About Points & Miles
To understand how I use points and miles to realize our travel goals, the best place to start is my overall travel philosophy.
My Travel Philosophy
My travel philosophy is to maximize the experiences I have - the flight, the hotels, dining, cultural exposure, etc. - without busting my budget. In other words, I want to have first-class experiences at economy-class cost. For transoceanic flights, I want to fly first or business class, primarily so that I am well-rested on arrival and to experience the premium cabin perks. On intercity trains, I want to book first-class or sleeper accommodation to be comfortable. I want to stay in hotels that are centrally located to be able to spend more time on what we came to see rather than commuting from hotel to those things. When visiting tourist sites, I want to take advantage of skip-the-line tickets to conserve my limited time. I want to experience local cuisine, including an occasional fine dining experience, without having to resort to American fast food restaurants. For all of these things, a bit of luxury is nice but not essential! The main goals are efficiency and above-average experiences.
Of course, above-average experiences carry a cost. My wife and I are hardly rich by any definition, but we are blessed enough financially to be able to indulge our wanderlust. How we want to travel certainly sounds like we will have to drop a lot of money; to be fair, we are not taking the frugal jaunts discussed on budget travel blogs. While we have enough disposable income to travel regularly, we could not go as often as we do if we were paying full price. What makes these trips financially manageable, even including luxury touches, is due to taking advantage of free and deeply discounted airfare and hotels made possible by travel points and miles.
Points and miles - a means to an end more than a "hobby"
RESUME EDITING
PARKING LOT:
In researching future European destinations, I began to learn about point and miles and how travel rewards could help me to realize my dream of frequently returning to Europe despite my limited travel budget.
TEXT:
I started collecting Delta SkyMiles in the late 1990s. One of the first credit cards I obtained after college was the American Express Delta SkyMiles Optima. A few years later, I began to collect hotel points. For almost two decades, I did little to earn points and miles aside from flights and stays coupled with putting all my credit card spend on the Amex Delta card. Over that time I used SkyMiles for domestic first class award tickets and for fare reductions on domestic economy flights. For my first trip to Europe, I used 95,000 Delta SkyMiles and paid $202 in taxes and fees for a round-trip economy ticket. I thought I spending my miles wisely - and my European ticket was not a bad use of miles - but, in retrospect, I now know just how inefficient those awards were. I only had a surface knowledge of how reward currencies worked. I truly did not know what I did not know. Then I stumbled across points and miles travel blogs.
After going to London and Paris that first time, I wanted to go back to Europe...soon. As I was researching my return, I found two blogs that remain must-reads: One Mile at a Time and Million Mile Secrets. I learned that, not only was I not getting the most out of my miles, but also I could be earning many more rewards via credit sign-up bonuses, spending on the "right" credit cards, and shopping online via rewards portals. Reading these blogs, I often saw the term "hobby" applied to the pursuit of points and miles. For me, points and miles are not a hobby. Though I am more well versed in earning and using reward currencies, they are a means-to-an-end. Points and miles allow me to travel more frequently and in comfort at a reasonable expense. I can also experience aspirational travel products that are otherwise well beyond my financial means. Points and miles basically resonated with me because they help realize my travel philosophy by both maximizing experience and reducing cost.
