So many have approached me and asked how we travel so much without spending any money- and how they can do it too. This is a HUGE question that doesn’t have just a short, easy answer. So I thought it may be beneficial to put together a guide of the basic steps I follow when planning our trips. Luckily, for me, planning the trip is almost as much as going on it! I love putting together all the little details. But in case that seems a little overwhelming, or you’re just looking for some tips on where to start, read on.
#1. Figure out where you want to go.
Your destination will effect a number of planning aspects to free travel. Different airlines have different mileage requirements for different destinations (read about that here). For example, my advice would be far different for someone looking to travel around Europe, to someone looking to travel around Asia, to someone looking to travel within the U.S.
Feel free to check out my bucket list for any ideas on my dream stops! My biggest advice would be to determine what kind of travel is your style. We loved our weeks in Europe last year but quickly learned that we would rather go for outdoors and adventure type travel rather than sightseeing and visiting churches/castles/museums.
#2. Decide on WHEN you want to go.
This affects everything. If you’re looking to go to Bali, you probably want to make sure you avoid rainy season there (November-March). However, this could be prime time for visiting Australia where summer runs from December to February. Europe in the summer can be great, but you may be able to find some deals for visiting in the off season as well. If you have a school schedule to work around, that will obviously play a factor as well.
#3. Educate yourself on the airlines
Do a quick comparison of some of the major airlines (I usually check United, Delta and American Airlines) to see how many miles you would need to reach your destination you have in mind. Figure out which ones could work best for you to get to your dream location. Also, do any of the airlines have off season cheaper offers? If so, which ones and when?
Check availability if your dates are coming up sooner rather than later. Remember, these award seats go fast. So your exact dates may not work if there’s nothing available on the airlines then.
#4. Look at Current Credit Card Offers.
Before you become 100% sold on the airline you want, check the current offers out there for credit cards. If there are two airlines who are both pretty similar in mileage availability and requirements, one may be offering a significantly higher credit card bonus than the other. For instance, last year one of the American Airlines cards came out with a 100,000 mile offer! That right there was enough to get me using American Airlines.
Decide which credit cards to go for and apply for a couple! Do the same for your spouse as well if you’ll be traveling together.
#5. Check Hotel prices and award options.
Hotels have a LOT more flexibility when it comes to using points for them. There are usually quite a few rooms available for booking, even just a week or so ahead of time. I don’t worry about these nearly as much as flights.
Currently, Hilton is the only hotel chain I earn points with. I usually check on their prices for hotels in the area I’m going to. If it’s on the cheaper side (20,000 points or less) I tend to book. If it’s more than that, I usually find a cheaper hotel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and use my chase points through there. Or if the hostel route is also an option sometimes I book those with my Barclay World Arrival Plus card and get reimbursed for it later.
#6. Local Transportation
While I also book free rental cars using my Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, unfortunately trains don’t qualify for this. They make work with your Barclay World Arrival Plus instead, but you would have to check on that. We used the Eurail while in Europe last year and that was paid for out of pocket. In Asia, flights around the different countries are pretty cheap- so I would probably book those with Barclay World Arrival Plus miles as well. A lot of times local transportation ends up being one of the biggest costs to us. Subways and buses can add up but when everything else is free, that isn’t too bad.
Of course you will have to pay for your food while traveling as well- we tend to buy from grocery stores a lot while on the road to help save money and eat out at restaurants on occasion. But that is completely personal preference.
Parting words: PLAN AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE. This way you can get the best deals possible. I arrange our itinerary as well before booking anything. I would hate to get our flights booked and then find one more “have to see” sight that I can’t bear to miss- yet not have enough time for it. I do almost all of my itinerary research online- through blogs, Pinterest and just general google information. So if you’re considering a trip, start on it NOW!
Fire Round the World 