EP 98 Wellness in the Maldives; to tip or not to tip & best ways to claim your frequent flyer points

“These dolphins surrounded me and I was hovering above the sand and they were playing with me and I swam up with them and thought I would die for them to be safe, it was like my heart was cracked open and I came up thinking how can I be more impactful in the ocean space,” says freediving champion turned conservationist Hanli Prinsloo.

It was this encounter with dolphins in Mozambique while teaching a freediving course that made Hanli Prinsloo turn conservationist, and now she hosts retreats to teach others how to freedive and educate about marine conservation.

For more about her next retreat in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll while staying at Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort, go to avanihotels.com. For more information about Hanli, go to hanliprinsloo.com

 Also, do you ever wonder when and where you should tip? Travelex has put a guide together to help you know which countries you should tip in and how much you should be handing over. For the full tipping guide, go to https://www.travelex.com.au/media/1338/tipping-guide.pdf

And our tip this week is from Travelinsurance.com.au about how to maximise your frequent flyer points. For more, go to https://www.travelinsurance.com.au/

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Chapters

• 0:39 Tipping around the world, with Travelex
• 7:26 Freediving in the Maldives with Hanli Prinsloo
• 32:14 How to maximise your frequent flyer points, with https://www.travelinsurance.com.au

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:00

Welcome to The World Awakes. Travel tales to inspire your wanderlust. Welcome back to The World Awakes. This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels and Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com. Hi everyone. How are you, Kirsty? I am fine. deep in edits on my crime manuscript and I hope to have more to be able to tell everyone about that really soon because I've got some exciting news. But in the meantime, to tip or not to tip, Belle, I know you had some strong opinions about this one.

SPEAKER_00: 0:44

I've got a few strong opinions. That old treble conundrum. Yes, like a lot of Australians, I really resent the requirement, not the choice, to tip in the US even if the service is bad. If you are paying somebody a wage they cannot live on, is it up to me to make the shortfall? That is my question. I will reward service that goes beyond. But tipping someone just because they did their job sends the red mist across my eyes. I think in Australia, where wage staff are paid a living wage, it doesn't mean we get bad service. In fact, in the majority of cafes, it's competent and courteous. And in our restaurants, it's frequently exceptional.

SPEAKER_02: 1:21

Yeah, that's very true. Love it or loathe it, every country has a unique set of social customs and tipping etiquette, and it can vary significantly, obviously, between cultures. And deciding whether or not to tip is probably the easy part. The real problem is actually knowing or deciding how much to tip because culture Too little might be considered as an insult and too much can actually be considered in some countries as fleshy and arrogant. Or it might be

SPEAKER_00: 1:46

broke as well, because in countries too, it's a completely alien concept. So Travelex has put a guide together to help you know whether you should or shouldn't tip. So let's start with what is undoubtedly one of the most loved destinations by Aussies right now, Japan. So Japan, you do not tip. The Japanese consider that good service is standard and to tip is an insult. However, in high-class hotels or ryokan, it is acceptable to give a tip, but never directly. It should be placed in a small sealed envelope and given discreetly with a small bow of the head. Alternatively, you can express your appreciation by giving a gift instead. Hotel staff in Japan may be trained to say no thank you if they are offered a tip.

SPEAKER_02: 2:30

Yeah, we were in Japan a few years ago and they definitely didn't want tips. And as you say, and because it's just so polite and they want to provide a good service. So that's why they just find it quite insulting. Another reason to love Japan. And while in Italy, service charges are included in most restaurants, but if not, 10% is actually considered the norm. No one has to tip on top of that, but many do if they think that the service warrants. And in bars, Italians often leave small change when purchasing drinks. Taxi drivers like to be tipped, but it isn't expected. It's a Probably better practice to actually agree to a final fare before the journey begins. That's not always easy. And in hotels, the same as anywhere else in the world, porters, concierge and those who provide room service do expect a few euros.

SPEAKER_00: 3:15

Yeah, Spain's pretty much the same. In restaurants, bills always include the service. An extra tip of 5 to 10% on top is customary. And it's best to leave tips in cash, even if you're paying by credit card. If you're eating tapas or snacks at a bar, just round the bill up to the nearest euro. It definitely helps when it's a cash-oriented society. Taxi drivers expect no tip at all, and they're happy if you round up the fare, especially if they're giving you extra help with your luggage. And a tip of 5% of the total fare is considered very generous, according to TravelX. In hotels, porters receive a euro a bag for room service and doorman the same. Tip the maid about a euro a night and the concierge from a euro for basic help up to five euro if they score that ticket that you've been hanging out for.

