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Travel Addiction Confessions You Need to Know

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Some people like to play sports for an adrenaline rush.  That is one of the reasons I go to UFC fights, after all, it’s the biggest adrenaline rush I have had without playing sports.  Over the last several months, I have looked back at my travel hacking and wondered if I do it due to the adrenaline rush or if it’s become a travel addiction. You are always looking for the next deal, the easiest way to get points.  It’s almost like any other addiction as you are looking for your next fix, best/cheapest way to get your next trip.
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Travel Addiction – Extra Miles

Over the last year, I have found I have miles for airlines that I do not know of any trips or reason to take planned to the areas that they cover.  Over the last year, I have started to use some of these off the path miles such as Alaskan Airlines to take partner flights to Las Vegas. My goals always had an endpoint, but it was more of just throwing out processes to see what would stick.
Travel Addiction

Challenge Accepted

Several years ago, someone told me “Miles will never get you a trip.  You are wasting your time…”.  So what started as something to maybe get one free Vegas Trip turned into several set goals.  The smaller of the goals was to reduce costs to flying to Las Vegas.  Back when I started, it was for people watching and the weather.  With the lack of humidity, it seems like that is the only place where my body does not hurt.  Over the years now it has turned into Las Vegas flights for UFC fights.  This little travel addiction has at least been able to pay for the airline flights each time.
Travel Addiction
The more significant challenge has been being able to provide memories.  Earlier this year I was able to fly to Hawaii with Joni and Cheyenne.  I do not know if I would be able to make this trip again due to the length of the flight.  Joni always said she wanted to go to Hawaii for our 15th wedding anniversary.  I always thought it would never happen because it would be too expensive.  “We will see…”.  That gave me three years at the time to get enough miles and hotel points for this trip.  Challenge accepted.  We were able to book the flights during our 15th year all due to miles.
Travel Addiction
Now that I have accomplished those two goals I have had a chance to sit back and look closely at my hobby.  Are there things I would do differently?  Yes.  But sometimes its the journey and the steps you have to take along the way.  Just make sure you take a step back to enjoy your life. Read our article about Why Travel? 5 Reasons You Should and you don’t let your travel habits become an actual compulsion.

Homework: Travel for Teens

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My daughter Cheyenne is in Junior High School.  Her teachers know that she often travels as some of the areas they discuss she has been able to visit.  As I was sitting in Cancun, I got a call from her asking if I can help her with her homework. They had received an assignment to help them figure out travel costs and wanted my help when I returned home. Of course, I will help her with her assignment. I will help her figure out how to travel for teens can be incorporated into our everyday lives.

The Assignment

They were discussing the costs of living in her class. The assignment they were given was to figure out what it would cost to go on their dream vacation.  At the end of class, she walked up to her teacher and asked: “Do I have to do what everyone else pays or what my family pays?”.  So there was my twelve year old daughter explaining travel hacking to her teacher.  Cheyenne said the teacher’s jaw dropped when she was told that the cost of our flights to Hawaii this summer cost us $35 in taxes.”.  Once the shocked teacher paused and replied, “But you still have to pay for the hotel.”.  As she packed up to leave, Cheyenne replies “Oh, he got that for $35 a night in resort fees, that is it.” and walked away to her next class.

Travel for Teens

Our daughter has been taught early on that her ability to travel as a teen as often as we do is not average. The ability to travel is due to the hobby her dad has, and not everyone does this.  She has already asked to learn how to do this in the future. This will allow her and her friends to travel more often and travel as teenagers to places they otherwise couldn’t. After all, She already has accounts for when she flies.  This hobby allows us the opportunity to teach her many other life lessons. We show her about savings, expenses, and cost of travel.  Strange teaching a thirteen year old about travel sites, resort fees, and what TSA PreCheck is.  It isn’t just the flight and hotel but a whole trip that has to be planned.
I see her starting her own miles journey. After all travel for teens teaches lots of life lessons and she knows this ‘not normal’ travel habit allows her opportunities others don’t get
We have been doing family trips each year.  Cheyenne has been able to go to Florida several times, Las Vegas, and Hawaii.  After all, we are trading in miles for memories…

Shopping Portals to earn FREE Travel

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Some of the easiest ways to get miles and points are through shopping portals.  When I started Travel Hacking this is how I earned my first few trips.  Each of the major airlines such as Delta, United, Southwest and American have their own shopping portals and many credit card companies have theirs as well.  When most people think airline shopping portals most people think of the old “Sky Mall” magazine where you buy that dog statue to put in the middle of your garden.  It can’t be further from the truth.

