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The Reluctant Traveler’s (8 Minute) Guide To Using Frequent Flyer Miles

by | Jun 29, 2010 | , | 24

There are many hardened travelers who’ve been to the corners of the Earth, crossing the globe on countless flights, yet who’ve never once signed up for a single frequent flyer program. Or you could be the other type of reluctant traveler – the one who takes very few flights in the average year and doesn’t think it’s worth signing up. In 8 minutes you can be signed up and earning thousands of points across more than 50 airlines without any more magic than clicking a mouse and typing on a keyboard.

jumbo jet at gate

Why You Really Should Be Earning Frequent Flyer Miles

For the record everyone who travels, whether it’s a lot or a wee little, should be signed up for frequent flyer miles (not doing so is one of 10 common travel mistakes). Aside from the fact that they’re all free to join, you can easily earn free upgrades plus little perks like getting your luggage at the claim faster. Of course free flights as well, even from a single flight or sometimes without flying at all.

Common Misconceptions About Frequent Flyer Miles

Some of the reasons that people don’t sign up for miles programs are because of the misconceptions, such as thinking that nobody ever gets free flights or miles only come from flying.

  • skepticalEach Airline Has Their Own Program – Most major airlines belong to partner groups, the two largest being Star Alliance and OneWorld. When you sign up for a member program, you typically earn miles when you fly on any partner airlines. You can still only use the miles on the original airline (i.e. United) but earn across all the others.
  • You Can Only Earn Miles By Flying – Many frequent flyer programs have online malls through their sites that let you buy from familiar companies (i.e. Dell, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, etc.) to earn multiple miles for each dollar spent. Choose the right bank and you can also earn miles for every dollar you spend.
  • Miles Can Only Be Used For Free Flights – More commonly, people use earned miles to get upgrades on longer flights, access airport lounges, and use the business class lines when checking in.
  • Past Flights Aren’t Redeemable – You can usually redeem miles for flights you took 3-18 months before you signed up for a frequent flyer program. Just took 3 long flights to Hong Kong from New York before signing up? You’ll still be able to earn the miles for those flights, so sign up!

One point to remember is that signing up to a frequent flyer program doesn’t hurt you in any way, even if you only earn 600 miles a year. They are free and you never know when you might have an unexpected flight half way around the world.

the milesThe Quick And Easy Ways To Earn Miles Fast

Now that you know why you should get working with frequent flyer programs, we’ve got a few minutes to get you going and all set up.

  1. Sign Up For The Major Programs – Pick you favorite Star Alliance member, the one you fly the most (or flies to most of the places you want to go). Do the same with OneWorld and Delta SkyMiles to cover most of the world’s major airlines. Once you have your three (one airline from each partner program) find the link to their miles program on this list.
  2. Redeem Miles From Past Flights – All the information you usually need is the flight number and date you took the flight. Check your email for past reservation information and add it through the miles program’s website.
  3. Get Organized – Once you’ve signed up for the various miles programs you can use Award Wallet to keep track of all your frequent flyer miles in one place.
  4. Earn Bonus Miles Right Away – Most major airlines have credit card programs that come with big bonuses for signing up. (United just ran a promotion for 50,000 miles. 20-30,000 is common for most cards.) Typically you have to spend around $250 in the first 3 months to earn the bonus miles and will earn a mile per dollar on top of that. Purchase things you normally would anyway through the mile program’s online mall and earn more on top of that – you can then cancel the card after 8 months to keep the miles and avoid the annual fee, or just keep earning miles. Be careful though to avoid the hidden underbelly of traveler debt.
  5. Don’t Forget To Enter Your Frequent Flyer Mile When Booking – It will save you time versus having to go back and enter in the flight information after the fact to redeem miles.

Frequent flyer miles from many programs do expire from if you don’t use your account for a certain period of time. Award Wallet for example, automatically keeps track of the deadlines and will email you 90 days in advance.

nomadic matts secrets to successful world travelYou’re Set To Earn And Learn More

That’s about all you need to get started, but there are still more in-depth resources you can use to take yourself from reluctant beginner to a pro.

