TravelStories Episode 34: Chatting with Nick Reyes of FrequentMiler

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Chatting with Nick Reyes of FrequentMiler

Episode 34: Show Notes.

Few things are as exhilarating as a competitive travel challenge among like-minded peers! Speaking of birds of a feather, today we are joined by fellow travel enthusiast and author, Nick Reyes. Nick is a prime example of how to follow your travel dreams even when your wallet says that you can't, and today, he shares both new and old travel hacks that will help you conquer your next travel challenge! We learn about the evolution of Avianca’s lifemiles program, the flop of Nick's first redemption versus the joys of his most successful one, and how bucket-list adventures are more accessible than you may realize. We also discuss Nick's most complicated (yet worthwhile) travel hack before exploring the wonders of travel as education, the benefits of various rewards programs, the value of reviewing rewards charts, and how to properly plan for a long trip. To end, Nick Reyes shares even more helpful advice for saving time and money on your adventures around the world.

Key Points From This Episode:

• [00:40] FTU: How Trevor and Thomas met today's guest, Nick Reyes.
• [04:30] How miles and points have evolved since 2013, and assessing Avianca's lifemiles program.
• [08:04] Nick's first redemption.
• [12:44] Highlights from his first (successful) miles redemption trip.
• [15:06] How once-in-a-lifetime trips become more accessible with miles and points.
• [18:23] Exploring the wonders of travel as education.
• [23:09] The most complicated travel hack that Nick has ever executed.
• [34:30] Unpacking various unassuming rewards programs that come with big payoffs.
• [35:20] How flying from certain regions saves points and money, and the value of reviewing reward charts.
• [42:22] The ins and outs of Nick's latest travel challenge and how he's planning for it.
• [46:20] Why it's important to thoroughly plan your travel, and how to go about it.
• [48:48] Time and money-saving travel tips.
• [53:18] How to connect with Nick Reyes.

Quotes:

“Before I discovered miles and points, my wife and I already had the travel itch. And so, we would work really hard, sometimes 60; 70; 80 hours a week, and then we would take a month or two off and go travel somewhere as cheaply as we could.” — @NickatFM [08:26]

“When we traveled on a shoestring budget back in the day, it was always like, 'Well, we're probably never going to be here again so we've got to see and do everything that we can'. And not having that pressure because of miles and points is such an incredibly liberating feeling.” — @NickatFM [15:32]

“[My kids] are learning geography not just by looking at it in a book and memorizing it for a test, but by going to places and seeing things. I think that's incredibly exciting because that's certainly not a world I grew up living in, nor one that I thought I'd be able to provide for my family someday.” — @NickatFM [19:36]

“Air Canada's Aeroplan has been something that has really inspired me to be interested in trying to push the boundaries, because their reward chart was made for people like us that get excited about figuring out, 'Okay, how far can I go? What can I do?'.” — @NickatFM [23:46]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Nick Reyes on LinkedIn

Nick Reyes on Instagram

Nick Reyes on X

Frequent Miler

FT Association | FTU

Avianca lifemiles

Air Canada Aeroplan

Etihad

Turkish Airlines

Eat With

Thomas Kim on X

Trevor Mountcastle on X

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