Bertaut, my better half, is the travel hacking expert in our family. His knowledge on using credit card points, miles and reward programs saved us over $270,000 in 2.5 years of traveling. His ADHD brain is full of secrets to save money on travel. One of our most impressive travel hacking feats was our family vacation to Japan and Singapore, where we spent $1.4K on over $75K worth of luxury hotels and flights. Check out our travel savings reports to see the savings breakdown and photos of the premium flights and luxurious hotels we’ve stayed in for free (or for a fraction of the normal cost)!
Travel hacking 101
Our friends, family, and readers are always picking our brains about our travel hacks. Everyone wants to know how we can afford to travel so much, stay in gorgeous resorts for free, and fly first class for practically free. More importantly, they want to know how they can do it too. Sure, it’s nice to look at our travels for inspiration and all, but we want to go a step beyond inspiring you to travel. We want to teach you how to afford luxury travel for less. If we can do it, you can too!
We are very passionate about traveling. Nothing gets us more excited than inspiring others to travel more and teaching them how to travel (in luxury) for less! We love getting into conversations about travel hacking and pointing people in the right direction, whether they are beginner travel hackers or seasoned pros looking to trade the best tips. Since Bertaut is much more knowledgable in this subject than me, I often refer people to him for the best travel hacking advice. Bertaut has been known to sit poolside on vacation and talk best award redemptions for hours. He’s also a fun guy to sit next to on an airplane. If you get him started on best travel credit cards, prepare to chat for hours! LOL!
However, there are so many hours in a day to have these conversations. We occasionally do need to sleep, eat, take care of our kids, and work that pesky “real job.” 😉 Since we’re not available 24/7 to chat about travel hacking tips and tricks, we’ve found a solution. No, I didn’t really clone my husband, although, not gonna lie, sometimes I wish I could.
Not a bad place to trade travel hacks!
Meet Marty- our travel hacking robot
So, we’ve created Marty, the next best thing to a cloned Bertaut. He’s ready and waiting to chat with you anytime day or night. He’s our trusty robot sidekick who will point out the best travel hacks for you, based on your answers to questions about your credit score, spending habits, and travel plans. He’s so cool that he was even featured on Reuters!
He’s a pretty smart guy, but don’t take our word for it. Check him out yourself. If you have to leave your chat session, he’ll remember you when you come back and will let you choose to either start where you left off or start over. Heck, I can’t even remember my train of thought if I get interrupted by a “Mommy, I’m hungry” at least 90% of the time.
How Marty can help you travel hack
With the option to start over as many times as you want, you can play around with different options. You may want to look into planning an ultra-posh romantic getaway with your spouse to celebrate your anniversary, and also start planning for a family vacation with your kids. Marty will alter his recommendations based on your needs and input.
We celebrated our anniversary at Andaz Costa Rica and stayed free on points and reward nights!
Marty makes it easy for you to sign up for the best travel reward programs from hotels and airlines, which is key to successful travel hacking. We’ve enjoyed incredible perks like free breakfast, free room upgrades, free parking, welcome gifts (like champagne and fruit plates), and access to lounges. Happy hour with free cocktails and canapes is absolutely one of our favorite perks of hotel reward programs.
Marty will also point you toward the best travel credit cards, which is another key strategy of travel hacking like a pro. There are so many travel credit cards out there it can be overwhelming and confusing. Most people don’t know where to start. Answer a few of Marty’s questions and he’ll give you suggestions on the best travel credit cards for you. However, before applying for any travel credit cards you’ll need to know your credit score. If you don’t know, have no fear. Marty’s got you covered there too and will link you to a site where you can get a free credit score.
Where to find Marty
So, I’m sure you’re dying to go chat with Marty and see what his travel hacking tips are for you. To find Marty, look for a small icon on the bottom right corner of our website (both on desktop and mobile). There’s a small blue circle with 3 dots inside and he’s whispering “Psssst! Want our travel hacking secrets so you can travel for practically free?” So go ahead, check him out. Whether it’s 2pm, midnight or 4am, it doesn’t matter. Marty will be there, ready to chat and help you learn how to travel hack like a pro.
Introduce Marty to your friends
Please share the love and let any of your friends and family who want to travel the world for free (or cheap) know about our travel hacking robot. We are always surprised by how many people have absolutely NO IDEA about travel hacking and don’t even use travel credit cards to their advantage. What a shame! We’re going to do our part to change that and Marty is here to help you learn how to make your money work for you. Ready to learn how to travel like a millionaire without spending a fortune? Go ahead, strike up a conversation with Marty and start planning for your dream vacation. Happy travels!
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