I use my CC to pay for rent and utilities and whatever other necessities, nothing extra. I've racked up 108K AA points (and counting) simply through that. So

I use my CC to pay for rent and utilities and whatever other necessities, nothing extra. I've racked up 108K AA points (and counting) simply through that. So I'm not questioning that the flights could be $418, however I do expect living expenses for the next 9 months for him to be massive depending on how he plans on handling himself (which he doesn't talk about in the article much).