Like you know, Miles & Points are a passion we have pursued for more than a decade now. Back in the day, when I started working, I was as clueless like most women about where to find authentic information about credit cards and how to learn to optimise them. Fortunately,  over some time, I gathered my skillset from a combination of sources and learning from those before me. And now, that skillset helps me and my family travel by the droves while paying for it with miles rather than cash.

For instance, in April this year, we vacationed in Japan to witness the beautiful Cherry Blossom festival and stayed five nights at the Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo. The hotel prices in Japan are very high during the Sakura season. However thanks to the American Express credit card we saved over INR 4,00,000 on our luxury hotel stay.

And now, it is time to pay it forward. It has been my goal this year to educate women as much as I can to travel better and earn their miles wisely with the help of their credit cards. Over the years, I’ve also realised that as women, we have many everyday expenses, which if we start putting on our cards, the mileage balance can multiply. One year, I earned 54,000 miles without stepping on a plane. That is good enough to get me a ticket to London. All these miles were earned by using one single credit card for my groceries, shopping, dinners, salon, movies and other personal expenses big and small.

I’ve also observed that very few women understand the world of credit cards, points and miles. They think it’s complicated and tedious. Therefore this year, I want to introduce more women to the concept of using credit cards and earning miles every day without really flying.

With this goal in mind, I launched the #PointsPurse in Mumbai, and it was very well received. Here is a round-up of the workshop and some pictures from the session.

PointsPurse comes to Bengaluru

I’m thrilled to share that I will be doing a workshop exclusively for ladies on May 26, 2019, at The Bohemian House in Bengaluru to help them get started with credit cards. This will be a 2-hour long session where I will start from the basics, talk about why move from cash to cards, how to identify the right travel rewards cards and then how to use them every day to achieve your travel dreams. Together we will discuss travel goals and then how to meet them.

Here’s what the credit card workshop will cover:

• Credit Cards Vs Cash
• Types of credit cards
• How to pick the right credit card that earns you travel
• An overview of loyalty programs and how to optimise them
• Tips on moving everyday cash spend to cards and earn miles and points
• A list of credit cards for beginners to help you get started

Please note that this is a limited space event and a sign up is mandatory. Book your space here. There is a 20% Early Bird Discount if you book your seat by this weekend, May 20.

Why should you attend The Points Purse?

• You want to learn how to maximise all the points you can earn with your work and household expenses
• You want to travel the world, but not spend your life’s worth on it
• You want to upgrade the quality of your travel without thinking about the wallet effect each time (airport lounges, spas, business class upgrades)

You are welcome to bring your friends, mom and siblings along, make sure you have enough tickets on you! To the men reading, this is the best gift you can give your partner because travel is more fun when you explore beautiful places together.

What is The Bohemian House?

The Bohemian House on Richmond Circle is situated inside the heritage bungalow inside Woody’s Hotel. This is a boutique workspace that contains among other things — creative co-working spaces, cafe by Third Wave Coffee Roasters, The Pieces – a boutique interior decor store and sprawling indoor and outdoor events spaces for creative workshops and community events. We will serve coffee and snacks before the workshop begins.

As I continue to share daily tips on my social media (@shipraatalounge) about how I maximise my credit cards every day for my everyday expenses, I look forward to meeting more smart women and helping them travel far and further, fuelled by points and miles.

I am looking forward to meeting the Bengaluru ladies on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Again, Sign up here!