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Travel hacking presentation
1. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Travel Better For Less
ML
The Milelion
2. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
What is travel hacking?
Luxury travel doesn‘t have to
be expensive
travel hacking upgrades your travel experience
while saving you money
Marvelous Suite @
W Sentosa Cove-
$600+ per night
2 SQ Suites
tickets to Paris
$17,000 retail
value
ANA First Class to
Singapore
$11,250 retail value
Factory fresh
BMW 3 series in
Munich
SQ First Class to
Mumbai
$3,500retail value
W New York City
at Christmas-time
$500+ per night
Suite at Aloft Abu
Dhabiduring
convention
$450 + retail
(and why should I care?)
3. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
AGENDA
2
Credit
Cards
5
Other
Tricks
3
Airlines
4
Hotels
6
Q&A
1
Start
4. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
START- Philosophies towards travel
hacking
Access
B
“Travel hacking gives me
access to experiences I
otherwise wouldn’t have
been willing/able to
afford”
51 2 3 4 6
Value
A
“Travel hacking helps me
save money”
5. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
START- Philosophies towards travel
hacking
Access
B “Travel hacking gives me access to
experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have
been willing/able to afford”
51 2 3 4 6
• Would you be willing/able to pay for
• A budget airline flight to
Bangkok?
• An economy class ticket to
London?
• A 3 star hotel in Hanoi?
• A sub-compact car rental in
Perth?
• Would you be willing/able to pay for
• A first class ticket to Los
Angeles?
• An ovewater bungalow in Koh
Samui?
• A luxury convertible in Malibu?
You get the most out of travel
hacking when you redeem for
experiences, not commodities
6. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
START- Is travel hacking for you? 51 2 3 4 6
Travel Hacking is
an investment
and needs time
• Travel hacking will require that you be willing to
• Sign up for and carry multiple credit cards
• Remember which card to use when
• Plan your spending to hit targeted spending
bonuses
• You may have to make some short term sacrifices like
• Staying in a slightly inferior hotel just because
it’s part of your chain
• Taking a less convenient flight just because it’s
part of your alliance
• It does help a lot if your job allows you to put expenses
on personal credit cards, though it’s not essential
7. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
START- Common objections 51 2 3 4 6
“ Having so many creditcards is
too ma fan. I just want to use
one“
“ I‘d ratherredeemmy milesfor
economy class ticketsbecause
you need fewer miles“
“ It‘s too troublesometo rememberwhich
cardto use when “
“ I‘d ratheruse
Hotels.com/Expedia/Orbitzto book
becauseit‘s just easier “
8. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
CREDIT CARDS
9. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
The best general spending
rate you can obtain currently
is 1.4 miles/S$1
Category bonuses on dining,online
spendingand shoppingcan reach
4 miles /S$1. Certain travel
websites give 6-10 miles /S$1
Only full fare SQ tickets earn 100% milesThe majority of your miles will be
earned via credit cards, not flying
• SQ is particularly stingy with mile accrual- you only
earn 10% of miles on its super discounted fares.
It is woefully insufficient to rely purely
on one card to build your miles
• $30K annual spend on a general purpose miles
card- 42,000 miles
• Same spend on a mix of cards assuming 30%
dining, 20% shopping, 20% hotels & flights, 30%
others- 99,600 miles
51 2 3 4 6CREDIT CARDS- Why do you need them?
Somecredit cards
have genersous sign
up bonuses upon
reachinga minimum
spend within a
certain period
Credit cards-
bonus/category spend
Credit cards-
general spending
Flights
10. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
CREDIT CARDS- Breaking it down
Credit
Cards
Fixed
Rebates
Variable
Rebates
Cashback
Cards
Miles
Cards
Points/
Rewards
Cards
Not all credit cards are made equal
• Banks earn swipe fees every time you use their
cards.
