One of the leading voices in the Miles & Points blogging community, Million Mile Secrets, has published a feature on Prince of Travel over the weekend. Jason from Million Mile Secrets was a true pleasure to work with, and I’ve included a few select quotes from the interview below.
Why did you start your blog? What’s special about it?
I’ve always been passionate about travel and learning more about the world around us. But I never considered properly investing time in that passion until I realized I had accumulated a wealth of knowledge about how to travel the world using points (especially from a Canadian angle). And it’s nice to share that knowledge.
Once I got into the miles & points hobby and started traveling much more, I spent about a year toying with the idea of starting a blog. I wanted a domain name I really liked.
Then one day “Prince of Travel” came to me as I was sitting in a coffee shop by my house and I snapped it up. I think it has a nice ring to it, as it emphasizes my love of travel while also promoting – granted, perhaps with a tinge of self-importance – the luxury and lifestyle that comes with being able to use points to fund my adventures.
I’d like to think everything I do at Prince of Travel ties back to learning more about the world and being a global citizen. I find many blogs get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details of using points without tying it back to why we do all of this.
For me, I can talk about the sweet spots of earning and redeeming points for hours on end. But only because it’s ultimately being done for the love of travel and the ability to satisfy that undying curiosity about the world without spending lots of money. I do my best to make sure my readers never lose sight of this as they build their credit card spreadsheets and calculate their costs.
What’s the one single thing people can do to get more miles?
For me it comes down to one central tenet: Taking action! I believe experience is the best form of learning. I see too many people thinking that reading blogs and scouring forums is enough when it comes to racking up miles. While research is important, ultimately there are certain things you can only figure out by trying it yourself.
The way I see it, by researching blogs and forums and following the advice you find there, you might be able to earn enough points for 1 or 2 luxurious trips around the world per year. But at some point, you’ll need to take matters into your own hands if you want to get the most out of this hobby.
Is there any tool or trick which you’ve found especially useful in this hobby?
Plenty! I spend hours upon hours playing with the Great Circle Mapper. As a Canadian points collector I love making use of Aeroplan’s generous routing rules. I also enjoy using Wikipedia’s airport articles and Google Flights to figure out which airlines fly where.
I also swear by ExpertFlyer as an essential tool for someone who’s engaged in this hobby. The number of hours it’s saved me when searching for awards is too much to count! Throw in the useful info on fare availability, minimum connection time, and flight loads (especially in a pinch during irregular operations!) and it’s something I can’t live without.
Click here to read the full interview on the Million Mile Secrets website.
As always when exciting stuff like this happens, I want to take a moment to say a tremendous thank you to everyone who takes their valuable time to read the articles, write me emails, and leave comments here at Prince of Travel.
The website has grown beyond what I would’ve dared to imagine when I first penned the Welcome to the Blog post more than a year ago, and none of it would be possible without your engagement and support. So big thanks to everyone, and I look forward to bringing you along on the many adventures to come.
