome bonus offer after spending $2,000 in 6 months. Offer ends 4/29/2025. |
| * Best cards for your first Amex card |
| * Available at affiliate sites linked on this page |
Countermeasure 2: Optimization isn't always best.
Of course, Chase UR points can also be transferred to Virgin Airlines, and you can maximize the value of your miles by transferring them to Virgin for an ANA business ticket.
A one-way ticket on ANA Business with Virgin requires 47,500 miles for East to Tokyo, which is UR 47,500, or the same as UR 37,000 points these days when there is a 30% conversion bonus.
The UR points equivalent of one night at the Park Hyatt in New York would cost about $3,000 for an East Coast-Tokyo business ticket, so you could say that the value of the points tripled.
But here's the thing.
In the case of ANA business, it's very difficult to get a ticket because it's almost dried up nowadays, and even if there is a seat, it's only one seat, so it's a long shot.
Picking a star in the sky is also a matter of time and place, and I can't always wait for the right day to take over.
After all, a mile is a mile when you spend it, and if you hoard it, it will be worth X later, so if you think it's enough, you should spend it right away.for you.
As I've emphasized before, the miles are a sign-up bonus from the start, so you should think of them as something you can earn in the future and get into the habit of using them.
Just like money is only as good as the person who spends it, miles are only as good as the person who spends them.
Option 3: Spend some cash. Doldom spicy hot pot is fine.
That's why I'm comfortable with redeeming miles and points for cash, or even creating a cash-earning card from scratch.
I used to be an evangelist, saying, "Don't use cash, use miles, use business tickets.
This is true for anyone who's diligent enough to ticket, but if the alternative is giving up the mile game, cashing in your miles is an acceptable option.
UR is the easiest of the transformable points to use because it's guaranteed to be worth at least a cent.
Alternatively, a card that earns cash from the start can be a good alternative.
Of course, Again, the key here is the signup bonus.
There's no point in having a Cosco affiliate card that doesn't offer any benefits.
Shortcuts: Do you still use your Costco rewards card?
You'll need to get something like the Premium Rewards card from Bank of America.
This card will give you 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in 3 months, which can be redeemed for $600 in cash. The annual fee is $95 for the first year, but you can get up to $100 back a year on airline expenses, so it's not a bad deal. If a couple each made it, they'd get $1,200 in sign-up bonuses alone.
| Bank of America: Premium Rewards Card | |
|---|---|
| Signup bonuses | 60,000 points = $600 cash when you spend $4,000 within 90 days |
| Annual fee | 95 per year for the first year |
| Key Features | You can get up to $100 in airline incidental statement credits per calendar year. So the annual fee can be steep. |
| If you have retirement accounts, etc. at Merrill Lynch or BOA, you can earn up to 2.6251 TP3T cash back per dollar at the bank's own rating. | |
| For more info | English description page |
Let's wrap up today's post.
As the difficulty of the Mile Game has increased, we've seen a lot of people drop out of the Mile Game.
I don't think it's wrong to think that you have to collect them, the barrier to entry is high, you can't use them when you want to use them, and you have to collect miles.
However, the heart of the miles game is the sign-up bonus, and I think you'll feel better knowing that you can always take a small family trip with that sign-up bonus, even if it's not a huge one.
Featured image by @don9988 / Crowdpic
English 
Korean
196 Comments. Leave new
I have the honor of being the first to comment...
Thanks for the great post. It was like you were talking to me, and my ears perked up.
I know I shouldn't give up, but life gets busy...
Thank you for your kind words. ^^)
As I've gotten a couple years older, I've found it harder to focus on the mile game, but I still think it's a good idea to grab the big deals.
It's great to see MileMoA himself approve of the spicy soup... I think the mile game has become really difficult. But it's better than being saved X.
Many people refuse to give away the stone dome for free ;; How they will use it afterwards is a later issue, but once they give it to you, you have to take it, right? 🙂 🙂 I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.
