Shimon

Do you tell that to border control?

spankytoes

My episode of Locked Up Abroad is forthcoming.

goAsia

People definitely think I'm up to something super sketchy so I feel obligated to explain that I'm using points. They know how much I make so they know there's know way I could afford this kind of travel. I've offered numerous times to help other friends that travel how to play the points game, but it's like they're afraid of getting caught up in the Mafia or something. They literally back away from me when I mention credit cards.

AlohaDaveKennedy

Perhaps you should play down the credit cards and just talk about the millions of dollars we move and the untaxable nature of our business.

peachfront

You should offer an explanation that blends in with everybody else. Saying you sell drugs, even as a joke, is terrible. You stand to lose everything in the U.S. since under forfeiture law there is no obligation for the gov't to convict a person of a crime before seizing everything you own. Words out of your own mouth that you sell drugs sounds like probable cause to me.

In some situations, you will be repeatedly approached to loan money, get involved in real estate or business deals, etc. You should have a story ready that slides off the tongue such as, actually, it isn't a good time, as I just bought a house. Or, it isn't a good time, as I just had to put my mom in the nursing home. It's OK to lie to sales people, and once someone hits you up for money, they are not approaching you as a friend, they are approaching you as a salesperson. You don't owe the truth to everybody who walks up with their hand out.

As for your relatives, this is classic "crabs in a bucket" as friends and family may feel you're leaving them behind and they have an automatic instinct to pull you back. You have to have a story for them that is a polite denial of the loan but still doesn't worry them too much. My credit cards are maxed out, is probably the standard little white lie here...

sdsearch

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.)

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.)

sdsearch

No more LLL's for you!

Seriously, the trend in getting through airports faster is moving from being elite to allowing Customs and Border people to do a background check on you, in exchange for granting you the ability to move through stuff faster (Global Entry, PreCheck, etc). But "background check" could involve talking to one or more of those people you told that to! And if they believed it?

Sweet Willie

pefect time to introduce someone to Flyertalk. Which I have done but sadly most never stay with the program and thus never acheive any significant mile/point totals.

spankytoes

Of all the offhanded and sarcastic comments I've made on FT, this is the last one I expected to need to explain is a complete and total joke. I explain miles/points and churning until their eyes glaze over and they are utterly confused. I usually lose them between "change checking accounts" and "cancel the credit card before the annual fee is assessed".

Mauibaby2008

Living on the East coast, & having 1K family that lives in Hawaii and pays for your flight out there multiple times a year quickly puts you into the game. With their advice + large mileage balance it is easy to get sucked in. I own zero mile credit cards, but take part in as many promotions/awesome deals& mileage runs. Oh not to mention Radisson's most recent promotion!!! Treated me very very well

djp98374

There is no correlation to you using FF miles/points for a free flight and how wealthy you are.

You paying a full fare FC ticket would be a sign of your wealth.


Economically specaking...If you travel to far off non-western countries you are going to be perceived as being wealth just by being american/western.

Many of these foreign countries its very cheap to travel around...the iggest cost barrier is the airline cost.

inY

It's not just coworkers. The hotel concierge thinks I want to take a deluxe taxi to an expensive restaurant, when all I really want is directions to the metro and a nearby 7-11 with a bakery section. A hostel reception knows I want to travel cheaply and is often more helpful.

Stubtify

Ding*Ding*Ding!

No one sees a family of 4 taking a trip to Disney for a week and says "wow" you guys are loaded. Even though 4 1-week Disney tickets =$1200

There's a misconception that foreign travel is expensive. Even if I didn't use miles, and flew coach it is pretty amazing to me that most areas of the globe can be reached on $1,000 and in under a day. Once you land everything costs less than half as much as it does stateside.

Just stop taking photos of the first class seats and meals and posting them on FB. No one even knows my wife and I fly business/first on our trips.

NatasNJ

I would say 99% of the time when I travel I feel like I fit in to the environment.
Only once did I feel a tad out of place. My recent trip to Carmel, CA and staying at the Hyatt Highlands Hotel on my 2 free rooms from my Hyatt Credit Card. The hotel was nice, the views amazing but the rooms seemed a tad dated. Anyway it was mainly the required valet and the other hotel guests where I just felt a tad out of place. Seemed like VERY rich hotel guests. That was the only time it even crossed my mind.

gbryan84

This is one of my biggest pet peeves and a reason why I don't like 5* hotels. I usually approach the concierge or front desk and ask for their suggestion on a low key (ie. hole in the wall) place where they would go with their friends or family for a normal meal, nothing fancy. It never fails, they always mention a restaurant in the hotel or something super expensive and act like they blow $50-$100/pp.