As I write my two final posts prior to my Monday start in the Loyalty Department, I am absolutely blown away by the support and encouragement that I have received from PointsNerd readers. I want to convey a very heartfelt THANK YOU for everything you have done for me, the most important of which was giving me a chance to have my voice heard!
I plan on writing a post with some of my best practices for getting most out of the miles and points you earn as well as how to save the most money possible when you actually have to pay for something you can’t redeem for. In short, I’ll be telling you my secrets … I mean I’ve told them in the past but this will be a concise reference for those that don’t want to read through 275 posts.
That Amazing Feeling
I don’t know about you, but for me, the feeling that you get when you pull off something that most think is impossible is an amazing feeling. When you’re redeeming for Business and First Class flights and netting 15¢+ per mile redeemed, you get a special tingly feeling that most don’t get to experience. Juxtapose that against the stories you hear about people are redeeming their Aeroplan Miles for toasters and gift cards that nets them a return of 0.8¢ per point.
Redeeming for great value is one thing but actually getting on that flight and experiencing the best that airlines have to offer, that’s another thing entirely. The culmination of all your hard work manifests itself into a HUGE smile the moment you push back from the gate.
The minute I get in my First Class seat that I paid less than $100 for, I’m often reminded of this commercial:
Tell Me Your Stories
Quite a few of you have reached out to me to thank me for the guides that I have made available and the resulting redemptions that you have been able to secure.
To be honest, these emails kept me going when readership was low and I would receive 80 views a day on the site. I loved hearing about all the amazing things that people have been able to do with their points, the wonderful destinations people visit, and the life experiences people have had while traveling.
In order to help the site grow, I would love to be able to share your success stories with newcomers to PointsNerd so I’m asking for a favor.
If the PointsNerd blog or I have helped you achieve your travel goals in any way, please tell me about it. We would like to start featuring success stories so that you can serve as an inspiration for those that haven’t yet had the same success.
I find that these stories serve to both inspire and educate. There have been many occasions where someone’s success story has opened up a new way of thinking about a redemption for me. Understanding that there are new possibilities that I hadn’t considered in the past really does open up your mind and give you additional options for when you want to plan your perfect trip.
As I had mentioned in a previous post, I want to get the readers involved to create a community so we can all become PointsNerds.
If you would like to share your stories, please email them to success@pointsnerd.ca and we’ll help you to get your stories posted on the blog and most likely featured in its own section of the site!
If you want a bit of inspiration, you can check out a couple of the previously posted success stories from Lorainne and Lisa.