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The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Travel Better For Less
ML The Milelion
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
What is travel hacking?
Luxury travel doesn‘t have to be expensive travel hacking upgrades your travel experience while saving you money
Marvelous Suite @ W Sentosa C ove- $600+ per night
2 SQ Suites tickets to Paris $17,000 retail
value ANA First C lass to
Singapore $11,250 retail value
Factory fresh BMW 3 series in
Munich
SQ First C lass to Mumbai
$3,500 retail value
W New York C ity at Christmas-time $500+ per night
Suite at Aloft Abu Dhabi during
convention $450 + retail
(and why should I care?)
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AGENDA
2
Credit Cards
5
Other Tricks
3
Airlines
4
Hotels
6
Q&A
1
Start
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
START- Philosophies towards travel hacking
Access
B
“Travel hacking gives me access to experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have
been willing/able to afford”
5 1 2 3 4 6
Value
A
“Travel hacking helps me save money”
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
START- Philosophies towards travel hacking
Access
B “Travel hacking gives me access to experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have
been willing/able to afford”
5 1 2 3 4 6
• Would you be willing/able to pay for • A budget airline flight to
Bangkok? • An economy class ticket to
London? • A 3 star hotel in Hanoi? • A sub-compact car rental in
Perth?
• Would you be willing/able to pay for • A first class ticket to Los
Angeles? • An ovewater bungalow in Koh
Samui? • A luxury convertible in Malibu?
You get the most out of travel hacking when you redeem for experiences, not commodities
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
START- Is travel hacking for you? 5 1 2 3 4 6
Travel Hacking is an investment
and needs time
• Travel hacking will require that you be willing to • Sign up for and carry multiple credit cards • Remember which card to use when • Plan your spending to hit targeted spending
bonuses
• You may have to make some short term sacrifices like • Staying in a slightly inferior hotel just because
it’s part of your chain • Taking a less convenient flight just because it’s
part of your alliance
• It does help a lot if your job allows you to put expenses on personal credit cards, though it’s not essential
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
START- Common objections 5 1 2 3 4 6
“ Having so many credit cards is too ma fan. I just want to use
one“ “ I‘d rather redeem my miles for economy class tickets because
you need fewer miles“
“ It‘s too troublesome to remember which card to use when “
“ I‘d rather use Hotels.com/Expedia/Orbitz to book
because it‘s just easier “
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CREDIT CARDS
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
The best general spending rate you can obtain currently is 1.4 miles/S$1
Category bonuses on dining, online spending and shopping can reach 4 miles /S$1. Certain travel websites give 6-10 miles /S$1
Only ful l fare SQ tickets earn 100% miles The majority of your miles will be earned via credit cards, not flying • SQ is particularly stingy with mile accrual- you only
earn 10% of miles on its super discounted fares.
It is woefully insufficient to rely purely on one card to build your miles • $30K annual spend on a general purpose miles
card- 42,000 miles • Same spend on a mix of cards assuming 30%
dining, 20% shopping, 20% hotels & flights, 30% others- 99,600 miles
5 1 2 3 4 6 CREDIT CARDS- Why do you need them?
