Hi, I’m “Diamond” Dave.
After a couple less-than-stellar international flights, I realized that the experience of flying certainly left something to be desired. Crowded airports, tiny seats, and inedible food seemed to be the standard and even though the cost was decreasing, so was the service. I knew I had to find a better way. That’s when I started researching credit card points and airlines – my ticket to the promised land.
I remember my first point booking like it was yesterday – I flew to Paris in the business class cabin with a lie-flat bed, 3-course meal, and never-ending champagne. The best part was that instead of the $4k price tag everyone else on that flight paid, I simply spent 70k points and $5.60 in taxes/fees.
After that, I knew there was no way that I could ever go back.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve spent hundreds of hours learning everything I could about credit card points, award charts, loyalty programs, airline alliances, and codeshares. During that time, I’ve booked trips for myself, family, and friends to crack the code on how to quickly and easily get someone from A to B with the least amount of money out of pocket.
After a lot of convincing, I’ve decided to share my secrets and help others do the same. That’s because I believe everyone deserves to see beyond their immediate surroundings.
Oliver Wilde said that we all should “live with no excuses and travel with no regrets.” I can’t help you with that first part, but I’d be delighted to help you with the second.
The Latest Info
What Are Points And Miles Worth?
I received an email the other day from Diamond Dave Travels reader, Matt, who was struggling to determine which credit card would be best for him to get started earning and using points. Here’s what he had to say: “I wanted to get your insight to how points actually...
Maximize Your Amex Airline Fee Credit With These Strategies
Travel cards offer many different perks to add value to cardholders of all types. Nowadays, it is common for most premium travel cards to offer some sort of travel credit. Some of these credits can be very simple to use and include wide-ranging travel costs while...
How To Find The Cheapest Fares With Google Flights
There are a lot of sites on the internet to search for flights and other travel options. As a matter of fact, online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz disrupted the travel industry when they first launched by making much of a travel agent’s work redundant....
Sit Back And Let Us Handle Your Bookings
Want to turn your daily spending into seasonal free trips such as a winter ski vacation in Aspen or a summer excursion to Barcelona?
Already have hundreds of thousands or unused points or miles, but don’t know how to use them because it seems so complicated or time consuming?
Looking for a way to enhance your travel experience by staying in 5-star hotels or flying first-class without spending the extra cash?
We can help.
Diamond Dave has been booking point/mile itineraries for clients since 2018 and offers services that include advising on point earning, credit card selection, flight/hotel bookings, and transportation and daily tours. Let us manage your point travel so that all you have to do is sit back and enjoy your vacations.
Interested in hiring us to make your travel less stressful? Click the button below to learn more.
What Clients Are Saying
My wife and I have used Dave to book several amazing “once-in-a-lifetime” vacations. His insights have allowed us to strategically use our credit card purchases (money we would have spent anyway) to gain exceptional travel benefits. When we knew we wanted to go somewhere in particular but weren’t sure how to turn that into an entire vacation, he discussed alternatives and fluidly built an entire multi-city itinerary that met our needs.
Not only would I never book any travel at this point without consulting Dave, I also touch base before any major purchases to make sure I achieve the best possible return on my spending. He is my “go-to” person for anything travel related and I highly recommend him.
So this October I flew to Bangkok, Thailand and back in business class – a ticket that would have cost $7,000! However, thanks to Diamond Dave, I traveled on points alone (minus some minor travel fees).
I always knew that I could be optimizing the hundreds of thousands of miles I was accumulating, but never made the time to figure it all out. Dave made it all super simple to understand and with him in my corner, I’ll never have to go back to flying economy ever again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why bother with points? How valuable or beneficial can it be?
You might be wondering why you should even bother with learning to earn and spend travel points/miles or whether it’s even worth it.
That’s a fair question and only YOU can answer that.
Do you like saving thousands of dollars? Do you want to travel more, but the cost is holding you back? Would you like to upgrade your flights to first class or make your travel experience exponentially better than the standard?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then yes; getting into the “points game” is worth it.
As far as how valuable can it be for you, that’s a little more challenging to answer based on how you use your points. However, the average traveler that goes on 2-3 vacations per year will probably save at least a couple thousand dollars each year, but likely even more than that. More frequent travelers will get even more value with many reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars of savings.
How does it work?
Simply speaking, traveling on points/miles is based on earning points through credit card spending and bonuses on regular purchases and then using those points to book trips at a fraction of the cash cost.
This is all possible by credit card companies partnering with airlines and hotels to allow you to use your points in many ways. They don’t make it easy, though, so you must learn a couple tricks of the trade. Ultimately, the goal is to earn as many points as possible per dollar you spend and then use the least amount of points to book your trip.
The purpose of this website is to help you learn how to maximize your point earnings, determine your best spending options, and then book your dream trip(s).
What types of people can benefit the most?
In our experience, almost anyone can benefit from earning and using travel points. There are, however, two distinct types of travelers that tend to use points.
The first type of traveler is those that are more budget conscious and prefer to use their points to take more trips every year. These travelers might not be able to afford travel if they didn’t use points or they don’t like to spend much money on travel. For many of these travelers, they are able to take more budgeted trips or even their first trip thanks to their travel points. Imagine the family that’s able to take their first trip to Disney World or the newlyweds that can book their honeymoon to Thailand without having to save up for years.
The second type of traveler is those that already travel a couple times per year but wants a better experience than they can normally afford. Maybe that means flying first class or staying in a top-rated hotel. The standard economy travel experience certainly leaves a lot to be desired and the ability to elevate to higher level of service can make a big difference. These travelers will use their points to offset the exorbitant cost of these premium products. You do only live once after all!
Regardless of how you choose to use your points, travel is always much more fun when it’s free or significantly discounted.
Will all my trips be free?
No, not all of them will be, but some will.
There is a myriad of nominal charges like taxes, fees, fuel surcharges, and other items that may add a cash cost to your booking. That’s why I usually use the term “nearly free.”
The goal is always to choose the airline/hotel that will require you to pay the least amount of taxes/fees for your booking. However, many times this is due to the location of travel to/from and the country’s specific taxes. Most of time, these fees are quite minimal and still make traveling on points much cheaper than cash.
Our main goal, here at Diamond Dave Travels, is to save you the most money and find you the best deals. Sometimes that means we’ll recommend point bookings, cash bookings, or a combination of the two.
Will this affect my credit score?
The only way earning and using points will affect your credit score is when you open or close a credit card.
When opening a new card there’s a possibility that your score will drop temporarily due to your credit being checked. However, after this temporary drop, it is possible your score will increase as you will now have more available credit and now a lower amount of credit usage. Since this is based on the ratio of your total available credit to the total amount of outstanding balances, having a higher amount of available credit will often reflect better on your report. If you close an account, you may experience the opposite effect.
We recommend always handling your credit responsibly. That means keeping your balances in check, paying off your statements every month to avoid interest, and keeping quarterly tabs on your credit score and report. You can do the latter by using a free credit monitoring service such as Credit Karma.
What services does Diamond Dave Travels offer?
We believe that everyone deserves to be able to travel and we’re committed to helping understand how to use and leverage travel points and miles to do so. This site is designed to provide the best information to help people across the world use their points as effectively as possible. Everything from earning and spending to the actual process of booking through travel partners.
However, due to the complicated nature of booking travel with points or miles, we also offer services that allow us to do all the heavy lifting for you. We can not only advise you on which credit cards best fit your spending profile, but also complete all your bookings so you can put the process on autopilot.
If you’d like to learn more about how the team at Diamond Dave Travels can make your life easier when it comes to traveling on points, check out our Services Page.