A student in the Lounge asked me a question this week "Do I need to open an account with every airline? Air France, JAL, Iberia... all of them?"

Short answer: yes. And in this episode I explain why.

Here's the thing about flight deals. They show up, and then they're gone. Sometimes in hours. And some of the best redemptions run through airline partners that won't let you transfer points in until your account has been open for a while. If you find the deal on Tuesday and open the account on Tuesday, you've already lost it.

So, we talk about:

• Why having your airline accounts set up ahead of time is the difference between booking the deal and watching it pass you by
• Which programs have waiting periods or other hoops you need to clear before points can land
• Why I don't keep all my points in one place, and  ...