Travel Hacking Basics Part III: Aspirations, Earn and Burn

Part I: Credit Cards
Part II: Points and Miles
Part III: Aspirations, Earn and Burn

So far, we've covered earning all of these awesome miles and points, but now we need to cover the fun part - spending them!

Aspirations

One of the most awesome parts of travel hacking is the aspirational travel you can achieve. Have you ever taken one of those long international flights in an economy class middle seat directly in front of a kicking, screaming three year old? Have you considered how much better that flight would be in a first class lie-flat bed with bottomless champagne? Have you ever considered paying tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade?

My guess is that you answered “yes” to the first two questions and a resounding “no” to the third question. First class does cost an incredible amount more (in some cases, up to $20,000 for one international ticket), but once you start travel hacking and earning miles and points, you could be traveling in style - totally free!

Here are a few of my aspirational travel goals:

Fly first class on Emirates Airlines

Did you know they have a shower? On the plane? While you’re flying? Enough said.

I priced out a sample fare on December 1, 2014:

Example flight: SFO > Dubai, First Class

Cost (in dollars): $23,327.90
Cost (in miles): 90,000

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