WORKING TO TRAVEL
I used to
travel by air for work extensively and compiled quite a lot of frequent flyer
miles over the years. I had a Gold card with the now defunct TWA, and I had
committed my American Airlines frequent flyer number to memory. I had amassed
so many miles on so many airlines, I flew my family free to Spain, Jamaica and Mexico,
as well as three trips to Hawaii, as well as a number of smaller trips.
Well,
that phase of my working life ended eons ago and, while all those accumulated miles
lasted for several years, they eventually were all used up. What to do when you
still want to travel, but the sticker shock for something that was once free
hits you? Why instead of traveling for work, you have to work to travel, or
more correctly, live to travel.
COST OF LIVING = FREE FLIGHTS
When
Janet first signed up for a credit card that gave her bonus miles on American
Airlines, I was dubious. I didn’t think it was worth the yearly fee of $95, but
when she also linked our home’s utility bills to the card along with extra
bonus miles included in that, her frequent flyer miles quickly added up. I
quickly became a fan.
Now whenever
possible our frequent flyer accounts are linked to any available freebies and
it has paid off handsomely. This year we are taking two major trips: Croatia in
July to sail through the Dalmatian islands, and, the Bahamas next December. Air
travel for both trips is free because of our endeavors. Janet is also using
miles to fly to Austin next month.
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| LOVE ISLAND IN CROATIA |
We garnered
the required miles, (90,000 for me alone), by signing up for the Aadvantage
Aviator credit card and it’s 60,000 bonus miles. This alone was enough for
flying to Dubrovnik. Using the card for travel, incidentals and the normal acquisition
of miles from the regular frequent flyer program made the 30,000 miles
necessary for the Bahamas trip a breeze… get it a pun.
BEER = MILES
As a loyal
flyer with American Airlines there are other ways of garnering miles. One is their
Dining Out program. Link a credit card to the program and miles are awarded
whenever an establishment listed on the website is visited. Sadly, I cannot
link my Planet Fitness monthly membership fee to this program, but the Sly Fox
Brewery is conveniently located in the same strip mall in Phoenixville. After a
workout I’ll go for a well-deserved beer and earn miles.
OPINION = MILES
The adage
is: opinions are like butt-holes, everyone’s got one. Well, with American
Airlines they also reward you for your opinion. Sign up to this survey program,
link a frequent flyer number to the account and opine away. One may think the
ROI is small for this; 50 or 40 miles if accepted in a particular survey; but
every bit helps. It certainly beats having to open the wallet.
This is just
a small sampling of available ways of getting frequent flyer miles. If you have
a new one to share, leave Team VFH a note.
Thanks
for reading, and wherever you go, travel well.
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