✈️ The biggest (points + miles) mistake made by beginngers

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Hello! It’s me Allie 👋

Quick announcement today→In an attempt to not be too wordy, here it goes: I’m launching a Friday edition of Booked It On Points. My goal with this is not to flood your inbox (it will be a quick read, I promise).

I’ll provide an actionable tip that you can use in your travel life and couple it with “The Informed Traveler” segment that you’re used to reading here.

I hope you love it, and as always please send me any feedback- the good, the bad and the ugly, I can take it. Thank you for being here. Seriously, if I could hug you, you bet I would.

Now back to it, here’s what’s on today—

📉 This week I have to give a shoutout to Frontier’s fall sale situation. I’ve been looking at their website and these sales are legit. While you can’t use points (unless you’re using Frontier frequent flyer points), these cash values are a steal. So, if you’re on a budget, feeling restless or looking to get out of town (me for all 3 👋 ), go take a browse at all the options.

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✈︎ Points + Miles

TOP STORY: The biggest mistakes all beginners make in the world of points + miles

Getting into the world of points + miles will change everything about how you travel. As a family, we are able to budget 2-4 international trips/ year completely by using credit card points + miles for airfare and/or accommodations.

But there are some growing pains to get through in those early days that I want to help you with now.

Here are the top 5 biggest mistakes all beginners make when using points + miles to supplement travel costs→

1) Not having a goal→ Every strong plan begins with setting goals and it’s the same for strategizing travel. Signing up for a credit card “just because” may not yield the results you’re hoping for. Take it from me, all my biggest “wins” come from having a trip in mind and working my way backwards.

📣 Real life→ Are you looking to cover costs for a hotel? Airfare? Or enjoy exclusive lounge access? This card gets us into +1,000 lounges around the world, a part of travel we planned on utilizing when prioritizing this card strategy.

2) Not getting a card with an annual fee→ Ask my husband, he was wildly opposed to getting a card with an annual fee, until he experienced free travel for the first time. These cards come with a lot more benefits than the average no annual card- think travel credits, lounge access, bonus categories (to earn extra points with purchases), and travel protections.

📣 Real life→ This card earns 4x on groceries and restaurants- a significant monthly expense for most of us (most cards earn 1-2x points). And this keeper card comes with a $250 annual fee→ so hear me out:

We personally budget $1,000/month on groceries and dining:
4 X points on groceries/dining = 4,000pts/month = 48,000 pts/year

*48,000 pts values at 2-3cents/pt (if not more) when transferred to partner airlines which means this values at $960 in travel. 

3) Not meeting the welcome offer→ Imagine your 5 year old self waking up on Christmas morning to coal under your Christmas tree 🎄 That is the devastation felt having realized you didn’t meet the minimum spend to get your welcome offer points. Utter devastation.

📣 Real life → Know the requirements! We are currently working through the welcome bonus on a recently added business card that can’t be named (thanks bank rules 😖) You better believe that I know exactly how much money I need to spend by which date in order to see those points float into my account. In fact- the remainder for us is $3,438 and needs to be completed before October 2nd.

4) Not getting a card with transferable points→ Arguable the most important mistake of them all 🚨 Transferable points are the bread and butter of most points + miles strategies. These point come from cards that allow you to transfer out to many different airlines and hotels.

 📣 Real life→ A business card, which cannot be named due to bank rules (😖, again) currently has an elevated welcome bonus. I know these points are highly transferable and can be transferred to Southwest Airlines, specifically. Southwest flies to Costa Rica, a destination I am looking into at the current moment. *Hit reply if you want to know which card I’m referring to!

5) Not paying off your credit card monthly→ Want to know a secret?

*We have $0 in credit card debt*

The only thing more valuable than earning points + miles for (nearly) free travel is NOT compounding credit card debt. So, if you carry debt, or cannot confidently guarantee that you can pay off your credit card each month, don’t jump into this game, it will never be worth it.

📣 Real life→ Your credit can soar to new heights with opening credit cards and paying them off in full each month. The opposite is true as well, and credit card debt can wreak havoc on your hopes and dreams. Set up monthly auto pay so you are never carrying a balance on your cards.

✈︎ Travel News

Tech outage, travel grounded

Last week’s IT outage impacted travel, cities and businesses across the world. While the result wreaked havoc on so many industries- travel of course is the sector I am highlighting here. First, let me say, I do hope you weren’t one of the thousands left stranded at the airport. If you were, hit reply and tell me what happened. I’ll listen to your harrowing tale and tell you how sorry I am because seriously, what an awful travel day experience.

This upgrade mishap grounded and/or re-routed thousands of flights around the world- nearly 1,000 in the US alone before 8AM alone, the ripple effect still being felt days later. The good news? It wasn’t a cyber security breach. The bad news? It has been a massive interruption in travel for thousands, to say the least.

I think for most of us, it’s uneasy reminder of the dependencies we have on tech. We’re walking a tight rope, suspended high above Niagara falls, where one missed toe placement can spill us over the edge.

There has (hopefully) been lessons learned at CrowdStrike to prevent future outages, but alas, as we become more and more complex in our systems, we simultaneously become more vulnerable to their mishaps. At it’s simplest it is a cautionary tale that our computer systems need to be safer and more stable. And perhaps that running essentially our entire world on one server is a massive pitfall to be addressed.

*Were you effected by the CrowdStrike outage in any sector of your life? Hit reply and let me know.

Last week’s survey results:

How would you most likely avoid over tourism when considering your future travel plans?

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Avoid popular tourist destinations and attractions

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Exclusively travel outside of peak season

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Choose an alternative to your preferred destination

Thanks for being here and have a great Tuesday!

Allie