Frequent Flyer Points

When I got round to this first time about 10 years ago it was a lot simpler but things have improved for the better. So all you need to know:

Airline Membership Club:

Each large Airline has its own member club, smaller airlines may not have its own member club but is affiliated to another airlines member club. For example Qantas has a frequent flyer program called “Qantas Frequent Flyer”, Affiliated to this are the following airlines: JetConnect, Jetstar Airways, Qantas Link, and Air Vanuatu. So If I had a Qantas Frequent Flyer number with Qantas, I could collect points with the affiliates as well since it is all part of the same club.

Another example would be Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) with a frequent flyer program called “Eurobonus”. Affiliated to this are the following airlines:Blue 1, and Widerøe. All 3 airlines belong to the same SAS Group so I would collect Eurobonus points flying with either.

Airline Alliance Group:

Each club belongs to an Alliance group. There are 3 main groups of concern: Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Below are 3 images showing all 3 Alliances and the associated members.

One World

Star Alliance

Sky Team

So sticking to the Qantas example I can collect points with Qantas, Qantas affiliates, or Qantas Alliance partner Airlines. In this case the partner airlines are the 14 other airlines in bed with Qantas under the Alliance umbrella “Oneworld”.

Similarly if I was part of the SAS Eurobonus program then I will be able to collect points from Scandinavian Airlines or any of its 27 “Star Alliance” partners.

Which one to Choose?

1: Always choose a Frequent Flyer club that belongs to an Alliance Group.

If you select an Airline that belongs to an alliance that you will have the chance to collect points with your host membership airline and its partners. It will also allow you to spend points with the host airline or partners.

2: Always select one of the big players or your own regional airline to reap the rewards.

Eurobonus is a good example here, it also has Hotel partners and Other partners. What this means is for example is I travel from Oslo to Athens. I will collect 5630 points for the return flight, I will stay at a partner hotel like Radisson Hotel & Resorts and collect 500 points per night, I will rent a car with Avis and collect 1000 points for that transaction, and to top it all I will pay with my American Express card and collect 20 points for every 100 Norwegian Kroners I spent. So I end up collecting a fair amount of points for one trip.

3: You can have Alliance membership with all 3 if it fits your schedule.

The best way to travel is to stick to one Airlines in one Alliance group to maximize the points return. However if you live in a part of the world where getting access to one group is difficult then you should join two groups to be collecting the points.

Membership Levels

The membership tier status levels of each Alliance has a different ranking system:

Star Alliance: Silver◄ Gold ◄ Diamond

OneWorld: Ruby◄ Sapphire◄ Emerald

SkyTeam: Sky team Elite ◄ Sky team Elite Plus

The ones in Bold above is where the magic happens. Lounge access worldwide, Extra baggage allowance, Priority baggage handling are the main benefits among the other small but great gestures/rewards.

The lounge access is the most important to me as the long haul flights can be draining, so having access to warm food, drinks and a bathroom with shower facilities rocks. The other main benefits outside the airport include 2 for 1 tickets bought on points, simple flights bought with points, and using points for free hotel nights.

How much work is it to get to 2nd or 3rd tier Status?

Getting to the higher status is hard work and requires a lot of flights or some long haul flights in a higher ticket class (First or business). Most airlines allow status evolution via number of flights or simply by points earned per flight. Once you are locked into the higher status it becomes easier to earn points. For example as a Eurobonus Gold or Diamond member you earn 25% extra points for each flight. So it is worth it.

Packing Guide

A typical case scenario for my trips involve over-packing. It is inspired from the saying, “That it is better to be over prepared than under prepared”. However this is a bad habit when it comes to travelling with luggage as this reduces your mobility and can be troublesome navigating internally with a country.

So after 3 decades of packing experience, the best way to construct your packing is to categorize the different areas and make an excel check list. Cross reference this over the weather conditions, events, people you know, and the holiday type, and you have optimized your resources to some extent.

So let’s list all the important variables:

Weather: Hot, cold, rain, sun, snow, humidity, windy.

Holiday type: City, beach, mountains, skiing, hiking, caves, Adventure, wildlife.

