It’s a scam. It’s dangerous. It’s difficult. When it comes to “travel hacking,” there are a lot of negative opinions out there. Chris Guillebeau, founder of Travelhacking.org, has heard it all in his effort to teach the world how to travel for close to nothing. Here are just a few of the common myths Chris tries to dispel through his writing, speaking, and most recently, during his Becoming a Travel Hacker course on creativeLIVE.
You have to travel to earn points.
Nope! There are actually more opportunities to earn mileage points on the ground than there are in the air. From cashing in on credit card bonuses to hotel points to dining rewards, you can save money on your trip before you even begin traveling — and without interrupting your daily routine. Chris G earns over one million miles points per year, only 200K of those which are earned through purchasing tickets and flying.
Travel hacking is a sneaky way to take advantage of airlines and hotels.
Truth is, airlines, banks, and hotels invented these programs. Moreover, they continue to offer more and more bonus points and even better offers to their overgrowing clientele. Miles are a big business. In fact, some third party mileage programs make more money the actual airline. Travel hacking is a win, win situation for all parties involved.
You have to sign up for a lot of credit cards.
It might be easier to become a travel hacking pro with a grip of credit cards in hand, but it’s not essential. Forums like MilePoint and FlyerTalk offer easy ways to earn points without stepping into the potentially-dangerous world of credit card debt. Sometimes, taking a quick online survey can land you as many as 1,500 miles. Dining out through airline restaurant partners can also rack up miles and points. American Airlines even offers 1,000 miles just for signing up for their dining rewards program. Also, check out digital mileage malls that reward shoppers with bonus miles for making purchases such as EVReward. If you buy everyday products through one of these malls, you can get 2x, 3x, and even 5x miles on a purchase..
Travel hacking is an American thing.
The US mileage programs are much better than those found in other countries, but travel hacking is by no means exclusive to Americans. Anyone in the world can sign up for a frequent flyer program with any US airline. The only challenging restriction for those who live outside the US is the access to US credit cards that can offer great returns and bonus points.