SPEAKER_02: 4:02

Yeah, and while in Thailand tipping is not usual, some tyres will leave loose change when they go out locally. And when we were in Thailand, we did tip and they were very grateful. And I also did the Japanese thing and put some change in an envelope for a staff member who I really thought went above and beyond for us. In Bangkok, it says more Western standards are adopted here. So at hotel and upmarket restaurants, there's a 10% service charge. Taxi drivers don't expect a tip, but a small tip is reasonable if service is good, maybe if it's a longer journey. And in hotels, you're not expected to tip. At high-end hotels, service charges are usually included, but tips of 20 to 50 baht, which is just a dollar or two, is still expected, like everywhere for porters and bellboys.

SPEAKER_00: 4:47

And in Qatar, although Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world, the workers in the service industry are rarely Qatari, but from third world countries, and on top of that, are very poorly paid. So they rarely see the... benefits of the usual 10% service charges in places like hotels and restaurants. So a tip for good service is an act of generosity. Even small amounts can make a huge difference. But tips are not expected. If they happen to prove this to us, 10% to 15% in a restaurant is a nice gesture. So you can tip doorman quarters, sort of staff at mosques. A lot of those are volunteers as well. Petrol stations, because they pump the gas for you, which I love, and a little more for hotel housekeepers. The most important thing here is to be discreet and respectful when you tip. And I'll give you a little tip for this one, Kirsty. Often what you can do is you can fold up the note because even the smallest currencies are in note and you put them in the palm of your hand. And when you shake that person's hand, that's how you transfer the money. From years of living and tipping in the Middle East, that is often how it's done. So you're not doing a big flashy throw the money thing. You just pop it in your hand, shake hands, transfer the money that way. And that is the way that it's done amongst locals. Because locals, the thing is locals tip. as well as foreigners too. It is a tipping society.

SPEAKER_02: 6:02

Yeah, and that's what a lot of this Travelex report's showing to explaining what the locals are doing too, which makes it easy for travellers to follow in suit. So in South Africa, tipping is widely practised and well-received in restaurants and bars, particularly in upper-class suburbs. Service charges likely have been included in the bill, between 10% to 15%. And this is a standard rate to tip in the essence of that charge. And hotels leave tips for housekeeping, same like with everyone else. And porters may be paid, but taxi charges don't include a tip. And 10% is the norm.

SPEAKER_00: 6:35

And look, I think we finished on the one that the Australians struggle the most, and that is North America. Tipping is embedded in the culture in Canada. Expect 15% to 20% to be added to restaurants. Here's the red mist coming down. You tip porters, you tip taxi drivers, and when you buy a drink at the bar, you leave between$0.50 and$2. Down south in the US, the report suggests stacking your wallet full of$1 bills for porters and bellhops at bars, spas, 20% in the restaurants, to supplement, let's be blunt about it, the wages, the low wages of the workers. But the bottom line, according to Travelex, is if the service wasn't up to scratch, don't leave a tip. Don't know how you get about that in the US. And we will put a link with other advice of other countries around the world in the show notes.

UNKNOWN: 7:27

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 7:31

This week, I'm interviewing freediving champion, ocean conservationist, and founder and director of I Am Water, Hanley Prince-Lou, about her remarkable journey from living on a horse farm in South Africa, where the closest ocean is more than 10 hours away, to becoming a freediving world champion and holding freediving retreats. Welcome to the show, Hanley. Thank you. Good to be here. It's so great to have you on the show. Let's start by, tell us a bit about how you went from growing up on a horse farm, 10 hours from the ocean, to being an ocean conservationist and a free diving record holder.

