travel for free

WDS 2014

World Domination Summit 2014

Travel Hacking Academy

#WDSTravelHacker #WDS2014

@wanderingzito! wanderingforgood.com!



The Travel Hacker Manifest

#WDSTravelHacker

• There are bathrooms & emergency exits!

• Need help? Ask a volunteer!

• We’ll stop for two breaks !

• There will be questions! That’s great.!

• Use our Academy Hashtag & #WDS2014!

• Have fun & meet the people around you

Strategize!Earn & Optimize!Go Amazing Places

The FlightPlan

take !ACTION

Travel Hacker Action Steps =

List o’

Links

!

wanderingforgood.com/travelhackinglinks

http://wanderingforgood.com/travelhacking

Travel Hacker Trivia


Hawaiian

Virgin America


#WDSTravelHacker

Qantas


#WDSTravelHacker

Qantas


Qantas

#WDSTravelHacker

Qantas


Qantas

OneWorld


#WDSTravelHacker


#WDSTravelHacker

Ethiopian


#WDSTravelHacker

EthiopianStar Alliance

What’s your Frequent Flyer

IQ?!

#WDSTravelHacker

Fact or Fiction:You have to fly a lot to earn a lot of miles & points

Fact or Fiction:Travel hacking is all about cheating the airlines and hotels

Fact or Fiction:You have to get a lot of credit cards to be a successful hacker

Travel Hacking is only possible if you live in America

Fact or Fiction:

Fact or Fiction:Millions of miles expire every year because they are so difficult to redeem

Fact or Fiction:Lounge Access is only for the elite

Fact or Fiction:Traveling on a budget means you’ll always be uncomfortable

Alliances

Starwood!Hilton!Hyatt!Marriott!Carlson!Kimpton!IHG!A-Club

Hotel Groups

Sign up for three airline mileage programs - one

in each Alliance

(TIP: Start with United, American and Delta if you aren’t sure)

Take Action


you are here

strategies!goal setting!

Strategize

#WDSTravelHacker

strategy & goals help you prepare for your travel hacking journey

25,000 Miles

40,000 Miles

75,000 Miles

100,000 Miles

photo: Daz/Swan Man140,000 Miles

“The only! impossible journey !

is the one !you never begin.”

-Anthony Robbins

Determine your first or next travel hacking goal and write it down.!

!

Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day

Take Action


you are here

the best travel hacking strategy is to optimize your life so everything you eat, drink, buy and do turns to miles.

“

Earn &

Optimize

Ongoing Deals!Promotions!Purchasing Miles!Credit Cards

Dining

Dining Dash

Extreme Dining Bonuses

Shopping

Extreme Shopping

Gift Cards

Combined Strategy

Register for at least one !Dining Miles & Online

Shopping Mall program

ACTIONTake

Action

Banking

Surveys

Quick Tip

Surveys are one of the quickest ways to keep miles from expiring

Take Action

Register with a Survey Service that

awards miles Tip: e-rewards, e-miles or Opinion Miles are good places to start - the links are on the resource page

Take Action

Deals & Promotions

Big Bonuses

cost# of miles = cpm

Purchasing Miles

Deal Tracking

Flyer Talk & Mile Point Forums!!

BoardingArea Bloggers!!

Hotel and Airline Email lists!!

Travel Hacking Cartel

Earn &

Optimize


take a

break

Earn &

Optimize



#WDSTravelHacker

Which airline has an onboard shower in their first class cabin?


#WDSTravelHacker

EmiratesWhich airline has an onboard shower in their first class cabin?


#WDSTravelHacker

Which airline is home based at airport code!

DOH


#WDSTravelHacker

Qatar Airways

BIG Credit Cards

Bonuses

Credit Cards

Cards & Bonuses!Credit Concerns!Maximizing Miles!

Apply for Credit Card(s)!

Meet Minimum Spend(s) !

Earn Sign Up Bonus(es)!