• To entice you to choose their cards, banks offer
rebates on your spending in the form of
cashback or points/miles
51 2 3 4 6
Earna fixed% backon your
spendingin theformof a
statementcredit
Offersyou pointsor miles,
thevalueof whichvaries
dependingon how you redeem
them
11. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Credit
Cards
Fixed
Rebates
Variable
Rebates
Cashback
Cards
Miles
Cards
Points/
Rewards
Cards
51 2 3 4 6
Potentialrebatevalueof
2-28%
Rebatevalueof 1-6%
CREDIT CARDS- Breaking it down
Cashback cards are inherently a
worse deal than miles and points
• Banks are loathe to part with cash but will
gladly ply you with miles because the variable
cost of redemption are borne by the airline
• Airlines are willing to sell miles in bulk at
discounts because ~80% of members will
redeem at suboptimal rates
12. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Cashback(FixedRebatesCards)
The value of the miles and points these cards give you depend on how you spend them
• Economy vs premium cabins
Your effective rebate therefore can range anywhere between 2-30%
• DBS Altitude Card on online travel purchases gives 4.5 miles per S$1, therefore
effective rebate is 4.5*(1 to 7 cents)=~30 cents per S$1 or 27%
• ANZ Travel Card on general spending gives 1.4 miles per S$1, therefore effective
rebate is at least 1.4-5.6%Points/Miles(VariableRebatesCards)
51 2 3 4 6
The rebate is given to you in the form of a statement credit where a dollar is always a
dollar. These rebates often come with a lot of strings attached- eg minimum spend to
receive rebate, maximum rebate capped each month or per transaction
• Citibank Dividend Card- 3-5% on groceries with minimum $50 transaction. 0.5%
elsewhere
• ANZ Optimum World Card- 5% on selected category, but maximum $30 rebate per
transaction, can only be redeemed in blocks of $50. Other categories 1%
• POSB Everyday Card- advertises up to 6% rebate but only within limited categories;
else 0.3%!
CREDIT CARDS- Cashback or points?
13. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
CREDIT CARDS- General Spending 51 2 3 4 6
UOB PRVI Miles Card ANZ Travel Card Citibank Premiermiles DBS Altitude Card
Available in
General spend
Other features
AMEX, MC, Visa Visa AMEX, MC AMEX, Visa
1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2
Overseas: 2.4
SQ/MI: 3
Overseas: 2
SQ/MI: 2
Agoda/Expedia: 6
Kaligo: 10
Overseas: 2
Online hotel/flights: 3
Australia/NZ: 2.8
50% earning bonus on
AMEX for 6 months
after approval
Spend $800 get 12,000
miles on Visa
Min Income: $80,000 Min Income: $60,000 Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $50,000
Joining bonus- pay first
year annual fee of
S$256.80 and get
15,000 welcome miles
Complimentary (ie non
priority pass) Lounge
access worldwide plus
limo service with min
S$2,500 spend within
30 days of travel
Frequent bonus
promotions with OTAs,
retention bonus of
15,000 miles with
payment of S$256.80
annual fee
Specialised
spend
14. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
CREDIT CARDS- Specific Spending 51 2 3 4 6
UOB Preferred Platinum
AMEX
DBS Woman‘s World Citibank Rewards UOB Preferred Platinum
Visa
Available in
General spend
Specialised
spend
Comments
AMEX, MC, Visa MC, Visa MC, Visa AMEX, Visa, MC
0.8 0.4 0.4 0.4
Min Income: $30,000Min Income: $30,000
Dining- 4 Online-4 Shopping- 4 Paywave-4
This bonus will not cover
dining in hotel
restaurants, which will be
coded as hotel
transactions
Bonus limited to first
$2,000 spend per month,
after which you earn the
terrible 0.4 rate. Plan
carefully!
