Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

That's just...not true.

Chase Ink cards give a 75K-100K point bonus for spending 6k to 8K over a three-months period. This number of points will buy three nights at a Hyatt in Paris or up to ten months at a Hyatt in a less central city (ex. Cape Town, Lima, Casablanca).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

That's just...not true.

Chase Ink cards give a 75K-100K point bonus for spending 6k to 8K over a three-months period. This number of points will buy three nights at a Hyatt in Paris or up to ten months at a Hyatt in a less central city (ex. Cape Town, Lima, Casablanca).

But you have to be willing to open a business credit card for a business you don’t have in order to do this.

No you do not. You apply as a sole proprietor and just say you’re doing some consulting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

That's just...not true.

Chase Ink cards give a 75K-100K point bonus for spending 6k to 8K over a three-months period. This number of points will buy three nights at a Hyatt in Paris or up to ten months at a Hyatt in a less central city (ex. Cape Town, Lima, Casablanca).

But you have to be willing to open a business credit card for a business you don’t have in order to do this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

That's just...not true.

Chase Ink cards give a 75K-100K point bonus for spending 6k to 8K over a three-months period. This number of points will buy three nights at a Hyatt in Paris or up to ten months at a Hyatt in a less central city (ex. Cape Town, Lima, Casablanca).

But you have to be willing to open a business credit card for a business you don’t have in order to do this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

That's just...not true.

Chase Ink cards give a 75K-100K point bonus for spending 6k to 8K over a three-months period. This number of points will buy three nights at a Hyatt in Paris or up to ten months at a Hyatt in a less central city (ex. Cape Town, Lima, Casablanca).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

You do need to hit a minimum spend but for most cards this is entirely within reason. A middleclass household would typically spend $3-5K a month just for food, clothing, extracurriculars etc. Most credit cards require you to spend between 4-6K over three months. This is easily doable. You are spending this money anyway, why not get something for it?

And yes, if you decide to play this game, business cards are a part of the equation. You just treat them as your personal cards.

Hmmm you have me thinking because we are one of the really frugal families who actually don't spend a lot so we do have money for travel. But it sounds like maybe we should just loosen up and spend more to get points.....

You don't spend more to get points. You time opening credit cards to issuer bonuses and when you anticipate spending. I put our before and after care on a card before they started taking a fee and got the 100k points bonus. Another year I did that with a summer camp for another card and another bonus. We needed a new appliance and opened a card to put that on. I bought tickets for a trip on a new southwest card and got enough points to cover another trip later. It's about being organized and looking for the bonuses. Referring your spouse and going back and forth with the cards. We keep one main one for most of spending and then use these new ones in a limited way when there is a specific deal to be had.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

You do need to hit a minimum spend but for most cards this is entirely within reason. A middleclass household would typically spend $3-5K a month just for food, clothing, extracurriculars etc. Most credit cards require you to spend between 4-6K over three months. This is easily doable. You are spending this money anyway, why not get something for it?

And yes, if you decide to play this game, business cards are a part of the equation. You just treat them as your personal cards.

Hmmm you have me thinking because we are one of the really frugal families who actually don't spend a lot so we do have money for travel. But it sounds like maybe we should just loosen up and spend more to get points.....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

You do need to hit a minimum spend but for most cards this is entirely within reason. A middleclass household would typically spend $3-5K a month just for food, clothing, extracurriculars etc. Most credit cards require you to spend between 4-6K over three months. This is easily doable. You are spending this money anyway, why not get something for it?

And yes, if you decide to play this game, business cards are a part of the equation. You just treat them as your personal cards.

Hmmm you have me thinking because we are one of the really frugal families who actually don't spend a lot so we do have money for travel. But it sounds like maybe we should just loosen up and spend more to get points.....

Anonymous wrote:Right, for most people it's a matter of budgeting for travel but also having a certain amount of discretionary income to begin with. My parents lived modestly but also had modest incomes- like we always had older cars but you still need an emergency fund for when the car needed repairs or suddenly died. A travel splurge was a driving trip to the beach in a mid-range hotel, and that was not an every year thing.

I think there is a certain amout of wealth on this board that isn't necessarily a reflection of real life. The only friends we have taking international vacations every year are DINKs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

You do need to hit a minimum spend but for most cards this is entirely within reason. A middleclass household would typically spend $3-5K a month just for food, clothing, extracurriculars etc. Most credit cards require you to spend between 4-6K over three months. This is easily doable. You are spending this money anyway, why not get something for it?

And yes, if you decide to play this game, business cards are a part of the equation. You just treat them as your personal cards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Right ,getting these points is not free. You have to spend tons of money to get points high enough to use on even ONE hotel night stay. And some of these travel influencers who hawk these cards are getting more points from their referral links.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, it blows my mind when I had peers that have been to places like Japan or Italy. I know plenty of people who make six figures who can’t even afford to travel to Las Vegas. Most companies have cut funding for business travel because it’s expensive to pay for flights and hotels. If you have a family in any major city, I don’t know how on earth you can afford a house and kids and still be able to travel on top of that.

It's points. Airline and credit card points. Here's what they got me over the last 12 months and onward:

- T'giving 2024: London (tickets and all hotels on points)

- Spring break 2025: Morocco (tickets and hotel in Casa on points)

- Summer 2025: Scandinavia (tickets on points, cash for hotels)

- T'giving 2026: Colombia (tickets on points, hotel for 2 days on points)

- Spring break 2026 (upcoming): Italy (tickets on points, hotels in two cities on points)

- Summer 2026 (upcoming): Peru (tickets on points, hotel in Lima on points)

All travel economy for me + two kids.

There is definitely some cash outlay as well but free tickets and some free hotels help enormously. You have to plan way ahead and be flexible with both dates and destinations - if you're committed to finding something, you will.

The elephant in the room is that this level of points is not possible without a) a lot of money for “minimum spends” on the credit cards to get the bonuses and b)willingness to apply for business cards because there simply aren’t enough personal cards to accumulate all these points without hitting bank limits.

Anonymous wrote:The frequent travelers have at least one adult in the household that accumulates points from work travel.

The other explanation is wealth. A lot of people in the area are just very wealthy. 500K a year, that sort of thing.

We have neither, so we don't travel often, but we save up to visit family in Europe and Asia. Our last trip to Asia to see my cousins was in 2015 and cost 20K. We fly to Europe to see our parents about once every 2-3 years, and that's cheaper.