上週末（10 月 16 至 18 日）在芝加哥 O'Hare（ORD）旁邊的 Holiday Inn Elk-Grove 舉辦了一年一度的 FlyerTalk Chicago Seminar 2015，雲集了大量里數及信用卡界知名人士。筆者今年也到了現場，為大家帶來第一手消息。

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Chicago Seminar

Chicago Seminar 已經是第六次舉辦，人氣依然非常旺。活動於週五、週六主要以 Oral 環節為主，週日則有 Workshop 和 Seminar（仿照學術會議形式，但當然沒有 Proceedings...）。本文最底部附上了今年的日程。講者包括各大主流網誌作者，如 Boarding Area、Frugal Travel Guy、Rapid Travel Chai、Frequent Miler 等。

Howie @ Frugal Travel Guy（左）和 Ben @ One Mile at a Time（右）
Howie @ Frugal Travel Guy（左）和 Ben @ One Mile at a Time（右）

雖然週六的 Oral report 都十分精彩，但我認為更精彩的部分其實是週日的分組討論。Hotel Breakout 和 Airline Breakout 都按航空公司及酒店集團分組，進行更深入的討論。無論是搭飛機、住酒店、申請信用卡，還是製造消費，都能找到比自己更有經驗而且有趣的人交流。他們也都很樂意解答任何問題。

精彩細節

Visa 禮品卡

還記得 10 月 18 日我們發佈的 OfficeMax/Office Depot Visa 禮品卡 deal 嗎？會議期間，大家一看到這個 deal，酒店附近的 OfficeMax 內數量有限的 Visa 禮品卡，瞬間就被與會人士掃光了。

穿梭巴士

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Bluebird 和 All American（原 US Airways 的名字）都是亮點。

總結

如果你住在芝加哥附近，又喜歡 social 和積分，不要猶豫，明年就去參加 Chicago Seminar 吧！我相信，不論你懂多少，每去一次總會有新的收穫，就連主辦方也是這樣認為。本網誌也會在之後的文章中，陸續和大家分享在 Seminar 上學到的新知識。

附錄：Chicago Seminar 2015 日程

10 月 16 日星期五

  • 4pm - 830pm: Registration Desk Open
  • 5pm - 530pm: Introduction and Welcome to Chicago Seminars (thehowieee)
  • 6pm - 7pm:
    1. Rookie Bootcamp with Dave (Bikeguy)
    2. International Bootcamp with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
    3. Become an Expert with ExpertFlyer (Chris from ExpertFlyer)
  • 730pm - 830pm:
    1. All About Delta with Rene (DeltaPoints)
    2. All About Southwest with Bonnie (FrugalTravelLawyer)
    3. Organizing Everyone's Points with Howie (thehowieee / FTG)

10 月 17 日星期六

  • 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:
    1. Beginners with Summer (Mommy Points)
    2. Bluebird, Redbird and Serve with Greg (Frequent Miler)
    3. Dream Destinations on Points & Miles with Daraius (Million Mile Secrets)
  • 12pm - 1pm: Lunch
  • 1pm - 215pm:
    1. How To Find Cheap Premium Airfare with Ben Schlappig (One Mile At A Time)
    2. Maximizing Online Portals with Greg (Frequent Miler)
    3. Cruising with Shawn & Amtrak with Dave (Shawn Coomer & Bikeguy)
  • 230pm - 345pm:
    1. Last Minute Award Bookings with Ben Schlappig (One Mile at a Time)
    2. 101 Tips to be an Expert Traveler with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
    3. Amazing Value on Aeroplan (via AMEX and SPG) with Miguel (PMMTravelConsulting / FTG)
  • 4pm - 5pm:
    1. Live: Award Booking with Ari Charlestein (Award Magic)
    2. Exotic and Adventure Travel with Matthew Klint (Upgrd)
    3. Booking Awards for Five or More People with Dave (Bikeguy)
  • 515pm - 615pm:
    1. Round-the-World Trips Since the Death of RTW Awards with Scott (MileValue)
    2. Award Stopovers with Drew Macomber (Travel Is Free)
    3. Sweet Spot Award Redemptions with Angelina Aucello (Just Another Points Traveler)
  • 7pm - 8pm: Happy Hour / Reception in Woodfield Ballroom

10 月 18 日星期日

  • 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