Shopping is defined as
purchases at any place
which sells bags, shoes
or clothes, or department
stores. Also applies to
online shopping
Bonus limited to $12,000
spend per annum
Min Income: $80,000 Min Income: $30,000
15. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
CREDIT CARDS- Entry level 51 2 3 4 6
DBS Livefresh Maybank Horizon Citibank Clear DBS Woman‘s Card
General spend
Specialised
spend
Comments
0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
Selected travel bookings
Agoda, Expedia, AirBnB,
Jetstar, AirAsia,
Pandabed, TigerAir
Also comes with lounge
access with min S$400
charge on air tickets
within 3 months before
travel
Points valid for 5 years
Online shopping
excludes F&B, travel,
airline, cinema,
government payments
etc
Bonus capped at $2,000
spend per month
Online spending includes
OTAs and air ticket
purchases
Air Tickets, DFS
Changi, Overseas
spend- - 2
Online -2Overseas, Dining and
Online Shopping- 2
Overseas spend, travel
bookings, online
shopping, Paywave- 1.2
Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000
16. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
51 2 3 4 6CREDIT CARDS- Bonus Strategy
Krisflyer Ascend AMEX Rewards
Bonus
• 1 free night at
selected Millennium
hotels worldwide
• 4 free SATs lounge
vouchers
• If <$50,000 apply for
the Krisflyer Gold
card,
Min Income: $50,000
Comments
Get 5,000 miles
with your first
spend
Cost per mile
Get 13,333 miles
with $1,500 spend
Liberation Cost
DBS Altitude Visa
None $20 $40 (annual)
Free 11.8 cents
• Relatively high
cost of miles,
would only
advise this if
you‘re spending
for someone
else
Min Income: $30,000
Get 12,000 miles
with $800 spend
Get 2,00 miles
upon approval
Get 15,000 miles
with $257 annual
fee
$40 (annual) $25
DBS Altitude AMEX UOB PRVI Card
Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $80,000
Free6.7 cents 1.7 cents
• This can be done
for the Visa version
too, potentially
netting you
30,000 miles in
total
• 50% earning bonus
for first 6 months
after approval
• Bonus is for
online
applications only
17. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
51 2 3 4 6CREDIT CARDS- Know your cards
Infinite
Signature
Platinum/Gold/Classic
Access to the
Visa Luxury
Collection of
hotels
Complimentary
Hilton Gold
status, greens
fees
WorldElite
World
Platinum/Gold/Classic
Complimentary
elite membership
in Avis and
National car
rental
Get SPG Gold
status with single
stay in Starwood
AP properties
18. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
51 2 3 4 6CREDIT CARDS- Cashing out
NEVER REDEEM MILES FOR
ECONOMY CLASS TRAVEL
• If you need a cheap short haul flight, go budget
• If you need a cheap long haul flight, go with
the gulf carriers (Ethiad, Emirates, Qatar)
IF YOUR INTENTION IS TO
REDEEM ECONOMY CLASS
TRAVEL, YOU’RE BETTER OFF
WITH A CASHBACK CARD
• Cashback cards give you anywhere between 1-
6% rebates, which is higher than the 1% you’d
get from redeeming economy
• Save the cash, then buy an economy class
ticket
B E
SQ to London-options
Retail: $7,415
Award: 136,000
miles + $867
Cents per mile=
4.8
Rebate: 7%
Retail: $1,186
Award: 59,500
miles + $686
Cents per mile=
0.84
Rebate: 1%
F
Retail: $14,494
Award: 182,750
miles + $894
Cents per mile=
7.4
Rebate: 10%
(assuming 1.4 miles/S$1 card)
19. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Never pay
annual fees
Right card, right
situation
Miles, not
cashback
1
CREDIT CARDS- Summary
32 4
• Unless option to
earn bonus miles
on renewal fee
offered AND you
have a definite use
for the miles
Always redeem
for premium
travel
• The right card to
use depends on
what kind of
transaction you’re
making
• Premium travel
values your miles
at 4-7 cents
each, versus 1-2
on economy
• Cashback cards
give you much
less bang for
your buck
51 2 3 4 6
20. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
AIRLINES
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AIRLINES- FFP Overview 51 2 3 4 6
Which
alliance is it
part of?
What
alternative
redemption
options exist?
Which credit
cards does it
partner
with?
What third
party earning
opportunities
exist?
Do local credit cards offer
the chance to earn miles
on that FFP? Is the FFP
obscure to the extent that
you take a haircut for
earning opportunities?
Alliances provide
opportunities for
cross-carrier mile
earning, elite benefits
recognition (eg extra
baggage, lounge
access, priority
check-in and
boarding)
Can you earn bonus
miles through hotels,
car rentals and other
types of spending?
Does the program let you
redeem miles for non-
flight options eg hotel
stays, gift vouchers, retail
items?
