Presentation from the World Domination Summit (WDS) 2014 Travel Hacking Academy in Portland, OR

1. Travel Hacking Academy
WDS 2014
World Domination Summit 2014
#WDSTravelHacker
#WDS2014

2. @wanderingzito!
wanderingforgood.com!
#WDSTravelHacker
#WDS2014

3. #WDSTravelHacker
#WDS2014
The Travel Hacker Manifest

4. • There are bathrooms & emergency exits!
• Need help? Ask a volunteer!
• We’ll stop for two breaks !
• There will be questions! That’s great.!
• Use our Academy Hashtag & #WDS2014!
• Have fun & meet the people around you
#WDSTravelHacker

5. Strategize!
Earn & Optimize!
Go Amazing Places
The
Flight
Plan

6. take !
ACTION
Travel
Hacker
Action
Steps =

7. List
o’
Links
!
wanderingforgood.com/travelhackinglinks

8. ? ? ?

9. Travel
Hacker
Trivia

10. Travel
Hacker
Trivia
Hawaiian

11. Travel Hacker Trivia

12. Virgin America
Travel Hacker Trivia

13. #WDSTravelHacker
Travel
Hacker
Trivia
Qantas

14. #WDSTravelHacker
Travel
Hacker
Trivia
Qantas
Qantas

15. #WDSTravelHacker
Travel
Hacker
Trivia
Qantas
Qantas
OneWorld

16. Travel Hacker Trivia
#WDSTravelHacker

17. Travel Hacker Trivia
#WDSTravelHacker
Ethiopian

18. Travel Hacker Trivia
#WDSTravelHacker
Ethiopian
Star Alliance

19. What’s your
Frequent Flyer
IQ?!
#WDSTravelHacker

20. Fact or Fiction:
You have to fly a lot to earn a
lot of miles & points

21. Fact or Fiction:
Travel hacking is all about
cheating the airlines and hotels

22. Fact or Fiction:
You have to get a lot of credit
cards to be a successful hacker

23. Fact or Fiction:
Travel Hacking is only possible
if you live in America

24. Fact or Fiction:
Millions of miles expire every year
because they are so difficult to redeem

25. Fact or Fiction:
Lounge Access is only for the
elite

26. Fact or Fiction:
Traveling on a budget means
you’ll always be uncomfortable

27. Alliances

31. Starwood!
Hilton!
Hyatt!
Marriott!
Carlson!
Kimpton!
IHG!
A-Club
Hotel
Groups

32. Sign up for three airline
mileage programs - one
in each Alliance
(TIP: Start with United, American
and Delta if you aren’t sure)
Take
Action

33. Strategize!
Earn & Optimize!
Go Amazing Places
you
are
here

34. strategies!
goal setting!
Strategize

35. strategy & goals
help you prepare
for your travel
hacking journey
#WDSTravelHacker

36. 25,000 Miles

37. 40,000 Miles

38. 75,000 Miles

39. 100,000 Miles

40. 100,000 Miles

41. photo: Daz/Swan Man 140,000 Miles

42. “The only!
impossible journey !
is the one !
you never begin.”
-Anthony Robbins

43. Determine your first or next travel
hacking goal and write it down.!
!
Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day
Take Action

44. ? ? ?

45. Strategize!
Earn & Optimize!
Go Amazing Places
you
are
here

46. the best travel hacking
strategy is to optimize
your life so everything
you eat, drink, buy and
do turns to miles. “

47. Earn
&
Optimize
Ongoing Deals!
Promotions!
Purchasing Miles!
Credit Cards

48. Dining

49. Dining Dash

50. Extreme Dining
Bonuses

51. Shopping

52. Extreme
Shopping

53. Gift Cards

54. Combined Strategy

55. Register for at least one !
Dining Miles & Online
Shopping Mall program
ACTION
Take
Action

56. Banking

58. Surveys

59. Quick Tip
Surveys are one of the
quickest ways to keep
miles from expiring

60. Register with a
Survey Service that
Take Action
awards miles
Tip: e-rewards, e-miles or Opinion Miles are good
places to start - the links are on the resource page
Take
Action

61. Deals & Promotions

62. Deals & Promotions

63. Deals & Promotions

64. Deals & Promotions

65. Big Bonuses

66. cost
# of miles = cpm

67. Purchasing Miles

69. Deal
Tracking
Flyer Talk & Mile Point Forums!
!
BoardingArea Bloggers!
!
Hotel and Airline Email lists!
!
Travel Hacking Cartel

71. ? ? ?

