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 can’t make the 1000th post, so I will settle for 995 instead. Using tips from your blog, I became a Diamond on Delta, Gold on Aegean/Turkish, and Plat on Virgin Australia while in college. Traveling has never been more fun.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, I became The Travel Hero because I was inspired by you. On a daily basis, I save my friends’ and clients’ mangled travel plans, create their mileage strategies, and identify loopholes in the industry. Really helps a college student earn some side money – which I’m really grateful for.
Always bring a stash of binder clips or clothes pins, can be used to hang sink-washed undies or hold curtains closed. Travel light to avoid baggage fees and waiting for luggage on the other end.
Learned that if flying DL BE to/from DXB you can contact local DL ticket office to get a complimentary chauffeur drive on DXB end of itinerary (i.e. matching EK’s program)
Make the most of credit card signups. I just wish us non Americans got the same bonuses and offers like Americans do!
Avios are great for domestic AA trips, but a lot of people forget they can be used for Alaska Airlines flights just as well!
Huge tip that I’ve used is that on UA you can get a “third” free leg on an international ticket but on the domestic side!
Be willing to compromise with fellow travelers.
Oh, and going through Air France to get one-ways on Delta is especially useful – had friends in Delta “territory” (southeast) needing to get from Florida to Atlanta to help their son (just after cancer treatments) drive back to Florida – the one-ways were perfecto!
don’t buy duty free items (liquids over 100 ml) if u are transiting between multiple airports. only buy at the last transfer point otherwise it might get confiscated. i found that the hard way transiting thru Narita.
I’ve learned that it is better to spend miles/points than to save them indefinitely.
Think CIRCLE (priceless in CA’s Wine Country but useful anytime one’s trip involves a rental car)! I load all the places I want to go (in one day) into Google Maps (or Mapquest, etc., etc.) and then click “Directions.” The result is usually a tangled mess. But then by rearranging the stops, I create circular routes that (1) reduce butt-in-seat time, thus maximizing the time I have for sightseeing and activities, (2) reduce miles driven which reduce fuel consumed which reduces cost and (3) take me on paths I might not otherwise have chosen — which can be serendipitous!
Covering the spout of toiletries bottles with Saran wrap under the lid is an eye-opening idea. I would never stop using slide Ziploc bags, but this is a nice insurance policy.
Scan your passport and other important documents and email them to yourself, in case if loss when traveling.
Calculating the value of a reward point can be done by a) the buy-from price set by the program, b) the earn-by price, or c) the cash limit price above which you wouldn’t pay for the item. Using method C helps remind me that cash is my most important travel reward!
Don’t pay with cash! If you can pay off credit cards every month, put as much spending you can on points earning credit cards.
What I’ve learned from this blog? How to make the most points, which programs to target, and how to make the most of my memberships.
opting out of flights if its oversold esp if u happen to be stuck on a resort island! happened to some friends at turks and caicos just a while ago.. super lucky. my flight wasn’t oversold sadly
Like many have said, the Saphire Card is a must! Thanks for letting my whole family see the world!
As much as we’ve gotten away from paper, I recommend printing all your receipts/bookings for a trip and bringing them with you. You never know when you’re going to need to show someone the detail. I also print all the same documents as pdf files and save them in a Dropbox folder under the trip name; that way I can access them on my phone or laptop at any point.
Use your smartphone to photograph and email the contents of your wallet — both the front and back of your credit cards and passports — so that if anything were to happen you’d have an easier time sorting it out.
Many vitamins, natural supplements, and sleep aids are considered “drugs” in certain parts of the world. Travel with everything in its original packaging, with prescriptions in your name, and on your person – and be prepared to bin them if questioned. You will never be able to explain cherry extract and melatonin for jet lag (neither of which works) to an agent who has never left his/her country.
If you are going to use an award ticket………Always verify that the award ticket has been issued.
I have really learned a lot about the different credit cards out there;What’s best for what. I utilized different credit cards for different purposes. Also, reading great blogs like this one helps me save more money!
