In the US miles/points world, conferences are quite popular, but we’ve never had one dedicated for Canadians. I’m excited to announce that I will be speaking at Points University next year!
PointsU
About PointsU
The conference will be on January 16th, 2016, at the Sheraton Wall Center Vancouver. It will be a one day event with me and other travel experts who will be speaking on various topics. There’s a pretty wide coverage of areas, such as:
- Maximizing miles with Credit Cards
- Getting Elite Status for less
- Utilizing Hotel Reward Programs
- Redeeming Avios and AMEX
I know that these tickets aren’t cheap, especially if you’re a student, so if you want to save on the regular public price, use CKMS20 for a $20 discount. This makes the ticket $139 CAD. You can purchase tickets here.
Is It Worth It?
I’m sure you don’t like paying for conferences. I don’t either.
If everyone come for free without costing thousands of dollars out of pocket, I would. The reality is that event space and catering costs money. You must have a ticket to attend the event, and ID will be checked. Those without valid tickets will not be able to enter. Purchasing a ticket to PointsU will give you access to a day of learning about miles/points, as well as networking opportunities with like-minded travel enthusiasts and miles/points aficionados. Lunch is also provided.
I am good friends with the organizers of the conference and have been told that the ticket cost is merely covering expenses. The travel experts that are speaking are not being compensated unless you use their coupon code which also gives you a discount (mine is listed above). If you find their blog content useful – consider purchasing a ticket through their site as to reward them for their efforts in educating readers.
If you are just starting to learn about miles/points, this conference is probably one of the best decisions you will be making about your miles/points education. You’ll be learning in detail from scratch about the best ways to earn and redeem miles, as well as tips and tricks. I know that advanced miles/points users (myself included) often decry miles and points conference because you end up learning nothing from the sessions. I’m not going to lie. That probably is true is you are an advanced miles/points user.
Where the value of the ticket arises is from the networking opportunities. I have met some amazing people and learned incredible tricks at travel conferences. All together, the stuff I’ve learned have probably saved me ten-fold of the cost of a conference ticket. The key to all of this is just being open in approaching people – even if the conversation contains foreign content. There will be a few people that are cliquey, but also many who are happy to educate you on the topic being discussed.
I strongly believe in personally providing value to everyone for this conference. If you haven’t learned anything by the end of the day, talk to me and I’ll try and tell you some secrets that will be of value.
Win a Free Ticket!
Canadian PointsU has given me a ticket to give away. All readers are eligible to enter, as long as they will be attending the conference. Therefore, the only condition is that you must be in Vancouver during the conference dates. I don’t want to be giving away a ticket to someone who doesn’t end up attending.
To enter, send me an email to jeff@canadiankilometers.com with where you are located, with the Subject: “Canadian Kilometers – PointsU Giveaway.” If you win, but don’t live in Vancouver, you must show proof of travel plans before you receive the ticket.
This giveaway will run for the next three days. I must receive the email by 11:59pm Pacific, January 2nd 2016, for you to be eligible. The winner will be selected randomly by 12pm January 3rd. All decisions made in the course of running this giveaway are final and unappealable. Entering signifies your acceptance of these terms.
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Oh no I already brought ticket!
How much are you being paid to speak? Also have you sold more than 10 tickets left? I doubt it
As mentioned in the post, I am not being compensated for speaking. Tickets sales I’ve heard have been quite good – if you’d like to get more details feel free to contact the team at PointsU.
Your comment is full of jealousy and ignorance. If you don’t have anything positive to contribute, it’s best if you just stay away from this blog. You’ll do everybody a big favour!
Thanks Jeffrey.
I guess I will let others get the chance for the free ticket instead…
Interested!!
Or you can read flyertalk and get the information for free.
I can assure you that you will be hearing about things not on Flyertalk.
Will you talk about how you ruined Lifemiles? Also if tickets were selling so well why would they let you give away tickets?
Hey Johnny. I just got back from PointsU. I can honestly say it’s a shame you weren’t there to learn what was taught. but then again, judging by your wanker comment, I think it’s best you weren’t. Everybody there was solid and positive and ready to participate no matter what their skill level was, and it paid off. I learned more at this conference than I learned in a year trolling flyertalk and I book awards everyday for a living. The content alone was the best standard in the country, and the networking was invaluable. But to each their own I guess…