66 Search Results for frequent flyer challenge

Travel

Travel Hacking in Early 2013

Every year when the calendar rolls around to January 1, it's time for me to get back out on the road. I love travel and I love doing events—I've been in eight cities in the past ten days—but I also have to get back to work on requalifying my elite status with all my favorite airlines and hotels.

Last year I hit the mark for the highest status with American Airlines, Hyatt, and Hilton hotels. This year I'm hoping to requalify for each, with the addition of more Starwood stays to earn the highest status with them as well.

Why bother? Because it makes my traveling life easier, and also because it's fun.

31 Comments

Life

Small Things Can Keep Us from Big Things

Lately I've felt that I'm doing well at the small things, but failing to plan for more involved work. It's not that the small things are inconsequential—or so I tell myself. If you also struggle with doing small things well but neglecting the bigger picture, it's time to take action. The only way to break the pattern is to force ourselves to look ahead and answer the question:

What, exactly, am I trying to build here?

Travel

Annual Review: Every AONC Article from 2009

After beginning in early 2008, 2009 was the first full year of AONC articles. It’s also been a pretty full year in general! This wrap-up post includes every article that was published during the year, in chronological order.

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Travel

The Latest in Travel Hacking

This is a story that involves a) a frustrating series of calls to Expedia, b) a way to repay Expedia's unhelpfulness by giving many of you $200, c) my attempts to order a total of $16,500 coins from the U.S. Mint, d) a Lasik eye exam in pursuit of Delta SkyMiles, and much more.

Et Cetera

Site Update: May 2009

This overdue monthly update comes to you from the Dominican Republic – I’m actually not there now, but that’s where I wrote most of this update, so we’ll call it good. *** Each month I look back at what’s happened with ChrisGuillebeau.com in the previous month. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up…

44 Comments

Work

Building Influence to Gain Widespread Authority

This is a more advanced look at how I've been able to build the AONC site into a diverse community over the past year.

I've already written 79 pages about this subject, so this follow-up is mostly for the 50,000 people who have read that report so far. What I want to do in this article is focus on using multiple spheres of influence to create widespread, perceived authority.

One of the most important parts of developing a following is answering the “reason why” question and proving yourself to be an authority on at least one thing other people care passionately about.

Site Updates

Site Update: April 2009

This morning I ran 14-15 miles through Mount Tabor Park here in Portland (see photo). It was my longest run of the year so far, and I was definitely helped by the fact that the weather was perfect. *** Each month I look back at what’s happened with ChrisGuillebeau.com in the previous month. If you’ve…

Site Updates

Site Update: March 2009

This update comes to you live from Mahébourg, Mauritius. Where’s Mauritius? Well, it’s a small island in the Indian ocean, a few hours east of Southern Africa. No matter where you come from, it takes a long time to get here. I came in from London, and it took 12 hours of flying. Mauritius is…

21 Comments

Travel

24 Ways to Travel for (Almost) Free

Several times a year I check into a Sheraton hotel that is free to me. Most of the time, the check-in clerk mentions my Gold status. “Thank you for giving us your business,” she says. “No problem,” I reply. “Thanks for giving me free rooms.”

“Thank you for giving us your business,” she says. “No problem,” I reply. “Thanks for giving me free rooms.”

6 Comments

Site Updates

Site Update: January-February 2009

This site update comes to you live from Tokyo’s Narita airport, where I’m on my way home from two weeks in Asia. At the moment I’m in between Hong Kong and LAX, and just 18 hours away from getting back to Seattle. I’d like to begin this update with a big shout-out to the American…

13 Comments

Travel

Bangkok Adventures

The Japanese man sitting next to me looks back and forth between the video and me. Finally, he takes off his headphones and asks, “Wrong movie?”

Yes. Wrong movie.

The wrong movie plays for nearly three minutes before it is turned off by a flight attendant. She comes on the p.a. after another three minutes. “Ladies and gentlemen… sorry… we can’t find the arrival video for Japan. If you have any questions about Japan, let us know.”

Other than that, the 11-hour flight across the Pacific is uneventful. I arrive in Narita and quickly transfer to a Cathay Pacific flight for Hong Kong. Another five hours goes by as I fitfully sleep in the back of the plane.

Travel

The Latest in Travel Hacking

In what now feels like a previous life, I used to travel around the world almost every month. I slowed down a bit two years before the pandemic started, but I still took time for an international trip every six weeks at most.

I was also involved in the early days of the "travel hacking" world. I founded a service, the Travel Hacking Cartel, that served 12,000 members over nearly a decade. I also blogged regularly about credit card deals and other interesting opportunities: getting a hair-loss consultation to earn SkyMiles, for example, or spending $8,000 on useless stickers in exchange for 300,000 frequent flyer miles.

I don't do much work in that world any more, but I still benefit from everything I learned and all the mileage balances I accrued over the years.

If you originally found my blog for travel deals, you might miss hearing about them—so I figured I'd pop my head up to do an extended post for those who are interested.

Work

101 Stories of People with Day Jobs Creating Side Hustles

On January 1, I began a new project: to publish a story every day of someone who starts an income-generating project (a "side hustle") without quitting their day job.

The project failed and I decided to give up. Just kidding! We are relentlessly moving along, publishing story after story—and it's getting better and better!

I recently completed the first 100 days. There's much more to come, but I'm excited about everything I've learned since beginning back in January.

If you're just joining in, you can also catch up on any recent episode from the links below.

Download all episodes from each month:
January | February | March | April

Work

30 Days of Side Hustle School: Cruising for Dollars, Six-Figure Candy Hearts, and Saddles for Pet Chickens

On January 1, I started a daily podcast that will continue throughout the year. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m having a lot of fun.

Best of all, a lot of people are learning from the show and starting their own hustles.

If you’re new to the show, it’s not too late to jump in. You can start listening at any point and not feel left out, but it may help to go back and listen to some of the earlier episodes.

You can then add them to your home library on iTunes, Sonos, or presumably any other player that you prefer. You can also catch up on any recent episode from the links in this post.

Travel

The Best Travel Hacking Advice for People Who Can’t Get Credit Cards

I write about travel hacking a lot on the blog (and much more in the Cartel), and I always try to point people to the best available deals and opportunities. Some of these opportunities are for credit card signup bonuses, something I’ve been experimenting with for years, ever since first applying for 13 cards of my own on the same day way back in 2009.

Of course, not everyone is able or eligible to get these bonuses—so what else is out there? There’s actually a ton. Credit cards are an easy way to earn a big boost of miles and points in many different programs, but they aren’t the only way.

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66 Search Results for frequent flyer challenge

Download all episodes from each month: January | February | March | April

Download all episodes from each month:
January | February | March | April