My 2015 Wish For You

Last night, I had the privileged to be surrounded by family, as we saw our cousin marry her boyfriend of 10 years. The night was filled with food, we are Italian, dancing, again we are Italian, and lots of spirits. Around 12:30, while breakfast was being served, I wrote this message on my Facebook wall:

Wishing all my friends a family, a happy New Year! Make 2015 the year you reach for the stars. The only person holding you back is you. The first step is stating the goal out loud. The next step is making the decision to achieve the goal. It doesn't matter if you achieve the goal...it matters that you tried.

Next year, I am going to accomplish one of my biggest goals by visiting Antarctica. By doing so, I will have visited all 7 continents before turning 30. If you asked me 3 years ago if this was possible, I would say never. However, my goal is becoming reality. So, any goal you have can become reality as well....

Dream big in 2015, you be surprised by what you can accomplish...

Now half a day later, looking at this message, even with its grammar and spelling errors (I blame the open bar), its just as important: MAKE 2015 YOUR YEAR!

                                           

Somewhere in the past five years, Americans stopped dreaming. It could have been a direct result of the economic crisis with wallets being stretched thin. However, the economy is improving, so its time to put the nightmares to bed and start reaching for the stars.

As a travel focused blog, I hope your goals included travel. Have you ever wanted to go to Madagascar? Do you have a passport with no stamps? Do you have an aunt in Michigan that you have always wanted to visit? Well this is the year to start making these goals reality!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will talk about how to make your goals a reality. For now, use the next few days to dream . . .

Happy New Year! You have a new set of 365 days to make it even better than last......

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My Bucket List

On Sunday, I wrote that seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person was on my bucket list. After thinking about it, I have never written my bucket list down in one place. My list was spread over small scraps of papers, notebooks, and on the blog. However, never in one place.

This is one of those posts for me. A post for me to come back to for inspiration and guidance. Some of the items on the list are places to visit, activities to do, and things I want to learn. 

This list is in no particular order:

1.  Visit All 7 Continents in Business Class
1. Europe  (2012)
2. Africa (2012)
3. Asia (2012)
4. South America (2013)
5. Australia
6. Antarctica
2.  Leave Something For Future Generations
3.  Take My Grandparents Out To Dinner (2012/2013) 
4.  See a Cowboy's Game @ Dallas Stadium
5.  See the Macy's Thanksgivings Day Parade
6.  Visit all US territories 
7. Watch the Ball Drop Time's Square
8. Visit all original 7 Wonders of the World
9. Visit all 50 States
10. Float in the Dead Sea
11. Swim with Sharks
12. Visit Iguazu Falls (Argentina)
13. Go Grape Stomping
14. Eat Bull's Testicles
15. Sky Dive
16. Sky Dive in Africa
17. Particpate in a Tomato Batte
18. Drive Across The United States
19. Visit Mount Rushmore
20. Drink Vodka in Russia
21. Jump in a Pool with My Clothes for no reason
22. See the Northern Lights
23. Throw a Dart @ a Map and Travel to Where it Lands within a Month
24. Go Zobering
25. Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco 
26. Stand Under a Waterfall
27. Find a Charity to Support
28. Touch a Snake
29. Take an Alaskan Cruise
30. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
31. Own a Lakehouse
32. Spend the Night in A Castle
33. Learn How To Use Chopsticks (12/12)
34. Go Ziplining
35. Learn How To Make Pasta
36. Take a Train Ride Across the United States
37. Visit South Africa
38. Sleep in an Ice Hotel
39. Walk Over The Brooklyn Bridge (8/13)
40. Learn How To Crack an Egg with One Hand
41. Visit the top of the Washington Monument
42. Hang from the CN Tower
43. Solve a Rubik's Cube
44. Attend an Olympic Games
45. Drink Beer at Octoberfest
46. Bathe in the Blue Lagoon (Iceland)
47. Participate in Geocaching
48. Buy a Round for the Whole Bar
49. Ride the Siberian Railroad
50. Shake Hands with a Sitting US President
51. Help Someone Else with Their Goal
52. Walk on Grand Canyon Skywalk

The list is not set in stone. Its a living document that will change over time. As time progress, items will be crossed off the list, others will be removed and new items will be added.  Bucket lists are so important in this points game. There is no sense earning points; if you aren't going to spend them. And what better way to spend them than to accomplish your goals.

