#the flights aren’t even that expensive :(((( but that’s not factoring in accommodation and the ticket prices of the thing itself

[milflewis]

the fact that i can’t go see sebastian vettel drive around in a hot car while i wear smth cute and sip at a drink and eat snacks is an offence to me personally

[multicityflightsus]

How Far In Advance Should You Book a Flight? Let’s Find Out!

If you're a frequent flyer, chances are good that you've wondered at some point whether it really matters when you purchase your airline tickets.

Turns out, it does! There are optimal times to buy plane tickets based on when you plan to travel. Prices can fluctuate depending on the day of the week, time of year, and even specific dates! Keep reading for helpful tips and tricks to keep in mind when purchasing airline tickets. You'll be glad you did—and so will your wallet!

How Far in Advance Should You Book a Flight?

Booking a flight within the same day of travel can be more expensive than booking a month or two in advance. It’s always best to book at least 3-4 months in advance, especially for international flights. If you’re flexible with your plans and want to save money on your ticket, try booking about two months out. You should also keep in mind that there are some airlines that offer rewards points for last-minute travellers who book flights within seven days of departure.

The best way to find cheap airfare is by using an aggregator site like Multi City Flights US (which searches multiple airlines). These sites will show you prices from different airlines so that you aren't limited by which carrier has direct flights available where/when you're going.

The Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets

There are a number of factors that play into which day is best for booking tickets. The days when airlines tend to release new flights and routes, however, are Mondays and Tuesdays. This means that you may find some of the best deals on flights on those days. If you can't wait until then, try Wednesday through Friday instead—they're still good days to book your trip without having to pay full price or go through an agency like Expedia or Travelocity where they'll tack on extra fees that are unnecessary if you know how to do it yourself (and we'll teach you how below).

How to Find the Cheapest Flights

You can use a travel agent, or agent (the person who helps you book your flight) to help you find the cheapest flights.

You can use a travel website like multicityflightsus.com to search for cheap flights.

Or, if you're feeling super tech-savvy and want to go it alone: Go ahead and use Google Flight Search Engine!

What Are the Best Days to Fly?

What are the best days to fly?

There are several factors that determine how much you'll pay for a flight. The time of year (i.e., summer vs. winter), time of day (i.e., morning vs. evening), and day of the week (i.e., Monday vs. Friday) all can impact airfare prices in different ways, so it's important to consider all three when searching for deals on your next trip!

To help you get an idea of what days might be best suited for finding cheap flights, we analyzed tens of millions of airfares from our customers who booked trips through Hopper over a one-year period between October 2017 and September 2018.* We found some interesting trends:

The Cheapest Days to Fly

You may be wondering, “How far in advance should I book my flight?” Let's find out!

The best time to buy a flight is on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The low prices will last about three months, so you can expect to pay less than what you would have paid if you had booked it later. Be careful though—if the price of your ticket goes up during that three month period, it might not be worth buying at all (especially if there's no price guarantee).

The best time to fly is in the off-peak season. You'll get more bang for your buck if you travel during this time period because airfare tends to skyrocket when people travel for special occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year's Eve celebrations. It also makes sense because airlines need extra planes during these periods so they can accommodate everyone who wants one without having them wait too long or cancel their trip altogether!

The best way to save on flights is by travelling during the off-peak season, and find tickets for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The best ways to save on flights is by traveling during the off-peak season, and finding tickets for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

When you travel during the off-peak season, american airlines multi city booking are trying to fill empty seats. This means that they may reduce their prices so that more people will want to fly with them. The cheapest time of year to fly is between October and May, which is referred to as “ shoulder season” because it falls in between high and low seasons.

Websites like Expedia have started offering travelers a calendar view of when flights are cheaper than others through their “Expert Tips” section on their booking page. For example: if you type in “San Francisco International Airport” into Expedia's search bar and click "Search Flights", then scroll down until you see "Expert Tip" at the top left corner of your screen (it might take a couple pages), there will be an orange box with a calendar icon next to it (this feature was added in December 2016). Click on this icon! It'll show which days throughout 2017 were cheapest for ticket purchases from SFO over three months ago (December 1st through February 28th). These dates align perfectly with what we know about off-peak seasons mentioned above - although not every city has such detailed pricing histories available yet; only those where airlines collect enough data about past ticket sales do so automatically!

We hope this post has been helpful in answering your questions about when to book multi city flights and how to find them. We also want to thank you for visiting our blog!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q.1 How many days before a flight is the best price?

Ans. The average best time to buy is 69 days in advance. The exception is Thanksgiving week, for which you should book travel earlier.

Q2. Are flights cheaper if you book in advance?

Ans. So, as a general rule of thumb, you'll want to book plane tickets well in advance, as prices spike sharply in the days preceding the flight, taking advantage of any last-minute travelers who have no choice but to pay up.

Q3. Do flight prices go down on Tuesday?

Ans. On Tuesday mornings, they look at what competitors are charging for routes, and adjust their fares accordingly. By the afternoon, they've settled on the most competitive pricing, and that's why Tuesday afternoons are the cheapest time to buy a plane ticket.

Q4. How far ahead is the best time to book a flight?

Ans. The best time to book a flight is one to three months before your departure for domestic airline tickets, and two to eight months prior for international.

[coolhhf-blog]

facilitate our journey to Europe

facilitate our journey to Europe

Cheap trips to Europe via Gateway Cities:

reasonably-priced journey to Europe isn't always a brand new concept. it's probable tons more ancient than you or I realize. however before we input the long annals of reasonably-priced travel to Europe (and agonize no longer, it'll be a chilly day in a hot vicinity earlier than you or I need to, and it honestly won't be this text), you need to discover ways to get to Europe as reasonably as you can, accurate? And while you try this, you might not be ok to look it all at once get high-priced, so you're attempting to find reasonably-priced tour IN Europe, too correct? No, you're not too difficult to stay with. i'm nevertheless in agreement with you, as are a lot of adolescents and older elders ("older" is nothing extra than a well mannered manner of saying vintage.). but you will to should put in a few attempt to uncover the deals, with aid from human beings like yours honestly in your voyage.

the primary requirement in getting reasonably-priced tour to Europe is getting reasonably-priced transportation there. I count on (understanding what happens while that occurs), which you come from North the us So we will begin there. I might also get hate letters from Singapore to Auckland for this mistake. BTW, if you are looking for cheap tour to Europe from South america, though there are exceptions which complete every rule, you will likely discover a goodly wide variety of deals in case you fly to North the us first, so please wait on the hate mail for 2 days or more, whilst you appearance over your alternatives.

Season of 12 months is useful for buying cheap journey to Europe. in case you do not ought to move throughout the summer time months, you can nearly constantly find it at a less expensive price. also, flexibility of days and even months will allow you to locate and get critically reasonably-priced flights to Europe. in case you have to cross a sure day or maybe week, seeing this may make you lose hope. Sorry.

I assume (so i am now not assuming again) you are not making plans to join a freighter team and get to Europe operating the gradual boat, so we're maximum possibly talking reasonably-priced flights to Europe. reasonably-priced tour to Europe regularly calls for you to move preferably from a gateway metropolis or likely thru one. Now be careful right here. cheap journey to Europe can seem appropriate on the factor of the low sticker price. however gradual down. quite a few airways (specially ecu airways) fix their fares so that it's simplest a bit greater to move from your airport than from a gateway airport. SO if you want to move by way of automobile bus to a far off airport and then even transfer to the airport by bus or taxi (NO!), pay gas, tolls and many others., your reasonably-priced tour to Europe will become a high priced trip at quality, and a nightmare in all likelihood (leaving at 2:00 within the morning to pressure 5 hours is not a celebration).

i am enthusiastic about sacrifice-however only in case you advantage real financial savings! So if you're own family or others are paying all of the fuel and incidentals, food and accommodations or you get a reasonably-priced bus ticket, once again, you want to get the calculator and figure it out for yourself. it is up to you. you're looking for cheap travel to Europe, that means helps you save tough-earned pennies and in this situation, we are going to try to find a reasonably-priced flight to Europe so as to offset your costs and problems and be the most inexpensive all round travel to Europe, right? And when you get there, we're going to maintain to discover reasonably-priced travel in Europe.

wherein will you begin the adventure? that is an vital element in getting reasonably-priced journey to Europe (or everywhere). i have cited gateway airports, however distance dictates a lot of how low you may go to get cheap journey to Europe. isn't los angeles a great gateway town? sure is. Is it going to be less complicated to locate cheap tour to Europe from la than it'd be from ny town? as soon as in a blue moon or no longer even then, because NYC is over four thousand miles toward our destination! Is L.A. going to facilitate cheap journey to Europe extra than Omaha, Nebraska? most possibly. well, reasonably-priced travel to Europe, as the whole thing in life may have weird days wherein this rule will prove not actual, so do not come crying (or mocking) in case you get the rare exception, in case you are from around Omaha and manage to get brilliant reasonably-priced travel to Europe, awesome! we will be satisfied (and please allow people in on it inside the remarks). ok, so what to do if you aren't near a reasonable airport and also you insist on cheap tour to Europe? consider who you already know. Do you have got cherished ones in a gateway metropolis? perhaps you may "just manifest" to head go to and upload to your departure to the deal? they'll also most possibly provide you with a free ride to and from the airport and also you don't must pay bus or worse yet, taxi!

so that you are flying inside and out of key cheapo airports in North america, why wouldn't you do the same on the alternative side of the pond for cheap tour to Europe? you will! So find gateway cities in Europe too.

Now you're asleep, gone or pronouncing: "adequate, tell me the gateway departure cities already that imply: reasonably-priced journey to Europe!"

Mangrove Tree Spotted Sultans:

Tiger testimonies preserve doing the rounds a few of the network residing in villages round the largest mangrove rain forests in the international -- the Sunder bans. To the villagers the large cat is 'Dakhin Rai', a sobriquet for the mighty lord of the jungles, uttered with reverence and fear. The tiger and the network in the deltaic island forests, interspersed by using innumerable streams, cohabit in a love hate courting. while the striped splendor strikes, the villagers mourn the deceased and curse the animal; and the tiger hates guy knowing that the two-legged animal around its domain is the fiercest of all predators. So, it uses its cunning to take it one-up on him as possibilities present itself. The massive cat became omnipresent all over Bengal not too far away within the past. while Calcutta become being created as a trading post inside the seventeenth century by the East India company, the striped cat's area would include the woods inside the peripheries of the town and it would come traveling the courtyards of close by hamlets after dusk, all too frequently. The splendor of the beast but surpasses its cunning. The Bengal tiger in its traditional surroundings at Sunderbans is a astonishing animal with a slightly redish-yellow coat than the ochre-yellow look on its opposite numbers in different reserves of India. In its natural domestic at Sunderban, it has the biggest concentration with approximately 249 animals by the remaining authenticated UN Tiger census 2004. Its grace and majestic strides inside the undergrowth of the thick rainforest would infrequently have any contest to the declare of 'Sultan of the Jungle' and as the country wide animal of the usa. Sunderban receives its call from the abundance of 'sundari' trees [Heritiera fomes] in the vicinity. it is unfold over the most important delta within the international shared between India and neighbouring Bangladesh.  throughout 54 islands interspersed by innumerable massive and small rivulets and gives a enormously hospitable biosphere for the tiger compared to other inland tiger reserves. Sunder ban changed into declared a international background web page in 1997 by means of UNESCO. unlike the inland locations wherein the tiger usually is the ideal predator in its area, the tiger at Sunderban has to compete with big deadly Crocks in the water, which it has to constantly cross within the person territories. And the adjustment among the two fierce competitors is, exceedingly respectful. each revere each other and confrontations are uncommon. It became mid January and i used to be accompanying a small group of eight backpackers from Europe to the region. The tour become customised to deal with the traveller's desires of jungle journey in addition to benefit insights on indigenous community existence thru cultural immersion programme. We travelled from Kolkata by avenue first after which took a motor-launch thru the Matla River to an island camp close to Sajnekhali. Jungle expeditions and folk way of life programmes have been planned on the camp and network interactions at the encompassing villages were within the itinerary too. i might be the interpreter and facilitator at the network interface. The boat cruises through the net of rivulets over the first  days during the live became unrewarding as a ways as recognizing of the massive cat become concerned. after all, the animal isn't always ever trusting of the human. however it can be imagined with a truthful diploma of actuality that during our errands some of the striped Sultans could have stored a watchful eye on us however it wouldn't display its presence. Our crew but sighted big bevy of spotted deer and glide of untamed boars, the main prey of the tiger from time to time, along top notch birds and other animals.

Getting To and Around:

journeying  Europe is an enjoyable step returned in time and a top travel destination. here's the inside track on what you need to recollect whilst trying to get there. getting to and round eastern Europe  Europe has been open to journey for kind of 15 years following the fall of the Soviet Union. much to the pride of travelers, eastern Europe has validated to be a very beautiful and captivating slice of vintage international Europe. From Prague to Budapest and everywhere in among, eastern Europe offers a great deal to be well-known and prices are cheap. Catching a plain to the far east of Europe isn't specifically difficult, however it actually relies upon on the precise vacation spot you are trying to reach. most international locations are reached with the aid of first stopping in Western Europe, however direct flights may be discovered relying to your departure location. The high season is summer, which means that expenses may be a huge difficulty if you have a tight price range. this can no longer trouble you. If it does, the important thing to flying on the cheap is to keep across all the on-line journey websites. They offer dramatically exceptional charges, even for the equal flight! decide a standard range of dates you want to leave and are available again. Then start hunting. Flights leaving after middle of the night can be drastically less expensive than flights in the course of normal hours. when you consider that you'll be napping anyway, it makes feel to save some greenbacks. There are two other pricing alternatives which can prevent a bundle on high season fees. Consolidators buy bundles of open seats from airlines for flights that are not traditionally complete. you can store full-size cash, on occasion as lots as fifty percentage, purchase shopping from consolidators. the largest savings occur whilst you purchase from them at the ultimate moment, but you danger all of the seats being bought. if you are flying in the course of the high season, you could additionally get a scouse borrow by booking a seat on a chartered flight. Chartered flights are small airways that normally only fly all through the high season. They tend to be a bit amateurish, however are truly cheap. i have paid as little as $450 for a round experience booking to Budapest while an internet reserving would have run me over $900. if you move charter, try to upgrade to first elegance while reserving in. For $seventy five, i was able to achieve this on a flight from Paris to los angeles. It became the pleasant $75 I ever spent! Flying domestic in jap Europe is not for the faint of coronary heart. The planes are a bit vintage and, nicely, they are not continually recognised for reliability. most of the people without a doubt hop on a train. if you ought to fly home, discover a nearby resident to shop for the ticket for you. charges move up appreciably while foreigners walk in the door, as a lot as triple the everyday charge.

travel by Train in Europe:

in recent times, for brief distance tour, human beings generally choose to move by way of vehicle. For lengthy distances, humans select planes more frequently than no longer, or every so often ships, but increasingly humans are beginning to travel each lengthy and brief distances through educate. there has been a time when trains were the favored technique of travel. again then, trains were the simplest excessive speed manner to travel long distances, mainly when the alternative became horses or horse pushed wagons. people would journey throughout the usa or throughout the nation. train journey returned then turned into sincerely much slower than it's far now, however this will additionally be why educate tour has always had a positive mystique about it. Trains have constantly had something unique about them; they're extra romantic than any other mode of shipping and may harken back to olden days whilst things had been much simpler and life regarded a good deal slower.

train journey is typically much less pricey, faster and extra efficient than a few different strategies of travel. The pleasant aspect approximately travelling by using educate is which you do not ought to experience any traffic jams and you are nonetheless shifting along the floor. teach tour is pretty leisurely, as you could do many stuff on the teach like take a walk, visit the dining car, make friends and chat with other tourists, observe the views, play playing cards, study or simply sleep. you may revel in yourself an awful lot more on a teach than making the same ride with a vehicle. With a car, you must be alert always. With a train, you could sleep the entire time, if you wish. there may be no need to fear about getting there on time, following guidelines, getting fuel, getting lost, climate or wherein to stop for food either.

