US Government stupidly sold dollar coins directly through mint, payable by credit card with no fees

[Dan Druff]

I wish I knew about this.

You could buy dollar coins directly from the US mint (supposedly this was to help get them into circulation), but there was a huge flaw in the plan.

They charged no fees on the purchases, and you could pay by credit card.

So you could earn unlimited airline miles by just buying dollars with dollars.

And that's what this guy did: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/02/...ne-miles-free/

The funniest thing was the fact that he didn't have unlimited funds, but rather just kept cycling the dollar coins back into the bank to pay off the previous purchases.



He racked up 4 million miles that way, buying $4 million worth of dollar coins.

I estimate the government forked over about $70,000 worth of credit card fees (and some shipping fees, as well) to enable this guy's mileage purchases.

[BeerAndPoker]

I'm not sure how good this guys credit was prior to doing this but it either went from bad to more respectable or from fair/good to great after it. Back in the late 1990's I used to charge up my card to nearly the max and pay it online several times a month when I did some various drop shipping sales on ebay. I was only 18-20 when I started this and built amazing credit very quickly which I still have today and I know I didn't do $3 million in transactions.

That is hilarious the government shit the bed on this one.

[abrown83]

FlyerTalk Druff.

It is the forum that revealed this method a long time ago.

They are constantly working on ways to angle shoot airline miles.

It is one of my favorite places on the net ( besides here of course ! )

[SrslySirius]

I've read a little bit about "churning" and the community of guys that grind credit cards for points/miles. I travel more than enough with this job, but I wonder if trying this out would be worthwhile just to build up a credit score and bank the miles for a rainy day.

I've never owned a credit card, so it seems like being in a similar position as a would-be bonus whore that never opened an account with any poker sites.

I have no idea how that shit works, but may start reading up on it.

[Hockey Guy]

FlyerTalk Druff.

It is the forum that revealed this method a long time ago.

They are constantly working on ways to angle shoot airline miles.

It is one of my favorite places on the net ( besides here of course ! )

I should visit FlyerTalk more often. It's a great site.

[Dan Druff]

FlyerTalk Druff.

It is the forum that revealed this method a long time ago.

They are constantly working on ways to angle shoot airline miles.

It is one of my favorite places on the net ( besides here of course ! )

I wish I read it. I would have totally done this.

Are there any currently working mileage angle shots that don't require more effort than they're worth?

I have used Flyertalk many times, but usually to get hotel/airline/car rental discount codes. I don't generally read the forums otherwise.

[abrown83]

FlyerTalk Druff.

It is the forum that revealed this method a long time ago.

They are constantly working on ways to angle shoot airline miles.

It is one of my favorite places on the net ( besides here of course ! )

I wish I read it. I would have totally done this.

Are there any currently working mileage angle shots that don't require more effort than they're worth?

I have used Flyertalk many times, but usually to get hotel/airline/car rental discount codes. I don't generally read the forums otherwise.

Just the standard Credit Card ones that SS mentioned.

There used to be a great angle shoot involving Amazon and American Express PrePaid Cards where Amazon wasn't charging any fees for their payments platform and you could just pay yourself, transfer the money to your bank account, put it back on the the American Express and then start all over. Eventually Amazon caught on and killed that.

Spend time in the Manufactured Spending forum.

[Pooh]

I've read a little bit about "churning" and the community of guys that grind credit cards for points/miles. I travel more than enough with this job, but I wonder if trying this out would be worthwhile just to build up a credit score and bank the miles for a rainy day.

I've never owned a credit card, so it seems like being in a similar position as a would-be bonus whore that never opened an account with any poker sites.

I have no idea how that shit works, but may start reading up on it.

Dude, aren't you in your mid-late 20's? I mean I applaud you for not having any debt but shit man get yourself some credit just in case....you may want to buy something, like a house , someday.

[SrslySirius]

I've read a little bit about "churning" and the community of guys that grind credit cards for points/miles. I travel more than enough with this job, but I wonder if trying this out would be worthwhile just to build up a credit score and bank the miles for a rainy day.

I've never owned a credit card, so it seems like being in a similar position as a would-be bonus whore that never opened an account with any poker sites.

I have no idea how that shit works, but may start reading up on it.

Dude, aren't you in your mid-late 20's? I mean I applaud you for not having any debt but shit man get yourself some credit just in case....you may want to buy something, like a house , someday.

