Travel for FREE with the best miles & points blogs

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Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, series, or news.

Today (June 20, 2014): travel tips: travel for FREE with the best miles & points blogs

Many airlines and hotels have their own loyalty programs that allow you to earn points or miles that are redeemable for free flights, upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals or shopping. Everybody should participate in these programs as they can save you tons of money by travelling (almost for) free as well as offer you tons of other perks. However, it does take quite some effort to get some basic knowledge of how to collect miles & points in the most efficient manner. One of the best tips is to subscribe to the newsletters of expert bloggers, so that you will be instantly updated on promotions and tricks for earning or spending your precious miles or hotel points.

I hereby list my 6 favorite blogs, that have helped me to travel for free (I will have my own frequent flyer section on this blog in the very near future). Click the title (in red) to be directly directed to the blog. Share your opinion in the poll at the bottom of the page.

1. THE POINTS GUY

Brian Kelly is The Points Guy. Through his earning strategies and travel savvy, Brian was able to book exciting and extravagant trips for next to nothing, flying first class and staying at luxury hotels all for the cost of a coach ticket and a hostel bed. In 2010, Brian brought his passion for travel to the masses and became The Points Guy, sharing his points and miles insights with eager readers worldwide via his website. Due to the immense interest in his tips and advice, Brian left his job on Wall Street in June 2011 to grow his site and travel the world full-time. ThePointsGuy.com now has over 900,000 unique monthly visitors, and Brian has a staff of six writers keeping his readers up to date on important points and travel news.

2. MILLION MILE SECRET

Daraius Dubash, the owner of Million Mile Secret, has earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points – most of which he acquired for free and without flying in airplanes or staying in hotels. Daraius writes the Million Mile Secrets blog to show time-starved folks how, they too, can acquire airline miles and hotel points, and travel very comfortably to see the world, for a fraction of what they would otherwise pay for such travels. By reading Million Mile Secrets you will learn Daraius’ secrets to fly for much less, stay in wonderful hotels for much less, and rent cars for much less than retail price. But Daraius believes using your miles and points to travel shouldn’t require a degree in Accounting! That’s why he started Million Mile Secrets. Daraius presents the information in a helpful way that anyone can understand.

Read my interview in the Million Mile Secret blog here.

3. LOYALTY LOBBY

John Ollila, the author of LoyaltyLobby, has been traveling non-stop since 2004 for both business and leisure. Originally from Finland, John studied at the Helsinki School of Economics before accepting a scholarship to the United States where he completed an MBA in Finance at a notable university. While he had already taken his first around-the-world trip at age 20, John’s MBA and his skill at analyzing hotel and airlines programs ignited a wanderlust that has taken him to over 80 countries and continues to this day. As a cosmopolitan, John has spent the last 10 years staying in the world’s finest hotels, visiting world-class cities and enjoying the perks of First Class airline travel, all by strategically making use of hotel and airline loyalty programs. Annually John flies 150,000-250,000 miles and through his travels has earned more than ten million frequent flyer and hotel points thus earning him top-tier elite status in all airline alliances and major hotel chains.Through LoyaltyLobby, John shares his unique analysis and tips on how to strategically maximize your hotel and airlines miles and points earning power for you to enjoy free flights, free hotel nights and upgrades.

4. VIEW FROM THE WING

The View from the Wing blog is another terrific blog with updates on the latest news in the world of miles and points. The blog is written by Gary Leff, who is a Chief Financial Officer for a university research center. He’s also a director of a non-profit that provides networking and professional development opportunities for young people in policy, politics, and journalism. In addition to blogging about his miles and points obsession in his blog , he co-founded Milepoint.com, a place for frequent flyers to meet and learn using the latest technology. From 2003 through the beginning of 2011, Gary served as a moderator of Flyertalk.com and on Flyertalk’s member-elected TalkBoard. He was a founding Senior Moderator and also the longest-serving TalkBoard President, from 2005 until he stepped down from his volunteer roles on the site to focus on co-founding Milepoint.

5. ONE MILE AT A TIME

Ben Schlappig (Lucky) is a travel consultant, author, and avid points collector. He travels over 300,000 miles per year and spends around 100 nights per year in hotels. He has visited over 40 countries on six continents, and loves sharing tricks about how others can maximize miles and points to do the same! The purpose of his One Mile at a Time bog is to share his travel experiences – those both in the air and on the ground – and stay updated on the latest in the travel industry, from promotions to program changes to mergers. Ben has been cited as a travel expert in many publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, InsideFlyer, and The Australian Business Journal.

6. HEAD FOR POINTS

Head for Points is the only widely-read UK site dedicated to collecting airmiles and hotel loyalty points. If you have an Avios account or are an enthusiastic British Airways Executive Club, Virgin Flying Club, Hilton HHonors, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, Heathrow Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards etc member, then this is the place you have been looking for! There are usually three new posts each day. About 50% of the posts on Head for Points are about Avios points – how to earn them easily and cheaply and how to spend them most effectively.