The number of miles you need for an upgrade varies across programs but generally you can get at least that (if not a full domestic flight) just for signing up and getting some bonus miles by opening up a frequent flyer-linked credit card. That’s just the basic approach but you can also take it further by spending smart and so much more. I hope now, after this 8 minutes, you’re just a bit less reluctant and signed up to at least one frequent flyer program.

[photos by: caribb (jumbo jet at gate), Transguyjay (skeptical man), JustinLowery.com (the miles)]

Ecuador’s Government Palace At Night

by | Jun 25, 2010 | , | 6

ecuador quito presidential palace

Quito’s Independence Square in the historical downtown area is beautifully lit up at night. The square was designed in Spanish colonial style – with the presidential palace facing the Cathedral, adjacent to the City Hall. There are walking tours during the day when the square is quite active, but at night there aren’t too many tourists around. The Government Palace itself was a hive of activity well past 10pm with motorcades coming and going along with the roar of security on motorcycles who keep the palace (and the sqaure) relatively safe.

You can get an excellent view of Independence Square and its luminous churches over dinner by exploring the heights of Quito in the Parque Itchimbia area. It also happens to be a short cab ride from La Ronda Street which too glows brightly throughout the night. You can see some more of the bright buildings from Independence Square and downtown Quito in my album here.

foXnoMad 4 Years On: Updates, Quotes, And Things To Come

by | Jun 24, 2010 | | 32

red fox sleepingI don’t quite recall the first day of foXnoMad, which was 4 years ago today. It certainly wasn’t a travel blog and didn’t even have the same domain name! You can read more about the history of foXnoMad and throw yourself back to last year when I told you 15 things about foXnoMad.

A few things on that list has changed (it now takes me about 2-3 hours to complete a post, I get about 100 legitimate emails a day, and read over 400 travel blogs regularly), but I’m still typing away with enthusiasm.

eBook Sale Today

One of my proudest accomplishments was completing my first eBook, Overcoming The 7 Major Obstacles To Traveling The World, this past September. To celebrate foXnoMad’s 4th birthday it’s on sale for $5 today only. I believe it will help inspire and give you the resources to travel as much as you want – provided you’re willing to put work in to do so.

Buy NowAdd to CartBuy Now

the thinkerPersonal Philosophies

I’ve read many travel sites and articles that post quotes from well-known people but thought I’d share two of my personal philosophies with you. (Originally this post was going to be something different with these included, but didn’t work out like I thought it would.) I hope to expand this list eventually and create something with it, but here’s a start.

  • My imagination is limitless but my budget is not. If the opposite were true I would probably travel less than I do now.
  • Life is like a big science project. You can live it based on the results of other people’s experiments or be adventurous and conduct your own.

I’d love to hear some of yours, feel free to jot them down in the comments. Who knows, your comment might also be selected randomly for a $15 Amazon gift card.

fox pupThings Coming Down The Road

I had also been hoping to unveil an updated About page today but as I typically am…late! I hope to have the new about page along with a nifty new logo in the coming weeks. I’m also working on several new ebooks, a contest (with a prize trip somewhere “cool”), starting my first paper-based book, and all the while traveling.

My bi-monthly newsletter is also a good way to find out where I am and headed – plus get contest information before anyone else. Did I mention there was a big contest coming up?

I Cannot Say It Enough…Thank You

For every comment, travel suggestion, post you read, offers to let me couchsurf, kind words – I really cannot thank you enough for your support in so many ways. If there’s anything I can do to return the favor, please let me know and I’ll do my best to help. My inbox is always open to you.

travel smarter, -Anil

[photos by: Humanoide (sleeping fox), steven n fettig (Thinker), Eric Begin (fox pup)]

How To Put Your Backpack On A Diet

by | Jun 22, 2010 | , | 40

Backpacks tend to gain weight over time because their human owners get less diligent about keeping them packed light and efficiently. The longer a given trip is the more stuff that’s going to fill your backpack’s “waistline” – and you might not even notice. That is until your backpack explodes like a pipe bomb the next time you try to find your socks or you pull a back muscle.

woman on scale

Backpacks, like people, need to go on diets from time to time – or better yet, try and watch their weight over the long run. Lightening up your backpack isn’t difficult; it’s a matter of getting back to basics and what you probably already know.

