1. Beating the System:
Travel Pointers for a First
Class Lifestyle on a
Budget
Presented by:
Brian Kelly

3. Today’s Topics
 Earning





Credit Cards
Shopping Portals
Dining Programs
Buy Miles
Finding Cheap Flights
 Redeeming






Frequent Flyer Programs
Other Considerations
When to Buy/Redeem
The Beauty of Saver Awards
Stopovers and Open Jaws
Avoiding Fuel Surcharges
 Managing It All
 TPG Maximizer

4. Sunday Funday Giveaway

5. #TPGNYT14

6. EARNING!

7. What Makes Up Your FICO Score?
Payment
History
35%
Types of
Credit
New
10%
Credit
10%
Amounts
Owed
30%
Length of
Credit
History
15%

8. Transferable Point Programs

9. AMEX Membership Rewards
Pros:

17 airline partners, 4 hotel partners

Transfer bonuses

Quick transfers post instantaneously

Transfer to anyone
Cons:

Loss of partners

Continental (United)

AirTran

6/100 cents per point for transfers to US airlines

Earning portal shut down

10. AMEX Membership Rewards Tips
 Star Alliance: Aeroplan (flexible routing, avoid fuel surcharges); ANA (distancebased); Singapore Airlines (one-way)
 Oneworld: British Airways (distance-based); Iberia (lower fuel surcharges)
 SkyTeam: Delta (partner awards on Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic); Flying
Blue (save up to 50% on promo awards)
 Non-Alliance: Emirates (upgrades); Hawaiian Airlines (Hilton 1:2)

11. Chase Ultimate Rewards
Pros:

No transfer fees

Great customer service

Strong partners
Cons:

No transfer bonuses

Limited partners

12. Chase Ultimate Rewards Tips
Tips:

Recent United and Hyatt devaluation

British Airways for short-haul flights

Hyatt 30,000 points for Cat 7 hotels and Southwest Companion Pass Angle

13. Starwood Preferred Guest
Pros:

Cash & Points

Reward stays count towards elite status

Free transfers to others in your
household, transfer bonus

Multiple Airline Partners

Alaska, American, US Airways
Cons:

Posting times vary greatly

No shopping portal

Foreign Transaction Fees

14. Co-Branded Credit Cards
Pros:
 Perks




Free checked bags
Elite Status
Lounge Access
Discounted Awards/Free Nights
Cons:
 Generally not transferable
 Can’t diversify your points
 Many perks are the same as elite perks
Examples:
 American Express: Delta and Starwood
 Chase: United MileagePlus Explorer and Hyatt Visa
 Citi: American AAdvantage cards, Hilton Reserve

15. Fixed-Value Cards
 What are fixed-value cards?
 Who are they best for?
 Pros
 No award blackouts
 Earn elite status when using them
 Easy to get 1-2.2% in value back
 Cons
 Expensive tickets cost a lot of points

16. Fixed-Value Cards
Barclaycard Arrival (annual fee)

Earn: 2 miles per $1

Redeem: 2.2% for travel, 1% for statement
credits
Capital One Venture

Earn: 2 miles per $1

Redeem: 1 cent per mile
US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa

Earn: 1-3 points per dollar

Redeem: 1.33-2 cents per point for airfare
Citi ThankYou Premier

Earn: Bonus categories earn 1-3 points per $1

Redeem: 1.25 cents per point for travel

17. Perks: Elite Miles and Benefits

Elite mileage


Free nights


Citi HHonors Reserve, Hyatt Card
Lounge Access


Earn EQM’s with many cards including Citi
Exec AAdvantage, Delta Platinum and
Reserve, US Airways Mastercard
Amex Platinum, Citi Exec AA, United Club,
Delta Reserve, Ritz Carlton
Airline specific perks

Priority boarding, free checked bags

18. Perks: Category Spending

Travel:


Airfare:


Premier Rewards Gold, Chase Ink Bold/Plus, AMEX Blue
Cash and Blue Cash Preferred
Dining:


Chase Ink Products (don’t overlook this)
Gas:


Premier Rewards Gold, Airline co-branded cards
Office Supplies:


Chase Sapphire Preferred, Barclaycard Arrival
Chase Sapphire/Sapphire Preferred, Citi Forward and
ThankYou Preferred
Quarterly Bonuses:

Chase Freedom, Discover It

19. Online Shopping Portals
Earn Bonus Miles on Every Purchase

Sign Up

Link FF or hotel account

Click through to merchant and spend!
Portals
Airlines: Aeroplan, American, British
Airways, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, Southwest, United,
US Airways, Virgin Atlantic
Hotels/Other: Amtrak, Choice Rewards, Hilton, Marriott
Credit Cards: Ultimate Rewards, Discover