Events: Red carpet, fancy dinner and drinks, clubbing, cocktails, wedding, parties.

People you know: Friends, family, strangers, work colleagues, Industry associates, media/press contacts.

The above should keep most people up all night thinking about what to pack but hopefully this helps.

Section 1: Electronics

Mandatory requirements for any trip is your phone & phone charger. Everything else is a choice based on where you going. Most items will not be even necessary.

• Laptop +Laptop charger vs Ipad which connects to the same iphone charger
• GoPro camera + charger + accessories vs Iphone/Android camera functionality
• SLR camera + charger + lenses vs Iphone/Android camera functionality
• Electronic toothbrush + charger vs regular toothbrush
• Hair straightener vs Hair Curler vs Blow Dryer
• USB battery pack

I have on one occasion carry about 6kg of videography/photography on a 4 day hike that was a very bad idea. So always calculate your travel routes and how much mobility is needed. Most hotels have blow dryers and ladies can book a hairdresser in the local city if additional styling is needed. Holiday type & Events is the main categories here for helping decide what really is needed.

Section 2: Medical Kit

The mandatory requirements for this varies from nothing much except for a mosquito repellent if it is a city break to location specific needs. So most cities or beach holidays have medical centers/pharmacies close by so it is all good. However if you going to a more isolated location or adventurous holiday then the following is recommended:

• First aid kit (Usual start up kit will suffice for most adventures)
• Additional painkillers (like Ibuprofen, paracetamol), charcoal tablets, antiseptic cream, band aids, hand sanitizer, Bandages, deep heat spray etc.

Holiday type decides if you need a medical kit or not.

Section 3: Vanity Kit

The mandatory requirements here are the tooth brush, tooth paste, face wash & cream, perfume. Additionally ladies need all the mandatory make up accessories, and hair washing & styling products.

There is no choice here really as most of the stuff you will need at some stage but the trick is to downsize. Most department stores sell travel size plastic bottles and containers. These are perfect to fill up your shampoo, conditioner, hair mask etc. they are all under 100ml so easy for hand luggage as well. You can also pick up hair product samples, make up samples, and men’s grooming samples from department stores so this makes it easy to travel with.

Section 4: Clothes

This is that section where all 4 categories collide & explode, creating this dark cloud from all the smoke and debris. It creates unnecessary stress, confusion, and drama. If you are a man, think twice before passing any answers or Judgment to your significant other regarding packing in this section.

So best way to navigate the packing here is the following questions:

• 1. How many days/nights are you away?
• 2. How many locations are you covering during your stay?
• 3. How many events are you attending?
• 4. How many outfits/dresses can I reuse in different events/locations?
• 5. Am I going to a country where I need to cover up because of Cultural/religious set up?
• 6. Do I need to really impress somebody?
• 7. Will they have laundry service at the location?

So let’s say for example two couples are going to a wedding in Girona next to Barcelona. The holiday is for 1 week with 3 days in Barcelona, 3 days in Girona and then the final night back in Barcelona before flying out. All friends and family will be in attendance from the Girona part of the vacation. So automatically you have this plan:

• 1. You need your one main wedding outfit
• 2. You can use the same long dress, short dress and Bikinis in both locations and no one will really know except for the travelling group of 4. So this reduces your packing of clothes by 50%. Mix and match of trousers/Shirts or Skirts or pants with Blouses is the key here.
• 3. Hotel in Girona will press the dress and suit for the wedding, do laundry from the few days before.
• 4. The chances of you meeting some random strangers from Girona and Barcelona in your same clothes are quite rare so don’t worry.

Section 5: Shoes

The weather is the main factor here and flip flops/ runners are usually the front runners for summer, big ass snow boots for winter. All other shoes should be matched accordingly to the outfits planning from section 4. Remember the shoes are easier to match and if all else fails go with black.

Section 6: Shopping Space

The chances of you buying something is quite high if you are on a city break or beach holiday so do make some space for buying new gear. Often all you need is your passport and credit card for a trip, the rest can be optional as you can buy it when away.