mastermind85

Hey all,
I'm new to the game and wanted to know if someone can recommend a book or "all in one resource" for starting out? I would like to learn more about fare codes (and all those technical details), upgrades, credit card churning, maximizing frequent flyer miles, and the like without having to search through all the different forums and piecemeal it together. The Frugal travel guy website seems a bit too high level to really dive into it with. If someone knows a good launching point please let me know .

Thanks so much!

StartinSanDiego

The blogs and right here at flyertalk. You will have to search through the forums or the blog posts. There are many good blogs, but it will all take some effort to learn. Think of it as a textbook... if you read it, you will learn. If you don't read it, you won't. It may or may not be worth the trouble to you, but more than likely, all your answers are here if you look.

redtop43

Randy Petersen - who I believe was the founder of FlyerTalk - wrote a book. I can't say I remember the name, even though it's on my bookshelf at home.

However, a good deal of what's in it is dated. The world of travel hacking is infinitely complex, and there's just no way to encapsulate it all. I understand that it can seem daunting at first, it can seem a bit like trying to teach yourself French from a book that's written in French.

A good place to start on FT is with the acronyms (and I can't even say I know where to find it) but knowing why a GPU will help you TATL between IAD and FRA on UA but not LH is going to make a lot of the posts less mysterious.

Of the things you mentioned, fare codes are probably the least important.

I'll also admit that there's an "attitude" on FT that amounts to "I did all the backbreaking work to learn the ropes, don't expect me to spoon-feed you." But I feel like it pays off on the back end, because FT is more than a message board, it's a community, and people are very helpful and understand that everyone's situation is a bit different.

Spend some time surfing, if you're lucky (or maybe UNlucky is more like it) you'll end up a mileage addict like the rest of us and have enough miles to fly TATL in J without the nasty YQ from RDU to OTP with a stopover in FCO on DL or AZ every year for the rest of your life.

ALadyNCal

Can't think of a better 'all in one resource' than FT. Just take your time and do LOTS of reading. It's ALLLLLLL here

Tiki

I know it looks overwhelming at first. Best to set your first goal, example: Hawaii, Paris, Japan or whatever. Then find out which airlines will get you there, join those programs and read the stickies in the airline's forum here. Do the same for any hotels you are likely to use. Get the credit cards best offer via the sticky in this forum. It's complicated but you need to invest some time to learn the ropes.

sk8uno

As already touched on in earlier posts, this world is not static. The opportunities and rules for both obtaining and redeeming points and miles change frequently. An "all-in-one" book would be quickly out of date unless it was updated every few months.

If you really want to get into the game, you have to devote substantial time and effort to scouring FT. I know it's not what you want to hear, but that's the reality, unfortunately. On the bright side, if it were as easy as reading a book, the community would be much larger. And if the community were much larger, the value proposition would be much smaller.

themadzins

Hi all!
I also need some direction as I am new to the miles part of travel. I have been on these boards for a little while now. I stumbled upon it after hearing about "hotel points" and credit card programs a few years ago. Many, many, many thanks to all that directed me to the SPG Amex. It suits my travel needs perfectly!! I primarily use FT to look for the hotel deals and have learned so much on the boards.

But now I need help again. I am fortunate to be planning a trip to Ireland and all the posts I have been reading and the frugal travel guy has me wanting to try to do the air on miles. I have been doing some research but can't seem to find a starting point that explains HOW to figure out what I need to accomplish this. To be specific, how would I even begin to know what airlines fly to my destination or more importantly, which are the best to use? And finally, how many miles would I need per passenger? I know I can muddle through the cc offers and miles rewards programs and read all those posts to figure out the best offers.

I am really stymied and would appreciate direction. Like I said, I am all for reading all the posts to gather the info but I need some expert guidance to a beginning point. Thanks so much! (and I hope I posted this in a correct thread!!)
Thanks so much!!
Kathleen

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

You can find out which airlines serve a particular airport by Googling "XXX airport wiki" where "XXX" is the airport's IATA code (if you know it), or the city name if you don't. For example, "Shannon airport wiki," or "SNN airport wiki."

If you want specific advice/recommendations, tell us where you are starting from, where you want to go, what class of service, how many tickets, etc. Also, how good is your credit, and how much can you charge to a credit card every month?

themadzins

Thanks so much for that information!!!

I will start with the airlines and then onto the credit cards for the miles.

I do not have an exact date for the trip yet but its looking like late spring, probably late April/early May 2013. For now I need 2 tickets although we are going to be a party of 8 or 9 people but I do not think everyone would want to do what I am attempting to do! As far as class of service, I would LOVE first class but free tickets is the goal even if it is economy class. We primarily use AMEX SPG for every day spending. We average about $2000 monthly spending and pay off monthly. Our credit is 700+.

We are looking to fly to Dublin or Shannon from either JFK, EWR, or PHL (all depending on cost). In addition, I really do not have much miles with any particular airline currently.

I really appreciate the quick response and thank you for the information!!

mnscout

If you try to learn all those things simultaneously, you will get overwhelmed very quickly. Fare codes and technical details are just that--the details that you can learn in the process. Same about maximizing miles--you gotta have enough miles to begin with. Tell us what your goals are, how often you're flying or want to fly, what your credit situation is. Another words, give some details so we can help you better.

mnscout

Using British Airways Avios on Aer Lingus looks good for Dublin especially that Aer Lingus does not impose such horrific fuel surcharges as BA does. I believe you can get an RT business for 50,000 Avios, so one Chase British Airways sign up bonus, which is 50,000 Avios will take care of that. The card does have a $95 annual fee, though.

MDtR-Chicago

Use the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ows-based.html - pick on your destination city and it will list all the airlines that fly there. (Take away any that are marked with a * for codeshare)

Then go to each airline's site to learn which alliance it is in, if any.

You can usually use miles from any alliance member to book on a flight offered by any alliance member. So compare the list of lucrative credit card signup bonuses to the list of airlines in each alliance. Then, for each of those airlines, go to their websites and find the award mileage charts.

After you've made a list of your options, you can ask in the various forums here about which particular aircraft would be "nicest".

(There are plenty of people here who can give you a list of all the options, with mileage amounts. But there is no sense in exploring this unless you learn it yourself, so you can duplicate it across many trips. Thus it is important to "show your work" and ask questions as you track down the info yourself.)

skibum7732

dive in and read, read, read. a book would be outdated by the time it hit the presses, as tyhe game is always changing. the frugal travel guy has alot of good info, but again you will never learn if you do not read, read, read...did I forget to mention you gotta read alot

drminn

When asking the experts you get expert advise - and that can be a problem, because they know almost too much. What you are trying to do can actually be started pretty simple:

- go to kayak.com and look for flights from your origin airports to ireland
- it will give you a number of options and airlines
- pick two or three airlines, go to their websites and check how many miles you
need for a free ticket
- check out the FT credit card forum for signup bonuses for the airline(s) you
picked
- if you find the right bonus, great, if not, rinse and repeat

After that, post your approach and the experts will refine it for you, down to the last mile

saranyc

I've found this to be the best newbie guide:

http://milevalue.com/free-first-clas...month-the-end/