How I can afford to take a Trip to Jamaica (everything included!) for $900, every year.
My obsession with travel points all started when a good friend of mine moved to Hawaii. I decided it was time to stop saying “I can’t afford to travel” when I have a free place to stay in Oahu. It took me 3 years, but I saved up enough flight points for a free round trip.
Then, I was hooked.
Wouldn't you be too?
I’ve written several articles on using credit cards to earn miles, and how to find the cheapest times to travel. It all came together when I booked an amazing trip to Jamaica the following January. (I hate Winter, if you couldn’t tell).
Step One:
Get a miles or cash back credit card! If you are against credit or have bad credit then there are some other ways to earn points, but credit cards are the fastest by far. There are even some way to get a miles card with less than stellar credit.
My favorite cards: Chase Sapphhire Preferred/ Reserve and the Capital One Venture Card.
For those with mediocre credit: the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card.
Step two:
Use the right apps: I prefer the hopper app to notify me of when my favorite flight is going to be the cheapest. The only catch is that Airlines that aren’t searchable on travel search engines (like Southwest) aren’t found on hopper either. For those airlines you just need to be a bit glued to your email for deals. More on that later.
Another great program is Next Vacay. You pay a small yearly fee and they actually watch Airlines for you and notify you when an amazing deal is found. (Think airline pricing mistakes ;)
Step Three:
Sign up for all those pesky alerts. They come in handy!
I’m serious! BookIt.com has my favorite coupon that I use every year when I plan my Jamaica trip. It is $200 off a 7 night all-inclusive hotel. There aren’t many exclusions, and it works every time for our favorite Jamaican hotel.
Hotels.com also has a good rewards program, one night free after you buy 10 nights. They usually have some of the cheapest prices of all the hotel search giants, so it’s worth it to be loyal to them for a few trips and then get a night free at a fancy place ;) you could get a $200+ value!
Honestly, the only way to keep up with these deals is to check your inbox. (And my blog, duh). So don’t be afraid to hit “subscribe”.
Im sure you are wondering how these seemingly easy tips can equal a cheap yearly Jamaican vacay. Here is my exact plan:
I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. I charge everything I do to it. (Coffee, restaurants, groceries, gas, everything!). I gain a few thousand points a year easily with 2x points on the dollar for all restaurants and travel (uber counts as travel too ;). I pay the card off in full every month as to not pay interest. (You need to be a decent budgeter, of course). Then I bulk transfer all of my points to Southwest (they transfer at a ratio of One Chase point to One southwest rapid rewards point). Two flights to Jamaica in January cost about $450 a piece. That is approx. 40,000 points which is about $30,000 a year. Does your household spend about $30,000 a year on everything aside from housing? I bet it does. There ya go, you can be traveling to Jamaica for just spending the money you already spend!
And for the hotel....? I keep tabs on bookit.com and wait for the $200 off of a 7 night all-inclusive. They have coupon codes for 5 night trips too! Then I book. I also pick the dates to travel based on which week is more affordable (when possible). Then I watch the trip. I check weekly to see if it goes down in price. I make sure the initial reservation can be cancelled with no fees. I had to re-book my 2018 trip 3 times because the price kept going down and it saved me $200!
Hopefully you found this helpful, fellow travelers. Maybe next year I’ll see you in Jamaica ;)
happy travels,
Steph