It's a great way to get the most out of your travels, and it's a great way to get the most out of your time. It's easy to use and really useful....I try to go to a lot of places I can't go for money, but while doing so, I end up ticketing the airline side one by one, and eventually I learn the airline side little by little.
You're right. It can be time-consuming, but the more I write, the more I get the hang of it.
I'm traveling with miles for the first time with a Marriott Boundless hotel stay.
If you love traveling like my wife and I do, this is a great deal on hotel stays as well as airfare.
When will registration be open? I have a lot of questions, so I'm just waiting for the day it opens.
Thanks for the great article, I'm learning a lot with eye ting.
Like some of the people above, I'm wondering when it will be time to sign up.
I'd be happy to put your email address on the waiting list if you'd like, just let me know.
Add your email to the list
Thank you
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I'm late to the party, but I'd like to be on the waiting list too!
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I'd be happy to put your email address on the waiting list if you'd like, just let me know.
I've been logging in almost every day lately and have been studying my miles.
I recently traveled and got a great deal on a hotel with points.
There were many times when I wanted to ask a question in a hurry, and I was disappointed that I couldn't.
I'd be grateful if you could put me on the waiting list too ^^.
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Hello, I'm getting a lot of information from Milemoa. I noticed that you can't post on the message board unless you're a member...could you please put me on the waiting list?
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I'm an early Milemoa member(?) who accessed it only with a computer, not a smartphone, which was also slow in the early days of immigration, but after a few years, I couldn't log in^^ Recently, I've been working hard on Milemoa again for 2-3 years, so I often come in to get information and hear about other members' lives. I'd love to be added to the waiting list! Thank you!
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hello. I've been using Milemoa for the past 3 years and have been to some great hotels and even flown business class for the first time. Thank you so much. I've been waiting for the next signup window as I've missed it every time and was wondering if you could put me on the waiting list?
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I've been eyeing it for years and miss the signup time every time... I'm desperate for the waiting list...!
Hi I would also like a waiting list please.I will share a lot of good information.
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I've gotten so many great tips and airline, hotel, etc. miles from MileMoa that I'm thinking of signing up and sharing my experience. Waiting list please!
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Where's the waiting list? I'm in the queue to sign up too.
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I've gained a lot of information from Milemoa over the past year and would love to share my experience!
Can I get on the waiting list too?!
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Hi! I've gotten a lot of great information from you over the years, so thank you as always.
We'd really appreciate it if you could add it to the waiting list!
Oh by any chance is it possible for me to be on the waiting list??I'm waiting so much
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Hi, I too have been learning a lot of good information over the past two years.
Do you mind if I ask to be added to the waiting list?
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Hi, I too am waiting for the day to sign up, please add me to the waiting list.
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Hi Mamo, I would love to be added to the waiting list too!
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Hello, Mamo.
Please add me to the waiting list! (_ _)
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Thanks for the article, but I was wondering... If I open 4 cards a year, many of them have an annual fee of $99. How do I keep up with this? I'm afraid my credit will be bad if I keep opening and canceling....
Is there a rule that says it's okay to cancel a card after a certain period of time?
I recommend 24 months, but it's different for everyone, and instead of thinking, "Oh, $99 is expensive..." approach it like, "Oh, I got $500 in sign-ups, so it's only fair that I pay $99.
I would like to register Please put me on the waiting list
https://www.milemoa.com/bbs/board/10685085
The fundamental word that Milemoa talks about is "churning," which means that the key is to keep opening and closing the card and collecting sign-ups consistently. It depends on the person, but most people keep the card for a year or so before closing it because of the annual fee. In my experience, opening and closing a card doesn't cause a huge drop in credit score - maybe 10 points or so when you first open the card, but as soon as you start spending and paying it off, your score bounces back, so I don't think it has a big impact overall. Rather, my score drops significantly when I spend more than 20% of the card's total limit. Probably, you can care about the score drop caused by increasing the proportion of spending due to the decrease in the total limit when closing, but if you increase the limit of the credit card that you keep for a long time because there is no annual fee, you can reduce the credit score drop caused by closing the card with an annual fee.
