#milemadness 2014 Scoreboard

Welcome to the official scoreboard for the 2014 manufactured spend tournament known as #milemadness.  For an overview of the tournament, please see:

And now, on to the scores….

Overall Winner

For this tournament, we picked a single overall winner.  Congratulations go to…

Trophy

The Miles Professor!

The Miles Professor had the most overall earnings, tied for the most Artistry points, had the best earnings per hour ratio, and more.  At the MileMadness celebration event, The Miles Professor was presented with a nice little engraved trophy.   That said, all of the contestants had excellent showings.  Even those who didn’t show up on the scoreboards often taught us a bit about what is possible and what is not.

Below are the leaderboards for the milemadness tournament as a whole:

Top Earners

  1. The Miles Professor: $4,779
  2. Bengali Miles Guru: $3,540
  3. Big Habitat: $2,984

Earnings are calculated as:

Cash back earned – Fees + [combined value of all points and credits earned]

Value of points is calculated as:

  • Fair Trade Value, or if no Fair Trade Value exists:
  • Arrival points: 1.1 cents each; Avianca miles: 1.5 cents each
  • Merchant gift cards / credit valued at best resale price shown on GiftCardGranny.com
  • Fuel Points: assume 15 gallon fill up and subtract 10%

 

Artistry Winners

  1. Big Habitat: 3 Artistry points
  2. The Miles Professor: 3 Artistry points

 

Efficacy Winners

  1. Miles Abound: 3 Efficacy points
  2. Giddy for Points: 3 Efficacy points

 

Top Per Hour Earnings

  1. The Miles Professor: $348
  2. Bengali Miles Guru: $146
  3. Big Habitat: $115

Earnings per hour were calculated as total earnings divided by total estimated hours of “work”.

 

Most Bank Points Earned

  1. The Miles Professor: 375K Citi ThankYou points
  2. Miles Abound: 183K Citi ThankYou points
  3. Bengali Miles Guru: 165K Ultimate Rewards points

 

Most Airline Miles Earned

  1. Bengali Miles Guru: 60K Alaska Airlines miles
  2. Bengali Miles Guru: 40K US Airways miles
  3. Giddy for Points: 19K United Airlines miles

 

Most Hotel Points Earned

  1. Freequent Flyer Book: 21K Club Carlson points
  2. Milenomics: 19K Starwood points
  3. Freequent Flyer Book: 11K Hilton Hhonors points

 

Prior weeks’ scoreboards after the break:

—————————————————————————————————-

Last Updated 4/10/2014:

Combined total points and miles earned to-date across all contestants: 1,458,398

The following results are for week 4.

Results from weeks 1 through 3 can be found at the bottom of this page

Earnings Leaderboard

Earnings Per Hour Leaderboard

1) Miles, Points & Mai Tais $9832) The Miles Professor: $955

3) Bengali Miles Guru: $711

1) The Miles Professor: $4372) Bengali Miles Guru: $237

3) Miles, Points & Mai Tais: $158

 

Bank points Leaderboard

Airline Miles Leaderboard

Hotel Points Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: 42,866 Citi ThankYou points2) Bengali Miles Guru: 16,556 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

3) Miles, Points and Mai Tais: 15,521 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

1) Bengali Miles Guru: 18,254 Alaska Airlines miles2) Bengali Miles Guru: 9,857 US Airways miles

3) Giddy for Points: 8,012 United miles

No hotel point earnings were reported this week

 

Artistry Leaderboard

Efficacy Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: 1 point 1) Giddy for Points: 1 point

 

Earnings notes:

Earnings are calculated as:

Cash back earned – Fees + [combined value of all points and credits earned]

Value of points is calculated as:

  • Fair Trade Value, or if no Fair Trade Value exists:
  • Arrival points: 1.1 cents each; Avianca miles: 1.5 cents each
  • Merchant gift cards / credit valued at best resale price shown on GiftCardGranny.com
  • Fuel Points: assume 15 gallon fill up and subtract 10%

Artistry notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to judgment of originality and ethics)

  • The Miles Professor earned 1 point for liquidating PayPal money cards via the PayPal business debit card. By sending the money to a relative via Square Cash, she earned 1% cash back from the debit card.

Efficacy notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to scalability, efficiency, and replicability)

  • Giddy for Points earned 1 point for using a money order (earned from manufacturing spend) to fund a new Chase checking account to get a new account bonus.