Analyzing
an FFP
Suchredemptionsarealmostnevera good
useof miles;butmaybe usefulfor a small
soon-to-expirebalance
22. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Key members Singapore Air,
Lufthansa, Thai, United, Eva,
ANA
Total members: 27
Tiers: Gold, Silver
Pros: Avianca Lifemiles, Asian-
airline heavy, solid gold
benefits, TK status match
Cons: Lack of middle tier, weak
silver benefits, weak Middle
East and South America
coverage
AIRLINES- Know your alliances
Key members Cathay,
American, Japan Airlines,
Malaysia Airlines, Qantas
Total members: 16
Tiers: Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby
Pros: 2nd tier elites get lounge
access, top tier gets first class
lounge access, airberlin status
match, minimal inter-alliance
blocking
Cons: No Africa coverage,
smallest overall alliance
Key members Air France, Delta,
Korean, Garuda, KLM
Total members: 20
Tiers: Elite Plus, Elite
Pros: Africa coverage
Cons: Lack of a true “prestige”
carrier, most dysfunctional
alliance with active award
space blocking, no
Oceania/South America
coverage
Key members Ethiad, Jet,
airberlin, Alitalia,
Total members: 20
Tiers: Gold Elite, , Gold, Silver
Pros: Wide variety of partners
makes this the best place to
dump orphan miles
Cons: Most of the partnerships
are mile earning only without
mutual benefit recognition
51 2 3 4 6
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AIRLINES- Krisflyer Analysis
Which credit
cards does it
partner
with?
• Krisflyer is a transfer
partner for all local
mile earning credit
cards
Which
alliance is it
part of?
• Krisflyer Gold and
Silver members enjoy
cross carrier benefits
on other Star partners
• However, using
Krisflyer miles for Star
Alliance partner awards
is extremely poor
value- for this consider
Lifemiles
What third
party earning
opportunities
exist?
• Most major hotel chains and
rental cars award some KF
miles
• Krisflyer is a partner of
Rocketmiles and Kaligo
• Krisflyer Spree online
shopping portal exists but is
poor value compared to
traditional cashback portals
Krisflyer • Very limited- Scoot
and Tigerair vouchers
available at ~1 cent per
mile value
• Option to pay for
flights with Krisflyer
miles at~1 cent per
mile
What
alternative
redemption
options
exist?
51 2 3 4 6
24. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
AIRLINES- Lifemiles
• Lifemiles is the frequent flyer program of Avianca, a Star Alliance member, which runs
quarterly promotions where miles are sold at a 100% bonus, bringing down the cost to
1.5-1.65 US cents per mile
• This provides an arbitrage opportunity whereby it is cheaper to buy the miles and
redeem a first/business class ticket as opposed to buying the ticket itself
• In order to participate in this promotion, your account must be open before the
promotion is announced. Open an account here- http://bit.ly/QeAkyy
Register for
Lifemiles
account
today
PROFIT!
Buy miles at 1.5-
1.65 cents
during quarterly
promo
Redeem for
business/first
class tickets on
Star Alliance
carriers
51 2 3 4 6
25. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
AIRLINES- Status matching 51 2 3 4 6
(oneworld)(star alliance)
Original FFP
Match:http://bit.ly/1ASCbdB
Match:sendemailtocustomerservice
withproofofcompetingstatus
Status match and
retain status for
up to 3 years
• Assuming you’re able to
get status with one airline,
you could match it to
Turkish towards expiry, and
subsequently match
Turkish to airberlin when
Turkish expires
• This ensures you’ll always
have status with at least 1
airline alliance
26. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
AIRLINES- Summary
Status match
during lean
periods
4
• You can only status
match once in the
lifetime of your
account, so use it
carefully to see out
a lull in travel
Open a
Lifemiles
account
2
• You can only take
advantage of
bonus promos if
your account was
open prior to the
date the promo was
announced
Pick your
alliance
carefully
1
• Your alliance
limits your
choices of
redemption and
who recognises
your status
51 2 3 4 6
3
Always redeem
for premium
travel
• Premium travel
values your miles
at 4-7 cents
each, versus 1-2
on economy
27. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
HOTELS
28. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
HOTELS- Why does status matter? 51 2 3 4 6
Bonus
points
Late
Check
Out
Upgrades
Free suff
during
stays
• Enjoy upgrades to
better rooms and
suites when you stay
• Hyatt and Starwood
offer the chance to get
confirmed suite
upgrades a limited
number of times a
year, and on
availability basis other
times
• Elite members
earn points bonus
points above that
which ordinary
members get
• Elite members enjoy
late checkouts (4pm in
some programs,
though this may be
extended further on
