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Travel Hacking for Free Flights

Finally See the World!

4.6 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Half star
Based on 33 ratings
see reviews
Derek Pankaew

Visit penguins in the Galapagos, sip wine in Barcenlona, or swim through a shipwreck in Bali. Travel the world without spending a dime on flights.In this course, you'll learn how to master the art of getting free airline miles, and using those airline miles to book free flights.

You don't need to be a big spender, or a frequent traveler to do this. All it takes is an hour or two per month, and you'll be able to travel anywhere you want for next to nothing.

IMPORTANT: These strategies only work for US Citizens. You need to have at least OK credit, meaning no bankruptcies or delinquencies in the last 2-3 years.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Get $1,000 flights+ for free!
  • Get 95% off international or domestic flights
  • Earn hundreds of thousands of free airline miles every year
  • Get up to 3 free international trips per year
  • Get up to 5 free domestic trips per year
  • It only takes 1-2 hours per month!

Syllabus

Introduction and Overview
Introduction
Overview of Frequent Flyer Miles
How Many Free Flights Can You Expect?
Read more

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Requires at least OK credit and is only applicable to US citizens, which may exclude some learners
Teaches how to leverage credit card rewards programs to accumulate airline miles, which can be used to book flights
Explores airline alliances and transferable points, which are essential for maximizing travel rewards
Covers credit score improvement and management, which is crucial for accessing the best travel rewards cards
Discusses strategies like 'manufactured spending' and 'bank funding,' which may require careful consideration and risk assessment
Includes methods to eliminate fees and surcharges, which can significantly reduce the cost of award travel

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Reviews summary

Actionable travel hacking for us learners

according to learners, this course provides a positive and practical introduction to travel hacking. Students interested in using credit cards and miles for free flights find that the course lays out actionable strategies for earning and redeeming points. The material covers essential topics like improving credit scores and understanding different types of points and loyalty programs. However, students should note that the strategies taught are specifically for neutral US Citizens with sufficient credit. Some sections, like warning manufactured spending, delve into more advanced or potentially complex techniques that may require careful consideration or carry some risk. While the course provides a strong foundation, the dynamic nature of credit card offers and airline programs means staying updated after completing the course is necessary.
Strategies apply only to US residents.
"Important to know upfront this is specifically for US-based travelers using the US credit system."
"Wish this was maybe slightly more prominent before purchase, but it is stated in the description."
"If you're not in the US, the core methods based on US credit cards won't work for you."
Covers credit basics relevant to miles earning.
"Understanding how opening and closing cards affects my score was really helpful for planning."
"The section on improving credit before applying felt necessary and well-explained."
"Gave me confidence knowing my credit was ready and how to manage it going forward."
Provides actionable steps for free flights.
"I learned exactly what credit cards to look for and how to start earning miles effectively."
"The strategies for meeting spending requirements were surprisingly straightforward to apply to my everyday expenses."
"Finally feel like I understand how to actually use miles to book flights instead of just collecting them."
Includes advanced, potentially risky methods.
"The manufactured spending section was interesting but felt advanced and maybe a bit risky depending on comfort level."
"Need to be very careful and research further if attempting some of the spending strategies mentioned."
"While potentially rewarding, manufactured spending isn't for everyone and carries its own considerations."
Strategies require keeping up with changes.
"Realize that credit card offers, signup bonuses, and airline rules change often in this space."
"This course provides the foundational framework, but staying updated on specific deals is key."
"The core principles are sound, but specific examples might evolve over time requiring self-research."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Travel Hacking for Free Flights: Finally See the World! with these activities:
Review Credit Score Factors
Reinforce your understanding of the factors that influence credit scores, a crucial element for successful travel hacking.
Browse courses on Credit Scores
Show steps
  • Review the different components of a credit score.
  • Identify areas where your credit score can be improved.
  • Research strategies for boosting your credit score.
Read 'Credit Repair Kit For Dummies'
Gain a deeper understanding of credit repair strategies to maximize your eligibility for travel rewards cards.
View Credit Repair Kit FD 4e (Credit Repair Kit for... on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Credit Repair Kit For Dummies'.
  • Read the chapters related to credit score improvement.
  • Implement the strategies discussed in the book.
Track Credit Card Signup Bonuses
Practice tracking credit card signup bonuses to optimize your rewards earning potential.
Show steps
  • Create a spreadsheet to track credit card applications.
  • Record signup bonus requirements and deadlines.
  • Monitor spending to meet bonus requirements.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Join a Travel Hacking Forum or Group
Engage with other travel hackers to share tips, ask questions, and learn from their experiences.
Show steps
  • Find a travel hacking forum or group online.
  • Introduce yourself and share your travel goals.
  • Participate in discussions and ask questions.
  • Share your own travel hacking tips and experiences.
Document Your Travel Hacking Journey
Solidify your learning by documenting your travel hacking experiences and sharing them with others.
Show steps
  • Create a blog or social media account.
  • Document your credit card application process.
  • Share tips and tricks for earning miles and points.
  • Post about your free or discounted travel experiences.
Read 'The Points Guy's Guide to Maximizing Your Travel Rewards'
Expand your knowledge of travel rewards programs and strategies for maximizing their value.
View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'The Points Guy's Guide'.
  • Read the chapters relevant to your travel goals.
  • Apply the strategies discussed in the book to your travel planning.
Build an Award Flight Booking Tool
Develop a tool to automate the process of finding and booking award flights, solidifying your understanding of award booking strategies.
Show steps
  • Research APIs for airline award availability.
  • Design a user interface for searching award flights.
  • Implement the logic for finding and booking award flights.
  • Test and refine your award flight booking tool.

