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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.

Veteran World Traveler, Cruise Specialist Joins “Travel For Boomers”

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Pamela Scala brings her expertise to the new blog. 

Pamela Scala

December 7, 2011– Pamela Scala, a seasoned world traveler and cruise specialist, has joined Travel For Boomers, a new blog about a host of travel topics specifically for members of the “Baby Boomer” generation who either love to travel or want to travel, and want to do it as inexpensively and comfortably as possible.

Cruising, travel safety, and traveling with special dietary needs will be Scala’s focus on Travel For Boomers.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Pamela Scala studied Radio, television and film production with a sub-specialty in journalism. Her career has included working for a Chicago marketing firm, work with non-profits in board development, public relations, and event planning. Most recently she’s been involved in website development.

Known to her family as “Thrifty Pam,” Scala lives up to the moniker in her world travels by using frequent flier miles and rewards points to fly and stay in hotels for free. She’s also an expert at finding the best deals for luxury travel.

“I lived for 25 years in the Chicago area, where I did almost anything to get away from the weather,” she said. “Snow is a four-letter word, after all. Having had enough of that, my husband and I moved to a barrier island in Florida where we happily wear flip-flops year round.”

Her travel mantra is “Anywhere, anytime,” she said. “Back alleys and hidden storefronts don’t scare me. Biking where no motorized vehicles can go and people take their water buffalos for an afternoon walk is right on target. And luxury travel that includes flying in the front of the plane is the only way to go as long as it’s for free.”

A dedicated “travel hacker,” Scala uses a variety of methods to amass frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points. She brings that expertise, as well as her vast experience on cruise ships, to Travel For Boomers.

For more information on Travel For Boomers, visit www.travelforboomers.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.