The very excellent factor and largest advantage of traveling by teach is the amount of rest you could have. you are able to relax via sitting in any position you want, in a padded seat. you could additionally take a pillow and a blanket with you to make you more comfy in the course of your ride. that is regular for day trips. For overnight trips, the luxuries to be had are some distance more. you should buy a sleeper cabin, which usually has a lavatory and sink for washing up and a comfortable mattress. from time to time you may want to percentage the cabin, other instances it is going to be absolutely non-public, relying on what's available at the particular teach you are touring on. also, on overnight journeys, you could take advantage of leisure, fancier dining or even a bar.

Many towns of Europe are near together, so if you travel by way of educate you get to see a whole lot of the attractions and experience other advantages as properly. in many elements of Europe, teach journey is particularly inexpensive, particularly in case you take benefit of unique rail passes that are available that provide unlimited journey with the aid of teach on many rail strains in Europe. With these rail passes, it's miles feasible to tour the whole of Europe pretty affordably. lastly, modern trains are fairly environmentally friendly. most use assets of energy and generate an awful lot much less pollution than similar travel by using plane or car.

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[shannrussell-blog1]

When I was planning my recent visit to Europe, the capital of the Netherlands was top of my list. I had always been interested in visiting this city and exploring the winding canals and rich cultural history.

If you’re planning your own visit to Amsterdam, then in this guide I talk you through everything I learned during my stay, so hopefully, it helps you with planning your own trip to this historic, beautiful, serene yet wild European metropolis.

If you want to know what it’s like to visit Amsterdam, then read on.

The best way to get there from Europe

The great thing about Europe is that getting from one place to the next is relatively easy and affordable. You have a variety of options for transport including by bus, train, car hire or plane, depending on how quickly you want to arrive and how much money you want to spend.

I flew into Amsterdam direct from London with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) because the hour and 10-minute flight was just too tempting to pass up. I wanted to take advantage of my limited time exploring the city.

It’s easy to fly into Amsterdam or catch a train from Europe. 

The airport and customs

Amsterdam airport is very clean and the amenities are outstanding in my opinion, it definitely is a well-kept city. Upon arrival, you will need to go through customs and answer a few questions about your stay. It’s a fairly straightforward process and the officers are friendly.

One thing you’ll notice about this place is how clean and well kept it is. 

Do i need a visa to visit the Netherlands?

A visa is not required if you are an Australian citizen, which is great news for Aussies. If you are not an Australian citizen, I’d suggest checking if your country is one of the 90 required to purchase a visa before arriving, which you can view on the list here.

For more on general advice about travelling to the Netherlands, I’d recommend checking out Smartraveller.

The best way to get to your hotel from the airport

I love using Uber but I found that catching the train to my hotel was a more convenient and affordable option. The trains in Amsterdam give you the option to buy tickets for the 1st class or 2nd class cabins. Not knowing how much room I needed with my luggage, I booked a 1st class ticket in the hope that I would have more space.

As soon as I boarded the train, I thought it wasn’t worth the cost for the short travel time to get to my stop because there was plenty of room in the 2nd class cabins, even during peak times.

Hotel Meininger is an option that’s located right next to the Sloterdijk train station. 

Where I stayed in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a relatively expensive city, so I found that the cost of accommodation was quite high, particularly for a solo traveller. I opted to stay in the Meininger hotel because it is the perfect combination of a hotel and hostel, something that interested me as I didn’t want to share a room.

For roughly A$168.00 per night at the time of writing this, I was able to get a single room with a TV and my own private bathroom. I also had the option to cook my own meals and do my washing in the hotel. The added bonus was that I got to meet lots of other travellers from all over the world.

Oh, and it’s located right next door to a convenience store and the Amsterdam Sloterdijk train station which can take you directly into Amsterdam Centraal Station – the heart of the city.

My accommodation was a great mix of a hotel and a hostel. 

Other accommodation options in Amsterdam

There are multiple hotels around Amsterdam depending if you can afford to spend a little more and stay somewhere more luxurious and historic. A couple of popular hotels include the 19th-century Manor Amsterdam and Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam which are both located quite close to the city centre.

Be aware though, that there is a city tax for accommodation which is an extra 5% per night that you must pay upfront upon check-in. Amsterdam uses this tax towards the upkeep and maintenance of the city, which is likely why it is so clean and beautiful there.

Park Plaza Victoria is a more luxurious accommodation option when in Amsterdam. 

What is the best neighbourhood to stay at in Amsterdam?

There are many neighbourhoods in Amsterdam that offer a different experience of the city. I stayed west of the city just near Sloterdijk, because I wanted a relatively quiet and safe place to stay outside of the hustle and bustle, plus it was more affordable for me.

If you have a little bit more money and are looking to spend your nights out partying then you’ll want to be closer to Amsterdam Centrum and the Red Light District (De Wallen). However, if you’re looking for more of a serene and quieter experience with local markets, cafes and vintage shopping, I’d suggest staying in neighbourhoods like Jordaan and De Pijp.

Alternatively, if you’re into museums and luxury brands then you’ll want to be closer to the Museum Quarter, otherwise known as Museumkwartier.

The good news is that it is very easy to get around in Amsterdam, as you have a multitude of transport options, so you won’t miss out on exploring a lot of the city even in a short period of time.

You can explore the neighbourhoods of the city with ease, even on a shorter trip. 

Is Amsterdam safe for solo travellers?

As a solo female traveller, I want to mention that I felt pretty safe walking around during the day, even in the Red Light District. Amsterdam is a beautiful and touristy city, however, I didn’t feel as comfortable walking around at night time on my own, although I tended to stay in.

I did pick up quickly that when the sun sets in Amsterdam, particularly around the Red Light District, it can get a bit wilder than during the day. But it’s nothing too out of the ordinary compared with nightlife in Australia, aside from a few factors.

Even if you’re on your own, you’ll likely feel very safe when walking around. 

What do I need to know before I go to Amsterdam?

Be aware of the bike lane

There are literally more bikes than people in Amsterdam due to the fact that cycling around the city centre is a faster and easier option.

Amsterdamers ride on the right-hand side of the road, which was an adjustment for me coming from London. Be aware that the bike lane is not only for cyclists but for scooters and even some smaller vehicles! So, you can imagine they can pick up speed quite quickly.

Make sure you are always on the pedestrian crossing when walking around because the bike lane is further from the road and sometimes not obvious… well for a tourist anyway. Just make sure you aren’t in the way because cyclists will resist moving for you!

Be aware of the bike lane when walking on the street!

Break your notes up before you go!

I exchanged my Aussie cash for a variety of different euro notes before leaving, but upon arrival, I found it very difficult to break up my one hundred euro notes if I was just buying dinner or something of small value. There were a few times I nearly had to beg them to take it because they were hesitant to give me large amounts of change.

It’s worth having smaller notes with you, as locals can be a little bit suspicious of tourists paying with larger notes. Organise your money before leaving and request for notes no larger than fifty euros. Your stay will be a lot simpler if you do.

Try to carry smaller notes to make it easier to pay for things in shops. 

Can you avoid brothels and cannabis cafes?

Soft drugs, such as Marijuana and magic mushrooms are legal in Amsterdam to purchase for recreation. Some shops and cafes are more explicit about selling their goods but some are hard to completely avoid because they will seem like your run-of-the-mill coffee shops upon entering.

Marijuana smoke in the air cannot be avoided either. Amsterdam is a holiday escape for a lot of Europeans so you will likely see people in groups here and there smoking, along with locals. It isn’t overpowering but it is noticeable.

With regards to prostitution, areas such as the Red Light District will openly display women in shop windows as it is a legal activity. Thankfully, the Red Light District is a distance away from the main shopping area, so if you avoid this neighbourhood you will naturally avoid brothels and cannabis cafes a lot more.

How touristy is Amsterdam?

Amsterdam is a very touristy city, which I personally found quite comforting as a solo traveller. It made it easier to ask for help, such as when the next boat pickup was or where they purchased tickets from. Plus it’s great for when you want to ask for someone to take your photo.

Amsterdam does have a lot of tourists, which is great if you’re travelling solo.

Is WIFI readily available?

Free WIFI is quite common around the city and on the trains but it’s not strong enough for you to stream or download apps. It is good, however, for instant messaging and uploading a few images to social media, particularly when taking a breather on public transport.

Do people speak English in Amsterdam?

As Amsterdam is a popular tourist destination, a lot of people will speak English. In fact, English is much more prevalent than I would have thought.

Apparently, Dutch people have the highest English speaking proficiency in the world – 9 out of 10 people speak English as a second language which is helpful for tourists like me.

If you need a helping hand, most Dutch people speak English which is comforting to know. 

Should I pay for things in cash or by card?

Cash is my preference when I travel as I feel that it is a safer option than using my card. I did, however, use my debit card once when I purchased more than I expected in a department store. I had to sign rather than enter a pin, which was a little shocking to me. Basically, if I lost my card, thieves could go to town with it.

It’s a personal choice really but like for me, it was a great backup in that scenario. I’d suggest finding out a bit more about your card with your bank, including how to protect it and what fees you could be forking out if you do decide to use it.

Just use your common sense and avoid using it where you’re less protected, like in the Red Light District.

A bike is a great way to see the city. 

What are the top things I should do in Amsterdam?

1. Hop on hop off bus and boat

When I travel, the first thing I look for is what Hop On Hop Off tours are available in the city I’m visiting. They allow you to explore the city at your own leisure which is definitely worth it in Amsterdam. You can buy 24 or 48-hour tickets from the booth next to Amsterdam Centraal Station, where you can get a map of the routes and ask any questions you may have.

There are a few different tour companies in Amsterdam but I liked this particular one because it came with the option to travel on the bus or boat as much as I liked. You can get more information about the Hop On Hop Off boat here and the bus here.

The Hop On Hop off tours gives you the choice to see the streets by bus or boat. 

2. Anne Frank’s House

If you are a bit of a history buff and appreciate learning about World War II, then Anne Frank’s House is a must-visit while in Amsterdam.

If you don’t have a copy of Anne Frank’s diary, make sure to watch a movie on YouTube which is based on her experience. I’d recommend downloading it to watch before your tour to get a real understanding of what life would’ve been like in there cooped up. You certainly gain more of an appreciation from it.

At the end of the tour, you can pick up multiple editions of her diary in the gift shop, along with other collectibles.

Anne Frank’s House is a must-visit when exploring the Netherlands. 

Book your Anne Frank House tickets ahead and expect to wait before getting access to the website. It can often be overloaded with people but at least you will be told where you sit in the queue. Tickets for busier periods, such as in the warmer months, will be booked out sooner so get in early!

80% of tickets for any date are released exactly two months in advance. The remaining 20% are released on the website on the day. Tickets are currently between 10-15 euros (plus booking fee) depending on when you book. Read up on the rules of the tour, particularly on the bag size you can bring with you.

Make sure to print your ticket out. I prefer displaying purchased tickets on my phone because it saves printing, but it really is one of those times you’ll benefit by printing it out to show security.

The lines can get quite long in the busy periods.

The best way to get to the Anne Frank Museum

The best way to get there is by Hop On Hop Off boat tour because it takes you directly out the front. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get there because the boat ride is pretty cruisy.

You may only enter the house within your 15-minute interval, which is accessible around to the right side of the building. Depending on your pace, I’d allow 60-80 minutes to complete the tour. You begin with an audio tour, entering the museum, which eventually leads up the stairs towards the secret annexe.

Make sure to get to the line early because if you miss your window, you miss out.

The best way to get to Anne Frank’s House is via the Hop On Hop Off Tour. 

Out of respect, you cannot take images on the tour and you will not be allowed access into the attic.  They have mirrors on the stairs positioned so that you can get an understanding of what it looks like up there, but that is as far as you can go. Anne Frank’s Dad, Otto, wanted to preserve it which is the main reason why it cannot be accessed.

If you ever saw the scene from the movie The Fault in Our Stars, it was actually a reconstructed attic the actors went through for the take. Although disappointing to not have access, it is still a very worthwhile tour.

The truth is, it’ll be slightly crowded and you’ll have to take one step at a time while walking through the secret annexe. In saying that, it has been set up so that you can read and view preserved personal artefacts as you move through, which is a surreal experience.

3. Heineken experience

If you’re a beer drinker, then the original Heineken brewery experience located in the city centre should be top of your list! Here you can go on a tour of the former brewery, get an insight into the history of the company and of course do a tasting… two perfectly chilled beers to be exact!

For beer lovers, you can visit the original Heineken brewery.

4. Van Gogh Museum

If you’re more interested in art, the Van Gogh Museum is worth checking out. Here you can see the world’s largest collection of the legendary Dutch artist’s work, including Sunflowers, The Potato Eaters and The Yellow House (The Street). Plus, other work from his friends and other contemporaries.

The museum is open daily but book tickets ahead of time because they are only available to purchase online.

Grab your ticket for the Van Gogh Museum online before you get there. 

5. Moco Museum – Banksy

They have a range of works from the infamous street artist Banksy on display here, along with signature merchandise you can buy in the gift shop.

Most of the pieces are remakes of his work but there are a few original pieces that they rescued from the rubble of torn down buildings, which is worth a visit if you are a fan.

Tickets can be purchased at the door but if you purchase online prior, you receive a discount.

You can see some of Banksy’s work on display at the Moco Museum. 

Should I visit the red light district?

The activity that goes on in the Red Light District is a kind of self-expression that is very much welcomed in Amsterdam.

There are numerous sex shops and shows, and women standing in windows encouraging customers to say hello. I found it to be a little awkward walking past, but I was fascinated to see how freely they were about their bodies, particularly during the day.

I was too curious not to visit but I’m glad I did because it wasn’t as seedy as I originally thought it would be. But, It is certainly not for everyone.

The infamous Red Light District in the city.

Is there Uber in Amsterdam?

You can use Uber when in Amsterdam, but the public transport system is far quicker and cheaper. Most times, catching a boat or hiring a bike is actually the best way to get around.

I spent most of my time riding on the boats, especially because I could sit back and admire the beautiful surroundings along my journey.

