The Million Mile Secrets Interview

Daraius from Million Mile Secrets has been running a series of interviews of frequent flyer bloggers. He interviewed me last month (and I extended on the most asked about story from the interview here.).

For a new blogger, it’s a great strategy to bring in an audience I imagine, since the more highly trafficked bloggers link to you. Plus it happens to also be interesting, I’ve enjoyed the stories of the bloggers who are my daily reads.source a blog post! 🙂

Since Darius is a relatively new blogger, but whose posts have been interesting and useful, I thought that his story would be interesting. So I asked him to share it with me. Plus, I get to mostly out

And so I present The Million Mile Secrets Interview.

(In Rajasthan, India)

How and when did you start collecting miles and points?

I first started collecting miles when I went backpacking in Europe after graduating college. I successfully earned miles for the outbound trip on KLM, but didn’t sign up for an American Airlines frequent flyer account until after the return trip. So I didn’t earn any miles for that segment.

My first job out of college had me travelling a lot for work, so I would research point and mile bonuses on the web. That’s how I discovered Flyer Talk. But besides researching bonus offers, I didn’t get into miles and points in a big way.

I was (and still am) a personal finance junkie, so I would apply for credit cards with 0% interest introductory offers, and transfer money to a bank account which earned interest. While researching credit cards, I discovered that you could churn Citi AAdvantage cards and get the bonus again…and again…and again. I was hooked!

I’ve always been the type who loves to do taxes, read fine print, and understand rules. Frequent flyer programs are not as complicated as the US tax code, but are more lucrative to me when I find the right loophole!

Why did you start Million Mile Secrets? What’s special about it?

I’ve been collecting miles and points for a long time, and wanted to share how easy it is to travel for less with others. Emily and I agreed on a 3 month trial period – I’ll blog for 3 months at first and see how it goes. After a week, I’m addicted and can’t think of life without writing a blog!

At one point, I wanted to be a Professor of Economics or Finance, but decided not to pursue it. I like explaining arcane concepts, and the blog lets me do that. It also lets me share in their success. I am always thrilled to read comments or emails of readers’ successes!

I write Million Mile Secrets for folks who are just getting started with miles and points and don’t have a lot of time to spend earning miles and points. I write my posts to show those folks how to have Big Travel with Small Money!

It really is possible to sign up for a few good credit card offers and travel the world in style. You won’t believe it is possible until you do it. And once you do it, you don’t want to ever pay full price for travel again!

What are your 2 favorite posts?

• “Use The 2-Browser Trick To Earn 150,000 Free AAdvantage Miles” The 2-browser trick post was one of my first posts, and I am thrilled that it has over 450 comments and 44 Facebook likes so far. The 75,000 miles sign on bonus with the Citi American Airline personal credit card is the largest untargeted bonus currently available. And you can get all 3 cards by using the 2 browser trick. That’s close to a quarter of a million miles which will get you a LOT of travel!

• “July App-o-Rama. 6 Cards. 305,000 Miles & Points” I also blogged about my recent round of credit card applications, and I like this post because it shows how easy it is to get lots of miles and points from credit card applications. 6 cards got me 305,000 miles and points. Unbelievable, isn’t it?!

What’s the one single thing people can do to get more miles?

If you don’t have a big loan (house, equity etc.) in the next two years, apply for credit cards just for the sign up bonuses. It is the quickest and easiest way to get millions of air miles and hotel points.

For example, you can get 75,000 American Airlines miles by signing up for 1 credit card in 5 minutes.

To put that in perspective, it is ~8,000 miles from the US to Europe. You would have to fly from the US to Europe 7.5 times (including elite status bonuses) to earn 75,000 miles on 1 airline!

Think of how much time and effort 7.5 trans-Atlantic trips would take. And you can get the same amount of miles by signing up for just 1 credit card on your computer! Incredible.

Also, read the frequent flyer blogs. They are written by folks who are passionate about this hobby and have a lot of great information to share!

What’s your most memorable travel experience?

