These are my favorite travel resources that I personally use for travel hacking or travel in general. As I come across new resources I’ll add them to this list.

 

Credit Karma

Credit Karma is my go-to source for staying on top of my credit score. It is free to make an account and they’ll send an email whenever there are changes to your credit report. I get asked a lot if checking your credit score through Credit Karma will bring down your score. The answer is no ????. Credit Karma is also helpful in the fact that it keeps track of the dates you opened each credit card, making it easier to count your Chase 5/24 status. Another thing I love about Credit Karma is you can file your taxes for free with them, which I did this year and it was so easy!

 

Travel Freely

Travel Freely is a great way to be organized and keep track of your credit cards, when an annual fee is due and when it is time to apply for another credit card.  It doesn’t take much time to put your information in but it will save you tons of time (and points) in the long run.  We like it so much we wrote a whole post about it!  Talk about a great travel hacking resource!

 

Award Wallet

Award Wallet also keeps track of all your points from your various loyalty programs in one place. It also keeps track when points are set to expire so you can make sure to use them or have some sort of activity to increase the life of those points. Award Wallet is free but they do offer a premium service as well. I personally like to use both tracking programs – they are the dynamic duo in my opinion and let me rest about my credit cards because they notify me about everything!

 

Autoslash

AutoSlash is my go-to for car rentals. I find the best prices when searching through them. AutoSlash automatically applies coupon codes and takes into account memberships and credit cards that may entitle you to more savings. They also have a feature that will track your booking and let you know if it drops in price. I also like to always check Costco Travel. Occasionally I will find a better price there.

 

Mobile Passport

Mobile Passport is an app for U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors to expedite entry into the United States. If you don’t have Global Entry (you can get a statement credit for it on some credit cards) then your next best option is Mobile Passport. The app is free and simple to use. Fill out your profile and then answer the questions from Customs and Border Patrol. Once you land in the U.S. go to the designated Mobile Passport express lanes. Not all airports are eligible for Mobile Passport. For a list of where it is accepted click on the link above.

 

Google

Okay so I know this isn’t some earth-shattering news here, you’ve all heard of Google! But what I want to share is how I use it. If I want to take a trip somewhere or am just curious about how it can be done on points I just ask Google. For example, if I want to go to Tahiti I would search in Google, “How to vacation in Tahiti on points.” I can also get more specific and ask specifically about flights or hotels. This has come in handy for me when looking into how to fly business class internationally. For example, I might search, “the best way to fly business class to London on points.” I come to Google with a lot of my travel hacking questions.

 

Visit A City

Visit A City is one of my favorite resources for travel for creating a trip itinerary. They take all the stress out of figuring out what to actually do on your trip. You’ll find thousands of itineraries to thousands of countries throughout the world for various lengths of time. Another great thing about Visit A City is that all of their itineraries are customizable. Once you have your itinerary you can send it to your email, view it on their free app, or print it out and take it with you. I love this resource!

 

Juicy Miles

I love Juicy Miles when I am trying to book a trip with award points.  I have to pay a small fee to use it for a few days but it is so worth it!  Instead of looking at several airlines, I just put my info in their system and they let me know where I should be able to find award travel and for how many points.  I was really having trouble booking a recent trip to Santiago, Chile and I tried Juicy Miles and had it booked within the hour.  I will be using them a lot more in the future!  They may end up being my favorite travel hacking resource!

 

Wikipedia

Another one that you had no idea existed, right?! ???? I use Wikipedia to look up where my airport (Salt Lake City International) takes direct flights and on what airlines. This is helpful to know if I want to take a quick weekend trip or have to position for a flight. Positioning for a flight is when you fly in and/or out of an airport other than your own, usually a bigger international airport. I do this when I can’t find availability from my home airport or the cost in points from my airport is crazy-expensive. I did this when I flew to Greece. To find this information for your home airport just look up your airport on Wikipedia and then go to the section on “Airlines and Destinations” and then “Passenger” underneath that.

 

Bottom Line

There are so many travel hacking resources out there!  Be sure and use them when planning your trip to have the best experience ever.  I always say that planning is a big part of the experience of travel – let’s make it easier!