Episode #59: Travel Hacking, Free First Class Flights Around the World and Mastering the Points Hustle with Freddy Lansky

Episode Summary

Freddy Lansky takes us on his 10-year travel journey including his experiences in places like North Korea and Venezuela.  He then talks about his entrepreneurial journey and his experience scaling his last business to 7-figures and having a successful exit.  He explains how over the years he has studied and mastered the award-points game to score free first-class flights around the world that usually retail for up to $15,000.  He then talks about his mission in founding his current company Points Panda and his passion for helping others optimize their award-point acquisition and redemption. He explains the nuances and complexities of opening the right credit cards, double and triple-dipping acquisition strategies for maximizing reward points, and transferring points into the right airlines (which are usually the partners of the actual airlines you want to fly on) to optimize redemption value.  He explains why a highly customized points-acquisition strategy (based on your current spending habits) and points-redemption strategy (based on your specific travel goals) is essential for each individual person. He also explains why opening multiple credit cards will likely help (not hurt) your credit score over the long run. He then recommends his top books, top productivity app, favorite travel destinations of all time, and the top bucket list destinations that are currently on the top of his list.  Freddy concludes by offering a discount for Maverick Show listeners to use his Points Panda concierge service. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT www.TheMaverickShow.com

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What You'll Learn
  • How to optimize reward points acquisition and the importance of a customized strategy.
  • The nuances of reward-point redemption techniques for maximizing points-value.
  • Why not all points are created equal and the real significance of airline alliances.
Links From the Episode

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LEARN MORE ABOUT POINTS PANDA (Use This Link To Get $100 Discount)

ORGANIZATION WHERE MATT AND FREDDY ARE MEMBERS

CONFERENCE THAT MATT AND FREDDY ATTENDED

THE TOP 3 BOOKS FREDDY RECOMMENDS

THE #1 PRODUCTIVITY APP THAT FREDDY RECOMMENDS

FREDDY’S TRAVEL RESOURCES

LOCATION WHERE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE

TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

TOP 6 BUCKET LIST TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CHECK FLIGHT PRICES TO ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS

CONTACT FREDDY

Time Stamped Show Notes

[2:45] Matt and Freddy discuss the Dynamite Circle

  • What the Dynamite Circle is
  • Why Freddy has been so involved in the Dynamite Circle
  • Organizing local Dynamite Circle meetups

[8:05] Freddy’s Travel Journey 

  • What travel means to Freddy
  • Why Freddy has chosen to travel the world for a decade
  • Freddy’s experience in North Korea
  • Freddy’s experience in Venezuela 

[19:29] Master the Award-Points Game 

  • How and why Freddy became an expert on the award-points game
  • Learning points acquisition and redemption strategies 
  • The importance of understanding airline alliances 
  • Why not all points are created equal 
  • Why a customized points-acquisition and redemption strategy is so crucial 
  • How to leverage double or triple-dipping opportunities
  • Why credit card sign-up bonuses are the lynchpin to the whole strategy 
  • Why opening new credit cards will typically help, not hurt, your credit score

[45:04] The Lightning Round

  • Freddy’s Top 3 Book Recommendations
  • Freddy’s Top Productivity App Recommendation
  • Freddy’s Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
  • Freddy’s Top 6 Bucket List Destinations
a man smiling

Freddy Lansky

Freddy Lansky is a location independent entrepreneur, travel hacker, and the founder of Points Panda—a premium award-points consulting and travel booking concierge service.   For a flat annual fee, Points Panda works with each customer to develop a customized award-points acquisition strategy which is highly leveraged and optimized based on their individual travel and spending habits. Points Panda then identifies the best redemption deals for each customer’s individual goals, and even books the travel for you.  Prior to founding Points Panda, Freddie co-founded the company “iChess”—selling chess strategy and training courses—which he scaled to 7-figures in revenue and sold for a successful exit. Freddy has been a digital nomad and world traveler since 2009 and has been to over 60 countries.  Throughout his travels, he has studied and mastered the award-points game and has flown on some of the world’s most expensive flights for free, including the first-class long haul flights on Cathay Pacific that retail for over $15,000 cash and today helps his clients do the same.

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