Post: #1

Traveling is arguably the most effective way on the planet to develop as a person, learn about yourself, and discover what it means to be human. This idea has been written about dozens of times throughout the manosphere for one simple reason. It’s an undeniable truth.

Traveling offers the modern-man a chance to get out of his comfort zone, eliminate the distractions of day-to-day life, and learn how to be self-reliant. However, there is one major catch. Traveling is really fucking expensive.

Which means that the vast majority of men have to prioritize travel with other financial goals such as saving for retirement, starting a business, or putting money aside to purchase a home.

Enter travel hacking

Travel hacking is the process of earning tons of frequent flyer miles through things like credit card sign-ups and other promotions and using those miles to book tons of really cheap travel.

Think of it like extreme couponing, only its 10x more lucrative (literally), requires a fraction of the time, and it doesn’t have the social stigma associated with clipping coupons and storing a bunch of junk in your basement.

The concept of travel hacking is hard to grasp at first but it really is quite simple. In fact, the basic travel hacking process can be broken down in to 5 simple steps.

1. Apply for a rewards credit card that gives you some sort of sign-up bonus (2 free flights, 50,000 points, free hotel nights, etc.)
2. Complete the required steps to earn the bonus (usually just a minimum spending requirement)
3. Use your sign-up bonus points/miles to book cheap travel
4. Cancel the credit card before the annual fee comes due
5. Repeat as needed

It’s that easy.

The most extreme travel hackers repeat this process ~15-20 times per year and end up taking multiple international trips annually for pennies on the dollar. (I just did a weekend trip to Amsterdam for less than $200.)

Why does this work?

Put simply, travel hacking works because it allows you to beat the credit card companies at their own game.

Credit card companies make a large portion of their profits by exploiting people who are financially irresponsible. They provide a product that allows you to live above your means, use marketing tactics to make you believe that you can afford anything (pay attention to their commercials, you’ll see what I mean), then make you their slave by charging outrageous interest rates on the debt that you inevitably accrue.

And it works, and works incredibly well. So well that the average American household has $15,611 of credit card debt. With typical interest rates on this debt hovering around 15%, this is an incredibly profitable business for these companies.

Knowing this, credit card companies offer large sign-up bonuses in the form of frequent flyer miles, cash back, etc. on their cards to encourage people to sign up.

These bonuses are essentially a form of bait to lure you in to the trap of credit card debt.

Travel hacking works by systematically mining these bonuses while avoiding the trap of falling into debt.

Won’t this destroy your credit score?

No, and anyone who tells you otherwise has no idea how credit scores work.

Here is a quick rundown on how applying for a large number of credit cards can affect your credit score.

Every time you apply for a credit card (or any form of credit) your credit score will dip by ~2-5 points according to FICO. There is a long and somewhat complicated answer for why this happens, but let’s be honest, you couldn’t care less. This is the way that credit scoring works and neither you nor I can change that.

(If you are actually curious, google “travel hacking effect on credit”. You’ll find a ton of articles that support my claim.)

This ~2-5 point dip is short-lived and is easily offset by the positive effects of having another credit account on your credit report. Mainly the increased amount of available credit (which reduces your credit utilization) and the increased number of on-time payments that you will be making.

I have personally seen my credit score rise more than 80 points since I have started travel hacking.

So what’s the catch?

The catch is that this only works when you use your new credit cards responsibly.

If you end up spending beyond your means then you have fallen in to their trap.

So you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and be brutally honest with yourself before getting started. If you’re the type of person that can’t control your spending then travel hacking is definitely not for you.

Here is an actionable plan to help you fly for cheap

As we discussed above, the first step of travel hacking is to apply for a rewards credit card that gives you some sort of sign-up bonus. There are dozens of these cards out there so let’s start with perhaps the most basic one on the market. The Barclays Arrival Plus.

The Barclays Arrival Plus offers 40,000 miles as a sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. These miles can be redeemed at a rate of 1 penny a piece to erase travel expenses made within 120 days.

So you can erase a $300 airline ticket purchase with 30,000 points, a $55 taxi fare with 5,500 points, etc. You get the point. You also get a 10% bonus on any points redeemed, meaning that the 40,000 sign-up bonus points give you $440 in travel statement credits.

These statement credits can be used to erase just about any travel expense. Airline tickets, hotel rooms, taxis, Uber fares, you name it.

Another major advantage of this card is that you can take advantage of the signup bonus before you meet the $3,000 minimum spending requirement. Simply use the card to pay for your trip and erase the charges after you have earned the bonus points.

The Barclays Arrival Plus has no fee for the first year, meaning you could cancel the card 11 months after opening it and end up paying nothing out of pocket. So in some cases you might actually be able to get your US flight literally for free.

