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Families Fly Free member Michele Sharples, who considered herself a savvy travel hacker, shares how the membership helped her to learn new things, simplify and stay up to date on the key information she needs from a trustworthy source.
Travel rewards doesn't have to be overwhelming and it can work for entire families! In the Families Fly Free podcast, hosted by longtime travel journalist Lyn Mettler, you'll learn how to simply and easily fly your whole family for free using travel rewards and with minimal cards in your wallet. Lyn has taught nearly 1,000 families a simple, repeatable process to always have enough miles to fly wherever you'd like, so you can make more memories with your family before your kids or grandkids leave home.
Do you love to travel and
save money or do you wish
you could travel? But money is
holding you back.
You're in the right place.
Welcome to the Families Fly Free
podcast, where I show you
how to fly your family free
forever.
Using my simple Fly Free
Formula.
I'm your host Lyn Mettler.
My family of four has mastered
the art of flying free as simply
as possible since 2015.
And I want to show your family how
to do it too.
Hey everyone.
Welcome back to the Families
Fly Free podcast.
And now we have video versions as
well.
So this is another in our series
where we're interviewing Families
Fly Free members so
that you can get some
real life examples
of how people are
making our systems and processes
work to
fly free and travel free lots
of places. So for
today's episode, I have with me
Michelle Sharples.
So Michelle, will you start by
telling us a little bit about
yourself, your family, where you
live, those those good
things?
Sure. Thank you for having me,
Michele Sharples and
I am married with two adult
children. My children are
28 and 25
and we live just outside of Chicago.
We live in a suburb called
Naperville.
Okay.
All right. So how did or
let's start with why you decided
to join Families Fly Free
and how you came across it.
I came across I kept seeing
your some of your,
I guess, social media posts
and we loved to travel,
very interested in travel and very
interested in saving money
while we travel.
We like to travel nice, you know,
like, you know, not,
not we like to travel
in a way that
can feel luxurious but not pay,
you know, all
the luxurious costs.
So I'm always looking I was always
kind of looking at and listening
to different people's experiences
and how they do that.
And I was, you know, I guess I was a
little hesitant.
I probably watched a lot of your
social media for a long time before
I actually joined, and
I was a little hesitant to try and
just because of the cost
and also because
the fact I already had the companion
pass for several years.
So I was trying to figure out, Oh,
do I already?
I already felt like I knew
some of the inside
information, some of the tricks.
I think I considered myself to be a
little bit savvy.
But
sometimes when you watch things on
social media, you get a little
skeptical, right?
People are what are what is someone
trying to sell me?
Is this real? Is it legit?
So I think that's why it took me a
while to actually
to join, but decided
to have a call
with you.
And after
having that call with you
is when really, it kind of
convinced us, my husband was on as
well. You know what?
I think there's a lot here that we
probably don't know and that there
would be benefit even though we've
been using the
companion pass for a little bit.
Not having. I really like the idea
of not having to stress
about trying to learn the companion
pass, earn it,
you know, every single year through
spending.
And that's how you were doing it?
That's how we were doing it, except
for that first year when we had one
credit card and we had.
So we earned a chunk of points, but
we still didn't we didn't combine it
with two credit cards.
And so we still had some spending
to, you know, to do.
So I think at that meeting you
just really made us feel comfortable
about spending that money and that
it we would get some value out of
it.
So let's talk about
that exact thing.
So spending your way to companion
pass and when we say that, what we
mean is they already had
a card with Southwest and so
they're trying to spend.
So previously it was 125,000
points. And as we're recording this
beginning 2023, they're going to
require 135,000 points.
So trying to spend
on your card to earn
one point per dollar to
get yourself to 125,000.
So and that is such
a common thing that I
see.
And that is just,
I think, very difficult to achieve.
And that and the downside is if
if you can't achieve it, it
takes you the better part of a year.
Exactly.
And then you only have like the
companion pass for those of you not
familiar with it, it's good from the
time you earn it until the end of
the following year. So if you don't
earn it till the end of the year,
then it's only good for like a year
and a month or something like that.
Whereas what we try to show you how
to do is to always have it
be good, get on the cycle
of it, always being good for almost
two full years, and then
you don't have to work your way
toward like toward earning it every
single year because you were
probably in the
the process of like if
you spent your 125,000,
you have a pass, good to the end of
next year. Well next year you've
still got to try to earn
that 125,000 again
to extend your pass basically
another year.
