A Big Deal Indeed

Some of you might not know much about Randy Peterson.  This is my 5th year in the points and miles hobby, and until recently, I didn’t have a large awareness of who he was either.

Randy is the founder of Milepoint and FlyerTalk, founder/editor/publisher of InsideFlyer magazine and founder of the Freddie Awards, BoaringArea as well as other projects like FlyerGuide and SeatExpert. He’s also noted for his charitable giving to groups like Doctors Without Borders, Kiva and others.  It’s probably not too much of a stretch to call him the Godfather of the points and miles scene. In short, and especially in the world of travel, he’s kind of a big deal.

What led our paths to cross is through this blog.  I’ve worked on getting my blog going now for over a year.  Finally a few months ago it launched, and initially I had some big problems with the site’s SEO.  To keep it short, my website wasn’t indexed with Google.  Without an index, in meant that Google didn’t really know that my website existed unless someone typed in the exact website domain address.  To add to that issue, only around 12-15 people knew about my blog and website, because during the early days of my website, I felt that it was kind of pointless to promote my website until my Points book (that’s in the works) was completed.

Definitely Not Spam

Fortunately for me, one of the few people who did know about my website was a prominent  BoardingArea (BA) blogger.  He read a few of my early posts and dropped a note to Randy about it.  Not long after that, they both sent me an email and invited me to a BoardingArea event that was recently held in Colorado Springs.  At first I thought the email was spam.  Even after reading through the email, I thought that it might have been sent by mistake.  But the offer was pure and simple:  find your way here, and you’re welcome to hang out with some other points and miles enthusiasts, talk shop, and see how things are done at BoardingArea.  The invitation came as such a surprise, because I literally didn’t think anyone was even reading my blog at that time.

Within a few minutes of knowing that the email was in fact the real deal, I booked a flight and hotel.  I had been to Colorado Springs before for a work related conference (and stayed at The Broadmoor, which is really incredible) and loved it there.  This time around I purposely flew into Denver, rented a car, and took my time driving around the area and making my way down to Colorado Springs.  The mountains and scenery in the area is so different from where I live, and it’s stunning.  Of course I did manage to hit up a few stores for some extra points along the way!

The event itself was really interesting.  Without too much detail, it was an event that focused on a few key blogging, analytics and SEO issues, and I was the only non-BoardingArea blogger attending.  Not all of the BA bloggers were there, as I think that BA now has over 70 bloggers on its staff.  I felt really privaleged and flattered to be there as I was, and still am, such a small fish in the points and miles world.  I’m not sponsored or endorsed and anything that’s seen on the blog either promotes other websites for readers, or are done for my personal enjoyment.  My website is thusfar just a passion project; something that I enjoy doing and being creative with.  It takes time, energy and involves some cost too, but in the end it’s still fun so I’ll keep doing it.

Being able to meet many of the points bloggers that I’ve read for years was a cool experience.  Hearing their takes on points and programs was also really interesting along with the backstory’s of how each of them got to where they are now.  I also managed to speak with Randy for a good length of time, which was the highlight of the trip.

The Myth, The Man, The Legend

Before meeting him, I’d heard from a number of people that he was a “good person”, “great guy” and many other complimentary descriptions.  All turned out to be true.  At the conference, and even though I wasn’t a BA blogger, I was given the same attention and resources for the weekend as any of the other bloggers.  Randy said on more than one occasion that he just wanted to help, and made me feel more than welcome at the event and in the town for my stay.  Even though BoardingArea has a massive online presence in the points and travel community, the staff that supports it is quite small.  I didn’t want to take time or resources from other bloggers, but Randy and his staff allowed and pushed me to participate just as any of the other BA bloggers were doing.  All of their efforts of the weekend were superb and greatly appreciated.

Randy has several of the best and most unique qualities: kindness, humbleness, selflessness, and wisdom.  He’s obviously done ton of work and achieved a lot in the space that I now think of as more than just a hobby, but he’s very calm and almost deflects attention away from himself when asked about all of his success.  He gives the vibe that he’d rather talk about his tequila collection than about his accomplishments, where many other people would probably love to self promote.

The overriding thing that I walked away with from seeing and speaking with him of a good amount of time is a man who’s happy.  He’s happy with his life and where he’s at.  He’s happy with his work and having the ability to help others.  His genuine caring for people isn’t an act, and that is pretty evident in everything that I saw.

When he was asked about what his thoughts were for what’s going to happen in 2018, he said that he’s already done thinking about 2018, and focused on what 2019 will have to offer.  I asked him how a “non-techy” like himself could start some of the world’s largest internet travel forums and websites, and he smiled, said thank you, and talked about some of his upbringing instilling values and shaping some of his thought processes.  He’s a guy that might be happy, but is also not completely content.  He’s still working at the office nearly everyday and striving to make his companies and bloggers better.

Summary

The accomplishments of Randy Peterson in and outside the travel world are pretty massive indeed.  He’s the figure behind many websites and resources that are used by many millions of people worldwide, and was a pioneer in the travel hacking, award points and miles hobby.  The event for me was an eye opener and a treat.  I don’t know if our paths will cross again, but I’m thankful that I got to spend some time with a  good guy – a man that has the some of the same values and passions around helping people and travel that I do.  It’s nice to see a good guy in the winner’s seat, thanks Randy.