Travel Hacking Guide for Traders: Travel the World for Cheap

I love to travel. I've shared my experiences traveling to places like Hawaii, Poland and Estonia.

Since you want to learn to be a successful trader, you probably have a similar goal.

But why wait until you are a successful trader to travel?

You can get started with this right now and you don't have to be rich to do it. You just have to change your mindset a little.

It is all about figuring out how to collect miles in the normal course of your everyday life.  It is not only about collecting credit card miles either.

That is certainly part of it, but there are also many other ways to collect miles…

What is Travel Hacking?

The definition of Travel Hacking:

Travel Hacking is the process of accumulating airline miles, rewards points and using other strategies to make travel as cheap as possible. Airline tickets, hotel rooms and other travel expenses can many times be reduced to almost zero.

This post is only meant to be an introduction to the topic, so if you want to find out more, there are some resources at the end to help you get started.

Taking Surveys

The whole taking surveys for money is pretty sketchy. The way that it works is that you take a survey and are entered into a drawing for a cash prize. Of course you never win and it turns out to be a gigantic waste of time.

But taking surveys for miles has been different, in my experience. When you finish a survey, you get your miles, it's as simple as that. The number of miles that you get varies by survey, but I have received as many as 300 miles for one survey. Here is some of my recent experience with Opinion Miles Club.

It's not a ton of miles, but it adds up. Again, this is just one way that you can get miles without flying.  To get 350 miles, took about 20 minutes. If I had to get those miles through a purchase on a credit card, I would usually have to spend about $350, so it's not bad for a few minutes of work.

I have also been with E-Miles for awhile. They don't give out a whole lot of miles, but it can be worthwhile if you come across something that you were going to purchase anyway or a charity that you would like to support.

I've probably made about 1,000 with this website so far.

Credit Card Offers

You probably know this one already, but if you sign up for a new credit card offer, you can get 25,000 or maybe 50,000 or even 100,000, just for signing up.  Then every time you make a purchase you get a certain number of miles for each dollar spent.

This is not for everyone, you have to have the credit to be able to qualify for a card and you have to manage your balances responsibly. But if you can do that, the miles can add up very quickly.  Charge as many everyday items as you can on your card and use your cash to pay it back.

Mileage Arbitrage

Did you know that you can earn miles on one airline, then use them on a partner airline for a higher value? For example, US Air is probably one of the worst airlines in the world.

But they are very generous with their airline miles. They hold promotions a few times a year where you can really load up on miles for very little money.

But you are probably wondering why you would want miles on a crap airline.  Well, the reason is that US Air is part of the Star Alliance and you can redeem those miles with other partner airlines.  From what I've been reading, Asian airlines provide a better value per mile and are a good use of your US Air miles.  But do your homework because things do change.

Shopping Rewards

This method does not require a special credit card, just some planning.  Most major stores such as Best Buy and The Apple Store offer miles when you purchase through the airline website.

For example, I like to accumulate United MileagePlus miles.  So before I purchase something, especially a bigger purchase, I check the United MileagePlus site.  As you can see from the screenshot below, there are tons of opportunities to earn miles and you can earn 4 miles per dollar spent, or more.

There are also rewards programs that just require you to hook up your existing credit cards to your account and every time you purchase something from one of their partners, you earn miles.  It works for restaurants, gas stations and more.

Manufactured Spending

There is also a way that you can use your debit card (which has mileage rewards) to purchase cash equivalent cards, like AmEx BlueBird Vanilla Reload Cards.  Then you use your BlueBird account to pay your bills, or anything else that would not be easily paid with a debit card.

It can be a complicated and slightly risky process, so be sure to read up and understand the risks before you try it.

And More!

There are other methods of Travel Hacking that appear and disappear every day, so keep an eye out for new opportunities.  The resources below can be a great way to stay up to date.

Resources

Interested?  Here are some resources that can help you get started.

• Travel Hacking Cartel –  This is how I first learned about Travel Hacking.  It is a paid service, but it will help you stay on top of the latest opportunities.  If you join, you can also earn miles by referring people to join the site (like I do).
• FlyerTalk – One of the largest blogs and forums when it comes to Travel Hacking.
• Million Mile Secrets – Daraius Dubash has earned millions of miles and hotel points, without flying or staying in hotels.  Find out how he does it.

Conclusion

These strategies can earn you a lot of miles, but there is a downside. Do not spend more than you can afford, be sure to read the fine print and always, always pay off your credit cards so you do not get into debt.

When handled responsibly, you can take the vacations of your dreams without winning the lottery, getting a raise at work or being a baller trader.

It does take some time to learn these strategies, but once you do, it can open up a whole new world for you.  I'm just learning myself, but I'm just like you…I want to learn to trade so that I can see the world.  Travel Hacking can make the travel part easier.

To keep up with my travels, be sure to follow me on Instagram.