Travel Hacking 101

Editor's Notes

• #2: Experienced Travel hackers – repetitive Beginners – Drinking out of a fire house Get everyone on the same page before taking a deeper dive into other topics
• #3: Travel hacking includes - earning points, mistake fares, mileage running, find cheap deals
• #4: Travel hacking includes - earning points, mistake fares, mileage running, find cheap deals
• #5: Sounds to good to be true
• #6: Explain transferring SPG points to American Airlines
• #9: Different types of miles & points & how to go about redeeming them
• #10: What they are and how to redeem them
• #11: Four major frequent flyer programs Zone based award carts Distance based award charts Only Redeem on the airline you earned miles on
• #12: United Award Chart U.S. to Europe Zone based award charts are the most popular - United, Delta, and American Airlines all have zone based award charts
• #13: U.S. to Australia/New Zealand As the zones get further apart the award flights get more expensive
• #14: British Airways Award Chart The distance you fly determines the cost. Distance is segmented in to chunks. Take advantage of sweet spots
• #15: Round trip flight 9,000 On american would be 25,000 British Airways is the cheapest way to fly to Dallas
• #16: Round trip cost 25,000 Round trip on American or United would cost 60,000
• #17: Just like airline miles there is no transferring between programs
• #18: Categories based of two things Location Quality of the property Radisson Blu in the middle in the middle of a popular city – Country Inn & Suites in the middle of nowhere
• #19: Categories based of two things Location Niceness
• #20: Two main cards that offer fixed value points It’s exactly what it sounds like each point has a fixed value $500 Flight to California would cost 50,000 miles
• #21: Book an over night train from Milan to Venice – Using arrival miles to erase the cost
• #22: Transferable points are the most value because they’re flexible Transfer chase points to United, Southwest, Hyatt and British Airways Transfer to travel partners at a 1 to 1 ratio Starwood only partners with Airlines
• #23: If you transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards to United, those Ultimate Reward points would turn into United miles Then you’d book the award flight through United
• #24: Summarize – Airline, hotel, transferable, and fixed value points
• #25: 5 main strategies for earning miles and points
• #26: Delta – Miami for a cruise SPG & American for Costa Rica American Platinum 100,000 points sign up bonus – Africa or Australia Club Carlson – Two free nights in Vienna & two free nights in Austra Chase Sapphire – Transferred Ultimate Reward points to United to book flight back from Thailand
• #27: Chase freedom an example or rotating categories Chase in an example of fixed categories Think about which credit card will earn you the most points with every purchase Might not seem like a big deal at the time, but strategically spending on the right card adds up
• #28: Earn points through flying and staying at hotels
• #29: Online mall with store fronts Target earns 3 points per dollar spent. Points stack on top of the points your already earning for spending on your credit card Might not seem like much at the time but it adds up over time
• #30: After signing up 3X – 5X Per $1 Spent at Qualifying Restaurants Sign Up Bonuses the main reason use these
• #31: I could give a “overview” presentation without giving briefly discussing the number 1 strategy for earning miles and points
• #32: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR – CAN’T Guarantee this won’t hurt your credit score Strategically applying for multiple cards on the same day every few months. Keeps your credit score in the best condition possible. Hard check when applying for cards decrease your credit score 2 – 5 points Recover back from that dip over 3 or four months Don’t know the exact reasoning. It just works
• #35: $925 If paid all my annual fees 3 Optoins Keep if the benefits outweigh the cost of the annual Club Carlson 25,000 point annual bonus Always downgrade if possible Canceling hurts credit score because it reduces your length of credit history
• #36: Travel Hacking is hobby and it takes some effort, but it totally worth it!