You can catch Uber, but the train system is a lot more efficient and affordable. 

What should I eat in Amsterdam?

There is a range of different foods to snack on in the city like ice cream, pizza slices, and fries which are very popular there to eat whilst on the go. And, of course, many cuisines of cafes to choose from.

If you’re after a real Amsterdam experience, try delicacies such as bitterballen (ground meat croquettes), herring (fish) and stroopwafel (a sweet treat), to name a few.

I visited Amsterdam in the summertime and I always found locals to be sitting on the canal banks sipping alcohol and having a picnic with a variety of Dutch cheeses, deli meats and breads as they watched the sun go down. An experience I will be sure to have next time I visit.

You can easily grab some food and have a picnic instead of eating in a cafe.

What’s the best time of the year to visit Amsterdam?

I visited Amsterdam in the middle of July, which is the peak of summer and the most common time for tourists to visit. On average the warmer months are around 17°C and the colder months are around 3°C.

Whenever I travel, I weigh up how much I need to bring, how easily it will be to get around and what events are on during that time. The majority of the time, I like to visit cities during the warmer months, but as Amsterdam doesn’t get too cold, it is a city you can travel to comfortably all year round.

The European summer months are a great time to explore this city. 

Those are all of my tips!

There is so much to see and do in Amsterdam that I have only just covered the tip of the Iceberg on what you can experience there.

In the future, I plan to spend more time exploring the windmills and flower beds, including other areas of the Netherlands, but certainly not without another visit to the capital wondering the streets and soaking up the atmosphere.

So, I hope you get to experience this amazing city one day. It certainly has a culture that you won’t find anywhere else.

  What do you plan to experience whilst in Amsterdam? Let us know in the comments.

The post Amsterdam – What a Tourist Needs to Know appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[72823-blog]

The Budget Traveler's Guide to Akihabara Shopping

So you've made it to Japan and are speeding to Akihabara via train, raring to get your hands on some otaku goods. Unfortunately, you've pretty much blown your money already on the plane ticket and hotel. Uguu~ doushiyou~?

Don't fret! If you have the knowhow to make the most of your yen, you'll be more than capable of acquiring a formidable haul for yourself, and be a courteous customer all the while. Here's a guide with some tips to make you a battle-ready smart shopper before you head to the fated Denki-gai / Electric Town station exit.

Note: Japanese phrases will be Romanized if they're primarily encountered in speech, and written out in kanji / kana if it's helpful to know how to read them.

Etiquette and Common Sense

First and foremost, you need to know the rules of engagement so as not to step on any toes (literally or figuratively) during your time in Akihabara.

"Remember your please and thank you." At a minimum, add these handy phrases to your Japanese vocabulary: onegaishimasu ("please," use as you bring your purchases to the counter); arigatou gozaimasu ("thank you," use anywhere it makes sense); shitsureishimasu ("excuse me," use to get someone's attention if you're moving past them, etc); sumimasen ("sorry," use if you accidentally bump into someone, knock something over, etc).

Whether driving or walking in Japan, stick to the left side. This is particularly important in the cramped stairs and walkways in Akiba's numerous shops, and helps everyone navigate around quickly and smoothly.

Be aware of your surroundings. Make room for people to move past, especially in tight areas (in return, most Akihabara-goers will make room for you even if they just hear your footsteps). Watch your back, especially if you're wearing a backpack, so you don't knock over sometimes precariously stacked items.

Be conscientious about photo and video. Lots of spots will have signs forbidding camera use, so keep an eye out for when it is or isn't okay. Also, people in Japan are sometimes less comfortable with being in a stranger's pictures and video than Western cultures are used to, so snap politely.

Refrain from phone calls and loud conversations while indoors; even if you're not called out for it, it can really annoy people.

Put items that you take out of their shelves back into the same spot, as best you can. Store inventory is usually sorted within shelves, not just by obvious details like author or price, but oftentimes by other factors such as genre, subject matter, and event of release (e.g. Comiket, M3)

There are these neat little trays at many shop registers that you put your payment (cash or card) into. It's polite to use the tray, and can make it easier to deal with small change to boot!

Save the unboxing for later! It might be tempting to open up the limited edition Magical Salaryman Daigorou BD with oppai mousepad that you just dropped mad yenzz for right outside the store, but hold off until you're back at the hotel.

Bargain-Hunting General Tips

Thanks for listening to my nagging. Now onto the fun stuff!

Bring cash! Not all stores will support your credit card, and those that do might incur a foreign transaction fee (look at the terms of your card to make sure). Cash is also a good way to place a hard cap on spending and keep you to your budget!

Pay very close attention to store signage! Large-scale discount and sales events will be announced with banners and bright colors, but not all deal will be announced with that level of fanfare. Keep an eye out for bundle discounts, price drops, and special items (特典, "tokuten," items that you claim at the register in addition to the item you purchase). Almost every store will have some kind of promotion active at any one time.

On a similar note, many stores have sections dedicated to lower-priced items, usually due to excess stock, older age, or being pre-owned. And it's not like these are bottom-of-the barrel goods either; these items are more often than not high quality stuff that gets moved out of the way for a near-constant stream of new arrivals. I've seen new, unopened games only 6 months old get discounted down 50%, and full volumes of manga just a couple years old dropped down from 600円 to a stunning 100円 a book. For the budget-conscious buyer, the low-price sections of Akihabara's stores is where the magic happens!

I mentioned before that store inventories are usually sorted in some way or another. If you're looking to buy something particular, it's a huge time-saver to scan through the shelves and find out the logic behind the organization, which is sometimes not explicitly labeled. For example, Toranoana's music CD section has signs letting you know it's organized by circle name. Some of the store's doujinshi shelves are organized the same exact way, but might not tell you.

Store layouts will often accommodate the most recent media market event, such as Comitia for manga, M3 for music, and Comiket for pretty much everything. These nicely-made displays are the place to go if you're looking to splurge on a long-awaited release by your favorite artists! Otherwise, you'll find most savings and discounts beyond these shelves.

A little Japanese language goes a long way. Here are some words to look out for, especially in store signage:

¥ / 円. Yen, pronounced "en." Prices are formatted like ¥1000 or 1000円.

万 Stands for 10,000. 3万円 equals 30,000 yen. Not used often.

Item counters. 本 for thick books, 冊 for thin ones (like magazines or doujinshi), 枚 for flat items such as DVDs, CDs, and games. Very helpful for deciphering common discounts such as "5枚 －＞ 20%ＯＦＦ！"

中古, or more simply 古, indicates used items, most likely at a deep discount! Notes such as damage and used-up redemption codes will be written on the label, and you can bring it to the counter if you have questions.

一般 "general," as in "for general audiences." 成年 "adult," as in "for adults only." If buying items marked with the latter, you could be asked to confirm your age ("nenrei") is over 18, in which case any license with your date of birth will do.

ポイントカード "pointo kaado" for "point card." A store-specific card that acts sort of like a store membership. You can apply for one if you foresee making frequent purchases at a location, given you can overcome the language gap. However, point cards aren't mandatory for purchases and you'll also be fine without one; if you're asked at the register whether you have one, a simple "iie" or head-shake will do the job.

Geography and Store Selection

The majority of the Denki-gai is centered around two strips of buildings around a single, central street. It's right next to the JR station and hard to get lost!

Prices can vary greatly across stores! If you find something you like at a price you don't, hold off on the purchase and check out other stores. That same item might just pop up again at a better price! However, certain items are priced according to their suggested retail price no matter where they're sold: this is very common for new releases of manga, books, and games.

Be careful in stores that overtly advertise themselves as being tourist-friendly or multilingual. Many are totally harmless, honest businesses, but certain shops will mark up their prices to a premium, at worst being unreasonably expensive. The most unscrupulous variety will sell fake, lower quality products (this is especially dangerous for electronics!). Saddening that I have to warn you about this, but it is what it is.

You might have noticed that some stores have multiple Akihabara locations, sometimes just a couple hundred feet from each other (Toranoana, Sofmap, and Trader are just a few examples). The inventories and product categories featured will be very different, with the only major overlap being the most popular items. It's worth exploring each one!

Some stores will span a whole 6+ floors with specialized categories for each level, while others are tiny single-floor affairs that can be easy to miss. For example, there's an itty-bitty Melonbooks located underground down an unassuming flight of stairs, and a doujinshi-focused Toranoana on the third floor above a completely different shop! If you're having a hard time finding out where a particular store is located, there's usually some signage outside that will point you in the right direction.

If you have time, wander off the main street! Otherwise, you might miss gems like the utterly massive Bookoff (where I found shelf after shelf of 100円 manga).

Details, Quirks, and Miscellanea

Most stores in the Electric Town will open at 10 or 11 AM. Closing times vary, but you can expect 90% of stores to be open until 8 PM, with 10-11 PM being a very standard closing time.

Make sure to purchase your items on the same floor you find them stocked! If there is no register that floor, go to the register on the closest floor to you.

Don't worry about bringing bags to carry your purchases, stores will bag your items at the register, and will give you a large bag to carry multiple smaller ones, even if they're from other stores!

Yes, it's normal for some shops to tape your bags closed or use two bags to obscure the contents; it's for privacy's sake. No, you won't look like a criminal on the train back.

Paper-bound items will usually have a sample copy at the very top/front of the stack, which you can use to preview the work. Make sure to buy a normal copy!

Trading-card shops will sometimes have placeholder items in their shelves. Take the desired number of each to the front counter and you can exchange them for the real deal.

Another trading-card tip: sometimes the cashier will ask you if you have a proper deck ("dekki") for the TCG in question. They're just making sure you're not mistakenly buying a booster pack as opposed to a starter!

Similarly, when buying older games, particularly for PC, the cashier might ask to ensure your home system has the right specs ("spekku") to play it.

Shop staff will often greet customers with "irasshaimase" (welcome), if you're wondering what they're saying every time someone walks in.

Prepare your legs for a lot of walking and stair-climbing. Like, a LOT. Before my second trip to Akihabara I did leg workouts in preparation, I kid you not.

And that's all I got. If it sounds helpful to y'all I might add a store-specific guide in the future, for those looking for a specific category of goods to buy. For now, I hope this guide has been of some use. Best of luck out there.

[anestiefel]

How to Visit Thailand in 10 Days for Less Than $2,000 with Flights

If you’ve got two grand to spend on your next Thailand vacation, you’ll be just fine. This Southeast Asian country has long been a popular choice among budget travelers, not only because of its abundance of cheap food and affordable hotels, but also because of how much there is to see and do. And while it’s a far flight from both North America and Europe, with a bit of strategic planning (and obsessive flight tracking), you’ll likely score some seriously cheap Thailand airline tickets. Here’s everything you need to know to transform your budget-friendly dreams of Thailand into a reality. You can visit Thailand in 10 days for less than $2,000. Here’s how.

Here are the 9 best things to do in Phuket, from beaches to temples to wildlife sightings. 

Beach at the Ao Muong Resort/Oyster

When Is the Best Time to Visit Thailand on a Budget?

If you want to save money, consider foregoing the high season in Thailand (roughly November through March), when many tourists from Europe and North America head to Southeast Asia in favor of warmer climes. Instead, consider visiting during one of the shoulder seasons (April-May and September-October), when hotel occupancy and room rates decrease considerably. Just be prepared for some amount of rainfall — although the rainiest months tend to be from June through August, it’s not unheard of to get some serious downpours during the shoulder months. In fact, if beaches are part of your itinerary, note that the western coast on the Andaman Sea gets most of its rainfall in May through November, while the eastern coast along the Gulf of Thailand is rainier from September onwards until as late as December.

How Can I Find Cheap Flights to Thailand?

It’s not unheard of to find flights to Thailand from both coasts of the U.S. for under $500, roundtrip, provided that you book in advance and aren’t picky about what carrier you use. The cheapest flights tend to be with Chinese carriers, which means you’ll likely have a layover in Shanghai or Beijing. If you plan to head to Northern Thailand, it’s also worth looking into flights to Chiang Mai, as these sometimes can be just as cheap, or cheaper, than going through Bangkok. On the same token, if you plan to visit both the north and Bangkok and/or southern Thailand, it’s often just as cheap to get a flight that arrives in Chiang Mai and departs from Bangkok, or vice versa. Also check flights to nearby hubs such as Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, from where you can often get cheap flights to Bangkok on regional budget carriers (this works best if you don’t have checked luggage, which can incur hefty fees). If you don’t have set dates in mind, use a fare aggregator to compare deals.

What is the Cheapest Way to Get Around Thailand?

Beach at the Tonsai Bay Resort/Oyster

There are multiple ways to get around Thailand, all of which are relatively affordable by Western standards. Buses are remarkably comfortable, and generally have both air-conditioning and toilets. There are regular services from Bangkok to a number of port cities in the south from where you can take ferries to popular island destinations. Trains are another budget-friendly option, and carriages run the gamut from simple carriages with bench seats to comfortable sleeper coaches used for overnight travel (if you’re traveling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, you can save yourself a night’s accommodation by taking a sleeper train). There are also plenty of budget airlines in Thailand, and it’s possible to get cheap flights all over the country, even if you book fairly last minute. Carriers include JetStar, LionAir, AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, and Thai Airline’s budget division: Thai Smile, to name a few. Just remember to factor in the cost of getting to your destination from the airport, particularly if you’re visiting one of the islands: most airlines fly to mainland cities, and you’ll need to arrange a taxi (which can be expensive) or wait for a much cheaper shuttle to get to your nearest ferry port.

How Much Does Food Cost in Thailand?

One of the many delights of traveling in Thailand is getting to try the insanely delicious and affordable food. Each region of the country has its own specialties — some dishes will likely be familiar if you’ve eaten in Thai restaurants at home, though you’ll surely find plenty of new dishes, tropical fruits, and interesting sweets to discover. If you stick to street food, you’re looking at only a couple of dollars per meal (a chicken pad Thai will run you about 50 THB, or USD 1.60). Even restaurants tend to be way cheaper than what you’d likely encounter in the U.S., especially if you avoid eating out at swish places inside fancy hotels. Just be prepared for major price hikes on some of the smaller islands in restaurants that cater primarily to tourists, where meals often start at around 200 THB (6.40 USD) — still cheap by global standards, but pricey if you’re on a super-strict budget.

What are the Best Budget-Friendly Itineraries in Thailand?

Beach at the Centara Villas Samui/Oyster

Best of Thailand Itinerary 

With 10 days in Thailand, you’ll have just enough time to check out Bangkok, head up to Chiang Mai in the North, and get some beach time into the mix. Start in Bangkok, and head straight to the Khao San Road area, ground zero for backpackers and budget travelers who make their way through the city. You’ll find the most variety of cheap hotels and guest houses here, as well as plenty of affordable spots to eat and drink. In fact, the eastern end of the road has a whole range of street food vendors that generally stay open quite late. Khao San Road also has travel agents that specialize in budget travel and can help you book bus, train, or air tickets to your next destination. Spend your first two or three days in Bangkok, making sure to check out some of the city’s numerous attractions, such as the river-facing Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) and the Jim Thompson house, notable for its numerous examples of Thai architecture.