Three rules of thumb I live by when exploring a city:
1. Always look up when walking around.
2. Before heading back always go to the next corner and see what is around the corner.
3. Always travel a different way back then the way you came.
Consider upgrading to a Club floor with access to a lounge in an expensive city. We did this at the Ritz in Tokyo in May. Though it was $150, we got a fantastic breakfast, light lunch spread, afternoon tea, and a hearty appetizers with several (…ahem) very nice glasses of wine in the evening, all with an insanely beautiful view of the city atop the highest building on Tokyo. We’d easily have spent double this dining and drinking out, maybe triple depending on cost of the wine!
I’ve learned how to actually book an award trip. That you can’t just assume there isn’t any availability cause the search engine can’t find it. Looking segment by segment. Using tools. Hang up and call again. Have been all things I have learned
On United I book standard economy awards if I can’t find availability, saver economy or saver F/C class almost always shows up closer to the date.
Diversify Diversify Diversify!
If there is any piece of advice that I have learned from this blog, it is that to focus on using one points program is to your detriment. In this day and age of devaluations, it is just too easy for people to get disappointed when their favorite airline/hotel chain suddenly (and inexplicably) changes their rewards structure. When you earn points across a number of programs, you shelter yourself from such devaluations. For example, the Hilton HHonors devaluation really impacted family members who had put all of their eggs into this basket. I had earned a significant number of HHonors points, but also utilized Marriott and SPG to ensure I had a fund in multiple programs.
Thanks so much for your excellent work!
Skip on exchanging cash before leaving home for a foreign country, and just hit the ATM on arrival at a foreign airport. Aside from Myanmar, I don’t remember ever having been somewhere that I couldn’t pick up money as soon as I landed.
Make a difference when you travel, be it business or pleasure. Find an hour or two to assist with a local project or a charity, or bring a small gift to brighten up the day of a good person you are bound to meet. It may be the hotel receptionist, the taxi driver, the flight attendant, the coffee shop attendant, or someone you just struck a convesation with. We are being given the gift of travel, the least we can do is find a way to make a difference.
I learned that travel for a special meal is worthwhile because it is the experience you will remember over and over. The best example was the trip to Spain just to eat dinner at el bulli. These experiences make the most meaningful gifts.
Understanding stopovers and open jaw rules on award tickets has been huge. When I first started in the game, I think that was on of the biggest eye openers for me. It has allowed me to combine trips to see family with visiting other destinations.
Don’t hoard your miles – I lost 260,000 of them when my preferred carrier went bankrupt ten years ago. Now I try to clear them out every year.
When traveling in economy use a toiletry kit from a previous business class trip
Ive lesrned how to travel better on award points
I now know which cards are best used in each situation
If traveling internationally and there is a favorable exchange rate, try booking through the other country’s website to save some cash.
I now know which sire to head to whenever i have any questions on award travel
Take more than 1 debit card on international trips if you can. If there’s a snafu you have another way to get cash without resorting to a credit card cash advance.
Money exchange in Costa Rica:
The airport ATMs are often on the blink, so if you arrive in San Jose, try to spend your first night nearby in Alajuela where there is a nice Marriott at reasonable prices (or your annual free night from the Chase credit card) and right next door is a Walmart where they will exchange USD cash for local currency with no fee. You can also stock up on necessary items. This is also very close to all the car rental locations.
I now know which airlines are worth redeeming points for
When flying with an infant under 2, dont buy the extra seat: recruit grandma and grandpa to go along!
Make sure to order the lemon poppy seed pancakes via room service at the Andaz Wall Street with your Hyatt Diamond benefits!
Learning to use open jaws and hidden city ticketing has been huge
Transferring flexibile currencies into exotic mileage programs (i.e. Skypass, Krisflyer etc.)
Your advice helped me use what I thought were 200K useless Avios points into affordable trips to visit family in Hawaii.
Subtly slip a $100 to the hotel registration clerk in Vegas and express your interest, with a smile and a nod, in one of their fabulous suites. Heard quite a few stories about this leading to 2-story penthouses and other massive rooms.
Planning ahead just make sense in this business.
Do your homework – THERE ARE MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT.
How to use miles to book tickets, whether it is through calling/airline websites