SPEAKER_01: 8:08

I know it doesn't really sound like the most direct route, does it, Kirsty? But I grew up on a horse farm in a wild part of South Africa. And I For me, my love of the ocean actually started with a love of wilderness, of nature. I think these things are very similar when we immerse ourselves in wild nature. And growing up on the farm, we had a river, a dam, a swimming pool, and my sister and I dreamt of being mermaids. And we would spend hours swimming underwater and practicing our breath hold. And we used to freak my mom out, completely disappearing below the surface of a brown farm dam, swimming underwater, pretending to be mermaids. So... In my 20s, actually, I was studying in Sweden of all places. It gets even more obscure, right? Because Sweden and freezing cold fjord. And there I met a freediver who said to me, have you heard about freediving? And initially I thought it was a translation error. I was like, freediving? Nothing's free. What is he talking about? And eventually he explained to me that it was diving down, holding your breath. And all those childhood memories of holding my breath underwater in the river and the dam just came back to me. And I thought, this is it. But this is what I've been wanting to discover. I got into freediving in cold fjords in Sweden. and started training there. And I think that's one of the reasons I actually became a good competitive freediver because I learned to freedive under quite adverse conditions. So by the time I was let loose in deep blue water, nothing could stop me. But also I have a very deep love of the African continent and particularly South Africa. And I was working at the time as a social political documentary filmmaker, speaking about social injustices and the future of South Africa. And so for me, this love of the ocean, And this love of the people of South Africa came together in the type of conservation that I'm most passionate about, which is connecting people to the ocean.

SPEAKER_02: 9:58

Wow. So how did you go from doing that to, and obviously you were competing competitively, to then actually holding retreats? Have you been doing that for a while? And how did you make that sort of evolution? And what's your life like now? How's it weighted as far as what you're doing?

SPEAKER_01: 10:16

Hmm, good question. So I really do feel I often get asked by young people, if I wanted to pursue a career like yours, should I study marine biology? I'm like, you can, but that's as far as it can be from what I did. Should I study tourism? I didn't study that either. It's been a bit of a loopy road to get where we are today. But in 2010, I started a nonprofit, I Am Water Ocean Conservation, that works with taking young children from the townships in South Africa, snorkeling and teaching them about the ocean. I really, truly believe that the ocean is a place for everyone, even if there are pockets of transgenerational fear and lack of access to the ocean and so on. And the nonprofit really has been my heart's work to see the ocean space open up to all South Africans. As part of the fundraising for that, actually, my then partner, now husband, and I started a travel company. deciding that if we can take paying clients on transformational ocean experiences and funnel the money from these trips back into getting children in the water, then that feels like a very holistic approach to our belief in connecting people to the sea. So we started Ocean Travel around 2016 and started running our own expeditions around the world, teaching people freediving in beautiful places with big animals, with the goal really being lasting behavior change and a love of the ocean. And then the fundraising element for the nonprofit. So we've done that for several years and took a bit of a break during COVID, became a mom, which was the perfect time to have a baby during COVID. All I wanted was to travel less and should not leave my house. So our little girl came in 2020. And since then we had a second one in 2022 and running our own expeditions and became harder. So when you ask about how I split my time, I would say three ways, one child, the second child, and then everything else. And so partnerships with beautiful properties, tour operators, other like-minded organizations and entities became a great way for us to keep a focus on our family while the kids are small, but still offer really beautiful curated ocean experiences for guests. So That's where we are right now. We still offer some of our own retreats here in Cape Town, where we bring people to experience the kelp forests and the nature both above and below the water here in Cape Town. And then we partner with properties like Avani, which we're so excited about, to run a freediving and ocean connection retreat in September this year.

SPEAKER_02: 12:57

Yes, and the Aldi is amazing, a beautiful part of the world to do it. So what do you think it is about... freediving that sort of surprises people when they do it? And do people who've never done it before give it a go?

SPEAKER_01: 13:09

It's an interesting one. I feel that freediving has reached the mainstream in the last couple of years through various documentaries, just the general growth of the sport. And there's a couple of different perceptions of it. I think some people think when they think of freediving, they think of the documentary, The Deepest Breath on Netflix or The Big Blue, the old Luc Besson classic. And they think of rope diving and going deep and pushing limits. Other people think of spearfishing or like extraction from the ocean. And I think for me personally, having transformed myself from a competitive freediver to more an ocean connection guy, I think freediving is offers the most beautiful, soulful, accessible way of accessing the ocean, of learning about your body, about learning about the ocean and doing it in a way that really is accessible to everyone. And I think for me, that's the beauty of freediving. You don't need days and days of technical training like you do with scuba diving because the equipment is inherently so risky to breathe air underwater. Freediving is generally just learning about your breath, learning about your body and water, snorkeling, taking a big breath and going down. And anyone can do that. And that's really always my mantra is that anyone can do freediving and you do it within what's comfortable for you. And I think when taught and experienced in this way, it offers a really beautiful way for people to enter the ocean in a calm way, and non-competitive, non-judgmental way, just using your breath and your body.