From Bangkok, make your way down south for a bit of beach time. With only a couple of days, you may want to take it easy and head to nearby Ko Chang, one of the closest options to Bangkok and easily accessed by bus straight from the Khao San area. If you’re up for partying, the backpacker-friendly town of Hat Rin on Ko Pha Ngan, notorious for its Full Moon Parties, is a good option. If you’d rather visit the Andaman Coast, consider making your way to Krabi, which offers a wide range of accommodations to suit every budget, along with some of the best rock climbing in Southeast Asia.

Once you’ve had your fill of sun and sand, make your way up to Northern Thailand for the last few days. You’re best off sticking to Chiang Mai, which is the second-largest city in Thailand after Bangkok, but feels much more intimate. Here you’ll find myriad wats (temples) to visit along with great dining and a fun night market, held every Saturday night at the center of town.

Check out exactly what to expect at a Full Moon party.

Northern Adventures Itinerary

If you’d rather focus on Northern Thailand, consider booking a round-trip ticket to Chiang Mai. Start with a few days in the city, checking out temples and treating yourself to a traditional Thai massage, which is done fully clothed and involves being stretched and manipulated (hence its popular nickname, “yoga massage.”) If you’re into the great outdoors, you’re in luck: Chiang Mai is the departure point for numerous overnight treks, which generally head up to rural tribal villages or into the lush Doi Inthanon National Park. If you’re in the market for something a bit more chilled out, consider heading up to Pai instead — this popular, laid-back backpacker spot doesn’t offer a ton to see or do, and that’s kind of the point. Finally, don’t leave the region without paying a visit to Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai. Also known as the White Temple, this temple, created by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat is filled with fantastical sculptures and intricate mirror work.

Southern Thailand Island Hopping Itinerary 

If islands are the main focus of your agenda, you’re probably looking for a bit of R&R. While you may very well just want to plop down on one island for the duration of your vacation, island hopping through Southern Thailand is definitely a viable option, especially if you want the chance to explore both the western Andaman Sea coastline and the Gulf of Thailand on the East Coast. You could viably start with either Ko Chang or Ko Pha Ngan on the Gulf Coast for a few days. Ko Samui is another popular choice, though it might be a tad harder to find budget digs. Phuket’s the easiest spot to get to (but it can get crowded). For something more chilled out either make your way to Krabi and head to Ko Lanta or Railay Beach, or go to Hat Yai, the gateway for tranquil, car-free Ko Lipe.

Our Picks for Cheap Hotels in Thailand:

Our Bangkok Cheap Hotel Pick: Buddy Lodge Hotel

Pool at the Buddy Lodge Hotel/Oyster

Smack in the heart of the backpacker haven of Khao San Road, the backpacker favorite Buddy Lodge Hotel offers not only a great location, but also plenty of perks not usually found in cheaper hotels. The rooms are classically stylish, with antiques and hardwood floors, plus there’s a fitness center, a steam room, a sauna, and a lovely rooftop pool. And if you’re in the mood to party, you need only head down to the concert venue on the ground floor, popular with locals and tourists alike.

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Our Chiang Mai Cheap Hotel Pick: Thannatee Boutique Hotel

The Suite at the Thannatee Boutique hotel/Oyster

Housed in a beautiful wooden home within a 10-minute walk of the city center, the elegant Thannatee Boutique Hotel in Chiang Mai offers beautiful rooms and a ton of great amenities, from free airport shuttles to an evening shuttle bus that will drop you at the old city. Breakfast is also included, with buffet and a la carte options available, a wonderful perk given the already low rates. With only 22 rooms, the atmosphere feels quiet and cozy, and there’s even a small pool flanked with palms and lounge chairs for cooling off on sweltering days.

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Our Ko Lanta Cheap Hotel Pick: Mook Lanta Eco Resort

Beach at the Mook Lanta Resort/Oyster

Although the rooms at this little budget property, Mook Lanta Eco Resort, are on the basic side and there’s no pool, the low rates and eco-friendly values make it a solid choice for the backpacker set. It’s close to the rocky southern end of Long Beach, but not too far from sandier spots, and even the cheapest rooms have private bathrooms and outdoor areas with hammocks. There’s also a bar and a restaurant, and some rates include a fresh breakfast at the restaurant.

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Our Hat Rin Cheap Hotel Pick: Phangan Bayshore Resort

The Deluxe Villa at the Phangan Bayshore Resort/Oyster

If you’ve come to Hat Rin for the famous Full Moon Parties, the beachfront Phangan Bayshore Resort is right where you’ll want to be. Rooms are spacious (although not all face the beach) and the amenities are fantastic, with a large outdoor pool and generous breakfast buffets. However, the location right on Sunrise Beach, only a short stumble from the Full Moon Party scene is arguably the biggest draw (unless you want quiet, in which case you are in the wrong place). Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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Ko Lipe: Castaway Resort Koh Lipe

The Big Bungalow (Seaview) at the Castaway Resort Koh Lipe/Oyster

Straddling Sunrise Beach in Ko Lipe, the beautiful Castaway Resort features a series of basic, but nonetheless atmospheric, wooden bungalows with their own furnished terraces. That said, they lack basic amenities such as hot water and air-conditioning, but you don’t want to spend your whole trip inside your room, do you? Indeed, the selling point of this attractively priced option is its easy access to the sand and sea, though there certainly are some perks here, namely the restaurant with a bar and a dive shop offering a variety of water sports activities.

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You’ll Also Like:

The 10 Best Islands in Thailand

Where to Go in Thailand: A Complete Guide to the Most Popular Destinations

5 Ways to Save Some Serious Cash in Southeast Asia

  The post How to Visit Thailand in 10 Days for Less Than $2,000 with Flights appeared first on Oyster.com.

from Oyster.com https://www.oyster.com/articles/visit-thailand-in-10-days-for-less-than-2000/ Publish First on IFTTT

[tripstations]

How American Airlines Ruined My Trip To Croatia

Anyone who has flown American lately, or owns stock in the company, has noticed the clear negative trend of poor operational performance, inadequate customer service and less than stellar elite recognition.

Or as Ben wrote earlier this year:

“American hasn’t been in a great position lately. Simply put, their shareholders, employees, and customers, aren’t happy.”

Well, earlier this month, it was my turn in the hopper and American delivered on every single negative expectation as it successfully left me empty handed without a way to get to Croatia. I’ll be the first to admit I’m still pretty raw about this situation and this is a longer rant than I’d prefer. So, if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, feel free to skip this post and move along.

But if you like American Airlines related schadenfreude, and are up for ~1,900 words of me being given the runaround, let’s get into this…

American/Hyatt status challenge seemed like a good idea

I should start by saying Tiffany warned me this whole trip was a stupid idea because Executive Platinum status isn’t worth what it used to be. But, I’m an American hub captive in Phoenix and I expect a decent amount of business travel next year. With all of the operational issues American has had, my hope was elite status would help solve the inevitable problems I’d experience flying them.

Yes, that thought process is insane and gross. I don’t like the idea I would essentially reward an airline for operational issues by flying them more for status, but let’s leave that part for another day. This post is already too long.

So, when I received a status challenge from American’s partnership with Hyatt, I started looking for premium cabin partner fares that would help me hit the 5,000 EQD and 35,000 EQM requirement for Executive Platinum status.

Dubrovnik looked lovely when Tiffany visited, why not go check it out and earn status? Because American

In late May, I saw a roundtrip fare from Honolulu to Durbrovnik that ticketed into Iberia’s “I” fare bucket. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it worked with my calendar, was a place I wanted to visit, and was enough miles to qualify. I booked the trip and then booked a positioning flight from PHX to HNL on American using British Airways Avios.

The delays start

This adventure started with the decision to board the plane for my flight to HNL despite knowing there was an issue with the APU.

I don’t know how many of you have boarded a plane in Phoenix in August without operational air conditioning. But, when asked to make an obvious choice between air conditioned terminal and warm airplane, American’s crack team must have really needed an answer to “how ripe can the body odor in this plane possibly get?” because we boarded.

Our first announcement there was a problem was about 25 minutes after boarding when the pilot told us maintenance was en route. This was soon followed by a delayed flight notification from American. And as anyone who knows how that goes with American, it wouldn’t be the last of our rolling delay notifications.

In fact, it was just the first of 10 notifications before they finally cancelled the flight when the pilot and crew timed out:

As a quick aside, the flight attendants deserve a lot of credit because they were working very hard to provide cold water for passengers on a very warm plane. And I’m convinced they were responsible for the decision to get passengers into the air conditioned terminal. They were the only positive part of this entire ordeal. And I bet they would have provided an exceptional service to Honolulu.

The delays continue and American really starts to fail

As you can see above, the delays rolled on throughout the afternoon. What was originally a 6 hour window to catch my flight out of HNL was rapidly closing.

I brought this to the attention of the Admirals Club staff who had no idea how to deal with the situation because I had an Avios award ticket and a separate Iberia ticket out of HNL. They suggested I call the elite desk to see what options they might have.

Sadly the phone agent and supervisor I spoke with held steady on the fact they could not reaccommodate me because American didn’t own either ticket. The supervisor conceded she wouldn’t like this response either. But, she insisted she had no way of fixing the trip.

I asked her to look at the oneworld protections for this situation and she stuck to her line that this wasn’t an American problem.

She did offer the exceptionally unhelpful idea of going to KOA or OGG while simultaneously acknowledging I’d still miss my flight leaving HNL. I felt like I was living this scene from Tommy Boy:

I checked in with Tiffany who confirmed American has policies for these situations and they should be able to rebook me. Good, I’m not crazy here.

Maybe American’s Twitter team can help

I turned to American’s Twitter team hoping I’d get a better result and better-informed staff. Again, that wasn’t the case. Here’s a sample of the wrong information I received via DMs.

I reached out to other well-informed travelers for advice

The well-respected American guru @xJonNYC confirmed AA should fix this:

from all I know on the subject (which certainly isn’t everything, necessarily,) you got screwed. Not uncommon for AA’s agents to not know about/offer this policy, but– again, based on all I know on the subject– you should have been protected for sure.

— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) August 15, 2019

Gary at View from the Wing said the same:

you need to speak to someone else, metaphorically hang up/call back. “oneworld reaccommodation policy” not all agents know it

— gary leff (@garyleff) August 16, 2019

Finally a breakthrough…I thought…wrongly

I’d previously referenced oneworld protections or a oneworld policy, but using the phrase Gary provided and sending a link to Gary’s post on the subject finally got a response that AA wanted to “take a closer look at this.” I was finally hopeful for the first time.

They followed up asking if I was in HNL or PHX and then things went sideways, again. Because American.

Now they insisted the only way to reaccommodate me was a very indirect routing that included the legs to and from Hawaii because “Both tickets may be changed but the origin and destination of each ticket must remain the same.”

But, that’s not what the policy says:

“Customers should be treated as through ticketed customers. In the event of a disruption on the originating ticket, the carrier responsible for the disruption will be required to reroute the customer to their final destination.”

Better yet, all of this indirect flying combined with the overnight layovers they created meant American’s proposed itinerary would put me into Dubrovnik a day after I was due to begin my journey home. Their new solution would leave me stuck in Croatia without a ticket home. Not ideal.

It took two attempts to explain this (the second one had big red circles and arrows on my itinerary pointing out my return date because I was running out of time and patience). And in typical American fashion, they didn’t own any bit of it.

They’d had enough of me and decided to move on. I, on the other hand, realized there was absolutely no way Iberia was going to refund me for American’s operational failure. It was official: I was screwed and this trip wasn’t happening.

What can I do now?

I had really been looking forward to visiting Dubrovnik, but American had other ideas

I couldn’t travel because American won’t fix their error. I can’t get a refund because Iberia won’t own American’s failure (and shouldn’t have to). So, what’s next?

I realized I’d already given an inordinate amount of time and energy to this:

I’d bitched and moaned for two days to anyone near me. A friend gave me the “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” response when I started complaining around him for the third time. And I’d annoyed the hell out of my wife by moping around the house.

So, it was time to move forward. I wrote to American suggesting they owned this failure from start to finish. I’d not only end up with out of pocket losses on the Iberia ticket but I’d also have other non-refundable trip related expenses.

I wasn’t delusional enough to think they’d compensate me for any of those costs. But, I considered the original purpose of this trip, which was to earn status. Surely, this was a situation where American could honor the original routing credit for the ticket and provide the EQDs and EQMs I would have earned had they not screwed up my trip.

It wouldn’t cost them a thing but would provide some goodwill.

Big shock: they said NO!

Instead they gave me 15,000 redeemable miles and an automated response. And when I complained that was insufficient given the situation, they conceded I was right and gave me another 10,000 redeemable miles.

When you factor in what I paid for my original ticket, I’m fairly certain I just got the worst deal ever for purchased miles. Maybe there’s a trophy for that?

In the end, the real lesson here is the fact American is not only a hot mess operationally, they’ve also gotten worse with the recovery. You can’t count on them to make things right for customers. Instead of doing more for customers who are impacted by their operational failures, they’re actually doing less. @xJonNYC pointed out how counterintuitive this is:

with their incredibly high cancellation rate as of late, one would think/hope @americanair would be even -more- accommodating than the actual policy even. #nAAivethinking

— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) August 15, 2019

It’s no wonder why the airline has stopped pretending “great is what we’re going for.”

This is a big picture problem for American

I legitimately feel bad for AA staff because they are constantly put in a position where they aren’t given the tools to fix obvious problems. Providing poor experiences has been normalized and American needs real help righting this ship. American has a culture of letting customers down. And many of the employees I dealt with acknowledge as much as they denied my suggestions to fix this mess.

Unfortunately, it does not appear to be an issue the current management is interested in fixing.

So, here I am a few thousand dollars poorer. I now know I should have listened to Tiffany in the first place and skipped this silly status run idea. And I’ll likely follow her advice to book connecting flights with Delta when I’m flying across the country next year. As she said before any of this started, I’ll get home faster anyway since AA will be delayed.

And speaking of Tiffany, I owe her, JonNYC and Gary at View from the Wing a big thank you for helping as I tried to get this trip back on track. It didn’t work, but that was not from a lack of good advice on their end.

Bottom line

This whole situation was a mess:

For nearly 48 hours, AA agents failed to reaccommodate me when it would have still been very easy to save my trip. I made multiple attempts with the AA twitter team, phone agents, a supervisor and Admirals Club staff and nobody could or would help. Undertrained and misinformed staff made it impossible to get what I paid for. And when AA agents finally recognized their error, the proposed fix incorrectly required me to fly to HNL because of a new made up policy. They suggested an itinerary, which had me arriving in Dubrovnik a day after I was scheduled to leave. And when this obvious problem was pointed out, American finally threw in the towel and gave up altogether.

American owns many failures here. The initial mechanical failure, the 48 hours of ignoring the oneworld reaccommodation policy, the made up requirement to have indirect routing via HNL, and the overall lack of interest in finding a solution.

The most frustrating thing about this situation is even when it was clear my trip wouldn’t happen, they refused to provide the original routing credit and then falsely characterized it all as “an unused ticket” when things “didn’t go smoothly.”

