Guide to the American Express Referral Program

MGM feature explorer | Point Hacks

The American Express referral program is a simple way to gain some extra bonus points from your American Express credit card account by referring friends or family for their own new account by using a personalised referral link.

The program has been expanded to allow referrers to promote other American Express cards within the same ‘family’, beyond only the card they hold.

Continue reading…

Over $1,000 in airline credits up for grabs by telling us what you think about loyalty, airlines, credit cards & points in the ‘State of Points 2015’ survey

We’re approaching the end of the year, which is always a good time to take stock before moving into the next one.

For me, this means understanding what you all think about the points and rewards program landscape – what banks, airlines and Point Hacks are doing well, and could do better.

So, I’m launching the ‘State of Points 2015’ – a survey and competition, where I’ve chipped in a prize pool of airline / travel credits of over $1,000 to hopefully make it worth your time and let me know what’s important to you. Continue reading…

New resource – master list of all rewards credit card insurance details

For anyone who relies (or wants to rely) on the insurances included with their credit cards, I hope the latest tool in the Point Hacks Community Tools section is a welcome addition.

I’ve pulled together a table of the included insurances of every rewards credit card in Australia, along with links to their Product Disclosure Statement documents (PDS).

This is handy for digging into the details of whether your current (or intended) credit card insurances for travel, purchase protection or other policies, will meet your needs. Continue reading…

New Point Hacks Community resource – the ultimate credit card master comparison table for points collectors

Right Credit Card | Point Hacks

One of the hardest things to get your head around when looking at rewards and frequent flyer credit cards is exactly how many cards are out there on the market and how many points they will actually earn when you use them.

I’ve spent (quite literally) days compiling this master resource to help – note, you’ll need to be Point Hacks Community member to gain access..

The table has a large amount of the data you might want to know to effectively select a credit card that suits your own personal spend habits. For those working through the ‘Earning more points from your credit card’ email course, I hope this will become invaluable in a few weeks. Continue reading…

New email course to help you earn more points from your credit cards – launching soon, reserve your spot now

This is me enjoying Japan Airlines First Class earlier this year – and I’m keen to help more people travel better by earning and using points. Today I’m launching a new way to get the knowledge you need to get started.

If you’re new to all this, it’s hard to find a focal point to move you forward – the world of frequent flyer points is made murky by the number of programs, credit cards, their rules, benefits, and promotions. All up, it’s a bit of a nightmare for the average consumer.

Yet there’s heap of value to be had if you spend a little time learning the basics – you’ll end up earning more of the right kind of points that will help you accomplish your travel goals and dreams. If this sounds familiar, this email course is for you. Continue reading…

Join our next (free) meetup in Sydney on April 19th!

At the tail end of last year a bunch of us  interested in points and frequent flyer programs met up and discussed tips, tactics and hacks for a few hours in Sydney and Melbourne – it was a blast, so it’s time to do it again.

This time round it’s on in Sydney in The Rocks for afternoon coffee or drinks, with Steve Hui of iflyflat.com.au and myself in attendance. One of the things that struck me from our last round of meetups was just how passionate and knowledgeable you all are about this hobby, so it will be a pleasure to do it again.

Please let us know you are coming here! →

The venue (The Argylle in The Rocks) is tentative, but if it’s not there it will definitely be in the CBD.

We’ll also be running another session in Melbourne in mid-June (if you’re dead keen, join the Meetup group here) – stay tuned for details on that in due course.

Annndd… if there’s demand, maybe we can do one in Brisbane or another city in late May too. Register your demand and by commenting on the on this post please!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Point Hacks Community update – competition winners!

So you guys probably all remember that back in January I kicked off a competition to get anyone interested helping me run the new Community section of the site?

Well, the competition is over, and the results are in – remember that the first two places each win 5,000 Starpoints, third and fourth a Bellroy Elements travel wallet, and 5th, a Tripit Pro and Awardnexus.com credits bundle.

Here’s the top 5 leaderboard: Continue reading…

Point Hacks Community – Deals section launched & competition update!

So far the Questions section of the Point Hacks Community has been going ten times better than I ever expected, with pages of questions being asked and answered – many with amazing insight and answers – I’m amazed by the quality and quantity

In case you missed it, I’m encouraging everyone to get involved with a range of prizes – with the winners drawn at the end of February. The eventual winners will take home Bellroy wallets, two chunks of 5,000 Starwood points and others too – here’s the current leaderboard.

  1. Jack Tipple
  2. F
  3. Michael Kao
  4. Brendan
  5. Andy H
  6. Ataraxis
  7. John
  8. crossbow
  9. jamiedreams

And for easy access to Community Questions, I’ve now added a list of the most recent questions to the homepage.

In a similar vein the ‘Deals’ section is also live, for members to post and comment on airfare, hotel and other deals that other members might be able to take advantage of. If you see a travel deal you just have to share, this is the place for it.

Thanks to everyone who has signed up and got involved so far!