Travel Hacking 101

Travel Hacking 101MICHAEL WU & DANIEL TAHARA

1. Travel for Cheap2. Loyalty Programs3. Travel For Free

Outline

4. Status, Perks, and Tips


Outline


t1 Travel for Cheap

t1 Travel for Cheap

t1 Travel for Cheap

t1 Travel for Cheap

t1 Travel for Cheap: Flights

Know your tools


Google Flightst1 Travel for Cheap: Flights

t1 Travel on the Cheap

ITA Matrix - matrix.itasoftware.com


OTA - online travel agencies


Tip: The DoT stipulates that all plane tickets sold in the U.S.

must be refundable for 24 hours


You can add stopovers to many international flights for free /

reasonable fee in the connecting city


When should you book to get a good deal?


• Holidays - book ASAP • Domestic prices increases travel 4-5 weeks in

advance, but before then are fairly stable • The best deals come out 2-3 months in advance

t1 Travel for Cheap: Hotels

Where to Find?

Price Comparisons: Kayak, Trivago, Hipmunk

Reviews: TripAdvisor



Where to book?

OTAs (Orbitz, Expedia, hotels.com, etc.)

Direct with Hotel


Best Rate Guarantees

Discounted or Free nights Points

Rewards


Outline


t2 Travel for Free: Loyalty programs

Earning: (Generally) 1 mile/mile flown

Some programs x miles/$ (United, Delta, Southwest, Virgin)

Redeeming: 25k RT within the US

50-80k RT to Asia 50-60k RT to Europe


Tip: Stick within an alliance / airline


How many miles am I earning?


http://www.wheretocredit.com/

Where should I credit my flights?


• Last minute award availability • Good for certain airlines • Gives you flexibility, saves you money

• You can add stopovers to many award flights for free / reasonable fee

• Cancellation and change fees are usually less than paid tickets

Benefits of award flights


Don’t forget about foreign programs!


Examples


• 20,000 Singapore miles + $5.60, one way United BusinessFirst from San Francisco to New York

• 62,500 Aeroplan miles + $455 one way Lufthansa First Class San Francisco to Frankfurt

Tip: If you don’t collect miles but want to fly a premium cabin, you can buy miles from the

airlines and redeem for an award at ~10-20% of the normal ticket cost



Hotel points

• Generally tied to a fixed number of points/$ spent

• Hotels in chains have different categories, which influences how much a free room costs/night

• Nicer rooms in hotels costs more points • Point cost doesn’t change, just availability


Hotel points

Club Carlson 0.4 cents/point Hilton HHonors 0.4 cents/point Hyatt Gold Passport 1.4 cents/point IHG Rewards 0.5 cents/point Marriott Rewards 0.8 cent/point Starwood Preferred Guest 2.2 cents/point


Train travel??


Outline


t3 Travel for Free: Credit Cards


Transferrable Bank Points: Transfer 1:1 to an airline program

Fixed Bank Points: Usually 1 cent/point

Airline Points: 1 mile in their program


t2 Travel for Free: Transferable points




What about my credit score?

Inquiries Utilization

AAoA/Payment History


Outline


t4 Status, Perks, and Tips

Airline Lounges



Elite status



Common Perks: • Free upgrades • Earn extra miles • Priority security lines / service • Waived fees

Bonus Perks: • Companion Pass

• Southwest (unlimited, free) • Alaska (single-use, taxes)


How do you get status?

Fly?


How do you get status?

Fly? Maybe a little… but smart flying, status matching and status challenges are easier


Hotel status?

Many hotel credit cards will offer mid-lower tier status Free upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, free amenities, breakfast, etc.


t5 Next steps

• Million Mile Secrets • ThePointsGuy • Milenomics (for a different take)

Read up on the basics

t5 Next steps

• Doctorofcredit • Free-quent Flyer • Travelisfree • Saverocity (network)

• Matt from Saverocity • Chasing the Points

• BoardingArea (network) • Many, many more

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