But, I guess I should be grateful they were nice enough to give me Iberia’s mailing address in Madrid. I’m sure writing to them would be a productive use of my time.

The post How American Airlines Ruined My Trip To Croatia appeared first on Tripstations.

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[ready-jet-go]

What is a charter flight?

When booking a flight, there are two types of flights available: scheduled flights and charter flights. 

So, what’s the difference between scheduled and chartered flights? 

A Scheduled flight takes place on either a commercial airliner or charter airliner, where passengers can purchase a seat. Commercial airlines serve specified routes following a set schedule, often maximized to accommodate as many passengers as possible.

Commercial airports serve as hubs for both commercial and charter airlines, connecting travelers to domestic and international destinations — think LAX to JFK, or Le Bourget to Heathrow.

Charter airlines often operate out of separate terminals at the same major airports, offering seasonal flights to destinations not regularly served by commercial airline schedule. Tickets for seats are sold the same as commercial airfare, albeit often more expensive due to the exclusivity of the route.

Flights are created during peak travel season, whether it’s summers in the Mediterranean, or winters in the Caribbean, and to popular ski destinations year-round.

The difference between charter flights and commercial airlines is pretty straight forward.

However...

Private vs Commercial

... when it come to charter flights, there are two very different categories: commercial charter flights, and private charter flights. 

With commercial charters, you’re purchasing a seat on the plane, flying with the same strangers you’d fly with on scheduled flights, all the way from first-class to coach. 

You also have to undergo the same herding process and security checks as commercial travelers. That means the same arriving hours early, waiting in line, handling your luggage, getting frisked, waiting for everyone to board, etc.

Private charter flights are an entirely different animal.

When you charter a private flight, it involves you renting the entire aircraft to travel on a specific route. You can not purchase a seat, nor can you split payment among all passengers. 

Privately chartered flights must be contracted and paid for individually; however you decide to split up the bill and collect the funds after the fact is totally up to you.

Unlike with other private aviation services (fractional aircraft ownership & jet cards), charter flights, often referred to as private jet charter, come without any long-term commitments and no strings attached.

You can call a broker and book a flight, and never hear from them again, although that’s a sure sign they’re terrible at marketing.

Air charter is another term often used synonymously with air taxi, but it can be a bit of a misnomer. Air taxi usually refers to short hops on executive aircraft with 6 seats or less, while air charters cover any distance using any aircraft.

Charter operators follow FAR Part 135 regulations set forth by the FAA, and are essentially licensed the same way as a taxi company. 

Private charter fleets are most often comprised of individually owned twin-engine planes and business jets, placed on charter certificate by their owners. 

Operators market flights on the plane, and manage the aircraft from scheduling to flight crew. Their goal is to maximize the aircraft’s usage to offset the cost of ownership.

Private planes are based at both private and commercial airports as their center of operations, usually determined by the location of the owner, fuel prices, regional charter markets, and other factors.

How much does it cost to charter a private jet?

If you’re looking to charter a flight in United States, one of the most popular trips is chartering a private jet from NYC to Miami.

This flight takes just over 2.5 hours to reach Miami-Opa Locka Executive (OPF) or Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE) from Teterboro Airport (TEB) or White Plains (HPN), the preferred private airports in South Florida and New York. 

The hourly cost comes out to around $8,000-$10,000 on a light jet, or between $15,000-$30,000 on a larger jet with standing room inside the cabin (tax not included in price). 

For international charter flights, you can easily pay well over $100,000 – even as much as $150,000 – to fly from New York to London, Los Angeles to Sydney, or Dallas to Dubai.

This is mostly due to the fact that larger planes are required to cross oceans without making fuel stops, and hourly rates on long-range jets start around $10k, with prices climbing up to $20k for the most luxurious jets and VIP airliners.

Not All Flights Are Created Equal

It’s important to note: the cost of every single charter fight is different. There are dozens of factors that go into creating a charter quote, from scheduling and re-positioning, to fuel prices and operational fees.

Private charter planes carry passengers around the globe on a daily basis, including last-minute ASAP trips. They’re not only used to save time, but also to reach destinations not served by commercial and charter airlines.

Remember: these flights are unscheduled. In fact, you can call a jet charter broker right now and take-off within the next 4 hours notice, sometimes less.

Since aircraft schedules are constantly fluid and planes are traveling back and forth, empty leg flights are created.

Empty legs are flights performed without paying customers on board. Planes may need to reposition to another airport to perform its next flight; it may also need to return to its home base for maintenance, or if its called upon to be used by its owner.

These legs are known in the industry as “deadhead flights”, and are substantially discounted since the plane is now schedule to fly anyway. Discounts can be as high as 75 percent, although prices aren’t as reduced along popular routes such as LA to Vegas or NYC to DC.

Additional services such as de-icing, catering; additional flight time due to weather or ATC; internet charges, and ground transportation are billed separately from your charter quote.

Always make sure you ask for an all-inclusive charter quote. Working with a reputable charter broker will help to ensure you don’t get hit with another bill after your flight is complete.

[travelightlivelight]

8.

Me again!

For the past few years, I’ve been taking every opportunity to travel that I could. Most notably, obviously, I was required by my major (Global Studies) to study abroad, and chose to spend five months in Costa Rica. Before this, I was saying yes to every travel opportunity in front of me, and doing my best to make every one of them happen. It’s been a blast, and I don’t regret a single penny spent. But that’s the thing— it wasn’t really all that many pennies.

A lot of people want to know how I’ve been doing it. Most of my student friends in their early twenties are absolutely perplexed at how I can just get up and go when I decide to. I will say that I’m very lucky to have friends and family who readily agree to watch my dog for free (shout out to my mom and dad, who are putting up with her for five entire months in their apartment right now), but other than that, I am very much the typical college student, with typical college student expenses. The past four and a half years of college have been supported by student loans, and my seasonal position at a zip line course in Boone does not, in fact, pay me tens of thousands of dollars to answer phones and ask Floridians to please stop yelling at me. 

Still, acquaintances are impressed. “I wish I could travel that much, your life looks so cool,” they say. First of all, you only think my life looks “so cool” because you only follow me on instagram & facebook. That’s a whole other post for a whole other day. My life is super regular, with a lot of time spent watching Netflix and painting my nails. Second of all, to me, my life is so cool. But that’s not because of luck, and not because I’m amazing at saving money, and not because I have a secret wealthy great-aunt paying my way. It’s because I’m realistic about what I can and cannot afford to do at my age, and because I’m careful about how I do things. So I’ve put together a very comprehensive guide to traveling on a budget, specifically when you’re young, broke, and adventurous.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite ways to travel, in a buzzfeed-friendly list format for your convenience.

1. Don’t expect luxury— 

     You’re a twenty-something college student or recent grad living with three roommates and  friends who roll their own cigarettes because “it’s cheaper.” You buy your groceries at Walmart, get paid hourly, and have called your landlord six times because your closet door falls on your head every time you open it. Nothing about your life is incredibly luxurious, so you shouldn’t expect your vacations to be either. Save that for a time in your life when your job comes with benefits and your house comes with doors that close all the way. You will, under no circumstances, be able to take yourself on vacations of the same caliber as that trip to Italy with your parents in 2005. Lower your expectations!! Life is more fun with a little adventure to it. Go with the flow for now, and wait your turn to be fancy.

2. Planes aren’t the only way to travel— 

     Get off of Delta’s website for a minute and take a deep breath. Remember that other forms of transportation exist. Buses are generally the cheapest, then trains, then planes. Trains and busses are just like slower airplanes, but they’re stupid easy to use (even in other countries), you don’t have to pay for the gas, and trains have bar cars with cheaper liquor than planes. So basically, your ride will feel about the same. You’ll run into the same problems as you do with planes, but if you’re traveling on a budget, give it some consideration. If you are traveling overseas or somewhere that’s just too far to take a bus or a train, there are some really cheap airlines (Southwest, Virgin, Spirit domestically, WOW to Europe, Ryanair within Europe) that are worth taking a look at. There are also tons of websites that offer airfare comparisons to help you find the cheapest possible flight. Don’t be afraid of layovers either-- flying direct can be a lot more expensive than just getting off of one plane and onto a different one.

     If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, choose one based on the price of transportation. This also goes for travel dates. If you don’t have to travel the week of Christmas, don’t. Ticket prices change based on how heavy travel traffic usually is on those particular dates. You can use apps/websites like Hopper, Wanderu, and Moovit to find the best prices for everything. 

     My favorite is Wanderu, because if you don’t have specifics in mind, you can click “Explore” and Wanderu will choose them for you based on what’s fastest and cheapest. All you have to do is specify where you’re traveling from. For example, just now I put in Raleigh, and Wanderu told me I could take a Greyhound bus to New York City tonight for $40, go by Amtrak train for $100 (which I have done before), or take the bus to DC for $29 in a couple of weeks. Wanderu rocks. Hopper tells you when the best time is to book a specific flight, as flight prices are constantly fluctuating, and Moovit will help you out a lot with local transit, wherever you are.

      While trains and busses aren’t the most luxurious, neither are planes. Trains generally have a lot more legroom, and busses are generally incredibly inexpensive. Both also often have WiFi. Make yourself a good playlist and suck it up! Or just steal one of mine here.

**Make sure you get your bus tickets ahead of time, especially if you’re traveling in a foreign country. In Costa Rica, they will continue to sell bus tickets even when the seats are full, so if you wait too long and have to get a ticket without a seat, you’ll end up either standing or spending six hours sitting on the steps by the back door, like I did. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but if you can avoid it, do.

3. When it comes to sleeping arrangements, be creative— 

     In your twenties, you can literally stay anywhere. You don’t have kids (probably) that you need certain accommodations for, you can still function if you’re up a little late, and your joints won’t be thrown all out of whack if your mattress isn’t made of angel dust and storm clouds. Take advantage of this. Just like planes aren’t your only option, neither are hotels. Hotels can get really pricey and the ones that aren’t can be really skeevy. This is probably the best and most important advice I could give any young person who wants to travel frugally: Try something more geared toward your age group before you rent a scary ass room in a paid-by-the-hour motel.

If you want privacy, rent an Airbnb. You can find some for really cheap, depending on where you want to stay, and you can decide whether you want to share it with others, stay with the host, or have the whole place to yourself. I’ve never had any bad experiences with other people staying in the same Airbnb (honestly, I have done nothing but meet some really cool people this way), and the hosts and hostesses are probably renting out their spare rooms because they want you there. They are generally very cool people. Some even allow pets if you’re traveling with a furry friend! 

     Keep in mind that your Airbnb will be a little more expensive than the list price once the cleaning fee is factored in, but not by much.

My current favorite way to spend nights away from home is in hostels. The last hostel I stayed in cost $17 for two nights, and the management moved us to our own room when they realized we were two girls that were about to stay in a 10 bed dorm with 8 guys we’d never met. People who own and manage hostels are used to young travelers being their main clientele, so they pretty much know what to expect, and can also point you in the direction of some age (and budget)-appropriate things to do nearby.

     A lot of hostels also have a common area with a kitchen that you can use (for when you have a pasta-with-butter budget instead of a this-cool-sushi-spot-I-heard-about budget), along with big dorm rooms, smaller dorm rooms, and private rooms. The less beds in the room, the more expensive your reservation will be. I’ve found some super cheap and really cool hostels with Hostelworld. Keep in mind, though, if you’re staying in a city, the closer to downtown you are, the easier it will be to get around. Don’t settle for something super cheap but far away from where you need to be just to save money, because you’ll probably just spend it on public transportation instead. Finding sleeping accommodations is all about balance between price, safety (!!!), and accessibility. Read reviews of the hostel itself and of the surrounding area before you make a commitment.

     Some of the most interesting people I have ever met, I’ve met in hostels. Generally speaking, the people you’ll meet in hostels are in pretty much the same situation as you— young, adventurous, and on a budget. They know just as few people in town as you do, and are always willing to swap travel stories, hang out, and even explore the town or city with you. At the last hostel I stayed at in Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, we met people from all over Europe and Canada, hung out and swam with them at the hostel, and went out drinking and dancing with them that night. We got really lucky, because they were cool enough to watch out for us and make sure we got back okay, but don’t ever plan to be stood up for. Definitely meet new people and get the word out that not all of us Americans are terrible and obnoxious (a surprising thing for a lot of international travelers to learn), but make sure you know where your friend is. Remember, meeting new people is cool; leaving your friends or going off with strangers is not. But do be adventurous, meet new people, and learn all you can from them. Travel can be some of the best education, and the people you meet while traveling can be the best teachers.

Last but not least, don’t be afraid to camp! The US has KOAs (Kampgrounds of America) ALL over the place. KOA is a campground chain with mini cabins that already have beds/sinks/kitchens/bathrooms (depending on which one you rent), sections for parking RVs and campers, and regular tent-camping sites with electricity plug-ins, grills, and  fire pits. The KOA is super affordable, and I once lived at the one in my college town, in my tent, with my best friend and my dog while we were between leases. The KOA has clean bathrooms and clean showers, and a little store from which you can get basic groceries, toiletries, and camping supplies. The KOA is pet friendly as well, and the staff has been really kind and accommodating at the KOAs I’ve been to. Of course, you can also camp at regular campgrounds, but I can’t say anything specific about these as they’re all different. Keep in mind, though, you can’t just camp anywhere! It’s usually illegal just to set up a campground wherever you feel like, and you can literally never know whether you’re on someone’s property. KOAs tend to be well lit, and in my experience, fairly safe, so I’ll stick to recommending this one. If you don’t have to look like the Queen of England every day of your trip, definitely consider a campsite like the KOA. 

4. Choose & book excursions wisely— 

     Don’t fall victim to showy advertising. Just about every tour everywhere claims to be the “best way to see” this, that, and the other. Make sure you check out Tripadvisor or something similar before you commit to spending your money on something you could have done for way cheaper, or even for free. TripAdvisor not only offers reviews on popular tourism spots, but also has general forums about pretty much every destination under the sun. Use it!!

     Tourist traps exist everywhere so make sure you do your best to identify them. A lot of national parks offer private tours, when you could take yourself around and see just as much if you know where to look. Don’t pay the extra $30 for the photos unless it was the best experience of your life. If you can, ask locals what the best way is to experience or see a certain thing. They will almost never point you in the direction of the most expensive, english-named, tour company, but instead tell you the actual best and cheapest way of doing something.

     Some things are just, unavoidably, tourist things to do. I took an ATV tour through the jungle last week that I’m sure no local would have suggested to me, but I looked through Viator for an hour or so first to find the most affordable and highest rated one. Chances are, if you see an ad for something cool, there are fifteen more companies selling the exact same experience. The first one you come across is usually the most expensive! Check reviews, prices, and what is and isn’t included before you book. 

     Also, it’s almost always cheaper to book directly through the company offering the service. While it’s easier to book online, or through something like Viator, it’s usually best to call the company directly to book your excursion. Booking websites and platforms charge a convenience fee, which is how they make their money and why they allow these companies to be advertised on their website. My old job booked through a platform called Fareharbor, which, while easy and quick to do online, charged the customer a convenience fee each time it was used. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s good to know.

