Top Guest and Free Miles!
Edit: For the sake of ethics, I do not encourage “phantom” check-ins despite the Terms & Conditions stating that you must be “at or near” the locations.
It is always a good deal to be able to acquire miles and hotel points on the cheap, as in previous posts on the Hilton HHonors Instant Gold/40,000 point promotion and Radisson Hotels Big Night Giveaway. It is an exceptionally great deal when you can get them from free, as in the case of Top Guest.
But before I delve into Top Guest, I should address the point of collecting miles cheaply, let alone free. When I share that I am a recovering lost points junkie, I am often asked how many these newly minted points it takes put to them to good use.
I believe in putting my points to use for truly aspirational awards, which I otherwise would not be able to afford. I got into this whole game trying to upgrade my way into first class, and my main plan with my miles has always been to get me to the front of the plane. While some would argue that coach, or even business class is good enough, I think the added benefit to mileage cost ratio is fair enough, quite fair in fact, to justify first-class award redemptions.
Thus, to get the added benefits every point and mile helps. Sure a 1,000 miles here and there may not seem like much, but over time it adds up. My engineering background has taught me to see the power of minor, incremental accrual over an extended period of time.
Top Guest, enables one to earn miles and points for check-ins via social media, such as, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook. If by chance you do not have either you can sign up here for FourSquare or here for Top Guest.
To begin earning points, you will need to link to your Four Square account from within your Top Guest account. You will need to manually enter your account number for each eligible, participating program.
Eligible programs for earning miles/points via Top Guest can be found here. All of these apparently have a 50 point sign-up bonus for linking to Top Guest.
Eligible airports for earning United/Continental miles can be found here:
“Connect with Facebook or Foursquare and you’ll get 50 reward miles each time you share your location at or near select United® and Continental® airports. Plus, you’ll receive special offers within minutes for nearby airport retailers, car rental agencies and restaurants.”
Now you are on your way to earn valuable miles and points simply by checking in using Four Square. It is important to note that the stipulations also state you can be at or near eligible airports. I live a good 15-20 minutes from my home airport, but 95% of the time I have had no problem checking in “remotely” on my smart phone from the comfort of my own home.
Tip of the hat goes to Gary Leff from the View From the Wing blog (a great read, by the way) who has written an excellent post on this subject.
In conclusion, 500 miles a day may seem like chump change in the mileage game. But complete Top Guest check-ins on a daily base, and in multiple loyalty programs you can accrue 18,000 points over a year. You are earning MULTIPLE hotel award stays every year–how amazing is that?! So start the Top Guest action right away!!
Point Me to the Miles 
You keep it up now, undesrantd? Really good to know.
Hey, that’s a clever way of thniikng about it.
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