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Yesterday, I wrote a post for beginners explaining how this travel on points hobby works. The cool thing about the miles and points hobby is that you can put a little effort into it or a lot of effort into it, depending on your desire and your time available. This hobby doesn’t have to take over your life.
But, people who have certain traits tend to be more successful with award travel in the long run. Do you have some or all of these traits?
Organized
Juggling multiple credit cards and loyalty accounts requires some level of organization. Not only do you need to keep track of when you open a new card and the deadline for the minimum bonus spending, but you also have to remember to pay multiple credit cards on time each month.
Decisive
Successful award travelers know when to jump on a deal and just go for it. Sometimes, if you wait too long to sign up for a good bonus offer, the deal expires. This also happens with award availability on popular routes. As the old saying goes, “He who hesitates is lost.” A perfect example of this happened recently with the SimplyMiles promo when a few lucky people got a million+ AA miles.
Flexible
The key to getting the best use out of miles and points is flexibility. Successful travelers search for award flights over a range of dates and even a range of destinations. It’s much more difficult to use miles and points when you’re stuck with fixed dates.
Grit
Being successful in this hobby requires a certain amount of determination and grit. Things don’t always go as planned. You may not find the perfect award redemption, or you may not get instantly approved for a credit card. You have to persevere and keep trying. I typically search for award availability for weeks before finding the right cost and schedule.
Appetite for Knowledge
Policies and information in the miles and points travel world are constantly changing. There isn’t one instruction manual that never changes. Banks, airlines and hotels are constantly creating new rules and promos. In order to keep up, you have to read multiple sources. Even the industry experts learn from other bloggers and regular folks on reddit. I recommend subscribing to BoardingArea via email or Twitter and checking out MilesFeed.com to scan the headlines of multiple relevant blogs.
Of course, even experienced award travelers don’t display these traits all the time. Nobody’s perfect! I’ve accidentally been late on payments, and I’ve missed out on good deals because I didn’t act quickly enough. But in general, having these traits is what it takes to be successful in this hobby.
Readers, what traits would you add to this list?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I think being flexible should be the top priority for me as there could be so many things that will not go according to your plan but if you are flexible then you will have a great time.
What do you think?
@Divyam Definitely! Flexibility is key with all trips.
Thank goodness for awardwallet. Not sure I could keep it all straight w/out that service.
@Erik I’m glad you found a tool that helps!
Great post! All true!
I might add prioritize to the list. There’s trade-offs in this game (as with anything) so don’t try to keep up with the proverbial “Joneses”. Just do what’s important to you. There’s always some blogger writing about their 24 hour mileage runs, chasing status, or spending 3 luxurious nights in the Maldives with first class flights. If that floats your boat then go for it but it’s ok if that’s not what’s important to you 🙂 it’s ok if you want to travel cheaper and better in your home country, simply visit family more, or just go to the beach. Some travel with kids, some are completely unattached, and every where in between. Just do you!
When I first got into this game we had no kids. We traveled differently than we do now with young kids. We’ll travel differently when they are older and when they’re all grown up. And that’s ok. What’s important is that we’re traveling, having a great time, and seeing more of this world for less money 🙂