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730 Days Left!!!!

Today is my 28th birthday! Today, also, leaves me 730 days left to accomplish my big travel goal: travel to seven continents in business class by May 2015.

As of today, I have hit four continents: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Leaving South America,Australia and Antarctica. My plan is to visit South America in the fall. Next year, hit Australia or New Zealand; leaving Antarctica for January or February 2015.

Today, I add a new goal: visit all 50 States before the age of 40. In typically JD fashion, to count a state as visited, I must stay 3 nights in the state. The 3 nights don't have to be consecutive, but I do need to put my head on a pillow, rock or bench to count.

Below is a map of the states that I have visited and those I have not. The states colored in Red are ones that I have stayed 3+ nights in, the states colored in Green are ones that I have stayed 2+ nights, and all the rest are calling my name. So far I have visit 17 states: 10 for more than 3+ days.


Accomplishing 20% of my goal with 12 years left is a good start. As you can see, I need to visit middle America. Sad to say, I have treated it as fly-over country. Looking down from the plane wondering what is down there. Today, I make my promise to you, middle America...I am coming to visit!
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Antarctica: The Last Frontier

I have written many times of traveling to all 7 continents in business class by my 30th birthday. I turn the Big 30 in May 2015. To achieve my goal, I will need to head to the world's last frontier.

That is why I was shocked and saddened by this Yahoo article about tourism in Antarctica.

According to the article, 35,000 visitors visited Antarctica for tourism reasons, last year. That number is down from the height of 48,000 visitors in the 1980s, and up from 27,000 in 2011-2012.  Getting to Antarctica can only be done by boat or flight. For more information, go to the website of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.

However, trips to Antarctica are no longer sightseeing excursions. The article says, "now people want to go paragliding, waterskiing, diving or a variety of other things."  The result of the increased tourism on the ecological system is unknown. However, "the United Nations' shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, barred the use of heavy fuel oil below 60 degrees latitude south in 2011." This binding rule hurt the cruise industry by limiting the size of the ships going to the continent. Further proposed rules would further limit the size of ships touring around Antarctica to those with less than 500 passengers.

Why does this mean for me? Nothing really except that the trip is going to cost me more money than expected. Small cruise ships = more money. Points will only get me so far on this trip. Good thing that I have started my Antarctica fund, a little bit each paycheck. 

T-minus 26 months until the BIG 3 0!

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Garbage or Inspiration???

My mom would call these two piles as garbage. I see them as my inspiration.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours at the Travel and Adventure Show at the Washington Convention Center. The travel show had representatives from many different tourism boards from various countries from all six continents and many different states.

As you can see, I collected brochures and pamphlets for many destinations local and international.

International Pamphlets

USA Pamphlets

These brochures and pamphlets are like porn. Reading these make my heart jump, lets me dream a little and gives me inspiration. Inspiration to plan a a weekend gateway, friend's long weekend or even an aspiration trip.

Most of us collect points to travel to new locations, but one of the hardest decisions is where to go. Throughout the blog, Chris and I have preached that to be successful in this game, you must have goals; travel goals. With a destination in mind, the plan on how to get there and how to pay for (hopeful with points)  it become a lot easier.

Before today, I was collecting points for unknown future adventures, but my few hours at the travel show opened many new destinations for me to travel to: Austin, Alaska, Iceland, and Seychelles Islands.

Tomorrow, I start collecting/earning points for a purpose. Time to get planning on the rest of trips for 2013.

Excuse me as I go to my bedroom with these pamphlets.




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Solo Eating

Last week, I wrote about an article that talk about 8 Travel Goals for 2013. One of those goals was "travel more by yourself." As I stated in that post, I love traveling by myself. One of the benefits of traveling by yourself is to determine when, when and how you do things. 

On the other hand, one of the downsides of traveling by yourself is eating solo. Eating by yourself can be difficult. People are looking at you in the restaurant, "wondering why is he eating by himself" and time between courses seems like hours, not minutes. On my flight home from Chicago, I browsed the American Airlines in-flight magazine and they had a great article about eating solo, properly titled Dinner for One.