Some credit cards have genersous sign
up bonuses upon reaching a minimum
spend within a certain period
Credit cards- bonus/category spend
Credit cards- general spending
Flights
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CREDIT CARDS- Breaking it down
Credit Cards
Fixed Rebates
Variable Rebates
Cashback Cards
Miles Cards
Points/ Rewards
Cards
Not all credit cards are made equal • Banks earn swipe fees every time you use their
cards. • To entice you to choose their cards, banks offer
rebates on your spending in the form of cashback or points/miles
5 1 2 3 4 6
Earn a f ixed % back on your spending in the form of a
statement credit
Offers you points or miles, the value of which varies
depending on how you redeem them
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Credit Cards
Fixed Rebates
Variable Rebates
Cashback Cards
Miles Cards
Points/ Rewards
Cards
5 1 2 3 4 6
Potential rebate value of 2-28%
Rebate value of 1-6%
CREDIT CARDS- Breaking it down Cashback cards are inherently a worse deal than miles and points • Banks are loathe to part with cash but will
gladly ply you with miles because the variable cost of redemption are borne by the airline
• Airlines are willing to sell miles in bulk at discounts because ~80% of members will redeem at suboptimal rates
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Cashback (Fixed Rebates Cards)
The value of the miles and points these cards give you depend on how you spend them • Economy vs premium cabins Your effective rebate therefore can range anywhere between 2-30% • DBS Altitude Card on online travel purchases gives 4.5 miles per S$1, therefore
effective rebate is 4.5*(1 to 7 cents)=~30 cents per S$1 or 27% • ANZ Travel Card on general spending gives 1.4 miles per S$1, therefore effective
rebate is at least 1.4-5.6% Points/Miles (Variable Rebates Cards)
5 1 2 3 4 6
The rebate is given to you in the form of a statement credit where a dollar is always a dollar. These rebates often come with a lot of strings attached- eg minimum spend to receive rebate, maximum rebate capped each month or per transaction • Citibank Dividend Card- 3-5% on groceries with minimum $50 transaction. 0.5%
elsewhere • ANZ Optimum World Card- 5% on selected category, but maximum $30 rebate per
transaction, can only be redeemed in blocks of $50. Other categories 1% • POSB Everyday Card- advertises up to 6% rebate but only within limited categories;
else 0.3%!
CREDIT CARDS- Cashback or points?
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CREDIT CARDS- General Spending 5 1 2 3 4 6
UOB PRVI Miles Card ANZ Travel Card Citibank Premiermiles DBS Altitude Card
Available in
General spend
Other features
AMEX, MC, Visa Visa AMEX, MC AMEX, Visa
1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2
Overseas: 2.4 SQ/MI: 3
Overseas: 2 SQ/MI: 2
Agoda/Expedia: 6 Kaligo: 10
Overseas: 2 Online hotel/flights: 3
Australia/NZ: 2.8
50% earning bonus on AMEX for 6 months
after approval Spend $800 get 12,000
miles on Visa
Min Income: $80,000 Min Income: $60,000 Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $50,000
Joining bonus- pay first year annual fee of S$256.80 and get
15,000 welcome miles
Complimentary (ie non priority pass) Lounge
access worldwide plus limo service with min S$2,500 spend within
30 days of travel
Frequent bonus promotions with OTAs,
retention bonus of 15,000 miles with
payment of S$256.80 annual fee
Specialised spend
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CREDIT CARDS- Specific Spending 5 1 2 3 4 6
UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX
DBS Woman‘s World Citibank Rewards UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
Available in
General spend
Specialised spend
Comments
AMEX, MC, Visa MC, Visa MC, Visa AMEX, Visa, MC
0.8 0.4 0.4 0.4
Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000
Dining- 4 Online-4 Shopping- 4 Paywave-4
This bonus will not cover dining in hotel
restaurants, which will be coded as hotel
transactions
Bonus limited to first $2,000 spend per month, after which you earn the
terrible 0.4 rate. Plan carefully!