Repeat!

www.cardsfortravel.com!

http://www.cardsfortravel.com

AirlinesHotel

Cash Back!Flexible Rewards

Business!

Types of Travels Credit Card

The Banks with the Biggest Bonuses

Chase!!

AmEx!!

Citibank!!

Barclays!!

US Bank

Banks with the biggest travel bonuses

International Credit Cards

One Card

#WDSTravelHacker

Getting Started.

Basic Credit Card StrategyGet Points and Go

#WDSTravelHacker

Koh Samui, ThailandOn a basic credit card strategy!

Advanced Credit Card StrategyGet more cards and go further

#WDSTravelHacker

75,000 Ultimate RewardsFirst Class Lufthansa !ADD-FRA-IAD-TPA

90,000 AmEx Membership RewardsSQ Business Class: SFO-HKG-SIN

22,000 Ultimate Rewards1 night at Park Hyatt Tokyo!

Effect on Credit Score

Declined CreditManaging Multiple Cards Which cards to keep?

Meeting Minimum SpendAnnual Fees

Canceling CardsGetting Business Cards

Bad for the BanksToo many miles!

Credit Concerns

Utilizing Business Expenses

Maximizing Existing Expenses

Creating or Manufacturing Spend

Coordinating Upcoming Expenses

Meeting the Minimum Spend

ACTION Make a friend and swap Amazon Payments every month.

Take Action

Get your first credit card. If you already use cards for travel, make your plan to maximize this year.

FREQUENT TRAVELER’S WARNING:

Your credit is an asset. Be responsible so you can travel hack for years to come.


you are here

take a

break


you are here

FLYER!FEUD

Elite Status & Lounges!Award Charts!Redemptions!

Go Amazing Places

Elite Status Fast Track

Lounge access is for the savvy.

Cards for TravelCredit cards can get you into lounges

Special Promotions

Hacking International Status

Premium Class Awards

Where will you go?

25,000 miles = US Domestic Economy!50,000 miles = US Domestic Business/First!60,000+ miles = International Economy!100,000+ miles = International Business!125,000+ miles = International First

A very rough guide to redemptions

Award Charts

Regional vs. Distance Awards!!

Carrier vs. Partner Awards

Get familiar with the award chart for your favorite airline. Bookmark it.!

Take Action

Simple: Earn on American, Redeem on American!!

Partner: Earn on American, Redeem for partner flight on British Airways!!

Creative: Earn in Starwood, Transfer to American, Redeem for partner flight on British Airways!

Redeem Award Travel

Redeem High

cost# of miles = cpm

actual !cost of ticket# of miles = cpm

redemption

67,500 American AAdvantage Miles + tax

Cost of Ticket

Cost of Mileage Redemption

!

$16,176 67,500 AA miles = .239

cents per mile

www.chrisguillebeau.com/lux

Coming soon from Unconventional Guides!

A Luxury Resource for Budget Travelers

http://www.chrisguillebeau.com/lux

You are NOT Standard

Redeem American Fly International

The Cathay WingAAdvantage miles to fly Cathay

Singapore Suites Double Bed

Photo: Singapore Airlines

United miles to fly Singapore

You can’t combine miles in programs

SearchResearch

Call Again

Award Booking

Look OnlineCall

Know the airport codesKnow the alternate routings

Isolate the problem segmentBook far in advance or close-in

Call the elite number

Put the itinerary on holdFly to a different city and hop

Book two one-way awardsAvoid high taxes

Book open jaws and stopovers

Award Booking Tips & Tricks

Travel Hacker

Hot Seat

Throw Away Tickets!&!

Glitch Fares

List o’

Links

!

wanderingforgood.com/travelhackinglinks

http://wanderingforgood.com/travelhacking

travel for free

Travel

opinion miles

millions of miles

alot of miles

credit concerns

international credit

deals promotions

travel hacking academywds

travel hacking cartel