Next week we’re finally going to launch the preboarding phase of my first major business project in nearly a year, the Travel Hacking Cartel.
On Monday I’ll tell you more about it, and on Tuesday we’ll offer a $1, 14-day trial to the first 1,000 people who manage to sign up. (After the preboarding phase, it will be available on a referral basis from existing members.)
But first! Let’s have some fun and give away a free trip.
I get a lot of questions about travel hacking, and many of them come from people who aren’t sure if it’s worth it. “Are miles really that valuable anymore? What if I don’t want to get a bunch of credit cards? If I don’t live in the U.S., can I still benefit?” Those are some of the questions that come up, over and over.
Last year I earned more than one million Frequent Flyer Miles, and I actually stopped pursuing most travel hacking opportunities while on my 53-city U.S. book tour.
Here’s an infamous screenshot of my April 2010 mileage balances from 10 accounts (I have a few others I haven’t linked in yet). Most of these miles were earned on the ground, without flying, and more than two-thirds were earned without credit card bonuses.
My Trips
Earning the miles is fun, but using them is even better. Last year I redeemed 400,000 miles for my big trips to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Cameroon, Thailand, the Maldives, and multiple repositioning flights between Europe and the U.S.
Next month I’m flying to the Mideast to begin a Round-the-World trip. I used AA miles to book my Business Class flights on British Airways and Royal Jordanian. Cash price: $4,500. Price with miles: $84 in taxes. On the way I’ll layover in Heathrow at the Sheraton airport hotel. Cash price: $220. Price with Starwood points: free.
You can also see the proof in dozens (probably hundreds now) of stories of our readers who have similar reports of success. Use Google, use Twitter, go and ask them yourself.
The cartel will be helping lots of people take plenty of free trips on a regular basis. But before we open the doors to the masses next week, I wanted to help someone from our broader community get a free plane ticket to their choice of destinations.
This weekend I’ll be giving away 25,000 miles—enough for a free round-trip ticket on most airlines—to one of our readers who can use it for a good cause. (And going on an adventure, visiting friends, or just traveling to a new city is a good enough cause for me.)
‘Free Trip to Anywhere’ Giveaway! Here’s How It Works
The 25,000 miles will be redeemed for a round-trip Economy ticket in the winner’s name, valid anywhere within North America, anywhere within Europe, anywhere within Asia, or anywhere within Australia/New Zealand. I’ll select the airline depending on the winner’s preferred itinerary, and it will be a major worldwide carrier (no budget airlines or Southwest tickets here).
The winner needs to:
a) Work with me to make the reservation with my miles (very easy; I’ll explain exactly what to do and it won’t take long)
b) Go on the trip within the next six months (because miles should be used, not hoarded)
c) Take pictures and report back to us with a blog post or video update when he or she gets back
That’s it. If you win, I’m giving you 25,000 miles, I’ll make the reservation for you, and I’ll even pay the taxes. (You’re on your own if you need to pay to check bags, or pay for anything else that comes up on the actual trip.)
Post a Comment to Enter
Please post a short comment on this post saying where you’d like to go and why. By entering the contest, you agree that you really will go on this trip if your entry is the winner.
Our usual biased judges, including my furry assistant Libby (and other more helpful friends), will select one person for a free trip. As the comments are posted, you can also “vote” for another entry if you’d like—but as with any benevolent dictatorship, the judges will have the final say.
That’s it! See you next week with more on the Travel Hacking Cartel… and good luck. The deadline for comments is Friday at 17:00 PST.
If the biased judges choose your entry, where will you use your free trip?
UPDATE: Thanks, everyone! We’ll announce the winner on Monday.
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Image: Robert
January 21, 2011
Rene
Hi Chris,
I would use this gift to travel with my Grandmother on one of her quarterly trips to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Tibet. My grandparents founded a Canadian non-profit that funds and runs 8 homes for orphaned and destitute children in the previously mentioned 4 countries. I have accompanied her on 3 trips and also spent most of the last year volunteering at two of the homes in India. She has a companion with her on every trip – but for some reason no one volunteers for the summer trip. Could it be the 120 degree heat or the 97 percent humiditiy? I am going for the third year in a row and your gift would surely help. I first need to fly from Seattle to Ottawa and from there I will fly with my Grandma to Chennai, India. There will be many flights to deal with and any money that I save will help go to fund more important things – like hundreds of childrens school books or new well in Gandhinagar. Thanks so much for this opportunity.
