About Points & Miles
To understand how I use points and miles to realize our travel goals, the best place to start is my overall travel philosophy.
My Travel Philosophy
My travel philosophy is to maximize experiences - the flight, the hotels, dining, cultural exposure, sightseeing, etc. For transoceanic flights, I want to fly first or business class, primarily so that I am well-rested on arrival but also to experience premium cabin perks. On intercity trains, I want to book first-class or sleeper accommodations to be comfortable during the journey. I want to stay in hotels that are centrally located so I can spend more time visting the things we came to see rather than commuting from cheap but distant hotels. When visiting tourist sites, I want purchase premium tickets and other add-ons that allow me to efficiently use my limited time. I want to experience local cuisine, including including the occasional fine-dining meal, without resorting to budget restaurants. For all of these things, if I can have a bit of luxury as well, all the better, but the main goals are efficiency and enhanced experiences.
Of course, enhanced experiences usually carry a cost. To indulge our travel preferences seems like we would have to spend a lot of money. We have enough disposable income to take regular trips, but we would face a choice at this point: we could book first class tickets and centrally located hotels but travel less often. Alternatively, we could temper our expectations and travel more frequently. If only there were a way to have our cake and eat it too and access premium experiences at a discount. Fortunately, there is and it not a gimmick: travel points and miles!
Points and miles - a Premium Travel “Cheat Code”
Of course, you almost never get something for nothing, and travel is no different.
RESUME EDITING
PARKING LOT:
- without breaking the bank. In other words, we want to have first-class experiences on an economy-class budget.
a sort of “cheat code” so to speak
What makes these trips financially manageable, even including luxury touches, is due to taking advantage of free and deeply discounted airfare and hotels made possible by travel points and miles
In researching future European destinations, I began to learn about point and miles and how travel rewards could help me to realize my dream of frequently returning to Europe despite my limited travel budget.
TEXT:
I started collecting Delta SkyMiles in the late 1990s. One of the first credit cards I obtained after college was the American Express Delta SkyMiles Optima. A few years later, I began to collect hotel points. For almost two decades, I did little to earn points and miles aside from flights and stays coupled with putting all my credit card spend on the Amex Delta card. Over that time I used SkyMiles for domestic first class award tickets and for fare reductions on domestic economy flights. For my first trip to Europe, I used 95,000 Delta SkyMiles and paid $202 in taxes and fees for a round-trip economy ticket. I thought I spending my miles wisely - and my European ticket was not a bad use of miles - but, in retrospect, I now know just how inefficient those awards were. I only had a surface knowledge of how reward currencies worked. I truly did not know what I did not know. Then I stumbled across points and miles travel blogs.
After going to London and Paris that first time, I wanted to go back to Europe...soon. As I was researching my return, I found two blogs that remain must-reads: One Mile at a Time and Million Mile Secrets. I learned that, not only was I not getting the most out of my miles, but also I could be earning many more rewards via credit sign-up bonuses, spending on the "right" credit cards, and shopping online via rewards portals. Reading these blogs, I often saw the term "hobby" applied to the pursuit of points and miles. For me, points and miles are not a hobby. Though I am more well versed in earning and using reward currencies, they are a means-to-an-end. Points and miles allow me to travel more frequently and in comfort at a reasonable expense. I can also experience aspirational travel products that are otherwise well beyond my financial means. Points and miles basically resonated with me because they help realize my travel philosophy by both maximizing experience and reducing cost.
