Frequent Miler and Million Mile Secrets presentation at 2012 LA FTU.

1. Introduction to Category
Bonuses

2. What are Category Bonuses?
- Extra Points or Cash Back for
Spending in Certain Categories

3. AMEX Premier Rewards Gold
- 3X Points Airfare
- 2X Points Gas/ Groceries

4. Sapphire Preferred
- 2X on Travel/Dining on Chase Sapphire Preferred

5. Worth It or Not?
- Displaces spending on sign-up bonuses for
other credit cards

6. $50,000
*2010 US Census

7. Earning Miles & Points – Credit Cards
- Spend everything you earn, you’ll get only
50,000 miles/points
- Pay-off is with the SIGN-UP BONUS,
NOT everyday spending!

8. Worth It or Not?
- Incremental Earning
- 3x on airfare. Actually 2 EXTRA
points (or 1 EXTRA point if you have
Sapphire)
- 2x on groceries. Actually 1 EXTRA
point
- 2x on gas. Actually 1 EXTRA point

9. Worth It or Not?
- $750 a month on gas and groceries
= 750 extra points per month or 9,000
points per year
$ 175 Annual Fee - Worth it or
not?

10. Worth It or Not?
- Annual Fees
- $175 for Premier Rewards Gold
- $95 for Chase Sapphire Preferred
- $95 for Chase Ink Bold

11. Worth It or Not?
- Complex - Time Consuming

12. Worth It or Not?
- Keep your partner happy!

13. Worth it!
No fee for many of the best 5X and 6X bonuses!
• Chase Ink Classic, Ink Cash: 5X
• US Bank Cash+ 5X (choose 2)
• Chase Freedom, rotating 5X (limited to $6K / year)
• Citi Forward 5X
• American Express Hilton HHonors: 6X

14. Worth it!
Best alternative is sign-up bonus spend.
Let’s look at some sign-up offers…

15. Ink Bold / Ink Plus
• Current offer: 50K points after $5K spend.
• If spend within 1X categories, total 55K points
• Earnings: 11X
• Prior 50K offer: 25K points free + 25K points
after $10K spend
• If spend within 1X categories, total 35K additional points
• Earnings after free bonus: 3.5X

16. Sapphire Preferred
• 40K points after $3K spend
• If spend within 1X categories, total 43K points
• 14.33X

17. BA 100K offer
• 50K Free, 50K more after $20K spend
• BA card earns 1.25 points per dollar
• Total 75K additional points
• Earnings: 3.75X

18. More…
• Citi AA: 50K after $2500 spend
• Total 5250 points
• Earnings: 21X
• Amex SPG: 10K free + 15K after $5K spend
• Total 20K additional points
• Earnings: 4X
• CitiBusiness ThankYou: 50K after $6K spend
• Total: 56K points
• Earnings: 9.33K

19. Worth it!
• Sign-up bonus spend ranges from 3.5X to 21X
• Better than category bonuses, but not by orders of
magnitude
• Category bonuses available year around
• Ideal:
• Meet sign up bonus spend within each card’s bonus
categories
• E.g. Meet Hilton HHonors min spend at grocery stores, drug
stores, and gas stations
• Otherwise, meet spend where no good 5X categories exist

20. Worth it!
Use tools to make card selection easier
(more on this later)

21. Best Category Bonuses
6X
5X groceries,
telecom, gas, drug
cable, stores
internet,
office
supply
5X
restaurants,
bookstores,
2X movies
Travel,
Dining
5X
Select two
5X categories
Rotating
categories

22. Cash+

23. Category Bonuses – Simple Solution
•2X Travel/Dining
•$95 Annual Fee •5X Rotating Categories
•No Forex Fee •Gas/Drugstores/Amazon
•ZERO Annual Fee
And/Or
Chase Ink Bold/Plus/Classic/Cash
• 5X Office Supply Stores, Cable, Internet
• 2X Hotels & Gas
• $95 Annual Fee/ No Annual Fee

24. Simple Solution - Payoff
• $200 monthly telecom = 5 X $200 = 1,000 Pts (Ink)
• $300 travel & dining = 2 X $300 = 600 Pts (Sapphire
Preferred)
• $500 monthly Chase Freedom = 5X $500 = 2,500 Pts
= 4,100 Points Monthly or 49,200 Annually

25. What to do with 49,200 points?
• ~2 United domestic coach tickets or $821 Southwest
• $615 in travel through Ultimate Rewards portal
• 2 Category 6 Hyatt nights

26. Another Simple Solution
6X
groceries,
gas, drug
stores,
telecom
5X
restaurants,
bookstores,
movies

27. Simple Solution 2 Payout
Hilton Amex: 5400 monthly, 65K annually
• $200 monthly telecom = 6 X $200 = 1,200
• $500 monthly groceries= 6 X $500 = 3000
• $150 monthly gas = 6 X $150 = 900
• $50 monthly drug stores = 6 X $50 = 300
Citi Forward ThankYou: 1250 monthly, 15K annually
• $200 dining = 5 X $200 = 1000
• $50 books & movies = 5 X $50 = 250

28. What to do with 65K Hilton & 15K
ThankYou points?
• Two nights category 5 Hilton
AND
• $200 airfare

29. Advanced Solution
6X
5X groceries,
telecom, gas, drug
cable, stores
internet,
office supply
5X
restaurants,
bookstores,
2X movies
Travel
5X
Select two
5X categories
Rotating
categories

30. Advanced Solution Payout
• 60K Hilton HHonors
• 50K Ultimate Rewards
• 15K ThankYou
• $800 cash back

31. What to do with all that?
A trip for two:
• Two round trip award flights on United
Plus
• $200 revenue flight or car rental via ThankYou points
Plus
• Two nights Hilton
Plus
• Cash for dining, excursions, extra hotel nights, etc.

32. Tools to find and use Category
Bonuses…

33. Frequent Miler page

34. Best Category Bonuses

35. Wallaby

36. Wallaby iPhone app

37. Tools: Glyph
- I-Phone App
- Easy to Add Cards
- More locations

38. Tools: Glyph Wallet
- Tracks Your Rewards

39. Tools: Glyph – Dashboard
- Shows You How Much You Lost

40. Tools: Glyph – Guru
- Not Accurate all the Time
- Doesn’t Explain How “%” is Calculated
- Crashes

41. TAKE IT FURTHER

42. Gift Cards at Grocery Stores / Gas Stations
Use Gas Station Gift Cards at Affiliated Grocery Store
- E.g Kroger/Kwik Trip

43. Gift Cards at Grocery Stores / Gas Stations
- Buy Gift Cards from Grocery Stores/ Gas Station With Category
Bonuses
Amazon Gift Cards Restaurant Gift Cards

44. Reload cards

45. Questions?

46. Backup slide: Point values
Program Card(s) Point Value at Value at
Value ~2X ~5X
(cents per
point)
Ultimate Ink, 1 (2) 2 (4) 5 (10)
Rewards Freedom,
Sapphire
US Bank Cash+ 1.875 3.125 6.875
ThankYou Forward 1 (1.33) N/A 5 (6.65)
Hilton Amex .5 1.5 (at 3X) 3 (at 6X)
HHonors
Membership Premier 1.5 3 4.5 (at 3X)
Rewards Rewards
Gold