Originally Posted by
Tiki
Maybe I didn't phrase the idea very well. I am someone who is considered low income by Australian standards but because I am a dual citizen, I have a SSN, good Fico and can get USA credit cards. My friends and family see me and my husband taking off on fabulous trips to places like India, Cook Islands, Brazil and think I must have a secret trust fund someplace or huge bank account. Then when I say I can't do something or buy something because I can't afford it they think I am lying or a cheapskate or something. They don't get the idea of being cash poor but points rich.
So it's this falsely perceived idea that I am rich because I do trips that only people with high incomes can do which leads to awkward situations when they think I should be able to do other things that I would need cash for. Does that explain the concept better?
I expliain to freinds and family (to whatever degree they want to listen) stuff like "I flew here/there on miles, and there's no way I could afforded it if I didn't have those miles". That's easy for me with my family, because it's true in the case of visiting my relatives cross-country for Christmas, fares were $800++ roundrip when I snagged roundtrip seats in first class for same miles as "anytime" seats in coach. If I mentioned to them that cash fare was $800++ but that I had plenty of miles "which I had spent any morey to get, only changed how/where I spent the money I normally spend", that's usually enough for anyone to understand that I'm using "special tricks" that work for travel but don't necessarily work for everything else.
People at work, back when you could still apply for two Citi AA cards every other month and get 25k miles each time, I did a printout of an offer and gave it to a number of co-workers and explained that it's not one-time only. But none of them went for it. But that did stop the questions. (They then understood how it was possible to easily get lots of miles by just choosing what you do, not by spending money, but they didn't choose to do it.)
Originally Posted by
Tiki
Same thing when I am overseas, vendors see us walk out of the Crowne Plaza or IC and jack up the prices because they think we are "rich" but they don't know that we booked those hotels on points and if it weren't for the points we would be in the local backpacker hostel.
This is a separate issue IMHO.
There's a much more common scenario for "backpackers" staying in luxury hotels, that has nothing do to points or miles, but I don't supposed it's available worldwide either: blind bidding sites (Priceline, etc). Within the US, way more people get into luxury hotels at budget hotel prices using blind bidding sites than do it with miles or points.
But I do have a suggestion for you if it hurts your image with vendors: Conserve your points, and "only" stay at the Holiday Inn or Express, rather than the Crowne Plaza or IC, if you're going to meet vendors at the hotel.
If you're going on vacation and no one you know will see you coming out of the hotel (or only friends/family who'll understand how you got there), who cares. But if you're going on work and then meeting people at the hotel, I'd say don't splurge unnecessarily even if you can afford to, and keep in mind there's a lot of points hotels well above "backpacker hostel" and but not so "smelling of luxury".
But what small talk do you start such a vendor meeting with? "I can't believe that I got a room here for the same price as a budget hotel." Use some local brand if it's well known. In Europe, I'd say "for the same price as an Ibis", and people would instantly understand. In the US, "for the same price as a Motel 6", and people woudl instantly understand. But I don't know what the Ibis / Motel 6 equivalent -- in terms of level and fame -- is in Australia or other places outside of US / Europe you might stay in.
People will understand a low price for a normally-high-priced hotel before they'll understand miles and points, and it's simpler to explain you found a great but unusual deal, especially when you can do it in one sentence like that, than to tell the full and real story.
(Remember the vendor doesn't meet your friends / family, or vice versa, so you don't need the same story for both. For a vendor, you need a one-sentence story you can throw into introductory small talk. For friends / family, you have a bit more time to explain. So tailor your explanation to the audience and the situation.)