I'm Guilty of Being Disorganized

This past weekend, I realized that I do a terrible job managing this points game. To be truly successful in this game, you need to be very very organized.

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In my "other" life, I am super organized. Every client has a file, note sheet detailing interactions, important dates in my calender etc. I know exactly where every file is within the process, very few things fall between the cracks like it should.

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On the other hand, I am terribly unorganized in my points life. I have no system to remind me to cancel credit cards, track which promotions I am registered for or the progress of those promotions. I rely way to heavily on my memory to hand it all. The result has been costly.

For instance, I wrote here about a Spring promotion from Chase Hyatt that would earn me 5,000 Gold Passport points for spending $3,000 in 3 months. For a few months, I was waiting for the points to post. After a while, I called Chase to learn the status of the points and learned that I had only spent $2,800 in the required 3 months. DUH!

Similarly, I wrote in this post, that I planned to cancel my Chase United credit card. Well, I didn't cancel the card immediately. When I did call to cancel, I learned that I was past the 60 day period to get my annual fee refunded. DUH! The card is still active and I will keep it for another year. My justification is that United offers bonuses for those with their credit card through their partners every once in the while ( ie 21 miles per $1 @ Shoes.com).

These mistakes aren't cheap. The United card comes with a $95 annual fee. The lose of 5,000 Hyatt points is a little more difficult to calculate. However, upgrades to better rooms can be had a 6,000 points. Therefore, I left a few upgrade on the table by forgetting to spend an additional $200.

My points' life isn't a complete mess. I do use AwardWallet and Points.com to keep track of my frequent flyer account numbers and balances. In addition, AwardWallet helps me keep track of my future travel itineraries ensuring I never miss a flight or hotel stay.

I need something like AwardWallet for promotions. For instance, I am working on the following promotions:

1) Spend $3,000 on Chase Southwest card; earn 3,000 Rapid Reward points

2) Spend $6,000 on Chase Hyatt card; earn 6,000 Gold Passport Points

3) Make 5 $50+ purchases on US Airways; earn 2,500 miles

4) Spend $500 on US Airways at Gas Stations, Restaurants or Department Stores; earn 2,500 miles

Here is my progress so far on them:

1) Southwest: Spent $2,800, Left $200

2) Hyatt: Spent $1,700, Left $4,300

3) US Airways: Made 3 $50+ purchases: Need 2 More

4) US Airways: Spent $270, Left $230

My fear is that I am going to forget one of these promotions, leaving points on the table. To avoid this from occurring, I have added reminders to my Google calender.

Hopefully, these reminders will help me ensure that I complete the promotions. Otherwise, I wasted my daily credit card spend on nothing.

How do you keep track of things?



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