All contestants, week 4 earnings and scores:

Bengali-Miles-Guru-300x145 Earnings: $711
Hours: 3
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Bighabitat Earnings: $211
Hours: 2.85
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Chasing-the-Points-300x94 Earnings: $10
Hours: .75
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Free-quent-Flyer Earnings: $104
Hours: 1.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Giddy-for-Points-300x67 Earnings: $234
Hours: 3.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 1
Milenomics 240 Earnings: $242
Hours: 1.25
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Milesabound-300x98 Earnings: $0
Hours: N/A
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Miles-Points-and-Mai-Tais-300x300 Earnings: $983
Hours: 6
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Milesprofessor Earnings: $955
Hours: 2.75
Artistry: 1
Efficacy: 0
quick-city-visits-300x104 Earnings: $430
Hours: 3
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0

 


Week 3

Last updated 3/23/2014

The following results are for week 3.

Results from weeks 1 and 2 can be found at the bottom of this page

Earnings Leaderboard

Earnings Per Hour Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: $1,177 2) Bengali Miles Guru: $1,112

3) Big Habitat: $962

1) Bengali Miles Guru: $3172)  The Miles Professor: $261

3) Big Habitat: $221

 

Bank points Leaderboard

Airline Miles Leaderboard

Hotel Points Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: 93,336 Citi ThankYou points2) Bengali Miles Guru: 35,181 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

3) Big Habitat: 17,365 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

1) Bengali Miles Guru: 41,611 Alaska Airlines miles2) Miles, Points and Mai Tais: 7,373 Delta SkyMiles 1) Milenomics:  4,032 SPG points2) Freequent Flyer Book: 2,520 Club Carlson points

 

Artistry Leaderboard

Efficacy Leaderboard

1) Big Habitat: 1 point 1) Giddy for Points: 1 point

 

Earnings notes:

Earnings are calculated as:

Cash back earned – Fees + [combined value of all points and credits earned]

Value of points is calculated as:

  • Fair Trade Value, or if no Fair Trade Value exists:
  • Arrival points: 1.1 cents each; Avianca miles: 1.5 cents each
  • Merchant gift cards / credit valued at best resale price shown on GiftCardGranny.com
  • Fuel Points: assume 15 gallon fill up and subtract 10%

Artistry notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to judgment of originality and ethics)

  • Big Habitat earned 1 point for a creative approach to buying Staples’ gift cards: Buy Home Improvement gift card at Speedway with Premier Rewards Gold card to get 2X Membership Rewards plus 2% in Speedway points, take Home Improvement card to Lowes to buy Staples gift cards.  I wouldn’t say this is the most rewarding or efficient approach, but it’s certainly creative!

Efficacy notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to scalability, efficiency, and replicability)

  • Giddy for Points earned 1 point for finding a place to buy $500 Visa gift cards with only a $2 fee

All contestants, week 3 earnings and scores:

Bengali-Miles-Guru-300x145 Earnings: $1,111
Hours: 3.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Bighabitat Earnings: $962
Hours: 4.3
Artistry: 1
Efficacy: 0
Chasing-the-Points-300x94 Earnings: $33
Hours: .5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Free-quent-Flyer Earnings: $99.10
Hours: 4
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Giddy-for-Points-300x67 Earnings: $91
Hours: 2.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 1
Milenomics 240 Earnings: $309
Hours: 3
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Milesabound-300x98 Earnings: $94
Hours: 1.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Miles-Points-and-Mai-Tais-300x300 Earnings: $492
Hours: 6
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
Milesprofessor Earnings: $1177
Hours: 4.5
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0
quick-city-visits-300x104 Earnings: $143
Hours: 3
Artistry: 0
Efficacy: 0

Prior weeks’ scoreboards after the break:


Week 2

Last Updated 3/16/2014:

The following results are for week 2 only. Results are not cumulative with week 1.

 

Earnings Leaderboard

Earnings Per Hour Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: $1,488.03 2) Miles Abound: $1,358.04

3) Milenomics: $529.92

1) The Miles Professor: $425.15!2)  Milenomics: $235.52

3) Giddy for Points: $174.89

 

Bank points Leaderboard

Airline Miles Leaderboard

Hotel Points Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: 123,633 Citi ThankYou points2) Miles Abound: 115,228 Citi ThankYou points

3) Bengali Miles Guru: 32,965 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

1) Bengali Miles Guru: 4,500 US Airways miles2) Miles, Points, and Mai Tais: 3,506 US Airways miles

3) Miles, Points, and Mai Tais: 3,506 Alaska Airlines miles

1) Milenomics:  8,659 SPG points2) Freequent Flyer Book: 1,512 Hilton points

 

