PODCAST · business
Churning Life Podcast
by Connor
Listen to learn more about different aspects of the churning life, including buying groups, gift card reselling, credit cards, redemptions, and more! Feel free to head over to churninglife.com to sign up to the deal alerts mailing list and Patreon.com/ChurningLife for exclusive details related to topics on the show.
Episodes
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Episode 56: September Recap - iPhones & The Amalfi Coast + PDX Meetup 11/7 Info
This episode covers a week-long trip to Naples and the Amalfi Coast and the release of the newest iPhone 18 Pro Max. I will be hosting a small meetup in Portland at the Duniway bar on Saturday, November 7th at 5pm. Let's use those Hilton credits!
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Episode 55: August Recap - What's Left in Churning?
In this episode, I talk about the current state of churning and what's still left for buying groups, gift cards, and award travel. While many big plays have come and gone, there is still a lot of opportunity left.
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Episode 54: July Recap - Meetup Learnings & What to Scale Next
I was around for the PNW Travel Festival and the MEAB meetup this month and share some of my learnings from that. I am also thinking about what's next for Pokemon and whether to start scaling BB gift cards as buying groups have been in a slow season.
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Episode 53: June Recap - Prime Day & A Trip To Portugal
Prime day wasn't as good as last year's but there was still a decent opportunity to get some spending in, while Pokemon continues to be profitable. We also went on a week-long trip to Portugal and had a great time!
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Episode 52: May Recap - More Walmart Scaling & Japan + Guam Trip Report
This month I continued to scale Pokémon at Walmart, but it feels like it may be nearing a breaking point due to the massive quantities of accounts that have been created in the last few months. We also went on a trip to southern Japan, Guam, and Manila, including several FHR properties, which…
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Episode 51: April Recap - Bank of America Shutdown & Preparing for Prime Day
This month Bank of America decided to close some of my accounts for doing something I should have known better not to do. I've also been working on getting a secondary warehouse to handle Prime Day (in June this year?) and grinding Walmart as usual. For more information on the private Slack group...
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Episode 50: March Recap - Meetup Recaps, Hawaii, & More Walmart
This month I went to two different meetups including one in New Orleans, as well as a week-long trip to Kauai for our final Wyndham/Vacasa redemption. I've also been working hard on Walmart with some good success.
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Episode 49: February Recap - More iPads, Scaling Walmart, & A Trip to Asia
This month continued to be good at Best Buy for iPads, and there was some big drops at Walmart for Pokemon. On the travel side, I went on a two-week trip to Kyoto, Taiwan, and Thailand to escape the Portland winter.
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Episode 48: January Recap - iPads, Apple Watches, Mexico City & Europe Skiing
Best Buy spending continued to be strong with the annual business gold cap reset and good sales on iPads and Apple watches. I also have been making good progress on the Pokémon front with Walmart. The travel for this month included a visit to Mexico City for the first time and another ski trip in...
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Episode 47: December Recap - End of Q4 Sales & A Trip To Norway W/Bryan M
December had a lot of great deals on Apple products, with the main items being the S11 Apple Watches and iPad 11s. I also talk with Bryan M about his recent trip to Norway and the Lofoten Islands, including KLM and AA business class for his family of four and some great value with Choice hotels.…
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Episode 46: November Recap - WA Maldives, Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Black Friday was a bit disappointing on Best Buy because the best Airpod sale never went live, but there were still plenty of lower margin deals. On the travel side, we visited the Maldives for the first time with stopovers in both Dubai and Doha.
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Episode 45: October Recap - More iPhones, Hermitage Bay, Chicago Seminars, & Miami
This month, iPhones continued to go strong and are still going through November. There was also a good sale on iPads and Airpods at Best Buy with another round of coupons. We went on two different weeklong trips, one that included Hermitage Bay in Antigua and another at Chicago Seminars followed…
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Episode 41: June Recap - More Airpods and a Trip to Peru
Best Buy had another good sale on Airpods this month that I was able to scale pretty well. I also recap a 1.5 week trip to Peru where we saw Machu Picchu and the Inti Raymi festival. Link to the amex lounge waitlist (replace the airport code):...
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Episode 39: April Recap - Airline News, $300k of Best Buy Spend, & More Gold
I discuss the latest Amex shutdowns along with the upcoming changes with Southwest Airlines and Emirates. It was another solid month at Best Buy where I was able to get a combination of laptops and Pokemon cards, and meanwhile I am steadily working on buying more gold.
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Episode 38: March Recap - ATX Meetup Recap, Airtags & Fitbits
The meetup was a success, and thanks to everyone who came out! In this episode I dive into my churning and buying group activities for this month, including some Bank of America success and ordering the usual items from Best Buy. I am also starting to work on scaling up Costco gold, Walmart, and...
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Episode 36: January Recap - Taiwan, Bali, & Japan Trip Report
This episode covers a 3 week trip that we did to Taiwan, Bali, Niseko & Kyoto, as well as the usual buying group activities. Niseko Hotel: https://nisekohakuunso.com/ Kyoto Restaurant: https://www.kaland.co.jp/yata_honten/ Austin Meetup Sign Up Form:...
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Episode 35: "Hobby" Churning & Award Travel Basics
This is the 2nd beginner-focused episode and is about the mindset of churning as a hobby and how to get started with award travel. I also talk about some tips for Qatar Airways and how to book with EVA's own mileage program. Head over to churninglife.com for more information about the Patreon and...