Shopping is defined as purchases at any place which sells bags, shoes
or clothes, or department stores. Also applies to
online shopping
Bonus limited to $12,000 spend per annum
Min Income: $80,000 Min Income: $30,000
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CREDIT CARDS- Entry level 5 1 2 3 4 6
DBS Livefresh Maybank Horizon Citibank Clear DBS Woman‘s Card
General spend
Specialised spend
Comments
0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
Selected travel bookings Agoda, Expedia, AirBnB,
Jetstar, AirAsia, Pandabed, TigerAir
Also comes with lounge access with min S$400
charge on air tickets within 3 months before
travel
Points valid for 5 years Online shopping
excludes F&B, travel, airline, cinema,
government payments etc
Bonus capped at $2,000 spend per month
Online spending includes
OTAs and air ticket purchases
Air Tickets, DFS Changi, Overseas
spend- - 2
Online -2 Overseas, Dining and Online Shopping- 2
Overseas spend, travel bookings, online
shopping, Paywave- 1.2
Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000 Min Income: $30,000
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
5 1 2 3 4 6 CREDIT CARDS- Bonus Strategy
Krisflyer Ascend AMEX Rewards
Bonus
• 1 free night at
selected Millennium hotels worldwide
• 4 free SATs lounge vouchers
• If <$50,000 apply for the Krisflyer Gold card,
Min Income: $50,000
Comments
Get 5,000 miles with your first
spend
Cost per mile
Get 13,333 miles with $1,500 spend
Liberation Cost
DBS Altitude Visa
None $20 $40 (annual)
Free 11.8 cents
• Relatively high cost of miles, would only
advise this if you‘re spending
for someone else
Min Income: $30,000
Get 12,000 miles with $800 spend
Get 2,00 miles upon approval
Get 15,000 miles with $257 annual
fee
$40 (annual) $25
DBS Altitude AMEX UOB PRVI Card
Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $50,000 Min Income: $80,000
Free 6.7 cents 1.7 cents
• This can be done for the Visa version
too, potentially netting you
30,000 miles in total
• 50% earning bonus for first 6 months
after approval
• Bonus is for online
applications only
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
5 1 2 3 4 6 CREDIT CARDS- Know your cards
Inf inite
Signature
P latinum/Gold/C lassic
Access to the V isa Luxury C ol lection of
hotels
C omplimentary Hilton Gold
status, greens fees
World Elite
World
P latinum/Gold/C lassic
C omplimentary elite membership
in Avis and National car
rental
Get SP G Gold status with single stay in Starwood
AP properties
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
5 1 2 3 4 6 CREDIT CARDS- Cashing out
NEVER REDEEM MILES FOR ECONOMY CLASS TRAVEL
• If you need a cheap short haul flight, go budget • If you need a cheap long haul flight, go with
the gulf carriers (Ethiad, Emirates, Qatar)
IF YOUR INTENTION IS TO REDEEM ECONOMY CLASS
TRAVEL, YOU’RE BETTER OFF WITH A CASHBACK CARD • Cashback cards give you anywhere between 1-
6% rebates, which is higher than the 1% you’d get from redeeming economy
• Save the cash, then buy an economy class ticket
B E
SQ to London-options
Retail: $7,415
Award: 136,000 miles + $867
Cents per mile=
4.8
Rebate: 7%
Retail: $1,186
Award: 59,500 miles + $686
Cents per mile=
0.84
Rebate: 1%
F
Retail: $14,494
Award: 182,750 miles + $894
Cents per mile=
7.4
Rebate: 10% (assuming 1.4 miles/S$1 card)
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Never pay annual fees
Right card, right situation
Miles, not cashback
1
CREDIT CARDS- Summary
3 2 4
• Unless option to earn bonus miles on renewal fee offered AND you have a definite use for the miles
Always redeem for premium
travel • The right card to
use depends on what kind of transaction you’re making
• Premium travel values your miles at 4-7 cents each, versus 1-2 on economy
• Cashback cards give you much less bang for your buck
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES- FFP Overview 5 1 2 3 4 6
Which alliance is it
part of?
What alternative redemption
options exist?
Which credit cards does it
partner with?
What third party earning opportunities
exist?
Do local credit cards offer the chance to earn miles on that FFP? Is the FFP obscure to the extent that you take a haircut for earning opportunities?
Alliances provide opportunities for cross-carrier mile
earning, elite benefits recognition (eg extra
baggage, lounge access, priority
check-in and boarding)
Can you earn bonus miles through hotels, car rentals and other
types of spending?
Does the program let you redeem miles for non-flight options eg hotel stays, gift vouchers, retail items?
