Meet Brian Kelly, AKA The Points Guy, the US money-saving expert responsible for the most popular travel 'hack' website on the internet: thepointsguy.com. Thanks to what he calls "a nerdy obsession'" with air miles and holiday savings, Brian (seen below) has built a business empire that aims to educate people on how to make the most of their loyalty programmes and travel budgets.
"The Points Guy website is about explaining this abstract currency that many of us have and teaching people how to maximise this valuable asset. The more you educate yourself, the more valuable your points and air miles become," says the digital entrepreneur.
Such is his popularity, that Brian has just launched the UK version of The Points Guy with fellow travel sleuth/director of content Nicky Kelvin, a Brit who knows all the tricks of the trade. The Week Portfolio caught up with the two friends to ask how we can all turn left for less. Here are their top tips on how to enjoy luxury the cost effective way.
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Nicky: Try and maximise your points to get great deals on hotels and flights, especially if you are travelling somewhere expensive like Copenhagen. The Scandi countries are notoriously pricey, so it's worth looking carefully into what your points can do for you before you book your getaway. People who don't have miles or points will be looking for cash deals to cheaper destinations. My tip is Abu Dhabi. It may not the place to go in July or August when temperatures soar, but it has amazing activities for families like water parks and amusements worlds, plus the hotels are out of this world. Our team went to four different 5-star hotels there, all big resort hotels with great kids' clubs. The average price was £130 per night for a double room. The equivalent in Europe would be double the price.
2. A little tip for British Airways gold card holders this summertime:
Nicky: European flights that are purchased on BA miles are very good value – around 4000 Avios one way – but they are often scarce during school holidays. If you have a BA gold card, you can pay double points (so only 8000 Avios each way) to get the flights you really want. In effect, as long as the seat is for sale, you can use double the amount of points to purchase it. That's got to be better than breaking the bank and having to scrimp on your holiday to make up for a lack of funds.
3. Pick up the phone
Brian: Even though it's 2019, getting on the phone and being nice to an airline agent can still get you places. If you have a strong loyalty status, then they are often more amenable to granting you what you want.
4. Forward planning isn't always necessary
Brian: I'm a procrastinator and I tend to book last minute. The old adage goes that the early bird gets the worm – or in other words, book 11 months in advance to get your ticket on air miles. That's not the case anymore. The airlines want every seat to be taken, so last-minute travel on air miles is totally feasible. We are actually in the process of creating an app that will allow people to see where they can go with their points in real time. Sometimes it's also fun to see where your points will take you as opposed to the other way around!
5. Get savvy about the points programme you're subscribed to
Nicky: BA is a part of the the Oneworld Alliance which counts American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Finnair, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Iberia and LATAM. Although you can't covert one type of miles into another, you can for example use your Asia Miles (from Cathay Pacific) to pay towards BA flights or a BA upgrade, and vice versa. Virgin Airways offer the best air miles after BA – for example you can convert your Tesco Clubcard points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles which is the best way to make the most of your supermarket bonuses.
6. Sneak cheats to flying in style
Brian: British Airways also has additional partnerships with Aer Lingus and Alaska Airlines. People in the UK may be thinking, 'Why would I want to go to Alaska?' but believe it or not, Alaskan miles are some of the most valuable in the world. You can actually buy these miles for less than two cents apiece. When I fly to the UK, I fly first class for 60,000 points + $500 each way which is the equivalent of $10,000-£12,000 round trip cash ticket. But I can buy 60,000 points for $1,200 at Alaskan Airways. In a nutshell, that first class ticket cost me $3,400 (cheaper than business class) for a first class round trip instead of $12,000! You can use Alaskan miles on flights operated by all the afore mentioned partners.
Nicky: Recently I booked a one-way business class seat to Japan from London using Alaskan miles that cost me £380; the cash equivalent of that seat was over £3,000. Buying points isn't for everyone, but when you understand how to leverage them you can save up to 80% off a really luxurious trip.
7. The longer journey that pays
Brian: A lot of people from the UK fly to the States but it's a little known fact that one of the best business classes is operated by Aer Lingus, so if you don’t mind stopping in Dublin, you can save up to £1,000 on the flight when you buy your ticket with air miles, which is especially good if you have a family. Aer Lingus actually has a better business class seat than British Airways too.
8. Know the perks of your wallet
Brian: For hotels: there are always points and perks. My advice would be to not just to focus on the former. American Express, for example, has partnered with Fine Hotels & Resorts. I took my team to Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland and by booking through Amex, I was able to secure free spa treatments and high tea for everyone. So the advice is: know the perks on your credit card. Even if this amounts to an early check-in or late check-out, it's worth knowing. It’s hard to put a monetary value on a lot of these things but they can make a trip much more enjoyable.
9. Email ahead
Brian: There's nothing wrong with sending a polite email to a hotel's general manager ahead of your stay. You can request a more personalised experience, a better room to suit your needs, a bath and so on. You never know, he or she may even throw in some great extras too!
10. The best trip to splurge on with points right now?
Brian: It has to be the amazing new first class service on Emirates to The Maldives. You can actually transfer Amex points to Emirates Skywards points if you have enough.
11. For the really ambitious point collector/intrepid traveler
Nicky: Look into British Airways' 'Multi Carrier Award'. If you are planning a trip with a variety of stops, this could be the ideal 'cheapskate' solution since it requires you to use your Avios on different airlines to get the best travel deal. The catch is that you have to fly with at least two or more airlines in the Oneworld Alliance. The ticket 'price' is calculated according to the total miles you travel from start to finish. So for example, if you are traveling 50,000 miles (including stop offs), you only have to pay 160,000 Avios + taxes in total which is far less of an air mile spend than if you book each flight individually. It's a tricky one to get your head around but certainly an option worth looking into especially if you can afford to travel at a more leisurely pace.
12. If hotel memberships worry you
Brian: Hotels.com is the best online option for reservations. You get one free night for every ten that you spend. The company takes the average value of your ten nights and give you a free night at pretty much any hotel in the world.
13. Don't buy it
Brian: Never buy travel insurance through an airline, most of the time it's for flight protection only.
14. You can find Avios in unusual places
Nicky: Groupon often sells Avios through Iberian Airways but you have to see if it is worth the saving. The whole game, of course, is that airlines are selling miles in the hope that consumers will redeem them for less [than the value paid for them]. At the Points Guy, we teach you how to win at this game. Iberian Airways actually launched a promotion two summers ago that went viral: it offered 90,000 points to travelers who booked a certain number of flights – which led to many people purchasing the cheapest tickets they could find – some at $20 – with no intention of flying. In effect, some people bagged 90,000 points for a couple of hundred pounds without having to pack a suitcase. That was a very good hack indeed!
15. Don't forget you can cancel
Brian: Most airlines offer 24 hours free cancellation on flights. This means you can book your flight for peace of mind but check if the price has gone down the next day – if it has, just cancel and rebook for free at that cheaper rate.
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