Miles and Points University is REAL! Enroll Today!

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jul 5, 2017 | 3 comments

When I went to university back in (mumble mumble haha) no one was there to teach me about the world of miles and points. If I only knew 15% of what I know now back then, I could have avoided so many mistakes and saved SOOOO much time. Ben and I attended our first university classes (what I called among my friends Miles and Points University) back in 2014. I wasn’t even “in the know” enough to know that it was called FTU for Frequent Traveler University. Ever since that first date in 2014, we’ve always attended and have been an integral part of the events.

Now, if you’ve been to an FTU before, don’t stop reading here. I promise you that you’ll find value in this post. If you HAVEN’T been, by all means keep going and I hope to impart some wisdom onto you.

Why should you go?

• If you’re about to sign up for your first credit card and have NO idea what you’re doing, welcome!
• If you’ve got thousands of miles and points and have no idea what the best way to earn them is, then you should show up.
• If you feel like you’re earning and earning with no real destination or plan in mind, come and learn.
• If you want to travel in luxury to all corners of the globe without paying for it, then you HAVE to be there.
• If you want to get tons of free swag from sponsors and presenters, you should attend.
• If you like the social aspect and want to know that there are other crazy people doing this too, just like you… come meet them!
• In short, there is something for everyone. We’ve been to a ton and come back from each event learning something new. I met with someone who said that they’d been to over a dozen and it’s worthwhile to him. Each event he learns something new!

Etihad Seat

What will you learn?

At this last event in Minneapolis, we covered topics such as:

• Maximizing Airline Miles
• Maximizing Hotel Loyalty
• Top Tier Airline Status through Credit Cards
• MS Techniques
• Aspirational Airline Travel
• SPG and Marriott Hacks and Sweet Spots
• Advanced Delta Skymiles and United MileagePlus
• Fuel Dumping and Hidden City Ticketing
• And a few more!

Who will you meet?

• Greg Davis-Kean from Frequent Miler
• Rudy Maxa from Rudy Maxa’s World
• Matthew Klint from Life and Let’s Fly
• Stefan Krasowski from Rapid Travel Chai
• Tiffany Funk from One Mile at a Time
• Jared Kamrowski from Thrifty Traveler
• Nick Reyes from Frequent Miler
• Kevin Song from The Points Guy
• And… the two of US! Of course 🙂

What’s in it for me?

What’s not?! Sheesh, if you’re still reading this and haven’t made up your mind, what’s going on in that head of yours! Is it the cost? Don’t worry! We’ve got you hooked up with the discount code to get you a little bit of a savings. Afraid you won’t learn anything? Trust me, you will. These events wouldn’t keep happening if no one learned anything and didn’t get any value.

Also… how about we buy you a drink at the bar (soda if you don’t drink). We’d love the chance to meet our readers face to face, so we hope to use this as a chance to shake your hands and make that personal connection.

Emirates Hennessy Prive A380 Onboard Bar

What’s it cost?

This time around there are going to be two events, the FTU Signature and the FTU Expo. The Signature event (which is the one we’ve been attending for years) is much like the classroom/university style. You’ll be able to sit down, take notes, and learn from the best! The FTU Expo is going to be over 36,000 sq ft of space with 30 presenters, 4 simultaneous seminar stages and over 3,000 vendors and travelers. Think of it as a trade-show style where you can go booth to booth and meet, greet, learn, and walk away with some swag! The cost for the FTU Signature is $249 for all three days, and the cost of the FTU Expo is $39. If you purchase the FTU Signature entry, you’ll also get free entry to the expo! If you sign up before July 31st, you can get $10 off your ticket with the code FTUEARLY. Did I mention we’ll also buy you a drink? 🙂 

Where is it?

This year we’re hosting it in Chicago and the Chicago O’Hare Marriott. There’s a special discounted rate for both the hotel AND for daily parking.

From Marriott.com

When is it?

Both events will be held the weekend of November 17-19, including happy hours on the 17th, main events on the 18th and 19th. I’d try and get there for all of it, as the happy hour mixer is where we get a lot of secret info!

Whatcha Waiting For?

So, you now have the what’s, who’s, why’s, where’s, and when’s. The only question that remains is… are you going?