Analyzing an FFP
Such redemptions are almost never a good use of miles; but may be useful for a smal l
soon-to-expire balance
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Key members Singapore Air, Lufthansa, Thai, United, Eva, ANA Total members: 27 Tiers: Gold, Silver Pros: Avianca Lifemiles, Asian-airline heavy, solid gold benefits, TK status match Cons: Lack of middle tier, weak silver benefits, weak Middle East and South America coverage
AIRLINES- Know your alliances
Key members Cathay, American, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Total members: 16 Tiers: Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby Pros: 2nd tier elites get lounge access, top tier gets first class lounge access, airberlin status match, minimal inter-alliance blocking Cons: No Africa coverage, smallest overall alliance
Key members Air France, Delta, Korean, Garuda, KLM Total members: 20 Tiers: Elite Plus, Elite Pros: Africa coverage Cons: Lack of a true “prestige” carrier, most dysfunctional alliance with active award space blocking, no Oceania/South America coverage
Key members Ethiad, Jet, airberlin, Alitalia, Total members: 20 Tiers: Gold Elite, , Gold, Silver Pros: Wide variety of partners makes this the best place to dump orphan miles Cons: Most of the partnerships are mile earning only without mutual benefit recognition
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES- Krisflyer Analysis
Which credit cards does it
partner with?
• Krisflyer is a transfer partner for all local mile earning credit cards
Which alliance is it
part of?
• Krisflyer Gold and Silver members enjoy cross carrier benefits on other Star partners
• However, using Krisflyer miles for Star Alliance partner awards is extremely poor value- for this consider Lifemiles
What third party earning opportunities
exist?
• Most major hotel chains and rental cars award some KF miles
• Krisflyer is a partner of Rocketmiles and Kaligo
• Krisflyer Spree online shopping portal exists but is poor value compared to traditional cashback portals
Krisflyer • Very limited- Scoot and Tigerair vouchers available at ~1 cent per mile value
• Option to pay for flights with Krisflyer miles at~1 cent per mile
What alternative redemption
options exist?
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES- Lifemiles
• Lifemiles is the frequent flyer program of Avianca, a Star Alliance member, which runs quarterly promotions where miles are sold at a 100% bonus, bringing down the cost to 1.5-1.65 US cents per mile
• This provides an arbitrage opportunity whereby it is cheaper to buy the miles and
redeem a first/business class ticket as opposed to buying the ticket itself • In order to participate in this promotion, your account must be open before the
promotion is announced. Open an account here- http://bit.ly/QeAkyy
Register for Lifemiles account
today
PROFIT! Buy miles at 1.5-
1.65 cents during quarterly
promo
Redeem for business/first
class tickets on Star Alliance
carriers
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES- Status matching 5 1 2 3 4 6
(oneworld) (star alliance)
Original F FP
Match: http://bit.ly/1ASCbdB
Match: send email to customer service with proof of competing status
Status match and retain status for up to 3 years
• Assuming you’re able to get status with one airline, you could match it to Turkish towards expiry, and subsequently match Turkish to airberlin when Turkish expires
• This ensures you’ll always have status with at least 1 airline alliance
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
AIRLINES- Summary
Status match during lean
periods
4
• You can only status match once in the lifetime of your account, so use it carefully to see out a lull in travel
Open a Lifemiles account
2
• You can only take advantage of bonus promos if your account was open prior to the date the promo was announced
Pick your alliance carefully
1
• Your alliance limits your choices of redemption and who recognises your status
5 1 2 3 4 6
3 Always redeem
for premium travel
• Premium travel values your miles at 4-7 cents each, versus 1-2 on economy
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Why does status matter? 5 1 2 3 4 6
Bonus points
Late Check
Out
Upgrades
Free suff during stays
• Enjoy upgrades to better rooms and suites when you stay
• Hyatt and Starwood offer the chance to get confirmed suite upgrades a limited number of times a year, and on availability basis other times
• Elite members earn points bonus points above that which ordinary members get
• Elite members enjoy late checkouts (4pm in some programs, though this may be extended further on goodwill)
• Allows you to catch later flights without paying extra
Status Benefits
• Elite members get premium internet access, breakfast and welcome amenities
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Calendar Year
