08 Oct Book Review: PointsAway The Complete Edition

Travel hacking has long been a pastime for me—while in college, I discovered the art of collecting miles and points and redeeming them to travel for very low costs. Over the years, we have taken trips to places such as Belgium, France, Iceland, Norway, UK, Ireland, as well as various places around the States, and using travel hacking strategies has made them all very affordable. I have written in the past about how much we have saved by implementing this strategy, and largely, it’s the only reason we have been able to travel as much as we have the past few years.

I have spent countless hours of my life reading and researching strategies and best practices, so when Casey from PointsAway contacted me about his new book, I had to take a look to see what new information I could learn. I’m glad I gave it a read and wanted to share it with you in case you want to find out more about this crazy world of travel hacking!

The book is a great resource for those who are new to travel hacking and also those who want to dive deeper into miles and points. Although I knew many of the tricks discussed throughout the book, I did learn a few new ones, and I learned a lot about the details of the specific airline programs, such as their specific rules and how to earn elite status—this is something I had always skipped over in the past. Plus, it’s great to have a book on hand that I can reference any time I have a question. I would definitely recommend checking out this book! You can save so much money by collecting points, and it opens up a whole new world of opportunities to travel to places you never thought you could afford. Even if you don’t travel often, this book will pay for itself multiple times over if you get even one free flight out of the strategies you will learn.

So, what’s all included in the book, you might be wondering? I’ll give you a basic rundown of my favorite points and subjects you will find inside. Casey starts out by explaining how he got into collecting miles and points, and then he explores the possibilities offered by travel hacking. He then moves on to discussing credit scores—what they are and what they mean—which is a very important subject when thinking about travel hacking. Another important topic is signing up for credit cards to earn miles, and you will find details on various card options, bonuses, fees, and the like. Casey also explains how to value miles and points, and he goes into details about fees, taxes and surcharges on award redemptions, as well as the benefits of stopovers and open-jaw tickets and how to book them.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the discussion of the specific airline and hotel award programs—with detailed information on airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, United, Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Jet Blue, and hotels such as Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton, you will learn the ins and outs of the programs and how to best redeem and strategize for your miles. I was also very intrigued by the Amtrack section—I had never considered riding trains in the U.S., and didn’t even realize that they have a loyalty program where you can earn miles.

Overall, I think the book is a really great resource if you are looking to dig into the world of miles and points or even if you just want a brief overview. I would highly recommend checking it out—you will learn a lot of tricks and it’s nice to have everything in one place rather than hunting and pecking around online for bits and pieces of information. You can purchase the PointsAway book on iBooks, Kindle or PDF Edition, or head to their website for even more detailed information.

Do you ever travel hack? What’s been your favorite experience that’s come about from using miles and points?

Special thanks to PointsAway for providing me with a copy of their book for review. All opinions are my own.