SPEAKER_02: 14:56

And what do people say after they do it? What surprises them about it? What do you think they discover the most from doing it?

SPEAKER_01: 15:07

To begin with, nobody thinks they can hold their breath for more than 20 seconds, which is fascinating because anyone who can count to 20 seconds can try, right? And everybody has a bigger capacity for holding the breath than they think they do. And a lot of that is, I think, having somebody unlock it for you, talk you through it, explain what your body's experiencing, and then grow in your breath hold. So I always hear, I had no idea I could hold my breath for that long. I didn't know my lungs could be that big. And all of that is just basic techniques in lung expansion, stretching, how to take a big breath. So there's definitely a lot of, I never thought I could hold my breath for that long. And then there's also breathing. The other side, once we get in the water and actually go down where people just say, it's so peaceful. It's so calm. I love being down there. I didn't realize it would be so easy to get down there. So on these retreats, we take somebody from being a total beginner to holding their breath to anything over one and a half to four minutes, diving down to if their equalization, their ears are working fine, anywhere from five to 20 meters. So people really have an opportunity to explore everything. sport of freediving in a very safe and curated personal way. And

SPEAKER_02: 16:25

what's the, obviously they're getting some sort of meditative, so there's a strong wellness aspect to it, but what about the conservational angle? So are you, are they, are you, is part of this about educating people about the importance of conservation and marine conservation?

SPEAKER_01: 16:41

Absolutely. My whole mission with getting people to get in the water is to fall deeply in love with the ocean and I really do believe in the old saying that we protect what we love I think that is a very true human behavior and I think we live in an age of information we know so much about ocean degradation we know so much about climate change we have almost all the facts and statistics we need and yet our behavior isn't truly changing And what has been proven is that when we feel something, when we're connected to something, when our heart truly opens, that is when we are compelled to change our behavior. And so offering experiences in an ocean environment where people feel connected to themselves, they feel a sense of wellness, a sense of wholeness with the mindfulness element and the breath work and the freediving in these beautiful places, When we then start talking about a conservation message around how our daily actions affect the ocean, about how we can support conservation efforts, even just about what the actual challenges are, one's so much more perspective to it, right? Because you're coming from a place of caring and we can't change behavior through information and data and statistics if we don't care. So I think for me, that's really the golden thread through everything I do with I Am Water, with the travel company, with also the gear company. My husband and I started with sustainable gear for freediving, is that everything we do, we have choices and we can be more ocean and nature minded. But it has to start with caring.

SPEAKER_02: 18:28

Yeah, absolutely. And what particularly is it about the Maldives that appeals to you as far as holding this sort of retreat there?

SPEAKER_01: 18:38

The Maldives is a wildly interesting and beautiful place. I remember the first time I flew into the Maldives, I literally looked down at those strings of islands and I just started crying. I was so moved by how beautiful it was. I remember describing it in an article I wrote as a string of pearls. These islands just strung out through the blue Indian ocean. It's such a There are several island nations that are beautiful, but the Maldives, I would say, is just so unique in having this variety of islands and atolls. And then what makes it extra special is that one can really have conversations about the future well-being of the ocean and people near the ocean because of what the threats the Maldives faces when it comes to ocean health, but also the how one small nation can be so determined and vigilant in taking care of its ocean. There's been such strides made with marine protected areas, with shark conservation areas, with the UNESCO Biosphere Site of Hanifaru Bay, with researchers looking at the well-being of those aggregations of mantas. It's a very special place. And what's wonderful with Avani, virus's position within the Maldives is that it's so close to the bar, that it's in the bar atoll and so close to Hanifaru Bay where you get these aggregations of manta rays during this time. So for me, offering people the opportunity to see such a ocean oriented, you know, the Maldives for me is an ocean nation. not a land nation that has an ocean. It's an ocean that has some islands and people, right? So it really is a special place to experience the ocean because it's so central to all life and all well-being. And of course, thrown in the aggregations of hundreds and hundreds of manta rays and whale sharks and the marine life on the protected reefs. It's a very special place.

