When I first heard about travel hacking a few years ago, I would never have imagined how much free travel is possible!  Especially for me, a grandma who many would say would have a harder time learning new tricks!  But I have always been interested in learning and travel so travel hacking was the perfect fit for me since it promised free travel.  A few years ago I was a beginner travel hacker just like you trying to figure out how to do this from more complicated blogs.

Recently, I decided to look back on the trips I’ve made since I began and figure out how much they would have cost me if I’d paid for them.  One flight on Emirates from LAX to Dubai was $6,000 a person in business class!  I would NEVER have paid that of course so the amount I “saved” is relative.  However, even if I would never pay to sit in business class “normally”, it has become my norm through travel hacking!  International travel and long hours on a plane can be brutal,  but through this hobby, it is now enjoyable!

The trips I’ve taken in the last couple of years include:

• Thailand
• Greece
• Italy
• Vietnam
• China
• Dubai, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan
• Istanbul, Amsterdam, Copenhagen
• London (4 times)
• Chile
• Puerto Rico
• Maui
• Costa Rica
• Barcelona, Morocco, Venice

Sometimes I traveled with a friend or a family and we stayed in AirBnB’s or split a hotel cost.  A couple of times I went on a group tour.  Always my travel to these places was in business class and I only paid taxes and fees.  A few times I used points for hotel stays too.

Here’s the spreadsheet I did:

	Destination	Points/Miles	Amount	Notes
	China return	50,000 Alaska	$5,000	paid for economy plus to fly with friend over
	Thailand return	70,000 United	$5,000	paid for economy plus to fly with friend over
	Thailand Hotel	3 Free Hyatt Nights	$900	Earned with old signup bonuses
	Greece r/t	70,000 United, 70,000 Delta	$9,000	Flew United over, Delta back
	Dubai from LAX	140,000 Alaska	$12,000	2 people
	Egypt - London	47,000 British Airways	$1,700	2 people - transferred points from Amex
	London-home	114,000 American	$9,000	2 people
	London r/t	128,00 Delta/American	$6,000	Delta over, American back
	Vietnam r/t	150,000 Thank You points	$16,000	Flew EVA airlines
	Hotel Vietnam	Week Marriott certificate	$2,800
	Hotel Hanoi	IHG free night	$320
	London flight	70,000 American	$5,000	to London
	From Copenhagen	70,000 United	$5,000	From Copenhagen to Denver
	Istanbul hotel	3 free Ritz Carlton nights	$1,200	Signup Bonus nights
	London-Istanbul r/t	84,000 Life Miles	$2,000	2 people
	Santiago, Chile r/t	70,00 United; 70,000 Delta	$9,000
	Maui Hotel	3 nights Ritz Carlton anniversary nights	$3000
	Maui Hotel	1 night Wailea Beach resort -anniversary night	$550
	Maui Flights Business	40,000 Alaska, 65,000 Delta	$1700
	Flight to Barcelona Business	43,000 Iberia	$7000
	London to Denver	58,000 American	$10,600
	1 week in Marriott Haciend Belen hotel Costa Rica	Week Marriott certificate	$2800
	Total		$113,570

Did you read my total right?  It would have cost me over $110,000!!  Like I would have ever paid that much! I only paid taxes and fees and had some of the best experiences. I spent about 1.5 million and several free nights for all this fun!

You may wonder how I got so many United miles.  Up until a year ago, there were SPG points.  SPG merged with Marriott but before then my husband and I each had about every card both hotel groups offered.  Prior to the merge, you could use those points for Marriott’s Travel Package program (not as good of a deal now).  I was able to buy a week certificate at a Marriott and get 132,000 United Miles for 330,000 Marriott pts. I did this 3 times and had a TON of United points.

Bottom Line

If you haven’t thought that free travel was possible,  I hope I have shown you that travel hacking is real and DEFINITELY worth the effort.  Never, ever would I have had these travels and experiences without the things I’ve learned the last two years as a travel hacker.  What’s holding you back?  If I can have these experiences then you can too!  We are here to help the beginner learn how to travel hack – let us know how we can help YOU!