Rene
January 21, 2011
emily
Hi, my sister told me about your blog awhile ago and then sent me this link today because I am currently working extra jobs to save up to go to Kenya this summer. I went for the 1st time last year (I had never left the country) and the experience completely changed me. I am trying to go back b/c I am working on setting up a “micro-finance” type business where girls who live in this community can make jewelry, and I will sell it here. This will allow them the opportunity to learn economics & also provide for themselves. Currently, they live in a culture where they aren’t valued, and have incredibly limited educational opportunities. Here in the US, if we don’t score high enough on an exam, it doesn’t determine the rest of our life (usually) & we can also find other career paths. In this village, everything rides on an exam that the majority of them will not pass. I can explain more, but basically I am working to set something up that helps become self-sustaining & and provides options.
January 21, 2011
cs
OHello my non-conforming friend, the traveling genius & the inspirational guru responsible for sending kick-ass messages which are now incorporated into my being. With your messages at the forefront, you installed a govenor on my brain, preventing me from intellectualizing every single thing I do. Now I think with my heart. Intellectualizing every breath I took once justifed (to my sub-conscious un-mind) every action/decision made. JWhat I did not know BC (before Chris), was that I was paralyzed by fear. Now, AG (after Chris), I don’t have time for the bullshit of fear. I simply acknowledge it, but don’t let it interfere with my progress of living my short journey with the goal of living each moment for personal contentment. The simple enlightenment of my ‘feardom’ freed me of burdens previously unknown to my concsiousness. This freedom is direct result of following your lead. Your written, inspiring generosities have enabled me to walk a new walk, talk a new talk, & even wear a new
January 21, 2011
Neet
Hi Chris,
I think it’s super fantabulous that you are giving someone a chance to see the world, explore and perhaps find their own calling.
If we could all just travel, say hello, smile and break bread together, I genuinely believe we could change the world!
I want to do exactly that, if I win, I will go to Haiti on April 22nd for my birthday and perhaps take a few friends/family to volunteer with All Hands Volunteer organization and help the victims of the disaster in any way possible; but definitely by going to them, saying hello, smiling, listening and breaking bread together.
I am clear on my desire and will do everything to find a way to go and celebrate all that I have been blessed with in this life.
My inspiration comes from -”I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall never pass this way again.”
- Etienne De Grellet
January 21, 2011
Paula
Dear Chris, Libby and esteemed panel of biased judges,
I have had this crazy notion in my head for quite some time to travel around the world shooting video and taking photographs of children laughing and playing. I want to put it together in a presentation that could be shown in schools to teach kids that underneath our differences in language, customs and skin color, we share the same humanity. I would call it The Laughing Project, and would love to start in rural Southeast Asia. I am particularly interested Laos and Myanmar, but if you can get me as far as Bangkok, I will work out the rest.
Thank you for this monumental opportunity!
–Paula
January 21, 2011
Matthew Weilert
What a great launch gift Chris! Way to pass-it-forward
We’ve just launched (30Dec10) a B2B non-profit to transform the way risk gets measured & managed, to avoid another BP-like catastrophe. Your flight gift would cover our scheduled grad-student seminar at the Univ of Malta (launching our EU efforts) this coming mid-Feb 2011. As a full-EU member with thousands of years of heritage w/oil-producing North Africa, Malta holds a uniquely cross-cultural role that makes our efforts far more effective than launching anywhere else.
We’ll use the $avings on our TX/US launch seminar in Houston (Cameron Grad School) and our internship drives. I’ve put links to learn more in the URL box as requested
January 21, 2011
Diana
I have been traveling between California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.
I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee that hangs in there with me. I can’t afford to fly, because they require I buy 2 seats now. So I drive and do lots of thinking. I currently research resources for the disabled community. I also do a blog sometimes on the disability sites. It has opened up a whole new world for me since I have become part of that community.
