The average person flies 3-4 times a year.
If you fly more than that, you could be considered a frequent flyer.
You don’t need to fly hundreds of thousands of miles, although of course that is nice for either work or leisure too.
I think everyone should be a frequent flier.
I plan to fly every other week later.
In terms of expenses, this is not as hard as it looks with $15 flights on Frontier or 5000 mile award sales on Delta, United, or American.
Of course, I know most people work a full time job (myself included until I become a full time entrepreneur), so there is also the time factor.
However often you fly, even if only once a year, you can increase your frequency.
If you fly once a year, go for twice.
On the other hand, if you fly twenty times a year, go for twenty-one.
In any case, here are reasons to fly more after the pandemic as well as ways to do so.
Reason #1 To Fly More: Flying beats driving for long distances
I think people should travel more in general after the pandemic, whether road trips, flying, cruising, etc.
I will write a post about it later.
Again, I mean any kind of travel, even road trips.
Although road trips increase your quantity of domestic travel when the distance is short, not everywhere can be reached by car in a short amount of time.
I think this is the number one reason to fly instead of drive or at least it is for me.
The pandemic has encouraged road trips, but who does not think flying is better for long distances?
The road trip from New York City to Los Angelas is a very long drive.
It will take you about 43 hours or almost two days.
That does not include stops.
I know we are in a pandemic where some people are flying and some are not.
I have not flown since the pandemic started.
I have done nothing but road trips.
I actually like driving but that was because I stopped doing road trips for years.
I really think at some point, I may get tired of driving though.
I have a trip to New Orleans coming up soon.
That is a 7 hour drive from where I live in the Huntsville, Alabama area.
I have done this drive before, and it was fun.
I also did the same drive to the Carolinas a couple of years ago (stopped in Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston).
As much as I love the scenery and the fun of driving, after 7 hours of driving, flying is better to me.
Everyone has a different threshold for road trips though.
Mine is at about 6-7 hours again.
Again, after that point, flying is better to me.
Before the pandemic, flying even beat driving in distance around 4 hours though.
So, after 6-7 hours, a road trip (with higher prices in gas currently) is not worth it.
That is unless you are doing something special like the Pacific Highway or a special cross country or scenic trip.
I have a trip I want to do to Chicago soon too.
Chicago is nine hours from where I live
I may have to drive, but that is not my preference.
I am around my mom who does not feel comfortable with me flying during the coronavirus.
I don’t want to endanger her.
People tell me they feel safe flying though.
Hopefully, the vaccine will change everything quicker.
Driving nine hours to Chicago does not excite me.
I would rather fly.
Before the pandemic, everyone would rather fly to most places.
Reason #2 To Fly More: Flying is Cool
Again, before the pandemic, most people would rather fly.
Flying is a lot cooler than a road trip.
The humble road trip has come a long way from a budget tactic to get you to your destination.
I enjoy hitting the highway.
I enjoy the scenery.
Flying is still much cooler though.
I will continue to use road trips for trips under 4-7 hours.
You should probably not fly to a destination that is two hours away (usually).
Again, I will write a post about how the road trip can increase your quantity of travel on trips of a short distance (like two to four hours).
Still, flying is much cooler than a road trip again.
Most people did not think the humble road trip was cool before the pandemic.
Again, I do have fun hitting the highway.
You should too.
I would prefer that most of my travel later be by airplane though.
I think you should too if you don’t already.
Reason #3 To Fly More: Flying Can Be Cheaper Or At Least Affordable
With gas prices at a high and $15 flights on budget airlines, flying might even be cheaper.
I know most people think flying is more expensive.
I do not buy tickets for a family of four, but flying may be cheaper or at least affordable,.
It is not only cheap flights on budget airlines, award flights can be a steal too again.
Last month, I saw a flight from my home airport to Florida on Delta for 5000 miles each way.
I see those on all three legacy carriers websites all the time.
This is a good reason to always keep a stash of points.
When a 5000 mile sale comes up, you have the points.
You can easily earn Delta points with the American Express Membership program.
You can easily have a stash of United points with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.
American Airlines does not yet have a transfer program.
You can still easily earn American Airlines miles with their credit card sign up bonuses, shopping portal, or dining program in addition to flying.
We don’t have Southwest where I live, but you can easily transfer from the Chase Ultimate program to Southwest.
Reason #4 To Fly More: Be More Of An AvGeek/Frequent Flier
As I said at the beginning of this post, everyone should be a frequent flier.
I don’t think this is just for business travelers or bloggers.
Becoming a frequent flier will make you more of an AvGeek, which is fun.
You can learn first hand different kinds of planes.
You can even learn different airports.
I love knowing all the airline abbreviations like MCO stands for Orlando International Airport.
Again, the average person flies 3-4 times a year, so if you fly more than that you can be considered a frequent flier.
Why should you not be jetting off to your next destination if it costs only pennies?
Reason #5 To Fly More: International Travel Will Require A Plane
International travel, which you should prioritize after the pandemic, requires a flight.
Travel is really about seeing the rest of the world and learning about different cultures.
After the pandemic, when borders are fully open, international travel should be your priority.
I will write a post about this later.
In any case, international travel requires a flight (sometimes even ten hours of flying or more).
My #1 Way to Fly More: Multiple Cities & Countries
I love to fly to multiple cities or countries in one trip.