     These four things (not expecting luxury, utilizing different forms of transportation, being creative when it comes to accommodations, and choosing/booking excursions wisely) are the four biggest tips for traveling frugally. My last weekend trip cost me $10 in transportation, $17 for sleeping arrangements, and $65 for an awesome excursion (But I could have just as easily gone without it, only spending $27 on a weekend at the beach). These are the big money savers, but there are a few smaller things you can do to save even more money during your travels:

-Resist hawkers— whatever they’re selling can come from a local grocery store or literally anywhere else for so much cheaper than they’re trying to sell it to you. They’ll try every trick in the book to get you to forget this.

-Don’t buy yourself things from souvenir shops— these shops are designed specifically for tourists, meaning they are way more expensive than they need to be. A souvenir from Madrid doesn’t have to say Madrid on it— you’ll remember where you got whatever it is, especially if you found something really cool in an out-of-the-way marketplace you happened upon in your travels. You wouldn’t spend all your money in a Wings Plus at the beach, would you?

-Look for the locals— if there aren’t any eating in that restaurant, or shopping in that store, skip it. Locals have to eat and shop somewhere, so find out where this goes on, and go there. This is the best way to avoid tourist traps, and also the best way to experience culture like a local.

-Talk to people— Aside from the people trying to sell you things and strangers catcalling you on the street, talk to people! They can tell you where to go and what to do without wasting your money. Whether you talk to other travelers (pick someone without jorts and keens on for best results) or locals, everyone has something to say. Everyone wants to give you a bit of sage advice, so break your mom’s rules and talk to strangers. Just don’t go anywhere with them.

     So there you have it. My expert guide to travel! I’m very lucky to be in a place where travel is so cheap and where I speak the language, and I’m lucky to have friends all over the US reminding me of their open invitations for me to come visit. Travel definitely does involve a little bit of luck, but with my handy little guide, hopefully you’ll be able to make some luck of your own. If I forgot anything, or if you know some tips I don’t, feel free to shoot me a message on literally any platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), or my submit box here on Tumblr. 

Happy traveling!

Other than that, there’s no bananas.

----V

[atakportal]

How to get the best price

New Post has been published on https://idealz.cloud/2018/07/13/how-to-get-the-best-price/

How to get the best price

Pinning down the exact right time to buy a flight is a complex science, or maybe it’s more like an art form: An elegant combination of planning ahead, sensing the trends, and knowing the ideal time, day, and alignment of the planets to hit “buy.” Or is it more like gambling? 

The truth is that the right time to get those tickets varies greatly depending on a number of factors. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some tips, tricks and general know-how that won’t make it easier. 

1. Search in “private mode.” 

As with most flight-buying strategies, there is some controversy as to whether using incognito mode to search for flights is actually an effective money-saving tactic. But if there’s a chance there’s validity to it, why not give it a shot, right? The theory is that online travel agencies and booking sites (like Expedia, Hotwire, or Kayak) use cookies to track your search history, and therefore might jack up the price on tickets they know you’re planning to buy. Research on the subject has been largely inconclusive, but a large part of buying plane tickets is knowing you’ve done everything possible to keep costs down. If it makes you feel more comfortable, do it! One thing is for sure: It can’t hurt. 

2. Consider the off-season

The bad news about travel, particularly for Americans, is that we all try to go places at the same time. Peak travel times include summer and winter breaks, and around major holidays, because those are generally the dates when we’re able to snag some coveted time off. The other major fare-driving factor is seasons, meaning we tend to avoid places with severe weather conditions, like Southeast Asia during monsoon season and Canada in the winter. 

Avoiding those high-priced times can result in big savings on everything from plane tickets to accommodations, including both hotels and Airbnbs. Traveling in the off-season also means there will be fewer people to contend with, so major sites will be less clogged with selfie-sticks and knee-sock wearing dads. (No offense to selfie sticks or dads, of course.) 

That said, there’s a reason people tend to travel when they do. If you’ve got kids, your travel times will likely be more restricted to school breaks. If you hate the extreme cold or heat, you might not be happy traipsing around Moscow in February or New Orleans in July. Also be aware that depending on where you’re going, some attractions might be closed or inaccessible for several months out of the year. Do your research, and figure out what you’re willing to put up with. Your diligence will be rewarded. 

3. Let’s talk about award travel

Booking a flight with credit card points or air miles is an entirely different matter than using cold, hard cash. 

In most cases, you’ll want to grab your fares the moment they become available, before everyone else starts sniffing around them. One number often bandied around is “331,” which is the number of days ahead of time several major airlines (like American, Delta, and Alaska Airlines) release their booking calendars. But every carrier creates its own calendar, and furthermore, while some allow you to view the calendar for paid fares, it doesn’t necessary apply to award travel. (If you’re looking for a rewards card, I think Chase Sapphire Reserve is by far the best travel card.)

Another wrench in the process is that award availability fluctuates constantly, rising and falling as airlines add and remove space. Is that cruel? Yes, but if there was one easy answer about when to book flights, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. One excellent hack is to use , which will alert you when flights or upgrade awards become available on a number of flights and dates. Sure, it’s a pain, but it’s better than checking availability each and every day. And you want to get the most bang for those points, don’t you?

Keep in mind also that some airlines charge an additional fee of around $75 if you book your trip using points within 21 days of traveling. On the flip side, if you’re booking several months in advance, be sure to check the airline’s cancellation and rebooking fee, in case something comes up. 

4. Can you just tell me when to buy my plane ticket, please?

Okay, so you’re buying a ticket the old-fashioned way: With money. While we must remind you, once again, that there are no hard and fast rules about when to buy, the folks over at CheapAir.com did put some real effort into coming up with an answer that doesn’t require divine omniscience. 

The site looked at a total of a million international fares and arrived at some helpful conclusions. First, it identifies a “prime booking window” for different regions around the world, which offers the range of dates where you’re likely to see the lowest fares. (That said, it’s a generalization, so keep things like major festivals, sports events, and holidays in mind when considering your dates.) Based on their research, here’s the breakdown for flights originating from the U.S:

Canada

For flights to Canada, try to book your ticket three weeks to five months ahead of your departure. That’s obviously a pretty serious range, so the site advises that the best time to buy is an average of 66 days from your travel date. The cheapest month to visit is October; the most expensive is July. The least expensive days of the week to fly are Tuesday and Wednesday, as is the case with most on this list. 

Mexico/Central America

Book your tickets to these parts between two weeks and six months before your departure, though the average best time is 70 days out. The cheapest month to head south is September, and the most expensive is, unsurprisingly, December, since who doesn’t love a beach Christmas? Once again, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Caribbean

This one is a surprise: The cheapest flights to the Caribbean should be booked an average of 207 days before you leave — that’s almost seven months! That said, the prime window is also huge, with little deviation one month to eleven months beforehand. Fares will still jump in the last month, so try to plan at least a bit ahead. Good news for those angling for a winter escape: The cheapest time to travel is January. (The most expensive is December.) 

Europe

So you want to head across the pond? The best time to buy is, on average, 160 days before departure. Another nice perk of Europe is that in addition to Tuesday and Wednesday, Monday is also one of the best days to travel. July is the most expensive month; March is the cheapest, with an average savings of $371 per ticket. Finally, the full prime window is between 1.5 and eight months ahead of time. Not bad! 

The upshot

There are a lot of factors that go into when you buy a flight, and one of them should be your own peace of mind. If you’re someone who just wants to get the thing over with — even if it will cost you a few extra bucks — keep an eye on prices for a few days and just go for it. If you’re a more obsessive type who considers fare tracking to be a competitive sport, start watching around five to six months ahead of international travel. 

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Want To Take pleasure in A Hotel Remain? Read through Over This!

Organizing a trip isn't really effortless. Packing your luggage and acquiring aircraft tickets are a need to. And, producing a lodge reservation is 1 of these factors. The pursuing article gives numerous wonderful tips to make your lodge continue to be pleasant. To minimize your journey bills when you are staying in close proximity to a vacation resort region like Walt Disney World, select a lodge that offers a complimentary shuttle to nearby sights. In this kind of location, you should not want to rent a auto. Rather, use a taxi to get to your lodge and then use the shuttle to get pleasure from the fun. Place service is wonderful for late meals. While this could value you a little more, it will be value it due to the fact you can keep in your area and take care of the cravings you are getting. Invest some time reading through on-line evaluations of lodges remaining by actual consumers just before you make a reservation. These evaluations are frequently your best source of info, because they are composed by men and women who have truly stayed at the resort. Be sure to pay consideration to the most latest reviews, considering that the resort may have already resolved more mature issues. Some Wonderful Guidelines From Experienced Travellers No matter whether you have booked a excursion out of town, out of the point out, or even out of the region, there is a excellent opportunity that you will reward from the useful suggestions discovered in this choice of handpicked travel suggestions. From packing your baggage to searching for souvenirs, get pleasure from these ideas. Try out and depart critical valuables at home. If you provide a lot of valuables with you, you have a higher possibility of losing them or having them stolen. If you pack electronics although traveling, either get rid of the batteries or flip them around. Some modest electronics can be easily flipped on. You certainly do not want them flipping on in your bag for the duration of the vacation. There is a good possibility the battery may well be drained by the time they are unpacked. Travel throughout the off-peak seasons. Hotels and airfare are typically a great deal much more expensive during the peak summer season months. Also, well-liked destinations can be so more than-crowded during the summer time that it takes the pleasure out of it. If you travel in the off-peak months you can preserve funds on airfare and lodging and you can steer clear of the crowds. فنادق في دبي If you have numerous concerns for a lodge, call them at night time. Most major hotels hold their entrance desk staffed 24 hrs a day. If you have queries about scheduling your room or particular wants you want to talk about, calling late at night time ensures that you are much less probably to be interrupted for the attendant to are inclined to a guest. Lodge stationery is a great souvenir, and resorts do not cost you for having it. The lodges recognize that their stationery is a form of ad for them, so if you just take it and use it, you are carrying out them a favor. Most higher-end resorts have lovely stationery, so snap it up! They don't head. If you plan to continue to be far more than one particular night time in a lodge place, provide a cheap above-the-doorway organizer for footwear or jewellery. As an alternative of filling it with sneakers, you can use the pockets to keep your toiletries, room key, digital camera, telephone and any other objects which may possibly simply get misplaced in the fray. The obvious pockets make it effortless to uncover issues, in seconds. Resorts If you strategy on touring, remember to timetable trustworthy pet treatment in advance. If you have a small dog, you can locate pet-pleasant flights and resorts and deliver him together. Huge canine, cats, and animals with health-related difficulties need to have a reputable pet-sitter that you can trust. Your furry close friends will be grateful! When being at فنادق ابوظبي -end domestic hotel, bring alongside your possess A/V cable for your laptop. Most resort rooms at nicer resorts offer cost-free in-room WiFi and a massive HDTV, but will then charge a high quality for in-room films. Getting your own A/V cable gives you obtain to your own assortment of downloaded motion pictures or an on the internet account. Look up testimonials about lodges you plan to go to, but do not necessarily have faith in almost everything that is created. Absolutely everyone will have a distinct experience, so be forgiving of some negative evaluations and do not be blinded by overly constructive reviews. When trying to locate a lodge, 1 recommendation is to call the lodge and ask the clerk a number of simple queries. His buyer service capabilities will typically reveal the high quality of the resort. Travel Just before a single is about to journey they should think about how they are going to pack. When packing a single need to often believe about leaving one bag, suitcase, or other baggage partly empty. By leaving further area there will constantly be room for a lot more things that one particular might pick up even though touring these kinds of as souvenirs. View your essential possessions when traveling. If you have to carry a purse, keep in mind to maintain it firmly tucked below your arm. Do not use baggage with zippers that offer easy entry to people in close proximity to you that could easily just take your things. Protection must be one of your prime concerns when getting a new bag for vacation. A seashore or city might look lovely in the a lot of photographs that are on the travel internet site that you are booking your internet site through. Make positive to look into as several resources on-line to make sure that the one that you are arranging to visit is clean and secure for you and your family. Excursions Deal tours are a way to get the most out of a constrained vacation funds. Look into the options obtainable at a certain spot. It may possibly be attainable to do a lot more, see much more and have much more enjoyable, by investing in a bundle deal that contains further companies and facilities. These offers regularly offer personal savings that are unattainable to replicate via acquiring person solutions. Make excellent journey strategies and go away a duplicate of this itinerary with a pal or loved ones member at residence. You do not require to strategy out each and every moment of your time absent, but you must have a rough concept of what you will be performing and when. Checklist any flights, excursions, hotel reservations, and reservations for dinners or shows. When you land in Berlin, make sure you commit in a "Welcome Card." This helpful small card can open up up a bunch of venues and adventures for you. This cost-effective card contains obtain to free of charge community transportation, presents you discount rates for sights, excursions, functions, museums, restaurants, and many far more issues. It does not subject if your vacation spot is Paris, Texas or Paris, France a completely prepared travel itinerary and lodging arrangements can make all the distinction in your keep. Use the details that you have just go through in these ideas as element of your clean and tension-totally free, memorable holiday. If you happen to be instruction for a marathon and have a weeklong enterprise trip prepared, there is no explanation to enable your running slip. Appear on the web for neighborhood operating teams in the metropolis the place you are going to remain, and be a part of them for their social operates. If there usually are not several teams, search for nearby working retailers, as they also offer social jogs. If you want to operate on saving the setting, a eco-friendly trip is something to look into. Numerous resorts offer environmentally welcoming requirements these days. Green certification is some thing some of the freshly built lodges are fairly happy of promoting. Some resorts that aren't that new will pick out some techniques to be much more eco-helpful so they can display they treatment. Talk with a vacation agent to locate environmentally friendly accommodations. If you never have your coronary heart established on a particular resort, attempt using a site like Resorts.com. These types of websites enable you put in bids and then return a list of accommodations in your price range. The only disadvantage is that they may not reveal which resort you have booked right up until after you have fully commited to remaining there. Use Twitter to your edge. Prior to booking your lodge, tweet the home and see if there are any reductions available. Social media is turning out to be far more well-known than ever, and resorts use this medium to get the word out about the specials they have out there. If you aren't quite familiar with tweeting, you can merely use the look for purpose on Twitter. Signal on to Fb and find the page of the hotel you are being at. Create a little information on their page, and see if the staff responds. You by no means know, they might supply you a unique perk! If absolutely nothing else, maintain up with what is occurring on the webpage in situation any specials are announced. Spend consideration to your safety when you continue to be at a resort. Make note of the fireplace exits and areas of fire extinguishers. Preserve your door locked, and keep your key or important card in a protected place. Stash any valuables in the resort safe. Consider bringing a flashlight together and keeping it by your bed in scenario you require it throughout the evening. To keep your incidentals at a bare minimum, especially when you are keeping at a hotel outside the US, ask about the price of wireless World wide web just before you examine in, and specially prior to you log in the initial time. Some accommodations will not disclose the costly for each-moment costs of Internet obtain, but they will definitely demonstrate up on the invoice. Use social media to your advantage if you want to get new discounts on resort stays. Several accommodations supply discounts and freebies to men and women that "Like" their page. In addition, providing them praise on social media is a great way to snag an up grade and/or a particular charge that has not been marketed. Discuss to a travel agent about potential hotel offers. You may possibly think you are going to be paying out much more by likely by means of a vacation agent, but more often than not the opposite is real. Journey brokers normally have entry to unpublished offers not only for the hotel, but also for airfare and trip routines. To hold the smell of swimsuits and damp feet out of your resort space, have your children put their Aquashoes and swimsuits out on the patio. Hanging them above the rail and allowing the towels and suits dry will hold that chlorine scent out of your space, and the shoes and sandals will make your area stink, so preserve them out! Beware of the bottle of drinking water beside your bed. Several lodges cost as much as 10 pounds for that bottle of water. Other things that you could not comprehend you will be charged for consist of: pool towels, newspapers and World wide web entry. To ensure you are not getting billed for products you do not want read the fine print. If you are looking to help save income on your subsequent vacation, it is a very good idea to book a resort that has an in-space kitchen. Many places have entire kitchens that incorporate a countertop selection and a fridge. Getting ready your very own meals will help save you money because you will not want to pay for space provider or cafe foodstuff. Read through reviews on lodges just before you book your rooms. Websites like Yelp and TripAdvisor have critiques from tourists who share their ordeals and fee the lodging. A resort that just has a pair of evaluations may not current an correct picture, but if several evaluations have a common viewpoint about a hotel, you can count on that a lot more. Discovering the proper lodge is an vital portion of planning any excursion. Whether your vacation is a family members faction with kids or business journey, booking the correct accommodations will make your vacation better. Remember the tips from this report when you go to make a lodge reservation.

