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Beating The System: Travel Points Pointers With Brian Kelly, The Points Guy
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Earning Redeeming Q & A For more information go to http://thepointsguy.com The Agenda
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Mile$ vs. Point$ -Airlines -Hotels -Credit Cards The Basics: What Are Points?
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Credit Card Gravy Train -Sign-up bonuses up to 100,000 points -Category spending bonuses -Redemption bonuses Earning: Credit Cards
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Understanding your credit score -Payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, types of credit -2-5 point temporary hit per application Strategy -Start with good credit -Pay off balances or interest rates negate points value -Multiple cards: issuers, business and personal, family and friends -Be cautious before applying for a mortgage! A Note On Your Credit
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Up to 100,000 points per card -My haul last year: eight credit cards, over 650,000 points Know your spend requirements -Anywhere from first purchase to $10,000 in four months Targeted offers: the only junk mail I like receiving! Earning: Sign-Up Bonuses
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Never settle for 1 point per dollar spent Popular category bonuses: airfare, gas, groceries, dining, wireless service, business marketing, individual airline/hotel spend on co-branded cards Spend threshold bonuses: points, elite status, elite miles, companion tickets Earning: Spending Bonuses
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Not all point credit cards were created equal! Credit Card Points 101 -Transferable points -Fixed-value points -Airline miles & hotel points
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Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility! Sharing points with family/friends Transfer partners = options Don’t forget about partners of partners Don’t put all of your points in one basket Earning: Transferable Points
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Transfer partners: Delta, Aeroplan, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, JetBlue, Aeromexico, El Al, Flying Blue, ANA, Singapore, Frontier, Hilton, Starwood, Best Western, Choice Hotels, Priority Club, etc. - Transfer bonuses Transfer partners: United, British Airways, Korean Air, Southwest, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, Amtrak. Earning: Transferable Points Programs
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Easiest to understand Least valuable: generally 1 point = 1 cent Examples: Capital One No Hassle Rewards Best for: -Families with non-flexible travel schedules -Domestic flights -Earning elite status NOT for: International premium class travelers Earning: Fixed-Value Points
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Generally not transferable Exchange flexibility for perks like: priority check in, free checked bags Examples: -Delta and Starwood American Express cards -United MileagePlus Explorer card -Hyatt Visa from Chase -Citi American AAdvantage cards Earning: Airline and Hotel Credit Cards
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Chase: Sapphire Preferred -Key benefits: 2x points on dining and travel, 50,000-point sign-up bonus, no foreign transaction fees American Express: Premier Rewards Gold Card -Key benefits: 3x airfare, 2x gas and groceries, 25,000-point sign-up bonus, 15,000-points bonus at $30,000 spend Capital One: Venture Card -2 points per dollar on everything, no foreign transaction fees, probably best fixed-value points card out there. Wait for 100,000 sign-up bonus Starwood Preferred Guest American Express -Best co-branded, 25,000-point sign-up bonus, multiple transfer partners, elite status with $30,000 spend Best Cards on the Market
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Flying Shopping Dining Promotions and Bonuses Other Ways To Earn
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Still a great way to earn, generally 1 mile per mile flown Class of service bonuses Elite Bonuses: can help accrue miles over twice as quickly. Map out your travel for the year. Earning: Flying
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Never go directly to a retailer’s web site Almost every airline and credit card points program has an online shopping portal. -Example: Skysmilesshopping.com for Delta Spend bonuses EVReward.com: Great for checking bonus offers at specific retailers Earning: Shopping
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Airlines and hotels have affiliated Dining Networks: another way to diversify and “double dip” Link every card you have to one Earn 3x points as a regular member, 5x as a VIP Great way to keep miles active Earning: Dining
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Social Media -As simple as “liking” an airline or hotel property on Facebook -Tweeting an airline or hotel -Ex. I got 3000 SPG points for liking the Sheraton Madison on Facebook. I value that at $90. Pay attention to blogs for promos -Have a goal in mind, pay attention to your specific programs, and have fun—especially when you’re not spending money! Earning: Promotions and Giveaways
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Generally never Exceptions: -Promotions such as US Airways miles sales at 1.45 cents apiece -To top up for a specific award -Transfer promos Earning: When Does It Make Sense To Buy Miles?
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Your strategy is specific to YOU and your needs Flexibility is the most important thing Diversify: don’t put all your points and miles in one basket Earning Points Takeaway
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The usual frustrating scenario: you have the points but can’t use them for what you want. Airlines have terrible technology for searching, especially partners and alliances Redeeming 101
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Saver Awards -Lowest redemption levels -Available to partner airlines Standard/ Peak Awards -Can only be booked in one’s own frequent flyer program -Higher points requirements -Sometimes only available to elite flyers Redeeming: Types of Airline Awards
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Star Alliance: United, US Airways, Air Canada, etc. -United.com pulls up two columns: Saver and Standard SkyTeam: Delta, Air France/KLM, Korean Air, etc. -Delta.com is broken -AirFrance.us: Sign up for Flying Blue Oneworld: American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, etc. -AA.com only shows you American and Alaska, adding Qantas and BA this spring -Qantas.com pulls in most partner awards Redeeming: Finding Award Availability
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ExpertFlyer.com: Paid service for finding both award seat and upgrade availability on many airlines. Call your airline: After you research, call in with exact flights, routes and dates. Be nice. Keep track of your miles using AwardWallet. Tip: Have a goal in mind. This makes the work worth it. Once you master searching for awards, you’ll get places you never thought possible. Redeeming: Other Tools
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Don’t forget about hotels! Often more valuable than airline miles Lots of places to save money like Europe Choose your programs with your goals and needs in mind Redeeming: Hotel Points
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One of the strongest programs Most valuable points, for me ~3 cents each Fifth night free, automatic 20% savings Cash & Points option Great airline transfer partners and ratios: 20,000 SPG points 25,000 airline miles Great associated credit card: SPG Amex Redeeming: Starwood Preferred Guest
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Maximum hotel free night redemption: 22,000 points Lucrative promotions Associated credit card: Chase Hyatt Visa -One of best sign-up bonuses on the market -2 free nights at any Hyatt -$75 annual fee Redeeming: Hyatt Gold Passport
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Priority Club IHG: -Point Breaks: rotating list of hotels requiring only 5,000 points for free nights Marriott Rewards: Pointsavers Hilton HHonors: -Pointsretchers -Points & Money Always do the math: Sometimes it makes more sense to pay for a room than to use points Redeeming: Reduced Price Awards
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Hertz: Free rental days National: Choice of cars Avis: Airline bonuses Enterprise: Just launched new points program Redeeming: Cars
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Put together the points strategy that works for you -Research programs that will get you where you want to go -Clarify your goals: coach/first class, international/domestic Diversify your points Share your experiences -Forums like FlyerTalk and Milepoint -I learn from my readers’ comments Pay attention to the news and promos and visit ThePointsGuy.com The Takeaways
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