How to Get Started Collecting Airlines Miles & Hotel Points

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Introduction to Miles & Points

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Web: www.MillionMileSecrets.com
Email: daraius@millionmilesecrets.com
Twitter: @MilMileSecrets
Facebook: facebook.com/MillionMileSecrets

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Daraius
“Duh-Rye-Us”

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Summer Hull
Mommy Points

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Web: MommyPoints.com
Email: mommypoints@mommypoints.com
Twitter: @Mommy_Points

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(Almost) free travel is not just for a
select few, but can be had by many!

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- Why Collect Miles & Points?
- Stuff Nobody Talks About
- Earning Miles & Points
- Using Miles & Points
- Questions?
The Next 1 Hour

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Connect With Relatives

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Connect With Relatives

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Connect With Each Other

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Have Fun With Your Kids

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Arrive Rested

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Spread Out

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- Experiences Last Forever
- Memories with Families & Friends
- Save Money & Time
Why Collect Miles & Points?

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….and eat

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Big Travel.
Small Money.
Million Mile Secrets

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Big Travel with Small Money
- Save money
- Have experiences you can’t afford
- Save time/less stress for frequent travelers
Why Collect Miles & Points?

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Visiting Emily’s Grandma
$600
Flights!

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Jet Airways First Class Suite
$10,000!

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Flying to London to Propose to
Emily!
$5,000!

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Thai First Class Massage

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Escorted Through Airport

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A $1,000+ Suite in Bora
Bora

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The Iguacu Falls to Ourselves for
4,800 SPG + $90!

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Save Time

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- Why Collect Miles & Points?
- Stuff Nobody Talks About
- Earning Miles & Points
- Using Miles & Points
- Questions?
The Next 1 Hour

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Stuff nobody talks about

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My Goal

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Travel for 2?

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Family of 6?

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First Class?

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Or Coach?

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Good Credit?

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Earn Miles From Business Travel?

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Stuff nobody talks about - Ethics

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Know your limits

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Always someone with more

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Front Page Test

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Organization Is Key!

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Or…

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Alternatively, start
small and keep it
simple.
Missed payments =
not worth it.

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Award Wallet For
Tracking Miles & Points

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Yodlee or Mint for Credit Cards

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Tips to Stay Organized
- Pay Bills Online
-Set due dates on the same day
- Set Outlook/I-Phone/Notes Reminders
- Excel Spreadsheet to Track
-Sign-up/Cancelled/bonus received/spending

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Things WILL Go Wrong

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How You React Matters

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Know When To…

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Sometimes “Good Enough” is Enough

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Nothing is Certain

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Hang Up & Call Back
Politely

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- Trade-Offs
- Be aware of time invested
- Flexible travel dates and routings
Stuff Nobody Talks About - Trade-off

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- Should I collect miles in all programs or just 1?
- Flight miles in 1 program
- Collect non-flight miles in ALL programs
- Don’t forget hotel points
- Hotel elite status could matter more
- Earning is easy. Redeeming is harder!
Stuff Nobody Talks About – Bonus!

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My Wonderful Wife!

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Double the Miles & Points

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- Why Collect Miles & Points?
- Stuff Nobody Talks About
- Earning Miles & Points
- Using Miles & Points
- Questions?
The Next 1 Hour

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- Credit Cards
- Debit Cards
- Shopping
- Dining
- Banking/Investing
- Promotions
- Asking nicely!
- Partners
- Flying
Earning Miles & Points

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The EASIEST way to earn hundreds
of thousands of points
Earning Miles & Points – Credit Cards

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1 MILLION+ miles/points in
2011 & 2012
Earning Miles & Points – Credit Cards

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Only 240,000 Miles to the Moon

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My Credit Score

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5 Dangers of Applying for Credit Cards
1. APPLYING FOR LOTS OF CARDS
2. NOT PAYING YOUR BALANCE IN FULL
3. SPENDING MORE
4. YOUR CREDIT SCORE MATTERS
5. BUYING A HOUSE

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1) Transferable Points
2) Airline/Hotel Cards
3) Cash Back
3 Types of Credit Cards

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1a) Chase Ultimate Rewards
Types of Credit Cards -Transferable

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1b) American Express Starwood (SPG)
Types of Credit Cards - Transferable

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1c) American Express Membership Rewards
Types of Credit Cards - Transferable

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Types of Credit Cards – Airlines

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Perks :
- Free bags
- Priority boarding
- Less miles for redemptions
Types of Credit Cards – Airline

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Types of Credit Cards – Hotels

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Could be worth paying fee for:
- Free night certificates
- Elite Status
- Discounted award redemptions
Types of Credit Cards –Hotel

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Types of Credit Cards – Cash Back

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Types of Credit Cards – Cash Back
- 1 to 2% on purchases
- ~5% on categories
- Easy to understand
- Good for coach travel
- $5,000 business class ticket = $250,000 spending
- $80,000 spending on AMEX SPG = 100,000 AA Miles

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Will my credit score
go down?

