If you can book your flight/room on the website of the airline or hotel you want to use, all is good. Start online, but don’t be afraid of the phone. Once you have found your perfect itinerary, contact the airline you want to fly, with your points in hand. If you really want to get serious, you can pay $10 a month to join, where you will gain access to comprehensive flight, seat and award data for more than 400 airlines. Use online databases like, specific airline websites, and the travel aggregators like. Hull says that Chase will give her one cent per point in cash back, but she can get 2 cents per point if she uses those points at United Airlines or Hyatt Hotels. Match up credit card points with the program that will make the most of them. Charge (and pay off every month) everything.Ī perennially popular card for people trying to accumulate travel points is the Capital One Venture Card, which allows users to “spend” their points like cash on all travel. Her technique for maximizing card points: Use different cards for different purchases, so you are getting the most points per card. Summer Hull, who blogs under, says she uses a variety of rewards cards but currently prefers Chase Ink Bold, which is giving 5 points per dollar spent on telecommunications like cell phone and cable bills, as well as at office supply stores. Get a “workhorse” credit card, but do not limit yourself to one. It also helps to follow specific airlines and hotels on Twitter and to “like” them on Facebook. Popular online points communities - where users share promotions and tips - include, , and. “These are very generous communities, everyone is willing to help,” says Angelina Aucello, another hobbyist who recently traveled, along with her fiance, from her East Rutherford, New Jersey, home to Hong Kong (nonstop), Macau, Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore and back to New York for a total cost of $194.35 per ticket, plus points, on Cathay Pacific Airways. Otherwise, you will just be a dabbler like me, and that can end up costing you money, time and brain power. If you want to make the rewards really rewarding, be willing to spend a significant amount of time looking for deals, comparing bonuses and managing your rewards. Sign up for multiple programs and keep track of all of them via a Web-based service like or. And so, I asked George and a few other key players for their best advice. I get points randomly and waste them on trips that have so many inconvenient stopovers and surcharges, I don’t save anything. There is a cadre of people who make points their serious avocation, and that distinguishes them significantly from people like me. Papadopoulos is hardcore, and he is not alone. Before that, he went on a Carnival cruise with his wife to the western Caribbean - paid for entirely with rewards points from his Capital One Venture Card. Recently he took his family of four on an Amtrak trip from Ann Arbor, Michigan, through Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle in a luxe sleeper car, using Amtrak points. At night, he uses the same analytical skills for his hobby: cashing in big-time on travel rewards. By day he’s a certified public accountant and financial planner. WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Meet George Papadopoulos.
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