SPEAKER_02: 20:46

Yeah, and travellers obviously by doing this can, like you said, it changes their perspective on it, but it's often not the first thing they're thinking of when they're going there. What do you hope and what do you think travellers can do to be more marine, concerned about the marine conservation and marine life?

SPEAKER_01: 21:06

I think ocean conservation is such an interesting one because the ocean covers everything. 70% of our planet and both gives us the oxygen we breathe, much of the protein we eat, as well as the well-being element, which is why most people would be traveling to a place like the Maldives for relaxation, exploration, holiday. It's for me very much thinking of ocean conservation and ocean conservation choices is very much thinking of lifestyle and lifestyle choices, which is often... the ones that are harder to shift but have the greatest impact. So everything from what we consume on our plate, what we consume that we wear, how we travel, how we take responsibility for our carbon footprint in different ways, to the simple things like how we react around single-use plastics. Most islands in the Maldives don't allow single-use plastics anymore. There's a lot of banning of plastic bags in the Maldives as a whole. But still, there's a huge issue with plastic pollution. So making sure, for example, when we're traveling to places like that, we don't think, oh, let me take this half-empty shampoo bottle and I'll leave it behind when I go. Because there's very little way of protecting that waste item when we're there. It's from those small choices to the big ones. How can I support conservation efforts? How can I learn more about the ocean in this place? So it's really a lifestyle challenge. holistic lifestyle view of how one wants to live as a more conscious traveler conscious consumer and trying to tread a little lighter was there a

SPEAKER_02: 22:46

turning point for you when you were doing the free diving did you was there a point when you were all of a sudden wow i just i have to protect this as it was it was there something specifically was

SPEAKER_01: 22:56

there a moment I think through the years, there's been many, but a standout one for me was when I was still deep in my competitive years and teaching freediving to pay my way. I worked as a documentary filmmaker in my 20s, and that was the social political interests are always at a heart for people. But shifting from the fascination with my own body and competitive freediving to conservation, one standout moment was in Mozambique on the east coast of Africa. teaching a freediving course. And on the way out, we were looking for deep water where I would drop the buoy and the rope so that we can do our deep training. And on the way out, a large part of dolphins surrounded the boat. And I remember saying to the skipper, can I get in? I'd never swum with dolphins before. And I said, can I get in? And he said, oh no, they're spinner dolphins. Then I got really interested. Let's just keep going. And I just had this like urge. I was like, please, can you stop the boat? I really want. And he was like, whatever. And I put on my monofin, which is like a dolphin or mermaid tail. And at that point, luckily I was very fit as a competitive freediver. And I just went to the side of the boat and swam down. And these dolphins surrounded me like a tornado of bodies surrounding And they were so close and they were clicking and scanning and talking to each other and looking at me. And I just swam right down to the bottom, which was at about 30 meters. And these dolphins were all around me, circling and clicking. And it was like the swirling of fins and flukes and dolphins and me. And we hit the bottom and I just hovered there above the sand and the dolphins were playing with me. And I saw their interactions with each other and those curious, intelligent eyes just making such contact. And I remember swimming up with them all around me and thinking to myself, I would die for this to remain, for them to be safe. It was such a strong sense of, you know, that what I was talking about earlier, when your heart just feels cracked open and you feel this, I would do anything to keep this safe. It was a real visceral experience. And I came up from that dive thinking, already starting to think of how can I be more impactful in the ocean space. And shortly after I started, I am water.

SPEAKER_02: 25:08

Wow, that's amazing. I love that. What a beautiful story. That is just remarkable. It's incredible, those life-changing moments. And I can only imagine that when you see other people having that moment where you've taken them, that must be just such a rewarding experience. Absolutely. And having children as well must make it even stronger because you're obviously now thinking of the next generation and the importance of ensuring the sustainability for them.

