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11:33 am
October 28, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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I have been travel hacking for only a year, but it's pretty ridiculously easy, and I am surprised by how many people DON'T do this.
So my question is: Why are you NOT traveling for free?
For an example of how simple it is to vacation for free, check out my recent post for a reader who asked about flying to 4 cities and getting hotels and a rental car.
How To Travel For Free: 4 Cities In 8 Days
So….what's your excuse? 
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7:31 pm
October 28, 2013
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RootofGood
| | North Carolina | |
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Post edited 7:33 pm – October 28, 2013 by RootofGood
I travel for free or darn close. $250 for 4 days in Chicago including flights, transport, meals, everything for me, wife, and 2 kids. $500 for 9 days in Uruguay and Argentina for the two of us. About the only thing not free is local transport and meals.
Travel hacking is pretty easy. I'm working on another set of Starwood Amex's right now which will mean another 60k points and that means $2000-3000 worth of hotels.
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7:52 pm
October 28, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Baller!
I'm going to list out my churning at the end of the year, but suffice to say, we're rocking close to $10k+ in free travel rewards when it's all said and done. It really is pretty simple, I want more people to join!
You know….after they get on a sweet budget, of course. 
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8:05 pm
October 28, 2013
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Edward Antrobus
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My excuse? Poor credit history which limits my ability to qualify for a credit card.
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I'm looking for editors, beta-readers, and some demographic research for my upcoming novel, Once Upon a Saturn Moon. If you like reading soft sci-fi thrillers, maybe with a touch of romance thrown in, you can find more information at http://seampublishing.com/once…..aturn-moon
If You Can Read, You Can Cook – http://www.ifyoucanread.com | Think you can't cook? If you can read this sentence, then you can.
SEAM Publishing – http://www.seampublishing.com | eBook formatting and publishing service
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9:24 pm
October 28, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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That would definitely do it! :)
How's your credit recovery going?
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5:16 am
October 29, 2013
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Edward Antrobus
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Well, I should be credit card debt free by the end of the year, leaving just a small-ish personal loan from a hospital bill and about 2x my annual income in student loans. May of next year, the last negative remark on my credit report should roll off, leaving me looking pretty good, side from the debt-to-income ratio.
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I'm looking for editors, beta-readers, and some demographic research for my upcoming novel, Once Upon a Saturn Moon. If you like reading soft sci-fi thrillers, maybe with a touch of romance thrown in, you can find more information at http://seampublishing.com/once…..aturn-moon
If You Can Read, You Can Cook – http://www.ifyoucanread.com | Think you can't cook? If you can read this sentence, then you can.
SEAM Publishing – http://www.seampublishing.com | eBook formatting and publishing service
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8:29 am
October 29, 2013
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Eric – PersonalProfitability.com
| | Portland, OR | |
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I just did the Southwest biz and person card signups last week. Going to do the 110,000 mile thing in January for the free companion pass for 23 months.
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10:18 am
October 29, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Edward Antrobus said:
Well, I should be credit card debt free by the end of the year, leaving just a small-ish personal loan from a hospital bill and about 2x my annual income in student loans. May of next year, the last negative remark on my credit report should roll off, leaving me looking pretty good, side from the debt-to-income ratio.
Glad to hear it! That's some great progress, man, something to be proud of!
If you're on a sweet budget, credit card churning for travel could definitely be in your future, but might not be worth it. Your call man :)
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10:22 am
October 29, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Eric – NarrowBridge.net said:
I just did the Southwest biz and person card signups last week. Going to do the 110,000 mile thing in January for the free companion pass for 23 months.
Baller!
I had to skip this round, but definitely looking to do that next year when the 50k signups come around.
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5:04 pm
October 29, 2013
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RootofGood
| | North Carolina | |
| Member | posts 47 |
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net said:
Eric – NarrowBridge.net said:
I just did the Southwest biz and person card signups last week. Going to do the 110,000 mile thing in January for the free companion pass for 23 months.
Baller!
I had to skip this round, but definitely looking to do that next year when the 50k signups come around.
I think the 50k signups are active, at least on the personal. I just checked my credit card links and they are offering 50k as of yesterday.
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6:47 pm
October 29, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Yup, they definitely are. But we're working on a different churn at the moment….and I already have TOO many Chase cards this year (they're pretty strict about that). So I'm going to wait until next year, and have the Pass for 2015-2016. W00t!
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9:35 am
November 4, 2013
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cellotime
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My wife and I recently did the chase Sapphire cards for the $400 sign up bonus on both, or $500 if used for travel. We were willing to pimp out our credit ratings for some free stuff.
Plus there are all those advanced things like transferring points to other places and whatnot. But I don't have all those hotel and airline miles and account like I did when I was consulting.
Do any of you play the transfer game to maximize point value?
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9:50 am
November 4, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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cellotime said:
My wife and I recently did the chase Sapphire cards for the $400 sign up bonus on both, or $500 if used for travel. We were willing to pimp out our credit ratings for some free stuff.
Plus there are all those advanced things like transferring points to other places and whatnot. But I don't have all those hotel and airline miles and account like I did when I was consulting.
Do any of you play the transfer game to maximize point value?
Check out my post here for transfer deals:
How To Travel For Free: 4 Cities In 8 Days
I also just transferred my Chase UR points to Southwest to fly my mom back from Arizona to Seattle. $270 worth of free tickets for only 12,500 pts. :)
With Chase points, transferring for travel is a GREAT deal if you know which places to use. Same with Starwood and American Express MR points. It's ALL about the transfers :)
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4:00 pm
November 5, 2013
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Afford Anything
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My boyfriend and I flew business-class to Paris for FREE a few months ago. Heck yeah, I (heart) travelhacking!!
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3:35 pm
November 6, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Afford Anything said:
My boyfriend and I flew business-class to Paris for FREE a few months ago. Heck yeah, I (heart) travelhacking!!
Baller!
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4:27 pm
November 6, 2013
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retireby40
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We haven't traveled for quite a while because of the kid, but we're ready to go again next year.
I want to visit the Big Island and see if it's a viable retirement destination for us.
Anyone has an affiliate link for these cards, now is the chance to get paid. 
Chase Sapphire, right?
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4:40 pm
November 6, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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Post edited 4:41 pm – November 6, 2013 by Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
retireby40 said:
We haven't traveled for quite a while because of the kid, but we're ready to go again next year.
I want to visit the Big Island and see if it's a viable retirement destination for us.
Anyone has an affiliate link for these cards, now is the chance to get paid. 
Chase Sapphire, right?
Yes. Just use the banner on my CC page HERE
Also, are you near the west coast? I have some tricks to get you to Hawaii on the cheap if you want to know….starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and British Airways Visa card.
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5:18 am
November 8, 2013
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My Personal Finance Journey
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Very cool idea! My only reservation would be that don't most of these cards have an annual fee that you would have to cover after you reap the initial sign up rewards?
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5:03 pm
November 11, 2013
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Jake@iHeartBudgets.net
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My Personal Finance Journey said:
Very cool idea! My only reservation would be that don't most of these cards have an annual fee that you would have to cover after you reap the initial sign up rewards?
Yeah, I cover that in this post.
Basically, after a year, ask for a fee waiver, or extra rewards….or cancel and move on.
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8:48 pm
November 11, 2013
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Bobby @ Making Money Fast and Slow
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The problem is once you have too many credit cards and they become unmanageable because you have to keep picking the right one out of your wallet. I was going crazy with sign-up bonuses for a while, but then I calmed down and stick to just a few cards now.
I list most of rewards cards here.
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