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“We are going to Germany!” This was our first exciting attempt at travel hacking 10 years ago. We had family members getting married but didn’t have a whole lot of disposable income. With some research, we discovered that we could each get a credit card that would give us enough points to get to Europe. This left our limited income available to spend on European experiences. And obviously, as the photo below shows, we brought backpacks, because we weren’t about to spend money on luggage fees.
How did we travel to Europe?
- We opened two Chase Sapphire Cards with signup bonuses.
- We booked Economy Seats from PHX–CLT–CDG.
- For the route home, we booked economy seats from BCN-CLT-PHX.
- Then we traveled on the cheap in Europe, from Paris to London, London to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Barcelona.
We had no idea what we were doing and we thought the fact that we got free flights was the BEST THING EVER!!
And 4 years later when some friends decided to all go to Kauai together, we remembered our success and tried again. For Kauai, we all rented a house together, but Mr. BlessYourHack and I wanted to have a couple days to ourselves. This time our strategy got a little better.
How did we get to Kauai?
- First, we grabbed a Hyatt card which gave us two free nights anywhere. (Unfortunately, this is no longer a promotion).
- We used this for two nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai – I would stay there again in a heartbeat, it was a magical destination and is on my list of places to repeat someday.
- Next, we got a Hawaiian Airlines Card which gave us a signup bonus good enough for 2 flights.
- I hate flying but this was a really great experience. It was smooth and bright and comfortable. I highly recommend Hawaiian Air. Also, they have awesome snacks.
My brain didn’t understand the expansive possibilities with travel hacking yet, but this helped us dip our toes into the water, and I’m so glad that we were able to get these trips discounted and have these experiences. It was another 2 babies and 4 years before we started to try it again. This time, as a family of 5, on our way to Legoland! Learn more about how you can start this adventure by downloading our FREE Beginners Guide to Travel Hacking.
