{"id":2716,"date":"2012-07-29T22:35:22","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T04:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=2716"},"modified":"2012-07-29T22:39:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T04:39:53","slug":"interview-millionmilesecrets-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=2716","title":{"rendered":"Our Interview on MillionMileSecrets.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not too long ago we were featured on the www.MillionMileSecrets.com<\/a> blog’s interview series.\u00a0 We drew in a few more followers from the experience and we’re appreciative of Daraius and all of the hard work he does to deliver deal details to the travel-hacking world.\u00a0 Here’s the interview for your reading pleasure.<\/p>\n

“My miserly father is finally staying in hotels that aren’t\u00a0named with numbers.”<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How and when did you start collecting miles and points?<\/p>\n

We come from a family that bargains for garage-sale items.\u00a0 Our tightwadedness has been carefully cultured over centuries, and while such attitudes generally wane over generations, in our family it has done exactly the opposite.\u00a0 It is in our nature to think cheap.\u00a0 It is not, however, in our nature to travel… we found that on our own. The wanderlust seized me before a steady job did, and points were the only way to bridge the gap.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why did you start your blog?\u00a0 What’s special about it?<\/p>\n

Brad:\u00a0 I got to where I was telling so many people what to do that it just made more sense to put it out there and let people read it.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t invent travel-hacking and we\u2019re certainly not the best at it. If the traditional \u201cTravel Blog\u201d is Spain and the \u201cMiles and Points Blog\u201d is France, then we must be Andorra.\u00a0 If we have a niche in this world, its showing people what amazing trip itineraries they can build with optimized point usage.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What’s the one single thing people can do to get more miles?<\/p>\n

Sheldon: Ask for them.\u00a0 Whenever a company has given you terrible customer service, or when the flight has mechanical problems that causes you to miss your connecting flight, ask for some points.\u00a0 Use Twitter to contact the customer service team and explain your situation.\u00a0 In three instances of airline errors I\u2019ve scored 27,500 miles.\u00a0 I\u2019m batting three for three at 100% and averaging 9000 miles per complaint.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What’s your most memorable travel experience?<\/p>\n

Brad: I took my family of six to Medellin, Colombia for a total of $574 <\/a>and 150k AA points. We spent a month there and\u00a0 made Colombian friends for a lifetime,\u00a0 indulged in more than our fair share of \u201cbandejas paisas,\u201d climbed to the top of El Pe\u00f1ol, traced the history of Pablo Escobar, visited the historic city of Santa Fe de Antioquia, and paraglided over the Andes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sheldon: Two months ago I returned from an Alpine Europe tour<\/a> – visiting Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy for 12 days.\u00a0 My wife and I brought along our 10 month old little boy to see the wonders of Europe.\u00a0 He visited castles in Germany, rode on a gondola in Venice, and ate gelato in Milano all before being a year old.\u00a0 With some help from AA and SPG, our total out-of-pocket cost was $900.<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What do your family and friends think of your miles & points hobby?<\/p>\n

Brad: They are believers.\u00a0 They were the earliest adopters and are our biggest advocates.\u00a0 Last December we had a block of 6 rooms at the Salt Lake City Radisson so all of us could cash in on the Club Carlson promotion.\u00a0 For the first time, my miserly father is staying in hotels that aren\u2019t named with a number. We get calls, texts, emails…we are volunteer travel agents and we love every moment of it.<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is there any tool or trick which you’ve found especially useful in this hobby?<\/p>\n

Sheldon:\u00a0 Most of the travelers out there have a normal 9-5 job, and can\u2019t be on the go all of the time.\u00a0 Such is life for the majority of Americans.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had the strategy of booking a trip every six months.\u00a0 When I get home from a trip I let myself get settled in, and then book another trip that is about six months out.\u00a0 Taking two vacations a year is a must and most jobs allow for that.\u00a0 This gives you something to look forward to on those long, dragging days at work between trips.<\/p>\n

7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What was the least expected way you’ve earned miles or points?<\/p>\n

Sheldon: The recent Fidelity promotion has been a great success for me.\u00a0 50,000 United miles instead of 0.000001% interest is a deal I\u2019ll take any day of the week.\u00a0 Can\u2019t wait to put those miles to good use on a fun vacation with the family!<\/p>\n

8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What do you now know about collecting miles and points which you wish you knew when you started out?<\/p>\n

Brad: Too many people think that they\u2019re playing the miles and points game by simply spending on a FF card.\u00a0 That\u2019s like saying you\u2019ve toured Italy when your cruise ship stopped in Rome. I know.\u00a0 I was guilty of it. You\u2019ve got to capitalize on every promotion and every opportunity.\u00a0 If you knew where a treasure chest was buried, you\u2019d go to great lengths to dig it up, but far too many people opt out because \u201cit will hurt my credit,\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t have time to figure it out.\u201d\u00a0 Investing time in understanding these things pays immediate dividends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>9)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What would your readers be surprised to know about you?<\/p>\n

Brad: I\u2019m a little bit compulsive when it comes to taking on hobbies.\u00a0 In addition travel and WorldWanderlusting, a full time job and four adorable kiddos, I am a political junkie (I\u2019m on the city council in my hometown).\u00a0 I helped found and run a non-profit Haiti Relief Organization, www.HaitiSakPlen.com<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019m a hopeless romantic and I write and read extensively (finally getting into Hemingway at the moment).\u00a0 I love motorcycles, languages, and architecture… and I have a thing for blue turf. Sheldon:\u00a0 I spent two of my prime years in Paraguay doing a service mission, which was totally worth it.\u00a0 I received my degree in Business Finance and had a 3.96 GPA.\u00a0 My only B came from the class in which I met my wife (it was worth it).\u00a0 I spend most days calming people about their health insurance rates going through the roof, and convincing others that it\u2019s worth the hefty premium.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>10)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Any parting words?<\/p>\n

Both: We are arms-dealers in the war of monotony vs. adventure and excitement.\u00a0 It is a sad fact that most people simply raise their white flag in surrender to boredom and sameness.\u00a0 They\u2019re overpowered by the battle-call of the humdrum, \u201cwe can\u2019t afford to do things like that.\u201d\u00a0 They cower from the challenge with phrases like \u201cwe can\u2019t find a babysitter,\u201d and \u201ctraveling to those places isn\u2019t safe.\u201d We just won\u2019t tolerate weakness like that.\u00a0 We won\u2019t let them win. We soak in the refreshing springs of civilizations\u2019 celebrations. We gorge on the sweet variety of global gluttony. We learn the intriguing history of local legends. We wanderlust. The opportunities that are out there for absolutely free travel justify banishing thpse despicable phrases forever. Come see what we\u2019re doing, come do what we\u2019re saying.\u00a0 Wanderlust with us. www.WorldWanderlusting.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not too long ago we were featured on the www.MillionMileSecrets.com blog’s interview series.\u00a0 We drew in a few more followers from the experience and we’re appreciative of Daraius and all of the hard work he does to deliver deal details … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[472],"tags":[685,684],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1DhXV-HO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}