Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same way people afford luxury cars, private school, renovations etc.

A lot of money or a lot of debt. It’s one or the other.

?? OP didn’t say how do people afford luxury international travel…just international travel.

As others have mentioned many times in this thread, you can travel cheaper international than many domestic locations as long as you plan appropriately.

Even still, it’s thousands of dollars. How do afford that? By either having thousands of extra dollars or being in debt. It’s not rocket science.

Well then, your issue is with travel in general...not just international travel. Yes, it usually costs several thousand dollars to go on vacation whether that is the US or international.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Maybe at peak travel seasons prices will be higher but even gently off peak I find plenty of affordable options. Even in London! For me affordable is $150 a night or close enough.

I shutter to think at what hotel you are staying at in London at any time of the year for $150/night.

You shutter?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Maybe at peak travel seasons prices will be higher but even gently off peak I find plenty of affordable options. Even in London! For me affordable is $150 a night or close enough.

I shutter to think at what hotel you are staying at in London at any time of the year for $150/night.

DP here. I'm not a hotel snob at all, but we went to London this past summer and there was nothing in that price range to sleep 4 people. Even Premier Inns were 200 GBP per night and they wouldn't take 4 of us since one of our teens is 17. Since we were going to need two rooms at a lower priced hotel, I ended up finding a nicer Hilton where we could all sleep in the same room that cost roughly what two rooms would cost, but it was still 400 GBP per night. Same story in Paris except impossible to find a bigger room so had to book 2 rooms and boy were they tiny!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Maybe at peak travel seasons prices will be higher but even gently off peak I find plenty of affordable options. Even in London! For me affordable is $150 a night or close enough.

I shudder to think at what hotel you are staying at in London at any time of the year for $150/night.

DP. Yeah, if you are this kind of snob I see how it is impossible to plan an international trip under $20k. I generally look for hotels in this price range in European cities (particularly when paying cash as opposed to using Hyatt points) and it is not hard to find something clean, centrally located, and safe at this price point in most of them.

This is the hotel I stay at in Paris (visit at least once a year). I last stayed there in February and it was $150/night. It’s not winning any awards for luxury, but it’s in an excellent location, clean, has housekeeping every day, and the staff are very helpful. And this kind of hotel is not a unicorn in Europe. If you refuse to stay in anything less than a major American chain hotel or a luxury hotel, then yes, you’re looking at $400-500 per night minimum in a major European city.

https://www.hotelsone.com/paris-hotels-fr/hotel-europe-saint-severin-paris1.html?dsti=877033&dstt=8&nid=1&as=g&aid=731673442545&cmpid=22196100713&agid=174096669789&gid=EAIaIQobChMI95qzq_q1kAMVRU7_AR1ZGCnqEAAYASAAEgIw5fD_BwE&gwbrd=CksKCQjwu9fHBhDrARI6AApkq3oIZWbAZI616Rp91KnVPvY5wvlkOAno59HTtd2AKwJ8C27fbl2bKj-I43noBbo13MUGsYj-FhoC7po&ggbrd=0AAAAAD4o1PeQfsucGRx0r8F9dIJ4MjUHD&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22196100713&gbraid=0AAAAAD4o1PeQfsucGRx0r8F9dIJ4MjUHD&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI95qzq_q1kAMVRU7_AR1ZGCnqEAAYASAAEgIw5fD_BwE

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Maybe at peak travel seasons prices will be higher but even gently off peak I find plenty of affordable options. Even in London! For me affordable is $150 a night or close enough.

I shutter to think at what hotel you are staying at in London at any time of the year for $150/night.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Maybe at peak travel seasons prices will be higher but even gently off peak I find plenty of affordable options. Even in London! For me affordable is $150 a night or close enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same way people afford luxury cars, private school, renovations etc.

A lot of money or a lot of debt. It’s one or the other.

?? OP didn’t say how do people afford luxury international travel…just international travel.

As others have mentioned many times in this thread, you can travel cheaper international than many domestic locations as long as you plan appropriately.

Even still, it’s thousands of dollars. How do afford that? By either having thousands of extra dollars or being in debt. It’s not rocket science.

I said I spend $10,000 per year because I use points and then supplement with cash. I afford that... by having a job that pays $150k and my husband is semi retired but makes $30k through consulting. That's around $800/month set aside for travel. Our life isn't expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same way people afford luxury cars, private school, renovations etc.

A lot of money or a lot of debt. It’s one or the other.

?? OP didn’t say how do people afford luxury international travel…just international travel.

As others have mentioned many times in this thread, you can travel cheaper international than many domestic locations as long as you plan appropriately.

Even still, it’s thousands of dollars. How do afford that? By either having thousands of extra dollars or being in debt. It’s not rocket science.

Anonymous wrote:The same way people afford luxury cars, private school, renovations etc.

A lot of money or a lot of debt. It’s one or the other.

?? OP didn’t say how do people afford luxury international travel…just international travel.

As others have mentioned many times in this thread, you can travel cheaper international than many domestic locations as long as you plan appropriately.

The same way people afford luxury cars, private school, renovations etc.

A lot of money or a lot of debt. It’s one or the other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haven’t read through the entire thread, but international travel can be cheaper than domestic as long as you are open to your destination.

We usually look at Google flights for DC to Europe or DC to South America and see what pops up. One year a RT to Rome was only $500 during XMas week…another a RT to Curaçao was only $378 again during XMas week.

Able to book AirBnBs or apartment hotels. Food costs now in most of Europe are cheaper than US.

If you have the luxury of traveling in say October or April, some astounding deals…again, if you are open to the destination.

I am retired and can.
Where should I look for those deals?

Check out going.com. They constantly send out emails for cheap flights based on the home airport you designate. They also blast cheap hotel deals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Only outside of major European cities. The city hotels are outrageously priced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hotels in Europe are the same price as in the US.

So airfare is the main difference.

Hotels in Europe are so much cheaper than in the US. And pls don’t compare a Sofitel in Paris to a Hampton Inn in Hartford.

This. Also midpriced hotels I'm Europe are so much more reliable decent than in the US, especially in tourist destinations. We've spent the same on a damp, moldy, run down hotel near a beach in Florida as we have on a lovely, well maintained hotel near a beach in France. And the hotel in France will have better food and nicer staff. Both will be "three stars" but since hospitality is taken way more seriously in Europe than the US, that will mean a lot more there.

Credit card points for flight. Otherwise we keep the trip short - around 10 days

Credit card points.