Career center

Learners who complete Travel Hacking for Free Flights: Finally See the World! will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Travel Blogger
A travel blogger creates engaging content about their journeys, and often provides tips and advice to their readers. This course on free flights may be particularly helpful to a travel blogger as it will allow them to dramatically reduce the financial costs of travel, enabling them to travel more often and to more destinations. A travel blogger can also use the strategies for free flights discussed in this course to provide value to their audience by sharing tips, secrets, and strategies from the course itself or new strategies they discover on their own. In particular, the course's focus on credit card rewards programs and airline mile redemption strategies provides a unique perspective for a travel blogger to share with their followers, giving them a competitive edge in the travel blogging space.
See salaries and explore the career path for Travel Blogger
Travel Writer
A travel writer crafts articles, guides, and content for publications or online platforms, sharing stories and information about destinations. The skills taught in this course, namely how to get free flights, can be highly beneficial for a travel writer. They are able to reduce their personal travel costs significantly, enabling them to travel more often and gather firsthand experiences. The course's deep dive into credit card rewards programs, airline alliances, and booking strategies provides knowledge useful for crafting insightful and resourceful content for their readers. A travel writer can leverage this knowledge to provide valuable tips and advice to their audience, enhancing the quality of their writing.
See salaries and explore the career path for Travel Writer
Travel Consultant
A travel consultant advises clients on travel plans, helping them choose destinations, book flights and accommodations. This course, which specializes in travel hacking, may be useful for a travel consultant looking to offer unique and cost-effective options to their clients. A travel consultant who uses these techniques themselves can offer both first-hand experience as well as provide information to customers on how to find free flights. The course's emphasis on airline alliances, credit card rewards programs, and strategic flight booking gives a travel consultant the tools to find cost-effective options. This will give the travel consultant a competitive advantage within the travel industry.
See salaries and explore the career path for Travel Consultant
Lifestyle Blogger
A lifestyle blogger shares content about personal interests, including travel, fashion, and hobbies. This course can be particularly helpful for a lifestyle blogger because it introduces efficient ways to reduce travel costs, making it more accessible to travel more often. The course's guidance on using credit card rewards, mastering airline miles and strategic booking can be a valuable tool for a lifestyle blogger who would like to document their personal experiences on their blog. The blogger can offer their audience practical tips and advice on how to travel more affordably. In particular, this course teaches skills that can be used to create content to appeal to an audience interested in travel.
See salaries and explore the career path for Lifestyle Blogger
Frequent Flyer Program Analyst
A frequent flyer program analyst studies and analyzes airline loyalty programs, identifying trends and opportunities. This course may be helpful for someone interested in this career. The course delves into the details of airline miles, credit card rewards programs and the strategic application of these rewards for free flights. A frequent flyer program analyst can use this knowledge to better understand existing loyalty programs and how consumers can maximize their benefits. The course's comprehensive approach to airline alliances, booking strategies, and spending requirements can be particularly helpful in this role, providing practical insights for how such programs are operated and can be used.
See salaries and explore the career path for Frequent Flyer Program Analyst
Reward Program Manager
A rewards program manager develops and manages customer loyalty programs for a company. This course may be useful for someone in this role since it provides insight into how a customer may interact with a rewards program. By understanding how a customer might maximize the value of a rewards program, such as an airline frequent flyer program, the program manager can use this information to craft better and more compelling reward structures. The course’s approach to credit card rewards, airline alliances, and booking provides a unique perspective, helping this person better understand customer behavior and better implement loyalty programs.
See salaries and explore the career path for Reward Program Manager
Personal Finance Educator
A personal finance educator teaches individuals about money management, budgeting, and investing. While not strictly focused on personal finance, this course can be a useful tool for a personal finance educator to expand their knowledge. It provides methods on how to maximize credit card rewards, understand credit scores, and use airline miles. A personal finance educator can use this knowledge to provide specific strategies for travel. The course also provides a background in improving credit scores, making it relevant to this career. Its focus on strategic spending and managing credit can become an example of how to use credit responsibly.
See salaries and explore the career path for Personal Finance Educator
Remote Worker
Remote workers can work from almost any location. While not a job role itself, many remote workers wish to travel often. This course may be useful for a remote worker since it provides a method to greatly reduce the costs of travel. The course offers strategies for using credit cards rewards, and airline miles to finance travel. The course also teaches how these resources can be acquired. A remote worker can leverage this knowledge so they can travel frequently, while not paying for flights. This knowledge will provide the remote worker with flexibility in their personal life.
See salaries and explore the career path for Remote Worker
Content Creator
A content creator develops material for online platforms, such as videos, blog posts, and social media content. While this course does not teach skills directly related to content creation, the course's subject matter is of interest to many. Learning to obtain free flights is a valuable skill. This course may be useful for a content creator who wishes to expand their knowledge of travel or finance. The course provides material that can be turned into content, such as the most effective way to get approved for a particular credit card. The course’s coverage of airline mile programs, credit card rewards, and travel booking may be an area a content creator wishes to feature.
See salaries and explore the career path for Content Creator
Financial Advisor
A financial advisor provides guidance to clients on managing their finances. This is a broad field, but this course may be useful for a financial advisor wishing to give advice on credit card optimization or other strategies related to spending. The course provides methods to earn free flights through use of credit cards. The course also provides an overview on credit score management. A financial advisor who takes this course can use this knowledge to provide specific advice to potential clients. This can set them apart from other financial advisors. The course provides specific strategies for managing spending and credit that financial advisors can pass on to their clients.
See salaries and explore the career path for Financial Advisor
Customer Service Representative
A customer service representative helps customers with inquiries. This course may be helpful for a customer service representative who works in the travel industry, particularly for an airline or credit card company. This course provides knowledge of how different airline loyalty programs can be used to generate free flights as well as how credit card rewards programs work. A deeper knowledge of the points and miles ecosystem can allow customer service representatives to be more helpful and more informed when speaking to customers. In particular, this course's focus on airline alliances, credit card rewards programs, and strategic flight booking can provide valuable information to a customer service representative.
See salaries and explore the career path for Customer Service Representative
Marketing Specialist
A marketing specialist develops and implements marketing strategies. This course may be helpful for a marketing specialist who is working for a company that sells products related to travel. A marketing specialist may find the information in this course on how to earn free flights to be valuable information when developing the advertising campaigns. The course's focus on airline alliances, booking strategies, and credit card rewards can be adapted into a marketing message which speaks to budget-conscious travelers. By having a deep understanding of the subject matter, a marketing specialist will be able to craft more effective messages.
See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Specialist
Data Analyst
A data analyst studies data to gain insights and support decision making. This course might be helpful for a data analyst looking for a unique area to specialize in. Specifically, this course provides information about rewards programs that could be analyzed and improved upon. The course teaches how to leverage credit card rewards, airline alliances, and strategic booking. However, this course has no direct connection to data analysis and may not be very helpful. However, a data analyst may be able to use the information in this course to conduct unique analysis that could be of value to companies.
See salaries and explore the career path for Data Analyst
Sales Representative
A sales representative sells products or services to customers. A sales representative who travels frequently may find this course to be helpful since it provides methods for obtaining free flights. It may be useful to a sales representative who wishes to reduce their overall travel expenses. The course covers topics such as credit card rewards programs, airline alliances, and booking strategies that allow for significant cost savings. The course's focus on credit score management may be a useful skill for a sales representative who needs to travel frequently, especially if they are self employed. A sales representative may also use this information to better understand their own spending.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Representative
Business Owner
A business owner is responsible for managing a company. While there is little connection between this course and being a business owner, a business owner may find the techniques taught within to be valuable. Specifically, this course teaches methods to greatly reduce the costs of travel. This would be useful to a business owner who travels frequently. The course covers topics such as credit card rewards programs, airline alliances, and booking strategies that allow for significant cost savings. The course's focus on credit score management may be a useful skill for a business owner as they manage the finances of their company.
See salaries and explore the career path for Business Owner

