At the beginning of the week I shared some web stats and plans for a Million Reader Giveaway.
I only wish I had realized the traffic milestones earlier for this blog, I could have reached out to my favorite travel providers and asked them to help me celebrate… with promises of riches beyond readers’ wildest dreams elite status and points.
Instead, I’ve had to get creative with the sorts of things I’m able to offer on my own.
So here’s part one of the Million Reader Giveaway!
Prizes will include:
- (5) Milepoint premium packages (1000 United miles, Hilton Gold status, National Car Rental Executive status, and more)
- $200 Gift Cards
- Amazon Gift Cards
- Miles in your choice of several programs
- Amazon Gift Cards
I might even throw in elite status and a club membership with an airline. There will be at least 15 prizes in this round, and probably more in round 2!
It’s a bit of a grab back of most high value prizes, half of which will be given away randomly and half will be give away based on quality or usefulness of entry.
Here’s all you need to do:
- leave a comment in this thread sharing either your best travel-related tip or advice, or the most useful thing you’ve learned from this blog.
- Since quality is key (as half the prizes will be given out based on quality), you may enter as many times as you like.
- All entries for this round must be submitted as a comment to this post by Sunday 5pm Eastern.
Thank you very much — in advance for your tips and for reading and sharing along with me, all these years!
Now enter away…!
Best,
Gary
- You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
I really like the article about “travel tips for winning gift cards” since I learn many things from there. Thanks.
So many things…hang up, call back; earn and burn; don’t wait on deals
After all the planning to get the perfect (premium class) flights and (nice) hotels, just enjoy the trip and remember that the experience the trip creates is worth much more than how you got there. And always have backups in case things go wrong during the trip!
Love your blog! Gave me a heads up to all these great bonuses I would’ve missed out otherwise. Best thing I learned from this site: how to use credit card points and membership rewards effectively. Prior to following your blog, I was doing all the wrong things with my reward points!
Travel tip: scan passport and email it to myself for remote access in case of emergency.
Remember the TSA is only trying to keep us safe from grandmothers, little kids, and the occasional terrorist!!!
Best lesson I learned from my most recent trip abroad: When charging items on your no foreign transaction fee credit card overseas, almost always charge those transactions in local currency rather than US dollars. I would’ve gotten a much better conversion rate from Visa or Mastercard than I did from the vendors abroad!
Miles and More is an interesting program. I had to cancel a United award booked through them 15 minutes before departure due to illness (I fell ill at the airport). Since it was a weekend the M&M call center was closed. I called United to cancel the award just so there is a record of the cancellation. That same day I waited for the Australian M&M call center to open (about 10 hrs after the flight departed) because it is the only one that opens 7 days a week (strange). I asked them to get my miles refunded. And they did!!! So my tip: If you can, avoid the US call center. They are not very good. They often price awards wrongly or claim there is no award space. I have not called the German call center but I had great success with Australia and Singapore.
you can never pack too many empty zip lock bags! Handy for wet stuff, stuff that might leak, etc.
loafers are much better when going through security.
to combat jet lag, try not to take a nap on arrival. get on that local time ASAP
Don’t create frequent flier accounts for your cello!
your eye opening info on the Chase Sapphire Card. Got one for me, one for Mrs. SST almost immediately, and still have one.
if traveling as a couple, separate occasionally during the day. your female companion is more likely to receive invitations to local events on her own than you are as a couple!
The amazing value you highlighted at the Park Hyatt Maldives, which I hope to visit someday using Gold Passport Points.
best advice: get the Hyatt card for two free nights at any Hyatt after minimal spend.
If you travel a lot, make the most of your time at home with your family/friends… It makes traveling that much more enjoyable, whether business or pleasure, first class or coach.
My favorite travel tip for foreign countries is to eat where there are a lot of people eating (when in non-touristy areas). If you know the local language, ask a local shopkeeper what they recommend.
Always plan ahead!
The card that got me started in the whole points-earning business was the Amex Platinum earlier this year! I think most of the perks that come with this awesome card are already well-documented, but I think it bears repeating that in order to get a lot of them, you actually have to call Amex. For example, I encouraged one of my friends to get the card before our trip to Montreal over Thanksgiving this year; however, she had never called in to get her Priority Pass and was unable to access the Air Canada lounge in LGA as I was. You’d also need to call in for SPG Gold Status, Hilton Gold Status, merging Membership Rewards accounts, and getting a card with a chip in it. So bottom line–get the card and call customer service!
Best piece of advice I can give. Be kind to those you interact with while traveling. I am a big guy. 6’6″, 450 lbs. I get I am not the easiest person to sit next to on a trip, but I spend quite a bit of the flight up and about trying to respect the space and comfort of others.
Gary, you run a great site and I wish I had found this much earlier in my life. I would say the best advice besides Hang up, call back is getting the Amex Platinum card to get the Gold status in SPG/Hilton and the $200 airline reimbursements & learning about the value of non-US frequent flyer programs, particularly British Airways Avios where I can fly from Phoenix to LA for 4500 miles each way!
Perhaps the biggest thing I’ve learned from this blog is not to be afraid of applying for credit cards. I used to have just one card for everything, but now I have cards for specific bonus categories. It’s been somewhat life-changing!
