Tips For New Travel Hackers: Where And How To Start Travel Hacking Your Way To Free Flights
After a 15 month travel hiatus due to Covid, we’re all new to travelling again now that the world is starting to open up. We’re finding ways to use up our vouchers, travel banks, and maybe even time off work that was left unused. As a travel hacker, I’m used to travelling on points, miles and vouchers. The pandemic has made us all new travel hackers, looking how to get the best travel experiences with what you’ve saved up. Starting now (or soon, depending on where in the world you are), you’ll get to re-design your future of travel. Are you ready to pick up where you left off? Maybe you’re looking to do things differently and design a new travel experience for yourself?
Not being able to travel for over a year didn’t necessarily mean that you had to stop collecting points and miles. Throughout 2020, I’ve consistently applied my travel hacking principles. In addition to the vouchers and travel credits from all the cancelled trips, I have also collected additional points and miles that I’ll be able to start using soon again once the Canadian border opens up. As one of our beginning or new travel hackers, you can start doing that today.
Start now
Don’t let anyone tell you that travel hacking is only for frequent flyers or big spenders. You have to start somewhere. What matters is having a system for accumulating points and miles and following it consistently. When done right, you’ll accumulate points faster than you’ll be able to use them up, effectively creating the perpetual motion of traveling. As a new travel hacker, that kind of momentum will take time to build. In 2020, that was easy to do as it was virtually impossible to book any rewards travel, so everyone earned more points than they were able to spend. This year will be the year we travel again.
If you’re a brand new travel hacker, or need a refresher before picking up on your COVID-interrupted travel plans, here are three more crucial tips to help you get the most out of your travel experiences this year.
Be Clear On Your Travel Goals
Be clear on your travel and destination goals and stick to one (or two) programs that help you get there. If I gave you a golden ticket and you could write any destination on it and fly anywhere in the world – where would you go? It doesn’t matter which destination you pick, whether near or far, what matters is to be clear on where you want to go. Having a clear travel goal allows your mind to notice opportunities in your environment to start making that destination a reality. You may notice a seat sale or do your own research to see what it would take to get to your destination.
Pick One (or 2) Frequent Flyer Programs
Once you have picked your destination, commit to getting there. Stick to one (or two) frequent flyer programs that help you get to your destination. Know which airline you’d like to fly, and how much it would cost (in dollars or points/miles) to get to that destination on that airline. Know your options. Will you fly business class or economy? Then focus your efforts on acquiring those miles in that program. In my travel book and Travel Revolution program I teach the principles I follow to maximize my points and miles using steps anyone can follow. I ended up selecting only two programs to participate in – one that provides me with easy access to short-haul flights, and another for longer flights across North America, or even to Europe.
Once you’ve selected the programs to focus on, ensure you use them. This might sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many people fly without their frequent flyer number on their boarding pass. While I mostly use miles through travel (not gain them as much), you can’t accumulate a few extra miles if you’re not a member OR don’t use your membership number while checking in.
Get into action
Flying for free can be within reach for pretty much anyone if you follow the system. The question no longer is if you will be able to travel to your desired destination, it’s just a matter of when you’ll get there. Starting to implement some of these ideas starts today, not when you’re ready to book a trip. So why not get started with a complimentary preview of my Travel Revolution training program today?