Noob Testimonial: Joseph G. Living Large.

Posted by Noob Master on Dec 7, 2012 in Miles, Testimonial, Uncategorized | 0 comments

[Here's something new: A Noob reader's testimonial! Check out how Joseph's world has been turned upside down by miles & points. Learn to love it!]

We’ve Only Just Begun….

As I begin this post, the sweet melody by The Carpenters rings through my head. This has been the continual thought process during the last few months of my entry into traveling to see the world for little to nothing. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the traveling opportunities that are ahead.

I first caught the travel bug at a pretty young age. I have always had an eye on what might be beyond the fence and felt the drive to go see it. My first flight was a short one from Houston, Tx to San Antonio, Tx.

This is when the sickness set in. I caught a bad case of the travel bug and still haven’t shaken it in twenty years. I’ve got a feeling I’ll be a lifelong carrier and will likely be passing it on to my future children.

Before the age of 21, I had visited nearly half of the sates and twelve different countries. All of this on my own hard earned dime.

Great Wall of China!

After college and into adulthood, life caught up and so did the bills, responsibilities and jobs. Available time became less and so did available money. One thing about a sickness though, if you don’t treat it, it gets a little upset and puts the carrier in an unfortunate position. This brings me to where I am today.

Over the years, I have become a person who works to find the best deals available, whether that means I’m going to save money clipping a few coupons or make a little money clicking on a few advertisements, I work to find the best deal on anything and everything.

Then I found Geoff at Noob Traveler, along with several other wonderful bloggers who wished only to share this amazing knowledge with others! The different deals offered opened a whole new world to my little family. I honestly felt like a kid in a candy store. My hands shaking, giggling at the site of the BIGGEST lollipop I’ve ever seen, knowing that there is so much more to come around the next corner! This brings me to today.

Thanks to Geoff and the other bloggers, my wife and I have all of our Christmas travels taken care of, including flights from San Antonio to Phoenix, from Phoenix to New York city, and from New York city back to San Antonio. Also, included in that trip are two nights at the Hyatt Andaz, downtown Manhattan. This was a dream of my wife.

She has never had the opportunity to go up to New York and has always dreamed of seeing New York City during Christmas. Thanks Geoff! That trip is just the beginning, though!

Our plan is to head to Europe and Seattle in the spring, go back to Mexico during the summer, and see what other doors are opened up to us! This is what I mean by
“We’ve only just begun.” There are so many doors that are opened up when you open your eyes to the world around you.

Mexico View.

My advice to anyone wanting to see the world beyond their own city limits is to first start dreaming.

Secondly, have your finances in place, and always pay your balances in full at the end of every month.

Thirdly, get a full credit report, and monitor your credit.

Finally, once you have your credit score built, join the fun and prepare for your next “App Party!”

The cards my wife and I applied for this year were:

Me-

Ink Plus® Business Card - 50K sign-up bonus

Hyatt Credit Card - 2 free nights

British Airways Visa Signature® Card - 100k sign-up bonus

United MileagePlus Explorer Card - (possible 55k sign-up bonus)

Citi Thankyou – 50k sign-up bonus (this offer is no longer available)

AA Visa & AA Amex – (I earned 100k+ from two browser trick)

Hilton HHonors X 2 – 104K+ points (2 browser trick)

US Airways – 40k sign-up bonus

Wife-

British Airways Visa Signature® Card- 101K+ miles

Southwest Business Premier – 50K+ miles

Southwest Personal Premier - 50K+ miles

US Airways - 40K sign-up bonus

We have come up with over 500K points and miles over the last 5 months, all while watching our credit score actually climb a little (initial hit of approximately 3-5 points per app but recovered in less than 3 months). My average score is currently in the 750 range and my wife’s is in the 780 range.

I want to once again, give a big thanks to Geoff, Jordan, and the rest of the gang at NoobTraveler.com! Y’all have helped Corrie and me expand our horizons to see the world that we never would have with our own finances. Keep up the good work!

— Noob Master