October had its ups and downs. I missed an opportunity on the echo dots, but was able to get some more iPhones with a few more trips to the Apple store. I also experimented with Walmart and Target this month with some success. In the second half of the episode, I talk about our surfing trip to Siargao, flying on Philippine Airlines for the first ti…

In this episode I talk about two trips I did in September in central Italy and Kauai. Both were really amazing trips! Highlights include Turkish, ITA, and Hawaiian business class, WA Rome, GH Kauai & Vacasa as always. Important podcast update: Starting 12/1/24, most episodes will be moved from the public channels over to the Patreon. The latest epi…

I bought 258 iPhones this month! While the market was not as good as I was hoping for, I still racked up a good amount of points and learned a lot about how to both buy and sell. It was quite the ride! The meetup is going to be on 11/16 from 4-8pm at the following location: Level Beer (level 1) 5211 NE 148th Ave Portland OR 97230 I am collecting a …

This is the long awaited tax episode! In this episode I have a special guest Tonei Glavinic, who is a tax professional and long-time churner. We do a deep dive into taxes on reselling and manufactured spending for miles and points, discuss how various methods of earning points should be treated, and also discuss tax ethics and tax-preparer responsi…

This was another breakout month for me as I was able to take full advantage of the best Echo Dot sale of the year. My wife had some issues with BoA and I have been rethinking my MS strategies going forward. Good luck to everyone with iPhones this Friday!Oleh Connor

This month was a big month for buying groups with a lot of Amazon deals for Prime Day. On the travel side I talk about a quick trip to Cabo to visit the Waldorf Astoria and my experience with Starlink internet.Oleh Connor

This is a beginner focused episode and is part one of a two part series: Part one is focused on the making money side of churning and part two will be more geared towards points and award travel. Topics include a rundown of the credit card issuers to start churning sign-up bonuses with, some basic methods for manufactured spending, and the types of…

The 12th monthly recap episode! Echo dots went on sale again and I had success with some smaller buying groups, which made for another great month. This episode also has a mini-trip report to Colorado to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park.Oleh Connor

A quick episode to recap our trips to LA to visit Universal Studios Hollywood and a week-long trip to Guatemala.Oleh Connor

This was another breakout month for me for buying groups as I was able to order over $200k worth of product, mostly from echo dots. I am very happy with the automation tools that I've set up for BGs and hoping for more deals like this in the future!Oleh Connor

In this episode I chat with a member of the Slack on how one might be able to leverage churning skills towards other "AP" ventures such as sports betting and casino games. Resources discussed in the episode: Risk of Ruin podcast Circles Off podcast The Unabated Podcast Be Better Bettors podcast Gamberly (message to get into the Discord) Betbash con…

This month had it's ups and downs with some successes with Best Buy and Pepper but had a series of missing items shipping to buying groups. It was overall a solid month but I missed on a few key spots that could have made it even better. To join the free Slack group, head over to churninglife.com.Oleh Connor

In this episode I talk with Logan from Aligned Incentives about how he started his gift card brokerage and how it operates today. To join the free Slack group, head over to churninglife.com.Oleh Connor

Business is continuing to go well with Best Buy with laptops and this month I was able to buy Playstation Portals for the first time. I did have a few issues with packages not getting delivered and I had my first missing items case with Amazon. I also recap my experience with the Bank of America business checking bonus and how I eventually got it t…

A recap of our week-long trip in Miami and St Croix, USVI, where we had a really fun experience. I also discuss the latest Wyndham/Vacasa and Hyatt devaluations and what's next after Best Buy. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head over to churninglife.com.Oleh Connor

This month I didn't sign up for any new credit cards, but instead put a lot of effort into figuring out how to order from Best Buy and had good success with dropshipping Echo Dots. I also spent a lot of time at the Apple store on the Apple Vision Pros, which turned out to be profitable for me despite not being as good as we had expected. To join th…

I start with a deep dive into what happened with the crypto collapse and the bankruptcy of "crypto lending" platforms, then discuss what we can learn from them and how to think about the risk with churning-related activities. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head over to churninglife.com.…

