How many of us can say that we’ve taken a shower at 35,000 feet in the air? Chris Park didn’t think it was something he could ever imagine doing three years ago. Thanks to a few tweaks in his spending, credit card choices and guidance from a platform for one of Australia’s biggest community of frequent flyers and rewards point experts, Point Hacks, the 42-year-old finance professional has been able to accumulate more than 3 million frequent flyer points in three years, allowing him to enjoy premium class travel perks at no extra expense.
Most of Chris’s point redemptions have been personal Business and First Class flights with various airlines from Qantas and Cathay Pacific to Thai Airways. One of his most memorable point-redemption experiences was a First Class Auckland-Melbourne flight on Emirates with his wife. Chris used 108,000 points, plus a $142 fee in taxes and charges, for the two seats. Without the points, Chris would never have been able to shower on an A380 and try a $1000 bottle of cognac, which he admits is “always a ridiculous and crazy thing to say”. Normally, two First Class seats on an Emirates Auckland-Melbourne flight is $2990 – an expense that Chris would never personally incur.
While he has done it before, Chris dreams of going on another oneworld round-the-world trip purely on points, this time incorporating two vacations into one redemption booking. A scuba diving enthusiast, Chris would like to travel Egypt for its perfect diving conditions, as well as South Africa, Tanzania or even Iceland.
Chris says he came across the idea of point-hacking by chance. “In 2016, I needed to get a new credit card, so I did some research. I must have read around six blogs a day to find the right credit card for me, which led me to Point Hacks,” he says.
From his research, Chris signed up for a card that earned him a sign-up bonus of 100,000 Qantas Points. “When I got myself a points-earning credit card, I asked myself what everyday transactions I can shift to my card to maximise the points. Point hacking is about translating your everyday spend into points without increasing your spending or having to change your lifestyle,” Chris says.
Chris believes that Point Hacks addresses a gap in the market, as only a few frequent flyer blogs are Australian-focused. He was able to pick up more unconventional ways to earn points. Buying an online newspaper subscription (which earned Chris 20,000 British Airways Avios), taking out life insurance, referring friends to credit cards, and shopping through points-earning malls are a few ways Chris has accumulated his 3 million points in three years. He also gets points for tracking his walking via the Qantas Wellbeing app, which rewards members with points just for being active. Chris is now a member of 54 rewards programs, including hotel loyalty memberships.
Chris has also bought around 250,000 points across programs such as Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan, a little-known hack that is used often by dedicated point hackers. “I only buy points to top up my points balance for an award flight or upgrade. Collecting points is easy – finding the flights you want is 75 per cent of the challenge.
“My point-hacking philosophy is that, rather than giving you free travel – nothing is free – it allows you to travel in a level of comfort most people cannot afford. It’s about how you can earn points by doing what you’ve always been doing and no matter what stage in life you are at,” says Chris.
Frequent flyer expert and Point Hacks’ spokesperson, Daniel Sciberras, says: “The fastest way to earn points is to sign up to rewards credit cards offering bonus points, with many of them offering in excess of 100,000 points for new cardholders. Just make sure to put all your spending on these credit cards and pay the balance in full every month, as any interest charges will negate the value you get from earning points.”
Daniel also emphasises that redeeming points for Premium Economy, Business or First Class flights is the best way to maximise their value. “The general advice by Point Hacks is to redeem points on flights, especially in premium cabins. As in Chris’ case, these flights generally have a high cash cost and redeeming points for these flights is generally the better option than paying with cash. Remember though that if you are looking to redeem points for flights, try and be as flexible as possible about your travel dates and flight routes.”
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