Earning miles/points in 2018? KISS..

Lot of us who use miles/points for travel gets obsessed with it and collect miles/points which due to our constraints are lying idle without being used. We wait on using certain miles/points for the time when it would give the best value forgetting that while they are lying idle they have zero value and there is always a chance they will expire without we even using them. 

So here is my plan for this year. I am going to Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) so that while I still enjoy the miles/points I have, I do not drain lot of energy and time in preserving them. Here are few of the things I plan to do this year:

Redeem Miles/Points in airline / hotel programs which are not my primary usage programs:
All of us who collect miles/points would have invested in airline/ hotel programs due to one off flights which we can credit only on specific program to get good value. If we are not an active person in this program we would scramble to get any value out of these programs. Worst case we do not use the miles at all. So here is what I plan to do:

• See if I have enough miles to redeem for any flights this year? If yes, use it even though I might just get 1 cent/point or lesser value.
• If I do not have enough miles in the program for flights, I will check the next best options like gift cards (which I can use or cash out), hotel reservations at stand alone hotels, or any activity redemption which I can use. 

Maintain Miles/Points in programs with looks great value with regards to my future travel destinations:
I usually know which are the places I want to visit in future. At least the one's within the next one year. Here is what are I am going to do.

• Maintain enough points I think I would need in specific programs without going overboard in collecting them. For e.g. crediting my flight miles to program which I am going to use even at 50% earning rate is better than crediting to program which would earn 100% miles but I have no plans of using it. 
• Earn points in program which either Do Not Expire or I am an active elite member so I know that I am not going to spend lot of time on worrying about their usage or expiration.

Maximize collection of flexible point currencies:
If you are able to get credit cards in U.S.A or which ever country you are in which collects flexible points transferable to airline miles or hotel points or can be used for directly booking flights/hotels then those are the golden in these times. Here is my plan for flexible points.

• Use credit cards which provide flexible points earning. These include Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi Thankyou points, SPG Points.
• Use credit cards which earn points that can be redeemed for revenue airlines tickets or hotels or car rental directly such as US Bank Altitude Reserve Card, Barclays Arrival+ etc.

So, lets have another great year of travel and maximize our time and life experiences while worrying less about all those expiring miles and points!

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