Comments

1. Your cogent explanation of the poorly conceived USAirways promotion several years ago, which led me to buy $10,0000 worth of Trackitback stickers, much to my wife’s chagrin, which quickly dissipated when we flew first class on Lufthansa to Europe.
   Thank you!

2. Google translate(app) does offline translations for more then 20 language. The translations are not perfect but they will do in a pinch. A few months ago a friend and I were in France. In the course of our trip my friend got hurt and we had to get him some help. We both had a basic understanding of French but trying to explain to what happened was well past our abilities. In the end the app allowed us to him the help he needed.

3. Apply for the CSP – 9 months, 500k miles and a couple of free F&J seats to India later, I am a devout follower!

4. Use the exact airport code instead of the city code (e.g., IAD or DCA instead of WAS) when searching for award flights on United. You’ll get more results back because the algorithm is more constrained. Do two separate searches (IAD and DCA) for the most possibilities.

5. The very best tip is reading through these comments and finding Gary’s absolutely terrific — no, make that brilliant — best of the best tips. And now? Onto digging through the archives to read the the original postings (and applying for a Chase Sapphire card!).

6. I always try to bring a portable nylon zip up cooler when traveling to int’l beach locations. It’s great to load up food and beers at a local market and then take them to take to the beach, rather than paying excessive $$$ at touristy bars. Plus, who wants to leave the sand once you’ve got a cold one in hand?

7. Couchsurfing isn’t just a good way to get a free room. Seems its a good way to hookup. Businessinsider’s “Couchsurfing’s Sex Secret: It’s The Greatest Hook-Up App Ever Devised” explains why and how..

8. Words of wisdom that I have learned throughout the years….Never settle for economy class!!

9. I never miss any post from view from wing or any Gary’s presentations my advice to all follow Gary!!!

10. If I’m staying in town somewhere where I haven’t been I download a offline copy of the metro map, tips of traveling by public transport, quickest/easiest way to/from the airport and and alt routes to get to the hotel. This way I can make it to the hotel fast and without stress.

11. Don’t be afraid to get off the beaten path and do talk to strangers!

    Tip # 1 – I have traveled with my husband for 40+ years and on every trip we’ve made, he makes friends with total strangers. He will stop them on the street to ask directions or if they know a restaurant or what that building over there is, he will strike up a conversation on the subway, he will start talking to the folks at the next table to ours, or he will ask someone shopping at an outdoor market for help selecting a local fruit that is unknown and exotic to us.

    Very few people find this intrusive, and as a result we have had wonderful experiences that most travelers do not enjoy. We’ve been invited home with a new French friend to taste his mom’s ratatouille, we toured a building in the Old City of Jerusalem that was officially closed because our conversation happened to be with an off-duty security guard, and when we visited Istanbul, we got a first hand report of what it was like to be in Tanzim Square during the protests last year.

    But my favorite stranger story happened in Venice on our 35th wedding anniversary. While trying to locate a specific restaurant, we stopped someone to ask if he could help. It turned out he was the Head Chef there, on his way to work! He was so tickled at the coincidence that, en route, he took us out for a drink, telling everyone in the bar what had happened, and then led us to the restaurant, where we were seated at the best table. They gave us some appetizers on the house and treated us like family. It was an anniversary dinner I will not forget.

12. When I pack for an extended casual trip, I use my “Rule of Three” I take 3 of what I plan to wear and wash out as I go along. One to wear, One to wash (using hotel soap or body wash, with a drop of conditioner in the rinse water), and One as a backup – either drying out or for emergencies.

13. Best kept travel secret I learned from you: Meridien Airlines has a first class hot tub 🙂

14. Don’t focus only on points value at redemption, the accumulation part is equally important. Maximize your Chase Freedom categories, get a Ink card, and get the Blue Cash Preferred (6% in cash back is hard to beat, even if it’s only on $6,000 of groceries per year).

15. One of the best advice is HUCA – hang up call again! if an airline agent wont work with you to give you what you want or need – end the call politely (as to not cause the agent to make a notation..) and try your luck with another agent. It does work from my expreience.

16. The value of points is directly correlated to their flexibility. Translated, if you can get SPG Starpoints, Chase UR or AmEx MR.

17. AmEx Delta’s credit cars are good for the MQMs and the perks, but they are not even the best cards for accumulating points on Delta (Gold Preferred Rewards and AmEx Business Platinum have 3x on flights) and AmEx MR can be transferred to Delta.

18. Dry shampoo! After a long flight when you don’t have time to shower, it can help you feel human again.

19. Leave your passport in the vault of your hotel room when you are sightseeing, bring only a copy with you.

20. Good tip I got here is to use Brazil’s law that does not allow to add fuel surcharges to airline tickets. It can be useful to issue your ticket through a Brazilian website.

