Aussie can travel anywhere for free using frequent flyer points
Avid Aussie traveller Steve Hui, who has flown to 33 countries and 162 cities, is the man behind the booming I Fly Flat company.
He founded it back in 2012 to help people fly business class using their points.
His points obsession began almost 15 years ago working as an accountant for Macquarie Bank when he got a taste of business class during a work trip to Singapore.
'I was on Singapore Airlines A380 and when they came to take my jacket … I thought 'wow this is pretty good service',' he laughed
'That was my first paid ticket (by the company) on business, but my first points ticket I actually flew part business, part first class on United Airlines.
'I went via Seoul, so I flew business class to Seoul and then from Seoul I flew to Los Angeles in first class — I was going to Vegas.
'I mean who doesn't want to go to Vegas in first class – and I remember that moment clearly because I was thinking 'how the hell did I get here'.'
It cost him roughly 150,000 in points at that time – in 2012.
Steve currently has 4 million frequent flyer points – meaning he can ultimately travel the world for free.
To break it down further, he can do around 10 business class flights without having to pay a cent.
He rated Singapore Airlines' award-winning first class cabin as his favourite experience so far, revealing it's 'not too hard to fly'.
'You can fly Sydney to Singapore in the first-class suite for 97,000 points, it's really obtainable.'
He said it was an experience he will never forget. 'I think it's better than going to Disneyland,' he laughed.
As for business class, he said Cathay Pacific is one of his favourites.
Steve worked for Macquarie Bank for 11 years and in that time was able to accumulate plenty of points with the help of work travel.
But it wasn't until he was given a voluntary redundancy that he had a light bulb moment that would ultimately change his life and impact thousands of people who he's since helped maximise their points to travel in luxury.
He realised he can turn his hobby of collecting points into a business – one that has very little competition to this day.
As such, I Fly Flat was born, and with the help of his accounting background, is able to do all hard yards for you, turning your credit card and airline points into pretty amazing travel experiences – saving you around $5000 to $10,000 per ticket.
'The most rewarding part of my job is when business owners don't think they can ever fly business class – and you fly them on business they're like 'how can this be' – that's the bit I find most rewarding,' he said.
When it comes to which card will offer you the best points return, he was quick to name drop American Express Platinum, saying it earns you the highest points per dollar.
Noting it has a $1450 annual fee for personal use and $1750 fee for business use, Steve said if you spend the money to get the points, the business class savings more than pays for the annual fee.
'The best way to accumulate points is to pay everything on a points earning card (personal and business),' he advised.
'Some people think about earning points on personal expenses, but they don't think about the business and those expenses earn you way more.
'You can earn points paying payroll, paying ATO, basically paying every single expense dollar you've got.'
Steve also addressed one thing you should never do – and that's paying for a flight using part money and part points.
'It's a terrible deal … because airlines basically convert your points to be worth one cent.'
'Just don't do that,' he warned.
He said, for example, if you had 318000 Qantas points that's a return business class ticket from Sydney to Milan, on a fixed reward seat.
'But if you had 318,000 points and you did it part money, part points, the 318,000 points will only get you $4700.
'It's a good deal if you convert 318,000 points into a business class ticket. It's not a good deal if you do, part points, part pay, which then your points are only worth a maximum of $4,700.
'If it's a $12,000 ticket, you'd still have to pay $8000.'
Since Steve launched his business 13 years ago, he and his team of experts have had over 1 billion points booked.
'I've been doing this full-time for over 12 years, and it's still a thrill – clients grinning in lie-flat seats, champagne in hand, grinning ear to ear. That 'I can't believe this is happening' moment? That's what I wake up every morning to create.'
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