With the first weeks of 2016 coming to an end, it’s time to take a look at how many miles and points I earned from credit card sign up bonuses in 2015.
Last year was a much slower one when it comes to applying for credit cards. New cards offering huge bonuses never seemed to show up until close to the end of the year. However a couple of new banks tempted me to apply for their cards, one of them coming with a really impressive offer.
Miles and points covered the cost for most of our flights in 2015. We did pay for our round trip flight over the summer to Abu Dhabi since the fare was such a bargain. We also paid for our flight to/ from Cuba, but this also seemed like a very fair deal.
Miles & points earned from credit card sign up bonuses in recent years:
- 2011: 775,000 miles and points
- 2012: 753,150 miles and points
- 2013: 665,000 miles and points
- 2014: 605,000 miles and points
Over the previous four years I averaged 699,537 miles and points from credit card sign up bonuses. (I’ve been collecting miles and points for a long time but only started keeping track in 2011.)
Each year it seems to get harder and harder to find new cards to apply for. I knew that I’d continue the four year slide and end up earning less this year once again. So, how did I do and what cards were I approved for? Let’s take a look.
Credit Cards Approved in 2015:
- Chase Southwest– 50,000 miles
- Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards– 45,000 points
- Bank of America Alaska Air-25,000 miles
- Bank of America Alaska Air– 25,000 miles
- Chase Southwest Business– 60,000 miles
- Citi Hilton– 75,000 points
- Citi Thank You– 50,000 points
- Crystal Bank Infinite Card– 100,000 points, $250 incidentals credit, Priority Pass membership
- BBVA Compass NBA Amex– 20,000 points ($200 credit, points did not post yet.)
The Totals:
In 2015 I was approved for 9 new credit cards, earning 450,000 miles and points from sign up bonuses.
While I wouldn’t consider the amount of miles and points earned last year a huge haul, it is still a solid amount spread out between a bunch of banks including two that I’ve never heard of before.
Hopefully the new year will bring better miles and points earnings credit card offers than 2015 did!
How did you do in 2015 earning miles and points from credit card sign up bonuses?
Katye- How many bonus miles/ points did you earn from your 8 cards? Not all cards are created equally! The REDcard was an extremely easy way to earn and meet min spends, too bad it was short-lived. I’d also love to know the next easy MS method!
Always interesting to see how bloggers are loading up on their points. I signed up for eight cards in 2015, so you beat me by just one card! Redbird definitely helped a lot in terms of meeting min spend req for free. I am taking a break for now until another easy MS method comes along.
Trevor- Nice job. My Companion Pass is good until the end of 2016 too. Yes I did have the Amex Plat & had to fight them for the 100K. Got it for my wife in 2015.
Glad to see others posting their haul for the year. It’s fun to compare. I signed up for 7 cards and earned 390,000 points. I already had a Companion Pass for 2015-2016, but also took advantage of the BarclayCard offer as well as a few Alaskas and the Citi Premier. The big one you’re missing is the 100,000 AMEX Plat, which I’m assuming you’ve already had?