Meet Frequent Miler

My story didn’t start with travel.  It began with a computer and a teenager who wanted to write computer games…

In the early 80s, my dad bought me a computer.  It was slow and barely had the capacity to run any programs, let alone games I had envisioned. But, by thinking outside of the box, I found ways around those limitations.  I was 13 years old.  By the time I turned 14, several of my games had been published.

By 2011, I was Senior Director of Technology at a major company where I was well regarded as an out-of-the-box problem solver.  Business travel through that job had opened my eyes to the perks that come from frequent travel.  Airline elite status led to faster security lines, priority boarding, and first class upgrades.  Hotel elite status led to room upgrades (sometimes to suites), and welcome gifts.  When my company issued a corporate no-travel decree, I turned to online travel forums and blogs to find ways to keep my elite status with less travel.

I discovered a world some describe as “travel hacking” and I was hooked.  Here was a collection of techniques that far surpassed what I had hoped to find.  It turned out that not only could I maintain elite status from home, but I could also earn hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of airline miles and hotel points — without traveling.  And with those miles and points it was possible, easy even, to travel the world in first class practically for free.

I immersed myself deeply into this hobby and soon started my own blog to share my ideas.  I found that the same analytic skills and out-of-the-box thinking that served me so well in software development worked just as well for the blog.  I developed techniques for earning 5 miles per dollar everywhere, techniques for earning elite status through spend, and techniques for stacking deals towards incredible rewards.

Six months after starting the blog it became my full time career.  And, yes, it is possible to earn money as a blogger.  I now work from my home in Ann Arbor, MI, which I share with my wife and several pets.