Welcome to Prince of Travel, T.J.!

I’m delighted to introduce my good friend T.J. as the first official regular contributor here at Prince of Travel.

Bringing on additional voices to add further colour to the blog has always been an inevitable next step as the website grows, but it has taken me a long time to find someone who was the right fit. I’ve always been on the lookout for individuals with a talent for writing, a knack for navigating the twists and turns of the Miles & Points landscape, and an incurable wanderlust for travelling the world that matches my own.

Well, having known him for quite some time now, I’m happy to say that T.J. possesses all these qualities and more, and I think you’ll find great value and enjoyment in his contributions.

T.J. will be pitching in regularly with Miles & Points guidance and advice, in-depth research on earning and redeeming opportunities I haven’t covered before, travel tips and anecdotes from his own trips, and the occasional airline or hotel review that Prince of Travel readers might find valuable (such as his EgyptAir 787 business class review from last month).

Going forward, you can expect to see T.J.’s work published once every few weeks or so, with the vast majority of content continuing to be delivered by yours truly – although depending on how things go, I may get T.J.’s help with posting slightly more frequently when I’m on the road travelling.

Without further ado, I’ll allow T.J. to introduce himself to the Prince of Travel reader base in his own words, with his first official article scheduled to be published later this week.

Hi everyone!

My name is T.J., and I am a passionate miles, points, and travel enthusiast.

I am grateful to be welcomed as a contributor to Prince of Travel, which I consider to be Canada’s foremost resource for all things travel. I have benefited greatly from Ricky’s blog over the years, and I hope to add to the wealth of information about how to best earn and burn your points.

My journey into the Miles & Points world began in early 2017 when my wife and I were planning our wedding. We had a lot of spending to do, and I decided to explore how we could convert that spending into business class flights for our honeymoon.

After that goal was quickly reached, I set my sights on staying in fancy hotels and stretching out our trip for as long as possible. What began as a few weeks in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe soon turned into two months spent in planes, trains, automobiles, and hot air balloons across Turkey, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, all thanks to maximizing the value of our travel points.

View of a sunset over the yacht club at Le Méridien Lav, Split, Croatia, June 2018.

After sipping on champagne in the United Polaris Lounge in Chicago and being treated to Do & Co catering and lie-flat seats on my first long-haul business class flight with Turkish Airlines, I knew that my travel game had forever changed for the better.

Onboard Turkish Airlines business class , my first long-haul business class redemption, June 2018. — Onboard Turkish Airlines business class, my first long-haul business class redemption, June 2018.

As I became more experienced with Miles & Points, I found that engaging with others in the community (both online and offline) provides a fantastic opportunity for sharing tips, tricks, and inspiration.

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to participate in or organize a meet up in your community, as you always have something to give (and a lot to learn).

Awaiting my ride to Lufthansa First Class , September 2019. — Awaiting my ride to Lufthansa First Class, September 2019.

Prior to discovering the delight of travelling with points, I squeezed adventures (near and far) into my life at every possible opportunity. My travels have brought me to many incredible places across Canada and around the world, and I seek to add to that list by redeeming points for interesting destinations. I have a particular interest and experience in Russian speaking countries of the former Soviet Union – if you are planning a trip to that part of the world, please feel free to get in touch!

View of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from our room at the Renaissance Baltic Hotel , July 2018. — View of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from our room at the Renaissance Baltic Hotel, July 2018.

Originally from Edmonton but currently based out of Montreal, I am working on becoming fully location independent to facilitate my love for travel. In my spare time, you can catch me training to run in the Boston Marathon, catching up with friends over ramen and cleansing ales, and gallivanting around with my dog, Blaze.

I sincerely look forward to engaging with more people in the Miles & Points community over the coming weeks, months, and years. And while I have mixed feelings about social media, you can also find me on Instagram at @theguyonthefly.

Keep fit and have fun,
T.J.