Despite being raised better, I am not much of a planner or a saver. I eschew planning because my spirit prefers spontaneity and serendipity. And saving? Well, I'm more of a live in the moment and there are no guarantees type of girl. Who says I'll still be alive at retirement age? Why put all my eggs in that basket? The only real basket is the one I'm holding right this very moment.
Side bar: if you are reading this and you are my mother or father, yes, I still have a healthy 401K. I just give it the stink eye.
As I said a post or two ago, I've known for just about 6 years that this sabbatical would be mine if I hung in there. And, I'm really good at hanging in there when I choose to. So, I decided to put aside my normal lack of saving ways and start hoarding airline and hotel miles and points.
I travel regularly. It's easy for me to always fly American, because I quite literally live across the street from DFW airport, which is an American hub. They also fly non-stop to San Jose, which is my most frequent place to visit. It is also quite easy for me to always stay at a Hilton. And so, I do both at least 1 time per month. Sometimes 3-5 times. Repeat every month for years. Next thing you know, there are hundreds of thousands of points and miles available.
Imagine our delight, if you will, when we finally started booking everything a couple of weeks ago. Not only did it finally start feeling real, but it is also feeling free. We are able to fly first class on every single flight for absolutely $0. As of now, there are at least 7 flights within this trip. We are staying at, surprise! Hiltons on numerous occasions, including the 4 days in Honolulu coming and going, Auckland, NewZealand, and possibly the Great Barrier Reef for a total of $0.
Then, as luck would have it, I recalled that Jason's awesome parents had offered us a timeshare week they wouldn't be able to use...in October! I hopped on line and found I could trade it out for a week's stay at one of the top hotels in Adelaide, Australia. For just a change fee of something like $79.
Our luck continued in that Jason has a wonderful friend who is currently living in Brisbane, Australia and has invited us to join her and her hubby at their place. So, there is another week of housing without cost.
We couldn't find a way to make the 31 day cruise free, but we watched the price on it fall the last 7 months (seriously) and finally booked for fear that the balconies would sell out. When we went to book, Jason had another stroke of brilliance and he (somehow!!!) thought to look at American Airlines Cruises (which, I promise you I didn't even know was a thing). Sure enough, the very cruise we wanted was there. So while we paid for our balcony cabin, we got plenty of other perks including triple miles!! Boom! Another free flight has been born. Another plus, American Airlines Cruises also offers shore excursions -- so we now can compare the ones offered directly from the cruise and the ones offered from AA. We're picking and choosing between them and it is awesome.
In a sea of approximately a gazillion, one thing I love about Jason is he travels like I do. We don't get bored. We can just grab a drink, sit outside, and watch. We can take walks around. Just be. And you know what? Just being is often free.
So while I often hear people mumble about how much a trip like this would cost...and it, of course, costs, I hope you'll get some encouragement from reading this. With not too much effort, I was able to weave together something incredible for very little. I do realize that not everyone can rack up the miles and points I did -- at least not in the way I did. But, there are plenty of ways to earn miles and points without having a traveling job:) I follow several travel hacking websites, take full advantage of miles/points based credit cards, etc. It all adds up to making big dreams happen.
At the end of the trip, I'll share the real costs. I'm always very open about it. This is not to brag or boast. This is because as a traveler, I spend a lot of effort trying to determine these sorts of things and always wish that someone would share their trip expenses so I could make a decent ballpark guess at what my own trip might cost. If there is something in particular I don't mention that you're curious about (cost-wise) please ask. I will tell you unless it is something I've purchased as a gift for someone who might be reading:)
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