goodwill)
• Allows you to catch
later flights without
paying extra
Status
Benefits
• Elite members get
premium internet
access, breakfast
and welcome
amenities
29. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
Calendar Year
3 months
50 nights/25 stays
18 nights
SPG Platinumusually requires
50 nightsin a calendar year
However, Starwood is willing to
grant you Platinumstatusif you
complete 18 nightsin a 90 day
period
6 3 9Jan
2015
Dec
2015
5 9 3 12 3 5 4
Statusearned in 2015 is valid for
themembershipyear of 2016,
expiring in Feb 2017
• Enjoy the benefits of
Platinum status from the
18th night instead of the
50th
• Earn Platinum status early
in the year and enjoy for
the remainder of the year
+ next calendar year + Jan
and Feb of subsequent
year
HOTELS- Status Challenges Explained 51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Hacking the majors
Platinum- 18 nights/90 days
Gold- 9 nights/90 days
World Mastercard holders-
stay 1 night in Asia-Pac SPG
properties and get gold-
http://bit.ly/1DXRlEW
Sheraton, Westin, Le
Meridien, St Regis, Luxury
Collection, Aloft, W, Four
Points
Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt,
Hyatt House, Andaz,
Hyatt Place, Hyatt
Regency, Hyatt
Hilton, Conrad,
Doubletree, Hampton,
Homewood,
Home2Suites, Waldof
Astoria, Curio, Canopy,
Embassy Suites, HGI
Novotel, ibis, Sofitel,
Mgallery, Pullman, Grand
Mercure, Adagio, Sebel
Intercontinental, Crowne
Plaza, Holiday inn, Holiday
Inn Express, Staybridge,
Candlewood Hotel Indigo
Diamond: 12 nights/60 days
Platinum: 6 nights/60 days
Diamond: 21 nights/90 days
(not official policy to offer)
Gold: 4 stays/90 days
Platinum Elite: 40 nights + 3
IHG brands
Gold Elite: 10 nights + 3 IHG
brands
Not available
Not available
Complimentary Hilton Gold
with Visa Infinite cards
(CIMB Visa Infinite has no
annual fee)
For US$200 you can
become an Intercontinental
Ambassador
Currently not available
Pay 90 Euros and get
LeClub Accor Gold status
with the ibis Business Card
1,162 527 4,100 3,500 4,704
51 2 3 4 6
31. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
HOTELS- Where to book
Where to
book?
I care
about the
absolute
cheapest
price
I want to
earn points
and status
OTAs via
CB portal
Official
Website
via CB
portal
Miles
back
OTA
Non-chain
Opaque
Booking
Channels
Chains
51 2 3 4 6
Your choice of booking
channel is important
• You do NOT earn points with
hotel chains when booking via
OTAs
• However, OTAs can be a good
option if you’re chasing miles
Have their own
rewards program,
but thevalue is so
poor it‘s
practically
negligible
Give chains a chance
• Yes, it’s not as sexy as a boutique
hotel, and sometimes there may
be better located, cheaper
independent properties
• But chains have some ultra-
luxurious aspirational properties in
the Maldives and other beach
destinations which are
unaffordable through regular
means- target those
32. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
HOTELS- Milesback OTAs 51 2 3 4 6
Milesback sites are OTAs
which reward you with
miles when you book
through them
Since these are OTAs, you won’t earn
any elite credit or points on your stay.
However, earning 10 miles per S$1
with Kaligo or 3,000 extra miles on
your first Rocketmiles booking is still
too good to turn down
Joining bonuses
Rocketmiles- http://bit.ly/1MTQk0B
3,000 bonusmileson
firstbooking
10 milesper S$1
spent
33. The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, admin@milelion.com
HOTELS- Opaque Booking Channels (OBC)
Possible brand dilution
when consumerssee 5*
Hotel selling for cheap
Consumer gets a big discountin exchangefor agreeing to a
non-refundable booking at a property whose namewill only
be revaled post purchase
51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Pick city and desired
neighborhoods
Priceline lets you select which
neighbourhoods you are willing to
stay in. More popular cities are
more likely to be subdivided into
more neighbourhoods which
gives you more granular control
over the process.
Remember: you will never be
assigned a hotel outside the
neighbourhood you choose
1
51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Specify which star
level you’re willing to
take
Typically you should be going for
5 or 4.5 star hotels, because these
represent the greatest deal. There
is almost certainly no point in
using Priceline for 1-3 star hotels,
as you could surely find these
cheaper on an OTA with no issue
of asymmetrical knowledge
2
51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Name your price
To prevent you from “bid sniffing”,
Priceline limits you to 1 bid per 24
hours. This can be easily
circumvented, as I’ll show you on
the next few slides.
ALWAYS lowball. Always. The
point of this site is to save money.
