Ep71: How to use points to fly, stay, and get into Formula 1 hospitality for (almost) free

What if your frequent flyer points could get you driven through the gates at Albert Park, into the McLaren suite, and down to the team garage after qualifying? In this episode, Dianne Bortoletto sits down with Chris Chamberlin, freelance travel journalist and frequent flyer points expert, whose work appears in the Australian Financial Review, Business Traveller and Traveller.Chris breaks down how he pieced together an entire Middle East trip across five different frequent flyer programs, why he flew Emirates first class for the same number of Qantas points as a domestic reclining seat, and how a bottle of Dom Perignon P2 ended up in a paper coffee cup before landing.The conversation gets into the nuts and bolts of how to actually build a points balance without changing how you spend, how hotel loyalty programs and airline partnerships stack on top of each other, and why Singapore Airlines is worth paying attention to if you are serious about reward seats.Then it gets interesting for Formula 1 fans. Chris was hosted by Hilton at the Melbourne Grand Prix to experience what is possible when you bid your Hilton Honours points for an F1 hospitality package. He describes being driven through the Albert Park security fence while the crowd held their cameras up, wandering into the McLaren garage after qualifying, and watching the car being dismantled with FIA scrutineers standing by. The same experience went to auction for 660,000 Hilton Honours points, which Chris breaks down into a cost comparison that makes it look surprisingly competitive against a cash Paddock Club ticket.This one is worth a pen and paper.Find Chris Chamberlinhttps://www.instagram.com/chris_chamberlin/ https://www.instagram.com/chris_chamberlin/Subscribe to my Away We Go Substack for Formula 1 destination travel stories: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.comPlay Along: Predict the Podium: https://awaywegopodcast.com/play-along/Website https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast