To the point
My last post about the credit card sign-up game plan I decided to make for myself for 2019 with Audrey was a big hit, especially in the facebook group "Travel for free (or almost...!) with your points & miles - milesopedia". Find out today how to build your own... and some tips!
Your goals: the starting point for your game plan
I can’t tell you enough: set one or more goals for yourself! It’s ESSENTIAL to build a strategy that makes sense.
And we are obviously talking about a personal game plan: if some outlines can be taken from a game plan established by another person, it will be up to each person to carry out their own! Income, expenses, lifestyle are different from one person to another!
These goals can be different depending on your short, medium or long term vision. In the article on my game plan for 2019, my personal goals shine through:
- Short term: I want to
to collect Best Western Rewards points
points to fulfill my need for 2-3 free nights of travel in early 2019. - Medium-term: I want to collect a lot of AIR MILES miles miles (approximately 20,000) to use for theme park admissions and/or short-haul airline tickets for short stays in the Maritimes or Northeastern United States during the summer of 2019.
- Long-term: I want to
earn Marriott Bonvoy points
for hotel stays that I will make by the end of 2019 or 2020 (I already have enough to cover my needs for the end of 2018-2019! )
A short-term goal: one to six months
Your short-term goal should be for the next six months:
- rapid accumulation of hotel points to cover a travel need in 3-6 months: in 3 months you can easily earn 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and 20,000 Best Western Rewards points.
- the accumulation of cash back via everyday expenses in the next 3 months: this is particularly interesting during shopping periods such as Black Friday, the end of year holidays… The Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite* card offering, for example, 10% cash back on all your purchases for 3 months (up to a certain limit).
- A high expense to come? Take the opportunity to go and unlock welcome bonuses from cards that require you to spend $3,000 or more in 3 months! This isthe case right now with the two BMO World Elite cards.
A medium-term goal: six to twelve months
Your medium-term goal should be for the next six to twelve months.
- You can make a strategy with your Significant Other or a friend to earn many hotel points or airline miles! The goal is to afford a trip in six to twelve months (or more). This is what I did with friends, for example, six to twelve months before going to Thailand in business class!
- We will use different cards belonging to a travel points program to increase our points balance, in order to earn a bonus! For example
BMO Rewards points via the 3 cards
cards that are part of this program, or
Scotia Rewards points via the 5 credit cards
that are part of the program!
A long-term goal: twelve to twenty-four months
Your long-term goal should be for the next 12 to 24 months.
- We want to earn American Express point rewards: they are the most flexible on the market by offering you many transfer partners (such as Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Delta Skymiles, Marriott Bonvoy…).
American Express offers 4 cards with Membership Rewards points
It is possible to keep points in one card, so you can easily rotate the others! Thanks to these many membership rewards obtained in one year, it is possible to go and buy airline rewards for yourself and your family for the following year!
As loyalty programs continuously evolve – and we are not immune to points devaluation – the long-term goal should not exceed 18 to 24 months.
For example, Aeroplan had announced an end date for its partnership with Air Canada effective June 30, 2020. But then this changed and Air Canada took over Aeroplan.
Bottom Line
Here are different strategies to help you build YOUR game plan:
