Frequent Flier Miles

The Frugal Travel Guy Predicts 2012 Trends for Frequent Travel Enthusiasts

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Rick Ingersoll suggests key issues for travel fanatics this year.

Rick Ingersoll

January 11, 2012 (Hilton Head, SC) – Like other travel writers this month, Rick Ingersoll, the author of the popular “Frugal Travel Guy” blog, has weighed in on what he believes will be key issues for travel fanatics in 2012.

Ingersoll, who was recently featured on ABC’s “Nightline,” is a member of a growing community of people who use a variety of tips and techniques to amass thousands – even millions – of frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points so that they can travel the globe for free or nearly free. As a blogger on the subject and a former mortgage banker, his particular expertise is in using credit and debit card sign-up bonus and bank offers to amass miles and points quickly.

To that end, Ingersoll says he believes applying for credit cards strictly for their sign-up bonuses will continue to be the primary source of free or inexpensive miles throughout the year.

“As a good result, more people will actually work on improving their credit scores to take advantage of this,” he said. “Without a very good credit score, you can’t apply for cards. And credit card sign-up bonuses are still the best way to amass thousands of miles quickly.”

Ingersoll also thinks 50,000-mile offers will remain the norm and generate a lot of excitement among mile hoarders as credit card issuers’ compete for card accounts will continue.

And on the subject of American Airlines filing for bankruptcy in 2011, he believes its frequent flier program will remain secure and American will survive “as a stronger competitor and will not merge with US Airways.”

On a related subject, Ingersoll predicts both American and US Airways will offer significant sign-up bonus opportunities on their AAdvantage and World Mastercard credit cards, respectively, in an effort to hold onto their market shares.

The Frugal Travel Guy also predicts that US Airways’ Dividend Miles Grand Slam promotion – in which Dividend Miles members can earn up to 110,000 bonus miles — will return with basically the same guidelines and opportunities.

On the retail side of amassing miles, Ingersoll believes Catera Commerce, a provider of card-linked marketing solutions that increase revenue and customer loyalty for merchants, banks, issuers and loyalty programs, “will make another huge shopping mall mistake and lose at least one airline as a customer.” Last year, Catera made an 83,871-mile “system error” mistake on American’s AAdvantage Shopping Mall. Catera apologized but claimed it wasn’t responsible for the miles due to the “Terms and Conditions.”

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and amassing miles and points, visit his blog at www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses and other promotions. He posts frugal travel tips deals every day on his blog with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com. The Frugal Travel Guy also maintains an active community on Facebook.

ABC’s Nightline Spotlights Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

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Millions who tuned in discovered “Flying First Class For Free.”

November 29, 2011 — Rick Ingersoll, author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, received national broadcast coverage last week when he was featured on ABC’s Nightline on November 22 in a segment entitled “Flying First Class For Free.”

Ingersoll is what ABC’s John Donvan called “a frequent flier mile millionaire.” He and others like him go to extreme measures to amass airline miles and hotel rewards points so that they can travel “literally around the world in first class for next to nothing,” anchor Terry Moran said in his introduction to the segment.

Donvan taped the segment with Ingersoll during the Chicago Seminar in late October. Organized by Rick Ingersoll and other veteran “travel hackers,” the seminar teaches participants how to maximize frequent flier miles and rewards points to enjoy free or nearly free travel around the globe. Donvan pointed out that Ingersoll does the same on a daily basis on his blog The Frugal Travel Guy.

Donvan highlighted three of the methods “extreme mileage hoarders” like Ingersoll use: (1) credit card sign-up bonuses, which often offer from 20,000 to 70,000 miles for an approved card after a minimum spend on that card is reached; (2) mileage and “mattress” runs to rack up frequent flier miles or hotel bonuses; and (3) rental car deals that often offer mile deals on rentals.

“Rick wants to teach the rest of us the tricks to becoming miles millionaires, too,” Donvan said.

ABC taped Ingersoll in United Airlines’ First Class Lounge at O’Hare Airport and caught him conducting a workshop at the Seminar. Among other world travels, Ingersoll told Donvan about a 10-day trip to China he and his wife took this year in business class that would have cost around $20,000 but, instead, cost them only $60 each in taxes plus 120,000 miles each.

In the luxury of a first class cabin aboard a parked United jet, Donvan asked him, “So you think this is something ordinary folks can do?”

“Not only can, but should do,” Ingersoll said.

ABC’s “Nightline” is late-night television’s award-winning news program featuring anchors Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. A video of November 22 segment with Rick Ingersoll and a transcript of the show are available at http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/frequent-flyer-secrets-tips-racking-travel-points/story?id=15001634#.TtKMmHG8pEQ.

For more information on The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses and other promotions. He posts frugal travel tips deals every day on his blog with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

Travel For Boomers.com Targets Baby Boomers Who Love To Travel

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New travel blog is authored by “Boomers” for “Boomers.” 

October 10, 2011 — A group of self-professed “travel fanatics” and veteran “travel hackers” have launched Travel For Boomers.com, a new blog specifically targeted to “Baby Boomers” (people born between 1946 and 1964), who either love to travel or want to travel, and “want to do so as inexpensively and comfortably as possible.”

Travel For Boomers went live on September 15. Just a few of the topics posted thus far include:

  • How to get the best deal when you’re booking a hotel room
  • Medical and dental “vacations” to get less expensive procedures
  • Why everyone should have a passport
  • Whether or not AARP travel discounts are all they advertise
  • Who “Baby Boomers” are and how they affect the travel industry
  • Suggestions for great destinations for mature travelers
  • and humorous, just-for-fun topics.

“We want Travel For Boomers be both informative and fun,” said blog editor and award-winning journalist Kim Weiss. “We’ll cover everything from step-by-step ‘how-tos’ on amassing frequent flier miles and rewards points, to memories of traveling before security check points — when airlines named Piedmont, Pan Am and Eastern still existed. We recently ran a post on how to help your kids who have their own kids travel more comfortably, and we have a three-part post on how to see the world in a weekend. That’s right: in a weekend.”

Weiss noted that most travel blogs direct their content to 25-45 year-old travelers. “That’s why we started Travel For Boomers. Baby Boomers are active, enthusiastic travelers who often have different priorities than less mature travelers, and certainly have different priorities than senior citizens. As Boomers ourselves, we can relate to those priorities and address them specifically on the blog. And we’re looking forward to reader input via the ‘comments’ feature.”

Weiss said she’s particularly proud of the roster of “Boomer” writers already on board and contributing posts, including veteran travel “hacker” and magazine columnist Cristine Krzyszton, who has amassed a million frequent flier miles; humor writer and seasoned frugal traveler Mars Candiotti; published author and award-winning freelance writer Bill Morris, who travels the world in search of the best fishing opportunities; and world traveler and film director Allen Weiss.

Producer/technical director Howie Rappaport and advertising/marketing director Shannon Watson round out the behind-the-scenes support system for Travel For Boomers.com.

“We’re currently working on the design and branding of Travel For Boomers,” Weiss added, “so readers can expect to see some changes in the look of the blog in the near future.”

To follow Travel For Boomers, go to www.travelforboomers.com. The blog also maintains a Facebook page.

About Travel For Boomers.com:

Travel For Boomers.com is travel blog specifically for members of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964) who love to travel, want to travel, and want to do so inexpensively and comfortably. Its contributors are veteran world travelers located across the U.S. who address a variety of travel concerns specific to the Baby Boomer audience, from “travel hacking” to amass frequent flier miles and points, to exciting and unusual destinations for mature travelers who are clearly not “senior citizens” yet. For more information, go to www.travelforboomers.com.

 

The Frugal Travel Guy Receives Third Consecutive “Best Budget Travel Blog” Award

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Tripbase.com announces its 2011 winners.

September 28, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) — For the third consecutive year, “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog has received a Tripbase Award for Best Budget Travel Blog.

Rick Ingersoll is the founder and primary author of “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog and a recognized “travel hacker” expert on frugal travel and flying for free. A retired mortgage banker and frequent world traveler, he is always on the look out for deals others miss or simply don’t know about towards accumulating airline frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points. He shares everything he finds and teaches his readers a host of tips and tricks for accumulating miles and points and significantly reducing their travel budget for life.

“My true intent is to teach people how to do this themselves,” he says, “so that they can see the world at prices we can all afford. I love showing average folks like me, who think they can’t afford to travel, that they can by following the tips, deals, and advice I post on the Frugal Travel Guy blog every day.”

Ingersoll is rewarded by near-constant thanks from readers for who have been on trips they never thought they could afford.

“The Frugal Travel Guy” blog also features weekly “Rookie Travel Tips” by Ingersoll’s daughter, Shannon Watson, for readers who are just beginning the “travel hacking” game; his son Andrew’s posts and photographs from his own extensive world travels; and “Sunday Success Stories” by readers who share how they used Ingersoll’s advice to afford often amazing travel experiences.

The Tripbase Travel award is only given to the blogs that are the top of their respective class and are some of the best in the field, according to Tripbase’s website (www.tripbase.com). A team of travel experts scours the Internet for the best blogs they can find and make the nominations. The group then short-lists certain blogs, considering factors such as how informative the blog is, the overall writing style, the actual blog appearance, and how well that blog performs in its given category when compared and contrasted to other, similar blogs.

“The award is a mark of prestige, which is only afforded to the blogs that score highly when our judges review them for selection,” Tripbase reports. “The award is a sign that a blog succeeds greatly at what it does, and surpasses all expectations, thereby indicating it as a veritable bastion of quality and information.”

For more information on the Tripbase Awards, visit www.tripbase.com/d/awards/2011.

For more information on The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

 

The Frugal Travel Guy Shares: How To Earn Elite Status with Airlines and Hotels

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To get all the perks and privileges that non-Elite travelers miss out on. 


May 5, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) – Even the most casual traveler is aware of airlines’ frequent flier mile rewards programs for using their airline, and the fact that the more you miles have, the more free travel you can enjoy. Yet most casual travelers are not aware of the many additional perks that come with accruing enough frequent flier miles to warrant “Elite Status.”

Travel hackers like Rick Ingersoll know all about Elite Status. Ingersoll, better known to frequent travelers and fellow travel hackers as “The Frugal Travel Guy” for the popular blog he authors by the same name, explains how anyone can earn “Elite Status” with airlines and hotels to receive all the privileges and perks non-elite travelers miss out on.

“The frequent flier game began as a way to promote customer loyalty,” he said. “Elite status within an airlines rewards program does the same thing. Each airline is a little different, but the standard rule is that if you fly 25,000 miles in a year, you achieve ‘low level Elite’ with that airline.”

According toIngersoll, there are three levels of Elite Status: silver, gold and platinum. Each level brings with it increasing benefits based on the number of “butt in seat” miles you have with that airline. “And when it comes to frequent flier miles, the more ‘Elite’ you are, the more perks you receive,” he said.

A silver elite member may get 1.25 to 1.5 miles frequent flier miles for every mile flown on his or her preferred carrier. Gold members get two miles for every mile flown, and Platinum members may get as high as 2.25 miles per mile flown in addition to unlimited upgrades to first class. The names of the top tier programs vary according to the airline in question.

“Elite members also receive free upgrades to first class when available or with credits they receive for so many miles flown,” Ingersoll said. “Elite status is really helpful in the event that you miss a connection or have to stay overnight at an intermediate city. The airlines take care of their Elite members.”

Airlines often hold more award seats for Elite members and provide Elite members with better seating on all flights, Ingersoll explained, such as access to the exit row or bulkhead seats.

“If you fly enough to reach Elite status, you appreciate having an exit row with plenty of leg room, especially if you’re flying overseas.”

Elite Status fliers can often make changes to their award tickets without charge and will also receive priority standby status on oversold flight.

If you travel frequently but aren’t an Elite member yet, Ingersoll suggests you make a point to study the Elite program of your favorite carrier.

“Sometimes at year’s end, it is actually worth doing a ‘mileage run’ [a paid airline trip designed solely for gaining maximum frequent flyer miles, points or status] just to get the last few miles you need to achieve Elite status,” he said. “Elite status has made it possible for my wife and me to fly to Europe and get enough frequent flier miles from that one trip for a free, domestic round-trip ticket.”

Hotel Elite

The same rules apply for achieving Elite Status with hotel chains, he noted. “The more often you stay at a hotel that offers Elite Status tiers, the higher you’re status will be. And all hotel chains have awards programs.”

Hilton’s HHonors, for example, offer four levels of Elite status. Members earn and maintain elite tier status based on stays, nights, or points earned in any calendar year. “Sometimes just taking out a credit card with a hotel chain gives you elite status for a year,” Ingersoll said, “such as Hilton’s HHonors American Express Surpass card, Marriott’s Reward Premier Visa, Best Western’s World MasterCard and Hyatt’s Visa.”

For their extended honeymoon, Ingersoll and his wife Katy spent one week at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in an oceanfront room for free. How?

“By using the points I accumulated applying for Hilton’s credit card, by staying at a few Hampton Inns, by Walking For The Cure with the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and by generally keeping our eyes open for Hilton Honors Points,” he said. “We also spent four nights at the Rome Cavaleri Hilton on points accumulated instead of the $480 per night we would have paid without them.”

The key to earning Elite status and rewards points with hotel chains, Ingersoll said, is to stay aware of what they’re offering.

“It changes nearly every year, but the rewards are well worth the time it takes to keep your eyes on the prize.”

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and to keep up with all of his travel hacking tips and techniques, visit his blog at http://frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

Frequent Flier Expert Reports 1 Million Miles & More in 2010

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Rick Ingersoll © Photography by Anne

Rick Ingersoll amassed the equivalent of 25 free domestic round-trip tickets in one year.

December 16, 2010 (HILTON HEAD, SC) – Using techniques he teaches in his book The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, author and blogger Rick Ingersoll has reported that he and his wife amassed one million frequent-flier miles in 2010 solely by taking advantage of credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses.

What does that mean in terms of actual travel for, as he puts it, ordinary folks? Twenty-five free domestic round-trip airline tickets for a family, eight to 10 business-class tickets to Europe, or four around-the-world itineraries.

“By maintaining an excellent credit score, we’ve found that applying for credit card signup bonuses can earn us the frequent flier miles we need to travel cheaply and often,” Ingersoll said.

The secret to his success, he says, is maintaining a good credit score and planning carefully:

“The inquiries for each credit card application nick your credit score by two to five points. But if you pay on time, under most circumstances that is the extent of the damage. And after we have reached the minimum spend to earn the sign-up bonus, we just put the card away and cancel it when the annual renewal bill comes due. The inquiries fall off your credit report in two years.”

One of the many offers he and his wife, Katy, took advantage of this year was a British Airways promotion that offered 100,000 miles for using its credit card and paying the $75 application fee. Together, the couple netted 200,000 miles on that deal alone.

With application and debit card fees, Ingersoll reports that he spent $1130 to earn over one million frequent flier miles – remarkably less than he would have spend if he paid for his future travel excursions.

Other Perks: Yet credit card/debit card bonuses aren’t the only techniques Ingersoll used in 2010 to get more miles and savings on travel. As he discusses in The Frugal Guy Handbook, he also used such opportunities as “Mistake Fares,” “Fare Wars,” “Rental Car Promos,” and – one of his favorites – “The Bump.”