In the article, author Larry Olmsted, offers some great suggestions for eating by oneself. My favorite suggestions he offered was to eat at communal tables. "For those wanting a little more social interaction, communal tables, where parties of one or more are seated­ together at one large table are increasingly popular. These types of tables are also a way to garner valuable insight on your new surroundings if you happen to be traveling. Communal tables are great way of getting tips on where to eat, where to visit and most importantly where to drink. I try to sit at communal tables or chef bars any time I can. 

Another point Olmsted made is that by eating by yourself, you might get seated faster than a couple. I agree with Olmsted on this point. Many times I have gone to restaurants by myself and was seated within 10 minutes of arriving, even with hearing waits for two tops is close to 45 minutes. This is not to say that eating alone will always get you into the hottest restaurant faster than others. Your Mileage Will Vary.

If you are thinking of traveling by yourself, my tip for you is to try eating by yourself in your hometown. Try eating at a sit down restaurant. The first time is always the hardest after that each time afterwards get easier.

Happy Solo Traveling~~~

My 2013 Travel Goals

If you have not figured out yet, I am a goal oriented person. I love goals. They keep me focused and give me purpose. So, it may come of no surprise that I have created travel/points related goals for 2013. Since I preach the importance of creating goals, I will share mine as inspiration to others:

1) Visit either South America or Australia in Business Class

2) Revisit Europe or Africa (in any class)

3) Try at least 1 new airline

4) Visit one state, in the USA, that I have never been to

5) Do one thing I haven't done in Washington,DC each month and report back

6) 600,000 miles/points earned

7) Create and stay within a travel budget


I choose the 600,000 figure for #5 because it breaks down nicely into 50,000 points a month. Can I earn 600,000 points in a year? Probably. I just complete my year end numbers for 2012 and here are how they look:

Points/Miles Earned: 399,000

Points/Miles Spend: 346,000

Balance as of 12/31: 425,000

As you can see, I earned about 400,000 points and spent 350,000 points this year. If I continue to earn about the same number of miles that I spend each year, I feel that I will be in a good place. I don't believe in points hoarding, spend them while you have them, is more my motto.

The most important goal is #7 to me: create and stick with a travel budget. The game is a dangerous and addictive habit. With this hobby, there is always something to spend money on. Be it annual fees for credit cards to mattress/mileage runs, money always seems to be leaving my wallet to feed the habit. To be honest, I have no idea how much I spend on this "hobby" last year. For this reason, I am going to create a travel budget and force myself to stick to it. Any money spent on my "point/travel hobby" must come from this budget. Once the budget is exhausted, my spending for this "hobby" will stop for the year. (I doubt I will hold myself to this - if I exhaust my budget, I will still do things for the hobby, but I feel like I will be more stingy)

What my travel budget will be is still TBD. In year's past, I would move 75% of my bonus each year to a savings account and use that for travel related expenses. However, since I switched my job in 2012, I have no idea what to expect for a bonus. Therefore, I might need to move to deducting a certain amount each paycheck as a method of funding my points habit. Regardless of how I fund my travel budget this year, I need to create a budget, prioritize my expenses and stick to it. Otherwise, this little habit of mine might cause financial problems that I vowed never to get myself into again.

I am excited for what 2013 brings our community. With these goals, I have focus and a direction, now its time to execute it.

News Article: 8 Travel Resolutions for 2013

CNN has a great article (here) on 8 Travel Resolutions for 2013. Written by blogger Maureen Jenkins, Urban Travel Girl, who is a freelancer travel journalist based in Paris. This article really caught my attention, because Chris and I are putting together our own travel goals, at the moent(to be shared soon). After reading her article, I added two more goals to my own list. Here is her list of 8 goals, you should consider in 2013 and my own commentary on each:


    1.                 Take off on your own -- even if you're traveling with a group

I love traveling by myself. I personally like the silence; not having to talk to people and being alone with my thoughts. Also, I like to people watch and its easier by yourself. However, even when I am traveling with friends or family, I need "me time." Be it a walk in a park by myself or a nap, I need that time to decompress. If you have never traveled on your own, I say go for it. Start small, a weekend away in a city in the United States. Learn how to eat by yourself, which isn't an easy thing to do. (My suggestion is always sit at a bar to eat at the beginning  you can always strike up a conversation with someone). After you have done a weekend, try a few days before hitting a full week trip like mine recent one to Tokyo. Traveling by yourself might be something you like, but don't let the fear of the unknown stop you from doing it.

