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Airline Travel Hacking, Frequent Flyer Miles, & Extreme Flying

Ben Hughes
April 17, 2014
860

Airline Travel Hacking, Frequent Flyer Miles, & Extreme Flying

My BarCampRochester presentation on some of the techniques travel hackers use to get incredible travel experiences for cheap.

Ben Hughes

April 17, 2014
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Transcript

  1. T R AV E L H A C K I N G : 


    A I R L I N E S
    B E N H U G H E S | @ R U B I E T Y | H T T P : / / F L I G H T L E V E R A G E . C O M

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  2. 1 . A I R FA R E P E R U N I T
    D I S TA N C E VA R I E S W I D E LY
    !
    2 . M I L E S E A R N E D
    ( M O S T LY ) = M I L E S F L O W N

    3 . A I R L I N E R U L E S H AV E
    L O O P H O L E S

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  3. F I N D I N G C H E A P
    A I R FA R E

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  8. P H L T O P E K : $ 4 4 8 ( 2 . 5 C P M )

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  9. L A T O T O K Y O : $ 4 4 5 ( 2 . 7 C P M )

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  10. H I D D E N C I T Y T I C K E T I N G

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  11. H I D D E N C I T Y T I C K E T I N G

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  12. V O L U N TA RY
    D E N I E D
    B O A R D I N G
    ( V D B )

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  13. F R E Q U E N T F LY E R M I L E S

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  14. M I L E S C A N B E 

    A C C R U E D T O A N D
    R E D E E M E D O N 

    A N Y O T H E R A I R L I N E I N
    T H E A L L I A N C E !

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  15. A D VA N TA G E S O F U S I N G M I L E S
    • Last-Minute Travel (Funerals, Random Trips, Binds)
    • Lower Cancelation Fees, Free for Top Elites
    • Flexible Routing Rules
    • Stopovers & Open Jaws
    • Premium Cabins

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  16. I N T E R N AT I O N A L 

    L I E - F L AT 

    B U S I N E S S C L A S S

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  19. I N T E R N AT I O N A L 

    F I R S T C L A S S

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  23. D I S A D VA N TA G E S O F U S I N G M I L E S
    • Limited Award Availability - Need to be flexible!
    • Mile currencies inflate faster than the US dollar
    • Airlines can change the rules at any time

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  24. AWA R D C H A RT H A C K S
    &
    C O M PA R AT I V E A D VA N TA G E

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  25. B R I T I S H A I R WAY S < 6 5 0 M I : 4 , 5 0 0 AV I O S
    • SAN-LAX: $$$

    Avios: 4,500 (~$65)
    • JFK-YYZ: $$$

    Avios: 4,500 (~$65)
    • LHR-CDG: $$$

    Avios: 4,500 (~$65) + ~$20 Taxes
    • Lots of places < 650 mi from AA hubs ORD, DFW, MIA
    • US Airways now in OneWorld! Add PHL, PHX, CLT

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  26. A A O F F - P E A K T O E U R O P E : 2 0 K

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  27. P H L - D U B - P H L : 

    1 0 0 K U S A I R WAY S M I L E S I N B U S I N E S S

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  28. M E X - F R A - Z R H , 

    Z R H - B K K - C G K , 

    C G K - T P E - L A X 

    L A X - P H X - M E X
    L U F T H A N S A 7 4 7 - 8 U P P E R D E C K
    S W I S S A 3 4 0 B U S I N E S S
    T H A I 7 7 7 B U S I N E S S
    E VA 7 7 7 B U S I N E S S

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  29. S F O - N R T- S F O : 

    2 2 0 K U N I T E D M I L E S I N A N A F I R S T

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  30. Y V R - M U C - F R A , 

    F R A - B K K - H K G ,
    B K K - H N D , 

    N R T- I C N - J F K
    L U F T H A N S A A 3 3 0 F I R S T
    T H A I A 3 8 0 F I R S T
    T H A I 7 4 7 F I R S T ( T W I C E )
    A S I A N A 7 4 7 F I R S T
    A S I A N A 7 7 7 P R I VAT E S U I T E

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  31. M I L E A G E R U N N I N G
    “ I T ’ S A B O U T T H E J O U R N E Y,
    N O T T H E D E S T I N AT I O N ”
    • Flights for sole purpose of earning miles & elite status
    • Destination & dates irrelevant
    • Hoping around airports, going nowhere

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  32. B E N E F I T S G I V E N O N
    M I L E S F L O W N , N O T
    P R I C E PA I D

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  33. E L I T E S TAT U S

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  34. A A 

    E X E C U T I V E
    P L AT I N U M
    • 100% Bonus on
    Redeemable Miles
    • Priority Everything
    • International First Class
    Lounges
    • 8 Systemwide Business
    Class Upgrade
    Certificates

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  35. M I N ( C P M )

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  36. I TA M AT R I X

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  37. S H A N G H A I F O R D I N N E R : 

    L A X - B N A - O R D - P V G - O R D - M I A - L A X ( 1 9 , 8 5 9 M I ) 

    F O R $ 7 4 1 . 1 0 ( 3 . 7 3 C P M )

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  38. P H I L A D E L P H I A F O R L U N C H ( C H E E S E S T E A K ) : 

    S A N - E W R - Z F V- E W R - S A N ( 5 , 3 5 0 M I ) 

    F O R $ 1 4 0 . 7 0 ( 2 . 6 3 C P M )

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  39. “ N E T C O S T ” A P P R O A C H T O A I R FA R E
    $160 Transcontinental (~7,000 mi with indirect routing)
    100% Mile Bonus with United 1K: 14,000 mi earned
    14,000mi X ($0.017 / mi) = $238 in Mile Value
    Net Cost = Paid ($160) - Mile Value ($238)
    Net Cost = Negative $78

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  40. S A M E - D AY C H A N G E S
    • Route further out of the way for more miles
    • Monitor F cabin loads for upgrade optimization
    • Increase voluntary denied boarding changes
    • Deliberate book days off with cheaper fares, intend to
    change to day before/after

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  41. F L AT- O U T B U Y I N G M I L E S
    • US Airways Buy Miles Promo (1.9 cents)
    • US Airways Share Miles Promo (1.1 cents)
    • American Buy Miles Promos
    • Buy Transferrable Currencies & Transfer 

    (Starwood Buy Miles Promos)
    • United Mileage Multiplier when Flying

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  42. R O U N D - T H E - W O R L D 

    $ 9 9 0 I N L I E - F L AT B U S I N E S S C L A S S !

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  43. L O U N G E A C C E S S H A C K S

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  44. A C C E S S
    H O W ?
    • Membership ($$$)
    • International flights in
    premium cabins
    • International flights with
    elite status
    • “Club” or “Executive” CCs
    (high annual fee)
    • Amex Platinum (American,
    Delta, US Airways)

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  45. A M E X P L AT
    R E F U N D A B L E T I C K E T S

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  46. B U T… T H E T I M E S A R E C H A N G I N G
    • Award Chart Devaluations
    • Minimum Spend Requirements for Elite Status
    • Move to Fully Revenue-Based Mile Earning (Delta)
    • American Airlines / US Airways Merger Uncertainty

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  47. T H A N K S !
    B E N H U G H E S | @ R U B I E T Y
    H T T P : / / T R A V E L . B E N H U G H E S . N A M E | H T T P : / / F L I G H T L E V E R A G E . C O M
    • FlyerTalk, MilePoint
    • One Mile at a Time
    • View from the Wing
    • The Points Guy
    • MileValue
    • HackMyTrip.com

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