Getting started with miles and points-Frequent Traveler University DC 2014
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The document provides an introduction to earning and using miles and points for travel rewards. It discusses the benefits of miles and points programs for experiences like connecting with family, visiting new places, and having flexible travel options. Key recommendations include thinking about travel goals upfront, starting small with earning, and focusing on flexible points from credit cards. Earning options covered include credit cards, shopping portals, dining programs, and actual travel. Tips for using miles and points effectively include booking 11 months in advance when possible, understanding award charts and sweet spots, and checking for last-minute availability.
Getting started with miles and points-Frequent Traveler University DC 2014
- 1. Getting Started With Miles and Points Summer Hull – Mommy Points Ed Pizzarello – Pizza in Motion
- 2. Who Are We?
- 3. Summer Hull www.mommypoints.com Twitter: @mommy_points Email: mommypoints@mommypoints.com Facebook: facebook.com/MommyPoints © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 5. PizzaInMotion.com © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Ed Pizzarello www.pizzainmotion.com Twitter: @pizzainmotion Email: ed@milepoint.com
- 6. What We’re Going to Talk About •Why Collect Miles and Points • Things to Think about Up-front • How to Earn • How to Burn • Questions © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 8. Show Your Kids the World
- 9. Connect With Each Other
- 10. Spread Out
- 11. Arrive Rested
- 12. Arrive Rested
- 13. Eat Awesome Food
- 14. Stay Places We Could Never Afford
- 15. Just Have Fun
- 16. Things to Think About Upfront © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 17. What Are Your Goals? • Domestic tickets for multiple people • International first class for one • Business Class for two • Top end hotels around the world • Family resorts • Flexibility to book any date • Tickets to Europe during off-peak times © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 18. Your goals should dictate your actions. It’s much easier to know where to start when you can see the end game. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 19. Reach your first miles and points goal and then set a new one. The goal is to use them, not to collect them! © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 20. Tips for Getting Started • Start small • Don’t worry about what others are doing • Do what is right for you • Don’t sweat the small stuff • Stay focused on your goals • Get organized © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 21. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 22. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Award Wallet
- 23. Tips for Staying Organized • Set due dates on the same day • Pay bills online • Use a spread sheet • Use service like mint.com if you need extra help • Only use certain cards in a given month © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 24. Miles and points collecting can take as much or as little time as you want. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 25. Reading blogs can save you time. www.viewfromthewing.com www.thepointsguy.com www.millionmilesecrets.com www.boardingarea.com © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Many, many more.
- 26. Be aware that “free” isn’t always free…but sometimes © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved it can be close.
- 27. Burning well is harder than earning, so pay attention to © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved both.
- 28. Earning Miles and © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Points
- 29. Ways to Earn Miles and Points © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved • Credit cards • Debit cards • Online shopping • Traveling • Promotions • Dining Programs • Investments • Asking/complaining
- 30. Credit cards are the fastest and easiest way to earn miles © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved and points.
- 31. I have earned close to half a million points in © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved one year.
- 32. Remember Your Goals 1. Flexible and transferrable © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved points cards 2. Hotel and airline specific cards 3. Fixed value points 4. Cash back cards
- 33. Transferrable Points © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved • Ink Plus – 50k • Chase Sapphire Preferred – 40k
- 34. Transferrable Points © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved • Premier Rewards Gold– 25k • EveryDay Preferred – 15k • Mercedes Benz Plat – 50k
- 35. Airline and Hotel Cards © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved • United MileagePlus Explorer Card • US Airways MasterCard** • Hilton HHonors Reserve Card • Club Carlson Visa - BOGO Less flexibility, but often give “elite like” perks.
- 36. Fixed Value Points Barclay ArrivalCard, Capital One Venture Card & US Banks FlexPerks • Bad for premium cabins • Good for inexpensive domestic travel. • Good for those without flexibility • Good to leverage for sales © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 37. Category Bonuses • Ink Bold/Ink Plus 5x: Office Supply stores, cell phone, home phone, internet, cable • Chase Freedom 5x: rotating quarterly categories with $1,500 cap (no annual fee) • Citi ThankYou: 3x on dining and entertainment, 2x on airfare and hotel charges • Amex EveryDay Preferred: 3x grocery (6k cap), 2x gas, 50% bonus for 30 uses • US Bank FlexPerks: 3x charitable donations (Kiva), 2x on grocery or other © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 38. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Chase Trifecta Chase Checking for extra 10%
- 39. Dangers of Rewards Cards • Never miss a payment. • Don’t spend more just to get the © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved bonus or more points. • Be a good customer. • Annual fees can add up, so do the math. • Credit score may go down in the short run.
- 40. What Goes Into Credit Score Inquiries and age of account can hurt, but total debt to credit ratio can be helped.
- 41. My Credit Score Estimates • Citi Identity Monitor • Credit Karma • Credit Sesame
- 42. Online Shopping
- 44. Double Dipping in Portals • Buy a gift card to earn bonus © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved points • United MileagePlus X App • Then use that gift card via the portal to make your purchase • Check Frequent Miler’s lab for current success stories
- 45. Compare Shopping Portal Rates • Compare manually for large © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved purchases for accuracy • www.evreward.com • Pick2Pay
- 46. Dining Rewards Network • 3x – 5x miles per dollar + sign-up and other occasional bonuses • Currently 2,000 mile United promo but has been 3,000
- 47. Look Our For Promotions • Contests, giveaways, sign-up bonuses, free point bonuses • Occasionally very lucrative promos come along – hit them big if you can • Worth doing for one, worth doing © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved for the whole family • Small Business Saturday
- 48. Other ways of earning miles • Investments • Mortgages • LASIK • Partners (car rental, flower orders, electricity, wine clubs, etc) • Daily Getaways (cheap purchase) • BarclayCard Travel Community • Buying them © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 49. Earn Miles From Actual Travel • Always earn miles on trips • Credit to a partner if needed • Look out for promos and register • Mileage running can be lucrative…but only for a few Mainly done for elite status © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 50. Burning Miles and © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved Points
- 51. Burning Miles and Points Learning to use miles and points to their max is the hard part, but don’t let “analysis paralysis” stop you from starting the process. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 52. Easy When You Look at Goals If you started earning with your end goal in mind, then burning is easy. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 53. Things to Consider with Burn • Look back at your goals • Look at your value per point, but © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved don’t get stuck there • Hotel points usually easier than miles (no blackout) • Consider stopovers, open-jaws, and free one-ways
- 54. Award Charts Different award charts have different costs and countries located © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved in different zones.
- 55. Award Charts Zone Example US Airways – Australia biz 110k US Airways – North Asia F 120k Aeroplan US – Europe 1 90k biz ANA East Coast – Europe 68k biz BA BOS-DUB – 50k RT in biz Learn the sweet spots for your desired destination. © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved
- 56. Availability Issues • Start looking at 11 months out, © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved but don’t stop there • Last minute can be great • Expert flyer alerts • Remember to check partners • Look segment by segment • Not all options online for all airlines
- 57. Questions? © Lypht, LLC All Rights Reserved