Thursday, May 16, 2013

Do you know what your points and miles are worth?

Everyday I read dozens of stories from people who use their points and miles to fly all over the world, often in first or business class, staying in luxury hotels, and planning their next trips before they even finish the one their on.

Many of these individuals travel for business and rack up enourmous quantities of points, all courtesy of their employers, while others score giant sign up bonuses after applying for dozens of credit cards a year. It's likely that most of us don't fit into either of these categories, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to enjoy some of the same benefits that the "road warriors" and "travel hackers" are taking advantage of. 

While I love to share information about credit card sign up bonuses and promotions, I find that often the people I talk to are far more familiar with the concept of earning points than they are with redeeming them. Maybe they have 5,000 miles, maybe they have 500,000 miles (more often than not they don't even remember which airline/hotel they have points with). If you can't figure out how to use your travel miles, they really arent worth anything to you. I hope to change this for each and every person that I know. At the very (very!) minimum, you should be able to get at least 1 cent of value out of every mile or point you have. If you really work at it, they can be worth much more. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the potential value of the points and miles you already have, or want to figure out what programs might be best for you, leave me a comment, send me an email, or if you know me, just come say hi. I will happily donate some of my time to give you some ideas for using your points or help figure out how you can start earning even more.

2 comments:

  1. I have 100k in Thank you points, 220k AA miles, 94k AMR points, 100k Citi Thank You, 155K HH points. The goal is to go to Thailand for a honeymoon, leaving from JFK. I would like to take advantage of the stopover possibilities w/Oneworld partners via AA so am looking for the best options for my flights. Appreciate your advice. Wasn't able to find your direct email

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    1. Added a "contact me" button to the nav bar. Let me know if that works for you.

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