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 Avenue. A lot has modified within the final 15 years, however one factor stays fixed: the facility 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 an extended and complex course of, I assumed it was a easy job. 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 bit of 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 by means of Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA). I used to be panicked, pondering this might both be an epic win or an epic fail. If it had been the latter, I may very well be grounded for a really very long time. However after we landed, my dad met us on the aircraft with the largest smile and warranted 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 school, after I went to work as a company recruiter for Morgan Stanley, I traveled all around the nation racking up bank card factors and frequent flyer miles whereas attempting to persuade school college students to work in expertise. 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 really cheaper for me to fly top notch, keep at a resort and benefit from the perks of free breakfast than to go grocery procuring 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 a web-based kind the place individuals might submit details about their factors and the place they needed to journey. For only a $50 price, I’d then give them personalised 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 just about did not occur) with Seth Kugel, the “Frugal Journey” columnist at The New York Instances.
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I really discovered an e-mail from him in my spam folder requesting an interview with me, but it surely 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 really helped him e book a visit to Brazil to see his long-distance girlfriend. His eyes lit up, and I knew that his whole outlook on factors and miles might need modified in that prompt.
After his journey to Brazil, Seth wrote an article about how studying TPG ought to be a key step for anybody who needs to get into the factors and miles recreation. He linked on to the TPG web site (which quickly crashed it!) and gave the web site worthwhile credibility within the eyes of Google.
His endorsement of me, “The Factors Man,” as a journey skilled eternally modified the trajectory of the location. 9 months later, I stop my job at Morgan Stanley and have become “The Factors Man” full-time.
Right now, TPG has a headquarters in New York Metropolis and practically 150 staff worldwide. They convey you the most recent information in loyalty packages, factors and miles, journey and extra.
Wanting again over the previous 15 years, many issues have modified within the journey and bank card industries. Right now, I have bank cards that did not exist in 2010. New loyalty packages have been created, and new airways have taken to the skies. I’ve additionally gone by means of adjustments in my private life. I am now the daddy of two boys, Dean and Cooper, and it has been such a thrill to start exhibiting them the world.
I actually assume we’re within the “platinum age of journey” — not solely from an elite standing and bank cards perspective, but in addition due to how airways proceed to innovate. The race to create the very best airport lounges and most luxurious inflight experiences continues, however these merchandise (and journey normally) 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 whole life), factors and miles have been there, permitting me to make recollections with my household, construct a profitable enterprise and share my ardour with hundreds of thousands of TPG readers throughout the globe. I would not be the place I’m in the present day with out them.
My greatest piece of recommendation is straightforward: Discover worth in your on a regular basis spending, regardless of whether or not it is money again in your pocket or transferable rewards to unlock luxurious journey. Factors are constructed into just about all the pieces 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 in the present day — and here is to the following 15 years!