    2.                 Don't let the lack of a foreign language keep you at home.

This is one I need to work on. Tokyo was one of my first time going to a place that I did not know the language, not a single word. Before you leave, learning a few phrases to get you by. When you arrive, understand you will be at a disadvantage, but with patience and pointing to items, you will get by fine. There are hundreds of languages in the world, if you limited your travel to those countries that speak the language you speak...your travel list would be pretty short.

    3.                 Say you're not a "tour" or "cruise" person? Give one a shot.

I dislike tours. I don't like being rushed to one place or another. I hate schedules on vacation. All I want to plan is when I am arriving and when I am leaving. Everything else should be up in the air. However, I might try a cruise in 2013. If I want to complete my goal of visiting all 7 continents before 2015, I am going to have to get over my dislike of tours and cruises, as a cruise is the only easy way to get to Antarctica. Unless I decided to become a scientist and get a National Institute of Science grant to study the mating pattern of penguins in the next 3 years, so I will have to get over my dislike of cruising. 

    4.                 Don't be ashamed to fall back on what's familiar.

Its ok to stop at McDonald's abroad for a hamburg, just don't do it every day. In India and have a craving for Pizza, go for it. One meal out of a dozen will not ruin your vacation, its when all of your meals have been at McDonald's that you have a problem.

    5.                 Vow not to leave vacation days on the table.

I am working on this one. Its easy not use vacation time and have it roll over. Many of my friends  who work for Uncle Sam, are not taking vacation time and having it roll over. There goal is to cash-out in the end. Yes, I know the idea that if one takes vacation time, they are seen as a slacker in the eyes of a boss. The reality is that many studies have shown that works who take vacation time have better productivity. Also, you are only young once. Take your vacation time and visit a foreign country, because it will be much more difficult, when you have a wife, kids, a mortgage and a dog named Sam. (I don't have experience with this, but I can only imagine its true).

    6.                 Start a travel-specific savings account.

I have a travel savings account. Each year a percentage of my annual bonus goes into the account and I can spend it on travel throughout the year. All your travel expenses should come out of this account (ie annual fees for credit cards, mattress runs, mileage runs etc.) The savings account becomes a travel budget. Setting yourself a travel budget is important, because you can get caught up in the "game" and wind up spending yourself into debt. I have been meaning to do a post about the need for a travel budget, so expect one soon (especially after a frank conversation with my friend and coauthor Chris about the need for a budget.)

    7.                 Do at least ONE thing that scares you while you're on the road.

All I can say is AMEN to this one. Its something that I preach every time, I hear someone is going on vacation. Try something new to eat, go somewhere off the beaten bath or do something that is outside of your norm. On my trip to Tokyo, I went to a public bathhouse. Well, the rules at a bathhouses in Tokyo require you to be buck naked. Yes, I was naked with 500 other men. It was actually got liberating. On top of that, I treated myself to a pedicure, which consisted of hundreds of fish eating the dead-skin off my feet and legs (lets say it tickled.) Back to this goal, I actually believe you should do something out of your norm or different each day of your trip. When I vacation, I eat things I never would at home. The way I do it? I don't ask what I am eating until after I am finished . . . roasted pig ears, anyone?


    8.                 Don't let other people's fears keep you from going.

This one is key. My Jewish grandparents lament on how they have never visited Israel. Them not going to Israel is not because of money, but rather fear. I had many opportunities to go to Israel for free, but I never went because my grandparents talked me out of it. I was not scared to go, they were. Similarly, before I went to Niger, many people told me I should not go, because I could get kidnapped. I didn't let there fears stop me and I had a great time. At the Tokyo public bath, I struck up a conversation with a gentlemen named Mike (who went to school in Washington, DC before moving to Japan), and he was telling me how he wanted to go to Israel, but his GFs and his families told them not to. I was frank with him, I told him to go, but buy great travel insurance. If the security situation worsens before you leave, using the travel insurance to get your money back. Don't let other people dictate where you travel, you need to make your own decision. However, going back to goal # 7, if you are a worry wort - sometimes you need to do things that scary you, but still buy great travel insurance.