Shopping Portals and Apps

Most people nowadays have gotten comfortable buying through Amazon and eBay online.  These shopping portals cover large retailers that many of us have heard of such as Home Depot, Lowes and even Wal-Mart.  Over the last several years we have purchased refrigerators, stoves and even a car port from Home Depot.  All getting point along the way.  Whether it is home improvement or toilet paper at Wal-Mart extra miles are available.  One thing I noticed is  by using the pick up at Target, not only would I get the miles, but I would no longer have a cart full at the check out wondering what on earth did I buy this time.
Each of the different airlines and most major credit card websites have links for their portals.  All it takes is going to the airline or credit card of choice, and clicking on the link to get to the online store that you want.  Miles generally show up several weeks later.  Sometimes they do provide shopping bonuses.  These are common around back to school time.  Last year we purchased most of Cheyenne’s school supplies online to get the additional miles.
Every little bit adds up. Happy Shopping!!!
Learn how to use shopping portals to earn FREE Travel

Travel Hacks

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Whether you are traveling on an airplane or making a road trip this summer; I’m sure you want to make your journey smooth. If you would like to find ways to get flights for free or find ways to earn more reward points to take advantage of travel deals make sure you check out our previous articles.

Here are some of the very best travel hacks to help your vacation be more enjoyable!

Travel Hacks for Flights

  • If you type into Google any flight number. You can see exactly where the flight is at any given time.
  • Use your browsers private or incognito mode to purchase tickets.

Airports

  • Need to know the airport wifi? There is a Google Map that will show you a whole lot of airports and their wifi passwords: www.KinneyChaos.com/airportwifi
  • Bring an empty water bottle. This allows you to fill it without paying for a water bottle at the super high airport prices.
  • Need to get through Security fast? If you are in an area with multiple lanes, try to use the path all the way to the left. Most people are right-handed and tend to move towards the right naturally.

Packing

  • Put a dryer sheet in your suitcase to keep it smelling fresh.
  • Put rolled up socks inside shoes to help them keep their shape.
  • Snap a quick picture of that luggage before you send it to your destination. That way you know what your luggage looks like in the event it gets lost, and it can help you speed up your paperwork.

Road trips

  • Need Directions? Skip the gas station and find a pizza delivery place. They know their way around town better than a gas station attendant will.
  • Need a quick travel cup? Use Press’n Seal over the top of your cup and pop a straw through it.
  • Fill up with Gas in the mornings as often as you can. Gas contracts and it’s at the smallest point in the colder morning temps. This gives you the best road trip gas value.
  • If you stop somewhere turn your steering wheel 180 degrees before parking in the sun. This way you won’t burn your hands when you start driving again.

Other

  • When you have to take a taxi, put the destination into your phone map so you can ensure the taxi driver doesn’t scam you.

Have other travel hacks? We would love to hear about them! Just leave us a comment and please share so others can enjoy our tips too!

Why Travel? 5 Reasons You Should

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A couple of years ago I saw this picture with a simple saying “We Travel Not to Escape Life, but for Life Not to Escape Us…”.  This quote has been one of my most favorite sayings since that day.
We Travel Not to Escape Life, but for Life Not to Escape Us... #travel #travelquote #traveltips #escape #stressreduction #reducestress #getaway #exotic #beach

Why Travel? Experiences

I used to travel to “get away.”  One week to Las Vegas a year to get away from life and disconnect.  Now as time goes on, I have found that it’s for the experiences.  I have been to many concerts for musicians that I would never have been able to see back in Wisconsin.  I have been to many different sporting events from Hockey games to UFC fights.  But one of the biggest reasons for my travel hacking is the ability to give my family those memories.  I do take many solo trips, but want to make sure that I can also get those memories for my daughter to remember.
Take advantage of the experiences that traveling can offer you. There are so many new and different things to see or do. Take a moment to enjoy the unique cuisine, do something you’d never do, or catch a concert or show.

Why travel? Reduce Stress

I think everyone has experienced stress and mind fog. To truly relax and rejuvenate, you need to get away from your typical daily life. For most of us, that is work, kids driving us crazy, and other everyday stressors. Build vacation time into your schedule even if you aren’t going far. Get out of your house, away from stress and come back feeling fresh and inspired.