1. I'm sure it's anecdotal, but I've seen very few cases where increasing the number of cards or canceling a card caused a dramatic drop in score. The biggest factor in lowering your credit score is late payments.
2. I would recommend keeping it as long as possible given your relationship with the card company (hotel cards usually come with annual stays, so the annual fee can be steep), but I think this is a matter of personal preference.
Don't give up on math, too ㅠㅠ Giving up is enough to make kimchi cabbage... (Let's hear it for the science department...)
I've been changing my strategy a bit lately. I've been using my reward points like cash, depending on the situation. I think of them as miles/points that I'm going to use anyway, and I compare the cost of cash to how many points I actually need. (Of course, it's a waste).
It's hard to get the best value with a family of four, so I've given up optimizing unless I'm going solo, and I'm just trying to make the most of the points I have.
Correct. Save becomes X ;;
Thanks for the great article. URLs never give up too!
Since arriving in the U.S., I've been working hard (;;) on Milemoa and have gotten a lot of great information and tips.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Milmoa and several other members for their contributions.
One question I have is... do you have a timeline for when you'll be signing up?
I missed the signup window last time.
Non-members are not restricted from reading posts, but they are not restricted from receiving information,
Sometimes I want to share a little tip or story in a post or comment, but I'm not a member yet.
I'd be happy to put your email address on the waiting list if you'd like, just let me know.
Mamo, please put me in too ðŸ™'
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Yes. We'd love to put you on the waiting list!
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I'd like to do the same.
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Please!!! I'm reading this with great interest!
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I'd like a waiting list too, please.
I'd love to share some of the things I've learned from Mamo!
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I'd love to be put on the waiting list, too! I'm getting great information from MileMoa every day, and it would be nice to be able to share a little something every now and then!
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I'd love a waiting list too, I come in every day to see if there's a new post on Mamo and I'm learning a lot!
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I'd love to have a waitlist too!!! I've been on a lot of them lately and just finished a round trip to Dan Gong on Virgin by reading your posts Thank you!
Congratulations on your Virgin Danang ticket. It's not easy to do these days, so it's great that you've managed to make the round trip.
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If you could do a waiting list for me, please, I'm always watching and learning!
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I'd love a waiting list too!
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If you can, I'd appreciate it if you could weight me in as well Thank you
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You're right. I'm also working hard on the Sway Companion run! Now that my child is over 2 years old, my head is exploding because I have to upgrade to another level, away from the mileage game optimized for 2 adults, but I can't give up! ㅎㅎ I hope you all have a lot of cards that help your family in this difficult time.
As my family grew, my strategy for earning and redeeming miles naturally changed, so here's to hoping for the best.
It seems like you've written a really necessary post in these difficult times(?)... I read it all the way through ^^.
Whether it's stonefish or stonefish, you have to throw a fishing rod to catch whatever you catch, so it seems like you have to throw a fishing rod to boil stonefish spicy soup first~ Even if it's not as good as it used to be, there are still many alternatives and I think Milegame is still alive and well ^^ We're all fighting!!!
Yes, I think it's never too late to accept the free stonefish and figure out what to do with it.
It's worth not being a globalist to move Hyatt to UR, right?
Being a Globalist comes with breakfast, free parking, and late checkout, but I think the best hotels can be enjoyed without being a Globalist.
Oh, and thanks for the great information as always.
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Thanks for the great article.
As you said, only the eyes are raised, so if you start searching with the criteria of "95k is round-trip beads!", MR -> lifemile , 47k for Ikon ride seems like a ridiculous ratio ㅠㅠ
On the other hand, if I buy Ikon for 47k, I can make Amex gold for the event, spend some money anyway, and get a round-trip ticket to Korea, saving almost $2000.
