Beginners Guide To Miles & Points: What’s The Point?

Travel isn’t free

Period.

But there are ways to improve the quality and quantity of your trip when you know a few tricks.

I would say that everyone can greatly enhance their travel experiences through the strategic use of airline miles, hotel points and credit card rewards.

I am able to travel incredible places in a style that I never would have thought possible, and it is due almost entirely to maximize the value of air miles.

Let's break it down into a more concrete example (and I will use round numbers here just to make the math easier).

Imagine there are two pairs of relatively similar economic situations. They plan to travel to Europe for two weeks in summer, and has budgeted $ 5,000 for the overall journey.

The first couple are savvy consumers, so they know to shop around when looking for air transport. They look for flights, they decide agree with achieving a further connection to save money, and finally settled on tickets in economy between Chicago and Paris that comes to $ 1,500 each, when taxes are included.

ORD-CDG flights

This leaves $ 2,000 for other expenses on his journey; Trains to southern France, perhaps a studio overlooking the French Riviera in Nice; and some outdoor dining. They stretch the rest of their budget by preparing meals in their kitchen, and take a picnic on the beach.

They have a fantastic holiday.

The second couple was collecting airline miles and credit card points using tips and strategies I will outline in this guide. They shop for tickets with miles (perhaps with a price reservation service to maximize the value of their points), and is able to redeem miles for business class tickets to Europe. Its out-of-pocket for various taxes and fees totaling $ 250.

No really.

This leaves $ 4,750 to spend on vacation, so they have many more opportunities. Maybe they rent a villa near Cannes, or, if they were to save hotel points so, book a room at a luxury hotel in the French Riviera.

I booked the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Nice last summer on points, which was a very high value

If not, they may decide to save well, and save $ 2,500 for future travel.

They also have a fantastic holiday.

The real difference here is in the opportunities created by taking advantage of air miles.

Some people want to spend less on travel.

Others want to upgrade to business class (or first class).

Some people want to make several trips each year, or be able to visit places in the world that are otherwise out of reach.

With the right mindset and miles, anything is possible.

But wait! I do not have a job that requires me to thousands of miles a year, or spend hundreds of nights in hotels!

This is good!

The reality in the airline industry today is that loyalty programs are incredibly profitable - also separated from their airline. This means that the programs have created lucrative partnerships with banks and credit card.

So you really can earn more miles and points costs every day that you can fly.

It will not always be the case, but it makes sense to maximize these rewards in between!

In this guide, we'll go over the basics to earn miles and points, and give you all the information you need to refresh your journey and fly in international premium cabins for pennies on the dollar.