Again, a concept that defies traditional logic but is really quite simple. That’s a lot to digest at once, so let’s boil it down to the basics.

The Spark Notes version

1. Open a Barclays Arrival Plus credit card
2. Use the Barclays Arrival Plus to pay for your next flight
3. After meeting the $3,000 minimum spending requirement, use your bonus miles to erase $440+ of your airfare charge
4. Cancel the card 11 months after applying to avoid paying any sort of fees

Simple, effective, and literally free. You won’t pay a dime to use this strategy.

And as I mentioned before, you can continually repeat this process to earn an endless amount of points and miles and start traveling the world for next to nothing.

Start your journey to becoming a better man today.

Read More: 14 Tips To Travel Cheaply Around the World

Posted on Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00:18 +0000 at http://www.returnofkings.com/59948/how-y...ss-than-50
Comments: http://www.returnofkings.com/59948/how-y...0#comments

Post: #2

Has anyone cracked down on this yet? Is this method still effective?

Post: #3

(12-23-2016 12:34 AM)Phil Jackson Wrote:  Has anyone cracked down on this yet? Is this method still effective?

I have been doing this for 16+ years. Yes its still effective, with two small caveats. First, details matter. The specifics of any any offer change month to month. So I know nothing about the Barclays offer, but every airline and major hotel has offers like these with some partner. The major airlines and major hotels will always partner with some credit card company to do this. So there will always be "bait" thrown out somewhere by some companies. You responsible for figuring out the details. There are entire forums dedicated to these techniques, OP has just given you an excellent summary.

Second, to be effective, you have to be patient. The article is well written, but the author makes it sound easier than it really is. For example, Delta has a credit card but the usual sign up bonus is 35,000 miles. That's enough for a domestic ticket, but not to Amsterdam. Recently, they had a rare double bonus where you could get 70,000, but you were stuck paying the annual fee from day 1. Still a good deal, and enough to get you to Amsterdam (for $195, plus taxes on Delta).

So open some accounts, get the points, and bank them. Typically the credit card companies will let you open a new card after you have closed your first card, but require a 24 month separation to get points the 2nd time. I've done this successfully withe a few companies, hit a snag once with Hilton.

The way to make this very successful is to supplement your "bait" harvesting with actual flights or hotel stays, such as those paid for by your employer. That's when you'll really accumulate points. OP references bonuses - an example might be a hotel that offers you enough points for 2 stays anywhere in the world if you complete 4 stays within the next quarter - that is very lucrative, and I have taken advantage of these. I dont' travel much on business so I have mostly had to accumulate points by spending on credit cards, and by opening new cards, and its been a medium slow process. However, eventually you stockpile some points and I have taken some fabulous trips for free, probably $50,000 worth lifetime. This definitely works if you can be patient and strategic.

Finally, a bit of an advanced technique, but in addition to credit cards there are bonuses offered by brokerage firms for moving your account or making large deposits. TD Ameritrade offeres these.

Post: #4

Also, it can take a few months to get sign-up points applied (so you meet the initial monthly spend, then it may take another month or two for them to apply it to your account).

So this is not a "start it and fly somewhere cool next month" type of strategy. Requires about 6 months minimum to ramp up.

Post: #5

(12-23-2016 10:28 AM)TooFineAPoint Wrote:  Also, it can take a few months to get sign-up points applied (so you meet the initial monthly spend, then it may take another month or two for them to apply it to your account).

So this is not a "start it and fly somewhere cool next month" type of strategy. Requires about 6 months minimum to ramp up.

That is a fair point, although 6 months is unusually long wait. Usually its 1 or 2 tops. The folks over at flyertalk.org can tell you when to expect your points and when to follow up. There is a subforum over there for everything.

Post: #6

(06-02-2017 12:12 PM)Hypno Wrote:  

(12-23-2016 10:28 AM)TooFineAPoint Wrote:  Also, it can take a few months to get sign-up points applied (so you meet the initial monthly spend, then it may take another month or two for them to apply it to your account).

So this is not a "start it and fly somewhere cool next month" type of strategy. Requires about 6 months minimum to ramp up.

That is a fair point, although 6 months is unusually long wait. Usually its 1 or 2 tops. The folks over at flyertalk.org can tell you when to expect your points and when to follow up. There is a subforum over there for everything.

Good points here. You kinda gotta stay updated on stuff if you want to do this consistently. Travel hacking is like a hobby whose payoff is super money-saving travel and trips. If you put in some time and stay organized, it can pay off nicely.

Post: #7

Too much work. Just game a flight attendant and get listed on her passes. Then anywhere for $0. Only concern is looking for flights with empty seats in first class. Being good looking and polite helps. Pure game solution every time all the time.