I am a Millionaire*

Barenaked Ladies - If I Had a Million Dollars 

The southern-most point of the United States.

*A million+ points and miles. 😁

Leading with a story readers already know:

In January 2021, following my most recent accident, I had spinal fusion in my neck. A few days later, I had facial reconstruction and my jaw was wired shut for weeks. 

After months of pretty awful rehab, I started back up at the nonprofit I had worked for since 2017. 

Within weeks, I was canned.

Welcome back!

Here's where the new(ish) story picks up: I realized later that I had a bunch of Southwest Airline points in my account from covid-canceled trips. Looking into what you can do with Southwest points, I came across a Southwest credit card with a 100k sign-up bonus that would quickly get me to the Southwest Companion Pass. Starting in 2022, I got tickets for free (points) and added Anne for free (companion). We'll soon be on our last free Southwest trip (Companion Pass expires at the end of the month) staying at a free hotel (IHG points).

The southern-most point of the continental United States from a seaplane (not a free flight).

Before 2021, I had always avoided credit cards with annual fees - it seemed stupid! But guess who was stupid? Not only did that Southwest card get us thousands of dollars in free travel, but also a $75 annual travel credit, four upgraded boardings per year, and more miles on our card anniversary.

I've written about the points and miles game several times (1, 2, 3). I don't write these because I expect you to do the same thing - as I wrote in #2, it all takes quite a bit of time. But I do want to let you know these options exist.

The northwestern-most point of the continental United States.
I will never be to the northwestern-most point of the United States.

A few highlights:

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred pays 6% back on groceries (our main expense) and for several months, paid back an extra 5%. (Up to $6k in grocery purchases a year.)

The Amazon Prime pays 5% back at Amazon and Whole Foods.

The AAA Travel card (no annual fee) pays 5% back on gas.

The American Express Business Gold gives 4% back (in transferable points) on internet advertising, One Step's major expense. That covers the annual fee in fewer than two months. (In addition to the 150,000 points sign-up bonus.)

To emphasize: I'm not saying you should get into the credit card game. Hopefully, you have better things to do! But don't be like me and be dismissive of credit cards that aren't "free."