Hey Dubbers, thought I’d run some offseason information sharing through the boards.  I meant to get this out before the start of spring practice, but life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.

We all spend money, some of us more than we’d like to; we all travel, some of us not as much as we want to; and, I know that there are some road warriors among us.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my money, and how I can get more out of my existing lifestyle, to make it better.  So, I recently started a serious look at how I was collecting credit card rewards, and what I wanted to do going forward.  And, I'm big on loyalty, so I looked for one program that best suited me.

First, let me start by saying that this conversation could go a million different “right ways” to collect rewards, and that it really is different for everyone.  What you value, how you spend, how you travel, where you travel, where you shop, how you enjoy your leisure time, and countless other factors all play a role in what rewards card, or program, works for you.  So, what I value you may not, and what works for you may not work for me.

What I wanted to do here is share some information and find out what works for you, and why, so that we can all learn a little and maybe pick up tricks to apply to what works for us. 

• Do you have tips to rack up points?
• Do you know about a big savings loophole?
• Do you have little secrets you can share to help others build points?
• Do you know of partner programs that people can use?

There are a million options out there, but I’ve decided to leave my cash back option (USAA), Thank You Preferred (Citi), and shopping points (Amazon) and put my eggs in the Hilton HHonors basket.  For starters, I have had an account for years (and had thousands of existing points), and my local airport is serviced by American Airlines (where I also had thousands of frequent flyer miles), which is a HHonors travel partner, so it made the change easy for me.  I already had a head start.  So, I started doing research and learned a lot about their network and points program.

For example, I have a buddy who is in his seventh consecutive year as a Diamond Elite Status guy with Hilton (their highest level), and I was able to show him something he wasn’t aware of (in addition to Hilton HHonors Dining).  When you check into your room on travel, and you’ve rented a car, if you show them the rental agreement (the key’s usually sufficient), you can get 250 more bonus points if they enter your rental company in the folio (receipt) in the space provided – and don’t forget to give them your Hilton HHonors number at the time of rental to get partner points as well.

And, if you look around a little, there are plenty of explanations out there for your rewards program of choice.

But, before we get into that, I advise on knowing what your credit history is, and what your personal limitations are, so you don’t end up jeopardizing your financial steadiness by hitting your credit score with applications, especially if you want to churn some rewards cards.  (Just because credit card promotions are the easiest and fastest way to earn points, doesn’t mean it’s for everyone.)

So, do you have a loyalty program that you’re partial to?  Share some insights below, I know I’ve learned a lot from pages like FlyerTalk and LoyaltyLobby, and I bet that a lot of you have some good information to share.