Whereas what we're showing how to do
is you don't have to worry about it,
but once every two years and
we don't do it through spending.
So I don't, talk a little bit about
how you feel about the change in
process there.
No. Yeah, that's exactly right.
Because the first time we earned it,
because we did sign up for a credit
card and got a sign up bonus, we
earned it, you know, relatively
quick, you know, still not like in
January, but, you know, maybe
mid-year the first year.
And so we had it for a good year and
a half. And then after that,
you know, you only had it for a year
and you had to start like as
soon as you earned it, you had to
really start working hard again
about earning it again for the
following year. You had to be
thinking about that.
So that was that stressful and
very
it it really limited
our use of other cards.
Right, that's another huge drawback
right there is that
you're just forced to put on the
Southwest card and we don't
want you to do that.
We think it's so much better if you
can put your spending on a flexible
card because you're going to
accumulate so many more points
faster that
way and they're going to be flexible
points, right, that you can use
on Southwest depending on what
system you're using.
But or use for hotel
or for other airlines or whatever.
And that's really a one of
many keys to having more
points collected
so that you have enough points to
fly as many places as you want.
You just don't end up with enough if
you're just getting that one point
per dollar on Southwest
and then you don't have any other
points to do hotels or anything else
with either. But so
know that is probably the number
one thing I see of people coming
into Families Fly Free is helping
them make that shift
and walking them through that
process. And did you feel like
it was helpful to have
the personal support and
the personalized plan to
get you on that new process?
Oh yeah, I think that the
having the plan and seeing it,
that it can be so
much less complicated.
There's some, there's a little
complexity right to earning this
to earning the pass, but
it is just it can be so much
less complicated
than maybe someone
who's not as well informed
knows.
So having
that one-on-one support and the plan really lays it out nicely. Once you, you know, you might have to read it once or twice and just making sure you got the timing down and all of that. The other thing that I really learned and liked about the plan that we hadn't considered in the past was taking advantage of, you know, because it's two people for us, my husband and myself, in being able to rotate that with the cards as something we hadn't considered at all. So
that was something else that was
very useful and surprising that
was laid out in the plan for us.
So
that one-on-one support and then when you read it and you're like, what is it? You know, you could read it one time and you understand it and you could read it another time, you know, Oh, I'm a little confused about that. So having somebody to be able to wait, just want to double-check, you know, X, Y, and Z with you having that. And I found that working with the different members on your team, super easy, super responsive. And they are, I guess, for lack of a better word, members themselves. Right? So they they work the plan themselves, they work the process, they have personal experience and they can really draw on their personal experience. It's not something that they're just like, you
know, have studied how to do it
through. They actually use it and do
it and can say, well, when I did
this, so a helpful thing for me
was X or Y or Z.
I found that to be very beneficial
as well.
Yes, we are all flying
free are set, right.
So right.
Yeah. We've and we've all been like
at the beginning of like not
understanding how to do this and
then you know, again figuring
out how to do it.
And like I think you brought
it to the point that I, well, I talk
a lot about my system is
easy, but to your
point, it is complicated
to get the companion pass and
understand the rules and the timing
and credit cards role and
all of that.
But what makes it easy is
like we already know all that,
so you don't have to really, if
you just follow what we lay out.
You're going to be fine.
Like as we're talking December
2022, we're seeing
a lot of people stumbling over the
timing of the companion pass for
early next year.
And it's because they
just don't understand the ins
and outs there and
so we can guide them
through that. And inevitably
people make mistakes too.
I did certainly at the beginning.
And then we can help you clean that
up if you do end up making mistakes.
But I think like you're saying, you
know, before you you think, am I
making a mistake or not?
You can ask us and then we can say,
yes, that's correct or no, don't do
that. And here's why.
You know.
Yes, sometimes you just need that
reinforcement, like you really know
what to do.
You find it after a while and you're
working the program.
You kind of know you know what to
do, but you're like, okay, you know,
am I doing it? Is my thinking still
right? Did I mess something up in my
head? Because you don't want to make
a mistake. So you're trying to
prevent yourselves from from making
a little bit of a mistake that could
be costly.
So having somebody you can
reach out to that's heard
the same question, dumb question,
whatever, over and over and over is
there they know that you're just
doing it because you just it's like
your safeguard. You just want to
make sure.
And that's what we're here for.
