Are We Speaking at (One of) The 2023 Chicago Seminars This Fall?

I received a bunch of messages the past several days regarding The Chicago Seminars — and the reality show-like drama surrounding the now two events. (Even many reality show writers erm, story producers would be impressed by this whole poop show.)

Indeed, there are two (lucky 13th, oy) The Chicago Seminars taking place the same weekend. And there is plenty of public bad blood, ugly accusations, and crazy assumptions being hurled on social media, in blog comments, and elsewhere. Some especially angry people are even taking aim at points and miles bloggers because, well, that’s what they do.

Quickly (before we dive a little deeper), here’s what I gleaned based on (way too much time) reading social media posts, Facebook groups, and talking with others:

• Both feel they are the original Chicago Seminars (Like, seriously: New York City pizza wars, anyone? 🙂 )
• Both claim the other event is an offshoot
• Multiple people in the points/miles world are accusing their non-preferred Seminars of being “an FTU Seminars” (that’s a deep-ish dive).

When and Where Are The Chicago Seminarseseses?

Both events take place Friday, October 13 – Sunday, October 15.

Both are volunteer-based, non-profit events. Speakers, organizers, etc., may receive a place to stay and maybe a few bucks to help offset travel costs.

One event will be at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Chicago Willowbrook, 7800 Kingery Highway Willowbrook, IL 60527. That is being organized by Stefan Krasowski of Rapid Travel Chai. He was one of last year’s Chicago Seminars organizers. Here is that event’s FlyerTalk thread. You can purchase tickets here.

The other is hosted at the Holiday Inn Chicago-Elk Grove Village, 1000 Busse Rd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. (The longtime venue of Chicago Seminars.) JT Genter of AwardWallet, Marty Paz, and Chris Moss are organizing this one. They, too, were part of last year’s Chicago Seminars. Here is that event’s website. You can purchase tickets here. Personal advice: if you stay at this particular hotel, don’t arrive late at night. That said, I’ve always enjoyed my Chicago Seminars stays there.

What Topics Are Covered?

Points, miles, loyalty programs, saving money, and credit cards are the general focus of the Chicago Seminars. If you want to get a feel for past events:

• This was last year’s schedule.
• Here is the schedule from 2019.
• This is the 2018 schedule.
• Curious who spoke about what in 2017?

Who Should Come to These Events?

People who love and are interested in points and miles. I can’t stress this enough: it doesn’t matter if you’re dipping your toe into the water or practically living in the pool. I know it sounds cliched but I learn something new every year. I think most open-minded and eager people who attend the event every year do, too. (Honestly, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said and heard words to the effect of, “Oh, really? I didn’t know that!”)

Personally, my wife and I have learned great destination tips and other tidbits from random conversations between sessions.

I’ve met lifelong friends at Chicago Seminars events. Sure, there are a few know-it-alls — just like everywhere else in life. But so many people are warm, open, and enjoy sharing their enthusiasm with people — especially folks just starting out. We’ve all been there. If you can’t tell your 5/24 from 24/7/365 or Amex Ultimate Rewards from Chase Thank You! Points, you definitely need to attend! 😉

People can generally ask questions after speakers finish their presentations, time permitting. But if you’re like me, kind of shy, and are worried about asking a “dumb” question (which there aren’t), the speakers usually mill about the hotel lobby or bar between sessions. That’s a great time to chat and ask questions.

One of my family members joined me at last year’s event. She and her family love traveling and I think she finally gave in just so I’d shut up about why she should attend the Seminars. She was a relative (no pun intended) stranger to miles and points. She left with pages and pages and pages of notes. She made a ton of friends, asked all sorts of questions, shared information she picked up, etc.

Not even a year later, she and her husband are taking a dream trip to Japan. We had dinner a few weeks ago and she said, “We scored a great business class award ticket on JAL using British Airways Avios points I transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards®!” She would’ve said no such thing last year. Now? She’s practically the mayor of Pointstown 🙂 .

If you’re new to the event, feel free to ask us questions in the Comments section. I’ll also write a post closer to the event about some tips to help you maximize your experience.

Who is Speaking at Each Event?

René and I are speaking at the Delta Hotels Chicago Seminars. (We’re batting around various ideas about topics and formats.) We don’t yet know which day(s) we’ll speak.

You’ll notice some speaker overlap between events. So, keep an eye on each event’s respective pages or websites, or Facebook groups in case changes are made. I’ll update this post when/if I hear something.

Delta Hotels Chicago Seminars

• Michael C
• Chris Carley of Eye of the Flyer
• Andrew D’Amours of Flytrippers
• René de Lambert of FrequentFloaters
• Amy M. Gardner of Red Dot Blue Dot
• Rob Gerl
• Shabbir Hakim
• Andy Hicks, everycountryby50
• Dave Homyak, bikeguy
• Stefan Krasowski of Rapid Travel Chai
• Drew Macomber of Travel is Free
• Dave Muz and Lisa Kulpa of Basic Travel Couple
• Sarah Ramkissoon
• Logan Robinson and Erik Peterson of Aligned Incentives
• Dawn Royski of Share Traveler
• Lela Shifton
• Grant Thomas of Travel with Grant
• Robert ‘Tprophet’ Walker of Seat 31B and AwardCat

