If you’ve made it this far, then you’re well on your way to the Maldives.
Now let’s wrap this thing up and tell you exactly how it could be done with today, April 14, 2014 credit card offerings.
Destination: Maldives.
o 1. Citi Hilton Reserve Card: 2 Weekend Nights free after $2500 spend in 4 months.
- Here is the link for Citi.
- This card gives you gold status allowing you and your companion a ridiculous breakfast buffet at the Conrad Maldives for free. That breakfast would otherwise be $100 per person per day. At the same time, just for being gold, you also get free happy hour from 5-6 which is well worth it as drinks are a minimum of $12 each.
- Maximize the deal: You and your traveling partner should both apply for a card. That will give you four nights free, three that you can use on this trip. Four nights at the Maldives is more than plenty in my opinion.
o 2. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: 40,000 Ultimate Reward Points after spending 3k in 3 months. These can be transferred to United Airlines on a 1:1 basis.
- Here is the link for Chase Sapphire.
o 3. Chase Ink Card: 50,000 Ultimate Reward Points after spending 5k in 3 months.
- Here is the link for Chase Ink.
Results:
o 3 free nights at the Conrad Maldives with $0 out of pocket.
o 2 Roundtrip tickets that cost 85,000 miles and $87.80 each.
Retail Cost:
The Big Picture:
o This is an extreme example of how you can easily and efficiently get to the Maldives in one churn. It is probably unreasonable to meet the minimum spend in just 30 days but it is possible especially if you spread it out over the allotted time of 3-4 months or by applying for 1-2 cards per churn cycle. More elaborate trips require patience and practice, i.e., following the Points 101 directions over and over.
o Virtually all the trips I wrote about were done using points by repeating the Points 101 directions. My first churn was in November of 2011 and I have consistently kept churning since then while maintaining an excellent credit score and staying out of credit card debt.
o Offers do expire, points programs devalue, and all banks, airlines, hotels, terms and conditions do apply.
o Please feel free to ask about a specific trip you would like to take, the timeframe you had in mind, and how you would like to get there. I’m happy to answer all questions based on an individual’s circumstances provided you have read Steps 1-5.
So, for one person, this is a $4K – $5K trip if you pay retail, whereas it costs $10.5k over the course of three months to use points to go on this trip. So, if my regular spendings aren’t coming anywhere near $10K over the course of three months, or even $6K for that matter, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a bargain to using points to go on this trip. Does that sound about right, or am I missing something?
If you are going strictly off of the constraints as you have put them, then no it is not a bargain. But, only reading Step 5 undermines the rest of the steps in this section and actually misses the overall point of points.
This extreme example was meant to show you that it is possible to get to paradise in a matter of days and not make it a ‘trip of a lifetime’ that most people will never take. As far as feasibility, I write in Step 4: “If meeting the minimum spend requirement is outside your everyday budget, spread your applications out over a longer period of time. But, if you are impatient like I am, then adding a trustworthy authorized user to do the spending for you makes the process more practical. Special thanks to my sister Rima and her love of fine shoes and purses.”
I’ve had my fair share of doubters when I began the points game but those skeptics are quickly converted into believers when they follow the individually tailored formula and find themselves flying first class for free.
I’m not only a client, I’m the points president.
You mention 3 free nights but the card only gives you two. Can you provide clarification? Thanks!!
A couple apply for hilton reserve card. Each gets 2 weekend nights. So Friday-Sunday gets you 3 nights.