Most Popular Posts of 2010: Frugal John’s Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Points & Miles

Posted on 15. Mar, 2011 by PointsAdvisor.

Frugal John:

Around Points.com, one of our colleagues, John, is known as the go-to person for questions about how to get the most out of your loyalty programs. His penchant for savings has even earned him the nickname “Frugal John”. Last year, John wrote a series of guest posts listing his top 5 tips for making the most of your miles and points.

John’s top 5 list generated some of the most popular posts we had in 2010. We’ve compiled all of John’s tips here in one place in case you missed them last year.

5 Tips for Making the Most of Your Points & Miles:

Tip #1:  Have a redemption goal in mind.

Tip #2: What goes up must come down.

Tip #3: Aim for your goal but be open to change.

Tip #4: Know the expiry rules for your programs.

Tip #5: Don’t be afraid to spend “hard” cash to maximize your point/mile balance.

What strategies do you use to get the most out of your points and miles? Do you have any additional tips to add to Frugal John’s list?

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Frugal John’s Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Points & Miles – Tip #5

Posted on 13. Dec, 2010 by PointsAdvisor.

Without further ado, here is Frugal John’s 5th tip on how to make the most of your loyalty programs:

5.       Don’t be afraid to spend “hard” cash to maximize your point/mile balance.

Cash is king for the simple reason that it is accepted pretty much anywhere, by anybody, for almost anything.  The acceptance rates on loyalty program points/miles are somewhat more constrained.  So, while it may feel like it doesn’t make much sense to exchange a hard currency into a less-liquid reward currency, there are many situations in which the financial case can be made.

For example, most major airlines allow you to purchase miles for yourself or others.  In general, these purchased miles will cost you around 2.5 cents/mile.  If you’re only 10,000 miles away from redeeming for an award flight that would cost $400 normally, the $250 it takes to purchase the miles you need are less than the outright cost of the flight.  If you manage to buy during a promotional period, you may find your per mile purchase rate effectively cut in half.

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Overall, don’t forget that you’ve probably earned these points and miles by engaging in the everyday activities you would have done regardless – travelling for business or pleasure, shopping at your local store, using your credit card for everyday essentials.  Don’t be afraid to treat these loyalty program miles/points like the crumpled $5 bill you find in a freshly washed pair of jeans – it’s a windfall – use it to reward yourself and the ones you love.

Read all 5 of Frugal John’s Tips:

Tip #1:  Have a redemption goal in mind.

Tip #2: What goes up must come down.

Tip #3: Aim for your goal but be open to change.

Tip #4: Know the expiry rules for your programs.

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Frugal John’s Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Points & Miles – Tip #4

Posted on 06. Dec, 2010 by PointsAdvisor.

Welcome to Frugal John’s latest tip on how to make the most of your points and miles!

4.       Know the expiry rules for your programs.

Nothing is more wasteful than having your points/miles vanish because your account has been deemed inactive.  Know the expiry rules for your programs so you can engage in enough activity to keep the account active, or at the very least, redeem out of the program before your account is expired.

If you do suffer the unfortunate fate of having your account expired, some loyalty programs will reinstate your balance for a fee.  The charge – usually a fraction of a penny per point/mile – is a small price to pay to restore a sizable balance just waiting to be redeemed. Check your loyalty program’s website for details, or call their customer service line.

For more tips, see:

1.        Have a redemption goal in mind.

2.       What goes up must come down.

3.       Aim for your goal but be open to change.

Please feel free to share your own tips below!

Until next time,

Frugal John

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Frugal John’s Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Points & Miles – Tip #3

Posted on 29. Nov, 2010 by PointsAdvisor.

Hello and happy Monday!

Below you will find Frugal John’s latest tip on how to make the most of your points and miles. This is the third tip in John’s five part series where he gives his advice on how to manage your loyalty programs. John is our in-house expert on the best ways to use your points and miles, so we thought we would share his expertise with our readers.

You can find John’s first two tips here (Tip #1) and here (Tip #2).

Enjoy!

Frugal John’s Tip #3:

3.       Aim for your goal but be open to change.

People like to be rewarded.  We also like to procrastinate, putting off to tomorrow what could have been done today, because while we are painfully aware of how much effort is required to do something in the now, we are perpetually optimistic in how long and how hard it will be to do something in the future.  This bias may be part of the reason so many of us join so many loyalty programs – the appeal of a free flight is instantaneous, while the future effort needed to earn all those frequent flyer miles is underestimated.

Aiming for the dream vacation is natural, but if your circumstances change, and you’re not earning points/miles as frequently as you had thought, be flexible and redeem for something within your grasp.

Frugal John

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Frugal John’s Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Points & Miles – Tip #2

Posted on 22. Nov, 2010 by PointsAdvisor.

Frugal John is back again with another Monday morning tip about how to make the most of your loyalty program rewards. Today John is sharing his thoughts on inflation and rewards.

Here’s John’s second tip:

2. What goes up must come down.

In 1958, $2.70 would get you a “Wash & Wear” dress shirt from the Sears Christmas catalogue.  Today, $2.70 will get you a coffee.  From the inception of monetary systems, rulers and governments have been able and quite willing to devalue their currency when the need arose; as with cash, so too with your loyalty programs’ points/miles.  Whether because the cost of the underlying redemption award has increased or because an increasing liability of unused and unexpired points/miles has forced program operators to revalue their worth, over time, you’ll need more miles/points to redeem for a certain award than you would have needed today.

While there is value in saving your points/miles for that dream vacation, don’t forget that inflation will dip into your loyalty program savings too.  You’re not earning any interest on that loyalty program balance, so don’t be too stingy with it.

Was this tip useful? Have a tip of your own to share? Leave a comment below!

Until next time,

Frugal John

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