How to Get Free Airfare and Hotel Rooms

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G E T N O M A D I C M A T T ’ S T R A V E L H A C K I N G G U I D E

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A QUICK GUIDE

by NOMADIC MATT

TRAVEL HACKINGto

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Brought to you by NOMADIC MATT

What is TRAVEL HACKING?

...the technique of legally collecting loyalty points for travel programs and then gaming said programs to obtain free or severely cheap travel.

You can summarize TRAVEL HACKING as...

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When someone says they are a

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LOYALTY-OBSESSED

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GETTING REWARD POINTS,

LOYALTY-OBSESSED

MILKING THE SYSTEM,

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LOYALTY-OBSESSED

TRAVELING FOR FREE!

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LOYALTY-OBSESSED

MILKING THE SYSTEM,

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FREE *+ !"# b#+! ,*'-

OF TRAVEL!

are like money.

Miles(what airline

points are called)

Points(what

everything else is called)

✈ 2 5 0 0,

There are hundreds of loyalty programs in existence — just about every major travelbrand you can think of offers one.

The more “money” you have, the more free or discounted

travel you can “buy”.

You do all you can to collect money right?

Well, collect miles and points the same way!

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You do all you can to collect money right?

How do LOYALTY PROGRAMS WORK?

LOYALTY PROGRAMS are designed to reward consumers for their continued patronage by offering them perks, special discounts, upgrades, and added points for every dollar spent that can be redeemed for freebies.

The idea behind these programs is that if you work hard to collect all these points, you’re less likely to switch to another company, since you would have to start all over again.

How do the HOTEL PROGRAMS WORK?

With hotel loyalty programs, you only earn points and status when you book directly through the hotel. For example, if you stayed at the Hilton but booked via Expedia or Hotels.com, you won’t earn points from your booking or have the stay count towards elite status.

With hotel programs, the more nights you stay, the higher your elite status, which earns you:

‣ Later check-outs‣ Free Wi-Fi ‣ Breakfast‣ Room upgrades

How do the AIRLINE PROGRAMS WORK?

With airline programs, elite status gets you upgrades, priority boarding, priority check-in, lounge access, and dedicated customer care lines. Also, the higher your elite status, the more bonus miles you earn when you fly. You can earn between 25% and 100% bonus miles, helping you to get free flights faster.

To gain status and benefit, you need to actually fly. Miles gained through non-flying means (i.e., credit card purchases) don’t count towards status. But it doesn’t matter where you book your flight, whether it’s with the airline directly or through a website like Kayak!

How to Gain Points: TRAVEL CREDIT CARD BONUSES

CREDIT CARD BONUSES are what makes travel hackingpossible on a grand scale. Since the United States is a credit card-hungry nation, competition for customers is fierce and, as a result, the card company partners often offer sign-up bonuses of up to 100,000 POINTS!

Thanks to bonuses, these are SOME of the goodies I’ve earned:★ 500,000+ America Airlines miles★ 100,000+ British Airways miles★ 150,000+ Hilton HHonors points★ 200,000+ Chase Ultimate Rewards points★ 4 free nights at the Marriott★ Citibank points for two free flights to Europe

and $300 USD cash★ A dozen free nights at Starwood Hotels★ Free first-class ticket from London to China

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It’s important when travel hacking with credit cards to come up with a plan to direct your efforts. For example:‣ If you are a really loyal flier with

American Airlines, then the best cards to start off with would be the Citi American AAdvantage card or the Starwood Amex since you can transfer points to your AA account.

‣ If you just want points to spend wherever you choose, get the Chase or American Express cards because you can redeem their points with a variety of companies.‣Want free hotel rooms? Sign up for

the hotel brand-specific cards.

By focusing on what you want first, you maximize your time and efforts.

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BESTCREDIT CARD

Look for the cards that offer the following things:‣ A huge sign-up bonus – Always get

a card with a high sign-up bonus of 35,000 points or more.‣ Additional category bonus –

Good credit cards will give you extra points when you shop at specific retailers, or, if it is a branded credit card, with a particular brand.

‣ Low spending minimum – In order to claim the large bonuses, you must make either a single purchase or meet a minimum spending threshold in a certain time frame. I typically sign up for cards with a minimum spending of between $1–2,000 USD in a 3–6 month period.Many fees for company branded credit cards range from $50-$95 per year but most are waived the first year.

RISKS a

A lot of people worry that signing up for numerous credit cards will hurt their credit score. It’s a valid concern.Your credit score is determined by a lot of factors. What really matters is your overall history:

‣ Do you pay your bills on time? ‣ Do you have a good debt-to-credit ratio? ‣ Have you had cards for a long time?

While getting a lot of cards at once, hurts your credit, you bounce back and if you have a lot of available credit but very little debt, this will count even more to a good credit score.

Travel hacking actually makes your credit better.

How to Get Points: WITHOUT CREDIT CARDS

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‣ Everyday spending – If you already have a credit card with rewards, the first thing you should do is put all of your purchases on that card.

