Newbie...how to rack up miles
 

I have just registered, and am interested in getting into the miles game... I fly purely because I am an aviation fanatic... Planes, routes, airports... I just want to have fun and rack up done miles doing it. Any suggestions for where a newbie should start racking up miles? I am based near DTW, and fly DL, UA, JB occasionally, but I actually prefer UA. I'm not ranked or anything... I just want to start piling up miles!

Any help will be appreciated! Thanks!

read every post on the first page of miles and points.
all the gravy is in credit card sign up bonuses

Welcome to FT. This place is among the most comprehensive places on the Internet to learn about travel hacking. That being said, it can be quite daunting to start with, so take your time, read, read, and continue to read. Pretty much every question you might have has been answered, but you will have to dig through various threads. Good luck!

Newbie...
 

I avoid flying in a straight line. For example, if going from DTW-LAS, I'd connect via IAH or even EWR or IAD (if the fare remains the same). Use the multi-city feature to build a circuitous route. I did LAS-SFO-IAD-MCO and returned the next day.

500-mile minimums. DTW-ORD 233 actual miles but 500 PQM. I think only Premier Silver and above get this now. Non-elites get actual miles flown.

Tues and Weds (sometimes Thurs and Sat) generally have the best fares. UA seems to post sales on Tues.

Check out websites and podcasts. I don't think I'm allowed to mention the actual names but you may come across a "watchdog" site for bargain fares as well as podcasts that discuss "hoarding points," upgrades or "what's going on in travel this week."

Have fun. See you in the skies.

Member7777 mentioned that the gravy is in credit card sign up bonuses. I would go farther and say it's the meal. If you have good credit and do not carry a balance month to month, then you can rack up mindblowing amount of miles and points, and your love for flying will rack up even more and help you with elite status. That's the gravy. My advice would be read and read again. The very first thread in MileBuzz will give you a pretty good idea about the current offerrings as well as some historic prospective. Good luck and welcome to Flyertalk.

You are in good company and in good hands.

Many of us here are fairly new and have learned tremendous amounts on these pages. When I first clicked on to Flyertalk, about 6 months ago, I thought "what the heck are they talking about?". It took weeks before I even came back to peek at the pages. Now I (mostly!) understand.

Welcome!

Newbie...
 

Thanks everyone! I have done a ton of reading so far, and it sounds like this could be a pretty fun and rewarding experience! I will see you all in the skies!
Ken

Welcome!
 

Welcome to FT from another newbie!

I was a lurker for several weeks before joining FT. In the short 2 weeks i've been on here I'm well on my way to earning free travel on Southwest. Hopefully by February or March I will have my CP :)....Thanks to all FT'ers who have shared their insights and knowledge! You folks rock!!

Cheers!

You've found the right place. Welcome.

Welcome to FT! Just read up a lot, use the Search feature, which will take you to the threads related to a topic, and when in doubt, just ask any moderator and they will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Try to at least make a minimum effort to find the answers yourself so you're not perceived as someone who just wants to be spoon-fed. But that being said, don't take it personal when you post a question on a thread and someone says "well if you spend the next 2 days and read the entire thread, you should find your answer on page 1,254 of this thread". It's gonna happen. For any of those, there are plenty of others who will be happy to help out.

Have fun!

I would call the CCs the fuel in the rocket. Without them you are left slugging it out by taking connections instead of direct flights and wasting time on airplanes when you can be home earning 10-100xs those miles in a fraction of the time.

Arrrgh! We are travel artistas, not hackers! Hackers leave messes - we just clean up.:p

+1 brother

:D good one.

As a fellow newbie, I find it helpful to have the FlyerTalk Glossary open in another tab when I'm reading discussions. So I can quickly look up abbreviations and acronyms I don't understand.

I give credit the newbies who at least come to FT and don't just get their info solely from blogs. This is important.

newbie here too

Welcome to posting.^

It looks like you've been around awhile.

Thanks for all of the good advice! There is so much to learn here on on MP! The more I learn, the more I want to know! I can see that this will get addictive, but in a good way!


I meant to say "and on MP"

If you are looking for great leisure travel deals, check out the Mileage Run Deals thread. I am heading to Istanbul in May thanks to a FT member posting a great deal. I also learned how to properly complain to UA, which yielded $300 in travel vouchers, making the Istanbul flight that much cheaper :D.

The real returns are in premium travel. Besides that, it doesn't make much sense to chase points and miles.

The Spanish Inquisition, The Cardinals, Cardinal Fang, Cardinal Biggles, Cardinal Ximenez (of Monty Python fame) = the audit, risk/closure, stop loss, financial review and related professional haters that you do not want showing up at your door. Surprise, fear and a fanatical dedication to the pope (aka playing by the book) are their weapons.

Granted the RoI on premium fares is better than on coach, but points and miles can still beat cash back for the kettles if played right.:D

I agree there are still values to be had in coach, but personally, I'd rather have 3-4% in my pocket than trying to redeem miles at 3-4c/mile in coach.

Indeed, cashback might help relieve the pain of the 2% increase in your Social Security taxes this year. Happy New Year from Congress!:p

Become a pilot or flight attendant. Seriously, if you love flying, planes and airports, then churning credit cards vs working in aviation is kind of silly.

Good point!

Alas, I worked in aviation, but got no free flights at Radioplane. Marilyn Monroe worked there a few decades earlier and she wuz robbed, too. Nobody got a free ride on our drones. But in the movie, Dr. Strangelove, at least Major Kong got to ride on a bomb.:D