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

[Pooh]

Dude, aren't you in your mid-late 20's? I mean I applaud you for not having any debt but shit man get yourself some credit just in case....you may want to buy something, like a house , someday.

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

How much money do you make a year and what kind of car do you drive including year.

[SrslySirius]

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

How much money do you make a year and what kind of car do you drive including year.

Not sure if disclosing my salary here is a great idea. I'll say it's fairly close to median annual household income in the US. I drive an '07 Corolla with ~50k miles on it.

[Pooh]

How much money do you make a year and what kind of car do you drive including year.

Not sure if disclosing my salary here is a great idea. I'll say it's fairly close to median annual household income in the US. I drive an '07 Corolla with ~50k miles on it.

That's more of an answer than I thought I would receive and I know the average annual income so good job. Good choice on the car too. I can't fault anything you are doing except holding on to the house but you feel bad for the family. Can't say I wouldn't do the same if I were in your situation.

Keep fighting the good fight.

[Dan Druff]

Dude, aren't you in your mid-late 20's? I mean I applaud you for not having any debt but shit man get yourself some credit just in case....you may want to buy something, like a house , someday.

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

Yes, you can.

Do you have a frequent flier number on the airline(s) that you've used to travel?

If so, it is easy to get the miles retroactively applied.

If not, it is possible but much harder. I will explain if you need.

[SrslySirius]

Yes, you can.

Do you have a frequent flier number on the airline(s) that you've used to travel?

If so, it is easy to get the miles retroactively applied.

If not, it is possible but much harder. I will explain if you need.

I don't have any sort of account with any airlines, if that's what you mean. veeRob told me today that Delta will only go back 30 days for retroactive miles on new accounts. I'll need to sort it out soon, as I departed for France 2 weeks ago.

[GrenadaRoger]

Dude, aren't you in your mid-late 20's? I mean I applaud you for not having any debt but shit man get yourself some credit just in case....you may want to buy something, like a house , someday.

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

You don't owe anyone anything? Damn, that's lonely...you see, you've got no one rooting for you to get up, go to work and earn money to pay back what you owe them---only your family cares if you live (and chances are they have mixed feelings because they stand to inherit from you)

the solution is get yourself a steady girl/gay friend...debt will pile up really fast

[Dan Druff]

Yes, you can.

Do you have a frequent flier number on the airline(s) that you've used to travel?

If so, it is easy to get the miles retroactively applied.

If not, it is possible but much harder. I will explain if you need.

I don't have any sort of account with any airlines, if that's what you mean. veeRob told me today that Delta will only go back 30 days for retroactive miles on new accounts. I'll need to sort it out soon, as I departed for France 2 weeks ago.

I don't know about Delta's policy specifically. veeRob is pretty good with this stuff, so he's probably correct.

But yes, you should immediately get to doing this.

Is it only Delta, or are there other airlines involved?

I know American is a hard-ass about this, and won't let you apply miles retroactively if you didn't have a frequent flier number prior to taking the flight. I helped one of my friends get around this policy by writing a letter to their customer service department blaming "database errors" on their website on the day he flew. I wrote the letter for him, found the right department, and he sent it. He got a reply saying that they were aware of the database errors during that time (lol, as I totally made that up) and made an exception for him.

[Deal]

Yes, I've been irresponsible thus far into adulthood. But I could be in much worse shape. I have no debt, a paid off house and car, and a decent paying job. Many people my age have a negative net worth with student loans and and such.

I'm only now starting to research good practices for personal finance. Since getting this job I have worked on cutting back on wasteful spending and saving as much of my salary as I can. I need to figure out exactly what to do with those savings once they add up to a significant sum. I probably should start building up a credit score. These are still things I need to learn to do.

EDIT: Getting somewhat back on topic, I learned today that I can get points for all these work trips I've been making, even though I haven't bought the tickets. I need to see if I can get them applied to a new account retroactively.

You are in great financial shape. Top 1% of your age group. If you are serious about maintaining your financial shape I suggest one easy to read, written for the masses, book. David Chilton's 'Wealthy Barber' It lays out a very simple plan for maintaining financial health and avoiding the typical consumer traps, the most common being allowing your expenses to rise to match your growing income. Pay yourself first and then let your money work for you instead of working for it. Simple. GL