Update!<\/strong> – I’m going to include links to my beginners guide posts in this section going forward<\/em>
\n– An intro to points and miles<\/a>
\n– Different points – which are better<\/a>
\n– App-O-Roma – What is it?<\/a>
\n– Manufactured Spending – What is it?
\n<\/a>– Credit Score – knowing what it is and how it can help you<\/a>
\n– Reconsideration Lines – When you want to find out now
\n<\/a>
\n<\/a>Getting Organized:
\n– How to keep track of all your credit cards
\n–\u00a0<\/a>Award Wallet – keeping track of all your points<\/a><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

So you heard your brother-in-law talk about all the points he was getting from his credit card, and how he was going to redeem them for free gift cards at Macy\u2019s, a free stay at the Ritz Carlton, or maybe even a free business class flight to Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just use my points!\u201d He says.<\/p>\n

Now you want in on this \u201cfree\u201d stuff too. Luckily, I\u2019m here to open your eyes to this lucrative and exciting hobby of collecting miles & points. If traveling isn\u2019t your thing (what\u2019s wrong with you? ), then how about some extra pocket cash?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my guide to getting started in the points game.<\/p>\n

1. You\u2019re hesitant, don\u2019t be.<\/strong>
\n<\/a>
\nIf you\u2019re a responsible human being, & have your finances under control, why not get a reward from it? Looking back, I wish I had been more aggressive from day one. As a result, I missed out on a few really good opportunities. Don\u2019t make the same mistake I did.<\/p>\n

2. Credit card sign up bonus\u2019.<\/strong>
\n
\n<\/a>Are still by far the most lucrative way to get a huge reward. Define your travel & finance goals early, then apply for the right cards that will get you where you need to go, (almost) for free.<\/p>\n

3. Check your credit.<\/strong>
\n<\/a>
\nAs I said earlier, you\u2019re financially smart & responsible right? Now prove it. Check your FICO credit score to see how banks and lenders will look at you. See my post on credit to learn more about credit scores, how to check your credit for free, and how the score may effect you. If your score is above 720, it\u2019s time to take advantage of that good credit you have!<\/p>\n

4. Start a spreadsheet.<\/strong>
\n<\/a>
\nInclude the cards you applied for, what date you applied, when you checked your credit score and what it was. Make a 2nd tab & add all the ID\u2019s you\u2019re going to create for all the airline\/hotel\/bank websites you\u2019re going to sign up for. Trust me, you won\u2019t be able to remember them all. I don\u2019t recommend using the same password for different sites either. It\u2019ll be helpful to have a cheat sheet you can reference quickly.<\/p>\n

5. Have a spouse?<\/strong>
\n<\/a>
\nGet them involved too, that\u2019s double the trips, double the cash back, and double the amount of rewards. If they\u2019re weary and think this is a scam, it may take a free trip to get them on board. I bet once you have them booked on a 1st class flight, they\u2019ll tell you \u201cwell \u2026I guess I could sign up for 1 or 2 more cards\u201d. Caution, you\u2019ll probably have to manage their accounts too!<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s it in a nutshell! Start planning and maybe I\u2019ll see you sitting next to me in the front of the plane one day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Update! – I’m going to include links to my beginners guide posts in this section going forward – An intro to points and miles – Different points – which are better – App-O-Roma – What is it? – Manufactured Spending – What is it? – Credit Score – knowing what …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1455,"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231\/revisions\/1455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/point2steve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}