How We Saved Thousands $$ With Travel Hacking

As a former crazy couponer, I am no stranger to going to lengths for a deal. When you live on a budget, as we have for 20+ years, you have to get creative! So, I was intrigued by travel hacking but it always seemed overwhelming. Finally, a friend took me by the hand and showed me the ways (bless her!). 

Why Travel Hacking

We originally started traveling hacking to *finally* take the trip to Paris my husband and I had wanted to do for decades. That trip didn’t actually happen this fall, as my husband is going back to school, and we moved states. 

BUT, regardless that the dream trip didn’t happen yet due to life circumstances, I am so grateful we dove into travel hacking! The biggest limiting factor for most people when it comes to travel is money. Travel hacking gave us points, a travel currency we could use to travel more than we had before.

The biggest benefit was our sons do club sports. It’s an expensive world I never thought we would end up in. Many tournaments require hotel stays and flights. WE DIDN’T PAY FOR A SINGLE HOTEL OR FLIGHT for this club season. Any club parent will feel that to their bones – that’s HUGE. 

Whether you want to take more family trips, a dream couples vacation, or just not have to sell a kidney to pay for travel sports – travel hacking can be a game-changer!

How Much We Saved

The proof is in the pudding, so let’s talk numbers. Like, how much did this save us?  Well, here it is by the numbers. In 2024, with starting travel hacking 3 months into the year:

Points Spent this Year = 801,836
Which we used for (and it’s value if bought in cash):

Flights = $5,057

• Two round-trip tickets to Orlando, FL ($1,588)
• Two round-trip tickets to Indianapolis, IN ($1,451)
• Last-minute one-way flight from SLC to SMF ($342)
• 3 Round trip tickets from SMF to SLC ($1230)
• 2 one-way flights from SLC to LAX ($446)

Hotels = $2,774

• 3 nights in downtown Indianapolis hotel ($698)
• 1 night Marriot Walnut Creek Hotel ($175)
• 2 nights Clovis CA Hotel ($394)
• 1 night Marriot Pleasanton, CA ($190)
• 1 night Fresno, CA hotel ($142)
• 3 nights in Las Vegas hotel ($530)
• 2-night Yosemite Sutie ($645)

Total saved = $7831

Points we still have remaining = 482,909 (saving for a big family senior trip next year or maybe that trip to Paris finally)

We saved almost $8K in travel expenses and were able to say YES to things we couldn’t have otherwise, like a much-needed couples vacation to Yosemite.

So, the big question: HOW did I earn these travel points? How do you travel hack??

Follow an Expert

First and foremost, I am not an expert, follow someone who is. (Again, I had a personal friend who showed me the ways!) Here are some that I trust and learned from:

  a. Annie https://letstraveltalk.com/
  b. Katie https://katiestraveltricks.com/ – Her 3 year plan is fantastic!
  c. Travel Freely https://travelfreely.com/

You will be opening multiple credit cards.

Last year, between my husband and I, we opened 8 new credit cards. I know, that felt uncomfortable to me, as I was raised to avoid debt when at all possible. But, to be clear – I wasn’t in debt with these cards. I put them all on autopay, never paid any interest on them, and only used them to pay for things I normally would in life.

1. 1. WHY open so many cards? A lot of travel points can be earned by meeting the opening spending limit. Something like: “Spend $6,000 in the first 3 months and earn 75,000 points!”
   2. My husband and I also often took advantage of credit card referral bonuses. Meaning, I would open a card and then refer him to open it. When he did, I would get the referral points. You can do this with a partner, family member, or friend!
   3. → Did that ruin your credit?? NO. I pay off every credit card in full, using autopay. Using credit responsibly = Both of our credit has GONE UP = my husband and I’s credit scores are both currently around 820.

WHICH CARDS DO I GET?

These are two that *both* my husband and I have, which all the people I follow recommend as good “beginner” cards:

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Chase cards are really easy to use when it comes to travel points. They have 14 partners you can transfer points to, including Southwest, our favorite airline, and Marriott + Hyatt. Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 points. It has a $95 annual fee that we earned back 10x fold. 
2. Capital One Venture X Card – My husband and I both also have this one. Though it has a $395 annual fee, the $300 in travel credit almost cancels it out. Plus it has a bigger sign-up bonus, earn 75,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. I love that this card earns 2x points on EVERYTHING, helping you earn points faster. Great travel points for international travel too. 

Note: These are referral links. Thank you for using these links if you decide to get these cards – it supports me at no cost to you!

Make sure you are organized and keep track of your cards.

Again, I set up autopayments so I never forgot to pay off a card and never paid interest. I also recommend the app by Travel Freely, which helps you track what cards you have and more.

Don’t trade your credit card points for cash, they go so much farther with travel points!

Check out the resources from the travel experts for more on that one (see #1)

I can’t tell you enough how nice it’s been to have travel points to cover our sports travel needs as well as just be able to take couples or family vacations on a budget.

Good luck and happy travels!