So if you haven’t heard by now, the Chicago Seminars are coming up during the weekend of October 14 – 16. Â If you were still on the fence for it, I am told that there are still a few tickets available. Â You can access the registration page here, and there is also a Flyertalk thread with all the pertinent info.
I will actually be speaking (twice), so I’m excited to be there and meet many of you. Â My topics are:
- Saturday 9:45am –Â Begin with the End in Mind (Dan Miller / Points with a Crew) – Confused about all the different credit card possibilities? Overwhelmed between Skymiles, Ultimate Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Arrival miles and other different currencies and not sure where to start? Begin with the end in mind – first, figure out WHERE you want to go, and only THEN apply for the cards that can get you there. It doesn’t work to get a Skymiles credit card if only American flies where you want to go, and you can’t apply for a Marriott card if you want to stay at a Hyatt. Walk through 2 real-life examples of how to pick a destination, and figure out the cards to get you there for free.
- Saturday 4pm –Â How to Maximize Hotel Points with Category 1 and 2 Redemptions (Dan / Points with a Crew) – It seems that many folks talk about how they stay for free in 5 star hotels using miles and points. And while that is one way to travel, did you know that in some programs, you can get up to 20 nights at a lower level hotel for the SAME amount of points as 1 night at a top-tier hotel. And we’re not talking about roach motels here – these can be some pretty nice places! Learn how to maximize your hotel points with Category 1 and 2 redemptions.
My (likely?) Chicago Seminars schedule
The other day, I went through the Chicago Seminars schedule to pick out which sessions I was planning on attending, and I thought I’d share my choices here.  All of the sessions will likely be good, and so you may get more value out of a different session.  That’s a long way of saying that, as with everything, YMMV 🙂
So, besides my amazing talks which you should totally come and see, here are the 6 Chicago Seminars talks I’m planning on seeing
- Friday 6:15pm – Booking Travel for Five or More (Dave / Bikeguy) – When you’re a solo traveler or a couple looking to cash in miles you often have struggles with finding just the right flights … but what about trying to make it happen for five or more people? Â Obviously booking travel for multiple people is right up my wheelhouse!
- My flight gets in to ORD at 4:30pm, so I’m hopeful I can get to the hotel and registered
- Friday 7:30pm – Getting the Most Free Nights with Each Hotel Chain (Drew / Travel is Free) – Learn how to get the most free nights out of every hotel loyalty program.
- Plus I can see if I can steal anything from this session for my Saturday afternoon talk 😀
- Saturday 11am –Â Valuable Perks & Gems That No One Really Talks About (Angelina / Angelina Travels) – A collection of little travel tips, tricks, and tidbits that can enhance your travel experience forever. Credit card perks that earn you $$, when and how you can get compensated for a delayed or canceled flights (even years after!), retaining top-tier status through free status matching, maximizing hotel savings (and free nights!) through BRG strategies, etc.
- I’m also considering Drew’s talk on Travel for Free Without Credit Cards
- Saturday 1pm –Â Beginner and Intermediate Reselling for Profit and Points (Shawn / Miles to Memories) – Learn the basics of reselling merchandise online on eBay and Amazon. Find out which credit card is a must for any reseller and learn techniques for maximizing profit and the amount of points earned.
- I’ve done a bit of reselling but I definitely feel like I don’t know what I’m doing
- Saturday 2:30pm –Â Award Chart Sweet Spots (Scott / MileValue) – Whether you dream of a huge, round-the-world trip or just want to find the best use for each of your mileage balances, you need to know the sweet spots on each miles’ award charts. This presentation will cover some sweet spots with United, American, Delta, Alaska, Singapore, Korean, Flying Blue and many more miles. Plus there will be example itineraries that string together several miles’ sweet spots into amazing trips.
- Wonder if he’ll talk about the 4 sweet spots on Singapore Airlines’s amazing award chart
- Saturday 5:15pm –Â 101 Tips, Tricks and Hacks to be an Expert Traveler (Stefan / Rapid Travel Chai) – A fun, practical romp through the world of travel in 101 tips from miles and points to what to do on the road to be an expert traveler. If you’ve never had a layover in a Japanese love hotel, this session is for you!
- Also considering Angelina’s talk on Mythbusters: Miles & Points Edition
Again, here’s the link to register for Chicago Seminars 2016.  Cost is $105 / ticket
Will you be at Chicago Seminars? Â Which speakers / sessions are you most looking forward to seeing?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Wait a minute, wasn’t there just a seminar like this in Chicago this past weekend? If so, what is different about this one?
I’m not sure about that – do you have a link to the one you’re talking about?
Don’t you have to pick the talks when you buy the ticket?
I forget which sessions I’m going to but hopefully I’ll see you around!
Ruby – I’m not sure (because I’m speaking I didn’t buy a “regular” ticket)