I think all 8 goals are perfect for all travels. Regardless, if you are beginner, an avid traveler or a points addict, I think each of these goals makes perfect sense for people who share the travel hobby. For example, if you only stay at chain hotels on vacation, why not try a B&B. (Yes, I know its about the points, but its also about the experience, lets not forget. Spending as much time as we do earning points, we must get something out of it) I am personally adding #3 & #5 to my list this year. #5 (vacation time) might be hard, since I am new to the industry and job, but I will just have to make it work. 

Have you started your goal list for 2013? Do any of these 8 goals make it on to your list?

Why We Do This Game

When I first started this game, 2 years ago, my goal was to see the world on someone else’s dime. At the time, I had a good job that paid the bills and help me pay for my graduate education in cash with a little extra each month to save for 1 trip a year trip. However, I could not afford to travel internationally especially not in premium class. I turned to the points’ game to supplement my income.

My goals (maybe not desires – read here) have me jetting off to exotic locations (in premium class, of course). That is why I spend hours each week learning new point earning techniques. I do it for the ability to travel outside of the US.

Or that is what I though….

I did something strange this weekend. I spent points to fly out to Seattle to surprise my mom. Wait, for those that know me, my mom lives in Connecticut, so why did I fly across the country to see her.

A little back story, my mom was flying to Washington State to surprise one of her sisters for her 50^th birthday. My mom had been planning on her surprise visit since July. Two weeks ago, I saw a few days with zero closings (rare in my business), so I took the opportunity to take a few days off. It just happened to be around the 50^th birthday party.

Knowing that I needed a flight to Seattle, I looked at my frequent flyer accounts and saw I had room to spare with US Airways, United, American and British Airways. My first thought was to spend the British Airways points for two reasons: no late booking fee and mileage based award chart. However, British Airways did not see any availability (darn…I really wanted to try Alaskan Airlines and they have a direct flight from DCA). I immediately gave up on United for two other reasons: to valuable for international flights and I can get United flights with US Airways Points.

I eventually settled with booking direct United flights from Dulles (IAD) to Seattle using 25,000 points. Yes, I could have saved 5,000 miles (I hold the US Airways MasterCard) by flying US Airways metal, but that would have required me to transfer planes in Philadelphia or Charlotte. On a related note, due to the East Coast’s visitor Sandy, flying US Airways would have meant major consequences. My flight home was cancelled on Monday, but I was quickly rebooked on a Tuesday flight. If I was flying US Airways, the earliest flight, I could have been rebooked on was Thursday.

Yes, I spent 25,000 miles. The round trip ticket would have cost me $800 or a redemption of $0.032 per mile. I would not have been able or willing to spend $800 for this trip. There is a big debate in the community about redemption values. Some feel it’s the cash price at the time of booking, while others believe it’s the amount you would have spent. In this situation, the spending of the miles was about surprising my mom or not surprising my mom. Value per mile did not come into my mind.

In the end, my mom was very surprised. I surprised her at the airport and it was the funniest thing. She was screaming with delight for a few minutes nonstop.People around us, at the airport, might have thought I was trying to mug her.

Oh! The surprise of my aunt was equally fun. A few photos of the party:

Spending the miles on this trip was the right thing to do. Yes, I could have saved the miles for a trip in business class to Europe or Asia. Would that have been the better value? Maybe. However, the surprise on my mom’s face and the video to replay over and over again was well worth the value in points.

Sometimes the best use of points can not be calculated in a nice dollar to mile ratio. Only you can determine the best use of your points. In this situation, I can't think a better way to spend 25,000 US Airways miles.

Happy Spending!!!!

Chris' Travel Goal: London

As JD stated in his last post, it is very important to have a travel goal when you are first starting out getting points and miles. For me, the goal was to travel back to one of my favorite cities in the world, London!

I had the great opportunity to study abroad in London during my junior year of college. It was an amazing experience! I fell in love with the city and I vowed when I left that I would go back as soon as possible. But, when I graduated the next year I went straight into graduate school and figured that I wouldn't be returning to London anytime soon. I resigned myself to look at my pictures and wish.

Then JD finally said...why don't you just go, you can do it! So after a little convincing and my introduction to the world of points and miles, which I've written about previously, I thought that it might actually be possible. So I told the GF that we might be able to make this happen (she visited London when she studied in Rome and wanted to go back as well)...but if we did, I wanted to go in business class!!!