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Episode 33: Morocco & Paris Trip Report
Starting with a layover in Vegas, we spent a week traveling around Marrakesh, Morocco and ended in Paris. This was my first time on Air France & KLM (booked with Virgin Atlantic miles), which were both decent business class products. I also had a few mishaps on the way including multiple traffic...
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Episode 30: Italy & Kauai Trip Reports
In this episode I talk about two trips I did in September in central Italy and Kauai. Both were really amazing trips! Highlights include Turkish, ITA, and Hawaiian business class, WA Rome, GH Kauai & Vacasa as always. Important podcast update: Starting 12/1/24, most episodes will be moved from…
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Episode 28: Churning & Taxes
This is the long awaited tax episode! In this episode I have a special guest Tonei Glavinic, who is a tax professional and long-time churner. We do a deep dive into taxes on reselling and manufactured spending for miles and points, discuss how various methods of earning points should be treated,...
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Episode 25: Back To The Basics Part 1
This is a beginner focused episode and is part one of a two part series: Part one is focused on the making money side of churning and part two will be more geared towards points and award travel. Topics include a rundown of the credit card issuers to start churning sign-up bonuses with, some…
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Episode 23: Guatemala & WA Beverly Hills
A quick episode to recap our trips to LA to visit Universal Studios Hollywood and a week-long trip to Guatemala.
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Episode 19: A Deep Dive into Gift Card Arbitrage
In this episode I talk with Logan from Aligned Incentives about how he started his gift card brokerage and how it operates today. To join the free Slack group, head over to churninglife.com.
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Episode 17: Miami & St Croix Trip Report and The Latest Vacasa Devaluation
A recap of our week-long trip in Miami and St Croix, USVI, where we had a really fun experience. I also discuss the latest Wyndham/Vacasa and Hyatt devaluations and what's next after Best Buy. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head over to churninglife.com.
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Episode 15: Risk, Float, Getting Freerolled, And How To Better Manage It
I start with a deep dive into what happened with the crypto collapse and the bankruptcy of "crypto lending" platforms, then discuss what we can learn from them and how to think about the risk with churning-related activities. To join the free Slack group and sign up for the mailing list, head…
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Episode 13: Austria Trip Report - A Skiing Paradise
A recap of my recent trip to St. Anton, Austria to go skiing with my brother. The skiing was awesome and it was a really fun trip! Flights: PDX-SFO-FRA-INN on UA/LH/EN for 90k Aeroplan + $94. ZRH-LHR-LAX-PDX on BA/AA/AA for 57.5k AA miles + $102. Hotel: Omaela Apartments: $1,300 for 4 nights....
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Episode 11: India Trip Report - Air India, QSuites, Alila Diwa Goa, & Our India Travel Experience
Recapping our 2-week trip to India, including Delhi, Rajasthan, and Goa. We faced a lot of unexpected challenges during the trip but overall had a great time! Award Flights: PDX-YVR-DEL on AI Y/J/F for 55k/90k/117k Aeroplan. PDX-SFO-EWR-DEL on UA J for 80k United Miles (in both directions)....
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Episode 10: November Recap - $3,426 - Pre-BF Amazon, Citi, & More BoA
A short month for me since I was out for the last two weeks, but I still made use of some decent deals for BGs and GC reselling. I got another batch of BoA Alaska Business cards and discuss the plans for my new Citi AA Business card. Send me an email if you are looking for a link to the private...
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Episode 9: Vegas & Maui Trip Report and Europe Award Travel Tips
This episode covers a couple of trips that I went on over the past few months and some general award travel advice on how to plan your trip to Europe this summer. If you are interested in a churning meetup in Portland, I've linked a quick google form if you want to give any input:...
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Episode 5: AA Shopping Portal Shutdown, BB/WM, & How To Be Prepared in Q4
I had a fun experience with gaming the AA shopping portal that ultimately didn't work. I also discuss my plans for how to get back into the game with Best Buy and Walmart and general strategies to stay prepared.
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Episode 3: Quarterly Redemption Recap & Trip Report - Belize, Vietnam, and Taiwan
Recapping the major trips we have had so far this year! Below is a summary of the flights and hotels: Belize: PDX-SEA-BZE/BZE-SEA-PDX on AS Y with companion fare for $750 pp. San Pedro: Paradise Villas - 5 nights for $645 w/Airbnb GC. San Ignacio: Villa Cayo - 3 nights for $390. AQ Car Rental...
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Episode 1: July Recap - $5,124 Profit and $91,891 Spend
July's highlights include summaries of Amazon, Costco, and US Bank.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Listen to learn more about different aspects of the churning life, including buying groups, gift card reselling, credit cards, redemptions, and more! Feel free to head over to churninglife.com to sign up to the deal alerts mailing list and Patreon.com/ChurningLife for exclusive details related to topics on the show.
HOSTED BY
Connor
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Churning Life Podcast have?
Churning Life Podcast currently has 32 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Churning Life Podcast about?
Listen to learn more about different aspects of the churning life, including buying groups, gift card reselling, credit cards, redemptions, and more! Feel free to head over to churninglife.com to sign up to the deal alerts mailing list and Patreon.com/ChurningLife for exclusive details related to...
How often does Churning Life Podcast release new episodes?
Churning Life Podcast has 32 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Churning Life Podcast?
You can listen to Churning Life Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Churning Life Podcast?
Churning Life Podcast is created and hosted by Connor.
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