Priceline is likely to warn you that
your bid has a “small” chance of
being accepted, in order to scare
you into bidding more, but you’re
smarter than that.
Right?
3
51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Review your request
and submit
At this point you’ll be asked to
enter your payment details.
Annoyingly, Priceline adds on the
fees separately, so take that into
consideration when you’re
bidding in step 3
Because of the nature of Priceline,
no refunds are allowed. For
whatever reason. Be sure your
dates are set in stone before you
try this
4
51 2 3 4 6
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
If your first bid is
successful, you bid
way too high
You shouldn’t be successful in
your first bid. Otherwise you’ve
left money on the table. The idea
is to edge your price upwards until
you win
5
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HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Use a “rebid zone” to
repeat the process,
plus $3-5
Identify which zones in the city do
not have 4.5 and 5 star hotels.
Add 1 of those zones to your
selection and repeat your bid
If bid is rejected, repeat again,
adding another zone. This is why
this technique works the best in
cities with a lot of zones.
Don’t worry- because you
specified 4.5 and 5 star hotels, you
will never get a hotel in a zone
you don’t want
6
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HOTELS- Hotwire
Hotwire is a lazy man’s
Priceline
No bidding is needed- the portal shows
you the price, the neighbourhood and the
star level- you decide whether you want to
take a punt
Because you don’t bid, you’ll
invariably end up paying
more
However, because Hotwire specifically
lists the amenities at the hotel, some
intelligent guesswork can narrow down
the potential hotels
Hotwire lists prices,
neighbourhoods, starlevels and
amenities-you just need to take
theleap of faith
Hotwire- Las Vegas Example
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HOTELS- Betterbidding and BiddingforTravel
Priceline and Hotwire
are games of
information
asymmetry
Get informed. Read
about people’s
successful bids on
BetterBidding and
BiddingForTravel
Users report their wins on Hotline- helping yo
uidentify hotels based on the types of amenities
they have
BetterBidding Forums
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Use the right
credit cards
4
• The DBS Altitude
AMEX has 4.5
miles per S$1 of
hotel spend,
provided payment
is done online
Register for
bonuses
2
• Hotels run quarterly
promotions which
you need to
register for- no
registration, no
bonus points!
3
Always use the
official website
(via a cashback site)
• Stays via OTAs do not
qualify for stay credit or
points. OTA rewards
programs are poor value,
so unless the discount is
significant, use the
official website
Pick a chain,
any chain
1
• Your choice
should be based
on where you’re
likely to travel
and your leisure
travel budget
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4OTHER TRICKS- Cashback Portals
No commission
paid
Commission
paid and
retained by
advertiser
Commission
paid and
distributed
to you
Every time you don’t use a
cashback site, you’re leaving
money on the table
• Please, please, please take the money
Get bonus
credit on your
purchases with
my referral
links
• Top Cash Back
• Ebates
• Shopback
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OTHER TRICKS- 4 miles everywhere! 1 3
• There are 2 prepaid cards in Singapore- the
IMAGINE AMEX and the FEVO Mastercard
• Recall that the DBS Woman’s World Card
gives 4 miles per S$1, on the first S$2,000 of
spend per month
• You can top up the FEVO card with S$2,000
each month using your DBS Woman’s World
Card, then use the FEVO/IMAGINE to spend
on regular items, effectively earning 4 miles
everywhere
• FEVO fees-1% on credit card top ups (wavied for top
ups of $50 and more), $0.50 fee on DBS/POSB
ibanking
• IMAGINE fees- service fees are waived for $50
reloads and morePurchasefor $28
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Purchase for $20 with $4 credit
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OTHER TRICKS- APEC Business Travel Card
• If you’re a frequent traveler, ask your HR
department to sign a letter of
justification so you can apply for the
APEC Business Travel Card
• The card lets you skip immigration
queues in a large number of APEC
countries. This can come in handy in
countries where immigration queues
can be notoriously long, like Indonesia
and to a lesser extent Thailand
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Conclusion- what do we now know?
Access
over value
3
Earn and
Burn
1
Miles and points are the worst
currency to hold- they don’t
earn interest and their value
can only erode
Miles and points give
you access to
aspirational products,
not discounts on
thigs you can already
afford
2
All about
arbitrage
Miles and points
should only be spent
at a value above
which they took to
earn
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QUESTIONS
?
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CONTACT
@milelionsgthemilelion www.milelion.com
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