[fadingfartconnoisseur]

Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam?

Last month, I wrote an article on how to travel anywhere for $1,000. I wanted to show people how, by changing how you save and using a few budget techniques, you could make any trip happen for $1,000 (or less) from start to finish. While that is a lot of money to most people, it’s not an insurmountable amount of money to save with a few clever ninja techniques (it works out to only $2.74 per day).

In the article, I picked expensive destinations as examples because I didn’t want to be accused of copping out by picking cheap places. If I had, I imagined the Internet would rise up and say “Oh, sure, Matt! Anyone can travel to Thailand on a budget. That’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? This article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used points and miles to help mitigate the costs of getting to each destination. Using points and miles for cheap and free flights and accommodation was a must. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only costs a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to Australia! You won’t get far with only $300 to spend in Australia!

But a different — and unexpected — backlash erupted. On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that points/miles are money, have a cost, aren’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole article was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has miles or bonus points. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have miles or points to redeem, and likewise, there are also people who might not have saved up enough points to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus points, you chose the latter for your article’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair.”

First, let me say you are all correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and fees into the cost of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart to reflect that. It was silly of me to not include that from the outset. I apologize for the oversight.

But, second, I don’t think using points or miles is in anyway cheating or unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the article, many of the other tips helped lower costs just as much!)

To me, points and miles are free money. They have no cost to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I have to spend the points/miles in addition to money, and I know some of you view points and miles as having some value with an opportunity cost to them, etc.

But I don’t think of them that way.

They are just a thing I get when I spend money that I would have spent anyway.

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think points and miles are hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, or you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“To collect miles requires spending money. To say one can travel anywhere for $1,000 and then condition that on free airfare is disingenuous. The advice is aimed at people who might find $1,000 a lot of money. Let’s assume you need 80,000 miles for an award and can find a sign-up offer for 40,000. That means you probably have to spend $40,000 to collect the other 40,000 miles. Then the advice to use hotel points for free rooms. Assume you want a seven-day vacation and rooms are just 15,000 a night. That’s another 105,000 hotel points, and another $105,000 spend. Even if your hotel card gets two-for-one points, that’s still $52,500 in spend. So for me to go on a vacation for $1,000 I need to charge $92,500. I’m surprised you missed telling us to just go for one day and avoid six more days of hotel, meal, and local transportation expenses.”

I hear you and I see the logic but I disagree. You can earn a lot of points and miles per year with much less spending than described because there are pretty easy ways to earn multiple points/miles per dollar spent.

I’m a terrible travel hacker compared to my friends. I don’t do some of the crazy things they do to earn points and miles because I don’t have a lot of time, so I like to make it easy on myself. I don’t buy extra things, overspend, resell furniture or gift cards, or give up my Saturdays to go buy stuff in bulk and then sell it online for a profit.

I simply go about my life and spend wisely. I have chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most miles per dollar spent. Here it is:

How I Optimize My Spending with My Travel Credit Cards (Note: I also have all the co-branded airline cards but I rarely ever use those.)

Through all this, I earn a million or more miles per year. If it was really only 1 point/mile per dollar spent, then I would have to spend one million a year but that’s not the case. When I need to buy something, I do it online for bonus points through airline shopping portals (I recently got 6x American Airlines miles for my Macy’s shopping on top of my credit card points). Need something on Amazon? I buy a gift card from Office Depot for 5x points and then go through JetBlue for 3x more points. Buying a new computer? I’m off to get a new card to hit the minimum spending for the bonus. Got a few minutes? I answer some surveys for points.

I’m always earning multiple points per dollar spent. It’s rarely one to one. (Note: You can click here to see a more detailed breakdown of where I earn my million points/miles.)

I don’t view collecting points/miles as a cost because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a cost when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there are taxes and fees are included in the ticket that vary wildly among airlines (I’m looking at you, BA and Virgin), but it’s still cheaper than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these fees, so the cost of them using points is literally zero. Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.

If you want to travel more, points and miles have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they are an option). Even if it takes you are year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the cost of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel hack, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because travel hacking seems complicated, therefore it must be so. Actually, it is not.

In addition, travel hacking seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

“Credit cards a bad. The companies are bad. Never pay a fee. Your score is sacred and doing things like this hurt it, and you’ll never get a loan.”

But that is just bullshit. It’s a myth perpetuated by….well, I don’t know who exactly, but people keep believing it.

You earn points and miles for everyday purchases you would have bought anyways and the perks outweigh the credit card fees. For example, with my $450 per year Chase card, I get:

$300 in airline credit

3x points on travel and restaurants (so I can earn points faster)

Global Entry ($100 every five years)

Purchase protection so I can get refunded if things I buy are lost, damaged, or stolen

A priority pass for lounge access (about $100 a year)

Trip insurance

My $49-a-year IHG card gives me a free night at a category 1-5 property (around $200 a night) and my American Airlines card comes with free checked bags, saving me hundreds of dollars a year!

Additionally, my credit score has only gone up because of this as now I have more credit and less debt as well as a good payment history. (And, as my friend Gary says, “What good is a credit score if you don’t use it?”)

If you pay your bills off each month and are reasonable with your money, not collecting points and miles is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

Free is the best word in travel.

When you don’t travel hack, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You aren’t hurting the banks or the airlines. They are in on the game.

In my view, travel hacking is something to be embraced. It reduces the cost of travel. You can do this in a lot of countries around the world! Even if takes you a year to earn a free flight, why not take the flight? One free flight is better than no free flights.

Anything that saves money and reduces the cost of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to travel hacking is saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?

P.S. – If you want to learn more and figure out how to collect points and miles, click here to download the book I wrote on travel hacking. It will tell you how program work, what cards to get, give you step-by-step instructions, tips, tricks, and secret ways to collect miles.

The post Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2i7uP50

[touristguidebuzz]

Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam?

Last month, I wrote an article on how to travel anywhere for $1,000. I wanted to show people how, by changing how you save and using a few budget techniques, you could make any trip happen for $1,000 (or less) from start to finish. While that is a lot of money to most people, it’s not an insurmountable amount of money to save with a few clever ninja techniques (it works out to only $2.74 per day).

In the article, I picked expensive destinations as examples because I didn’t want to be accused of copping out by picking cheap places. If I had, I imagined the Internet would rise up and say “Oh, sure, Matt! Anyone can travel to Thailand on a budget. That’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? This article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used points and miles to help mitigate the costs of getting to each destination. Using points and miles for cheap and free flights and accommodation was a must. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only costs a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to Australia! You won’t get far with only $300 to spend in Australia!

But a different — and unexpected — backlash erupted. On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that points/miles are money, have a cost, aren’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole article was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has miles or bonus points. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have miles or points to redeem, and likewise, there are also people who might not have saved up enough points to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus points, you chose the latter for your article’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair.”

First, let me say you are all correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and fees into the cost of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart to reflect that. It was silly of me to not include that from the outset. I apologize for the oversight.

But, second, I don’t think using points or miles is in anyway cheating or unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the article, many of the other tips helped lower costs just as much!)

To me, points and miles are free money. They have no cost to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I have to spend the points/miles in addition to money, and I know some of you view points and miles as having some value with an opportunity cost to them, etc.

But I don’t think of them that way.

They are just a thing I get when I spend money that I would have spent anyway.

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think points and miles are hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, or you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“To collect miles requires spending money. To say one can travel anywhere for $1,000 and then condition that on free airfare is disingenuous. The advice is aimed at people who might find $1,000 a lot of money. Let’s assume you need 80,000 miles for an award and can find a sign-up offer for 40,000. That means you probably have to spend $40,000 to collect the other 40,000 miles. Then the advice to use hotel points for free rooms. Assume you want a seven-day vacation and rooms are just 15,000 a night. That’s another 105,000 hotel points, and another $105,000 spend. Even if your hotel card gets two-for-one points, that’s still $52,500 in spend. So for me to go on a vacation for $1,000 I need to charge $92,500. I’m surprised you missed telling us to just go for one day and avoid six more days of hotel, meal, and local transportation expenses.”

I hear you and I see the logic but I disagree. You can earn a lot of points and miles per year with much less spending than described because there are pretty easy ways to earn multiple points/miles per dollar spent.

I’m a terrible travel hacker compared to my friends. I don’t do some of the crazy things they do to earn points and miles because I don’t have a lot of time, so I like to make it easy on myself. I don’t buy extra things, overspend, resell furniture or gift cards, or give up my Saturdays to go buy stuff in bulk and then sell it online for a profit.

I simply go about my life and spend wisely. I have chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most miles per dollar spent. Here it is:

How I Optimize My Spending with My Travel Credit Cards (Note: I also have all the co-branded airline cards but I rarely ever use those.)

Through all this, I earn a million or more miles per year. If it was really only 1 point/mile per dollar spent, then I would have to spend one million a year but that’s not the case. When I need to buy something, I do it online for bonus points through airline shopping portals (I recently got 6x American Airlines miles for my Macy’s shopping on top of my credit card points). Need something on Amazon? I buy a gift card from Office Depot for 5x points and then go through JetBlue for 3x more points. Buying a new computer? I’m off to get a new card to hit the minimum spending for the bonus. Got a few minutes? I answer some surveys for points.

I’m always earning multiple points per dollar spent. It’s rarely one to one. (Note: You can click here to see a more detailed breakdown of where I earn my million points/miles.)

I don’t view collecting points/miles as a cost because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a cost when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there are taxes and fees are included in the ticket that vary wildly among airlines (I’m looking at you, BA and Virgin), but it’s still cheaper than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these fees, so the cost of them using points is literally zero. Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.

If you want to travel more, points and miles have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they are an option). Even if it takes you are year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the cost of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel hack, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because travel hacking seems complicated, therefore it must be so. Actually, it is not.

In addition, travel hacking seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

“Credit cards a bad. The companies are bad. Never pay a fee. Your score is sacred and doing things like this hurt it, and you’ll never get a loan.”

But that is just bullshit. It’s a myth perpetuated by….well, I don’t know who exactly, but people keep believing it.

You earn points and miles for everyday purchases you would have bought anyways and the perks outweigh the credit card fees. For example, with my $450 per year Chase card, I get:

$300 in airline credit

3x points on travel and restaurants (so I can earn points faster)

Global Entry ($100 every five years)

Purchase protection so I can get refunded if things I buy are lost, damaged, or stolen

A priority pass for lounge access (about $100 a year)

Trip insurance

My $49-a-year IHG card gives me a free night at a category 1-5 property (around $200 a night) and my American Airlines card comes with free checked bags, saving me hundreds of dollars a year!

Additionally, my credit score has only gone up because of this as now I have more credit and less debt as well as a good payment history. (And, as my friend Gary says, “What good is a credit score if you don’t use it?”)

If you pay your bills off each month and are reasonable with your money, not collecting points and miles is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

Free is the best word in travel.

When you don’t travel hack, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You aren’t hurting the banks or the airlines. They are in on the game.

In my view, travel hacking is something to be embraced. It reduces the cost of travel. You can do this in a lot of countries around the world! Even if takes you a year to earn a free flight, why not take the flight? One free flight is better than no free flights.

Anything that saves money and reduces the cost of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to travel hacking is saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?

P.S. – If you want to learn more and figure out how to collect points and miles, click here to download the book I wrote on travel hacking. It will tell you how program work, what cards to get, give you step-by-step instructions, tips, tricks, and secret ways to collect miles.

The post Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

[vidovicart]

Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam?

Last month, I wrote an article on how to travel anywhere for $1,000. I wanted to show people how, by changing how you save and using a few budget techniques, you could make any trip happen for $1,000 (or less) from start to finish. While that is a lot of money to most people, it’s not an insurmountable amount of money to save with a few clever ninja techniques (it works out to only $2.74 per day).

In the article, I picked expensive destinations as examples because I didn’t want to be accused of copping out by picking cheap places. If I had, I imagined the Internet would rise up and say “Oh, sure, Matt! Anyone can travel to Thailand on a budget. That’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? This article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used points and miles to help mitigate the costs of getting to each destination. Using points and miles for cheap and free flights and accommodation was a must. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only costs a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to Australia! You won’t get far with only $300 to spend in Australia!

But a different — and unexpected — backlash erupted. On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that points/miles are money, have a cost, aren’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole article was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has miles or bonus points. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have miles or points to redeem, and likewise, there are also people who might not have saved up enough points to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus points, you chose the latter for your article’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair.”

First, let me say you are all correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and fees into the cost of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart to reflect that. It was silly of me to not include that from the outset. I apologize for the oversight.

But, second, I don’t think using points or miles is in anyway cheating or unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the article, many of the other tips helped lower costs just as much!)

To me, points and miles are free money. They have no cost to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I have to spend the points/miles in addition to money, and I know of you view points and miles as having some value and an opportunity cost to them, etc.

But I don’t think of them that way.

They are just a thing I get when I spend money that I would have spent anyway.

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think points and miles are hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, or you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“To collect miles requires spending money. To say one can travel anywhere for $1,000 and then condition that on free airfare is disingenuous. The advice is aimed at people who might find $1,000 a lot of money. Let’s assume you need 80,000 miles for an award and can find a sign-up offer for 40,000. That means you probably have to spend $40,000 to collect the other 40,000 miles. Then the advice to use hotel points for free rooms. Assume you want a seven-day vacation and rooms are just 15,000 a night. That’s another 105,000 hotel points, and another $105,000 spend. Even if your hotel card gets two-for-one points, that’s still $52,500 in spend. So for me to go on a vacation for $1,000 I need to charge $92,500. I’m surprised you missed telling us to just go for one day and avoid six more days of hotel, meal, and local transportation expenses.”

