Leverage on a regular basis spending to hit your journey objectives, coach says

Betsey Wilson was what she calls “Slope Rich.”

“After graduating high school, I took a job in Prudhoe Bay as a housekeeper,” she stated. “But then I became an expediter, then a firefighter, then a maintenance technician and finally a heavy equipment operator. I had some amazing jobs.”

During her time without work, along with her ample paychecks, Wilson caught the journey bug. Along the way in which, she met her husband and now they’re elevating their daughter, who additionally likes to journey.

Wilson shortly realized she wished to spend time elevating her daughter — and the distant shift-work oil area life-style was not for her.

“My big challenge, though, was how to sustain my love of travel without my six-figure income,” she stated.

“I discovered the world of miles and points in 2022. I had the Alaska Airlines credit card — but I started to strategize.”

From this basis, Wilson is working to make the transition from “Slope Rich” to “Travel Rich” and now acts as a journey strategist and coach. Her program known as “Become Travel Rich” and it consists of “travel audits,” some homework and a subscription plan known as Alaska Airlines University. She dubs it “ASU” for brief, enjoying on the airline’s AS two-letter code.

Along the way in which, Wilson’s 3-year-old daughter has traveled on greater than 100 flights and is turning into a really frequent flyer.

“I’ve mastered traveling with a toddler, so it’s not scary or overwhelming. I involve her in the process, including having her own printed boarding pass. I challenge her to find her own seat — and I introduce her to the flight attendants,” stated Wilson.

Since Wilson grew up in Alaska, a lot of her effort is dedicated to leveraging the Alaska Airlines frequent flyer plan, now often known as Atmos Rewards.

Even so, one of many favourite sayings she shares along with her college students is “I’m going to teach you how to break up with your Alaska Airlines credit card.”

Over espresso in South Anchorage earlier this week, Wilson pulled out a thick folder that seemed like a enterprise card holder.

Instead, the folder held dozens of bank cards: American Express, Chase, Bilt Rewards, Alaska Airlines, Capital One and CitiBank, amongst others.

But serving to her college students set up their spending habits to maximise their factors and miles is greater than “get this credit card.”

“I help students decide what kind of travel they love and then match it up with a particular credit card,” stated Wilson.

“For someone who wants an all-inclusive resort with a kids’ club, I would recommend a Chase Sapphire card.”

The Chase Sapphire card features a “flexible spend” perform to maneuver factors to Hyatt Resorts’ loyalty plan. Dreams Resorts and Spas, a part of the Hyatt plan, has a number of all-inclusive resorts in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Cartagena, Colombia.

If vacationers love hanging out at airport lounges earlier than their flight, Wilson has a money-saving hack. Instead of paying the complete $795 annual membership for entry to Alaska Airlines lounges and accomplice lounges, Wilson recommends getting the American Airlines “Elite Mastercard” supplied by Citibank for $595. The card gives entry to American Airlines lounges, Alaska lounges and lots of accomplice lounges all over the world.

Listening to Wilson speak concerning the ever-changing choices for factors and miles is inspiring — and a bit daunting.

“Everything is changing so quickly,” stated Wilson. “Plus, the programs or airlines do not announce the changes.”

Wilson credit a few master-class mileage hounds for his or her concepts and recommendation to construct out her coursework and provide it to others.

“Julia Menez hosts the Geobreeze podcast, which is the first podcast I was on,” said Wilson. “I’ve since been back on her show to talk more about ASU.”

Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy website, also is an inspiration. “I rely on their resources,” said Wilson.

Although Wilson belongs to many loyalty plans and has dozens of credit cards, that alone does not help her to “become travel rich.”

“I try and master one or two plans,” she said. “For me, it’s the Atmos Rewards program and Chase’s Ultimate Rewards.”

Still, there are some outliers that have a special allure.

“I do dabble in Amex,” she confessed. “I get four points for every dollar I spend on groceries. For our family, that’s a major expense.”

Even although she’s not a renter, Wilson is bullish on the Bilt Rewards card.

Bilt’s foundational advantage allows cardholders to pay their monthly rent with the card and to earn points. Bilt does not have an annual membership fee, nor do they charge any fees to make the payment, even if the cardholder’s landlord only accepts checks or bank drafts.

“There are all sorts of category bonuses that Bilt offers, particularly on the first of the month,” said Wilson. Once, that included a 6x bonus at coffee shops, so Wilson got a $100 gift card. “It’s all about leveraging your everyday spending.”

Wilson has been working overtime to analyze Alaska Airlines’ new Atmos Rewards program.

“I probably was one of the first to apply for the new, premium Atmos Summit card,” said Wilson. “The most valuable benefit to me is the ability to pool my points with up to 10 friends or family members. That’s important to me because I buy all the tickets for my family.”

Travelers who sign up to maximize their points with Alaska’s new plan pay $49 per month for access to Wilson’s course. It includes a smartphone app to get the latest plan updates and to share tips and tricks privately with other community members. Wilson also hosts monthly webinars, including the best uses of Alaska’s new Summit card. Wilson stays up to date on elite status benefits and on changes to the Atmos plan for 2026.

“I want more people to travel,” said Wilson. “I think travel challenges you in an authentic way. Maybe it’s hard. But it’s an experience!”

It wasn’t that long ago that Wilson was building ice roads for the Alpine oil field on the North Slope with her front-end loader, working with the Operating Engineers Union (Local 302).

But things have changed. She and her daughter have been to Hawaii five times, as part of her 100 flights. On a recent road trip, her daughter turned to her and asked sincerely, “Mom, can we please just take an airplane?”

“Being Travel Rich is better than being Slope Rich,” said Wilson.

Correction: This column has been up to date to right the quantity of a 6x bonus Wilson had acquired in espresso store class spending utilizing Bilt.