1. Beating The System: Travel
Points Pointers
With Brian Kelly, The Points Guy

2. The Agenda
Earning
Redeeming
Q&A
For more information go to http://thepointsguy.com

3. The Basics: What Are Points?
Mile$ vs. Point$
-Airlines
-Hotels
-Credit Cards

4. Earning: Credit Cards
Credit Card Gravy Train
-Sign-up bonuses up to 100,000 points
-Category spending bonuses
-Redemption bonuses

5. A Note On Your Credit
Understanding your credit score
-Payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history,
new credit, types of credit
-2-5 point temporary hit per application
Strategy
-Start with good credit
-Pay off balances or interest rates negate points value
-Multiple cards: issuers, business and personal, family and
friends
-Be cautious before applying for a mortgage!

6. Earning: Sign-Up Bonuses
Up to 100,000 points per card
-My haul last year: eight credit cards, over 650,000 points
Know your spend requirements
-Anywhere from first purchase to $10,000 in four months
Targeted offers: the only junk mail I like receiving!

7. Earning: Spending Bonuses
Never settle for 1 point per dollar spent
Popular category bonuses: airfare, gas, groceries,
dining, wireless service, business marketing,
individual airline/hotel spend on co-branded cards
Spend threshold bonuses: points, elite status, elite
miles, companion tickets

8. Credit Card Points 101
Not all point credit cards were created equal!
- Transferable
points
- Fixed-value points
- Airline miles &
hotel points

9. Earning: Transferable Points
Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility!
Sharing points with family/friends
Transfer partners = options
Don’t forget about partners of partners
Don’t put all of your points in one basket

10. Earning: Transferable Points
Programs
Transfer partners: Delta, Aeroplan, British Airways, Virgin
Atlantic, Virgin America, JetBlue, Aeromexico, El Al, Flying Blue,
ANA, Singapore, Frontier, Hilton, Starwood, Best Western,
Choice Hotels, Priority Club, etc.
- Transfer bonuses
Transfer partners: United, British Airways, Korean Air,
Southwest, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, Amtrak.

11. Earning: Fixed-Value Points
Easiest to understand
Least valuable: generally 1 point = 1 cent
Examples: Capital One No Hassle Rewards
Best for:
-Families with non-flexible travel schedules
-Domestic flights
-Earning elite status
NOT for: International premium class travelers

12. Earning: Airline and Hotel Credit
Cards
Generally not transferable
Exchange flexibility for perks like: priority check in,
free checked bags
Examples:
-Delta and Starwood American Express cards
-United MileagePlus Explorer card
-Hyatt Visa from Chase
-Citi American AAdvantage cards

13. Best Cards on the Market
Chase: Sapphire Preferred
-Key benefits: 2x points on dining and travel, 50,000-point sign-up bonus,
no foreign transaction fees
American Express: Premier Rewards Gold Card
-Key benefits: 3x airfare, 2x gas and groceries, 25,000-point sign-up
bonus, 15,000-points bonus at $30,000 spend
Capital One: Venture Card
-2 points per dollar on everything, no foreign transaction fees, probably
best fixed-value points card out there. Wait for 100,000 sign-up bonus
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express
-Best co-branded, 25,000-point sign-up bonus, multiple transfer
partners, elite status with $30,000 spend

14. Other Ways To Earn
Flying
Shopping
Dining
Promotions and Bonuses

15. Earning: Flying
Still a great way to earn, generally 1 mile per mile
flown
Class of service bonuses
Elite Bonuses: can help accrue miles over twice as
quickly. Map out your travel for the year.

16. Earning: Shopping
Never go directly to a retailer’s web site
Almost every airline and credit card points program has an
online shopping portal.
-Example: Skysmilesshopping.com for Delta
Spend bonuses
EVReward.com: Great for checking bonus offers at specific
retailers

17. Earning: Dining
Airlines and hotels have affiliated Dining Networks:
another way to diversify and “double dip”
Link every card you have to one
Earn 3x points as a regular member, 5x as a VIP
Great way to keep miles active

18. Earning: Promotions and Giveaways
Social Media
-As simple as “liking” an airline or hotel property on
Facebook
-Tweeting an airline or hotel
-Ex. I got 3000 SPG points for liking the Sheraton Madison on
Facebook. I value that at $90.
Pay attention to blogs for promos
-Have a goal in mind, pay attention to your specific programs,
and have fun—especially when you’re not spending money!

19. Earning: When Does It Make Sense
To Buy Miles?
Generally never
Exceptions:
-Promotions such as US Airways miles sales at 1.45 cents
apiece
-To top up for a specific award
-Transfer promos

20. Earning Points Takeaway
Your strategy is specific to YOU and your needs
Flexibility is the most important thing
Diversify: don’t put all your points and miles in one
basket

21. Redeeming 101
The usual frustrating scenario: you have the points
but can’t use them for what you want.
Airlines have terrible technology for searching,
especially partners and alliances

22. Redeeming: Types of Airline Awards
Saver Awards
-Lowest redemption levels
-Available to partner airlines
Standard/ Peak Awards
-Can only be booked in one’s own frequent flyer program
-Higher points requirements
-Sometimes only available to elite flyers

23. Redeeming: Finding Award
Availability
Star Alliance: United, US Airways, Air Canada, etc.
-United.com pulls up two columns: Saver and Standard
SkyTeam: Delta, Air France/KLM, Korean Air, etc.
-Delta.com is broken
-AirFrance.us: Sign up for Flying Blue
Oneworld: American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, etc.
-AA.com only shows you American and Alaska, adding Qantas and BA
this spring
-Qantas.com pulls in most partner awards

24. Redeeming: Other Tools
ExpertFlyer.com: Paid service for finding both award seat
and upgrade availability on many airlines.
Call your airline: After you research, call in with exact
flights, routes and dates. Be nice.
Keep track of your miles using AwardWallet.
Tip: Have a goal in mind. This makes the work worth it.
Once you master searching for awards, you’ll get places
you never thought possible.

25. Redeeming: Hotel Points
Don’t forget about hotels!
Often more valuable than airline miles
Lots of places to save money like Europe
Choose your programs with your goals and needs in
mind

26. Redeeming: Starwood Preferred
Guest
One of the strongest programs
Most valuable points, for me ~3 cents each
Fifth night free, automatic 20% savings
Cash & Points option
Great airline transfer partners and ratios: 20,000 SPG points 
25,000 airline miles
Great associated credit card: SPG Amex

27. Redeeming: Hyatt Gold Passport
Maximum hotel free night redemption: 22,000 points
Lucrative promotions
Associated credit card: Chase Hyatt Visa
-One of best sign-up bonuses on the market
-2 free nights at any Hyatt
-$75 annual fee

28. Redeeming: Reduced Price Awards
Priority Club IHG:
-Point Breaks: rotating list of hotels requiring only 5,000 points for free nights
Marriott Rewards: Pointsavers
Hilton HHonors:
-Pointsretchers
-Points & Money
Always do the math: Sometimes it makes more sense to pay for a
room than to use points

29. Redeeming: Cars
Hertz: Free rental days
National: Choice of cars
Avis: Airline bonuses
Enterprise: Just launched new points program

30. The Takeaways
Put together the points strategy that works for you
-Research programs that will get you where you want to go
-Clarify your goals: coach/first class, international/domestic
Diversify your points
Share your experiences
-Forums like FlyerTalk and Milepoint
-I learn from my readers’ comments
Pay attention to the news and promos and visit
ThePointsGuy.com