SPEAKER_01: 25:39

Absolutely. It really does add a whole new layer to that urgency, I think. I had a similar one of those other standout moments when I was pregnant with Ava. She was I was seven months pregnant and had the opportunity to go back to Mozambique and swim with a pot of bottlenose that I've been swimming with the last 15 years. And they're very curious in shore community of wild dolphins that I'd gotten to know very well through the years and had this opportunity to go up there like just before the pandemic started, just before Eva was born. And I'm not sure if dolphins with their echolocation and almost ultrasound sonar underwater, they can see the fetus inside when they scan you, when they click with their echolocation. And I got in the water and they came around and they were looking at the baby and they were clicking and scanning. And they came so close to my belly that their nostrum, their nose area was almost on top of my belly as they were scanning and looking at her. underwater and they name every creature they encounter. So they have a click name for me, they'd have a click name for you. And so I had this strong sense that my little girl got her first name, which was before we'd chosen a name for her, that her first name was in Jolfa click language. And that experience also just that sense of she had this experience in utero. Now that she's five, she can swim. I'm waiting for an opportunity to take her back there and swim with them by herself, but also thinking that I want this to exist for her when she's an adult. I want these animals and these environments and landscapes to be healthy. And it can sound like a selfish motivation, but if it changes our behavior to the positive, then I think it has a true root, so to speak. And yeah, so I do think that having children, you feel that extra urgency and also responsibility because I chose to bring two children onto a very overpopulated planet, right? So it's both... because I want to protect for them what is here, but also take responsibility for the choice of having had children. Yes, of

SPEAKER_02: 27:45

course. What's something that travellers can do? What would be one thing that you would say to people if you are going somewhere where there is vast marine life or the opportunity to connect with the ocean? What's one thing that you would say to people to make sure they do?

SPEAKER_01: 28:04

Yeah, I think oftentimes when people travel, they would instinctively trust the operators attached to the property they're staying at, for example. And I think it's really worth doing a little bit of research and seeing what codes of conduct they follow. Do they have marine scientists who work with them? Is there a sustainability creed attached to how people enter the ocean? At so many places, there's examples even in the Maldives of terrible management of swimming with whale sharks and manta rays. You'll see these videos where there's a poor whale shark swimming along the bottom above the reef and three or four boats of tourists would jump in at the same time. And you've got, it feels like you've got three soccer teams of people above this poor whale shark and the noise and the You know, people are diving down to it. There's no code of conduct. There's no restriction on how to engage with the marine life. So I would definitely encourage people to do a little bit of research and see that their ocean experience doesn't have a negative impact. All the way to things like how we enter the ocean. If there's a reef around where one's staying that we're touching, we'll step on coral. It sounds so basic, but you would be surprised how often people say, oh, wait, I just need to put on my water shoes so I don't hurt my feet when I step on the coral. And oh my God, no. You know, it's taken that coral 50 years to grow to that size, rather float out over it or find a safer place to entry. So there's those very simple ones, but then there's the more complex ones, like, for example, thinking of offsetting one's travel carbon footprint to what one packs to go to a place like this, to whether the property you're staying with has a strong sustainability ethos. So I think there's a lot of things we can do better. It just takes a little bit of effort and care.

SPEAKER_02: 29:54

Yeah, that's such great advice. Fantastic advice. And thank you so much for that. We are unfortunately running out of time, even though I could talk to you about this for hours. So the last question we ask all of our interviewees is what's the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to you on your travels besides the remarkable experience with those dolphins?

SPEAKER_01: 30:14

I feel like everything is a slew of bizarre moments, but We definitely had this moment where we were in Baja in Mexico and it's a desert and we would be diving there and surfing. And suddenly we found out that there had been rain up in the mountains and we were driving on this desert road, like just imagine cactuses and tarantulas, like desert road. And suddenly we just heard this noise and there was this flood of water coming down this arroyo. And we were literally close to the beach and we had to drive so fast to get out of this area where the water was coming down to get out of there and then just watch this river. One car got swept totally onto the beach and just watching this water coming down to the ocean and just realizing that, you know, nature and water is the most unpredictable thing. Even when you're in a desert, you never know what you can experience. So that was truly bizarre.

UNKNOWN: 31:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 31:08

It's not really funny, but it certainly does sound bizarre. It was funny afterwards when we were having a margarita party. Yeah, that's it. Oh, it's been so great chatting with you. And we will put all the links to your website and to your retreat that you're holding with Avani Plus and the Maldives in the show notes. And thank you for your time today. Thank you so much,

SPEAKER_01: 31:31

Kirstie. And I hope to see you in the Maldives.

SPEAKER_00: 31:33

That was freediving champion, ocean conservationist and founder and director of Iron Water, Hanley Prince-Lew. If you're enjoying this episode of The World Awaits, you'll be glad to know that you can join Hanley Prince-Lew at a freediving retreat this September in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Bar Atoll while staying at the Avani Plast Fairs Maldive Resort. Head to avanihotels.com to find out more. For more information about Hanley, go to hanleyprinceloo.com.