Like, you should get that anywhere
else. That's what I really have
tried to create is were you
you can not worry about just
sending us an email or sending us a
text or whatever, and I just want
to double-check.
Like that's one of the big purposes
of Families Fly Free,
is the ability to do that.
And I just want to say, I know that.
I mean, obviously not every answer
is instantaneous, but,
you know, sometimes when you're in
the middle of working something,
you're reading about it and you're
coming up with your plan and you
have a question, it's hard
for you to ask this question.
Then you put it out of your mind
for, you know, three days and then
you go back to it.
I have found that while it's not
always, because you guys obviously
aren't always available, I do find
the response to be very quick and
sometimes they are instantaneous,
depending on, you know, the time of
day, etc.
And it's just so helpful when you're
already in that mindset of trying to
figure something out or work, work
what you're going to do or trying to
spend or not spend.
And that's so helpful to that.
It's it's not something where it's
like, oh, you have to submit like a
formal form asking
a question.
And then there's like this, you
know, such a process of bureaucracy
that it could be days and days
before you hear back.
And that's just not the case.
Even if it's, oh, you know,
we have to look into this a little
bit. We haven't had this question
before. Or let me talk
to one of my colleagues who's
traveled there before.
I feel that the responsiveness is
just great.
Yeah, we do have a diverse set of
team members. So yeah, one of us
hasn't been to that destination,
we can then bring in the other
person to answer your, like I get, I
get all the Disney questions for
the rest of my team
are not Disney World experts.
And so if it's a Disney question, it
gets passed to me, for example.
But and we do try to we
always say within 24 hours we
get back to you. But I mean, we
people that text sometimes like
they're at the airport and they need
help with this flight is delayed.
What do I do? Or you know
we just had one the other day was
like someone's had a delay.
It was ahead of time.
But could they ask for a LUV
voucher, for example, and how would
they go about doing that?
That requires a quicker response
because it is more
of a real-time situation, which we
understand because people are
traveling and
that kind of stuff does happen.
So, okay, so as someone who was
a skeptic, who felt like
you already understood
or how to handle somewhat on
miles and points, travel rewards,
so that's also a very common
thing that I hear.
What would you go back and tell
yourself now, or what would
you tell someone who
had that same concern?
Like, is this really going to teach
me anything that I don't already
know?
Yeah. And is it worth it beyond
that?
Yeah, I
think that it's
I, I would tell them it's totally
worth it.
Again, there is
something I found really surprising.
Like, like I started off saying I
kind of consider myself a little bit
savvy, but I realized
that I'm definitely not as savvy
as I thought I was and that
there is a lot
of information like on your web,
your website, right?
And you have to
make the time to
go in there and to read things and
to learn things in order to really
take advantage of it.
So if you are if you
do if you're skeptical about
joining, understand that there is a
wealth of information
out there that you guys have created
that you guys, all the recordings.
Like sometimes I love that
I can't make a lot, always make
the live things, but you can go back
and look at the recordings and
it is so helpful.
So it's not just about the plan
that you receive
in the beginning.
It is about all of
the information and opportunities to
learn something different
and new when it comes to traveling.
And also sometimes you are just a
little bit like, you know, I heard
the 5/24 kind of you know,
actually that's one of the things
before I joined I did not know
about was the 5/24.
So, so there's just so
much good information that you guys
provide at real-time,
like, right live things or
the Monday morning
or the Monday emails with everything
you have to like pay attention to
that week
that you as a normal
person consumer, does not have to go
and try to gather all that
information. It's already done for
you. So it's more than
just the plan.
When you're thinking about spending
the money. It's the plan is really
important and it's useful because it
helps you get to that end result
of the companion pass.
But it adds a framework.
It's not all the details that go
into actually achieving that
and earning it.
And then how do you use
it to, you know,
to use it for it to be most
advantageous.
So I would say that
it's definitely worthwhile
and worth the money.
If you are the kind of person that
you know, wants to travel a lot
and wants to do it in a way
that is most cost-effective to you
and you don't have to be the one to
do all of that research, but
you do have to, if you want to use
it to the best advantage.
You do have to make some time to
read those emails and go, okay,
are there any action items from
these emails that I think are going
to be helpful for me?
And then also about the website,
That's one of the reasons why I
joined for the second year is
because I
have not been able to take advantage
of all the data and all the
information that's on the website
during the first year.