I would love to go to the UK and learn more about how they have such great success with their disabled programs there and figure out how I could incorporate some of their ideas here.
Have small disability check, but willing to travel and make my own way. I have been to lots of strange places and met lots of strange people, but then there are the ones I meet who make it all worth while.
Throw away parent-2 sons in the Marine Corp who never call home. A 3rd one who has been supportive in helping me find somewhere I might belong.
January 21, 2011
Loren Sanders
I would go to Africa and do what is needed there to support a charity a friend of mine has.
January 21, 2011
Megan
I loved reading everyone’s comments!
I would like to go to Seattle to visit my best friend, whom I haven’t seen in four years as I’ve been living abroad. I miss my friend!
January 21, 2011
Chelsea
Hey Chris – to echo many of the comments already left, thank you for the opportunity you’ve presented for so many people. Even though most of us won’t actually ‘win’, it got us all thinking about what is possible in one little trip – and hopefully most of us will take the trip anyway.
I for one would want to use the miles to visit New Orleans. I’m an aspiring playwright and fiction writer, and have spent the last year and a half fundraising for and producing my first full length play – it’s up and running now and, though I’m proud of it in a way, I’m realizing how easily narcissistic, draining and limiting being consumed by your own work can be if you don’t keep perspective. So, New Orleans is someplace I’ve always wanted to go – someplace completely different from my home in Los Angeles – a place rich in many ways. I’d use the trip to refill my creative cup, so to speak, and give back if I can – there are many organizations who take volunteers (voluntourism?) for a day or two.
January 21, 2011
Jeff F
I am wanting to go to this Cultivating Emotional Balance Teacher Training 5-week program in Phuket, Thailand this June/July. It is being taught by Paul Ekman and David Wallace, two leading psychologists/researchers on emotion research in the world. Not only do we get certified as a CEBT trainer, but it is basically a silent meditation retreat (we get free days to roam around Phuket on Sundays) where we get to learn and work on ourselves as well.
I got accepted into the training program, and have enough saved to pay for it, but the plane ticket to there would really help me out so much!
I plan on using the training to help my friends, family, and others develop themselves and maximize their potential to live full lives.
January 21, 2011
Ninjamind
Hi Chris,
Thank you for the trip opportunity. It seems it is just for certain regions. If the offer is open for North America to South America, I would journey back to Iquitos, Peru to follow up and do video stories on two individuals I met there, one, The Gringo Shaman and, two, an Australian female who is starting an animal refuge and is marrying into the Bora tribe, not to mention, she swims with crocodiles and is missing a limb because a crocodile bit it off…. So, Iquitos, Peru would be my choice. I can report from the field via video and the written word. Thanks–CJM
January 21, 2011
penny
My dream trip will be Tokyo and I am short of the 25000 points for the 120,000 points with Delta trip in June. I will be taking a trip with my family and there are 4 people in the party.
January 21, 2011
cs
My gratitude to you is pre-entry boundless.Your written, inspiring generosities.. even wear a new face! People think I’m in love. I tell them about you. Chris, I need to go to CO. I’ve benefitted from journaling since79, but bloggng following your lead for 45 days has changed my life. I need to know what I am so f..ing scared of. Have a caring friend of > 30 yrs. in CO. Her middle name is no BS. She cares. I need time, a safe place, & chg of scene-get my ‘zone’on for AC style blogging . Need to be alone, yet know that a caring is nearby. My heart needs to feel safe to detox. Progress slow here. I’ve been my mother’s primary caregiver since 02stroke. I’m wiped out – emotionally, financially, phys.etc. She’s nursing hm now. I visit often & fight for her rights. Have left town 1x (2nts) since 02. No sob story, just fact. I need to clr my head, go away & write w/o interuption. Yes, I REALLY could & would go. CO or any beach would be fine. Serenity is in the water. You’re extraordinary!
January 21, 2011
Helen DeN
Madeira Island, Portugal.
Two simple reasons:
It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I have the most beautiful family there.
I haven’t seen them in 20 years.
It’s time for an extended visit, fado music, freshly caught fish, palm trees and orchids, all in Europe! Espresso and custard cakes. Boisterous family dinners and cake for breakfast. Ahhhh….does life get any sweeter?