The most memorable travel experiences have been the experiences which miles and points have allowed me to give others. From visiting Emily’s grandparents, to having her dad and mom visit us (sometimes surprising them in First Class). It has been a great opportunity to repay our parents for all they did for us by taking them on holidays and getting them free tickets.

And I love seeing how happy Emily gets when we travel!

If I have to choose the trip which stands out, I’d choose my first trip to India with Emily. We stayed at the Lake Palace in Udaipur (yes, it really is an old palace in the middle of a lake in Rajasthan), went on a camel safari in Jaisalmer, slept in a clay tent, and visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was wonderfully romantic and we often look at the pictures to remind ourselves just how lucky we are.

(Picture at the Lake Palace)

What do your family and friends think of your miles & points hobby?

Most of my friends and family don’t get it. They understand that I travel a lot using miles and points, but they don’t see how they can do the same themselves. I’m working on them, though.

The few that get it, love it!

Is there any tool or trick which you’ve found especially useful in this hobby?

Be nice. I’m always amazed at how upset and personally affronted folks get when things don’t go their way. Stuff happens, and you’ve got to deal with it. And being nice and friendly will solve more problems than a gruff and adversarial attitude (easier said, I know).

Call center roulette. Hang up the phone and call back. There is a lot of variability in agents’ knowledge, competence, and experience so often times, it is best to hang up and call back if you don’t get the answer you’re looking for.

Research. Research is key, especially when you’re booking award travel. Use tools such as ExpertFlyer, ANA, and KVS to plan your trip. Then call in and book your flights segment by segment starting with the international legs first.

Patience. Your best laid plans will get derailed. But there’s always a work around. At the end of the day, you’re getting an enormous value by using miles and points to have Big Travel with Small Money, so expect to do a little work to get there.

What was the least expected way you’ve earned miles or points?

• Buying American Express Traveler’s Checks and walking around the corner to deposit them in my bank.
  
• Depositing $1 coins in the bank (the coins were worth more than my beat-up Ford Escort I drove to the bank.)
  
• Having a baldness consultation despite having lots of hair on my head. I explained that my grand uncle is bald and I’m worried it could be genetic! I still get junk mail from them 3 years later.
  
• Taking part in a focus group for American Airlines.
  
• Buying stickers.

What do you know now about collecting miles and points which you wish you knew when you started out?

Your credit score doesn’t take much of a hit if you churn credit cards properly.

Big deals occur rarely, but capitalize on them when they do.

Sometimes it is better to spend miles and save spending cash, than to just hoard them and not use them.

Airlines will (they don’t have a choice given the amount of miles introduced in circulation) increase the amount of miles needed for award redemptions. If there is too much supply of something it is bound to be devalued. Instead, have a back-up plan to use your miles.

What would your readers be surprised to know about you?

• That I used to teach Hap-Ki-Do and Tae-Kwon-Do.
  
• I’m very absent minded.
• I’ve eaten a whole jar of Nutella in one session in front of the computer!
• I got more than my 2,500 calories that day.
• That I am extremely happy and grateful for all the opportunities which I’ve been presented. I’ve been very lucky in life and wonder what I’ve done to deserve it all.
• I don’t like peanuts.
• I like bow-ties and suspenders.

Any parting words?

Mile and points are worthless by themselves. They have value only when used. So use them for a once-in-a-lifetime trip in First Class. Or for several trips within the US. Use them for the Park Hyatt in Paris. Or for the Holiday Inn in Dallas. Do whatever makes sense for YOU.

Research has proven that experiences make us much happier than possessions. So use your miles and points to meet family and friends, and travel to places you’ve always wanted to.

Say hi to grandma over the weekend, whisk your partner off to Bora Bora for an exotic getaway, and send the kids off to Europe for the summer using your miles and points!

You’ll remember those experiences for a long time and your loved ones will too.

(In a café in Prague)

Thanks for sharing your story, Darius! And check him out at Million Mile Secrets.com.