And so I'm like, okay, I'm going to
make this the year that
I really try to do that
and see what questions come
up from me actually listening
to those things and looking at it
in how can I use it.
So there's so much information
that I feel, I felt like I couldn't
even achieve it in one year
and that's why I needed to stay for
another year.
Who knows how many years in order to
really feel like I've taken
advantage of what I paid for,
basically.
Yes. And we're always adding
new content, too, So there's
never an end to it.
Yes. Yes.
After this year, then you'll have a
whole nother year of you know,
we do almost weekly
live webinars most of the time we
do, and we try to hit topics that
are of interest for that time of
year, something new that's come up
or like last year or this,
I guess we're still in 2022, but the
2022 travel chaos that started
at the beginning of the year, you
know how to help people through
that.
So and I think that does surprise
a lot of people because we focus
on so much, we're going to help you
fly free.
We don't get into so much, you're
going to get all this.
I consider it icing on the cake,
you know, extra content.
And that is why we like people to
make an investment in the
membership, because I feel
like that secures
for most people the fact that they
are going to make the time
to make sure they're getting their
money out of their investment.
And when they do that, then they
follow our process and then they
find success.
If you do something that's free
most people's time, they never do it
because there's nothing true.
They have no vested interest in
figuring it out.
So I think that's really important
and why we see so much success.
And if could say, yeah,
we had one more thing that, you
know, I follow and I
did prior to joining, I follow other
I guess, travel influencers.
And what I'd like to say about
that is that I think that this that
it's you can't find
one influencer
etc. that has it all.
And to me
this being part of Families
Fly Free in listening to some
of the other influencers, they
complement each other.
So I don't say I want to say that
even if you're like, well, I
already, I already kind of pay
attention to this person or that
person, that
that's good.
And I think it definitely helps
round out because
other people might be experts in a
different aspect of travel.
But I feel that listening to
some of those other influencers
and being part of Families Fly Free
very much complement each other
and make it make your
travel
knowledge just stronger.
I don't think that one, I don't
think that you can say, Oh, because
I do this, I shouldn't do that.
I think that they work really hand
in hand.
Right? And we're our expertise is
really flying for you within the
U.S., the Caribbean and Europe.
So if you're someone who wants to
fly to Asia or fly around
the world or the Middle East or
Africa or something like that,
our processes can help
you with that. But that's not our
expertise. So you do need to find
someone who's really good
at those other areas too,
to supplement for sure.
And you know.
Talking about how
you had some knowledge before,
you know, but
not what we teach.
You know, I feel like what's
unique about Families Fly Free is
the way that I have put
it together.
It's not to say that the information
that I'm teaching isn't out there in
some form.
It is.
It's just it's not put together
the way that I have put it together.
And I suppose there's someone out
there who possibly could have done
it that way, but I haven't run
across them.
But I think that's what makes our
system work so well, is that it's a
process, and I just don't think
anyone else gives you a process.
They just give you all the
options and you have to try to
cobble together a process.
We just taking care of the process
part for you.
For the U.S., the Caribbean and
Europe to make it easy
and then provide that support along
the way. And we do.
In your plan, like you talked about,
companion pass, I just want to make
the point we do give you beyond
companion pass.
So it's it's we show you how to earn
can pay you pass but then we also
help you with like what everyday
spending card makes sense for you
and we explain to you how to use
that and how to maximize
points earning and that kind of
thing as well.
And we address any other like we
have a lot of people that sometimes
come to us with multiple
ten, 15 credit cards.
You know, they'll want to know, do
we leave these open?
How do I use these cards?
You know, that kind of thing as
well.
Well, you know, and to your point,
those are some that's my first
real exposure
to using credit cards
to your benefit
came from, you know, joining
Families, because I we
quickly after meeting with you,
I applied for the Sapphire
card and started
using that card with,
you know, the better points.
And then it starts to get you more
interested in. Again, it just
depends on, you know,
if there are what cards are out
there based on your normal spend.
You know, I think that's really
important. I think you guys try to
emphasize that as well, is
that this isn't about going into
credit card debt. Right.
It's about it's about what is
your normal spend and how can you
maximize that.
So it's about how you earn
it. And then it's also kind of about
how you redeem it, right?
There's that to say.
Just as important.
Yes.
So it's the two sides of that.
And that is something, again, that I
learned first here
from speaking with
you, when we talk about, oh, what
credit cards do you have already?
What do you use?