72. Earn
&
Optimize
Ongoing Deals!
Promotions!
Purchasing Miles!
Credit Cards

73. take
a
break

74. Earn
&
Optimize
Ongoing Deals!
Promotions!
Purchasing Miles!
Credit Cards

75. Travel Hacker Trivia
Which airline has an
onboard shower in
their first class
cabin?
#WDSTravelHacker

76. Travel Hacker Trivia
#WDSTravelHacker
Emirates Which airline has an
onboard shower in
their first class
cabin?

77. Travel Hacker Trivia
Which airline is home based at airport code!
#WDSTravelHacker
DOH

78. Travel Hacker Trivia
Qatar Airways
#WDSTravelHacker

79. BIG
Credit Cards
Bonuses

80. Credit
Cards
Cards & Bonuses!
Credit Concerns!
Maximizing Miles!

82. Apply for Credit Card(s)!
Meet Minimum Spend(s) !
Earn Sign Up Bonus(es)!
Repeat!

83. www.cardsfortravel.com!

84. Types of Travels Credit Card
Airlines
Hotel
Flexible Rewards
Cash Back!
Business!

88. Banks with the biggest travel bonuses
The Banks with the Biggest Bonuses
Chase!
!
AmEx!
!
Citibank!
!
Barclays!
!
US Bank

89. International Credit Cards

90. One
Card
#WDSTravelHacker
Getting Started.

91. Basic Credit Card Strategy
Get Points and Go
#WDSTravelHacker

92. Koh Samui, Thailand
On a basic credit card strategy!

94. Advanced Credit Card Strategy
Get more cards and go further
#WDSTravelHacker

95. 75,000 Ultimate Rewards
First Class Lufthansa !
ADD-FRA-IAD-TPA

96. 90,000 AmEx
Membership Rewards
SQ Business Class: SFO-HKG-SIN

97. 22,000 Ultimate Rewards
1 night at Park Hyatt Tokyo!

98. Effect on Credit Score
Declined Credit
Annual Fees
Meeting Minimum Spend
Managing Multiple Cards
Which cards to keep?
Canceling Cards
Getting Business Cards
Bad for the Banks
Too many miles!
Credit Concerns

99. Meeting the Minimum Spend
Maximizing Existing Expenses
Coordinating Upcoming Expenses
Utilizing Business Expenses
Creating or Manufacturing Spend

101. ACTION
Make a friend and swap
Amazon Payments every
month.
Take
Action
Get your first credit card. If
you already use cards for
travel, make your plan to
maximize this year.

102. FREQUENT TRAVELER’S WARNING:
Your credit is an asset. Be responsible so
you can travel hack for years to come.

103. ? ? ?

104. Strategize!
Earn & Optimize!
Go Amazing Places
you
are
here

105. take
a
break

106. Strategize!
Earn & Optimize!
Go Amazing Places
you
are
here

108. FLYER!
FEUD

109. Elite Status & Lounges!
Award Charts!
Redemptions!
Go
Amazing
Places

110. Elite Status
Fast Track

111. Lounge access
is for the savvy.

112. Cards for Travel
Credit cards can get you into lounges

113. Special Promotions

114. Hacking
International Status

115. Premium Class
Awards

116. Where will you go?

117. A very rough guide to redemptions
25,000 miles = US Domestic Economy!
50,000 miles = US Domestic Business/First!
60,000+ miles = International Economy!
100,000+ miles = International Business!
125,000+ miles = International First

119. Award
Charts
Regional vs. Distance Awards!
!
Carrier vs. Partner Awards

120. Get familiar with the award
chart for your favorite
airline. Bookmark it.!
Take
Action

121. Simple: Earn on American,
Redeem on American!
!
Partner: Earn on American,
Redeem for partner flight on British
Airways!
!
Creative: Earn in Starwood,
Transfer to American, Redeem for
partner flight on British Airways!
Redeem
Award
Travel

122. Redeem High

123. cost
# of miles = cpm

124. actual !
cost of ticket
# of miles = cpm
redemption

125. Cost of Ticket
Cost of Mileage Redemption
67,500 American AAdvantage Miles + tax

126. !
$16,176
67,500 AA miles = .239
cents per mile

127. A Luxury Resource for Budget Travelers
Coming soon from Unconventional Guides!
www.chrisguillebeau.com/lux

128. You are NOT Standard

129. Redeem American
Fly International

130. The Cathay Wing
AAdvantage miles to fly Cathay

131. Singapore Suites
Double Bed
Photo: Singapore Airlines
United miles to fly Singapore

132. You can’t combine
miles in programs

133. Search
Research
Call Again
Award
Booking
Look Online
Call

134. Award Booking Tips & Tricks
Know the airport codes
Know the alternate routings
Isolate the problem segment
Book far in advance or close-in
Call the elite number
Put the itinerary on hold
Fly to a different city and hop
Book two one-way awards
Avoid high taxes
Book open jaws and stopovers

135. Travel
Hacker
Hot
Seat

136. Throw Away Tickets!
&!
Glitch Fares

140. ? ? ?

141. List
o’
Links
!
wanderingforgood.com/travelhackinglinks