Starting Point{s}

Hi folks and welcome to my blog.

What you'll find here is a description of my journey through various reward point programs.  I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences and hope you feel inclined to do the same.  I have some modest goals to aim at in pursuing this blog:

1. Gain knowledge - I'm a fan of dissecting systems to see if/how they may be turned to my advantage.  To this end I'm an admirer of the Pudding Man.  Clever fellow!  I've sourced from Snopes.com because it does sound too good to be true.
2. Develop my writing skills - I've written small pieces off and on for a number of years.  I've often thought about pursuing a more rigorous writing regimen and figure every two weeks seems a solid benchmark to work with.
3. Share the wealth - I've imparted my experiences with points programs to friends and family in the past and I love hearing how they make out with their endeavors.  Here's hoping you let me know how you make out too.
4. Present the data - Not only will I provide you with a narrative, I'll also post monthly tallies of point totals and the redemptions that will eventually follow.
5. Gain token approval - Full disclosure here: For me to consider this blog a true success, I want to generate referrals which pay out in additional points accumulation.  I plan on dividing the points into two categories when I present a tally; Category A will be points I've earned on my own and Category B will be the results of referrals generated from this blog.
6. At the outset I'll be focusing on Canadian points programs.  I can for see expanding into American and international programs and will add them once I've done the required research.

With the ground rules established, it's time for me to introduce myself.

I'm a newly established rewards point collector who resides in Whitehorse, capital of Yukon Territory in Canada's North.  I've been passively collecting points of various schemes and formats for the last few years.  Very passively, with no plan or goal in mind.  In the summer of 2012 I was holding the following reward points in my virtual portfolio:

• Aeroplan - 600 points
• RBC Rewards - 7200 points
• Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum - 1300 points

Things started to shift for me when I created my own travel snafu on the way to attend a friend's wedding in Victoria, BC.  I made the rookie mistake of failing to coordinate the ferry schedule with my arrival time.  A few hours later, I was riding the late night Air Canada harbor jumper.  Paying more for the short notice was painful but being able to arrival that night versus the next day was worth the expense.  The groom to be picked me up in Victoria all the while laughing at my poor planning skills.

"At least you'll get the points for the flight" he said with a grin.  My response was along the lines of "... points?"  And then I recalled the Aeroplan card in my wallet.  Not knowing anything about how Aeroplan worked, I called to enquire if I could use those 600 points to cover the cost of the flight I had unexpectedly incurred.  Oh how naive I was.  Aeroplan was quick to point out how points bookings work, as well as the limitations of my tiny point pool.

Feeling slightly chagrined, I used what I had learned from the experience to do ... well, nothing for the next year.

I'm a process person and apparently I needed to percolate for some time to see the potential benefits of point collection.  I finally committed to investigating points programs and travel plans when my girlfriend and I were looking at taking a vacation / mini-pilgrimage in Quebec.  I began doing research online to determine how I might be able to reduce the costs of travel for our trip, which soon resulted in my arrival at Rewards Canada.  You ought to go take a look.  Seriously.  Follow that link - I'll still be here when you're done.

After checking out Rewards Canada, I found a few other websites and forums related to maximizing travel potential based off of rewards systems (FlyerTalk and MilePoint).  Those information goldmines started me assessing the points systems I was invested into at the time.  I quickly learned that I was missing out on strategies and opportunities which would allow me to capitalize on rewards points.

Something for *wait, is that fine print?*  nothing?  Yup, I was hooked.