Lay It All Out

You’ll underestimate the amount of stuff you pack if you get lazy and try to eyeball everything. Human beings tend to overestimate what they need and underestimate what they don’t. It’s a great survival trait but in the modern world makes us think we haven’t quite packed enough, “just in case” and the same effect goes for counting calories. (Unless you measure and count everything you eat, you’ll probably (grossly) underestimate how much you eat.)

whats in my backpack

  • Rather than guessing, layout everything you will be packing. Count the number of shirts, pants, socks, everything you’ve packed and see if there’s simply too much of one thing. Eliminate what you don’t think you’ll need and get rid of that shirt you haven’t worn in a year. Then invite a friend or family member over to take a look at everything you want to pack, sprawled out and organized by type (i.e. clothing, electronics, etc.)

Getting a second opinion is crucial as you might be tempted to pack something you really want to be useful but just quite isn’t. A second pair of eyes will also catch ways to pack more efficiently.

Use The 80% Rule

looking at backpack in mirrorStuffing every last thing you can think of into a backpack and struggling to close it while the zippers are holding on for dear life, isn’t good for your backpack or your back. The first time you pack your bags before leaving home will be the most efficient. That’s when you’ve taken the careful time to layout all of your things and fit them in as best as you can.

After all of that if your backpack is still stuffed, it’s only going to get worse down the line. Leave about 20% empty since you’re not likely to ever pack that well again.

Oh, and of course, you’ll buy souvenirs, gifts, and other things despite your best efforts not to.

Pack The Day Pack

It’s cute looking like a double-sided turtle but rather inefficient for most travelers. You can look into purchasing a folding day-pack like the REI Zip Travel Pack, and stuff it into your larger backpack or travel bag. Limiting yourself to a single bag – or just by reducing the number of bags you carry – will cut down on your overall travel weight. Once you give yourself the luxury of a large day-pack you are sure to use it and end up with two overstuffed backpacks.

Go Back To Basics

We all know that exercise and watching what we eat translates into a healthy body weight – and most of you know the basics of packing efficiently; but it’s easy to get lazy when you’re jetting around the globe.

  • Cut Down Your Cables – There are converters from USB to wall outlets and cheap USB conversion packs that will let you get rid of all those redundant cables you carry. There aren’t many standard inputs, look at the ends of your (i.e. charger) cables and toss out the ones that work with more than 1 electronic you carry.
  • Weigh Your Luggage – You don’t need a fancy luggage scale. Hop up on a regular scale without your backpack, record the weight, then hop up there with your backpack on (or luggage in hand). The difference between the two numbers is the backpack weight. Most airports also have scales for luggage near check-in lines and hotels usually have them as well.
  • Tie Extra Shoes To Your Backpack – Especially useful for business travelers who want to travel light but still get their run in at the hotel gym in the morning.

Keeping your backpack’s weight and your packing habits in check is a bit like controlling your own waistline. Rather than loading things up and going on purges in a cyclical fashion, it’s better to track and maintain healthy habits consistently over the long run. A heavy backpack does more than weigh down your back but it also burdens your mind. The easier and faster it is for you to pack before you head to your next destination, the less stressful the entire process will be and you’ll have more energy to spend improving your travels.

[photos by: kharied (woman on scale), get down (backpack contents), mynameisharsha (looking at backpack in mirror), Pink Sherbet Photography (measuring waistline)]

La Ronda Street, Quito

by | Jun 18, 2010 | | 16

la ronda quito

Located in the old downtown district of Quito, La Ronda was the high class neighborhood of the colonial days. More recently, up until its restoration in 2006 however, it was a dangerous area rarely visited by tourists or locals. Since then it’s become a lively strip where there are modern restaurants, hostels, and shops open well late into the evening. It’s also famous for its ice cream so if you’ve got a late night craving for some you know where to go.

