Go Somewhere: Volume 6

Happy Friday, friends. It’s been a privilege to take calls this week with a few of you - I’m learning so much about what you’re interested in, and how I can best help you!

I’m learning every day. Podcasts, YouTube, Reddit, Discord, friends, blogs, etc… I’m pursuing expertise so I can help you all to the best of my ability.

Thanks for your continued support of this newsletter & my LinkedIn content!

My next 10 “Blow Your Mind” calls where I teach you everything you need to know about travel hacking, answer your questions, and guarantee you save $1k+ on your next trip, will be just $50. Price goes up after that. Schedule ASAP.

▶️Let’s get into this week’s hacks.

How to get into airport lounges.

Imagine yourself at your last long layover.

Sitting in the corner. Thankful to have found the one outlet in the airport.

Stuffing down some Chic-Fil-A you waited 2 hours for.

Smelling body odor and diapers.

Let’s just say it together, airports suck.

But, have you ever walked past one of those magical lounges with White House-level security you occasionally see a well-dressed business traveler slide into?

You can get into those. 

Here are a few difficult ways and easy ways to get in.

Difficult.

▶️ Buy a first-class ticket.

▶️ Get elite status with an airline for their lounge.

▶️ Pay for access with miles (60k+)

▶️ Be a veteran.

Easy.

▶️ Buy a day pass or annual pass on lounge buddy.

▶️ Travel with someone who has access.

▶️ (The best) Get a credit card with lounge access!

The detes… There are a number of credit cards that can get you access. What you want to look for is Priority Pass.

Priority Pass is a network of over 1,300 lounges. Many premium credit cards give you unlimited access. Unfortunately, these are mostly high annual fee cards.

Often, these high annual fees are worth it, though. I would look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Capital One Venture X. These both offer Priority Pass and have a high annual fee.

The Capital One Venture Rewards ($95 annual fee) does get you two lounge accesses per year! For those who don’t travel much, it’s a great option.

Lounge access is a perk you’re gonna pay for, but you probably won’t regret it on your next long layover. Travel better, folks.

You need to know this about Hyatt.

I had a dream. A terrible dream.

That someone paid cash for a Hyatt hotel.

I woke up. No, this couldn’t be real. No! But it was.

▶️Here’s why you shouldn’t pay cash for Hyatt, even if you don’t have any points, even if you don’t even have any credit cards!

Hyatt points are incredibly valuable.

Let’s look at the Hyatt Place Los Cabos. Category 1 hotel maxing out at 5k points per night.

In February when the weather is good, it costs $212 per night (or 5k per night).

You can go on Hyatt’s website right now and buy 5,000 points for $120. Almost 50% off.

To make things better, Hyatt often runs promotions on their points - for the last month, all Hyatt points have been 25% off, meaning you could get 5k points for $90.

That sale just ended, by the way.

This “hack” works for almost all Hyatt properties, especially in peak seasons.

Do not pay cash for a Hyatt unless you know for sure it’s the best deal. Even if you don’t have Hyatt points, consider buying points on their website to save 50% or more!

I will be sad if you guys forget this or don’t read this far.

Real-life hackers: Cruising for free

Thanks to Ryan & Mycah Hoppie for sharing their story this week!

➡️ Location: Belize & Cozumel Cruise.

➡️ Occasion: Celebrating 3 years of marriage (first vacation).

➡️ Cruise line: Carnival

➡️ Cruise + excursions cash price: $1,800 for two people.

➡️ Travel to cruise port: they’re locals!

➡️ Type of points used: Chase UR

Ryan put their birth expenses on his Chase Sapphire Preferred card, earned the bonus, referred Mycah, she booked the cruise on her card, earned the bonus, and they ended up with 163k Chase points!

They used their points as a statement credit to pay off the cruise.

Ryan & Mycah, great hacking.

Way to focus on financial wellness over the dopamine rush of a cool trip.