And again, like I said in the
beginning, that was never a door
that was open for us because we were
tied to having to use
the Southwest card because we
weren't opening and closing cards,
etc..
And we had to make those the 125,000
points.
So I would say that that is the
other part of this program, and
that was very new to us.
So we talk about what
is something new that we haven't
learned or what was surprising to
us.
It's definitely the
use of credit cards in which credit
cards are
beneficial.
That and then you guys kind of,
you know, share which cards do you
think are beneficial.
And you talk about more than one
type of card.
And then
the part that I still haven't
that I need to I, I,
I've learned how to like transfer
points out of Sapphire
into Southwest.
I had never done that before or
learned about it. And also there
aren't a lot of credit cards that
transfer into Southwest so
I didn't know that again prior to
working with you.
So I think those are some of the
things that I learned that I did
not know about.
The one thing that we still haven't
done, and I don't know that it's
always beneficial to do either
from different things that we've
that I've heard is the
one to use the portal versus not
using the portal and how to evaluate
that, etc.. So that's again, there's
always something new to figure out
and something to learn.
And that's why even,
you know, one year is not enough in
my opinion, in order to be a member
to be able to figure all of these
things out. So.
Yes. And I think that
all of those things you talked about
are the key to making it simple.
You know, like understand, you have
to know how to efficiently
redeem the points in addition
to not just how to earn them,
because that's again, I don't feel
like that's taught out in the
world is people tell you how to earn
a lot of points, but not how to pay
fewer points for everything.
So we really yeah, try to help you
compare and contrast
how to save, which portals
to use and how to find the
best deal.
And then to the point of all of our
content, we also help you with
not just flying because then
your other costs start to go up too,
once you travel a lot.
And so how to save on car rentals
and how to save on accommodations
and all of the other good stuff that
goes along with it as well.
What do you think in terms of the
amount of time?
Like do you feel like this is a time
savings to be a member
versus what you would have had to be
doing on your own?
Yeah. I mean, I think it's a little
bit of a mixed bag because it's
definitely a timesaver because
you guys do all the work.
You do all the work and you, like I
said, you make it
while you have your website.
You have those weekly messages so
that you don't have to go searching
for information all the time on the
website. So it's a very good
system of
having up-to-date real-time information. But then I want to learn a little bit more about that and I need to go to the website and figure some things out. So in that regard, it's been a big timesaver. On the flip side, I feel like I want to take advantage of everything that I paid for. So spending, you have to make the time. I have to make the time to use the website and go
back and look at old videos, etc.
so that I feel that I'm taking
the learning the most because I,
you know, that excites me.
I'm interested in that.
And then also I feel like, okay,
well, you know, this is part of what
I paid for, so I need to use
it. So, you know, we all have
different tools, we have computers,
we have this, that.
But if you don't use them, then, you
know, just having them sit there is
not that helpful. So that
takes a little bit of effort and
time I find on my
side.
So just managing that a little bit.
But certainly somebody who
doesn't want to have to go through
the website, etc., they're going to
get a lot of good information on a
weekly basis
and it is a huge
timesaver.
And we do offer the content
as a podcast as well.
So if you I think that's
important. If you want to listen to
the webinars.
That's right. While you're driving
or.
Or walking, like doing your exercise,
I've done that for sure.
I think that can help with the
multitasking, learning, you know,
learning something while doing
something else because like, that's
how I like to do things.
So I'm always like
when I when I would listen to the
podcast and I'd be walking and I'm
like, I don't have a pen and paper
down, you know. So yeah,
so depends on how you,
how you gather information.
It does for sure, yeah.
And we have different options
depending on how you like it.
And that is, you know, honestly,
that is great.
It is great that different people
learn different ways or it's just
that just it fits into your life
better because sometimes you have
just you have a cup of coffee and be
on, watch the video and take notes
if you want. You could be in the
car, you could be on a walk, you
could be, you know, just trying to,
you know, instead of listening to,
you know, maybe you're on a music
person or, you know, you want to use
your time more efficiently
or effectively, it's great to have
all those options.
Yes. Yes, I agree.
Okay. Tell us about,
you know, some of the travel that
you've been able to do since
with some of the tips that you've
learned through the membership.
And if you're able to quantify
any savings you think you have
earned?
Yeah. So
we have definitely used
in terms of like the companion pass,
we've used it all, I would say like
all over the U.S., we go to Florida
several times a year.