Holiday Inn Chicago Seminars

• Tom Stuker – 23 Million Miler with United
• Rick Ingersoll – Chicago Seminars Founder
• Howie Rappaport – Long-time Chicago Seminars Organizer
• Patrick Stouffer – Miles4Migrants
• Adam Bauer – @TravelFanboy
• Ashley McCurdy – In Search of Traveler
• Brandon Neth – FBZ Elite & The Neth Lab
• Chris Moss – Suite Connoisseur
• Ed Sanders – Routing Rule Expert
• Jackie Wisniewski – Award Travel 101
• John Ryan – Miles to Memories
• Julia Menez – @geobreezetravel
• Katie Genter – The Points Guy
• Logan Robinson – Aligned Incentives
• Mindy Davids – Million Baht Mindy
• Ryan Smith – AwardWallet
• Seth Lavy – Frontier Fanatic
• Spencer Howard – Straight to the Points
• Tippe Morlan – @tippemorlan
• Andrew Kunesh – CNN Underscored
• Ben and Jon Nickel-D’Andrea – No Mas Coach!
• Bryan Sklar – TravelWise Advisors
• Dia Adams – Forbes Advisor
• Grant Thomas – Travel With Grant
• Jamie Larounis – @theforwardcabin
• JT Genter – AwardWallet
• Kathy Kass – Will Run for Miles
• Kevin Song – @kev.song
• Marty Paz – @MrpAlert
• Paul Borish – Travelers Psychological Services
• Senitra Horbrook – @PointsTravelher
• Shawn Coomer – Miles to Memories
• Taylor Thomas

Wait: What’s All the Drama?

Here are three very good posts to which I’ll refer you:

• The Frequent Flyer Community Has Split Into Two Camps, And They’ve Confusingly Taken The Same Name
• Miles & Points Drama: Chicago Seminars Edition
• The Chicago Seminars Civil War

Levity: It’s Like ‘80s Glam Metal Bands…

This all reminds me of several 1980s glam metal bands that broke up — but whose members decided to tour and/or record separately under the band’s original name.

For example, there were two versions of L.A. Guns. Restraining orders were filed when the boys in RATT butted heads over who really was RATT (although that case was pretty cut and dried.) Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat infamously called his former comrades “a tribute band” when they decided to play shows without him.

Maybe at least one of The Chicago Seminarseseses can get one of those ’80s bands to play one night 🙂 .

The Points and Miles Community Will Be Split — If People Insist on and Allow It

Now, get your favorite headache medicine (or adult beverage) ready. Maybe some Imodium, too. Here we go.

The (fantastic) documentary The Kid Stays in the Picture begins with a quote attributed to its subject, late movie producer and studio executive Bob Evans:

“There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each differently.”

I wonder if that comes into play here.

(By the way, if you enjoy movies — especially ones such as The Godfather and Rosemary’s Baby — I think you’ll love The Kid Stays in the Picture. It tells a great story and is so well done.)

In my experience as a non-professional event organizer for an annual charity benefit, I can confirm that it’s a very difficult job. Politics, ego, and all sorts of other mishegoss play a far bigger role than they ought to. Venues can be an absolute nightmare. Some of your volunteers have ulterior motives. A few volunteers or staffers may dislike other volunteers or staffers.

So, I wonder if some of this mess is a combination of the three-sides-to-every-story thing and the pressures of putting on a good event.

The Chicago Seminars has been — and I hope will continue to be — a fun, educational weekend. There are always people who waste their time dragging it because they feel they know everything. But there’s no reason the Chicago Seminars drama should’ve reached these heights.

I’ve seen plenty of nasty comments (some of which border on libel) written by people who have no skin in the game. They are Keyboard Warriors who enjoy stirring up trouble. These folks already have it in their heads that the community must be split. They love the drama.

We’re Talking About Points and Miles

There’s been a lot of talk about people having to “choose sides” between events. This really shouldn’t come down to choosing sides. Frankly, it’s unfortunate that people even feel pressure to do so.

People who insist others choose sides are the problem.

These events are about a wonderful luxury: points and miles.

Sharing tips shouldn’t have to split the community. If you don’t want the community to be split, then simply continue being a decent person.

Even though I’m on the Delta Hotels Seminars card, I personally know and respect a few people speaking and attending the Holiday Inn Seminars. I consider some to be friends. Barring anything unforeseen, I’ll continue to respect them and be friends. (I’m sure the folks I don’t know are kind and lovely. Perhaps we’ll cross paths that weekend!)

Prior to last year’s event, I’d never met JT Genter in person. We corresponded a few times by email and probably social media at one point or another. I enjoyed chatting with him for a brief few moments and also had the pleasure of introducing him at his presentation. He, Marty Paz, and Chris Moss did a great job of helping make the event happen last year. (That was especially wonderful because the event couldn’t happen in person for two years due to COVID-19.)

For his part, Stefan told me via text message that he is not engaging in public attacks. Fair enough. I e-mailed JT with some questions (not about public attacks, don’t worry) and will update this post when I hear back. (As he and Mrs. Katie Genter are digital nomads, I assume he’s traveling. I thought I read that he was at an event in France but I could be mistaken.)

If you prefer to go to the Holiday Inn Seminars because you enjoy the venue, are more comfortable there, and prefer that speaker line-up, that’s totally cool with me. I get it and won’t think less of you. Because there’s no reason to.

Heck, I might even pop over to Shelby Campbell’s (the Holiday Inn’s bar and restaurant) to say hi, enjoy a cocktail, and eat some of their amazing French fries.

Ideally, one event under a single roof would be the best for everyone. That’s not the way it is this year. So, we can either deal with it and have a good time at one of the Seminars — or sit it out this year and hope everything is smoother next year.

The game plan for René and me is to share our knowledge, hang out with fellow attendees, learn other tips and tricks, and enjoy the weekend.

Here’s what I don’t want: a pall to hang over either event. Bad vibes or energy permeate throughout the venues. People turning this into a big us vs. them thing.

I hope both events are well-attended, well-run, informative, positive, and fun. That means everyone has a great time, learns a lot, meets new friends, reconnects with longtime pals, and the charities all receive wonderful donations.

I look forward to seeing you and/or hearing about your experience this year.