Welcome

Friends,

We are back with a great column here and for you.

Dallas to Austin is also probably my favorite air route in the world. More on that another time.

Let’s get going.

Links

A day in my life flying to Doha.

I use this card for all my airline ticket purchases, but the absurdly high annual fee means it is not for everyone.

Overhead bin dramas.

I help people maximize their points and I can help you, too.

Story

I was approved for my first credit card right after I turned 18 (this was in 2007, which should explain a lot). US Bank issued a Northwest Airlines WorldPerks’ Visa at the time, and a few seconds after submitting the online application I was approved for the personal card. Minutes later, I was approved for the business version of the card, too.

Suddenly, at 18, my fledgling e-commerce business (generating exactly $0 in W2 income) qualified me for two $30,000 lines of credit. Plus, a bunch of Northwest miles as a signup bonus.

That summer I used some of those miles to fly business class to Hong Kong on a ticket that would have otherwise cost me $12,000. My seat mate was a FedEx executive.

It was on that trip that I discovered I do not like flying business class—I love it.

And airline miles made what was for me otherwise out of reach (or financially questionable without a FedEx-sized expense account) possible.

Telling you what you already know: the easiest way to earn points for free travel is by spending on a credit card (sorry, Dave Ramsey). In that, here are two helpful waterlines for earning and redeeming that I use today:

1. Every dollar you spend = 2 points (on average). This is not hard and fast, per se, but provides a baseline. Earning one point or mile per dollar is so 2005.

2. 29k points = free one way ticket from New York to London in Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic. While this is Virgin’s lowest priced business class award and not available ubiquitously, it is real and a stellar use of miles.

Points do not appreciate in value and you can’t take them with you. But they can send you to London (and lots of other places) in business class.

Hopefully, that helps a little as you map out where to go next.

Forward

Thank you for reading! You are the hero of this story, and I would not be writing this if it was not for you.

Do you know someone else who might enjoy reading this? Forward it to them right now. It is free and totally supports the mission. You will also earn two awesomeness points.

Remember, this live you are living has meaning. Be well today.

-Tommy