We've had weddings in different
locations like California and Las
Vegas and Knoxville, and
you have to go go to Knoxville.
You have to go through.
Oh shoot.
They don't fly Southwest
Directly to Knoxville, so don't
know.
They need to with the national park
being right there.
Yeah. So you have to go through
another airport and, you know, take
a drive. But anyways, we've done a
lot of that and
we, my daughter plays professional
soccer, so we go to different
cities to watch her play soccer
and have really
used it in that way.
And each time obviously we're saving
it, I would say
on average
$300 a trip
with the companion pass.
And we've we've done for
sure over,
you know, I would say between ten
and 15 of those flights
in the year, it probably $300
savings.
And we've done some other trips
that have not are
based on my learning and still
needing to learn more have not
lent themselves exactly well
to,
you know, definitely like the
Southwest
and some of the other things like we
just went to Asia
and so when you're
and then we went to Australia, but
we were tied to
that. So one thing I sound like
anxious to learn about, we were tied
to very specific things because we
were going with a lot of other
people.
And so sometimes
that's not the best financial
option, but there's a convenience
option. You know, different things
play into it.
And also like
when we went to Australia, it was
right when they opened the border,
they had set a lot of COVID
restrictions.
And so there we found
there were a couple other cheaper
ways, but we really wanted to if
something went wrong, we wanted to
have the credit be on
like, like an American Airlines.
Type of site like a United or
American, so that we
could use the credits more easily.
So but anyways.
Not an airline that just flies to
Australia that you'll never use
again.
Yeah. Yeah. So you have to you have
to like, process all of that, right?
You have to sometimes there's,
there's and then there maybe, maybe
there's other ways and you can be
saved in the hotel by some of
the things that you learn from
Families Fly Free.
So but yeah, so I think that
and I'm really always excited when
Southwest expands their
where they go to, you know, like
when they started going to Hawaii or
some of the, you know,
Caribbean locations
because then you know that even if
you don't have a trip planned right
now, you know that the options are
going to be pretty good for you in
the future.
Yeah, they have some pretty good
options. Yeah.
Do you feel like we've helped you
learn how to accumulate more points
and then as we talked about, pay
fewer points for your flights?
Yes. I think that's one of the
biggest things for me
and surprises is
that you guys have really opened my
eyes to the accumulation of points
and
with the different credit cards
and how to do that.
And then also you guys give so many
good tips on
how to meet your signup bonuses
if there are some specials within
like the Southwest Portal.
And even
if you've already met yourself, your
your sign up bonuses, sometimes
those tips are really
good because you could just keep
accumulating additional points,
right? You're telling us, oh, here's
here's a thing that they've bumped
up the amount of points you're going
to get if you do X, Y, or Z.
So even if you've met your sign up
bonus, that's excellent because you
are always, always trying to grow
your points pot, right?
So I would say that
that is one of the areas that
I feel that, wow,
I wish we would have been in that
game a long time ago.
That's something I feel that we
missed a lot of opportunities,
just earning points basically
through,
you know, Southwest using the
Southwest card
and, you know, ages ago.
And my oldest card, a credit
card that I have is like they're
over 30 years old and it's an
American Airlines card.
And again, those co-branded
cards to some degree
are very limiting in how
you earn the points and then how you
redeem them because you can only go,
you know, you have less flexibility.
So learning about the other
credit cards, the Sapphire using
the points transfer
has been really a game
changer, I would say, for us.
And when Michelle says co-branded
cards, I just want to clarify that
that is a card that like has an
airline or a hotel attached to
it. So whereas the Chase Sapphire
Preferred does not, it's just
right.
So yeah, those cards, we'd
never recommend using those cards
for your everyday spend because of
what you just said they are.
You can only use their points
most of the time on that program.
You know, they're not flexible and
they tend to not give you the most
points per dollar on your spending,
or at least in areas you're going to
be spending a lot on if you travel.
So that's why we don't we don't love
those.
And then the other biggest thing for
us is just rotating the companion
pass
getting the credit cards and sign-up bonuses. That's something again we had never done before. And I think right there, that is definitely worth the the money to learn to of the membership to learn that process.
Yes that definitely simplifies
things a lot.
And you just you do I
gosh as I'm seeing again, the end of
this year, you really do need
someone to hold your hand through
that, though, to get it right.
It can be so easy once you learn
it, but you got to make sure you're
doing it right.