20. Dining

Dining Programs




Gift Cards


Dining Rewards Network – Airlines, Hotels
OpenTable
Restaurant.com
Purchase from Category Spending Bonus
Merchant
Chase First Friday

Earn 3X per $1 every month

21. Finding Cheap Flights
Using the ITA Matrix
Maximize your airfare purchase with the right credit card and portal

22. Finding Cheap Flights
theflightdeal.com
airfarewatchdog.com
flyertalk.com – Mileage Run Forum
Maximize your airfare purchase with the right credit card and portal

23. REDEEMING!

24. Frequent Flyer Programs
 Delta SkyMiles

Pro:

Partner awards at saver levels

Several credit card and earning options

RTW



280,000 Business Class
180,000 Coach
Con

Devaluations

SkyMiles 2015 Changes

No First Class Partner Awards

Blackout Dates

Three-tier award system soon to be five-tier

25. Frequent Flyer Programs
 American Airlines

Pro:


Off-peak economy awards

Distance-based Explorer awards

One-way awards


International gateway stopover equals free one-way flights
Upgrades from most fare classes
Con

Big fees on British Airways

26. Frequent Flyer Programs
 United

Pro:


United-operated flights

Low taxes and fees

Good website


One-way awards
Australia awards
Con

Recent devaluation

Expensive partner awards

27. Frequent Flyer Programs
 US Airways

Pro:

Flexible routing rules

Relatively cheap awards



Especially business
 North Asia
 South Africa
 Australia
Joining Oneworld March 31/eventually merging with AA
Con

Bad website

Several fees

Non-flexible awards rules

No one-way awards

Joining Oneworld March 31/eventually merging with AA

28. Frequent Flyer Programs
 British Airways

Pro:

Distance-based awards for short/mid-haul

Several transfer partners



Chase


AMEX
Starwood
One-way awards
Con

Huge fuel surcharges on certain carriers

Large fees on certain awards

Pricey long-haul flights

29. Frequent Flyer Programs
 Alaska Airlines

Pro:


Strong mix of partners

One-way awards

Good website/app


Generous award chart for most regions
Relatively cheap buy miles program
Con

Inability to mix multiple partners

30. Fixed-Value Programs
 Jet Blue

1.3 cents
 Southwest

1.8 cents (1.4 after March 31 devaluation)
 Virgin America

2 cents

31. Stopovers and Open Jaws
 What is a Stopover? What is an Open Jaw?
 Who Allows What?
 American
 Delta
 United
 US Airways
 Aeroplan

32. Avoiding Fuel Surcharges
 British Airways
 Aeroplan
 Flying Blue
 Iberia
 ANA
 Korean Air
 Singapore

33. Alliance Changes
 Joining

US Airways



March 31st
Sri Lankan
Airlines


Air India

March 31st
TAM

 Joining

June 2014
Avianca

Summer 2014
 Leaving

US Airways

April 2014

March 31st
TAM

March 31st
 Joining

Garuda Indonesia

March 5th

34. Top 10 Current Deals
1.
CITI EXEC AADVANTAGE: 100,000 miles after
$10,000 spent in 3 months
2.
INK BOLD/INK PLUS: 50,000 points after
$5,000 spent in 3 months
3.
SAPPHIRE PREFERRED: 40,000 points after
$3,000 in 3 months + 5,000 points when you add
cardholder
4.
MERCEDES-BENZ PLATINUM: 50,000 points
after $3,000 spent in 3 months
5.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES RAPID REWARDS
PREMIER: 50,000 points after $2,000 spent in 3
months

35. Top 10 Current Deals
6.
BARCLAYCARD ARRIVAL: 40,000 miles after
$3,000 spent in 3months
7.
CITI HILTON HHONORS RESERVE: 2 weekend
night certificates after $2,500 spent in 3 months
8.
CLUB CARLSON PREMIER REWARDS:
85,000 points after $2,500 spent in 90 days
9.
US AIRWAYS PREMIER: 40,000 miles after first
purchase
10.
BUSINESS GOLD REWARDS: 25,000 points
after $5,000 in 3 months

36. Introducing…
MAXIMIZER

37. TPG Maximizer

38. TPG Maximizer

39. TPG Maximizer

40. TPG Maximizer

41. TPG Maximizer

42. TPG Maximizer

43. And Remember…