I guess it depends on how you look at it, but I think the challenge is always how to minimize the value per mile.
I think the answer is to collect as much as possible, optimize some of it, and use some of it as needed.
I moved my UR to Hyatt so I could focus on hotels instead of just looking for plane tickets to Korea. I'm already looking forward to my winter vacation trip. Thanks for the great information you always post. I'm hoping to join the program, can you put me on the waiting list?
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Mamo, please put me on the waiting list.
It was helpful to read about your experiences preparing for your trip.
I'd love to share mine, too, though it's a small thing.
If you join me, I'll try to contribute as much as I can to the community.
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I've learned and practiced a lot from Milemoa since I moved to the US.
And I always think the people at Milmoa are amazing and I tell people about it.
I've always missed the signup window, can you put me on the waiting list?
Thank you.
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I'd like to subscribe by email, but I'm not getting it. But I'm at work every day... I get updates faster than email. play
Oh. I can get on the waitlist like this. I'd love to, too. Boom!
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Mamo, thanks for sharing your great tips. I'm still a newbie? Similar podcasts for...
I didn't even think about First/Business... I wanted to be able to get an economy ticket to Korea once, so I started accumulating credits... (Nowadays, even economy is over $1200 at the lowest price.. ㅠㅠ) I'm trying to get a green card with a non-immigrant visa, so I decided to postpone overseas travel indefinitely. Even if I can't do it when I open the door recently, I think I'll have to stay stuck for 1-2 years, but if I wait until my permanent residency is over, the annual fee for the Sapphire Card is also a burden... It seems difficult to use travel products that use 1.5x UR points? So, after thinking about it, I came to a conclusion... I'm thinking about using other sign-up bonuses or travel credits for domestic US flights and redeeming URs for hotel points. I was just switching from airline miles to hotel cards at the same time, so I think I'll keep the other cards for airline miles and transfer the URs to Hyatt.
I've never been to a luxury hotel yet, and I've only stayed in a small room at the Sheraton when attending a conference lol The cost of hotels in the US is more expensive than I thought. Even though it's cheap, it costs 100 or 150 dollars a day, so I'd like to be able to stay anywhere for free. Everyone said it was good to transfer to Hyatt, but in my head, Hyatt is a very high-end hotel, so I thought it had nothing to do with me... When I found the site and looked around, category 1 hotels with less point deduction start at 3500 per night, and roughly speaking, it costs only 5-6 thousand points? If you want to go to the city center, it costs 200 dollars...!
I think I can collect about 150-160k UR before downgrading, so if I only travel to category 1 properties, it will cover almost a month! Even a category 4 can last more than 10 nights... I concluded that it's better than any economy flight or UR mall travel product in terms of value.
I want to visit Niagara Falls and the nearby Canadian side before the visa stamp expires, and I happen to have Hyatt Category 3. 9,000 points, $170 for a room... Even if it's not necessarily a completely expensive and luxurious hotel, it's so nice to have less money out of my pocket-or even free.
It would be nice to redeem by maximizing the value of miles based on revenue, but if you replace some of the travel expenses with miles, I think it is the same as receiving and spending cash rewards. One day, I want to become a mile-rich person and travel abroad on free flights, stay in free hotels, and even invite my parents to visit the United States.
You're doing great.
You're right. Even lower tier hotels are going for $150-200 these days, so it seems like a great option to redeem points.
I can totally relate to this post. It's so hard to work around family schedules and even harder to find tickets... With a family of 4, I'd give up on that and just save up miles for hotels. When my kids were in middle school, I booked two rooms at a hotel and got them separate rooms. My mom was the happiest because the kids weren't in front of her and she could relax a little bit. It's really hard to have a life when you're trying to be a superstar.
With big kids, 2 hotel rooms is a must 🙂 .
