Welcome

Friends,

Dave Ramsey likes to say he has never met anyone who became a millionaire off their airline miles. And he is totally right.

That is also totally not the point.

Admittedly, Dave Ramsey has become a millionaire making statements like that. A “fool me once” sort of moment, if you will.

Airline miles, hotel points, etc. are fun because they have low marginal cost and can really be worth something (like a trip you would not otherwise take to see a family member you might not otherwise visit) when you spend them.

And even then the reality is still bigger: you get to travel. More. Good travel is nearly an end in itself.

Let’s get going.

Links

First class on (maybe) the shortest flight ever.

New: share your AirTag data with American Airlines.

Story

In the 2013 film About Time, the protagonist discovers that he can travel in time.

Without further spoiling the plot, it becomes something of his ordinary superpower that his dad, played by Bill Nighy, calls ‘the mother lode’ before encouraging him to really think about what he wants to do with it. The film is generally excellent and explores the intersection of the ordinary everyday with that which is truly beautiful.

For our purposes today, I want to encourage you to really do something with your life: to go places.

Travel is wonderful; more travel is generally more wonderful. So, to get more travel out of my daily life, I do three things:

1. Charge everything but airline tickets on the CapitalOne Venture X card. You will earn two points for every dollar you spend and pay $395/year for the privilege. You get a lot of included perks but do not be fooled: they are only worth it if you actually use said perks.

2. Buy airline tickets on the American Express Platinum Card. You earn five points for every dollar you spend on airfare and you pay $695/year for the privilege. This card is so perk-heavy it is like an old, thick coupon book (the kind your grandmother liked) but if you don’t use the perks it is absolutely not worth the annual fee.

3. Transfer my earned points from credit card spending directly into airline miles or hotel points when it is time to use them.

It sounds simple because steps one and two are simple. Number three is a touch more complex only as it takes a little more technical knowledge + effort. You can do it all.

These three steps, coupled with making sure I am earning points and miles when I actually go places, are literally all there is to it. This is how I paid nearly nothing for a $100k honeymoon, how I bought a handful of $14k tickets on Lufthansa in first class to fly to/from Europe, how my family moved to New Zealand for a few months last year, and a bajillion other trips.

You can really do something (or lots of things) with points, too. Just remember that points are not the purpose: they are the boring, low opportunity cost way to make flying your superpower.

We will pick up there in the next column.

Forward

Send this email on to someone else and inspire them to go travel more. It costs you nothing, helps the newsletter, and does a little good. Why wouldn’t you?

Either way, you are totally fantastic. Thanks again for reading.

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

-Tommy