“The Bump” is Ingersoll’s term for actively volunteering to be “bumped” from a crowded/over-sold flight. Airlines are required by law to compensate “bumped” passengers.  On a recent trip to Alaska, he paid $400 for a ticket but got himself “bumped” so often that he ended the day with $1200 in travel vouchers.

Rick Ingersoll is frequently quoted in the travel media as an expert on free and frugal travel techniques that assure quality travel especially for those who think they can’t afford to travel.

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and his free-travel techniques, visit his blog at http://frugaltravelguy.blogspot.com.

About Rick Ingersoll:

Rick Ingersoll, author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog  and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe.

Free Travel Expert Rick Ingersoll Disputes Dave Ramsey Advice

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Now Is The Time to Sign Up for Credit Card Awards

"The Frugal Travel Guy" Rick Ingersoll © Photography by Anne

December 2, 2010 (HILTON HEAD, SC) – When personal money management expert and radio personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox News’ Neil Cavuto Show recently, something Ramsey said sent free travel expert Rick Ingersoll straight to his computer to pound out a rebuttal.

Ramsey, the author of New York Times best-seller Total Money Makeover, told Cavuto that Americans should not be “sucked in” by credit card companies’ special offers and rewards programs, such as frequent flier miles. “People are so arrogant they say, ‘I am smarter than Bank of America and smarter than City or Sears and I am going to take them on and I am going to win and beat them’,” Ramsey said. “Well…you are full of it, and you will use the card.”

Ingersoll, author of the award-winning blog The Frugal Travel Guy.com and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, couldn’t disagree more. “Now is a terrific time to sign up for rewards credit cards if you have the discipline to pay them off in full every month,” he says.

Ramsey’s position “left me feeling as if the average American is not capable of using credit wisely,” says Ingersoll, a retired mortgage banker who now travels the globe, largely for free, by taking advantage of such things as credit card reward offers. He shares his hobby-turned-expertise on the subject in his blog, in his book, and through speaking engagements and seminars.

Calling himself the “world’s expert on free flying,” Ingersoll says: “My wife and I have earned over one million airline and hotel points within the last year for a total cost of $1130 in application fees, and we never paid a penny in interest on the cards. “Why? Because we sign up, meet the minimum spend required on everyday living, pay off the card in full each month, then reapply for another great signup offer  —  over and over again.”

He admits credit inquiries can affect your credit score, but by only two to five points per inquiry. The key, he says, is keeping a close eye on your credit standing. And he believes anyone can do it.

“Sometimes people need to be given a little more credit for their ability to make sound decisions,” he says, noting that the millions of miles and points he and his wife earned this past year will afford them significant free travel. “We have been around the world twice using these techniques while Mr. Ramsey pays for his tickets and hotels. We’re pretty sure we have a better system.”

Bottom line: Ingersoll believes people should take advantage credit card companies’ scramble to attract customers with rewards programs “if we continue to apply and use our cards only to meet the minimum spend level. If the credit card companies are in trouble, let them up the bonuses all they want and we will give them applications and minimum spend, but never a days worth of interest”

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and his free travel techniques, visit thefrugaltravelguy.com.

About Rick Ingersoll “The Frugal Travel Guy”

Rick Ingersoll is the world’s expert on flying free and author of The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. A retired mortgage banker, he splits his time between Traverse City, Michigan and Hilton Head, SC. Rick’s expertise includes frequent flyer programs, getting the “bump,” customer service requests, and using good credit ratings to take advantage of bank promotions. He has collected over five million frequent flyer miles and has a current “bankroll” of over 1.5 million miles and points. He shares his expertise in his book, The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, on his daily-updated blog, http://frugaltravelguy.blogspot.com, and through speaking engagements and seminars around the U.S. The Frugal Travel Guy blog was a 2009 Budget Travel Award winner presented by Tripbase.com.