Artistry Leaderboard

Efficacy Leaderboard

1) The Miles Professor: 2 points2) Chasing the Points: 1 point 

1) Miles Abound: 3 points2) Milenomics: 1 point 

3) Quick City Visits: 1 point 

 

Earnings notes:

Earnings are calculated as:

Cash back earned – Fees + [combined value of all points and credits earned]

Value of points is calculated as:

  • Fair Trade Value, or if no Fair Trade Value exists:
  • Arrival points: 1.1 cents each; Avianca miles: 1.5 cents each
  • Merchant gift cards / credit valued at best resale price shown on GiftCardGranny.com
  • Fuel Points: assume 15 gallon fill up and subtract 10%

Artistry notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to judgment of originality and ethics)

  • The Miles Professor earned two points for demonstrating a clever little perpetual point machine (yes, they do exist!).
  • Chasing the Points earned a point by hiring a programmer to build a tool which gathers up point earning rebate opportunities (I think). It didn’t end up providing any great opportunities this week, but it was certainly an interesting gamble that may yet pay off in the future.

Efficacy notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to scalability, efficiency, and replicability)

  • MilesAbound earned 3 points for finding a scalable, easy, and free way to liquidate registered debit cards.
  • Milenomics earned a point by getting free cash from Great Bridge for spending he was doing anyway.
  • Quick City Visits earned a point by managing to do a little bit of manufactured spend (via online shopping portal) while on vacation in Thailand.

Week 1

Last Updated 3/10/2014:

Earnings Leaderboard

Artistry Leaderboard

Efficacy Leaderboard

1) Miles Abound: $1,383.902) Bengali Miles Guru: $1,276.74

3) The Miles Professor: $1,158.92

1) Big Habitat: 2 pointsAll others earned 1 point or less

1) Bengali Miles Guru: 2 pointsTie for 2nd:

2) The Miles Professor: 1 point

2) Quick City Visits: 1 point

2) Giddy for Points: 1 point

Earnings notes:

Earnings are calculated as:

Cash back earned – Fees + [combined value of all points and credits earned]

Value of points is calculated as:

  • Fair Trade Value, or if no Fair Trade Value exists:
  • Arrival points: 1.1 cents each; Avianca miles: 1.5 cents each
  • Merchant gift cards / credit valued at best resale price shown on GiftCardGranny.com
  • Fuel Points: assume 15 gallon fill up and subtract 10%

Artistry notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to judgment of originality and ethics)

  • Big Habitat earned point by finding extremely low price for tablets for resale by price matching to not just one, but four different stores
  • Both Big Habitat and Bengali Miles Guru earned a point by discovering that OfficeMax did not limit rebates to 2 per transaction as was implied by their ad.
  • Miles Abound earned point through a complicated gift card “churn” that earned rewards very specific to his own needs (see also lost point under efficiency)
  • Freequent Flyer Book earned point by showing mastery of very large number of techniques (even though those techniques did not result in as much profit as some others)
  • Giddy for points earned point by triple dip purchase of Hyatt gift cards: MilePoint Premium 10% off, 3% cash back via SimplyCash card, and 5% cash back via OPEN Savings
  • Miles, Points, and Mai Tais earned point through double dip: cash back from buying Amex gift cards + fuel points earned when using Amex gift card to buy Visa/MC gift cards
  • Milenomics earned point by earning both grocery fuel points and fuel rewards at the same time when buying gift cards.
  • Milenomics earned point by finding way to buy and liquidate certain cards fee-free.
  • Milenomics lost point by returning items for cash

Efficacy notes:

(Points earned or subtracted due to scalability, efficiency, and replicability)

  • The Miles Professor earned point by using multiple 5X ThankYou cards in her name (some were as authorized user).  This allows her to increase 5X spend with less risk than with just one card.
  • Both Miles Abound and Bengali Miles Guru earned a point by splitting purchases in order to maximize Plink rewards.
  • Bengali Miles Guru earned point by maximizing ShopKick earnings at Office Depot.
  • Miles Abound lost point by earning rewards useful primarily to his own situation.
  • Quick City Visits earned point by buying gift cards for 5X and then using those gift card to buy merchandise for resale.  This is a highly replicable and scalable approach to earning extra points.
  • Giddy for points earned point by triple dip purchase of Hyatt gift cards: MilePoint Premium 10% off, 3% cash back via SimplyCash card, and 5% cash back via OPEN Savings [this technique was awarded a point both for artistry and efficiency]
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