I really enjoy reading your blog as you are a prolific writer with substance. I am relatively new to the world of points and miles, and this site has helped me tremendously. The most valuable tip I have learned from you (and what has to be one of the best values out there) is the Companion Pass with Southwest. With your help, I am less than $100 away in spending from getting my 50k point bonuses for both the SW Personal and SW Business cards. I will wait until after January 1 to complete my spend for the bonuses which will allow me to get the Companion Pass for 2014 and 2015! THANKS!!!
When abroad, especially in Asia, have ample cash in local currency. Not everywhere is as credit card-friendly as North America!
Above all else (and there is a lot of else!) I think the best thing that I have learned from your site is the way the various credit card programs can be maximized.
I just got into the whole travel and points world last year. Previously I was the typical person who would get a credit card, earn the sign up bonus (if any), and then just use it without thinking about it – earning a few points here and there but never really gaining enough to do anything with. Now from using the tips I’ve found on your site I find myself with tons of travel opportunities that I never would have had before.
I have especially enjoyed the Southwest Companion Pass strategy (with the business and regular versions of the card), the Chase Ink tips about buying gift cards at office stores for 5x points on practically everything, and the chance to get in on the British Airways Visa 100,000 point sign up bonus earlier this year.
Thanks for opening my eyes to the wonderful world of champagne travel on a beer budget!
The most useful thing I’ve learned here is how to apply miles towards first/business class tickets. I’m still primarily a coach guy, but the last couple of flights have been in premium cabins and the wife and I are liking it! And as the miles accumulate, it becomes easier to do … and more frequent.
Thanks for all of the advice and information you post!
In Ecuador, don’t eat the blue berries that grow at the southern end of Lake Otavalo, they are NOT blueberries.
Hang up and call back….and how I use some version of that in everyday life!!
Go now! You never know what tomorrow will bring.
When traveling by plane with children, sit two-behind-two or two-behind-one instead of all in a row. That way you can put the child behind one of the parents (if they can’t stop kicking or worrying the tray table), two kids can be together or separated, as necessary, both kids can get window seats, one parent can get a break, etc.
This comment is probably only useful to new parents, but here goes:
Buy your infant a seat from day one! Even if he or she isn’t going to use it, it’s incredibly awesome to have a row of 3 in coach to yourselves (or if traveling solo + baby, a buffer seat). On longer flights, this is worth every penny. As your child gets closer to 2, consider MCE/E+/EC – the extra leg room allows the little one to get down and walk within the confines of your row. That has saved us on some recent TCONs.
Always double, triple, or quadruple dip!
your analyzes and arguments on frequent flyer topics such as hidden city and throw away ticketing, fuel charges, solutions for international phone calls are very insightful.
Keep everything you may need during your flight in the bag by your feet, not in the overhead.
Your points are not a savings account. Make sure to spend them for trips. Do not save them up to watch your points balance grow. Spend them as soon as you have what you need for that special flight or hotel stay. They will only be devaluated over time. This concept takes some swallowing. Make sure to drain those accounts over and over again. You will be surprised how quick you can get more that next special trip. Thank you Gary! Best advice ever and saved me many times!
When sitting in coach, if you have to keep something under the seat in front of, after the plane is airborne move the item back against the front of your own seat. Your legs will generally fall comfortably in front of the item, giving you back the use of your foot space until it’s time to prepare the cabin for landing.
A three ounce container is just the right size to hold the average home-mixed cocktail. They have ice on board.
This blog got me started in the world of points — I’ve had many a trip that would not otherwise have been possible without your work. Thank you!
Schwab isnt the only card that gives you fee free foreign ATM use! I’ve had an ING bank acct for years (now Capital One 360..) and just realized I get the same benefit from using the atm card attached to that acct.!
Be human and kind towards others when traveling but keep your wits about you. This may even get you more perks compared to status and tiers… at the least your traveling will be more enjoyable.
Don’t put your nasty, dirty, bare feet on the bulkhead.
Definitely hang up and call back !!
2 words: packing cubes. incredibly useful for constantly packing and unpacking in trips. keeps your luggage organized. love them!
Get TSA Precheck – even as they seem to be mucking around with sending the uninitiated to those lanes, it’s so cool to breeze through wearing boots and leaving the laptop & liquids in the bag.
a few tips for when flying thru singapore / changi airport.
they have great transit hotel for catching a few hours of sleep and a shower. it’s quite cheap and you can get a room for as little as 4 hours.
if you have star alliance gold, Kris flyer silver is GREAT. showers and food are awesome. also, if you can’t access kris flyer silver, kris flyer gold is decent too. they have great massage chairs (kris flyer silver does not have them) which are really relaxing.
united 1K members: never hesitate to call the 1k hotline to voice any complaints or issues with united service. they go out of their way to resolve your issues and often times if they cannot fix the issue, they will compensate you with gift vouchers. they can be quite generous with the vouchers.
Never visit the loo with bare feet; the liquid on the floor is most likely not from a sink splash
I always put copies of of our e-tickets, hotel confirmations and car rental documents etc., plus our complete itinerary, on Google Drive before we travel, so that I can access another copy via the web if something happens to my paper copies or to those on my iPad. Dropbox and similar programs work equally well.
Free 1-800 calls when overseas: when outside of the US and in need of calling a US Airline (or credit card company or hotel etc), use skype. skype provides free calls to toll free 800 lines from your computer or skype mobile app. i just learned this recently and it has saved me a lot of money and time.