The most striking thing about La Ronda is the police, they are practically everywhere. Literally surrounding La Ronda at the intersection of each side street and at the beginning and end of the strip, it made me wonder what it was like before 2006. That said, you may be wondering is Quito dangerous; La Ronda certainly is not.

9 Unorthodox Travel Heroes

by | Jun 17, 2010 | | 34

Inspiration to travel can come from anywhere and just about anyone. While you can’t discount the powerful influence of family and friends, many of us have been eager to explore the world, encouraged indirectly by these unintended travel icons. These figures are famous for a number of accomplishments in various fields and have fed our collective consciousness to see the world around us.

1. Gene Roddenberry

The father or Star Trek taught us to go boldly where no one had gone before. More so than the technology or the exploration of the universe, Star Trek is about examining cultures, and learning ultimately about ourselves as a species. Star Trek has taught millions that you don’t need to travel light years to intergalactic destinations to do that, while at the same time has us yearning to see the final frontier.

gene roddenberry

2. Mahatma Ghandi

Read Ghandi: An Autobiography and you’ll discover on his first trips to South Africa Ghandi brought almost nothing with him. A minimalist, he spent a great deal of thought and time trying to reduce his worldly possessions. It was a process well illustrated during his preparation for his first international trip and one many travelers can relate to.

mahatma ghandi statue

3. Dian Fossey

Zoologist Fossey spent close to 20 years studying gorillas in the mountain forests of Rwanda and was staunchly against many aspects of tourism (because of the ill effects for gorillas) – making her an unlikely travel hero. While gorilla tours remain controversial, her life, work, conservation efforts, and to some extent Gorillas In The Mist has encouraged many travelers to realize their impact on the world.

rwanda forest

4. Margaret Mead

This anthropologist’s famous book, Coming Of Age In Samoa, challenged what universal human practices were and showed what we consider as “normal” varies from culture to culture. Many travelers have also come to see that there isn’t one “right” or “standard” culture or belief system, but rather, that humanity is defined by the varieties in all of them.

margaret mead

5. Uncle Traveling Matt

Little did this Fraggle know that he would be the first trailblazer many children would meet during the 80s. He is even the famous face of Nomadic Matt on Twitter. While he eventually did return home for good, the ever clumsy, not-so-perceptive Uncle Traveling Matt’s long-term jaunt into “outer space” left many kids dreaming about exploring the world one day.

uncle traveling matt

6. Charles Darwin

He’s the reason the Galapagos Islands are so incredibly popular with tourists – Darwin visited the islands on his 5 year voyage around the world by boat on the HMS Beagle. During that time (1831-1836), Darwin charted lands, explored cultures, and documented many plants and animals on one of the most famous round-the-world trips ever.

charles darwin

7. Christiane Amanpour

Although she’s often seen reporting from war zones and many of the most dangerous places in the world, Amanpour’s nearly 30 years as a foreign correspondent has shown many travelers to look beyond the headlines.

christiane amanpour

8. Ewan McGregor And Charlie Boorman

Yes, they have motorcycled around the world, then from London to Cape Town, and the entire Americas as well and wrote one of the great motorcycle travel books. That still, it’s not the kind of adventure you would expect from two actors, who took off on a career break to follow their dreams.

long way down

9. RTWers and You

Most people think that traveling around the world is insane, impossible, or inconceivable – yet there are RTWers and many world travelers on all kinds of budgets, with and without kids, and those who travel with their pets. Every trip you take, even if you’re the first person in your family to travel abroad, inspires and shows those around you how to overcome the obstacles and travel the world.

pointing at self

You are the biggest influence and whether you’ve got support or not can show those closest to you that travel isn’t inconsequential. The names on this list didn’t set out to be trailblazers but ending up doing just that. You may not realize it but you can or might already be someone else’s unorthodox travel hero.

[photos by: sketchy record (Ghandi statue), Lukas Vermeer (Rwanda forest), celerrimus (Charles Darwin statue), WITNESS.org (Christiane Amanpour), Mandy Seyfang (Long Way Down), Fighting Tiger (pointing at self)]

About Anil Polat

foxnomad aboutHi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More

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