5 Minutes With Richard Kerr

For McCool Travel’s 116th travel profile, I am thrilled to present Richard Kerr. One of my favorite Facebook groups is his Award Travel 101. Richard Kerr is a prominent travel points experts and was just confirmed as a speaker at SXSW in March. Congratulations, Richard! He also recently started a new joint venture, The Points Consultants, to help frequent travelers optimize their travel points. If you want to know about anything related to earning and burning travel points, Richard Kerr is a solid starting point.

Richard Kerr‘s bio: “An 8 year veteran naval officer, Richard has been on the road since leaving Georgia to attend high school in the United Kingdom. Richard’s journeys have taken him around the world—from serving onboard a nuclear submarine to living in Japan for three years. He has flown 12 different international first class products, visited 40 countries, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts in order to maximize the value of his points and miles. Richard is a Senior Points and Miles Contributor for The Points Guy, COO of TravelingDad.com, and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community (formerly Travel Hacking 101).”

McCool Travel interview with Richard Kerr, Travel Hacking 101
Richard Kerr, Award Travel 101

Richard Kerr

Hometown…

Lagrange, Georgia

Always in my luggage…

AA Executive Platinum “job well done” certificates for employees, my kids new AA Junior Aviator logbooks, and Pepto Bismol

3 favorite home-away-from-home places…

  1. Tokyo (lived just outside the city for three years)
  2. Charleston, SC (all my extended family lives there and Dad is from the Holy City)
  3. onboard a cruise ship

A favorite travel memory is…

Getting a $2 bill as change from a Vietnamese Christmas Card seller in Ho Chi Minh. This comical moment led to us somehow understanding the hardships our two countries faced had passed and Vietnamese were so curious about Americans. Vietnam was incredible. It was a fantastic trip and I carry the $2 bill in my wallet everyday.

3 favorite travel brands…

  1. Lufthansa
  2. Singapore Airlines
  3. Etihad
McCool Travel interview with Richard Kerr, Etihad first class
Richard Kerr, Etihad first class

3 money-saving travel tactics I use are…

  1. using the heck out of airline shopping portals
  2. flying a lot of early morning departures
  3. best rate guaranteeing hotel rooms

3 ways that I have fun while traveling are …

  1. finagling my way into a hotel suite or first class on the airline
  2. always striking up conversations with Uber/Taxi drivers (they really tell you what’s going on)
  3. learning a few sayings in the local language

8 word (or less) travel mantra…

“Go big, use points, keep your eyes open.

McCool Travel interview with Richard Kerr
Richard, Kerr, private jet

favorite non-travel website …

Google News

most memorable souvenir …

aforementioned $2 bill

favorite cheap eat …

Japanese yakitori

recent discovery …

Why isn’t anyone talking about the Berkshires? We had a fantastic fall weekend

I am fortunate to have met …

Chuck Norris

I would like to meet …

Tiger Woods

Thank you so much, Richard, for taking a few minutes to share travel inspiration and tips.

Follow Richard Kerr on his Facebook Award Travel 101 group, and The Points Consultants.

Check out McCool Travel’s previous interviewsMcCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Previous 5 Minutes post: Robin Draper, Authentic Florida.

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5 Minutes With Richard Kerr was originally published on McCool Travel.com on Dec 12, 2016.

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