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!
It sounds simple, but have a goal when you are collecting miles/points otherwise you end up scattered and can’t earn/burn as well. While I read this I took a bit for this to sink in. Good Advice!
Hi Gary – love the blog. Best advice I got from the blog and tip I have to offer comes from the same trip. Used the info here to get to the Maldives on Cathay via CMB where we took Sri Lanka airlines for the last leg. We got in late as expected and actually stayed at the transit hotel in the airport. For those considering this option, be prepared – it’s very dorm like with a subpar bathroom. Plus, the airport staff will do as much as possible to try to get you to leave the airside. We were on our third person before we could get the help desk to print out our tickets for the next leg. This is all on top of needing to interline your bags at the start of the trip, which was a challenge in itself – this is when going through first class check in really helps as the cathay agent spent about 20 minutes working on it in JFK.
Now, with Cathay service to MLE plus Malaysia offerings, I was able to help bypass this issue all together. Definitely would go that route if you can
Keep some spare cash ($1s and $5s) for various tipping reasons, even to the extent of possible helpful passerby’s if you get lost, it’s usually very appreciated and gets people to pay much more attention to the directions they’re giving.
Bring ziploc bags, take the laundry bags from hotels, utilize hotel amenity kits, and bring a no-foreign-fee credit card!
When travelling to the States, always ask the money exchange people for 20 – 30 dollars in one dollar bills – comes in handy for tipping (especially in the UA lounge).
The best lessons I’ve learned from the blog are not unique to travel but apply to decisions pretty generally: consider a wide range of alternatives, don’t ignore opportunity costs, remember that alternatives have differential effects at the margins. Well, that and the Andaz poppyseed pancakes.
be a good neighbor (and airport hero) and bring a powerstrip to help everyone charge their phones/tablets/gadgets!
Can’t stress enough how important it is to be polite and considerate when traveling, it gets you much, much further than acting like a privileged westerner/tourist.
My tip is to use a clear organizer pouch (like the medium-sized ones from Tom Bihn) to keep all my reservations and receipts for a trip in one place. Stack them in order of need before departure and rotate through them as the trip progresses so the next one needed is on top and visible, so I never have to hunt for reservation/confirmation #s. I also keep it tethered to the bag with a 16″ “key strap” so I can’t drop it or lose it.
The best thing that I’ve learned from this blog is about getting Star Alliance Gold by crediting miles to Aegean.
For a traveler like me who mostly travels on award tickets and a few paid trips a year for pleasure plus a couple business trips a year it is impossible to get status in any other traditional airline. But, by getting the Gold in Aegean I’ll be able to get lounge access domestically which is GREAT!
“Hang Up, Call Back”… Most important words in travel!!!
When having to call an airline don’t make yourself crazy if you encounter an unhelpful or uncaring agent. Politely hang up and call again (and again, if necessary).
My advice is to plan and don’t be afraid of foreign places. The best places are the most reviewed and “divey” looking.
Try to use your credit cards as much as possible – if you don’t get points, than what is the point?
Best thing I’ve learned from this blog is a simple rule, but one that is often forgotten: Everything has a cost.
When trying to analyze if buying miles is worth it, what the cost of MS really is, or what the value of points in x program is, always think of what you could be doing instead and what your time is worth.
The best thing that I learned has been to be proactive when traveling, not passive. What do I mean by that? Take the lead, and take control of the situation. When you go to book an award, know the routing and availability from online searches and lead the agent through the call. When your flight has weather or mechanical issues, know what your options are so that when you talk to an agent you can lead them in getting you onto new flights. Be proactive in getting into the hotel room you want, since hotel employees have lots of discretion. And of course, be nice!
I started this mile collecting game with very little knowledge. I only knew how to apply for a credit card to get the bonus and make reservations by relying on phone agent to put together the itinerary for me. In a short few months I learned from the blog everything from manufacture spendings, effective ways to search for seats, double/triple dips to earn points/miles, etc. I have successfully booked my first complicates itinerary for 4 to fly business class to Asia!
The most useful thing I’ve learned from this blog is that applying for multiple credit cards won’t damage your credit, and that it’s the best way to accrue hotel points and air miles. My fiancee and I will be able to stay in all hotels on our Australia/South Pacific honeymoon completely for free thanks to the tips I’ve learned!
Thank you for all your advice.
Your trip report to Park Hyatt Maldives inspires us to take the same trip to Maldives. Using your tips we are able to fly half round the world to be at Maldives in style. Thanks!