I already have 2 cards with Amex (bonvoy brilliant, personal gold) and have had them for over 3 months. Now I applied today to open the Amex Hilton Business (will apply for personal hilton later) and they need some information ;;; my credit is about 799. What should I do, they want me to call a number... I'm nervous.
There was a field for Referring employee id... I didn't fill it in, passed it (I don't know what that means), and filled in everything else... What more information do they need... I thought it was simple because they said they'd open my business co-brand... What do they ask? I'm not a business owner.
I don't think you should worry too much, they usually ask what business you're thinking of, and verify your personal information in that regard. Good luck.
I got it over the phone... I asked for more details about my personal information? Is it true that I applied for a business card? I asked to attach ssn card, photo ID for confirmation, so I uploaded it. I received an email saying that the update was good and I'm waiting. I don't ask about the business part, hehe Thank you.
Referring employee id (or number) What should I use here? The difference with Chase is that you can't have 0 employees, you can have 1 employee.
I'm also studying Milemoa every day, and I'd like to be able to participate in the membership weighting. I've been watching Milemoa for about 3 years, and I have a lot of difficulty replying to good posts. I'm also limited in asking questions... I want to improve a lot and be like the good guys. Please.
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Hopefully you'll get approved, good luck.
Thanks to Milemoa, I just got a one-way ticket from UR to Korea next year on Virgin with 30% bonus. Thank you.
I've been following Milemoa for 3 months now, and I'm looking forward to signing up.
Mamo, please put me on the waiting list to join as well.
Oh, it's not easy to get a Virgin ticket these days, so I'm glad to hear you were successful, congratulations.
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Please add me to the waiting list as well, I'm watching closely. Thank you.
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I always come away with good information.
Every time I see a mileage in the text that's becoming Saved X, I wonder if I should quit MileGame, but every once in a while, I'm reassured by a post like this that shows me the way to live.
Thank you.
I would be grateful if you could put me on the waitlist as well.
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I've been playing my own mile game for more than 10 years, and from recently, I don't insist on airline business, but just use miles right away if only cheap economy comes out, and I think I can use round-trip economy or cheap section economy several times instead of taking one business flight, so I can use miles well at the right time.
Business isn't what it used to be either, so I agree that when a direct economy seat becomes available, it's a good enough option.
I've been so focused on airplanes that I haven't paid much attention to the hotel side of things, but I'll have to give hotel points a try!
Please put me on the waiting list too!
Great information, I'm enjoying looking at it so much. Thanks a lot.
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I made 5 cards and made 2 round trips thanks to you. I'm waiting to sign up too.
Mamo, I'd like to join the waiting list too, please.
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I think business and first class are actually seats that companies give out to people who have to fly a lot for work so that they can get a little bit of a break, and first class is never more comfortable than economy. I've talked to people who pay their own way to fly first or business every time for business, and they'll tell you that if they had a choice, they'd rather fly economy than first class a lot of the time, and they'll tell you that after a couple of times, they lose interest in first class or suites, and they'll pay their own way to fly economy for the occasional trip.
Hotels are also not really about sleeping in a suite or a regular room or bed, so unless the view outside the window is famous, there's not much point in staying there.
So while a first/business class ticket or a suite in a landmark location is certainly worth experiencing once in a while, just because a hotel suite costs $3,000 a night in revenue and first class costs $10,000 doesn't necessarily mean that the points are 7-8 times better than they could have been otherwise. Rather, the airline or hotel chain's points per class conversion table is what they really think the value is, not the corporate card full-price payment bubble or the illusion of luxury that most people have.
Rather than blowing your rewards by spending unnecessarily high class, in some cases it may be more efficient to spend a few nights in a standard room or even cash out altogether, especially nowadays when you can get tickets at prices you've never seen before from places like AirPremia and HomeAir.