Amex continues to be very strong and will put me in a great position for the first half of 2024. It was another decent month for Amazon and I'm looking ahead to scale up WM & BB spend. I also discuss the Apple Vision Pro release and what's going on with Paypal Bill Pay.Oleh Connor

A recap of my recent trip to St. Anton, Austria to go skiing with my brother. The skiing was awesome and it was a really fun trip! Flights: PDX-SFO-FRA-INN on UA/LH/EN for 90k Aeroplan + $94. ZRH-LHR-LAX-PDX on BA/AA/AA for 57.5k AA miles + $102. Hotel: Omaela Apartments: $1,300 for 4 nights. Skiing: $243 for a lift ticket for 3 days (not per day).…

This was the highest intensity month I have had to date, with a lot of great deals to wrap up the end of the year. The main ones were AirPods from Verizon and Capital One Shopping Portal referrals, but there were some other gift card deals mixed in as well as the usual Amazon BG stuff.Oleh Connor

Recapping our 2-week trip to India, including Delhi, Rajasthan, and Goa. We faced a lot of unexpected challenges during the trip but overall had a great time! Award Flights: PDX-YVR-DEL on AI Y/J/F for 55k/90k/117k Aeroplan. PDX-SFO-EWR-DEL on UA J for 80k United Miles (in both directions). GOI-DOH-SFO on QR J for 80k Avios. Award Hotels: Hilton Ja…

A short month for me since I was out for the last two weeks, but I still made use of some decent deals for BGs and GC reselling. I got another batch of BoA Alaska Business cards and discuss the plans for my new Citi AA Business card. Send me an email if you are looking for a link to the private Slack.…

This episode covers a couple of trips that I went on over the past few months and some general award travel advice on how to plan your trip to Europe this summer. If you are interested in a churning meetup in Portland, I've linked a quick google form if you want to give any input: https://forms.gle/rnk7wecYiAbWshya9…

This is a slightly different episode from the content I've been putting out lately - I do a deep dive into the Joinsave brokerage "bonus" and discuss some general finance stuff that is mostly unrelated to churning but that I think is important for everyone to know. Update 1/5/24: They have nerfed the referral sign-up offer to a $1k match for a $1k …

This month had it's ups and downs for me. Another round of Amazon devices and Prime Day were great for buying groups, but I had a disappointing round of applications with US Bank. Towards the end of the month, I accepted some targeted offers for Amex 99x AUs for the first time, which I am really excited about. This episode also has a bank bonus sec…

Today I talk about an MS method that involves using bill pay services to liquidate gift cards or to put spend on cashback debit cards. In the second section I talk about some discussions that people have involving taxes (disclaimer: not tax advice). See this IRS ruling for more info: https://casetext.com/case/anikeev-v-commr Note that Paypal Bill P…

I had a fun experience with gaming the AA shopping portal that ultimately didn't work. I also discuss my plans for how to get back into the game with Best Buy and Walmart and general strategies to stay prepared.Oleh Connor

The new iPhone 15 was a fun reselling opportunity, although it ended rather quickly. In September I got a a new round of Amex NLLs and stacked these with the 20k/4k employee card bonuses for some hefty profits. I also spent a lot of time on the phone with BoA for some business card applications and feel like I learned a lot from the process.…

Recapping the major trips we have had so far this year! Below is a summary of the flights and hotels: Belize: PDX-SEA-BZE/BZE-SEA-PDX on AS Y with companion fare for $750 pp. San Pedro: Paradise Villas - 5 nights for $645 w/Airbnb GC. San Ignacio: Villa Cayo - 3 nights for $390. AQ Car Rental Belize - 3 days for $175. Vietnam: PDX-DFW-DOH-SGN on AA…

August had a big sale on Amazon devices that was great for buying groups with retailers including Target, Staples, and Kohl's. Credit card bonuses included a 100k CIP + referral along with a solid batch of Amex employee card offers.Oleh Connor

A rundown on the Kroger fuel points ecosystem, a discussion of churning ethics, and some churning and churning-adjacent stories where things got out of hand.Oleh Connor

July's highlights include summaries of Amazon, Costco, and US Bank.Oleh Connor