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Posted 11/17/2017 10:14 pm
Quote:
Most credit cards are 1% reward so in order to gain a 2000.00 dollar flight you would , need 200,000 worth of x for x coins can't see how an individual was able to buy such amount.
Most credit cards are 1% reward so in order to gain a 2000.00 dollar flight you would , need 200,000 worth of x for x coins can't see how an individual was able to buy such amount.
From a BBC article, it is explained how he did it. You are right, he did not go the route of 1% rewards. He did it through something called credit card churning. Credit card companies often offer 15,000, 20,000, 30,000 points when signing up and spending xx$ amounts within a time period. These point are good enough for a flight. Also, you do not need to spend hundreds of thousands on coins to do it. Usually you need only to spend $2000 to $5000 within a few months to get the points.
By credit card churning, that means cancelling your credit card when you get your points and re-applying and doing it again and again. You could do it with different credit cards at the same time. In this case, the guy was redeeming the coins at the bank to pay off the credit card bill he used for buying the coins. So he got the points for free.
From the BBC article:
Avery Campbell, 24, uses a strategy called "manufactured spending", which means shopping just to earn points on credit-card rewards programmes.
Recently he bought coins from the Canada Mint to collect points, then used the same coins to pay his bills.
The scheme has helped him travel to "every inhabited continent" - sometimes first-class - for little or no money.
"I have pretty darn good credit," he told the BBC while waiting to board a flight to Chicago where he will be attending a manufactured spending conference.
Manufactured spending works when customers are able to buy something on their credit cards that can be used like cash, collecting points essentially for free.
Mr Campbell uses these loopholes to help him do something called "credit-card churn", which is when you sign up for a new credit card in exchange for a large amount of reward points.
Most credit-card companies have a minimum amount a customer must spend in order to qualify for the points.
In the case of the Canadian Mint, Mr Campbell was able to collect points from buying the collectors coins on his credit card, then pay back that same purchase using the legal tender.
These purchases helped him meet his minimum spend quickly, and without incurring debt.
The British Airways flight would have cost about C$400 ($314, £238), he says, but he used his points. This time he flew coach, but he has travelled first-class on Lufthansa and Emirates airlines.
Edited by MoneyPenney
11/17/2017 10:26 pm
11/17/2017 10:26 pm