‣ It’s such a simple thing but it’s worth it; every dollar spent off your card is a point lost. I never pay cash unless I have to. If you spend $3,000 a month, that equals 36,000 points earned per year without spending anything more than you already do.

‣ Use the airline shopping portals – All airlines, hotels, and travel brands have preferred merchants.

‣ These companies—ranging from clothing retailers to sporting goods stores to office supply businesses and everything in between—partner with the airlines’ special shopping malls. By ordering online through the airline’s website, you can earn additional points.

‣ Sign up for newsletters – I sign up for all the airline newsletters, as well as those for credit cards, so I can stay updated on special fares, deals, and offers. Many of the best deals in the world are only sent via a newsletter and if you don’t sign up, you’ll never know. Recently, I earned triple miles for three months on my Citi American Airlines AAdvantage card through an alert sent to me via e-mail.

‣ Take surveys – Every little bit counts and for signing up for surveys, liking Facebook pages, and more, many companies offer 250–2,500 points.

‣ Dining Rewards Programs – Nearly every loyalty program in the world offers a dining rewards program. You simply sign up, register your credit card, and receive points when you dine at select restaurants within the network.

‣ Stay up-to-date on bonus offers – Be sure to constantly check for bonus offers on airline websites.

‣ Paying your taxes online – For as little as a 1.88% fee, you can gain miles easily. On a $10,000 tax bill, that’s only $188 and if it helps you meet the minimum spending on, say, 2 cards with a 50,000 point bonus offered on each, then for $180 extra dollars you unlock 110,000 points!

How to Get Points: FAKE SPENDING

Can’t make those minimum spending requirements? Don’t spend much? Want to jump start your spending? Here’s how to (legally) fake your spending!

‣ Amazon Payments – Lets you send up to $1,000 per month to anyone for free! Find a friend who also has an Amazon Payments account, use a credit card to send them $1,000, they cash it out, write you a check, and you pay off your card!

‣ Gift Cards – Purchasing Visa and MasterCard gift cards is one of the best ways to manufacture spending because you can buy as many of these as you want. Most Visa and MasterCard gift cards are PIN enabled, making them easy to cash out via cash back at the grocery store register, money order purchases, or Amazon Payments – pretty much any way a debit card could be used.

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,)- +) w&"( "(#0? CASH THEM OUT WITH A

BLUEBIRDACCOUNT!

Bluebird is a reloadable, prepaid card launched by American Express and Walmart. It’s one of the greatest tools for manufactured spend because it is relatively inexpensive to use, has many ways to withdraw your balance (to pay off the credit cards you used to fund it), and has a much higher limit than Amazon Payments. With Bluebird, you can load up to $5,000 per month.

THE BASIC STRATEGY IS: 1. Buy $5,000 in gift cards using a travel

credit card from your favorite store, preferably one that has a bonus like 5X on office supplies or 3X on groceries.

2. Load the gift cards onto the Bluebird card.

3. Use your Bluebird account to write a check or just tell Bluebird to make a direct payment to your credit card issuer to cover the bill.

USING YOUR MILES!

Now that you have gained all those points, it’s time to use them. First, let’s discuss the three award types:‣ Zone- or Category-Based Awards –

the majority of airlines and hotels have fixed-cost award charts. Hotels are grouped into categories, while most airlines use zone-based award charts that place more emphasis on where you start and stop than how you get there or what the real ticket price is.

‣ Distance-Based Awards – a few frequent flyer programs focus on the distance traveled and ignore where you start and stop. Two major examples are: – ANA (All Nippon Airways, a

Star Alliance member) – British Airways’ Avios

(a Oneworld member) The miles used depend on how far you are traveling. The longer the route, the more miles you use.

‣ Fixed-Value Awards – finally, fixed-value award charts assign a specific value to their points and treat them like cash. There is no way to game these systems. But they can be useful when no other option is available or when the flight happens to be relatively cheap. Examples:– Capital One– Barclays

TRAVEL HACKING CAN BE COMPLICATED. It’s not the easiest thing to

understand since there are many different programs and they are

constantly changing.

B-" "r!v#$ (!'/&%. w&$$ 0!/# YOUR LIFE EASIER,

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,)-r TRAVEL GOALS ATTAINABLE,

YOUR LIFE EASIER,

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TRAVEL GOALS ATTAINABLE,

YOUR LIFE EASIER,

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MONEY )% "(# "!b$#. S"!r"

TODAY!

Learn everything you need to know to take your dream trip for FREE:‣ How to use the world’s best booking site ‣ How to earn points without a credit card ‣ How to pick the right credit card ‣ How to redeem miles

MORE IMPORTANTLY, you’ll get 80 pages of tips for understanding airline loyalty programs so you can become a travel master and go anywhere you desire!

GET THE BOOK!

Nomadic Matt is an American travel expert, author, and blogger. His blog, receives more than 650,000 unique visits a month. His writing has been featured in the The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, The Huffington Post, and The Guardian.

NomadicMatt.com