Using a Schwab debit card to avoid foreign transaction and atm fees. Real money saver.
hang up, call back
diversify miles/points
use award wallet to organize
Short and sweet, earn and burn. The lesson from you, earn low, burn high, and never waste your time or money on Delta.
Don’t make a move on travel until I read what you have to say!!
Thanks
I must say.. the best travel tip I have is : Roll your cloths during packing. Save space and neat. Always take advantage of airport lounges to save some drink money and “sometime” quiet time.
Pack complete individual outfits for each day in large (2 gallon) plastic zip bags – smaller for kids. Tops, bottoms, underwear, socks, etc. That way you don’t have to scrounge around for clothing, messing up your suitcase or drawers, plus – the TSA people won’t be directly touching your underwear!
Advice: For complex itineraries to far off places, lock in the segments that are the hardest to come by as soon as you see availability; then ticket the award with anything available on the “easier” to find routes that you know space will likely open up in the future. It may cost you $150 or so to change the award, but I think that is a reasonable price to pay to get to a hard to reach destination (like New Zealand) where direct flights are seldom available, or the desired connecting flights never seem to line up all at once.
Gary – One of tips I have learnt from this blog is the tip that Saudia is a partner for Delta and it makes getting to India immensely easy especially for a family.
Another great tip from Gary: buy a Milepoint premium package … (which I did)
The key is perseverance when searching for award seats. If availability isn’t there the first time you search, try the next day, and the next, etc.
Check that an award ticket for travel on a partner has been issued.
Learn how to pack minimally so you can always carry on your bags rather than checking them!
Pack lightly so you don’t need to check luggage.
With airline and hotel programmes devaluing on a regular basis, don’t be too much of a hoarder. Set a points goal and go for it!
Credit card tip that I always keep in the back of my mind for frugal travelers: a purchase may give you points/miles, but does the cost and usefulness of purchase exceed the point value? Take home message: Don’t buy things you don’t need just to get points.
Your blog has really helped me and my family take truly aspirational trips that cost tens of thousands of dollars for taxes, fees, and some credit card applications! When I was hiking the Great Wall in china with my wife this Thanksgiving, we realized how truly thankful we are for the opportunities that your blog and my travel habits have afforded us! Staying at Park Hyatt’s and flying in Business First for 15 hours is a priceless experience!
My best tip that I learned here is the earn and burn. It makes no sense to sit a large stash of points and miles. This year has been a great re-enforcer of this.
I learned that delta allows stopovers on domestic awards. A great way to make sky miles more valuable.
Best advice: If you see a deal or price mistake, book it and worry about the rest later…
When traveling (even to the mall), take a photo of your car in the parking spot. You’ll have your space number and license plate. Just in case…
Best travel advice: you can get sources of information about what to do, what to see and how to get there for the best price from everywhere (family, friends, blogs, internet) but ultimately YOU need to decide what’s in your best interest and what you want to do. Take the trip for you (and your fellow companions if applicable), not for others
best advice i ever got was an ex-CMB fare. simply loved Emirates F and their amazing lounge. BA F wasn’t too bad either.
The best advice I learned is to garden your flight reservations. Its always best to catch problems while they are still fixable.
Never carry high rewards and miles balances. Unlike investment, there are no interests. Hotels and Airlines also devalue their programs all the time. When you have a trip in mind, book them as soon as you have enough points.
Award space needs to be identified segment by segment before you call to book. Agents spend a lot of time telling people “no” and rarely do more than a simple search without prompting and they are unlikely to find interesting routings, well-timed stopovers, etc. that can be used to find space when it appears unavailable. By using availble online tools to find space (even if you can’t book online) you’re much more likely to get where you want to go.
Travel advice: take all the pictures you want. It’s best to have options, and yes, especially get the really stupid posed one you kind of want but are embarrassed to ask a stranger to take for you – you’ll be glad you have it later!
I started 2.5 years ago doing this with just 1 AA card putting everything I could on it. With that in mind I was not getting hardly any return…Fast forward to today and thanks to your blog and others I have learned how this world works and am now a full on mileage geek
Thanks
Best blog for signups and credit card info. Period.
In this digital age, I still make sure to have a hard copy of everything. Phones die, signals drop, stuff happens. Having that paper copy has saved me numerous times and given me leverage, which is a heck of a lot better than being tired and desperate.
Also, when visiting countries that don’t use the same characters as the US, I get the hotel name in that country’s characters. So useful with cab drivers to get to the right place.
From my perspective the big picture point that I have taken from years of reading the blog is that a whole new world of possibilities open up if you start considering the journey to be as much of the trip as the destination. Everything else I’ve done in this crazy miles and points world has come from truly internalizing that.