上周末（10 月 16 至 18 日）在芝加哥 O'Hare（ORD）旁边的 Holiday Inn Elk-Grove 举办了一年一度的 FlyerTalk Chicago Seminar 2015, 集聚了大量里程和信用卡界知名人士。笔者今年也前往了现场，为大家带来现场消息。
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Chicago Seminar

Chicago Seminar 已经是第六次举办了，依然人气很旺盛。活动在周五、周六的安排是以 Oral 为主，周日有 Workshop 和 Seminar（高仿学术会议，但并没有 Proceedings...）。本文最底部附了今年的日程。做报告的包括各大主流博客作者，Boarding Area, Frugal Travel Guy, Rapid Travel Chai, Frequent Miler, etc.

Howie @ Frugal Travel Guy（左）和 Ben @ One Mile at a Time（右）
Howie @ Frugal Travel Guy（左）和 Ben @ One Mile at a Time（右）

虽然周六的 Oral report 都十分精彩，但是我认为，更精彩的部分是周日的分组讨论。Hotel Breakout 和 Airline Breakout 都以航空公司和酒店集团来分组进行更深入的讨论。不论搭飞机，住酒店，开信用卡，制造消费都能找到比自己经验丰富及有趣的人。他们也都很乐于解答任何问题。

精彩细节

VGC

还记得 10 月 18 日我们发布的 OfficeMax/Office Depot VGC deal 吗？在开会期间，一看到这个 deal，酒店附近的 OfficeMax 里数量有限的 VGC 瞬间就被与会人士扫光了。

班车

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Bluebird 和 All American（原 US Airways 的名字）都是亮点。

总结

如果你在芝加哥附近，又喜欢 social 和点数，不要犹豫，参加明年的 Chicago Seminar 吧！我相信，不论你懂多少，每去一次总是有新的收获，即使是组织者都是这么觉得。本博也会在将来的文章里逐渐和大家分享在 Seminar 上学到的新鲜知识。

附录：Chicago Seminar 2015 日程

10 月 16 日星期五

  • 4pm - 830pm: Registration Desk Open
  • 5pm - 530pm: Introduction and Welcome to Chicago Seminars (thehowieee)
  • 6pm - 7pm:
    1. Rookie Bootcamp with Dave (Bikeguy)
    2. International Bootcamp with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
    3. Become an Expert with ExpertFlyer (Chris from ExpertFlyer)
  • 730pm - 830pm:
    1. All About Delta with Rene (DeltaPoints)
    2. All About Southwest with Bonnie (FrugalTravelLawyer)
    3. Organizing Everyone's Points with Howie (thehowieee / FTG)

10 月 17 日星期六

  • 830am - 12pm: Registration Desk Open
  • 830am - 930am: Customer Service & Aviation with Captain Denny Flanagan
  • 945am - 1045am: Credit Cards with Rick the Frugal Travel Guy
  • 11am - 12p:
    1. Beginners with Summer (Mommy Points)
    2. Bluebird, Redbird and Serve with Greg (Frequent Miler)
    3. Dream Destinations on Points & Miles with Daraius (Million Mile Secrets)
  • 12pm - 1pm: Lunch
  • 1pm - 215pm:
    1. How To Find Cheap Premium Airfare with Ben Schlappig (One Mile At A Time)
    2. Maximizing Online Portals with Greg (Frequent Miler)
    3. Cruising with Shawn & Amtrak with Dave (Shawn Coomer & Bikeguy)
  • 230pm - 345pm:
    1. Last Minute Award Bookings with Ben Schlappig (One Mile at a Time)
    2. 101 Tips to be an Expert Traveler with Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai)
    3. Amazing Value on Aeroplan (via Amex and SPG) with Miguel (PMMTravelConsulting / FTG)
  • 4pm - 5pm:
    1. Live: Award Booking with Ari Charlestein (Award Magic)
    2. Exotic and Adventure Travel with Matthew Klint (Upgrd)
    3. Booking Awards for Five or More People with Dave (Bikeguy)
  • 515pm - 615pm:
    1. Round-the-World Trips Since the Death of RTW Awards with Scott (MileValue)
    2. Award Stopovers with Drew Macomber (Travel Is Free)
    3. Sweet Spot Award Redemptions with Angelina Aucello (Just Another Points Traveler)
  • 7pm - 8pm: Happy Hour / Reception in Woodfield Ballroom

10 月 18 日星期日

  • 8am - 9am: Open Panel Discussion on Credit Cards
  • 9am - 10am: Sponsors Workshop
  • 10am - 11am: Charity Raffle
  • 1115am - 1215pm: Hotel Breakouts
  • 1215pm - 115pm: Lunch
  • 115pm - 230pm: Airline Breakouts
  • 245pm - 4pm: Event Closing & Open Panel on Everything Else