Why Travel? Memories

When I was a child, we did get to go to water parks, a school trip to Washington DC and a car trip to Florida.  I still remember some of those memories: from the drive down, the beach, Disney and my first airplane trip in 8th grade.  Before getting into points, I was always trying to figure out how to get to the experiences in Las Vegas along with being able to get those family trips done with a cheaper cost.  Just by chance, I came across an article in a Las Vegas blog that mentioned how he flies for free.  From that point on I was hooked.
So why does my family travel? To make memories and you should be taking advantage of this too. “Memories are priceless. You can always make more money, But you can’t always make more memories.”

Memories are priceless. You can always make more money; But you can't always make more memories. #memories #traveltips #travelquote #priceless

Why Travel? Pass down traditions

Another reason why we travel is to have the opportunity to pass down traditions. My daughter has been fortunate to see out west and the neon lights of Las Vegas. She has been able to feel the cool white sand under her feet at Siesta Key in Florida.  She has met friends from Florida and Michigan that she will have for the rest of her life.  This summer she is going to Hawaii.  Both Joni and I know this is most likely a one time trip and wanted to make sure she was able to have that experience of volcanoes, beaches, and learn the history of Pearl Harbor.  My grandfather served in World War II.  These will be memories that will stay with her forever, and they are traditions and historical moments we wanted to make sure were passed down.

Why Travel? Family Time

Each year we chose at least one family vacation where our daughter can fly or go to other states.  Her Taekwondo tournaments have taken her throughout the midwest already in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa.  This summer will be her fifth airplane trip by the age of twelve. We get to spend a great deal of time together making memories, and these are moments we will never get to live again. Make the most of your family time; you never know what is going to happen in the future. If you keep waiting to take that vacation or to get away, it may be too late to make those memories and enjoy that time together as a family.
One little hobby has allowed our family to “Travel Not to Escape Life, but for Life Not to Escape Us…”
To find out more information check out our blog articles about Travel Hacking and Ultimate Rewards.

Flight Tickets – Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines

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What airline do you prefer?

After doing a little travel hacking and traveling a few times you will develop a preferred airline for your flight tickets.  Most of this is depending on where you live.  Each of the major airlines have local hubs and most people prefer having those nonstop flights.  A couple things to remember in the Ultimate Rewards “points game” is the small local airports will cost a lot more in points to pay for those small jumps to the bigger cities.
My wife, daughter and I live in the center of Wisconsin.  This does put a lot of those small airports as an option, but it is an expensive option.  The ongoing joke among friends is “When I fly to Vegas I prefer to gamble there and not on my connecting flight arriving on time.”  With this location we have a few different airports with major airline hubs within a couple hours of each other.

Our Airline Options for flight tickets

We do have Chicago with Midway and O’Hare but that is a four hour drive and we will only travel there for specific options.  We currently use Midway for our nonstop Cancun flights mostly for the redemption options through Southwest.  We then use Chicago O’Hare for  flight tickets on United flights such as the one going to Hawaii in August if the Volcanoes calm down.
My preferred option though is Milwaukee.  The parking is cheaper so it will not cost you an arm and a leg like at O’Hare.  Airtran used to have large regional hubs in Milwaukee, Baltimore and Atlanta.  When they were purchased by Southwest, they kept a large amount of these non-stop flights available.  Milwaukee is great for flights on Southwest to Orlando and Las Vegas.
My secondary option is Minneapolis.  Minneapolis is a large Delta hub.  They have many other carriers such as Southwest, Sun Country and others that offer direct flights.  Because of all these options they like to be competitive with each other and can get some lower redemption costs.  I use Delta for nonstop to Las Vegas.  Joni is using this for her trip also nonstop for Phoenix, but keep in mind that parking is more expensive out of Minneapolis.
There are deals out there, sometimes you have to drive to the deals.  But when the redemption costs are three times less than your small regional airport.  The extra drive is worth it if you want to be able to travel more frequently for less.
If you would like to chat with us more about this article please contact us!
Do you need help picking where to purchase your flight tickets? Read about how to determine your preferred airline to get started on your travel hacking journey. #travel #travelhacking #traveltip #moneysavings #airline #flighttickets
Comment down below and tell us where you like to fly from!