Churning Life Podcast

Celebrating the first full calendar year of this podcast. Best Buy had a few more good laptop sales this month and there was an "unlimited" deal with the Xbox controllers. I also talk about some annual stats for the year and how I feel about the state of the podcast/Slack.Head over to churninglife.com for more information about the Patreon and private Slack group.

Starting with a layover in Vegas, we spent a week traveling around Marrakesh, Morocco and ended in Paris. This was my first time on Air France & KLM (booked with Virgin Atlantic miles), which were both decent business class products. I also had a few mishaps on the way including multiple traffic violations from the Moroccan police, almost denied boarding for losing my paper boarding pass, and forgetting to select seats, but it still turned out to be a great trip.For a full library of the podcast and a link to the private Slack group, head over to Patreon.com/churninglife.

Black Friday Month had a huge amount of deals from all retailers and I was able to get a good amount of laptops from Best Buy and Walmart. I also experimented with shipping a pallet of PS5 controllers out of my house, which ended up being more work than I expected.Head over to churninglife.com for more information about the Patreon and private Slack group.

In this episode I talk about two trips I did in September in central Italy and Kauai. Both were really amazing trips! Highlights include Turkish, ITA, and Hawaiian business class, WA Rome, GH Kauai & Vacasa as always.Important podcast update: Starting 12/1/24, most episodes will be moved from the public channels over to the Patreon. The latest episode will always remain public for at least 30 days from the publishing date. 

This is the long awaited tax episode! In this episode I have a special guest Tonei Glavinic, who is a tax professional and long-time churner. We do a deep dive into taxes on reselling and manufactured spending for miles and points, discuss how various methods of earning points should be treated, and also discuss tax ethics and tax-preparer responsibility. To connect with Tonei, visit their website https://travelhackertaxes.com/. You can also find them in the Slack :)

This is a beginner focused episode and is part one of a two part series: Part one is focused on the making money side of churning and part two will be more geared towards points and award travel. Topics include a rundown of the credit card issuers to start churning sign-up bonuses with, some basic methods for manufactured spending, and the types of skills that a churner should develop.Amex:Can hold up to 5 credit cards at a time.Can hold up to 10 charge (pay over time) cards at a time.Maximum of 2 credit card approvals every 90 days (2/90). No restriction on charge cards.Only one approval per product every 90 days (1/90). Upgrades and downgrades don't count.Must keep a card open for 12 months to avoid clawback of the sign-up bonus.Chase:You can't get approved for any credit card if you have had more than 4 personal card approvals in the last 24 months - stay at less than 5 (5/24). There's no hard limit, but there tends to be a max of 3-4 ink business cards before they won't approve any more.US Bank:Applications made on the same day will only have one hard pull (most of the time).LLCs can help scale duplicate applications.Bank of America:Applications within 30 days will only have one hard pull.LLCs can help scale duplicate applications.Amazon:Accounts need to be well-seasoned (6-12 months is ideal).Up to 3 accounts can make the same order with the same credit card every 7 days.One prime account can add one additional household member account and up to 6 teen accounts that share prime benefits (teens must still be seasoned).Address jig is not required, but if you don't jig then you can't get a refund for lost items.Walmart:Accounts need to be somewhat seasoned.It helps to avoid changing payment methods prior to making large orders.Limits reset overnight (usually limited to two orders per day of the same product).Hard to get a refund for missing items.Best Buy:No seasoning required.Once a credit card has had a canceled order, that card will no longer work.Limits reset every 24 hours.Very hard to buy apple products and streaming sticks.Hard to get a refund for missing items.

A quick episode to recap our trips to LA to visit Universal Studios Hollywood and a week-long trip to Guatemala. 

In this episode I talk with Logan from Aligned Incentives about how he started his gift card brokerage and how it operates today.To join the free Slack group, head over to churninglife.com.

A recap of our week-long trip in Miami and St Croix, USVI, where we had a really fun experience. I also discuss the latest Wyndham/Vacasa and Hyatt devaluations and what's next after Best Buy. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head over to churninglife.com.

I start with a deep dive into what happened with the crypto collapse and the bankruptcy of "crypto lending" platforms, then discuss what we can learn from them and how to think about the risk with churning-related activities. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head over to churninglife.com.

A recap of my recent trip to St. Anton, Austria to go skiing with my brother. The skiing was awesome and it was a really fun trip!Flights:PDX-SFO-FRA-INN on UA/LH/EN for 90k Aeroplan + $94.ZRH-LHR-LAX-PDX on BA/AA/AA for 57.5k AA miles + $102.Hotel:Omaela Apartments: $1,300 for 4 nights. Skiing:$243 for a lift ticket for 3 days (not per day).

Recapping our 2-week trip to India, including Delhi, Rajasthan, and Goa. We faced a lot of unexpected challenges during the trip but overall had a great time!Award Flights:PDX-YVR-DEL on AI Y/J/F for 55k/90k/117k Aeroplan.PDX-SFO-EWR-DEL on UA J for 80k United Miles (in both directions).GOI-DOH-SFO on QR J for 80k Avios.Award Hotels:Hilton Jaipur for 20k HH/nt (upgraded to Diamond floor w/Gold status).Alila Diwa Goa for 9k Hyatt/nt (upgraded to Junior Suite with Explorist status).Club at Alila Diwa for 15k Hyatt/nt.

A short month for me since I was out for the last two weeks, but I still made use of some decent deals for BGs and GC reselling. I got another batch of BoA Alaska Business cards and discuss the plans for my new Citi AA Business card.Send me an email if you are looking for a link to the private Slack.

This episode covers a couple of trips that I went on over the past few months and some general award travel advice on how to plan your trip to Europe this summer. If you are interested in a churning meetup in Portland, I've linked a quick google form if you want to give any input:https://forms.gle/rnk7wecYiAbWshya9

I had a fun experience with gaming the AA shopping portal that ultimately didn't work. I also discuss my plans for how to get back into the game with Best Buy and Walmart and general strategies to stay prepared.

Recapping the major trips we have had so far this year! Below is a summary of the flights and hotels:Belize: PDX-SEA-BZE/BZE-SEA-PDX on AS Y with companion fare for $750 pp. San Pedro: Paradise Villas - 5 nights for $645 w/Airbnb GC. San Ignacio: Villa Cayo - 3 nights for $390. AQ Car Rental Belize - 3 days for $175. Vietnam: PDX-DFW-DOH-SGN on AA/QR J for 175k MR pp with biz plat. Fusion Suites Saigon - 2 nights for $168. Little Riverside Hoi An - 2 nights for $314. Taiwan: TPE-SFO on CI J for 88k KLM. ICN-HNL-PDX on HA J/Y for 95k HA. Sea Monkey Diving Homestay - 4 nights + 2 PADI Open Water I for $1100. A Mei Yi B&B (阿美姨民宿) - 2 nights for $170.

July's highlights include summaries of Amazon, Costco, and US Bank.