Also, if you're churning and unknowingly adding unnecessary spending, that seems like a loss. If you're not a big spender relative to your income, and your travel isn't subsidized or less than once a year, it often seems like the best thing to do is to earn rent points with Bilt or use a 2%+ cash back card with high gas/ev and grocery rewards instead of forcing yourself to spend money chasing signup bonuses. At the end of the day, the key is for the card to recoup the fees it collects from merchants and balance payers one way or another.
Assuming you don't usually insist on suites or higher class tickets, the most reward-efficient situation seems to be when you're going to a specific show or game and all the hotels around you are marking up their prices. Of course, they'll all think alike and either compete to book beyond ANA business, or they'll shut down point redemptions altogether.
I can relate. I don't have a lot of income, but I'm trying to get rewards? bonuses? within my spending range somehow... lol If I do it wrong, it's going to be a sales pitch...! Premium cards seem to be dangerous ㄷㄷ
Assuming Bilt's business structure is maintained in the long run, this will be a must-have filial card to collect metallurgical Dorrance points. I want to get the Grocery 4X with Amex Gold soon, but I'm a little worried because it's recommended to fill up the Chase 5/24 when you're a newbie. I think optimizing rewards based on actual spending with airline miles churning will be perfect for me. Coupon books are for sticklers...lol Chase Instacart Gopher Door Dash is already making my head explode!!!
I think it makes sense to follow the big offers, but I think the most important thing is to personalize the solution for each individual, and it sounds like you're doing a great job.
Yes, it's nice to fly business/first class if there's room and you have enough miles, but I'm increasingly skeptical that it's necessary to fly business/first class with 2-3 connections.
As an early member for over a decade, I can relate to the changes in the mileage world.
Giving up. How does it help prevent menopausal dementia?
Yesterday, the town of cinque terre popped up on my laptop screen. I texted my husband and said.
I took a moment to reminisce about the dreamy trips I was able to take thanks to Wear.
As the years go by and the kids grow up and move away, the miles are still valuable.
Domestic flights, lap tops, frequent hotel stays...
There are plenty of places to spend your miles 🙂 🙂 .
I'm so grateful to have Mamo to rely on and ask questions, whether it's a decade ago or now.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for your response. We hope you have a great holiday season.
I feel comforted by your post, as if you read my mind. I started playing the miles game in earnest last year after dabbling for the past few years - and like you said, focusing on hotels has allowed me to pay my dues in a small way 🙂 This summer I also got my first DanGong ticket through VentureX miles, so I'd love to be on your waitlist!
When in doubt, starting with hotels seems to be the easiest approach.
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I took your advice and started with the Hilton Amex and am now considering a second card... as you said, it gets harder and harder for a newbie like me, but I'll keep building up my skills with hotel spending! Thanks for putting me on your waitlist too 🙂 I'd appreciate it!
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Thanks for the great article
We are a family of 4 with kids and they can also get the Chase Ink Business card, so we've been earning UR points by referring each other and earning bonuses (90k bonus + 40k bonus for referrals). Usually, you can collect 130,000 points per card, so if you have 4 people, it's 520,000 points, and if you make another card, you will earn another 520,000 points because you have two ink cards. Spending is a bit cheap, but it's not a big problem because we take turns spending it together, and above all, it's very good because there is no annual fee. I collected a lot of UR and plan to use it when we all visit Korea next year to book airplanes and hotels.
That's amazing!
Giving up is for chopping cabbage...! This phrase from a very long time ago (?) came to mind immediately lol
I found MileMoa and now I'm using UR, but Korean Air disappeared and it's getting harder to use miles, so I haven't used them properly except for hotel points, but I shouldn't give up and keep studying.
I'm saving up my Hilton points for a trip to the Maldives someday, and I'm hoping they don't go to waste.
I've found that if you save up, you'll use the miles at some point. I hope you have a great trip.
I live in L.A. and I've been getting a lot of help for a long time, but I've missed a lot of things by not reading closely enough, but I'm reading more closely these days and learning a lot.