January 21, 2011
Margaret Doyle
Awesome idea! I had a friend for 2.5 years and the night before he was to move to Washington, DC we kissed. And voila! Love! Fireworks! Long-distance relationship! I live on the west coast of Canada and haven’t been practicing the magic of flying on miles (yet:)) and would *treasure* a chance to visit DC. I would definitely love to blog about it, because I’ve also fallen in love with that city! I feel like I didn’t seize the day so to speak for a few years, and when I saw your contest I thought, yes! Carpe Diem, so thanks for that.
January 21, 2011
Kristin F
Ahhh non-conformity. Yes!
I’ve spent 2 years dissolving boxes I was trying to think out of.
Reforming, reshaping, my life, energy, thoughts and deeds, into circles
of which I now understand must be spirals. Flow.
So easy to get stuck in the mire of my own mind.
Blame it on brainwash, but no, no blame, no victim mentality! I choose!
I choose to change, grow, evolve.
I choose to walk away from cubicle, corporate brainwash at the price of bankruptcy.
Bank-rupture or brainwash. I choose.
I choose simple living others label poverty.
I choose India in free-fall flight to recognize abundance in the face of real poverty.
I choose India for harsh and beautiful lessons of compassion, fear, strength, vulnerability.
I choose India. There is not a penny to my name but India will happen.
I choose India. To awaken, empower and share translations of being alive, awake and aware in words.
I choose India and she chooses me and so does the cat!
January 21, 2011
Noel Scheaffer
I would like to visit my friend Seward whom I met in Monrovia, Liberia in the summer of 1994. We have kept in regular contact since then and I would love to go visit him. However, I am not exactly sure where that would be. He is residing in Dakar, Senegal. However, he occasionally goes back to Monrovia for extended periods of time.
It was good to see you on the book tour in Sioux Falls.
January 21, 2011
Melba
I’ve always wanted to go to All Tomorrow’s Parties, a festival that showcases alternative and amazing music. This event is also unique in that provides an intimate environment for fans and artists to interact, undermining the partition between the two groups, allowing for the creative energy to FLOW.
The one my heart is set on will be curated by Portishead this July in London. As a female electronic musician and media artist this kind of experience would be extremely meaningful to me.
Oh, and I hope would be more than happy to video blog the entire thing!
http://www.atpfestival.com/events/ibymportishead.php
January 21, 2011
ocean pleasant
Dear Chris,
My name is Ocean. I’m 13, and ever since I was little I’ve always known that I was sent to this world to make it a difference and help change lives. My close friends are founders of Strongheart (strongheartfellowship.com). I want to go to Liberia, West Africa. I’m raising money, throwing fundraisers and doing service work to be able to afford the trip. I will spend a month this summer teaching these orphans of war to read, write, do yoga, and believe in themselves to help them transform their lives. Most of these kids are orphaned, abused or disfigured by war. They are chosen for the program based on their “inner resilience” that has set them apart as remarkable potential leaders despite their conditions (I took that from the website).
My friend alley is 12. Her mom is the co-founder. We stayed up sewing soccer jerseys for their team. She leaves Saturday to volunteer for a month in Liberia. Their team goes back this summer. I plan on being with them. thanks, Ocean.
January 21, 2011
Kyle
My dream is to go take my husband to Australia because we always go on trips to places where I want to go and that’s his one dream destination (that we have never hit because we never have money ((bam! double parentheses! and we never have money because he always lies and says he’d rather travel to my dream destinations)).
January 22, 2011
Jennie
3/4 of the way done, please help us finish!
Aloha Benevolent Dictator and Libby,
My husband and I have traveled a lot as we’re both in the military, but we rarely travel together and we haven’t yet made it all the way around the world. However, we’ve made plans to complete our circle together by taking the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia when we move back to the United States from our current home in Japan this fall. However, to make it happen, we have to take our beloved cat home to the United States first and that, Benevolent Dictator, is what we would use the miles for. Please, help a kitty out.
Very Respectfully, Jennie, Joey and beloved cat Bailey Boo
January 22, 2011
Sage Rabe
Hi Chris!
