Why are we so excited about Airmiles?

We think that airmiles are the greatest invention since the airplane itself! Why? Because airmiles are essentially what enable us to take amazing trips to distant places while paying nothing or only a nominal fee for airfare. We have used airmiles to travel to Europe, Central America, and Hawaii, and plan to use them for many more trips to come!

So, what are airmiles? Airmiles (aka frequent flyer miles or rewards programs) are points that all major airlines allow you to collect that can then be redeemed for air travel (or other products and services). A point is generally earned for each mile that you fly and/or each dollar that you spend. Why is this such a great thing? Because it is actually not that difficult to collect a significant number of airmiles -- through strategic travel choices, wise credit card use, and being savvy about how you make everyday purchases and payments. For example, purchasing a gift on a store's website rather than in person will often net you airmiles, and often several airmiles for each dollar spent, plus a dollar for each mile on your credit card. To sweeten the deal, sometimes stores even give you a slight discount for purchasing an item online and even throw in free shipping!

If you are strategic about what you do with the airmiles once that you have them, it often works out for some rather exceptional deals -- like visiting Provence or Hawaii during peak seasons when ticket prices are the most expensive, or making trips to locations that are always expensive, for example, Asia, the South Pacific, and Australia. This is why we are excited about airmiles! They essentially enable us to do more of the thing that we love most and to visit amazing places that would ordinarily be out of our financial reach.

So, how do you get started, what rewards programs are best, and how do you get started?! More to come in upcoming posts...