This is one of my favorite things to do.
Of course, I am not tagging along kids, so maybe families will need adjustments.
This lets me see more places for less.
For instance, I had a trip to Texas a couple of years ago.
I wanted to see three major cities in Texas: Dallas, Houston, and Austin.
I would have liked to see San Antonio too.
The trip was already hectic though.
This is the epitome of jet setting although you can get tired.
I had been to Houston as a child (although I don’t remember it).
I had never been to Dallas and Austin.
I flew into Dallas.
Then, I stayed for a day in Dallas.
Then, I flew from Dallas to Austin.
Next, I stayed for a day in Austin.
Then, I drove from Austin to Houston (wanted to see what driving in Texas was like)
Lastly, I flew home from Houston.
This was when I first got into points and miles.
I wanted to cover every major U.S. city quickly.
This did have one drawback which I will discuss later in this post.
Flights between cities this close are often $50 or less.
I just saw a flight from Orlando to Miami for $30 one way on Delta.
On a different multiple city trip, I got to see three cities in California.
I flew into Los Angelas and stayed for four days.
Then, I drove from Los Angelas to San Diego.
Then, I flew from San Diego to San Francisco and stayed another four days.
From San Francisco, I flew home.
I got almost every major city in the United States doing this in one or two years.
I also did this on a Canadian trip too.
I flew into Toronto.
Next, I flew from Toronto to Montreal.
Then, I flew home from Montreal.
Just keep in mind, you will have to pace yourself for multiple cities.
I have done several cities where I had 24 hours in each city back to back.
That was very fast paced and may not be for everyone.
You can also do this with countries after the pandemic.
Europe is an easy continent to do this with, but so are others.
My 2nd Favorite Way To Fly More: The Long Weekend Flight
I am sure most people know about the long weekend flight.
After all, most people work a full time job.
You may have 21 days of vacation, but if you are like me and want to travel more, you will want to travel more frequently.
I work a full time job too while I am an entrepreneur.
My day job is very flexible though.
This is where the long weekend flight comes in handy.
You can leave on a Friday and get back on a Monday (perfect for holidays like Labor Day).
Most domestic U.S. trips are perfect for the weekend (save vacation days for trips to countries that require a 10 hour flight).
As always, I think people should prioritize international travel.
I learned this the hard way when I was starting out in 2015.
I knew I wanted to travel a lot, so I figured
I would start out covering my list in the United States.
I did this for two years then something came up, and I had to take time off travel.
As a result, I did not cover as many international destinations as I could have.
I have been to London, but not other parts of Europe.
I have been to several countries in Africa.
I have not been to Asia, South America, or Australia.
Had I prioritized international travel, I would have covered all those continents and had a stamp in my passport for at least ten to twenty more countries.
So, learn from my mistake and prioritize international travel.
That is why a lot of my domestic trips that are driving distance are overnight.
You could spend as much on a domestic trip as you would on an international trip where you get to see the rest of the wold.
I don’t want to do that.
Keep in mind that Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean are similar to domestic travel (less points/cash or easier to get too), so prioritize crossing an ocean.
I plan to move through continents very fast after the pandemic.
Again, learn from my mistake and prioritize international travel.
Ways To Fly More (For Less) Recapped
- Get cheap flights on budget airlines
- Go for airline sales
- Get discount award flights
- Get in multiple cities or countries on one flight
- Do weekend trips to major domestic cities
Note: I Prefer Flying Using Mostly Or All Points
I use cash equivalents to pay for hotels.
For me, cash equivalents means anyway to cover the cash price of a hotel without spending my own money.
As people know, I don’t believe in spending a lot of money on travel.
This can be a cash back credit card or one thing I did at a category 6 Marriott hotel to spend $0 instead of $250.
I prefer all points for flight though.
Airlines reward people by how much money you spend.
You need to spend more money to get rewarded.
Also, major credit card issuers like Chase, American Express, and Citi easily transfer to airlines, so I prefer flying with mostly points.
Those same credit card issuers do not transfer to hotels without a very poor redemption value, so my points go to flying.
The only time you should transfer credit card points to hotels is with the Hyatt chain.
I will write about how the Hyatt transfer is the sweet spot in hotels with credit card points later.
You can transfer Chase points to Hyatt.
You can also transfer Chase points to Marriott and IHG, but again the value is very poor and a waste of your points.
So, I prefer cash equivalents to cover hotels.
Summary
Flying is cool.
For domestic travel that is little distance away, you can save money and travel by car.
This includes day trips that require no hotel stay.
After a driving distance of around 4-7 hours, I think flying is better.
Flying is no longer something expensive with $15 flights on discount carriers and cheap award sales.
Everyone can and should be a frequent flyer after the pandemic.
I know I am a blogger, so frequent flying should I guess come with the job.
Honestly, before I became a blogger I only flew just slightly better than average.
Everyone should be some kind of frequent flier though.
Again, since the average person only flies 3-4 times a year, if you fly more than that, you are technically already a frequent flier.
You can define what frequent flier means for you.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, if you fly twice a year you can increase it to three times a year.
If you fly ten times a year, you can increase to eleven times a year.
Flying is cool, and something everyone should enjoy more often (after the pandemic).
How frequent did you fly before the pandemic?
Would you like to fly more frequently in the future?
