Start by dropping by the Rookie Tips and Frequently Asked Questions page and following the suggestio

All of our Sunday Success Stories serve as a living example that all of us average Americans can, indeed, see the world at prices we all can afford. We can do this by working together and sharing our stories. Send your story to me at  rick@frugaltravelguy.com . Include your first name and last initial, along with your occupation and a photo, if you wish.  - Rick
Over the years my wife and I had picked disneyland hotels map up a few cash-rewards credit cards ($100 each for a Sony card and around $700 total for targeted Gold AmEx cards), but nothing serious.  That changed when the British Airways 100K and the American Airlines 75K cards came out within a short time of each other. We got 1 BA, 2 personal AA, and one business AA card each and suddenly we had banked a combined 550,000 airline miles!  That really got my attention.  Not long after we banked those miles, the Capital One Match Your Miles program came out, so my wife and I each earned 100K with them based on our balances in the AA accounts.  Now I was hooked and looking for more.  I found the FlyerTalk website, and that led me to Frugal Travel Guy.  I read all of your posts for newbies, and found out how to do App-O-Ramas.  I ve just received the cards from my second App-O-Rama and I m working disneyland hotels map through the minimum spends.  It s cost a few hundred dollars since several cards didn t waive the first-year fee, but it s worth it to me.
Now, on to the fun part.  So far our family of five has flown free for a vacation to California (LA, Sequioia National Park, Yosemite, and San Francisco Yosemite was amazing).  We ve also flown free for a vacation to Salt Lake City / Yellowstone (with most of the lodging paid for with Capital One points).  By the way Yellowstone was freezing cold in June.  Yosemite disneyland hotels map was much better in my opinion.  And this past Spring disneyland hotels map Break we all went to Hawaii, with 4 days in Maui and 3 in Oahu (but we paid for our own hotels because we didn t have enough hotel points banked yet).  The whole family liked Maui a lot more than Oahu.  It was, simply put, a lot more relaxing. And the locals were also more relaxed (island style) whereas the people disneyland hotels map in Oahu had a more mainland feel to them.  We went to one public beach in Maui (away from the touristy areas) on a Tuesday night, and came across several local families barbecuing on the beach.  Picture being on an amazing beach in the late evening, palm trees, the sun setting behing the island disneyland hotels map of Moloka i across the water and starting to light up the clouds with sunset colors, sipping disneyland hotels map wine and grilling up an amazing-smelling gourmet meal, while the kids are surfing a short distance away waiting for their dinner to be ready.  And that wasn t a special occasion, it was just a regular Tuesday night.  That s island style. We stayed at the Hyatt on Ka Anapali Beach, and it was amazing.  On Oahu we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations, and although I couldn disneyland hotels map t really complain about that experience, I liked the Hyatt much better.
After all of that travel, we re still sitting on a combined 355K miles (BA, AA, and Southwest) plus 46K Capital One points and 145K Hawaiian miles that I m planning to convert to Hilton points.  For hotel points we have 125K Marriott, 120K Hilton, and about 48K Club Carlson from the recent stay one get one promotion.  After I convert the Hawaiian to Hilton and get the bonuses from this second round, I ll bump our Hilton accounts to a total of 750K points, plus earn 80K US Air miles and 4 club passes.  If I m lucky, I ll also have four nights in any Hyatt worldwide (Chase initially denied both of us for having too many cards with them but I will call the reconsideration line).
I ve been working for those Hilton points lately because disneyland hotels map they re easy to get and, although disneyland hotels map they re not worth a lot on lower-tier hotels, they re not bad for higher-end stays, especially with the Axon.  After this second App-O-Rama, using Axon / VIP rewards, we will be able to stay 20 nights in any Category 7 property, or up to 40 nights in a Category 3.  Who knows we may go back to Maui? 10 nights in the Grand Waileia disneyland hotels map sounds pretty relaxing right about now.
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The great thing about this hobby is we get to use the points any way we wish. For some, thats traveling around the world. For others, that might mean staying closer to home. I think Todd has done very well for himself and provided an inspirational story for other families disneyland hotels map to model.
disneyland hotels map Start by dropping by the Rookie Tips and Frequently Asked Questions page and following the suggestions listed. disneyland hotels map Then drop me a note at: rick@frugaltravelguy.com Free Trials for Credit Scores CreditSesame.com
AnnualCreditReport.com Credit Card Disclaimer disneyland hotels map Your Credit is Your Most Important Asset Some of the techniques mentioned on this blog involve applying for credit. The reader is soley responsible for the decisions he/she makes regarding their own credit. AwardWallet.com is the best website to keep track of your reward points and expirations. Use the coupon code FrugalTravelGuy to get a free 6 month upgrade for new users.
Rick Ingersoll is the world's expert on frugal travel and flying free and the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. A retired disneyland hotels map mortgage banker, he splits his time between Traverse City, Michigan, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. To enjoy his retirement, he and his wife Katy travel disneyland hotels map the globe, rarely paying full price – if anything disneyland hotels map at all -- for their travel and lodging expenses. Rick has become the expert in rooting out deals others miss or simply don't know about, and in accumulating airline frequent flier miles and hotel points. Twitter
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I don't pay for the products or services I write about, except those I purchased disneyland hotels map for my personal use. In almost all cases, the manufacturer or service provider approaches me first and provides disneyland hotels map a product or an access to the service for free. I don't speak or act on behave of a product manufacturer or service provider. Instead, I always give my honest options about a product or service in posts where such a product or service is mentioned If I create a link to a product or service in a post, that link may be an affiliate link. If you decide to purchase the product or service through an affiliate link, I will get paid a commission. Any rate information or third party offers listed on this site could change without advanced notice and may be out of date. For the latest rate or offer information, please consult with the concerned party. I strive to keep all information on this site up to date, however that's not always possible disneyland hotels map given how quickly those information could change.