I hear you and I see the logic but I disagree. You can earn a lot of points and miles per year with much less spending than described, because there are pretty easy ways to earn multiple points/miles per dollar spent.

I’m a terrible travel hacker compared to my friends. I don’t do some of the crazy things they do to earn points and miles because I don’t have a lot of time, so I like to make it easy on myself. I don’t buy extra things, overspend, resell furniture or gift cards, or give up my Saturdays to go buy stuff in bulk and then sell it online for a profit.

I simply go about my life and spend wisely. I have chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most miles per dollar spent. Here it is:

How I Optimize My Spending with My Travel Credit Cards

(Note: I also have all the co-branded airline cards but I rarely ever use those.)

Through all this, I earn a million or more miles per year. If it was really only 1 point/mile per dollar spent, then I would have to spend one million a year but that’s not the case. When I need to buy something, I do it online for bonus points through airline shopping portals (I recently got 6x American Airlines miles for my Macy’s shopping on top of my credit card points). Need something on Amazon? I buy a gift card from Office Depot for 5x points and then go through JetBlue for 3x more points. Buying a new computer? I’m off to get a new card to hit the minimum spending for the bonus. Got a few minutes? I answer some surveys for points.

I’m always earning multiple points per dollar spent. It’s rarely one to one. (Note: You can click here to see a more detailed breakdown of where I earn my million points/miles.)

I don’t view collecting points/miles as a cost because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a cost when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there are taxes and fees are included in the ticket that vary wildly among airlines (I’m looking at you, BA and Virgin), but it’s still cheaper than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these fees, so the cost of them using points is literally zero. Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.

If you want to travel more, points and miles have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they are an option). Even if it takes you are year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the cost of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel hack, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because travel hacking seems complicated, therefore it must be so. Actually, it is not.

In addition, travel hacking seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

“Credit cards a bad. The companies are bad. Never pay a fee. Your score is sacred, and doing things like this hurt it, and you’ll never get a loan.”

But that is just bullshit. It’s a myth perpetuated by….well, I don’t know who exactly, but people keep believing it.

You earn points and miles for everyday purchases you would have bought any ways and the perks outweigh the credit card fees. For example, with my $450 per year Chase card, I get:

$300 in airline credit

3x points on travel and restaurants (so I can earn points faster)

Global Entry ($100 every five years)

Purchase protection so I can get refunded if things I buy are lost, damaged, or stolen

A priority pass for lounge access (about $100 a year)

Trip insurance

My $49-a-year IHG card gives me a free night at a category 1-5 property (around $200 a night) and my American Airlines card comes with free checked bags, saving me hundreds of dollars a year!

Additionally, my credit score has only gone up because of this as now I have more credit and less debt as well as a good payment history. (And, as my friend Gary says, “What good is a credit score if you don’t use it?”)

If you pay your bills off each month and are reasonable with your money, not collecting points and miles is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

Free is the best word in travel.

When you don’t travel hack, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You aren’t hurting the banks or the airlines. They are in on the game.

In my view, travel hacking is something to be embraced. It reduces the cost of travel. You can do this in a lot of countries around the world! Even if takes you a year to earn a free flight, why not take the flight? One free flight is better than no free flights.

Anything that saves money and reduces the cost of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to travel hacking saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?

P.S. – If you want to learn more and figure out how to collect points and miles, click here to download the book I wrote on travel hacking. It will tell you how program work, what cards to get, give you step-by-step instructions, tips, tricks, and secret ways to collect miles.

The post Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

[tamboradventure]

Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam?

Last month, I wrote an article on how to travel anywhere for $1,000. I wanted to show people how, by changing how you save and using a few budget techniques, you could make any trip happen for $1,000 (or less) from start to finish. While that is a lot of money to most people, it’s not an insurmountable amount of money to save with a few clever ninja techniques (it works out to only $2.74 per day).

In the article, I picked expensive destinations as examples because I didn’t want to be accused of copping out by picking cheap places. If I had, I imagined the Internet would rise up and say “Oh, sure, Matt! Anyone can travel to Thailand on a budget. That’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? This article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used points and miles to help mitigate the costs of getting to each destination. Using points and miles for cheap and free flights and accommodation was a must. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only costs a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to Australia! You won’t get far with only $300 to spend in Australia!

But a different — and unexpected — backlash erupted. On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that points/miles are money, have a cost, aren’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole article was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has miles or bonus points. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have miles or points to redeem, and likewise, there are also people who might not have saved up enough points to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus points, you chose the latter for your article’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair.”

First, let me say you are all correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and fees into the cost of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart to reflect that. It was silly of me to not include that from the outset. I apologize for the oversight.

But, second, I don’t think using points or miles is in anyway cheating or unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the article, many of the other tips helped lower costs just as much!)

To me, points and miles are free money. They have no cost to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I have to spend the points/miles in addition to money, and I know of you view points and miles as having some value and an opportunity cost to them, etc.

But I don’t think of them that way.

They are just a thing I get when I spend money that I would have spent anyway.

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think points and miles are hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, or you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“To collect miles requires spending money. To say one can travel anywhere for $1,000 and then condition that on free airfare is disingenuous. The advice is aimed at people who might find $1,000 a lot of money. Let’s assume you need 80,000 miles for an award and can find a sign-up offer for 40,000. That means you probably have to spend $40,000 to collect the other 40,000 miles. Then the advice to use hotel points for free rooms. Assume you want a seven-day vacation and rooms are just 15,000 a night. That’s another 105,000 hotel points, and another $105,000 spend. Even if your hotel card gets two-for-one points, that’s still $52,500 in spend. So for me to go on a vacation for $1,000 I need to charge $92,500. I’m surprised you missed telling us to just go for one day and avoid six more days of hotel, meal, and local transportation expenses.”

I hear you and I see the logic but I disagree. You can earn a lot of points and miles per year with much less spending than described, because there are pretty easy ways to earn multiple points/miles per dollar spent.

I’m a terrible travel hacker compared to my friends. I don’t do some of the crazy things they do to earn points and miles because I don’t have a lot of time, so I like to make it easy on myself. I don’t buy extra things, overspend, resell furniture or gift cards, or give up my Saturdays to go buy stuff in bulk and then sell it online for a profit.

I simply go about my life and spend wisely. I have chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most miles per dollar spent. Here it is:

How I Optimize My Spending with My Travel Credit Cards (Note: I also have all the co-branded airline cards but I rarely ever use those.)

Through all this, I earn a million or more miles per year. If it was really only 1 point/mile per dollar spent, then I would have to spend one million a year but that’s not the case. When I need to buy something, I do it online for bonus points through airline shopping portals (I recently got 6x American Airlines miles for my Macy’s shopping on top of my credit card points). Need something on Amazon? I buy a gift card from Office Depot for 5x points and then go through JetBlue for 3x more points. Buying a new computer? I’m off to get a new card to hit the minimum spending for the bonus. Got a few minutes? I answer some surveys for points.

I’m always earning multiple points per dollar spent. It’s rarely one to one. (Note: You can click here to see a more detailed breakdown of where I earn my million points/miles.)

I don’t view collecting points/miles as a cost because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a cost when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there are taxes and fees are included in the ticket that vary wildly among airlines (I’m looking at you, BA and Virgin), but it’s still cheaper than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these fees, so the cost of them using points is literally zero. Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.

If you want to travel more, points and miles have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they are an option). Even if it takes you are year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the cost of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel hack, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because travel hacking seems complicated, therefore it must be so. Actually, it is not.

In addition, travel hacking seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

“Credit cards a bad. The companies are bad. Never pay a fee. Your score is sacred, and doing things like this hurt it, and you’ll never get a loan.”

But that is just bullshit. It’s a myth perpetuated by….well, I don’t know who exactly, but people keep believing it.

You earn points and miles for everyday purchases you would have bought any ways and the perks outweigh the credit card fees. For example, with my $450 per year Chase card, I get:

$300 in airline credit

3x points on travel and restaurants (so I can earn points faster)

Global Entry ($100 every five years)

Purchase protection so I can get refunded if things I buy are lost, damaged, or stolen

A priority pass for lounge access (about $100 a year)

Trip insurance

My $49-a-year IHG card gives me a free night at a category 1-5 property (around $200 a night) and my American Airlines card comes with free checked bags, saving me hundreds of dollars a year!

Additionally, my credit score has only gone up because of this as now I have more credit and less debt as well as a good payment history. (And, as my friend Gary says, “What good is a credit score if you don’t use it?”)

If you pay your bills off each month and are reasonable with your money, not collecting points and miles is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

Free is the best word in travel.

When you don’t travel hack, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You aren’t hurting the banks or the airlines. They are in on the game.

In my view, travel hacking is something to be embraced. It reduces the cost of travel. You can do this in a lot of countries around the world! Even if takes you a year to earn a free flight, why not take the flight? One free flight is better than no free flights.

Anything that saves money and reduces the cost of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to travel hacking saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?

P.S. – If you want to learn more and figure out how to collect points and miles, click here to download the book I wrote on travel hacking. It will tell you how program work, what cards to get, give you step-by-step instructions, tips, tricks, and secret ways to collect miles.

The post Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[theladyjstyle]

Last month, I wrote an article on how to travel anywhere for $1,000. I wanted to show people how, by changing how you save and using a few budget techniques, you could make any trip happen for $1,000 (or less) from start to finish. While that is a lot of money to most people, it’s not an insurmountable amount of money to save with a few clever ninja techniques (it works out to only $2.74 per day).

In the article, I picked expensive destinations as examples because I didn’t want to be accused of copping out by picking cheap places. If I had, I imagined the Internet would rise up and say “Oh, sure, Matt! Anyone can travel to Thailand on a budget. That’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? This article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used points and miles to help mitigate the costs of getting to each destination. Using points and miles for cheap and free flights and accommodation was a must. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only costs a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to Australia! You won’t get far with only $300 to spend in Australia!

But a different — and unexpected — backlash erupted. On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that points/miles are money, have a cost, aren’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole article was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has miles or bonus points. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have miles or points to redeem, and likewise, there are also people who might not have saved up enough points to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus points, you chose the latter for your article’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair.”

First, let me say you are all correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and fees into the cost of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart to reflect that. It was silly of me to not include that from the outset. I apologize for the oversight.

But, second, I don’t think using points or miles is in anyway cheating or unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the article, many of the other tips helped lower costs just as much!)

To me, points and miles are free money. They have no cost to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I have to spend the points/miles in addition to money, and I know of you view points and miles as having some value and an opportunity cost to them, etc.

But I don’t think of them that way.

They are just a thing I get when I spend money that I would have spent anyway.

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think points and miles are hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, or you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“To collect miles requires spending money. To say one can travel anywhere for $1,000 and then condition that on free airfare is disingenuous. The advice is aimed at people who might find $1,000 a lot of money. Let’s assume you need 80,000 miles for an award and can find a sign-up offer for 40,000. That means you probably have to spend $40,000 to collect the other 40,000 miles. Then the advice to use hotel points for free rooms. Assume you want a seven-day vacation and rooms are just 15,000 a night. That’s another 105,000 hotel points, and another $105,000 spend. Even if your hotel card gets two-for-one points, that’s still $52,500 in spend. So for me to go on a vacation for $1,000 I need to charge $92,500. I’m surprised you missed telling us to just go for one day and avoid six more days of hotel, meal, and local transportation expenses.”

I hear you and I see the logic but I disagree. You can earn a lot of points and miles per year with much less spending than described, because there are pretty easy ways to earn multiple points/miles per dollar spent.

I’m a terrible travel hacker compared to my friends. I don’t do some of the crazy things they do to earn points and miles because I don’t have a lot of time, so I like to make it easy on myself. I don’t buy extra things, overspend, resell furniture or gift cards, or give up my Saturdays to go buy stuff in bulk and then sell it online for a profit.

I simply go about my life and spend wisely. I have chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most miles per dollar spent. Here it is:

How I Optimize My Spending with My Travel Credit Cards (Note: I also have all the co-branded airline cards but I rarely ever use those.)

Through all this, I earn a million or more miles per year. If it was really only 1 point/mile per dollar spent, then I would have to spend one million a year but that’s not the case. When I need to buy something, I do it online for bonus points through airline shopping portals (I recently got 6x American Airlines miles for my Macy’s shopping on top of my credit card points). Need something on Amazon? I buy a gift card from Office Depot for 5x points and then go through JetBlue for 3x more points. Buying a new computer? I’m off to get a new card to hit the minimum spending for the bonus. Got a few minutes? I answer some surveys for points.

I’m always earning multiple points per dollar spent. It’s rarely one to one. (Note: You can click here to see a more detailed breakdown of where I earn my million points/miles.)

I don’t view collecting points/miles as a cost because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a cost when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there are taxes and fees are included in the ticket that vary wildly among airlines (I’m looking at you, BA and Virgin), but it’s still cheaper than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these fees, so the cost of them using points is literally zero. Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.

If you want to travel more, points and miles have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they are an option). Even if it takes you are year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the cost of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel hack, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because travel hacking seems complicated, therefore it must be so. Actually, it is not.

In addition, travel hacking seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

“Credit cards a bad. The companies are bad. Never pay a fee. Your score is sacred, and doing things like this hurt it, and you’ll never get a loan.”

But that is just bullshit. It’s a myth perpetuated by….well, I don’t know who exactly, but people keep believing it.

You earn points and miles for everyday purchases you would have bought any ways and the perks outweigh the credit card fees. For example, with my $450 per year Chase card, I get:

$300 in airline credit

3x points on travel and restaurants (so I can earn points faster)

Global Entry ($100 every five years)

Purchase protection so I can get refunded if things I buy are lost, damaged, or stolen

A priority pass for lounge access (about $100 a year)

Trip insurance

My $49-a-year IHG card gives me a free night at a category 1-5 property (around $200 a night) and my American Airlines card comes with free checked bags, saving me hundreds of dollars a year!

Additionally, my credit score has only gone up because of this as now I have more credit and less debt as well as a good payment history. (And, as my friend Gary says, “What good is a credit score if you don’t use it?”)

If you pay your bills off each month and are reasonable with your money, not collecting points and miles is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

Free is the best word in travel.

When you don’t travel hack, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You aren’t hurting the banks or the airlines. They are in on the game.

In my view, travel hacking is something to be embraced. It reduces the cost of travel. You can do this in a lot of countries around the world! Even if takes you a year to earn a free flight, why not take the flight? One free flight is better than no free flights.

Anything that saves money and reduces the cost of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to travel hacking saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?

P.S. – If you want to learn more and figure out how to collect points and miles, click here to download the book I wrote on travel hacking. It will tell you how program work, what cards to get, give you step-by-step instructions, tips, tricks, and secret ways to collect miles.

The post Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Is Travel Hacking Really a Scam? http://ift.tt/2i7uP50