Hi Everyone, Just starting the retirement journey :)

[Mark F]

We are starting our travels this year with a trip to Europe, walk/ride on the Camino, Italy and then River Cruise on Viking. I need to learn the best way to maximize getting points and being efficient and this seems to be the place to learn all that .

 

[BenG]

Welcome aboard @Mark F Plenty of great information here that should help you on your journey.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Welcome to AFF.

 

[Steady]

Welcome aboard @Mark F

 

[Flyfrequently]

Another welcome to AFF @Mark F
Keep reading and you will gain plenty of information

 

[Dmac59]

Welcome @Mark F

 

[Mwenenzi]

Welcome to AFF and retirement

We are starting our travels this year with a trip to Europe, walk/ride on the Camino, Italy and then River Cruise on Viking. I need to learn the best way to maximize getting points and being efficient and this seems to be the place to learn all that .

Hope you trip to EU goes well

It may read as harsh, but if only starting to accumulate loyalty points now you are a decade too late.
Can get loyalty points from credit card spend, flying. hotels, fuel, day to day shopping, including Coles, Woolworths, Kmart, BigW and more. Never buy anything without getting points.
New credit cards can have a good sign up bonus. But as a unemployed person (aka retired) getting a new cc can be harder to get.
Many here will attempt to get a good loyalty balance, mainly airline or a cc (like Amex) before retirement, with the aim of business class award flights and good hotels.

What loyalty pr programs are you a member of now?
Getting to/from EU by what airline/class of travel?

 

[Big John]

Welcome @Mark F !

I am very jealous of your retirement (I have quite a few years to go before mine)

 

[DejaBrew]

A very warm welcome aboard AFF @Mark F and congratulations on retirement! Many.... many.... many years off for me I fear

The best days of points collecting are likely past us, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't/can't get started now. As mentioned above, plenty of ways to earn points and I agree with @Mwenenzi's comment to ideally never buy anything without earning points. I would also add that where possible, you'd want to try and double/triple-dip on the points earning

Plenty of great advice buried in this forum and plenty of incredibly knowledgeable folks contributing.

 

[Scarlett]

 

[bam71]

Welcome to AFF and retirement

Hope you trip to EU goes well

It may read as harsh, but only starting to accumulate loyalty points you are a decade too late.
Can get loyalty points from credit card spend, flying. hotels, fuel, day to day shopping, including Coles, Woolworths, Kmart, BigW and more. Never buy anything without getting points.
New credit cards can have a good sign up bonus. But as a unemployed person (aka retired) getting a new cc can be harder,
Many here will attempt to get a good loyalty balance, mainly airline or a cc (like Amex) before retirement, with the aim of business class award flights and good hotels.

What loyalty pr programs are you a member of now?
Getting to/from EU by what airline/class of travel?

I do need to second this.

 

[rrileysmcub]

Welcome and congrats!

 

[Fruitloop]

Welcome aboard.

 

[drron]

Another warm welcome to AFF @Mark F . And welcome to the retirement club.

 

[kookaburra75]

Welcome aboard @Mark F . We're getting ready for proper retirement (MrsK did in 2019, me in 172 days' time) and travel is in our plans. I'd be interested in your experiences on your European adventure.

As the others have said, getting a credit card once you have retired will be difficult. MrsK set herself up with a Qantas AMEX prior to retiring, and I got 20,000 points for the referral. I have two points earning cards and am keeping an eye out for any special deals prior to 30 June, to make use of them prior to retiring.

If you haven't booked your flights yet, think about options of getting a cheap flight into Asia, and then access the Business Class deals from there. If you're in no rush to get to Europe, why not make the travel a bit of a holiday too, with a few stop overs. That's in our planning. Article: Strategies for Cheap Business Class Flights to Europe

 

[SYD]

Also with CCs, increasing the credit limit can be as hard as getting a new one. So makes sense to increase those prior to retirement to cover inflation over X many years (hopefully decades).

If collecting QF Points, look closely at QF Hotels (especially) during 3x promo points. You can do quite well and the prices are usually competitive but it pays to compare.

QF Wine also has very generous points promos. The pricing might not always be as good as Dans, but the value of the points can easily tip the value proposition.

 

[DC3]

As the others have said, getting a credit card once you have retired will be difficult. MrsK set herself up with a Qantas AMEX prior to retiring …

This is important, getting set-up with credit cards before retirement

QF Wine also has very generous points promos. The pricing might not always be as good as Dans, but the value of the points can easily tip the value proposition.

Often means free wine to boot