How to Afford Luxury Travel on One Income?
I get asked this a lot.
How can we afford to travel so often, so far, and so luxuriously on one income?
No, I’m not making millions of dollars.
No, I have not won the lottery.
No, I am not a scammer. (this is my favorite: one of my daughter’s friends asked her if I am a scammer because we travel so often 😂 And this is before she knew we usually travel in business class and stay in luxury suites.)
This is all thanks to travel hacking!
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Three Ways to Save on Travel
There are a few ways we save on travel:
Earning Points
I have several credit cards that earn me points I can convert into miles. See the breakdown below.
Basically, I use credit cards for ALL of my expenses. I literally have NO IDEA where my debit card is. Every time I use my credit card I earn at least one point per $ spent, in most cases, it’s more than that, and then I convert those points into miles and book business/first class travel with miles.
For example, my flight in Emirates first class cost me just $226 (just to compare – the 2012 Dom Perignon champaign served to me on the flight costs more than that).
Buying Miles
If I don’t have enough earned miles, there are several airlines that offer discounts on purchased points throughout the year. You can literally fly business class for the price of economy!
See our post on this here.
Hotel Perks
I also have two credit cards that grant perks at two of the hotel chains: Hilton and Marriott. More on this below.
My Credit Cards
If you use my referral links below, I will earn points too. Win-win!
American Express Platinum
This card has the highest annual fee but, if you use a properly, you can get it back in perks and then some.
The fee is $695 a year BUT you get the following:
- $200 in annual credit for airline incidental fees
- $200 in Uber cash for rides
- $200 in annual hotel credit
- $240 in digital entertainment credit
- $189 Clear credit
- $100 in statement credits annually at Saks Fifth Avenue
- $300 Equinox credit & SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit
- Reimbursement of application fees for TSA PreCheck ($78) or Global Entry ($100)
- Priority Pass Select membership ($299 value)
- Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection at airports
- Walmart+ membership ($155+)
Plus:
- Hilton Honors Gold status
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
- Premium status for a number of car rental programs
- Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts Program (benefits include daily breakfast for two, room upgrade upon arrival when available, $100 amenity, guaranteed 4PM late checkout, noon check-in when available, and complimentary wi-fi)
- Travel insurance
- And many many more perks
With Amex Platinum, you will earn 5 points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel and on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel, and 1 point on all other purchases.
The easiest way to earn points though is to get a sign up bonus. Currently, the bonus offer is 80,000 points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
BUT if you use my referral link, you will get 150,000 points!
If you travel several times a year, this is the card for you!
Chase Sapphire Preferred
If you don’t travel very often, but would like to earn points towards future travel, this is a great starter card.
The annual fee is $95.
With this card, you will earn:
- 5x total points on most travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 2x on other travel purchases
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- Plus, earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Use my referral link to earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months your account is open.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire
This card is a no-brainer for me.
The annual fee is $450 but you get $250 airline fee credit and $250 Hilton Resort credit, which more than offset the annual fee.
On top of that, you get Diamond Hilton Honor status and a free annual night reward (see a video tour of $800+/night Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills room we used one of our certificates for).
See our detailed post about Amex Aspire here.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express
This card is the newest addition to my wallet, so the jury is still out on it.
The annual fee is rather high at $650 which is partially offset by $300 dining credit.
The most valuable perks of Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card for me are Marriott Platinum status and free award night (I am yet to earn one).
You can learn more about the card and apply for it (and earn 95,000 points!) here.
