Last weekend, October 16–18, the annual FlyerTalk Chicago Seminar 2015 was held at the Holiday Inn Elk-Grove near Chicago O'Hare (ORD), drawing many well-known figures from the miles-and-credit-cards world. I attended in person this year and wanted to share some on-the-ground updates with everyone.
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Chicago Seminar
This was already the sixth Chicago Seminar, and attendance was still very strong. Friday and Saturday were mainly oral presentation sessions, while Sunday featured workshops and seminars—a spoof of an academic conference, just without the proceedings. This year’s schedule is included at the end of the article. Speakers included authors from major mainstream blogs such as Boarding Area, Frugal Travel Guy, Rapid Travel Chai, Frequent Miler, etc.
Although Saturday’s oral presentations were all excellent, I think the even better part was Sunday’s breakout discussions. Both the Hotel Breakout and Airline Breakout sessions were organized by hotel group and airline for deeper discussion. Whether you fly, stay at hotels, open credit cards, or manufacture spending, you could find people who were more experienced than you—and more interesting, too. They were also very willing to answer any questions.
Highlights
Visa Gift Cards
Remember the OfficeMax/Office Depot Visa gift card deal we posted on October 18? During the conference, as soon as attendees saw that deal, the limited supply of Visa gift cards at the nearby OfficeMax was snapped up immediately.
Shuttle
Bluebird and All American (the former name of US Airways) were both eye-catching.
Conclusion
If you live near Chicago and enjoy being social and talking points, don’t hesitate—go to next year’s Chicago Seminar! I believe that no matter how much you already know, every visit brings something new. Even the organizers feel that way. We’ll also gradually share more of the new things we learned at the Seminar in future posts.
Appendix: Chicago Seminar 2015 Schedule
Friday, October 16
- 4pm - 830pm: Registration Desk Open
- 5pm - 530pm: Introduction and Welcome to Chicago Seminars (thehowieee)
- 6pm - 7pm:
- Rookie Bootcamp with Dave (Bikeguy)
- International Bootcamp with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
- Become an Expert with ExpertFlyer (Chris from ExpertFlyer)
- 730pm - 830pm:
- All About Delta with Rene (DeltaPoints)
- All About Southwest with Bonnie (FrugalTravelLawyer)
- Organizing Everyone's Points with Howie (thehowieee / FTG)
Saturday, October 17
- 830am - 12pm: Registration Desk Open
- 830am - 930am: Customer Service & Aviation with Captain Denny Flanagan
- 945am - 1045am: Credit Cards with Rick the Frugal Travel Guy
- 11am - 12p:
- Beginners with Summer (Mommy Points)
- Bluebird, Redbird and Serve with Greg (Frequent Miler)
- Dream Destinations on Points & Miles with Daraius (Million Mile Secrets)
- 12pm - 1pm: Lunch
- 1pm - 215pm:
- How To Find Cheap Premium Airfare with Ben Schlappig (One Mile At A Time)
- Maximizing Online Portals with Greg (Frequent Miler)
- Cruising with Shawn & Amtrak with Dave (Shawn Coomer & Bikeguy)
- 230pm - 345pm:
- Last Minute Award Bookings with Ben Schlappig (One Mile at a Time)
- 101 Tips to be an Expert Traveler with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
- Amazing Value on Aeroplan (via AMEX and SPG) with Miguel (PMMTravelConsulting / FTG)
- 4pm - 5pm:
- Live: Award Booking with Ari Charlestein (Award Magic)
- Exotic and Adventure Travel with Matthew Klint (Upgrd)
- Booking Awards for Five or More People with Dave (Bikeguy)
- 515pm - 615pm:
- Round-the-World Trips Since the Death of RTW Awards with Scott (MileValue)
- Award Stopovers with Drew Macomber (Travel Is Free)
- Sweet Spot Award Redemptions with Angelina Aucello (Just Another Points Traveler)
- 7pm - 8pm: Happy Hour / Reception in Woodfield Ballroom
Sunday, October 18
- 8am - 9am: Open Panel Discussion on Credit Cards
- 9am - 10am: Sponsors Workshop
- 10am - 11am: Charity Raffle
- 1115am - 1215pm: Hotel Breakouts
- 1215pm - 115pm: Lunch
- 115pm - 230pm: Airline Breakouts
- 245pm - 4pm: Event Closing & Open Panel on Everything Else