Understandably, she looked at me like I was crazy and just passed it off as another one of the crazy ideas that JD and I come up with on a regular basis. She just wasn't sure how we could pull off trans-Atlantic business class tickets when we only had 5,000 miles or so each. But once I sat her down again and showed her how we could make it happen she was cautiously on board.

So the plan was launched....a trip to London it is.

Look for my next post on the strategy approach for London next week.

What's your travel goal? What was your first trip using points and miles?

Setting Travel Goals

Why do we go to these extremes to earn points? To go on vacation, of course! Earning points just to increase your frequent flyer account balances is crazy. Hoarding points is a dangerous tactic. The frequent flyer community has seen a devaluation of points on many airlines and hotel chains. The number of miles one will need for that coveted “free ticket or stay at a hotel” has gone up. If you have the points it is best to use them sooner rather than later.

Many of my family and friends disregard frequent flyer points because they complain that there are never “any free seats for 25,000 miles” or “too many blackout dates.” (Or they have seen the Alec Baldwin Capital One Credit Card commercial one too many times). I don’t argue with them because the more people in “the game” means fewer available award tickets or nights for the rest of us. Yes, I know this statement is harsh, but it’s the truth. The airline and hotel industries purposely limit the number award inventory on any given day or plane.  If people don’t want to join the game, I’m not going to fight to get them to join.

While the chance that you will score a free ticket home for Thanksgiving or Christmas is limited, a little planning and forethought can help you score tickets to almost any destination at almost anytime through the year. How do you score those difficult tickets to go on your dream vacation? By setting vacation goals and aligning your point earning strategies to accomplish those goals.

For example, earlier this year, Chris and his girlfriend, Kelsey told me that they wanted to go to London in the fall and were searching for cheap airlines fares. My first thought was "You are going to pay to go on vacation?!" After a long discussion, I convinced them to let me help them get to London with points. Oh, and to make things more difficult, they had to fly business class. The GF told me they didn’t need to fly business class, economy was fine. I smirked and told her by the time she was flying to London her ticket would be business class, not economy. She was skeptical, but I knew better.

With Chris and his Kelsey’s destination and timeframe picked, next was to figure out how many miles they need to get to and from London. From Washington, DC, direct flights to London are easiest flown on the Star Alliance (US Airways, United, Lufthansa etc.). Next go to these airline's award charts and see how many miles you will need for the trip. US Airways is here. United is here. 

I suggested they focus on United, as they already had small balances in their United accounts. Let's take a closer look at the United award chart:

		Planning as far ahead in advance as Chris and Kelsey were, each could get a Saver Award Ticket in business class for about 100,000 miles roundtrip . Saver Award Tickets cost less, but are not offered on every flight. However, I have been able to purchase saver award tickets with less than 48 hours notices, so it is the luck of the draw.

I know some might be thinking why I pushed them to go business class when it cost 40,000 more miles with the Saver Ticket (Kelsey had the same question). I am of the belief that the airplane ride is very much a part of your vacation experience, so why not pamper yourself getting yourself there? Many people dread the thought of riding on an airplane because they know their seat in the back of the plane will be cramped and uncomfortable. Why not spend the extra miles and make yourself feel better? I don’t always sit in business and first class; you will many times see me in economy on flights shorter than 4 hours, but for my long-haul flights, I spend the extra points for comfort.

With the information that each would need 100,000 miles each for the trip, Chris and Kelsey were now ready to do the hard part: earn the miles. They sat down and created a list of ways the two of them could earn 100,000 miles on United. Did they sign-up for the 75,000 mile American Airlines Chase Credit Card? Not at that particular time, because it did not help them get points on United. However, they did apply for the Chase Sapphire because it got them 50,000 miles on United. I am going to leave Chris to explain the various methods they used to obtain the miles for their trip. All I will say is that the two of them are going to London, in business class, and have most of their nights in hotels paid for by points as well.

The first step to any great vacation starts with a dream. That dream will eventually turn into a goal, which then requires a plan to get the miles needed to accomplish that goal. Then you are halfway to your dream vacation. With a direction and a plan, you can tailor your spending habits to earn the miles needed for that dream vacation (we will talk soon about the various ways to earn miles).  Earning enough miles for your vacation will not happen overnight, but with time and persistence, the points needed will start to accumulate in your frequent flyer account.

Until next time, keep dreaming!