On the Alaska Airline flight back home to Vancouver, the pilot was handing out credit card applications. “Sign up for a credit card, get a free plane ticket.” Sure why the heck not. Even with the credit card’s annual fee, I could just cancel it after using up my free plane ticket, right?

My card arrived in the mail soon after. Hmmmm, how come I don’t have a free flight? Oh geeze, there were two levels of cards to choose from and I chose the lower level one, which doesn’t give you a free plane ticket. But I have already shelled out money for the annual fee. Arrrrg!

However, they started me with a decent amount of Bonus Miles, halfway to a free flight. Maybe, just maybe, I could earn the rest of the way to a plane ticket…

Fast forward to 2010. Looks like I might be able to cash in those miles for a flight after all, except that there are several different categories of free flights. If I want to fly on a nice Thursday evening and return Sunday night, I need even more miles. But technically, I can use up the points on a flight if I want to. I mean SURE, who wouldn’t want to leave Vegas early on a Sunday morning?

It’s so close I can taste it, this free plane ticket. Then I can be done with this damn thing and get onto a better card.

I know I don’t have many readers; combined with the fact that most people are kind of private about their finances, I am pleased with my 3 entries for the informal survey. I also received some private emails and communications regarding this particular subject.

Despite what the experts are saying, I am feeling that most couples are running things with one shared account.

In the case where it is NOT one shared account, there is a gamut of different ways to structure the finances – mainly to ensure that things are fair for both husband and wife.

• one shared account
• two separate accounts
• one shared account, and two personal accounts (3 accounts)

I recently conducted an informal survey among recently married couples and people at various stages of relationships. The majority prefer and are using the one shared account system. This has been the traditional way of organizing finances and is simplest. The “downside” is that you have to trust that your partner is adult enough not to empty the account and put it on red at the roulette table.

In my recent search for popular advice on this subject, the experts seem to be recommending the 3 accounts system, implemented in a transparent fashion. That is, even if the two personal accounts are to be used by each person as they see fit, the amount of money going into these accounts would be known by both parties. I think that this advice mostly grew out of the divorce rate that we have been observing for the last few decades.

Perhaps I am being exceptionally naive in my list of options. What should happen in the two accounts, 50/50 expenses situation if the wife gets pregnant? What about changes in the job situation? The one account setup is superior in handling these exceptional, yet typical, situations.

If you are keen, please fill out my survey. Thanks!