This is so cool. I’m coming to meet you in approximately thirteen hours in Vancouver, but back to the topic at hand…
My dream trip at the moment is Australia. My mother was born there and lived there for twenty eight years. My grandparents married in Vancouver and their honeymoon was a trip to NSW, but they loved it so much they stayed. I’d like to reconnect with my roots there, a family history pilgrimage of sorts.
I have also never been somewhere hot, and I hear that Australia packs some heat, LOL.
If thats too far, a trip to Montreal would be FANTASTIC, as I hope to move there within the next year, but I have to make sure I actually like the city, and confirm what everyone tells me: Culture, Arts, Beautiful city. I want to learn french, see, and work in a little bookshop and write.
You know what the best thing would be?
If you randomly picked a country and gave me the points to go there. I like surprises.
Thanks for your blog and life inspiration Chris!
Sage
January 22, 2011
Tony Kwan
All over South America. The continent was built for the traveler. Inca Trail of Peru, Salt Flats of Bolivia, Patagonia in Chile, Riverboats of the Brazilian Amazon- I want to see it all! I am planning to spend 4-5 weeks backpacking after I graduate from business school this coming May. It will also give me a month of contemplative vagabonding to decide whether to go into a pre-signed, cushy office job or do the ‘unconventional’: take the plunge, and go for broke. A crossroads indeed.
For those interested, I will be blogging about the experience!
January 22, 2011
Gary
Vietnam! A year ago, I returned to Australia after living in Europe for more than a decade. After spending so much of my recent life travelling to different northern hemisphere countries every couple of months (because you can so easily when you live in Europe), one of the attractions of moving back to Oz was to do more exploring in my ‘home’ half of the globe.
While thinking about this on the plane to Sydney, the one country that kept popping into my mind was Vietnam. I have scratched the surface of that amazing part of the world with a great Tet festival in Hanoi and a wander through the tribal villages of Sapa and can’t wait to return – source of some of my favourite travel photos and experiences!
And I haven’t got an airline ticket magneted to the fridge – and everyone should always have that.
January 22, 2011
Gail Ghouse
I would love to visitKathmandu in Nepal and see the missionary I was going to dedicate my life to before life took over. It is my dream to stil work in the missions and help, learn and experience life as it really is. xx thank you Chris for considering me xx
January 22, 2011
Joey
Hi there,
I’m 15 and from Cleveland, OH. I would love to travel to England, and this seems like a great opportunity for me to be able to do that. I’ve been to Canada before, but never outside of North America. I’ve taken trips to cool locations in the west with my parents in the past few years, like out to Boulder, CO surrounding areas, and those places were a treat to see. After getting out of my initial comfort zone and seeing those cool sites out west, I feel like traveling outside of the United States would be an amazing growth experience for me. Thank you for this opportunity. You are loved.
January 22, 2011
Ayna Ray Garcia
wait wait! Which FRIDAY is the deadline?
For what it’s worth- here’s my need and desire: I need to make a dream come true before I turn 40. That dream is to make a movie, the script of which I’ve written using my store of 30-something experiences. My problem is, my director-of-choice and personal inspiration, lives and works in Karachi. I need to fly him to Cebu so that he can direct my anti-mid-life crisis movie a dream come true. I am putting my life’s savings and some of my parents into this show (a whopping 10K USD haha) and it’d really help me to be able to fly my director out here for free. This would mean I could put more towards all else that my movie needs. I am using my own camera, but I still need to worry about other equipment and production costs. We are shooting in a country where 1 US dollar equals 44 Pesos – this is agreat exchange rate which moves me past no-budget to somewhat-extremely low budget. I can do this…lights? camera? action?
January 22, 2011
cin
i would vote for Liesl, the girl who wants to go to haiti for the reforestation/water project. she has my vote because helping others while learning your lessons and getting experience in life is where it’s at.
i would go with her, but i have 2 doggies who have separation anxiety, so i can only go where they allow dogs. so i would go to somewhere in south america. maybe i can find a project to work on down there! i know i gotta get out of this country, just for a reality check! (everyone should do it, we are so brainwashed in this country, it is unconscionable to NOT travel and find out what’s really going on in the world)