As we strategy the fifteenth anniversary of The Factors Man, I look again at how far the enterprise has come since I began it as a aspect hustle whereas engaged on Wall Road. A lot has modified within the final 15 years, however one factor stays fixed: the ability of factors and miles to remodel journey experiences.
Associated: Getting began with factors, miles and bank cards to journey
Earlier than I turned “The Factors Man,” I actually was a Factors Child — and my first job was reserving journey for my dad. Travelocity had simply launched, and whereas he thought utilizing it was a protracted and complex course of, I assumed it was a easy process. I dealt with all of his bookings and solely charged him $10 every.
By the point I used to be 12, my dad had collected so many frequent flyer miles from his work journey that he challenged me to e book a visit for our household of six utilizing solely airline miles and bank card factors. Problem accepted. I went massive and selected Grand Cayman. (I could have had a little bit inspiration from the John Grisham novel, “The Agency.”) The entire time, my dad thought I used to be planning a visit to the Grand Canyon, so he was stunned to find I had deliberate a visit to the Caribbean.
Whereas he and my siblings flew on a nonstop flight, I booked my mother and me on a flight via Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA). I used to be panicked, considering this could both be an epic win or an epic fail. If it have been the latter, I could possibly be grounded for a really very long time. However once we landed, my dad met us on the aircraft with the most important smile and guaranteed me that I knocked it out of the park.
This was the journey that sparked my love of journey planning — and factors and miles.
After faculty, after I went to work as a company recruiter for Morgan Stanley, I traveled everywhere in the nation racking up bank card factors and frequent flyer miles whereas attempting to persuade faculty college students to work in know-how. This was throughout The Nice Recession, and I used to be points-rich however cash-poor. (My boss used to joke that my bonus was not getting fired.) It was truly cheaper for me to fly first-class, keep at a lodge and benefit from the perks of free breakfast than to go grocery buying or eat out in New York Metropolis.
In 2010, my then-boyfriend inspired me to show my ardour for journey and factors and miles right into a enterprise. I initially began TPG as an internet kind the place individuals might submit details about their factors and the place they needed to journey. For only a $50 charge, I might then give them customized recommendation and assist them e book a visit utilizing factors.
I began running a blog about journey and factors and miles that very same yr, with my first-ever story publishing on June 7, 2010. The location actually took off after an interview (that nearly did not occur) with Seth Kugel, the “Frugal Journey” columnist at The New York Instances.
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I truly discovered an e mail from him in my spam folder requesting an interview with me, however it was a month outdated. He was a staunch opponent of frequent flyer miles and bank cards, even going so far as referring to them as “ineffective” in his unique e mail. I emailed him again and requested to take him to lunch so I might change his thoughts. Throughout that lunch, I truly helped him e book a visit to Brazil to see his long-distance girlfriend. His eyes lit up, and I knew that his total outlook on factors and miles might need modified in that immediate.
After his journey to Brazil, Seth wrote an article about how studying TPG must be a key step for anybody who needs to get into the factors and miles sport. He linked on to the TPG web site (which quickly crashed it!) and gave the web site beneficial credibility within the eyes of Google.
His endorsement of me, “The Factors Man,” as a journey skilled perpetually modified the trajectory of the location. 9 months later, I give up my job at Morgan Stanley and have become “The Factors Man” full-time.
Immediately, TPG has a headquarters in New York Metropolis and practically 150 workers worldwide. They create you the most recent information in loyalty applications, factors and miles, journey and extra.
Wanting again over the previous 15 years, many issues have modified within the journey and bank card industries. Immediately, I have bank cards that did not exist in 2010. New loyalty applications have been created, and new airways have taken to the skies. I’ve additionally gone via modifications in my private life. I am now the daddy of two boys, Dean and Cooper, and it has been such a thrill to start displaying them the world.
I actually suppose we’re within the “platinum age of journey” — not solely from an elite standing and bank cards standpoint, but in addition due to how airways proceed to innovate. The race to create the perfect airport lounges and most luxurious inflight experiences continues, however these merchandise (and journey basically) are very accessible — particularly in the event you reap the benefits of the loyalty ecosystem. And that is one thing with endurance.
All through my profession (and actually my total life), factors and miles have been there, permitting me to make reminiscences with my household, construct a profitable enterprise and share my ardour with thousands and thousands of TPG readers throughout the globe. I would not be the place I’m at the moment with out them.
My largest piece of recommendation is straightforward: Discover worth in your on a regular basis spending, irrespective of whether or not it is money again in your pocket or transferable rewards to unlock luxurious journey. Factors are constructed into just about every thing we do, so in the event you’re not getting a return on each greenback you spend, you are lacking out.
Thanks for serving to make The Factors Man what it’s at the moment — and here is to the subsequent 15 years!