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Travel Hacking for Free Flights: Finally See the World!.
Cover image
Putting Knowledge to Work
Save
Offers a comprehensive overview of travel rewards programs and strategies for maximizing their value. It covers topics such as choosing the right credit cards, earning miles and points, and redeeming them for flights and hotels. It valuable resource for both beginners and experienced travel hackers. This book adds breadth to the course by covering a wider range of travel rewards programs.
Putting Knowledge to Work
Paperback
Check
Putting Knowledge to Work
Kindle Edition
Check
Cover image
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies
Save
Provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and improving your credit score. It covers topics such as identifying errors on your credit report, disputing inaccurate information, and negotiating with creditors. It is particularly useful for those with less-than-perfect credit who want to improve their chances of getting approved for travel rewards credit cards. This book provides more depth on credit repair than the course itself.
Credit Repair Kit FD 4e (Credit Repair Kit for...
Paperback
$$
Credit Repair Kit for Dummies
Paperback
$$
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies (For Dummies...
Paperback
$$$
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies: 5th Edition (The For...
Audio CD
$$

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Course image
Rating
4.6 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Half star
Effort
3.5 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructor
Derek Pankaew
Language
English
Traffic lights
Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Requires at least OK credit and is only applicable to US citizens, which may exclude some learners
Teaches how to leverage credit card rewards programs to accumulate airline miles, which can be used to book flights
Explores airline alliances and transferable points, which are essential for maximizing travel rewards
Covers credit score improvement and management, which is crucial for accessing the best travel rewards cards
Discusses strategies like 'manufactured spending' and 'bank funding,' which may require careful consideration and risk assessment
Includes methods to eliminate fees and surcharges, which can significantly reduce the cost of award travel
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