3 months
50 nights/25 stays
18 nights
SP G P latinum usual ly requires 50 nights in a calendar year
However, Starwood is wil ling to grant you P latinum status if you
complete 18 nights in a 90 day period
6 3 9 Jan 2015
Dec 2015
5 9 3 1 2 3 5 4
Status earned in 2015 is valid for the membership year of 2016,
expiring in Feb 2017
• Enjoy the benefits of Platinum status from the 18th night instead of the 50th
• Earn Platinum status early in the year and enjoy for the remainder of the year + next calendar year + Jan and Feb of subsequent year
HOTELS- Status Challenges Explained 5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Hacking the majors
Platinum- 18 nights/90 days
Gold- 9 nights/90 days
World Mastercard holders- stay 1 night in Asia-Pac SPG
properties and get gold- http://bit.ly/1DXRlEW
Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, St Regis, Luxury Collection, Aloft, W, Four
Points
Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt House, Andaz,
Hyatt Place, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt
Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Hampton,
Homewood, Home2Suites, Waldof Astoria, Curio, Canopy, Embassy Suites, HGI
Novotel, ibis, Sofitel, Mgallery, Pullman, Grand Mercure, Adagio, Sebel
Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday inn, Holiday
Inn Express, Staybridge, Candlewood Hotel Indigo
Diamond: 12 nights/60 days
Platinum: 6 nights/60 days
Diamond: 21 nights/90 days (not official policy to offer)
Gold: 4 stays/90 days
Platinum Elite: 40 nights + 3 IHG brands
Gold Elite: 10 nights + 3 IHG brands
Not available
Not available
Complimentary Hilton Gold with Visa Infinite cards
(CIMB Visa Infinite has no annual fee)
For US$200 you can become an Intercontinental
Ambassador Currently not available
Pay 90 Euros and get LeClub Accor Gold status
with the ibis Business Card
1,162 527 4,100 3,500 4,704
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Where to book
Where to book?
I care about the absolute cheapest
price
I want to earn points and status
OTAs via CB portal
Official Website via CB portal
Miles back OTA
Non-chain
Opaque Booking Channels
Chains
5 1 2 3 4 6
Your choice of booking channel is important • You do NOT earn points with
hotel chains when booking via OTAs
• However, OTAs can be a good option if you’re chasing miles
Have their own rewards program, but the value is so
poor it‘s practical ly negligible
Give chains a chance • Yes, it’s not as sexy as a boutique
hotel, and sometimes there may be better located, cheaper independent properties
• But chains have some ultra-luxurious aspirational properties in the Maldives and other beach destinations which are unaffordable through regular means- target those
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Milesback OTAs 5 1 2 3 4 6
Milesback sites are OTAs which reward you with miles when you book through them Since these are OTAs, you won’t earn
any elite credit or points on your stay.
However, earning 10 miles per S$1
with Kaligo or 3,000 extra miles on
your first Rocketmiles booking is still
too good to turn down
Joining bonuses
Rocketmiles- http://bit.ly/1MTQk0B 3,000 bonus miles on
f irst booking 10 miles per S$1
spent
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Opaque Booking Channels (OBC)
Possible brand dilution when consumers see 5* Hotel sel ling for cheap
C onsumer gets a big discount in exchange for agreeing to a non-refundable booking at a property whose name wil l only
be revaled post purchase
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Pick city and desired neighborhoods Priceline lets you select which
neighbourhoods you are willing to
stay in. More popular cities are
more likely to be subdivided into
more neighbourhoods which
gives you more granular control
over the process.
Remember: you will never be
assigned a hotel outside the
neighbourhood you choose
1
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Specify which star level you’re willing to take Typically you should be going for
5 or 4.5 star hotels, because these
represent the greatest deal. There
is almost certainly no point in
using Priceline for 1-3 star hotels,
as you could surely find these
cheaper on an OTA with no issue
of asymmetrical knowledge
2
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Name your price To prevent you from “bid sniffing”,
Priceline limits you to 1 bid per 24
hours. This can be easily
circumvented, as I’ll show you on
the next few slides.
ALWAYS lowball. Always. The
point of this site is to save money.
Priceline is likely to warn you that
your bid has a “small” chance of
being accepted, in order to scare
you into bidding more, but you’re
smarter than that.
Right?
3
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Review your request and submit At this point you’ll be asked to
enter your payment details.
