This is very true. Just thought about it and realized since Sept. we've been to Vegas twice, Fort Myers, Maui in early Nov. and HNL this month already.

I love threads like these! I have to agree with all the comments about spending all my time researching, BOA thinks my job must pay me in dollar coins, my friends think I'm crazy/are envious/ask for help (which I love to give!)

I've only been at this for about 2 years and I only discovered FT a little more than a year ago, since then I've spent A LOT of time researching! Some of my redemptions (I need to get better at the hotel redemptions!):


2 RT tickets to London/Paris for myself and my mom - VDB vouchers (pre-FT)
2 RT tickets to JNB - VDB vouchers
Several tickets to MEM on VDB vouchers
3 RT tickets in Z on VA to MEL - 450,000 Delta miles
6 nights Sheraton Port Douglas 4,000 SPG +$40 / night
2 RT tickets to LAX - 2 SW award seats (pre-RR 2.0)
2 RT tickets to LIM-SCL-IPC 80,000 BA miles

Nothing can compare to the memories I have from these trips! So many thanks to the posts and threads and folks that have helped me! My trip to OZ on VA is 12/20 and I can't wait! Couldn't have done that one without the help of FT!

I'm on FT for almost a decade now. Before FT, I was a miles hoarder. After FT, I'm a hoader and a spender.
And FT humbles me. No matter how often I redeem CX F or SQ F, there will always be people here with crazier / better redemption than me.

How has FT changed my life?

That's simple. My wife is now uber-spoiled. She won't even consider the idea of sitting in coach on an international flight.

We take one grand international trip each year. Here are a few places we've been with our miles in the past few years, all in the front of the plane:

- South America: USA to Santiago, Chile, Return from Buenos Aires to USA
- the Middle East: USA to Amman, Jordan. Return to USA from Tel Aviv, Israel
- Europe: USA to Paris. Return to USA from Prague
- upcoming in 2012: USA to Madrid. Return to USA from Malaga, Spain.

I agree with the GetawayRus,

This summer, we took CX J to TPE and it was her first extended >6hrs on a plane. Now that she tasted internation J, there is no going back to Y.....
Stayed in W-Taipei suite with the Status Match to SPG PLAT using C&P

Feb 2012, AF J to FCO through CDG and return BCN though CDG.
W Barcelona, Hotel Eden, and Westin Regina all on Points and expected upgrade with the SPG PLAT.

She wants to go to China in June and is already asking me how to get from Y to J.... I am running out of miles to spent.

A few years ago, hubby and I were laid off (from different companies) one day apart. I'd already booked us an award weekend at the Embassy Suites near Monterey, so we got to leave earlier than we'd planned.

It wasn't a big deal points-wise as I was saving points for Hawaii, but it was sure a very needed morale booster when we'd taken a double whammy. (We're now both making more money at other companies and were only unemployed for about 3 months each, so it's all good.)

I signed up 10 years ago when I just made NW Silver Elite with a trip to Europe, and to Japan when I was in my 2nd year of university.

I have since flown over 600,000 miles for fun (not a single work related mile), visited over 100 countries, and 30% of my flights during that time are up front without having paid for any of those (apart from the famous CNZ mistake)

Without Flyertalk, and/or points, very little of that would have been possible.

I am still pretty new to the miles and points game...all your stories make me very excited for my possibilities going forward!

Here's my success story.

Not only did we redeem AA miles for a week long Disney trip for my daughter's birthday via the 75K AA miles cards, but I also signed up for the PRG Am Ex. I did the bump my bonus code, met the spending quickly, and called to have my points expedited. Well, they expedited my 75K points. So a couple weeks later, I got 25K more MR points, bringing my total to 100K! I transferred to DL for the 25K MQM's and 50% bonus, netting me Platinum status, and 150K DL miles.

So now I've booked 2 tickets in the low level from BNA-CDG-FCO-BNA with a 5 day stopover in Paris and 5 days in Rome! Grand total was only 120K DL miles, plus $200 in taxes. I will use my SPG points (I received 60K and the Mrs. received 60K from both personal and business cards) to pay for our hotels in Paris (4 award nights plus 1 free) and in Rome (4 award nights plus 1 free). So grand total, I will spend 96K SPG points for 10 nights. Because of my PM status, I also get Economy Comfort for free, so I'll have plenty of legroom (and drinks). So we will have a 10 day trip to Paris and Rome for only 120K DL miles and 96K SPG points all from credit card sign up bonuses since August! Thanks to all those in FT that helped along the way!

As someone who doesn't travel anymore for business, having retired for the second time 5 years ago, I remember being extremely upset when I stumbled onto FT a few years ago - realizing how much opportunity I had lost!

Although I got in at the end of the churning process I still managed to take Mrs bj2757 on 6 trips with FF miles the last few years, with enough points for 3 more backed up, AND we're taking our first ever round trip flight (Austin - Honolulu) in first class next fall!

Being retired I have the time to browse FT and other sites - and while I don't long for the years of being a road warrior - the points and miles ring up in my head after each new post :-)

I may be running out of options fairly quickly - and the thought of actually paying for a ticket/room is hard to accept! :-)

From July I have been traveling and studying abroad. Earlier this year I hit some of those CC apps like Capital 1 and OnePass plus I already had about 50k from Europe and United CC back in 09... this is what I blew my miles on
LAX-DXB
DXB-BUD
BEG-MUC
KRK-LAX
Taxes total are somewhere around $300 i believe. I did pay 2 years membership on United ($60), but other than that I haven't payed a cent on interest or fees.

Any opinions if I did well or fair?

I have been a long time lurker on this site and only this summer took the plunge to get in on the 75k AA deals and the 70k Marriott for which so far are resulting in a pretty cheap family cruise for 4 next spring (not free, but our out of pocket costs are much better than my brother and his family who are paying for everything ).

I must confess, though, that I am envious on the missed opportunities of the multiple 100k deals earlier in the year and only going to the coin laundry one time before it got shut down. I am eagerly researching and waiting for the next big thing to fund the tons of plans I have now for 2012 and beyond.

Thanks FT for the inspiration and community! Maybe some day I'll be one of those grizzled veterans who know and help the rest of us newbies ^

What to do when the FF miles start to pile up like dust bunnies....

These places were visited in whole or in part via FF miles in the past 4 years.

Egypt
Morocco
Bermuda
Canary Islands
Madeira
Brunei
Georgia (Atlanta ain't there)
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Macau
Malaysia
China, People's Republic of
Philippines
Singapore
Jeju, South Korea
China, Republic of Taiwan
Lesser Sundra Islands (Bali)
Sulawesi (Indonesia)
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Anguilla
Antigua
Bahamas
Barbados
Bonaire
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Leeward Islands - French (St. Martin)
Puerto Rico
Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos
Virgin Islands - British
Virgin Islands - US
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkey in Europe
Turkey in Asia
Ukraine
Vatican City
Israel
Jordan
Palestine
Qatar
Alaska
Canada
United States (34 continental states)
Australia
Hawaiian Islands
New Zealand
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Ecuador
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

And many places, like Switzerland, England, France, Hong Kong, Japan, etc. were visited way more than once.

Still a young'n in my early 20s with myself and most of my friends still in school, but FT has really opened my eyes to the possibilities of traveling around the world and how to leverage my few dollars into better traveling experiences.

A lot of my friends ask how I can afford to jet off to from LA to NYC for the weekend with 2 days notice or go to South America in first/business class. Yet I've probably spent less than them on my plane tickets.

You win!!