A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free • Hacker News Board

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#101

Post by qq66 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 12:57 AM UTC

saryant wrote: post #30

I spend more time than I should in the churning/FF communities (all of which are centered around FlyerTalk). It's fun. Ben's blog is one of the few I follow, most aren't that great. Frequent Miler is a solid resource, as is Wandering Aramean, but nothing beats being active on FlyerTalk itself. In the last five years I've managed to earn and spend about 1.5 million miles and points, with maybe 50k airline miles from a…

I'd add a criteria d): you truly enjoy flying. I know a person who does this and the thing that makes it work for him is that he truly just loves the experience of being in an airplane, and looking down and marveling at the incredulity of the experience. If you don't feel that way about flying, then the whole hobby becomes more of an unpaid job.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#102

Post by saryant » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:01 AM UTC

rasz_pl wrote: post #99

roflmyeggo wrote: post #92

These type of communities tend to remind me of the "extreme couponing" crowd and the like. Sure you can get some free stuff, but at what price? What if you took that time and invested it in bettering your skill sets, etc.?

Like couponing its a hobby for people with limited skill-set.

As someone who's both heavy into this hobby and a software engineer at a major tech company, I'm going to disagree. I get to fly around the world having fun while spending very little.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#103

Post by saryant » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:03 AM UTC

qq66 wrote: post #101

saryant wrote: post #30

I spend more time than I should in the churning/FF communities (all of which are centered around FlyerTalk). It's fun. Ben's blog is one of the few I follow, most aren't that great. Frequent Miler is a solid resource, as is Wandering Aramean, but nothing beats being active on FlyerTalk itself. In the last five years I've managed to earn and spend about 1.5 million miles and points, with maybe 50k airline miles from a…

I'd add a criteria d): you truly enjoy flying. I know a person who does this and the thing that makes it work for him is that he truly just loves the experience of being in an airplane, and looking down and marveling at the incredulity of the experience. If you don't feel that way about flying, then the whole hobby becomes more of an unpaid job.

When I redeem points, the flight is part of it, but it's really about the destination. A year ago I used my points to fly first class to attend ScalaDays in Berlin. Last November, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong over two weeks. Earlier this year, five weeks in Southeast Asia.

I would say you have to enjoy travel. If you don't like flying and don't care for international travel, yeah, it's not a hobby you'd enjoy.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#104

Post by jonknee » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:05 AM UTC

ngoel36 wrote: post #95

misterbwong wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to see another FT'er on HN. I've earned/burned about the same volume of points as you and can attest that this hobby is awesome, with some caveats. For the beginners out there: 1. Be sure to read as much about earning miles as redeeming them. Both sides are equally important and redeeming is actually getting much more difficult. 2. Don't let the newbie blogs lure you into hitting credit cards too hard. Banks are…

Also - stay organized. Every credit card should be accompanied with a spreadsheet entry with all details (un/pw, bonus, etc.), entry into Mint, auto-pay, and calendar reminders (end of free annual fee, etc.). Very easy to slip and forget, or not keep track of getting your actual bonus. Of course - do not do this if you don't intend to pay your balance immediately. Any interest charges quickly undo the ROI. Just got b…

> Every credit card should be accompanied with a spreadsheet entry with all details (un/pw, bonus, etc.)

Don't store usernames and passwords in a spreadsheet, use a password manager.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#105

Post by qq66 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:09 AM UTC

saryant wrote: post #103

qq66 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd add a criteria d): you truly enjoy flying. I know a person who does this and the thing that makes it work for him is that he truly just loves the experience of being in an airplane, and looking down and marveling at the incredulity of the experience. If you don't feel that way about flying, then the whole hobby becomes more of an unpaid job.

When I redeem points, the flight is part of it, but it's really about the destination. A year ago I used my points to fly first class to attend ScalaDays in Berlin. Last November, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong over two weeks. Earlier this year, five weeks in Southeast Asia. I would say you have to enjoy travel . If you don't like flying and don't care for international travel, yeah, it's not a hobby you'd enjoy.

Oh, I was talking about the activity of flying to a destination and immediately returning, just for the miles.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#106

Post by saryant » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:10 AM UTC

qq66 wrote: post #105

saryant wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I redeem points, the flight is part of it, but it's really about the destination. A year ago I used my points to fly first class to attend ScalaDays in Berlin. Last November, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong over two weeks. Earlier this year, five weeks in Southeast Asia. I would say you have to enjoy travel . If you don't like flying and don't care for international travel, yeah, it's not a hobby you'd enjoy.

Oh, I was talking about the activity of flying to a destination and immediately returning, just for the miles.

Yeah, I find that nuts. I don't do mileage runs personally, I just don't have time. Plus they're not nearly as profitable anymore.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#107

Post by 1stranger » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:12 AM UTC

saryant wrote: post #78

mavhc wrote: post #70

Seems like he's causing a lot of pollution

Actually, no. Airlines only release seats for award redemption if they don't believe they can sell them. Therefore, he's only taking up seats that would otherwise go empty on flights that are going to fly anyways.

Even assuming the seat would have gone unfilled his body adds additional weight that requires additional fuel.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#108

Post by personjerry » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:18 AM UTC

raldi wrote: post #75

post_break wrote: post #31

Don't you have to worry about radiation at some point? I mean flying 300 days out of the year has to add up.

Some people spend their entire careers working as pilots or flight attendants.

Right, and as the article linked to above points out, they are at increased risk of various cancers.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#109

Post by ersii » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:25 AM UTC

hobo_mark wrote: post #60

maaku wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can start using credit cards.

Not to pay rent, and I spend very little on anything else.

Not quite so! At least for Sweden, you can use https://www.betalo.se/ to pay any bill - like your rent. Some credit card companies partner with 'em and waive the fees. (I'm not affiliated with Betalo or any Credit Card company what so ever)

Also, let me remind everyone that Europe is not super small either. There's a lot of diversity. In the Nordic parts, people basically only use debit/credit cards for example. For good and bad, cash is getting rarer here.

Re: A Man Who Flies Around the World for Free

#110

Post by ghaff » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 1:28 AM UTC

saryant wrote: post #100

ghaff wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And frankly, if you're in the situation posited at the top of your comment, you may be better off just taking 1% Amazon points or whatever. (Or even a higher % for travel-related expenses on some credit cards.) It's often a lower exchange in theory but it's a lot more fungible and easier to spend than miles.

If you're in that situation, you're probably best off earning one of the flexible currencies like Chase's Ultimate Rewards or Amex's Membership Rewards. You can redeem for a statement balance or transfer to one of their partners. If you do just want cashback, Fidelity has a straight-up 2% cashback card.

I actually use the Chase Sapphire Rewards card but I should probably look into the Fidelity as most of my points seem to end up getting shifted into Amazon anyway. It's a little complicated because of the minimum to get to 2% but it's probably a better deal than my free Chase Amazon card in any case.

Thanks!