Traveling around the country on contract for the last six years has been a wild and exciting ride for sure, but what about traveling for fun? To be honest, when we first began travel PT we were so focused on paying off our student loans quickly that we didn’t give it too much thought. Life was expensive enough as it is, let alone paying for airline costs. Then we (Ellen) got pregnant out of the blue and we may or may not have freaked out a bit thinking that we would now NEVER be able to travel like we had once hoped to. Boy were we wrong! Travel hacks to the rescue!
In this article Ill go over a few of the things that have allowed us to travel more and more every year. Some tips and tricks to experiencing the world in bigger ways that ever expected.
Disclaimer: this article contains some affiliate links that may provide us with compensation, but none of these recommendations are paid advertisements. We have used each and every one described here.
Flying for cheap!
When Ellen got pregnant we got down to business trying to figure out how we could afford to cram in more travel before the arrival of our little one. We assumed that once the baby arrived that would be the end of our big travel plans so research began in earnest. Quickly we found out a couple of things that gave us hope, but we had no idea at the time how impactful they would be.
- Children under 2 fly free!
- Credit card points are WAY easier to figure out that we first thought
Hacking the credit card game initially felt too overwhelming to dip our toes into, but if there is one thing I know about my wife (especially while pregnant) its that if she wants to do something bad enough she is going to find a way to make it happen. No matter what! Needless to say, she has been the driver behind our use of credit cards to provide us with free flights all over the country. California, Colorado, Ohio, Hawaii (three times), North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada so far.
A misconception about accruing miles is that it only counts for miles already flown. If this was the case we would NEVER fly anywhere for free! The payoff actually is in bonus miles you receive for signing up. 40,000 – 70,000 is not uncommon to see. The dollar amount equates to roughly $0.01 per mile or $400-700 tickets! (some companies redeem at even higher rates but often for just a limited time.)
Personally I was a bit skeptical in the beginning because many of these cards have a required spending amount in the first few months. However, being a home health therapist with mileage reimbursement and an obnoxiously large truck, I was spending a shockingly high amount of money each month on gas. For the remainder of the spending requirement we shift spending onto the new card as our primary payment method for nearly every expense. It is embarrassing to say but we have always met the spending limits without ever making extra purchases – which obviously we would never do because that is silly.
It is important to pay attention to your specific terms and conditions when you sign up for yourself. Certain purchases will earn more points than others at various times of the year.
Our guidelines:
1.) Sign up for one card at a time.
-If you are married do not sign up jointly as some companies place limits to how many cards an individual may have open. This way each of you can take advantage of the bonus miles/points at different times of the year.
2.) Sign up for the card before you plan to make a large purchase.
3.) Always pay off your card each month.
-This is not an article about how to spiral into further debt. Do not carry a balance on your card…EVER!
4.) The best card depends on which airlines you use more often.
Here are a few of our Favorite Cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Ellen and I both have this card. So far we have used it to fly a friend from CA to CO this past summer, and to fly Ellen and Kinley to Michigan for family vacation.
Overview: One of the most popular miles cards amongst “card hackers” for a reason, the Chase Sapphire Preferred redeems at an additional 25% so the free 60,000 bonus points for signing up gets you $750 in rewards instead of $600 like most other cards!
+Points can be used on ANY airline!
Nitty Gritty: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. – that’s $750 towards airfare or hotels when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
$95 annual fee
Click here for more details
American Express Delta Gold
Ellen LOVES this card! Delta has a direct flight from San Francisco to Cincinnati (where her family is) that is already super cheap. With this card she has been able to take Kinley on multiple short weekend trips home to see her parents and 95yo grandfather without feeling as though she needs to stay longer (and miss more work) to justify the expense of the flight.
Overview: 60,000 bonus miles at sign up plus 10,000 at your one year anniversary. Thats 70,000 free points!
Nitty Gritty: Must spend $2,000 in the first 3 months. Card only good with Delta. Offer Expires: 04/01/2020. There are other card options available Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards. 2x points at restaurants.
$99 annual fee after the first year
Click here for more details
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card
We have now flown to Hawaii three times on this card! Two of those times were with Kinley in tow. For anyone living near an Alaska Airlines hub there is almost no reason NOT to have this card. Yearly companion flights mean it pays for its self over and over.
Overview: 40,000 bonus miles at sign up and a yearly recurring $121 companion flight with no black out dates!
Nitty Gritty: Spend $2,000 in the first 90 days for 40,000 bonus miles, plus miles are eligible on many of their international partners airlines as well.
$75 annual fee.
Click here for more details.
Side note: If you are thinking that either opening too many cards or closing credit cards will impact your credit you are not alone. Here are a few articles that are helpful – Questions about opening up cards I found this article to be helpful. This one for understanding how closing a card can hurt your credit, and finally this one is helpful for knowing what cards NEVER to close.
Non-Credit Card Travel Hacks
Camping in Paradise
Ok, so I can already anticipate your eye roll at this suggestion. I know, who wants to fly to some dream vacation destination only to spend nights in a tent? Well, what if that tent happened to be 40ft from the shores of a picturesque beach and those nights were spent being lulled to sleep by the soothing rush of the waves lapping at the shores of said beach. Not bad eh? Well, what if said campsite only costs $3/adult/night compared to single rooms in the same area going for $150-200?! I know right?!
This is exactly what we did in Kauai last month.
Our family is not the type to spend countless hours cooped up in a hotel room. We want to explore every aspect of each place we visit, so a hotel is little more than a fancy shower and place to lay our heads at night. In areas with a mild climate and community shower areas in campgrounds, camping is definitely going to be an option high on our list after recent experiences.
Sponsored trips through recruiter agencies
As many of you are aware there are recruiting agencies are desperate for your business. But acquiring new travelers is expensive. There are marketing costs and onboarding costs with each new hire that quickly add up. But, if you stay with the same company for multiple contracts it saves them tremendously. This is where loyalty programs come in. One such program includes an all expenses vacation each March (we will be attending for the 4th year in a row!). By working a certain number of weeks a year for their company you can earn yourself and possibly even a guest a free trip! While the trip is technically free, taxes must still be paid on the equivalent dollar amount of the trip. Contact us if you want more info!
Bring a friend!
Last year at a going away party for two fellow traveler buddies they were telling us about the incredible trip they had planned to Hawaii the following week – “So we are spending a week on Maui, then two weeks on the Big Island, and get this! We have a three bedroom place for like, super cheap! And its just the two of us! How cool would it be if you all came too?!” To which we all looked at each other and said “Well, why not?” 10 days later we were on the Big Island with 8 other travel buddies paying next to nothing in lodging costs or food since we cooked at the house most nights. How much fun is that?! Oh, and of course we got the flights through Alaska Airlines and only paid for the $99 companion flight! Booyah!
Hope we were able to demystify some of the travel hacks out there for you. As always if you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out! We love to hear from each of you. The contact us page works great or any of our social media accounts as well!
Written by: Stephen Stockhausen PT
