Churning Life Podcast

Mar 12 2025 19 ep. 35 mins 108

Churning Life Podcast artwork

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.

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Episode 37: February Recap - GH Baha Mar, Amazon Struggles, & My Take On Amex Shutdowns

Mar 12 2025 41 mins

We spent President's day week visiting the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas, Tampa, and Orlando. While I have been putting a lot of work into Amazon, it has not been going well and it is hard to see a clear path forward. I also discuss my current situation in the midst of Amex shutdowns and what we can learn from them.

Episode 36: January Recap - Taiwan, Bali, & Japan Trip Report

Feb 14 2025 54 mins

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: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alignedincentiveschurning-life-meetup-tickets-1218491895059?aff=oddtdtcreatorHead over to churninglife

Episode 35: "Hobby" Churning & Award Travel Basics

Jan 31 2025 35 mins

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 private Slack group.

Episode 34: December & 2024 Recap - Xbox Controllers

Jan 16 2025 24 mins

Celebrating the first full calendar year of this podcast. Best Buy had a few more good laptop sales this month and there was an "unlimited" deal with the Xbox controllers. I also talk about some annual stats for the year and how I feel about the state of the podcast/Slack.Head over to churninglife.com for more information about the Patreon and private Slack group.

Episode 33: Morocco & Paris Trip Report

Dec 20 2024 46 mins

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 violations from the Moroccan police, almost denied boarding for losing my paper boa

Episode 30: Italy & Kauai Trip Reports

Nov 05 2024 36 mins

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 the public channels over to the Patreon. The latest episode will always remain public

Episode 28: Churning & Taxes

Sep 19 2024 44 mins

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, and also discuss tax ethics and tax-preparer responsibility. To connect with Tonei, vis

Episode 25: Back To The Basics Part 1

Jul 26 2024 36 mins

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 basic methods for manufactured spending, and the types of skills that a churner should deve

Episode 23: Guatemala & WA Beverly Hills

Jul 03 2024 23 mins

A quick episode to recap our trips to LA to visit Universal Studios Hollywood and a week-long trip to Guatemala.

Episode 19: A Deep Dive into Gift Card Arbitrage

Apr 18 2024 47 mins

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.