This guy has gamed the airline industry so he never has to pay for a flight again

[QuotaMan]

Sounds like a lot of credit cards but works for guys like him.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-guy-gamed-airline-industry-212717477.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons&soc_trk=ma

 

 

Scott Keyes will be traveling to 13 countries and over 20,000 miles on his next trip, all for free.When I spoke with Scott Keyes, he was on a 10-hour layover in Dallas kicking back in the Centurion Lounge, where American Express has provided its members with free food and drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, free spa services, and even its own shower suite.

 

“It’s just a day in the office in here essentially,” the 28-year-old Keyes told Business Insider. “I’ve got a nice work space, food, drinks, some Wi-Fi. This is like this whole other world.”

 

Keyes, a reporter for Think Progress, gained access to the lounge as a perk from one of his 25 credit cards. The card, an American Express Platinum, typically has an annual fee of $450, but Keyes managed to get it waived for the first year by taking advantage of an online deal. After that, he’ll either try to get the next year’s fee waived as well, or he’ll simply downgrade the card to something that doesn't carry a fee. 

 

This is nothing new for Keyes, who told us that he uses his massive collection of credit cards to gain points, frequent flyer miles, and plenty of other member perks all the time. He then turns around and uses those perks on vacations like his upcoming trip that will take him 20,000 miles on 21 flights — all for free.

 

This isn't luck. Keyes is somewhat of an expert on traveling for little to no cost, not unlike extreme couponers who put incredible amounts of time, energy, and thought into making sure they never pay a penny more than they have to when making purchases.

 

After jealous friends kept asking him how he does it, Keyes decided to write his e-books “How To Fly For Free” and “How To Find Cheap Flights.” He even made an email list to send friends updates on any amazing travel deals he comes across on Twitter or his RSS feed.

[stef74]

nothing new.

 

many people play the credit card game.

 

you just have to put the time and effort in to do it.

[skink]

The BI headline was a bit misleading. To me, they made it sound like he already gamed them for free flights for life. Unfortunately, airlines are constantly devaluing their miles and various manufactured spending methods are being closed down. He also gave some quotes trying to make it sound like a beginner wouldn't be able to figure it out, but he just so happens to have some cheap e-books on Amazon (most likely info scrubbed from sites like Pattaya-addicts and flyertalk). Don't get me wrong though. From my home I have really long flights to Thailand and I don't think that I could fly that far in coach so I sign up for 5-6 new credit cards every 91 days (unless I was thinking about taking out a mortgage in the near future), as well as other methods that take a little more time and effort to generate the miles and points I need for free greatly reduced in price travel.

[hioctane]

It is not exactly free. There is a minimum spend on the credit card.

[apter]

It's only free if his time is worth zilch to him. For the amount of time and energy he has to put into this, he's working a fair number of hours at it.

[itchief]

No it is not free but it is a good way to travel. I play the miles/points game. I buy tickets for my use and my company buys me tickets for travel and I get to keep the miles. It does take some time and energy to learn the system but when you know the system it is not that hard. I just returned from a trip to Patt's, it was for fun and miles.

 

Total out of pocket for my travels;

hotel, used points and stayed at the Hilton, this includes free breakfast and free drinks in the exec lounge. $0.00

airfare, used a free flight voucher with some $'s, $178

upgraded the flight to business class with my status, $0.00

earned miles for the trip 41,082, I earn bonus miles because of my status. This is 9000 miles short of a free ticket back to the LOS in coach or a oneway in business class.

 

Play the miles and points game and you can increase your trips. Or you can use the miles earned for upgrades to business class. My biggest problem with traveling to Patt's for fun is getting time off from work. I just do not get enough vacation days each year.

[joeaf]

It's only free if his time is worth zilch to him. For the amount of time and energy he has to put into this, he's working a fair number of hours at it.

Its not free, but it can be a cheap way to travel Thailand.  I also play the miles/points game and it has enabled me to travel to Thailand using miles for most of my trips and 2/3 of my trips in the front of the bus.  By reading Flyertalk.com, selected BoardingArea bloggers and other forums, I find useful tips to earn my miles with minimal effort and time. 

 

Some of the loopholes that the more serious FF find and exploit can generate millions of miles, i.e. Steve Belkin and his 2001 Baht Run when he used Thai rice farmers as his employees.

http://www.insideflyer.com/articles/article.php?key=7553

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2011/05/18/the-craziest-mileage-earning-schemes-and-where-you-should-focus-your-points-earning/