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 the right 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 around the world and save tonnes of money by paying for flight tickets with miles and hotel stays with points 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 for me to pay it forward. It has been my goal this year to educate women as much as I can to travel better and reduce their cost of travel with the help of points earned with 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. We 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 initiated the #PointsPurse, credit card workshop for women. I’ve run workshops in Mumbai and Bangalore, and the sessions were very well received. Here is a round-up of the workshop and some pictures from our previous workshop in Mumbai in March 2019 and in Bengaluru in May 2019.

Announcing the next PointsPurse in Mumbai

I’m thrilled to share that I will be doing another credit card workshop exclusively for women on June 22, 2019, at WeWork BKC in Mumbai 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
• Planning that first FREE HOLIDAY!

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, June 16.

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.

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 Mumbai ladies on Saturday, June 22, 2019. Again, Sign up here!