Am I a member? If not, please add me.
Thank you.
Signups are irregular (roughly once a year), and we'll add you to the waiting list.
I would appreciate it if you could put me on the waiting list so I can join.
I've been watching for years, always waiting to see if I could sign up.
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Hi Mamo
I'm so excited to be able to open up a credit card and travel for free while perusing your articles on capitalization + wear and tear. I've always found that lodging and flights are the biggest part of my expenses, but wear and tear has made traveling a lot more lighthearted! I'd love to share what I've learned with others, too. Can I be added to your signup notification list? Thank you!
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I sent 74000 miles to virgin airlines and it won't let me try to book a flight to Amman.
Isn't it supposed to be like this?
1. not available during Korean Air's peak season
2. even in the off-peak season, there's a chance that when you release miles in Danang on a popular day, it's already booked up, because the availability on Danang is 30 days earlier than the availability on Virgin with partners.
3. Even if you see a seat on Virgin, it could be a ghost ticket, so double check with Air France as well.
I made a big mistake yesterday, is it possible to recover from it?
UR unlimited card miles need to be transferred all to sapphire but I did it backwards....ㅠㅠ Can I transfer them all to sapphire again?
Yes. You can move it back. I know you're free to move it.
Thanks for the great information, I always find it very helpful.
I also recently inherited a Bonvoy Free 5 Nights card and have been enjoying it!
And if you don't mind, can I ask you to add a member waiting list?
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I'm not in a hurry, but I don't like to think about it, so I didn't want to transfer my miles back and forth to get into business first class, so I looked into sites that do ticketing for me for a fee, but it wasn't easy either.
But especially in Japan, if you go to a hotel that is not a very top hotel and you get a free room, life is beautiful.
As the speaker said, you can't be good at everything, so I mainly focus on IHG, Hilton and Korean Air. We need to expand the Bonvoy side, but managing IHG and Hilton is too much for my level.
I think if you're doing it at a level where you're like, "That's enough," you're doing a good enough job.
I'm honored lol
I think many of us are grateful to Timé for materializing the possibilities of miles.
I always enjoy your posts. May I be added to the waiting list as well?
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Hello, I've been waiting for a notification to sign up for over a year now. I don't know if it's okay to comment like this, but I saw other people's comments and got up the courage to comment.
Both posts and comments are very helpful to me in the US.
Can I be notified when I sign up, please?
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hello. I always have Milemoa bookmarked and watching it all the time.
Please add me to the waiting list to join. Thank you.
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Hi, I'm a single person who has been lurking for 5 years and misses the signup window every time. Is it possible to add me to the signup waiting list? Thank you.
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Does the X in front of "added" mean it didn't get added? Just asking to make sure. If not, please add it. Thank you.
Which X are you referring to?
The email address is well added.
Can I ask to be added to the waiting list too?
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Hi, I've been in the US for 2 years and I've been getting a lot of help from Milemoa Eyeing. I was wondering if you could add me to the waiting list to sign up? Thank you.
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Thanks for the great article.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how me and P2 are gratefully saving every penny we can.
I would be happy and grateful for any ticketing/accommodation that would allow me to enjoy my travels.
Looking back over the past few years, I am once again grateful for Milemoa.
We wish you all the best for the rest of the year!
Thank you for your comment. Hope you have a great end to the year.
I've been away from Milegame for a while due to a combination of annoyance and frustration, but I'm back in thanks to this thread. I just applied for the chase biz unlimited from your link and it's 7-10 days out, wish myself luck. Thanks as always
I think everyone realizes that the difficulty level has definitely gone up from what it used to be, although it would be nice if the game was easier. Thank you for your comments.
Milemoa, when I log in to the board and try to comment, it says "IP is blocked. Please contact the site administrator." <- I tried to send you a message, but the message/post/comment all disappeared, so I'm contacting you~.
