Keeping track of your points earn and spend

[jbman]

Hi guys,

I am wondering what others are doing to track their earn and spend of their points from various programs?

I am using award wallet to keep an eye on the balances, however their system only shows a basic graph for each account total.

Does anyone use a spreadsheet or some other method to keep track of what they spent their points on etc?

cheers

 

[Matt_01]

I have a few OCD issues when it comes to points and I use a spreadsheet consisting of a number of tabs. I am a regular flyer with regular flying habits week to week mainly with QF, so whenever I book a flight I enter the number of Status credits earned then the formulas calculate FF points and Aquire Points. I also update and or make adjustments to the formulas in line with DSC, 50% SC, double or triple points offers. It calculates 90% of the time accurately however I still need a bit of manual intervention with other OW carriers as the SC earn rate to FF points differs across carriers.

 

[NZflygirl]

No I just go into the app for the credit card or FFP and check. For airlines like QF and NZ where I expect things to accrue and they generally do, I'll check in a couple of days later but for VA I'll keep checking. For things I'm not sure will post I'll make a list on my phone and tick them off when they post. Avis have been cough at accruing to my airline FFPs.

I don't want to overcomplicate things. I do use a spreadsheet I guess if I'm aiming for airline status targets because I have a few FFPs which requires a bit of planning but once I hit my target I stop (no point afterwards, I just fly whoever). Otherwise I just accrue and don't bother too much about how much is in there unless there's a big trip to be planning for. As it accrues I get excited and start thinking what I've got enough for.

I need to get some experience at redeeming points under my belt. I'm pretty comfortable with NZ but not so much with other loyalty programs. Theory is one thing, practice is another - plus wanting to find the sweet spots I guess.

 

[surpher]

We also use a spreadsheet but mainly for $ spend to keep an eye out on the budget. Each of the transaction we log in there has a points earned calculation and I believe the estimates are quite spot on. Occasional tweak is necessary.
We're only spending points for long haul to EU flights each year and expect and assume the points are calculated correctly. That's why we're not too fussed about how many points in total we actually have. When we're about to book a flight, we pull together all the points balances in different locations and decide who redeems for what direction/flight stage, etc.