A retired friend of my husband’s is quite the frequent traveler. He visits friends in California at least once a year, visits family in New Orleans a couple of times a year, and travels internationally off and on the rest of the year. He visits Europe probably twice a year, and Australia once a year — I think the latter is actually one of his all-time favorite places to go.

One of the advantages to traveling so often is that he gets a lot of special discounts. The most obvious one is, of course, that he gets lots of frequent flyer miles. He always flies with United, so he has VIP status with them — I believe he gets free upgrades to Economy Plus (a section of seating that provides extra leg room) and even first class if it’s available. His favorite seats are the bulkhead seats in Economy Plus, and he will often change his seat two or three times, upgrading to his third favorite or second favorite seat as soon as it becomes available.

Another advantage is that if you travel frequently and stay in the same hotel or the same chain every time, you can sometimes work out a hotel deal that benefits you both — you because you save money, and them because they get regular business from you. For example, our friend often stays in the same San Diego, California hotel when he visits his friend, so he was able to work out a special rate with the manager there.

Of course, the obvious disadvantage to traveling that frequently is that it costs money. Most of us can’t afford to live like that — more’s the pity. But if you can — well, do what our friend does, and take full advantage of it!

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