SPEAKER_02: 32:15

Our tip this week is new research from Travel Insurance, which has found the average Aussie is sitting on 73,000 frequent flyer points. So this week, the tip is about how to maximize your frequent

SPEAKER_00: 32:27

flyer points. I have a huge stack of frequent flyer points, so I'm very interested in this research, which found that while we're sitting on a lot of points, most of us are failing to cash in on them. And we're talking about points typically earned from airline loyalty programs and reward credit cards. Travelinsurance.com.au CEO Sean McGowan says that's untapped value sitting in the average Aussie's reward account. He said if we took the average of 73,000 points... And put a dollar value on that, it could be worth anywhere between$500 and$3,000, depending on how you redeem them, which airline you use, and whether you fly economy or business class.

SPEAKER_02: 33:07

Yeah, the survey found that 22% of Australians don't even know their points balanced. So that's thousands of dollars in unused travel sitting idle. And Gen X and Millennials are the ones who typically cash in, while Boomers and Gen Z let the travel points slide. So Travel Insurance has five tips to maximise your points, starting with review your frequent flyer points balance regularly. It's obvious, right? But we're obviously not doing it. And set a reminder to check your points balance at least every year. It's a simple way to make sure you're keeping track of your earning rate and see how many points you've built up so that you can then redeem them on flights or on other rewards, depending what you want to do with them. And keep in mind that with most travel programs, it's a case of use it or lose it. You need to be earning and redeeming them regularly or the points will just expire. Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 33:56

absolutely. Look, we were booking flights to Cart Road just the other night and found a massive pile of points. So yay, we're going to fool them. Secondly, the advice is that you align your everyday spending. So if you have a rewards credit card, You can earn frequent flyer points on everyday purchases like groceries, fuel, insurance, and utility bills, and in some cases, even when paying rent. Just be sure to pay the balance off in full each month to avoid those hefty interest charges. Plus, some rewards credit cards offer over 100,000 travel points when you first sign up. You just need to pay the annual fee and meet the minimum spend within the first few months.

SPEAKER_02: 34:35

Yeah, and while we're talking points and not status... I should drop in that by doing that, linking all of our spending, I got gold status on Virgin. So it was actually a colleague of ours, Sarah Marie Cameron, who helped me out with that one. So we were sitting in an airport lounge, courtesy of her, because I didn't have that gold status. And she's also a, Sarah Marie's a presenter and actor and comedian as well. You can look her up. And she gave me this great advice. So she said, split your shopping into$100 payments and swipe that flybys because you get status points. So you'll get The frequent fly is obviously also, but then also the status points. And also the advice is to double dip on earnings. So you can earn bonus points by booking flights, hotels, or car hire through your airline's shopping or travel partners. So on top of the points... you earn from your credit card. And these bookings often come with bonus points promotions. And when combined with a points earning credit card, you can basically double.

SPEAKER_00: 35:32

Also, compare redemption values. Not all points redemptions are equal. Flights, particularly upgrades or long haul routes, tend to offer the highest dollar value per point. In most cases, using your points for flights beats redeeming them for merchandise, gift cards or cash fax. And link your frequent flyer number to all booking sites. Always add your frequent flyer number to your account or profile when you're booking flights, hotels, or car hire through third-party sites like Expedia or Webjet. Missing out on points? Because you forgot to link your account is one of the most common mistakes travellers make.

SPEAKER_02: 36:05

And fortunately, most airlines allow you to claim missing points for eligible flights within a certain period after travel. So just log into your frequent flyer account and submit a claim and make sure you have your flight details handy and they'll be listed on your e-ticket or boarding pass. And for more, just go to travelinsurance.com.au. If you'd like to help support our production costs, you can buy us a coffee at coffee.com slash theworldawakes. That's ko-fi.com slash theworldawakes so we can continue to bring you inspirational travel interviews with the world's best. If you've enjoyed this episode, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Click on our profile. Scroll down to the bottom to ratings and reviews. And if you're on Spotify, go to our main page and click the three dots underneath our photo. Or simply drop us a line at hello at theworldawakes.au. We love nothing more than hearing from our listeners.

SPEAKER_00: 36:59

That's a wrap for The World Awaits this week. Click to subscribe anywhere you listen to your favourite pods. Thanks for listening. See you next week.

UNKNOWN: 37:11

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