Frequent Miler presentation at 2012 LA FTU.

1. Or
more!

2. Big Scores
Credit
card
churning Mega
shopping
deals
Category
bonuses

3. First, a moment of silence…

4. The Original 5X Everywhere
“One Card to Rule them All”

5. Then came Bluebird
5X everywhere + Bill Pay!

6. Another moment of silence…

7. 5X
Everywhere
Lives On

8. Vanilla Visa & Merchant Gift cards

9. Vanilla Visa + Target

10. Vanilla Visa + Vanilla Reload

11. Hilton Amex + Vanilla Reload
6X

12. Forward 5X

13. 5X Options Compared
Option Cost to load Fee % ATM? Bill Pay?
$500
Vanilla Visa $4.95 .99 No No
Vanilla Visa + $6.45 1.29 Yes No
Target
Vanilla Visa + $8.90 1.78 Yes Yes
Vanilla Reload
Hilton Amex + $3.95 .79 Yes Yes
Vanilla Reload
Forward 5X $3.95 .79 Yes No

14. How big is
this?

15. Living 1X
Consider these example annual expenses:
• $20K credit card spend
• $25K checks and bank transfers
• $5K ATM withdrawals
Points per year earned from typical credit card:
$20K spend X 1 = 20,000 points

16. Category Bonuses
6X
5X groceries,
telecom, gas, drug
cable, stores
internet,
office supply
2X 5X
Travel, restaurants,
(restaurants) bookstores,
movies
Average ~3X
Points per year earned:
$20K spend X 3 = 60,000 points

17. 5X : Vanilla Visa & merchant gift cards
Average ~5X
Annual cost depends on gift cards used: ~$120
Points per year earned:
$20K spend X 5 = 100,000 points
(or 88,000 for free)

18. 5X: Vanilla Visa + Target
Average 5X across all credit and cash expenses
Annual cost: ~$325
Points per year earned:
$25K spend X 5 = 125,000 points
(or 92,500 for free)

19. 5X: Forward
Average 5X across all credit and cash expenses
Annual cost: ~$200
Points per year earned:
$25K spend X 5 = 125,000 points*
(or 105,000 for free)
* $1K limit may be a deal breaker

20. 5X: Vanilla Visa + Vanilla Reload
Average 5X across all expenses
Annual cost: $890
Points per year earned:
$50K spend X 5 = 250,000 points
(or 161,000 for free)

21. 6X: Hilton Amex + Vanilla Reload
Average 6X across all expenses
Annual cost: $395
Points per year earned:
$50K spend X 6 = 300,000 points
(but, points are not as valuable)

22. Beyond 5X

23. Beyond 5X Everywhere
• Pay all credit charges with best credit card
• $20K X 3 = 60K points
• Pay all bills (including credit card bills) & ATM with Bluebird
• $50K X 5 = 250K points
Annual cost: $890
Points per year earned:
310,000
(or 221,000 for free)

24. Life Beyond 5X
Once a week:
• [Go to Office Depot, buy two $500 Vanilla Visa cards]
• Go to drug store, buy two Vanilla Reload cards
• Go home, load Vanilla Reload cards to Bluebird
• Use Bluebird to pay bills & transfer money to checking
As needed:
• Use best credit card for purchases
• Use Bluebird for ATM

25. Comparing Techniques
Technique Points Cost Cost per Pain
Earned Point
1X 20K $0 $0 None
Category Bonuses ~3X 60K $0 $0 Low
Vanilla Visa + Gift Cards 100K ~$120 $0.0012 High
Forward B&N 125K ~$200 $0.0016 Medium
Vanilla Visa + Target 125K ~$320 $0.0026 High
Vanilla Visa + Vanilla 250K $890 $0.0036 High
Reload
Hilton + Vanilla Reload 300K $395 $0.0013 Medium
Beyond 5X 310K $890 $0.0029 High

26. A moving target
CVS
Office
Depot
Wal-
greens

27. Use Caution

28. Questions?

29. Reload Cards

30. Paying Federal Taxes

31. Federal Taxes, Two Good Options
For example, assume $20K in taxes…
• Pay with mile earning debit card (e.g. SunTrust Delta
card):
• Earn 1 mile per dollar
• Cost = $3.49
• Miles earned = 20,000
• Pay with gift cards:
• Buy 40 $500 Visa cards at 5X
• Call Official Payments and use cards as debit cards
• Cost = $356
• Miles earned = 100,000 (or 64,400 free)