Annoyingly, Priceline adds on the
fees separately, so take that into
consideration when you’re
bidding in step 3
Because of the nature of Priceline,
no refunds are allowed. For
whatever reason. Be sure your
dates are set in stone before you
try this
4
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
If your first bid is successful, you bid way too high You shouldn’t be successful in
your first bid. Otherwise you’ve
left money on the table. The idea
is to edge your price upwards until
you win
5
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Priceline tutorial
Use a “rebid zone” to repeat the process, plus $3-5 Identify which zones in the city do
not have 4.5 and 5 star hotels.
Add 1 of those zones to your
selection and repeat your bid
If bid is rejected, repeat again,
adding another zone. This is why
this technique works the best in
cities with a lot of zones.
Don’t worry- because you
specified 4.5 and 5 star hotels, you
will never get a hotel in a zone
you don’t want
6
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Hotwire
Hotwire is a lazy man’s Priceline No bidding is needed- the portal shows
you the price, the neighbourhood and the
star level- you decide whether you want to
take a punt
Because you don’t bid, you’ll
invariably end up paying
more
However, because Hotwire specifically
lists the amenities at the hotel, some
intelligent guesswork can narrow down
the potential hotels
Hotwire lists prices, neighbourhoods, star levels and
amenities- you just need to take the leap of faith
Hotwire- Las Vegas Example
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
HOTELS- Betterbidding and BiddingforTravel
Priceline and Hotwire are games of information asymmetry Get informed. Read about people’s successful bids on BetterBidding and BiddingForTravel
Users report their wins on Hotline- helping yo uidentify hotels based on the types of amenities
they have
BetterBidding Forums
5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Use the right credit cards
4
• The DBS Altitude AMEX has 4.5 miles per S$1 of hotel spend, provided payment is done online
Register for bonuses
2
• Hotels run quarterly promotions which you need to register for- no registration, no bonus points!
3 Always use the official website (via a cashback site)
• Stays via OTAs do not qualify for stay credit or points. OTA rewards programs are poor value, so unless the discount is significant, use the official website
Pick a chain, any chain
1
• Your choice should be based on where you’re likely to travel and your leisure travel budget
HOTELS- Summary 5 1 2 3 4 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
4 OTHER TRICKS- Cashback Portals
No commission paid
C ommission paid and
retained by advertiser
C ommission paid and
distributed to you
Every time you don’t use a cashback site, you’re leaving money on the table • Please, please, please take the money
Get bonus credit on your purchases with my referral links • Top Cash Back • Ebates • Shopback
5 1 2 3 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
OTHER TRICKS- 4 miles everywhere! 1 3
• There are 2 prepaid cards in Singapore- the IMAGINE AMEX and the FEVO Mastercard
• Recall that the DBS Woman’s World Card
gives 4 miles per S$1, on the first S$2,000 of spend per month
• You can top up the FEVO card with S$2,000
each month using your DBS Woman’s World Card, then use the FEVO/IMAGINE to spend on regular items, effectively earning 4 miles everywhere
• FEVO fees-1% on credit card top ups (wavied for top ups of $50 and more), $0.50 fee on DBS/POSB ibanking
• IMAGINE fees- service fees are waived for $50 reloads and more Purchase for $28
4 5 1 2 3 6 Purchase for $20 with $4 credit
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
OTHER TRICKS- APEC Business Travel Card
• If you’re a frequent traveler, ask your HR department to sign a letter of justification so you can apply for the APEC Business Travel Card
• The card lets you skip immigration queues in a large number of APEC countries. This can come in handy in countries where immigration queues can be notoriously long, like Indonesia and to a lesser extent Thailand
4 5 1 2 3 6
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
Conclusion- what do we now know?
Access over value
3
Earn and Burn
1
Miles and points are the worst currency to hold- they don’t earn interest and their value
can only erode
Miles and points give you access to
aspirational products, not discounts on
thigs you can already afford
2
All about arbitrage Miles and points
should only be spent at a value above
which they took to earn
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
CONTACT
@milelionsg themilelion www.milelion.com
The Milelion Travel Better for Less www.milelion.com, [email protected]
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