Okay. So to wrap us up,
what would you advise
others who are hesitant about
joining? They look at the cost of
membership.
They think, how in the world
could this be worth it?
You know, it's too good to be true.
What would you tell those folks?
I would say that's what I say.
I would say definitely do it.
And you
make up the cost
of the membership.
Like literally you can make up the
cost of the membership very quickly
by definitely just earning the
companion pass.
Right. And then, you know, going on
a couple trips.
But beyond that you are
making up the cost of that
from all that probably opportunity
cost your you had been foregoing
without having the right information
in terms of the different
types of credit cards, when to use
what credit card
and how to redeem the,
you know, the best values for that
and having somebody, you cannot
really you cannot
underestimate the
importance of having somebody
that you can pick up the phone
or set up a call, a video call,
or just communicate through email
with your questions.
And that has been
something that that
is well worth the cost of
the membership all on its own, I
think is to have that, you know, and
it's not like, oh, you get
you know, you can reach out to us
twice a year. No, you can, you know,
if you have you know, I have some
strings where I'm like, wait, are
you saying this or are you saying
that, you know, what about this?
So, you know, I have some long
strings of emails where people will
just on your team have been so
helpful and so,
so patient with providing
the data and information.
And I think that that's a
that that type of service is not something that you get with a lot of things that you are part of. Even with credit cards, you know, credit cards have all these customer service people and you're
trying to figure out, oh, what are
all these like benefits for these
credit cards? Right. They again,
you sign up for these cards, but
unless you're using the benefits
that come with the cards, you also
are missing out and the value
of their card, right?
Oh, it costs this amount of
a year to have this card.
But if you do all these things, the
card might be almost free for you.
But what about if you're not doing
all of those things, then you've
missed out.
But anyways, when you call a credit
card company to ask
them questions, you know, you know,
it's not a quick call.
You know, you're hitting this
number, hitting that number being
put on hold.
Then you're talking to somebody.
Then they're looking
at their script. You know, it's like it's a little bit like, oh, I got
to call the credit card company.
It's so different calling you all
or sending you a text or sending
you guys an email.
It's none of that like
bureaucracy that you find when
you're trying to get a little bit of
information from my credit card
company. So so that
alone, the customer service I think,
honestly is really worth it.
And then you have so much data,
so much information that if that's
somebody's jam that they want to
learn everything and want to get
into the
the website and
watch the different videos or listen
to them on a podcast,
you know, that's, that's awesome.
It's there's, it can be data
overload when you're just going out
and Googling something, right?
And then you don't know, is it 100%
accurate? So
instead just Google and your website
and it has funneled
everything down into a nice neat,
this is what you need to know.
So I think that is 100% worth it.
And like I said, it's information
you can trust is correct.
That is a I think there's a huge
value in that for sure.
Yeah, I heard it a lot on
our.
Oh, sorry.
Well, just because we do have a lot
which can feel overwhelming to some
people too, but you just take what
you need at the moment.
Yeah.
That's awesome. That's exactly
right. And, and I guess the last
thing I would just say to somebody
is even if you're a person who
thinks they got it down and they
know it all, it's you don't know
what you don't know until you join,
you know, something like this in
use. Read all the information
or you get the weekly emails like,
Ooh, I didn't know that they were
doing a transfer right now or I
didn't know X, Y, or Z.
So even if you think you
know it all and you're savvy, trust
me, there's there's probably
a lot that you could still benefit
from by,
you know, participating and joining
Families Fly Free and then actually
using the information that you guys
provide us.
I think that is a great place to,
to conclude.
I think you're exactly right on
that.
I think you'll be surprised at how
much you can learn from
us, even if it's just a different
process of putting together the
different things.
So I loved your perspective on that,
on how you were open to to
learning some new things, and it has
made a big difference for you guys
and simplifying and opportunity
cost and all that.
So thanks so much, Michele.
Really appreciate you being on
today. And thank you.
Stay tuned for our next episode,
everyone.
If you're ready to fly your family
free forever, I
invite you to join my
Families Fly Free membership.
You'll learn how to stop paying for
airfare throughout the U.S.,
Caribbean and Europe so you can
make those priceless family
travel memories before your
kids or even your grandkids
leave home for good.
And you'll learn it using my simple,
proven formula that's helped
hundreds of families.
Plus it's risk-free.
You either get your investment in
the membership back in free travel,
or I give you your money back.
You can get more information at
Families Fly Free dot com
slash join.