欢迎来到令人困惑,有益的信用卡点。
The world of credit card points has always felt a bit like trigonometry to me — you know that mastering it is possible, but is it really worth all the work?
进入克里斯·哈钦斯(Chris Hutchins),一个免费踢出一流的人 - 经常这样做。实际上,他对黑客生活非常认真,以至于他开始所有的黑客这是一个榜首的播客,他分享了他的秘密。
我很幸运能与哈钦斯聊天,并问他在信用卡点和旅行上感觉到一百万个问题。谢谢,克里斯。
标准信用卡可能会给您每花费1美元的1分。这意味着,如果您花40美元购买汽油,您将获得40个信用卡积分。
但是,如果您开车去上班并购买大量汽油,注册像这样的卡可能是有意义的花旗总理卡,这为您提供每花费花费3分的3点。在泵上使用该卡会导致120点而不是40点。
“我认为每个人都不需要去买钱,他们花钱 - 看看您花费的东西很多他说。“对于大多数人来说,最佳解决方案是一张您花费大量钱和一张卡片的一张卡片,您花钱不在这些奖金类别中。”
The credit cards Hutchins recommends for people who are interested in accumulating points are listed below. (It's worth noting that this is just general advice — everyone is different.)
-Citi Premier为您提供每花费在餐馆,超市,加油站,航空旅行和酒店的每花费3点。
-Chase Sapphire首选在全球和在线杂货店购物以及所有其他旅行的2点上,为您提供3点餐饮和餐馆。
-首都一家合资企业gives you 2 miles for every dollar spent on anything.
-bilt给您每花费的每一美元1分租(yep, that's right), plus 2 points on travel and 3 points on dining.
If you fly United Airlines a lot, and like the perk of a free checked bag, a MileagePlus card might be a good choice, but in general, credit cards from banks and companies like Chase, Capital One, Amex, and Citi tend to be better than airline cards.
为什么?因为他们经常为您提供每花费和银行卡的更多积分奖励您,所以您可以将积分转移到所需的任何航空公司。你没有have如果美国航班更好,请预订联合航班。
“当您拥有AMEX卡时,您可以在Amex门户网站预订[飞行],或者他们与19家航空公司合作,您可以将[积分]转移到这19家航空公司中的任何一个,并在其网站上预订。” Hutchins解释说。
如果您使用航空公司信用卡积累积分,那么您将没有这种灵活性。
快速积分积分的一种方法是选择带有不错的注册奖金的卡。例如,您可能只需注册卡即可获得免费航班(通常您必须在最初几个月内花费一定数量的钱才能获得积分奖金)。
这就是Hutchins积累如此多信用卡的部分原因。他说:“我从来不是每年开15至20张卡的人,但是我是每当我看到带有100,000或80,000点奖金的卡的人,我会注册。”
Accumulating credit card points the way Hutchins does is not something most people have time for or an interest in. But, if you're curious (like I was), he says these "are probably the three cards I use the most, in fact of the 14, these are the cards I use for almost all of my spending."
-Amex Gold,每美元在超市和餐馆花费4点
-大通蓝宝石保护区,每美元在旅行和用餐上花费3点
-首都一家合资企业X, which is the catch-all card that gives 2 points per dollar spent on everything and anything
Hutchins使用他的其他11张卡来进行罕见的一次性购买。例如,他说使用万豪酒店信用卡,每花费每花费最多6点,在参加Marriott Bonvoy的酒店。
例如,Hutchins使用的Chase Sapphire Reserve的年费为550美元。同时,他建议在#3中推荐的大多数“入门卡”都有更多的年费:$ 0至$ 95。
When Hutchins first got into the credit card game, this was his main method — and it worked like a charm.
“Every time we went to dinner, I offered to pick up the tab, and people would give me cash," he said. "Every time I had the opportunity to put something on my card, I would."
Then, he started organizing group trips and events just so he could put the charges on his credit card. "Once all my friends started getting married or getting engaged, I'd plan all the bachelor parties. ... People would send me the money, and I'd book all the stuff. I'd end up putting 15 flights on a credit card to New Orleans," he said.
When Hutchins started traveling for work, he would use his personal credit card to book, then request a reimbursement. It was a little more work than just using the company card, but he was able to rack up a lot of points.
现在,许多信用卡都有自己的购物门户网站 - 他们将为您提供仅通过门户购买商品的积分。
因此,如果您通过United MileagePlus购物门户购买一对$ 180的Apple Airpods,则您可能会赚取180点(每1美元的1分)。通过Chase Ultimate Rewards Freedom门户购买相同的AirPods,您可能会赚取360点(每1美元的2点)。
The trick is masteringCashbackMonitor, a site that lets you search shopping portals to compare earning rates (for free).
哈钦斯说:“每当我要购买任何具有巨额价值的东西,例如100美元,我都会去Cashbackmonitor,它会告诉您哪些购物门户网站为您提供最高分。”
听起来可能并不多,但哈钦斯说有时您可能能够每美元赚取10点。在这种情况下,您将仅通过购物门户购买Airpods赚取1,800点。
Most airlines are part of one of the world's three major flight alliances: SkyTeam, Oneworld, and Star Alliance. So, if you're curious what airline you should transfer your points to, all you need to do is search one airline in each of the three alliances. For example, a search in Delta will also pull up AirFrance flights.
Hutchins says he will do a quick search on one airline under each of the three alliances. "Maybe it adds 30 minutes to the process and could save you half on the trip or more," he said.
航空公司为每次飞行提供了一定数量的奖励席位,但诀窍是在仍然有很多交易时找到并确保这些奖励座位。
他说:“没有一个艰苦而快速的规则,但我会说要尽可能多地计划旅行或尽可能短的选择。”正如您可能猜到的那样,灵活性是关键。“The more flexibility you have either on when you go, where you go, or how far in advance you plan, the more confident I am that you’ll find an incredible deal. ... If you're flexible, it will almost always work out."
通常,他坚持“一分钱一英里的规则”,因此,对于1,000美元的航班,您需要找到一个IS100,000或以下的奖励座位,或者没有意义。
在周末租车或抵消酒店的成本可能会很诱人,但Hutchins说汽车,升级和酒店的赎回点几乎永远不值得。
“Using miles and points that are not part of a rental car program to rent a car is almost never a good deal," he explained, noting that "On the whole, airline points are worth a lot more than hotel points."
他说,如果您有灵活的积分(通过银行卡而不是航空公司卡获得的积分),“最佳价值来自预订国际航班和凯悦酒店”。
如果您每月不能全额还清信用卡,您可能会从打开信用卡,收取费用和转让积分中获得的好处。
“None of this applies to anyone who isn’t able to pay their cards off in full every month — so, no amount of interest is worth the perks," Hutchins said.
从长远来看,不要以为您可以一时兴起打开和关闭信用卡。如果您打开卡,则需要将其及格。
Hutchins解释说:“您的信用记录的持续时间很有价值 - 如果您有一张具有较长信用记录的卡,请将其降级到一张无需费用的卡,并尝试每年进行一次购买以保持其开放。”
最新的旅行技巧,旁路路的经验以及您的收件箱传递的灵感。