Wish you could travel the world but don’t see how you could afford it? Meet Ben Schlappig, 25. Since he was 13, Ben has been doing just that. Traveling around the world. Wherever he likes. For free.
A bored, bright teenager, Schlappig figured out how to work the airline travel system, manipulating rewards programs and airline-affiliated credit card incentives and discovering in the process a game he could win. By the time he was 16, he had so mastered the game that he became the first person to cross the Pacific six times in one trip.The Gresham Palace in Budapest. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)He loved the high so much he dedicated himself to it full-time. After graduating from University of Florida with a degree in marketing (he traveled the entire time), he decided to start a business to help others do just what he does. The business is called PointsPro and its motto is simple: Make Your Dream Trip a Reality.
Schlappig flies first class and only stays in luxury hotels, all of which he pays for with points. And he does it constantly. A recent Rolling Stone story followed Schlappig around and mentioned that he flew to seven cities around the world in seven days.
He doesn’t stop, except to sleep for the night at one of his luxury hotels, enjoy a session in a high-price spa, and then it’s back to the airport for his next flight. Schlappig doesn’t see what he does as fraud; he just knows how the system works, and he works it. Hard.
He earns points with credit cards, and little-known tricks in the frequent flyer programs. He usually flies about four to six hours a day, and is a well-known figure in this small circle of enthusiasts in the game known as The Hobby. Fans greet him wherever he goes, and he receives a lot of attention — and free champagne — from those who are in the know.
He chronicles his ongoing world traversing adventures via his blog, One Mile at a Time. He has no permanent residence, living exclusively in hotels (he doesn’t pay for them either), and has logged 400,000 miles in the past year.
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