I had a previous post on how to get started with points and miles. Today I want to focus on our own strategy. What are our goals? What is important to us? How can we get there? In short, give you some of the insights on how we do what we do.
One big trip a year
Our main focus is for us to take one really big trip to a cool location a year. Since most places on our bucket list are far away, we plan on traveling for two weeks. As we have busy regular jobs, two weeks is the ideal time frame for us to take off. And if possible, we want to fly in business or first class the whole way.
Pick a destination first
We always pick a destination first. The second step is to find out how to get there. The easiest way to figure out is to go the Wikipedia page of your home airport to view all direct flights. For me I look at the destinations from Chicago O’Hare. Ideally, they have a direct flight. You would be surprised with how many direct destinations Chicago has. Once I found an airline, I figure out what airline alliance they are part of. The big three alliances are: Skyteam (Delta), OneWorld (American) and Star Alliance (United). I highlighted the “big” three US carriers. While Southwest carries the most passengers in the US, they have a limited international route network and no partners.
What points/miles do we need?
Deciding on a destination and initial research is easy. However the hard part is to get to actually book it. There are plenty of blogs out there that talk about what miles you are able to use to fly to certain destinations. I also use a website called AwardAce. There, you are able to find out what miles are needed for a specific trip. It always shows you the cheapest miles options first. It also shows the additional cost you might pay for surcharges, fees and taxes. Certain airlines pass on very high surcharges that make them less desirable. For instance, you should avoid flights on British Airways as they always have high surcharges.
Do we have the right miles/points already?
We like to keep certain balances in some points and miles currency. My parents live in Germany and United miles are useful to get there. Therefore we like to have enough miles to be able to take an unexpected trip. For other trips we specifically work towards getting and consolidating the needed miles as quickly as possible.
How can I accumulate miles?
Credit card bonuses and personal spend
This will be a future post in itself. In general the easiest and fastest way is through credit card bonuses. This could be specific airline credit cards, as well as bank cards. I had mentioned that in my previous post on who the big providers are. The bonuses are often tied to some minimum spend in the first three months. This could be somewhere from $1,000 – 5,000.
We achieve this by putting nearly everything on a credit card where possible. Additionally, whenever we know we have a big expenditure coming up, we open a new credit card to meet minimum spend requirements. That way we can easily earn plenty of bonuses and get closer to our next trip.
We have opened cards for home improvements, our wedding cost and so on. I even bought Elli’s engagement ring with a new credit card.
We also use our credit cards all day every day. Getting a coffee? Let’s make sure to earn miles. Buying something online? Let’s earn miles. Going to dinner with the in-laws? Let’s offer to pay and them give us cash. 🙂 There is no limit to the ways you can earn miles on a regular basis. When you say, “Well I don’t spend enough.” Are you really sure about that?
Business travel
Every business travel and expense gets us closer to the next trip. Elli travels extensively for work which certainly helps, but most of the time her points are not the main source of our miles. However every miles and every point helps. Therefore if you can maximize points from business travel you should. My current company let’s me use my personal credit card and reimburses me after. So I am not only earning the miles, but also the credit cards points. When there are company dinners, I always volunteer to put my card down.
When should you start planning for trips?
I would recommend to look 12-18 months out. That way it gives you time to accumulate miles. Booking windows for airlines start 11-12 months out and on popular routes, award tickets can be gone quickly. Sometimes it is also all about getting lucky and some persistence. Some bloggers actually have booking services, where they help readers book trips in return for a fee.
Summary
There you have it for our miles strategy.
Flying in business or first eliminates the angst for long distance travel for us. We pick must-visit places and work backwards from there. We also like planning far out and having these trips to look forward to. Ideally, we always have the next trip planned before we take the current one.
What are your vacation strategies? Specific questions on a trip you want to take?
