Travel Hacking

​It is not for everyone but accelerating the accumulation of points and miles can deliver huge savings and great travel.  Learn how the pros do it.

​I love to travel!  But, in case you haven’t noticed, airfare, hotels, and experiences are very expensive these days. 😒 Enter travel hacking.  My definition of travel hacking is paying for travel with points rather than cash.  Sometimes using cash is unavoidable, but with a little effort, knowledge, and discipline, one can accelerate the accumulation of points to pay for more travel and upgrades for flights and hotels.

10x Travel opened my eyes to the variations of points/rewards strategies.  It provides a free virtual course that is a great resource for getting started and progressing with travel awards.  A forewarning: it can get complicated, so be prepared to devote some time to it.  In addition, they have a robust Facebook page, podcast, daily email blog, and travel services. 

Travel hacking isn’t for everyone.  For years, I limited my usage of credit cards to just two: an airline card and a hotel card.  However, once I started reading about others’ travel experiences with points, I realized I needed to further educate myself.  It took me a little while to get comfortable with more than two credit cards.

In addition, 10x Travel shares other award resources that are helpful to keep track of points.  It also highlights new hotels, cruises, airlines, and other travel vendors, as well as keeps its FB fans posted about award travel offers and bonus opportunities.
  
Another resource is TPG, The Points Guy.  Again, it provides resources, tips, and destination ideas like 10X Travel, but without the free course (although it does provide some instructional material).  Both resources earn revenue when readers apply for credit cards through their online portals. 
Some of the other benefits I’ve realized include becoming more knowledgeable about:

• Travel insurance benefits 
• Leveraging points for maximum value
• The impact of several credit cards on credit scores
• Engaging with our adult children in similar programs to coordinate travel
• Recouping funds/points on cancelled travel
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Best of luck with your travel plans!  I hope you come to enjoy this process as much as I do.