21. General advice: Book now, think later! Good travel deals NEVER LAST!

22. 4500 avios redemptions for short haul flights, best use of points

23. 4500 avios points for short haul filghts, best use of mileage

24. when in a city you are new too, see the post card rack that will highlight all the famous places to go.

25. Your regular updates on the best credit card offers out there really opened my eyes to not just sticking with one airline program and its card, but getting credit cards for other programs and especially for those that can be transferred to multiple airline/hotel programs (Chase UR, Amex MR, etc.)

26. Put your work address on your luggage tags. Otherwise thieves can see your homr address at your exotic destination, and figure out you are not home for a week.

27. It’s been a year of learning for me. Getting the nerve up to dip into manufactured spending. Thanks for being my churning professor.

28. carry a money clip of expired credit cards, supermarket cards and dollar bills. This is a great decoy to hand over if you are mugged

29. Travel tip: when your in a hotel room and want to hear some music, put your smartphone inside a coffee mug – it hikes up the volume drastically!

30. Travel hair spray can be used as Mace

31. When traveling abroad, be sure to search the web for free or close to free walking tours. You would be amazed at the quality of the guides and they usually work for tips.

32. Tip: use the airline’s “same day change” policies to save money and improve chances for an upgrade!

33. Keep informed of all the deals by reading blogs and maximize on your daily purchases!
    Keep families and friends also informed, and help them manage miles/points better.

34. Use scheduelle changes on your flights to avoid paying change fees. Sometimes, instead of changing and paying the fee it pays off to wait some time and see if a scheduele change may occur. Quite often even a minor change can get you to get the airline to refund the ticket.

35. Your tips for loading a mile into the ANA tool to search for star alliance aware space.

36. Well, this is a points related tip. I routinely underestimated the value of shopping portals. I always lumped it with all the obsessed miles collectors wasting expensive time to chase minuscule miles. I’ve learned this year that it isn’t hard and there are a meaningful amount of miles that can be obtained just for sending flowers after a funeral which you would have done anyways. (30miles/$ at FTD) Can’t beat that.

37. The best advice I give anyone is, of course, from you. Burn your miles! They are not a savings account.

38. True expertise usually takes years to develop and it really shows in the content that is produced.

39. HUCA. Amazing what can happen when you get the right agent

40. Your information on the British Airways VISA 100,000 sign up bonus has been the best thing for my new travel with miles habit. Using the Travel Together certificates and AMEX mileage transfers, I’ve gone to Europe with my husband three times in business or first class. While not the cheapest way to Europe dues to fees and surcharges, it works for me because it’s doesn’t take much effort at all!

41. what the KVS tool is and how to use it to find award seats. thank you!

42. The best advice I learnt from your blog would have to be the fact that any experience is worth exactly as much as we make of it – positivity always shines through in facing any travel-related incident, be it weather delays, baggage losses, or even something as simple as not getting the routing you originally wanted for your award ticket. This blog has taught me to smile through these issues and learn from every experience – a smile among a plane of delayed passengers will spread around very quickly. 🙂

43. Best advice: Patience pre (booking) or during travel

44. Take along a small power strip so that you can use one outlet with a converter to charge all your devices at once,

45. Maybe it’s just due to the recent spat of cold weather, but lately people keep asking: “How can I take a vacation in Hawaii without spending much money?” My answer: “How does $30 for a roundtrip flight and four nights sound to you?” With BofA offering 50,000 miles on the Alaska Airline Visa, and a roundtrip ticket to the Hawaiian islands costing 55,000 Alaska miles, this one card gives you a roundtrip ticket (in coach). The the south side of Maui boasts some of the finest beaches, parks and resorts, so let’s look there. Hyatt Andaz and Fairmont resorts are among the best, and right now Chase offers Visa cards with no sign up fees. In fact, if you sign up for the Hyatt Visa through the link that shows while beginning the “booking” of any Hyatt, you’ll even get an offer for a statement credit of $50. This largely eliminates the $75 you’ll pay for the Alaska Airline Visa and the $5 fee you’ll pay on that roundtrip ticket (with 55,000 miles). …So that’s how you fly roundtrip to Hawaii and stay four nights in top rated resorts for four nights, with just three credit card sign-up bonuses. Two people can manage roundtrip flights and 8 nights, at a net cost of just $60. Oh, and the nights spent at the Fairmont resort come with free breakfasts. Anyway, that’s my hot tip …as we all endure this cold snap.

46. The game is always changing. Be patient and evolve with it.

47. Learned so many useful things from your blog.
    Always used ebates and mrrebates but ev’reward is one I didn’t know about.

48. When booking economy seats in a 3 across pattern (ex. 737 or A320) when traveling with a partner book both the aisle and window seat. Quite frequently you will find yourself with no middle seat mate like intra Europe business class. If not then you can always switch with the person in the middle seat

49. Check every card you have, and know which one to use for each type of purchase. Otherwise you may be leaving many miles (or points) behind.

50. Your posts on maximizing debit card rewards have added such a profound new dimension to my miles earning!