We've resolved the IP blocking and hopefully you'll be fine now.
hello!
For me, Milemoa is the best community
I've been tinkering and learning for 2 years, and now I'm going to start doing some real magic(?).
If you could add it to the signup weighting, it would help the community in a small way in the future 🙂 Thank you!
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Looks like the Chase - United card offer is up now! Explorer 65K, which is 5K short of the all-time high, but only 3 months 3K$ to spend!
As you said, I think the change of perception is the most important thing. The best magic is of course a plane ticket to Korea, but I'll just use it for traveling nearby/seat upgrades, etc. Since the sign-up bonus doesn't go anywhere anyway.lol
I'm a frequent business traveler within the US, so I figured the miles would be advantageous, so I just applied!!!
Well done.
I've been visiting for years and have gotten a lot of good information that has really helped me in my life...
I'd really appreciate it if you could put me on a waiting list so I can sign up as well.
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I've gotten several signup bonuses with Milemoa's help, but now that I'm trying to redeem them, I'm overwhelmed by the complexity. I will try to use it step by step as you explained. Thank you.
Good luck.
hello. I've been coming to Milemoa for 5 years and I love the information. But I always miss the time to sign up. Is it possible to add me to the waiting list? Thank you.
Reply
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Hello I've been collecting miles for a year now and I wonder why I didn't know about it sooner... I'm still disappointed and thank you so much for the good information! If you can add a membership weight, I would love to help out on the board in the future! Thank you!
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Thanks for the great information. I've been busy trying to make money to adjust to the immigrant life, so I've been popping in occasionally to study, and I'm always grateful to you for your generosity. I hope I can continue to study and be of help. If you can add me to your waiting list, please do. Have a warm and happy holiday season~.
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Hi Mamo,
Thanks for the great information as always.
Please add me to the waiting list.
The world of miles seems to be something infinite, but it's difficult, so I'm still learning little by little ^^;;
We wish you a warm and happy holiday season, and we wish you all the best in the new year.
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I learn a lot today too. Please add me to your waiting list! Thanks as always.
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Hi, I'm new here. I'm also reading this from Korea...!
It's virtually useless in Korea, but I created a card in Korea and collected miles based on what I read on MileMoa.
Currently, I have about 200,000 Asana and 150,000 of them are bonus miles that I earned by creating and spending a certain amount of money (lol), but I think the basic concept is the same. Of course, I couldn't use Asana.
Korean Air also saved up hard, and this time I flew to and from New Zealand in mileage-redeemable business class.
This is all thanks to Milemoa. Thank you.
We hope you have a very happy new year and that you are well wherever you are!
Sounds like you're doing great, thanks for the comment.
You're a young entrepreneur traveling the world.
I've racked up quite a few miles in my crazy work life.
Watching the value of my hard-earned miles dwindle away
"Oh, this is some inflation..." you think. ".
That's how I first discovered Milemoa.
Information is information, but the writing is so entertaining. The occasional witty sentence keeps me reading for hours.
I'm looking forward to learning more than just mileage information, I'm looking forward to learning some wisdom. Thank you.
I leave a comment to thank you for sharing your knowledge.
By the way, if I sign up, will there be a regular meeting? (Laughs) I'm curious about the waitlist too. If there's room, I'd love to be the youngest member. 🙂 Thank you.
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Thanks for the great post. I'm about to graduate from undergrad this year and am looking to start studying finance/travel in earnest. I've always noticed you share great information, but I didn't realize you had a watchlist until I saw your comment. I'd love to add it!
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Last time I went in to apply for the BA premium reward card, the link was different, and the wrong card was listed on the Parker site. (https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/co-branded/milemoa-cash-back/?aid=1041610&tid=d89f36f831214e4389cbbd59c5eff781&propertyid=48139)
For the Bank of America card, the affiliate link is gone - I think you'll have to apply for it on GongHome.
We apologize for the inconvenience.