Here we are folks! I’ve always been an ‘avgeek’, and have found myself on aircraft from as young as I can remember. While growing up in the Netherlands, my family is a little spread out, leading my parents to frequently take me on faraway trips to visit them. And so a passion for everything aviation was kindled early on. From being a passenger, to wanting to be a pilot, to not wanting to be a pilot anymore, and finally discovering Microsoft Flight simulator as my primary outlet for my piloting adventures.

Pilot or not, I love traveling, and I’m definitely one of those people that feels that the flight is half of the excitement of the vacation. Case in point, when visiting my husband’s home country, Thailand, my excitement for my first ever flight on an Asian airline, All Nippon Airways, was through the roof. Then, on our trip to Peru earlier this year, flying LATAM, my first ever flight on a South American carrier, was probably 40% of my excitement for the trip. And, these were all flights on economy, which for most is nothing to get excited about…

So I’ve been traveling by plane a lot, but what about the points and miles game? Being European, credit cards are rather infamous than famous. Seen as more of a vehicle of debt then something that can come with significant perks, credit card usage in the Netherland sis generally unpopular. And not surprisingly: it doesn’t actually come with any perks. Welcome bonuses are tiny, and spending doesn’t necessarily translate to points. When in the USA even the most basic no annual fee cards can generate lucrative points balances, there’s hardly any of that in the Netherlands. Take the Amex lineup for example, pictured below. The Platinum card in the Netherlands comes with a wide range of useful perks, similar to its namesake in the USA, including priority lane access at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Priority Pass lounge access and much more. However, the welcome bonus is 200 Euros cash back and you earn a general 1 point per Euro spent. This limits the useability of the Amex rewards points meaning that the card would need to truly earn itself back with the perks it provides. In some cases, this can be hard to maintain – in others, it may be a done deal. Your mileage may vary.

And so it took a while for me to truly get the concept – almost 8 years, to be precise. That’s when I used 80.000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles to get a business class flight to Tokyo. And I was sold.

As a matter of fact, I was so sold that I immediately delved into the points and miles game. Veritably addicted.

And when I started trying to get others to see the light, that’s when I was told: ‘you should start a YouTube channel’! But, that’s a lot of work. So instead, I started this blog.

Points to Seats is my gateway to provide you my flight reviews, credit card reviews, points strategies, and more generally, share with you my enthusiasm about all things points and miles and their use for redeeming exciting travel opportunities.

Hope to see you around!
Benjamin