Nick and I had a great time meeting points & miles enthusiasts and presenting at FTU (Frequent Traveler University) Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. Personally I always love opportunities to meet others in this game. Also, meeting other enthusiasts is the single best way to learn secrets that no one blogs about. It’s not at all a stretch to say that I’ve learned new tricks from attendees at every event like this I’ve attended. And, it’s fun. That’s why I host a monthly Ann Arbor area Points & Miles Meetup, and I regularly sign up to attend or speak at miles & points related seminars.
The next event that Nick and I will attend is the Ann Arbor Art Fair DO (July 22). These get-togethers are organized by Bikeguy on Flyertalk (details and registration found here) and they’re always free to attend! If you’re an art enthusiast, get to Ann Arbor a day or two early to enjoy one of the biggest art fairs in the country.
In the fall, Nick and I will be presenting at a few big points & miles events in Chicago. The first is the Chicago Seminars to be held October 20 to 22. Tickets cost $105 per person.
Next up, FTU is going big and cheap with a new one day Travel Expo on Saturday November 18th. The Expo costs just $39 to attend. If you book by July 31, you can get a ticket for only $29 by using code FTUEARLY. In addition to presenting at the Expo, Nick and I will be manning a Frequent Miler area where we’ll be available to meet with you one on one.
That same weekend (November 17-19), we’ll also present at FTU Signature (the event previously known as FTU Advanced). We plan to introduce a new “manufactured spend corner” to this event. The idea is to have a quiet area available for people to discuss manufactured spend techniques outside of the formal presentations. Look for us to present mostly on Sunday (since we’ll be presenting at the Travel Expo on Saturday). This event costs $249, but you can save $10 through July 31 with code FTUEARLY). FTU Signature attendees get free access to the Travel Expo. Details and registration can be found here.
For up to date info and more details about these events, please visit our updated Frequent Miler Event Schedule Page.
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Can you give me an idea of the Manufactured Spending time slot on Sunday? This is my main purpose but I’m trying to decide the time to fly out of ORD that evening.
The tentative schedule for FTU in November is as follows:
Sunday 10:15 Greg: MS from your laptop
Sunday 1:30PM: Greg: MS Elite status
Sunday 2:45PM: Nick: The Art of Finding the Deal: Tools and techniques for Bagging a Bargain
[…] in my book. With the Chicago Seminars and the FTU Signature & Expo coming up this fall (See: Meet the FM Team in Chicago and/or Ann Arbor), I have some travel plans that fit into the price point and this just worked out to be a much […]
Fun! Thanks for posting this info
Do you guys ever do a meet up in the Grand Rapids area?
No, we haven’t.
I’m glad you both will be presenting at the Chicago Seminars.
The Chicago Seminars are great, and I imagine that FTU is also.
Almost every year I head to Chicago for CS. Without fail, I come away with several pages of notes about promotions I’ve overlooked, cards to get and cards that aren’t worth getting, using airline X miles on airline Y, and a host of other tricks and techniques.
Glad to hear that you get a lot out of them!
Curious how one event can cost $109 and one can $249 (?!). I can only do one. Will the $249 one by 2.5x better??
The Chicago Seminars and FTU are run by different groups and have different things included and different cost structures. Chicago Seminars presentations tend to be more oriented towards beginners (but not all are!) whereas FTU presentations tend to be more intermediate.