{"id":8744,"date":"2023-12-15T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesearnandburn.com\/?p=8744"},"modified":"2023-12-14T17:19:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T00:19:18","slug":"holiday-wisdom-have-a-goal-before-accumulating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesearnandburn.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/15\/holiday-wisdom-have-a-goal-before-accumulating\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Wisdom: Have a Goal Before Accumulating"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NOTE: I\u2019ll be going on a blogging vacation between Monday and December 31, during which there will be at least some guest posts. I’ve already gotten a few queued up from readers smarter than me, and I\u2019m soliciting for more to complete the holiday. Posts should be non-sponsored, non-promotional, non-political, and at least travel hacking or churning adjacent. Please reach out to me if you\u2019re interested<\/strong>, it\u2019ll be the third easiest gig you\u2019ve ever gotten!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Between 2011 and 2013, it was possible to earn miles for any Amazon purchase<\/a> through the US Airways and Hawaiian shopping portals. In 2011 I was relatively new to the game and I made a common mistake: I had earned a chunk of US Airways miles through promotions and a credit card bonus, so I decided that I’d earn Hawaiian miles instead whenever I shopped at Amazon, even though had exactly no clear use case. I was sure that at some point I’d use them, just like Southwest CEO Bob Jordan is (incorrectly) sure that Southwest will never have a holiday meltdown again<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piles of Miles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now, please join me in 2023 and let’s peek at my current Hawaiian Airlines balance, keeping in mind that I’ve redeemed exactly as many Hawaiian miles as the number of good menu items at Chik-Fil-A, or the number of times that Southwest CEO Bob Jordan has correctly predicted the meltdown future [drumroll]<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero (0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2013 I’d earned 40,000 Hawaiian miles through the Amazon shopping portal, but eventually they expired – partially because I was inexperienced and partially because I didn’t ever have a redemption plan in mind. This is a common mistake, especially when you’re stating out. In the last couple of weeks for example, I’ve heard from churners who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n