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3 Credit Bureaus
FICO Score: 700+

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Credit Score

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Free Credit Score

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Category Bonuses
Are category bonuses worth it?
Yes or no?
It depends.

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Category Bonuses
• Ink Bold/Ink Plus 5x: Office Supply stores, cell
phone, home phone, internet,
Cable
• Chase Freedom 5x: rotating quarterly
categories with $1,500 cap (no annual fee)
• Amex PRG: 3x on airfare, 2x gas/groceries
• Amex Blue Cash Preferred: 6% grocery/3%
gas (grocery capped at $6K)
• Citi ThankYou Preferred: 5x 1st year at drug
stores, grocery stores, and gas stations

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•2X Travel/Dining
•$95 Annual Fee
•No Forex Fee
•5X Rotating Categories
•Gas/Drugstores/Amazon
•ZERO Annual Fee
And/Or
Chase Ink Bold/Plus/Classic/Cash
• 5X Office Supply Stores, Cable, Internet
• 2X Hotels & Gas
• $95 Annual Fee/ No Annual Fee
Category Bonuses – Simple Solution

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- Credit Cards
- Debit Cards
- Shopping
- Dining
- Banking/Investing
- Promotions
- Asking nicely!
- Partners
- Flying
Earning Miles & Points

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Debit Cards
- Suntrust Delta – 1 mile per $1
- Bank of America Alaska Air – 0.5 mile per $1
- UFB Direct – American Airlines - 0.5 mile per $1

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- Credit Cards
- Shopping
- Dining
- Banking/Investing
- Promotions
- Asking nicely!
- Partners
- Flying
Earning Miles & Points

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Earning Miles & Points – Shopping

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10X on Nordstrom Via Ultimate Rewards Mall
-

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Online Shopping
You can “double dip” and take advantage
of category bonuses when shopping via a
portal.
• Freedom for 5x at Lowes to buy Home
Improvement Gift Card
• Go back through portal for 5x on
purchase
• Works with many retailers

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Use Evrewards.com to Find Best Deal
-

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$1 purchase
keeps miles
from expiring

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Earning Miles & Points – Dining

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- Airline & Hotels have dining programs
- Sign-up for each and add your card online
- Earn miles for every time you dine
- Won’t go out of my way to eat…
Earning Miles & Points – Dining

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- Bank Direct
•100 AAdvantage miles for every $1,000 up to $200,000
•25 AAdvantage miles for every $1,000 after $200,000
Earning Miles & Points – Banking

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Fidelity Brokerage Accounts
•United, AA, and Delta
Earning Miles & Points – Investing

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- Social Media
- Email Sign-ups
- Watch a video
- Hotel/Airline Promotions
Earning Miles & Points – Promotions

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- Credit Card Retention Bonuses
- Goodwill Adjustments
- Providing Feedback
Earning Miles & Points – Asking Nicely

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- Car Rentals
- Hotels
- Flowers
- Magazines
Earning Miles & Points - Partners

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- The old-fashioned way!
- Two types of miles
- Elite & Redeemable
- Usually 1 mile per flown mile
- Earth’s circumference is 25,000 miles
- More miles in First or Business Class (50% to 100%)
- Elite miles earn status which gets you perks
- Very valuable for frequent traveler
Earning Miles & Points - Flying

100. - The Points Guy, MileValue &
Others…
Read Different Blogs
- Million Mile Secrets
- Mommy Points
- View from the Wing
- Frequent Miler
- Rapid Travel Chai
- One Mile at a Time
Earning Miles & Points - Blogs

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- Why Collect Miles & Points?
- Stuff Nobody Talks About
- Earning Miles & Points
- Using Miles & Points
- Questions?
The Next 1 Hour

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- Airline Availability
- Hotels
- Transferable Points
Using Miles & Points

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American Airlines Partners

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- Airline availability on website sucks
- Partner awards are KEY
- Different tools to search for availability
- ANA
- Qantas
- Air France
- Be flexible
Airline Availability

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- Paid Tools
- Expert Flyer
- KVS
- Award Nexus
- Award Booking Service
Airline Availability

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- Don’t forget hotels
- No taxes on redemptions
- Hotel awards are easier than airline seats
Using Miles & Points - Hotels

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- Diversify
- More options
- Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX SPG,
Membership Rewards
Transferable Points

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- Why collect Miles and Points?
- Stuff nobody talks about
- Earning Miles & Points
- Using Miles & Points
- Questions?
The Past 1 Hour

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Email: daraius@millionmilesecrets.com
Email: mommypoints@mommypoints.com