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Here’s how I’ve earned over 300k Amex points in 3 months

a plane with seats and windows

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300k Amex points in 3 months

First things first…this post is geared to give you a guide as to how I’ve earned a ton of points so you can too. It’s not geared around making massive purchases, but rather a combination of referrals, Rakuten, and Amex Offers. Of course, I have an advantage over readers because we generate traffic that helps us with earn referral bonuses, but all of those posts also allow you to participate as well. Let me walk you through how I’ve strategized and, of course, on posts like this you’re welcome to add your referrals in the comment section. The future is very uncertain right now, and many of you won’t be adding cards to your wallet, cutting down on expenses, and

American Express Referrals – 220k Amex Points

I have a total of 6 Amex Cards. 5 of those qualify for referrals, 4 give me points ( 55k max )and one gives me $550 in statement credits. The other is an old Amex Mercedes Platinum and for whatever reason it won’t allow me to refer – I have a plan to swap it out for a different Amex at some point so I’ll earn an additional 55k by year’s end.

How you can earn too

I have multiple posts that are updated regularly with the latest Amex Referrals Offers. Sometimes these are bigger than the public offer. To be clear…I make money when you sign up for a credit card that refers you via CardRatings, our partner, but on referral posts …we get points, but then also include you.  I’d assume I’m losing out on potential revenue by doing this, but I also want you to have the opportunity to get the most bang for you buck. The site has turned into a business, but at the same time, I want you to know your options and feel like this is a way to promote multiple offers concurrently.

How it works with our site:

We have dedicated referrals pages for multiple Amex cards. At the beginning of the year those are populated with Monkey Miles links. I then push my family and friends through, and then I put your links in the body of the article. This is either at random, or I will offer the placement as a prize for participation in a promo. I did this in early Feb and one of our readers was able to max out 2 cards worth of referrals in about 2 weeks. Pretty quick. Readers are also encouraged to leave their links in the comments section of those pages and those readers’ links get quite a bit of traffic. Here are links to those pages.

Amex Offers: 16k+

So far this year, I’m off to a good start with strategizing how to earn a healthy amount of points via Amex Offers. I regularly post about these and they can be quite lucrative. If this is something you aren’t taking advantage of, I’d highly suggest reading our overview and regularly checking your offers to see if you can take advantage.

a screenshot of a phone number

Rakuten – 75k+

I suppose I shouldn’t count my chickens, but these points were earned during this quarter; however, they won’t hit my account til Mid May. This is a significant increase over last quarter where I earned roughly 20k, but was due to a combination in heavily using Rakuten, referrals, and also taking advantage of a 90% offer on Lifelock ( That alone earned me over 26k points ). Of those 75k, over 38k of it was on my own spend, and then the rest was via referral here, Youtube, Instagram, etc.

If you’re unfamiliar with how to set your account up for Rakuten – read this article here.

Of course we appreciate you using our referral link – you’ll earn $10 back after spending $25

a blue and white card

And all of this is done so we can continue to fly like this:

Feel free to leave links below

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 3x on dining
    •  including eligible delivery services for takeout
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel Portal
  • 2x on all other travel
  • $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Chase Travel
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Primary rental car coverage is my favorite

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

17 Comments

  • Jordan February 28, 2024

    Rakuten: http://www.rakuten.com/r/JORDAN48587?eeid=44971

    $30 after your first qualifying purchase in the first 90 days. Don’t forget you can earn Amex points through this portal.

  • Wendy August 30, 2020

    Apply for any of the Hilton Amex personal or business credit cards using my link.
    http://refer.amex.us/WENDYP1hMH?xl=cp33
    Thank you in advance.

  • Mariana August 30, 2020

    American Express Blue Cash Everyday
    Choose from any personal Amex card using my referral link below. Thank you.

    http://refer.amex.us/MARIAASoqH?XL=MNACP

  • JAHMAL July 6, 2020

    Amex Gold Offer

    Apply by using my link below for 50k point for 4k spend. Try copying the link below into google chrome incognito. Thank you kindly.

    http://refer.amex.us/JAHMABSMoY?XL=MIDCP

  • Suprit May 6, 2020

    Apply for an American express Gold card using the link below for 50k point for 4k spend. Open in incognito/private window. Thanks for using in advance.
    http://refer.amex.us/SUPRIKV7KZ?XLINK=MYCP

  • Kenny April 12, 2020

    I miss the pasta Insta stories!
    Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you’re approved! http://refer.amex.us/KENNEDTR6x?XLINK=MYCP
    Lufthansa First Class ASAP!

  • Mark w April 4, 2020

    Thanks brother. Every time I clear 5/24 I get another card from you. Appreciate how you pay it forward and share.

    • Miles April 4, 2020

      Mark – thanks so much! Appreciate it…I try to do my best to generate income for the blog but also publish best offers and pay it forward to readers

  • Matt April 4, 2020

    Apply for an American Express Platinum Card with this link. 60,000 Membership Rewards points offer! http://refer.amex.us/MATTHOS2ps?XLINK=MYCP

  • Matt April 4, 2020

    MIles, you rock! Here’s my link for an American Express Gold Card — 40,000 Membership Rewards point offer:

    http://refer.amex.us/MATTHOyEse?XLINK=MYCP

  • dot March 30, 2020

    But what can u do or fly to with 220K some biz class seats are 200K each…ouch!!!!

    • Miles March 30, 2020

      dot –

      tons! for instance 63k will fly you one way in biz on star alliance using avianca, 70k one way on lufthansa first with aeroplan, 110k roundtrip on ana first class using virgin miles, etc ,etc. It’s all about the transfer partners 🙂

  • Maumau March 29, 2020

    Apply for a Gold American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you’re approved!
    http://refer.amex.us/MAURILqqt9?XL=MIDCP

  • Maumau March 29, 2020

    Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you’re approved!

    http://refer.amex.us/MAURILqqt9?XL=MIDCP

  • Ben March 29, 2020

    Amex Green Card referral link :

    http://refer.amex.us/SHIRLDCjzb?XL=MNMCP

  • Tohung wong March 29, 2020

    Thank you sent 4 referral, 2 from me and two from wifey. Much appreciated and love ur blog. For real.

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